explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Template:yt

2025-01-28T12:37:44Z

172.69.195.201: Made basic change to cell definition to allow the zero-padding 'code' to be removed from the cell text (if you so wish).

<includeonly>data-sort-value="{{{1|0}}}" style="background-color: #ffc7c7;"|{{#if: {{{6|}}}|'''{{#ifexpr:{{{1|0}}}<10|0}}{{#switch: {{{1|}}}|1=1st|2=2nd|3=3rd|#default={{{1}}}th}}''' video, on {{{2|}}}‑{{{3|}}}‑{{{4|}}}: '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v={{{5|}}} {{{6|}}}]'''|[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v={{{5|}}} '''{{#ifexpr:{{{1|0}}}<10|0}}{{#switch: {{{1|}}}|1=1st|2=2nd|3=3rd|#default={{{1}}}th}}''' video, on {{{2|}}}‑{{{3|}}}‑{{{4|}}}]}}</includeonly><noinclude>Used for [https://www.youtube.com/@xkcd_whatif/videos ''what if?'' YouTube videos] in the ''what if?'' index. The title of the video is always required and recommended.

===Usage===
<nowiki>{{yt|YT-NUMBER|YYYY|MM|DD|</nowiki>'''''VIDEO-ID'''''|VIDEO-TITLE}}

'''HOW TO GET THE VIDEO-ID:'''

1. Open the YouTube video and look at the link. it will look something like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v='''''3EI08o-IGYk'''''
https://youtu.be/'''''3EI08o-IGYk'''''?si=gdSF3nIlctPPFbd2
https://youtu.be/'''''3EI08o-IGYk'''''?si=gdSF3nIlctPPFbd2

2. The green part is the '''''VIDEO-ID''''' you need to use.

===Example===
<nowiki>{{yt|</nowiki>'''''2'''''|'''''2022'''''|'''''12'''''|'''''31'''''|'''''2LSyNhb5Y'''''|'''''What if everyone pointed a laser at the moon?'''''}}

Produces:

{{yt|2|2022|12|31|2LSyizrk8-0|What if everyone pointed a laser at the moon?}}

===Example===
<nowiki>{{yt|2|2022|12|31|JqFSGkFPipM}}</nowiki>

Produces:

{{yt|3|2023|12|31|JqFSGkFPipM}}

{| class="sortable wikitable"
! scope="col" style="text‑align:center" | N
! Date
! Thumbnail
! Title
! Reader's question
! Randall's answer
!
|-
!1
| 2012‑07‑10 || [[File:Relativistic Baseball.png|100px]] || '''{{what if|1|Relativistic Baseball}}''' || ''"What would happen if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90% the speed of light?"'' || The result would be some kind of nuclear explosion, and possibly a ruling of "hit by pitch". || {{yt|2|2022|12|31|2LSyizrk8-0|What if everyone pointed a laser at the moon?}}
|-
!2
| 2012‑07‑10 0w later || [[File:SAT Guessing.png|100px]] || '''{{what if|2|SAT Guessing}}''' || ''"What if everyone who took the SAT guessed on every multiple‑choice question? How many perfect scores would there be?"'' || No one would get a perfect score. No one would get a perfect score. No one would get a perfect score. No one would get a perfect score. No one would get a perfect score. || {{yt|3|2023|12|31|JqFSGkFPipM}}
|-
!3
| 2012‑07‑17 1w later || [[File:Yoda.png|100px]] || '''{{what if|3|Yoda}}''' || ''"How much Force power can Yoda output?"'' || First regular release. From here on standard release day was Tuesday. It's about 19.2 kilowatts, or 25 horsepower. || {{yt|66|2022|12|31|2LSyizrk8-0|What if everyone exploded?}}

[[Category:Templates]]
</noinclude>

Talk:3031: Time Capsule Instructions

2025-01-01T13:30:02Z

172.69.195.201:

Neither date has a calender suffix, which allows the finder to assume it to be a BC date, which would render the issue… moot.[[Special:Contributions/172.71.102.192|172.71.102.192]] 22:45, 30 December 2024 (UTC)
:Given that they open it at New Year 2025 and that this was known to be the year to open it, probably standing in the small text on the sign, they are of course years in the normal calendar and when not writing CE og BEC as Randall would do then it is always CE. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:13, 31 December 2024 (UTC)

The answer is simple! Open the box after 2025 (Vikram Samvat calendar) and before 2024 (gregorian) [[User:Nerd1729|Nerd1729]] ([[User talk:Nerd1729|talk]]) 22:49, 30 December 2024 (UTC)

1: Open first box in a GMT+X tz, where is already 2025; 2: Travel to tz GMT+X-Y, where is still 2024, remove second box from inside first box and open it; 3: Wait for the year to turn 2025, close the first box and open it again; 4: Now both first and second boxes were open in the same tz and you can open the third one. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.49.76|162.158.49.76]] 22:50, 30 December 2024 (UTC) auroralimin
:you have overthought this so much but it works surprisingly [[User:Nerd1729|Nerd1729]] ([[User talk:Nerd1729|talk]]) 23:16, 30 December 2024 (UTC)
::Only if you can convince yourself that it was not the first opening that counted as opening in the text on the third. I would not be able to convince my self of that. And although the explanation at this times suggest there is no enforcement method, then maybe Black Hat who obviously made this capsule may have booby trapped the boxes. And only because you managed to move it did it not explode! ;-) The Australian solution in the explanation may work, but only if you did not open the first box until in Australia on New Years Day 2025... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:13, 31 December 2024 (UTC)

Open it standing next to a border between time zones, step across, then stand in both? {{unsigned ip|162.158.62.154|02:36, 31 December 2024}}

The third box can be defeated by being at one of the two geographic poles, which have no time zones (or at least, which can't be said to be in any time zone). [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 03:23, 31 December 2024 (UTC)
:Both poles (indeed, all poles) still have a timezone (and, when I last read the page, I also wanted to point out that east/west travel wasn't consistently later-to-earlier, and even without considering going to a pole, it's not just E-W journeys that can step your timezone across). Even the ISS has a timezone, even if that's just the old backup of UTC. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.54|141.101.98.54]] 11:03, 31 December 2024 (UTC)
:'''Only remember not to open either before on the pole! Oh and you did not know the instructions on box 2 and box 3 until you opened them! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:13, 31 December 2024 (UTC)
'''
"WHAT'S IN THE BOX?!" (sorry folks) [[User:Jaap-Jan|Jaap-Jan]] ([[User talk:Jaap-Jan|talk]])
:A fourth box saying do not open this unless on a another planet than the one you opened the first three boxes on. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:43, 31 December 2024 (UTC)
:"You must open this box if (and only if) you haven't opened any of the other boxes"... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.5|172.70.85.5]] 13:07, 31 December 2024 (UTC)

The best solution I can think of is to use solar time. First, open the first box in time zone X once 2025 has begun according to solar time. Second, cross the year line according to solar time, while remaining in time zone X, to reach 2024. Open the second box. Third, immediately open the third box while remaining in time zone X, which is the same time zone in which the first and second boxes were opened. That said there is almost certainly a fourth box, but, cross that bridge when you come to it. If anyone agrees with this, add it to the explanation? [[User:Mrfoogles|Mrfoogles]] ([[User talk:Mrfoogles|talk]]) 14:02, 31 December 2024 (UTC)
:I considered a variation on that, but shall leave that to someone who can word it right/fit it in. I'm edited out, right now (having, amongst other things, added the "imaginary and prematurely celebrated New Year" excuse/solution, assuming the comic is contemporary/reporting past events, rather than somehow portraying slightly into the future from its publication time).
:PS, as I write, maybe some editors/lurkers here have started their own 2025s (legitimately!), though I'm personally still 8h35m (plus change) within 2024 (and others will be more so). Hello to the Future, from here in the Past! (Is 2025 any good, yet?) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.244|141.101.98.244]] 15:25, 31 December 2024 (UTC)

Who says you have to follow the instructions. I would say "screw it" and open al the boxes anyway. Or use a circular saw to cut the box open, bypassing the lids. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.71.44|172.68.71.44]] 15:18, 31 December 2024 (UTC)

I don't have a problem with the "Potential solutions" or any subsection really, but the six paragraphs up top should really be three. TL is a leading cause of DR. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.186|172.70.214.186]] 18:13, 31 December 2024 (UTC)

Alternate calendars to the rescue? According to the Greeks, it will be 2024 for another couple weeks. [[User:Cwallenpoole|Cwallenpoole]] ([[User talk:Cwallenpoole|talk]]) 18:54, 31 December 2024 (UTC)

And if you successfully open all boxes against all odds, your reward is just a printed picture of a still frame of that one Spongebob episode where the guy says "I couldn't afford a present this year, so I got you this box." [[Special:Contributions/172.70.176.14|172.70.176.14]] 07:15, 1 January 2025 (UTC)

After opening the '25 box, take the set to where it's still '24. Open the '24 box, close the '25 box, and wait till it is '25 to open it again. The 3rd box can be opened freely. {{unsigned ip|198.41.227.114|08:57, 1 January 2025}}
:I believe that's been covered. (Note: extract the '24 box from the '25, before closing it, if you might have to close the '24 before the '25 can be... Or just fully extract unopened box#3, before closing '24-then-'25, if that still satisfies you ''having'' had opened all boxes once you re-open '25 in the was-'24 TZ. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.201|172.69.195.201]] 13:30, 1 January 2025 (UTC)

Is anyone aware of any time capsules that were due to be opened in 2025? [[User:Firestar233|guess who]] ([[User talk:Firestar233|if you desire conversing]] | [[Special:Contributions/Firestar233|what i have done]]) 09:28, 1 January 2025 (UTC)

Insert a colon and open the second box somewhen between 12:00 and 20:23. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.169|141.101.76.169]] 12:05, 1 January 2025 (UTC)

Talk:3022: Making Tea

2024-12-10T19:21:10Z

172.69.195.201:

I wonder where [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Tea_Party making it in Boston Harbor, at ambient temperature, at scale] would fit on this scale. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.162|172.70.206.162]] 04:38, 10 December 2024 (UTC)
: A little to the left of the microwave thing. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.252|162.158.186.252]] 05:14, 10 December 2024 (UTC)
:: Oh, no, much further to the right. You stole our colony from us, set up some tinpot, pretended 'country' in its place, and you didn't even have the class to make a decent cup of tea first. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.93|12.68.205.93]] 06:24, 10 December 2024 (UTC)
:: And, even if [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68085304 this guy] is right, ''way'' too much salt... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.130|172.70.91.130]] 07:03, 10 December 2024 (UTC)
::: Soyuz nyerushimyy respublik svobodnik... [[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]] ([[User talk:DollarStoreBa'al|talk]]) 14:13, 10 December 2024 (UTC)
:::: Well maybe if you didnt force us to buy discounted tea from you after fighting a war for us, we wouldn't be in this situation. [[User:Apollo11|Apollo11]] ([[User talk:Apollo11|talk]]) 15:43, 10 December 2024 (UTC)
: I would like to as a british person to corroborate this, in the 80's my Dad visited the USA (he did go to florida) and still is complaining that the freshly boiled water wasn't poured directly onto the tea bag but was instead the tea bag and the hot water(now luke warm water) and bag was delivered separately!!! The delivery of freshly boiling water on to the bag is the major issue with microwaves, not the nucleation thing in my experience. Bear in mind I don't even actually like tea, still care enough to right this, but i'll be signing this anonymously to avoid shame being bought on my family and my family's familys. Murderous royals are a lot less popular the tea [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.227|108.162.245.227]]
:: I first visited the US in 1980. A friend who was with hate coffee and was horrified when he ordered tea that he got the water and the tea bag separately. When he suggested they add the water as soon as it was boiled, the wait staff thought he was joking. Many years later in Texas, a waiter asked me why I, a Brit, was drinking coffee, not tea. "You don't know how to make it," I replied. (In my house, the electric kettle and teapot sit next to each other on the kitchen worktop.)--[[Special:Contributions/172.70.160.135|172.70.160.135]] 09:22, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

When I make ramen, I put the measuring cup in the microwave. Fight me. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.167.87|162.158.167.87]] 05:35, 10 December 2024 (UTC)
:: On behalf of the British Empire: whateva. [[User:Kev|Kev]] ([[User talk:Kev|talk]]) 18:28, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

"...to the point virtually every home has an electric tea kettle as a standard appliance". If I'm reading it correctly, this and the comic suggests we (though not I, as I'm not a tea-drinker) make tea ''in the electric kettle''. Electric tea-urns, yes, or maybe a setup like a samovar. But, generally, the kettle itself (and, so far as I'm aware, always with an electric kettle) is used to heat the water, which you then pour into the tea''pot'' into which the requisite number of tealeaves/teabags are also put to steep. (Or, for the lazy way, into the mug-with-teabag.) I wouldn't be able to use my electric kettle to (for example) make my instant mashed-potato into the actual mash, if I'd have regularly used it to mash tea. Or top up the boiling saucepan that I'd realised I'd not quite enough water in to cover the pasta/vegetables/whatever. Or to easily add nust a little more heat (with less new water) to the washing-up bowl than would be possible from the hot tap, back to as hot as possible without scalding me. – Whether intentional or not, I suspect Randall has the role of kettle and teapot mixed up, and so (without the intent to parody) has the editor who wrote the above. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.160.135|172.70.160.135]] 05:49, 10 December 2024 (UTC)
:: Agree, we make tea in a mug using water from a kettle. I'd be furious if an American made tea in my kettle, how will I then make up my instant Nescafe? [[User:Kev|Kev]] ([[User talk:Kev|talk]]) 18:28, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

I don't think the section on 'Boiling the water in a pot' refers to a teapot - I think it means boiling the water in a pot on the hob, and then making tea with it (in a pot/mug). [[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.27|172.69.195.27]] 07:53, 10 December 2024 (UTC)
:I agree, but I also think there's a language issue with the use of pot vs. pan that makes things more confusing. I think there are several types of cookware that Americans call pot and British call pan. So British would not say they boil water in a pot but rather in a saucepan (if there's no kettle available of course). [[User:Mtcv|Mtcv]] ([[User talk:Mtcv|talk]]) 09:03, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

I (as Brit) am uncommon in using an electric filter coffee machine to make tea (two bags in what is supposed to be the coffee filter). Set up, press the button and come back to a not jug of fresh tea which is not stewed. If later, the hot plate has shut off and it is cold, you can zap it in a mug in the microwave. [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 08:11, 10 December 2024 (UTC)
: As another brit, what? I do not understand the mechanics of this, please elaborate. Additionally, my understanding is that the water would be *briefly acquainted* with the tea, thus would be a poor facsimile of "tea" and would rather be closer to something the americans would attempt. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.126|141.101.99.126]] 11:46, 10 December 2024 (UTC)
::I'm guessing the water would drip on to the teabags, then soak all the way through them and drip out into the jug, without allowing sufficient to accumulate that it would run straight out without passing fully through the bag. It's an intriguing idea. But most definitely wrong.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.239|172.70.85.239]] 17:15, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

Thanks, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yMMTVVJI4c Technology Connections]! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.109.167|141.101.109.167]] 09:51, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

You Westerners have literally no idea how to make proper, good tea! SMH [[User:TPS|TPS]] ([[User talk:TPS|talk]]) 13:00, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

As a Brit who grew up in sight of the Yorkshire Tea factory – and worked there on occasion – and having travelled very widely around the world – including in the US – I feel I'm supposed to have an opinion. However, I have ''never'' encountered the microwaving of water as mentioned here, and I would not object to it as supposedly problematic for tea-quality reasons. I'd object for reasons of common sense. What mystifies me is the idea that kettles are tea-specific. They are for heating water, not making tea. Coffee uses hot water. Pasta, rice and potatoes use hot water. Peas, carrots, cabbage, sweetcorn...

Baking bread often involves a pan of steaming water in the oven.

"But I can boil water in a pan for cooking pasta or vegetables."

Yes, but you'll be waiting a l-o-o-o-ng time. I'll heat my water in the kettle, pour it into the now-hot pan, cook my pasta, and I'll be eating before your water is boiling.

A kettle is not a tea-making item any more than a frying pan is an omelette-making item; tea is simply one of the things you can make with water from a kettle. Hot water is a basic civilised human commodity, predating recorded history. That we should live in a mechanised world, and the Consumer Nation doesn't have water-boiling appliances as standard (saying instead "I don't have a kettle because I don't drink tea") is ludicrous.

Using a microwave rather than buying a kettle is a bit like not buying a hammer for driving in nails because you've got a big pair of pliers that will do. Sure, they're heavy lumps of metal than live in your toolbag, but they're not the right thing.

The Brits, incidentally, are not tea lovers. They are prolific consumers of awful tea that actual tea lovers wouldn't use for cleaning their drains. The most enthusiastic tea enthusiasts I've ever met were from Maryland.

It's all just social ceremony in the UK. Milk first, tea first, must use a saucer, must use a pot...tea is a British religion, not a British drink.[[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 14:23, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

I wonder what the Brits would feel about repurposing a single-cup coffee maker. These days, I usually put a tea bag in a mug and place it in a Keurig machine and run it (without a K-cup, of course) to deliver the hot water. Probably the wrong temperature, but fast and easy and the result is good enough. [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 14:52, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

Would any British person care to evaluate my tea making practices? Boil water in electric kettle. Pour water over teabag, allow to steep, remove teabag. Add sugar and ice cubes. [[User:RegularSizedGuy|RegularSizedGuy]] ([[User talk:RegularSizedGuy|talk]]) 15:54, 10 December 2024 (UTC)
:...well, seems a fairly standard "making one mug of tea for oneself" process. It lacks a milk-adding stage (thus no arguments about whether before or after the water). Removing the teabag at that point probably means it's not going to become a Builders' Brew, which is your choicd. Sugar is ok. And... Waitwhat... ''Ice Cubes?!?'' ...can I get back to you on that? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.163|172.70.162.163]] 17:50, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

I can confirm (by inadvertent experiments conducted on flatmates) that they indeed do not like tea being make in the kettle. What really makes them angry though is making coffee in the teapot. It ruins the taste of the teapot forever apparently. There is also a faction that insists that a teapot should never be washed, and washing it invokes a lesser anger.[[User:Gopher|Gopher]] ([[User talk:Gopher|talk]]) 15:56, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

On rare occasions where I don't have a kettle available, I use a microwave oven to boil water for tea. But it doesn't look and taste quite the same, and often leaves an ugly foam at the surface when the tea bag is added. This phenomenon is investigated here: https://cooking.stackexchange.com/a/22264. So the British might be right... Disclaimer: I'm neither from the UK nor from the US. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.126|172.69.68.126]] 16:16, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

There is a [https://www.tumblr.com/elodieunderglass/669449994039853056/wizardlyghost-silverjirachi-pidoop tumblr thread] about the topic of teamaking in microwaves, kettles, etc. Funnily enough it showed up in my Instagram reels feed just a few hours before this comic was posted. I was thinking perhaps Randall saw it too and was inspired by it? Both of them have to deal with the different ways of making tea and how "absurd" or "unconventional" (etc.) they are. Even if Randall didn't have it in mind, it's certainly a funny little coincidence. [[User:Pie Guy|Pie Guy]] ([[User talk:Pie Guy|talk]]) 16:36, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

I'm guessing my occasional summertime practice of filling a gallon jar with water and lots of tea bags, setting it on the back porch in the sun for a few hours until the water turns dark brown, then putting the whole thing in the refrigerator and later drinking it over ice would be toward the more angry end of the spectrum.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.204|172.70.126.204]] 16:39, 10 December 2024 (UTC)Pat
:I think the "in the sun for a few hours" part might just be too incomprehensible to most of us, here in Britain. If we ''have'' a few hours of sun (and we're not abroad and deliberately sunburning ourselves on the beach/beside the pool in our week at the Costa Lotta budget-all-inclusivs holiday) then we're either fuming at our workdesks complaining about the louts stripping down to their shirtsleeves and splashing in the town-centre fountains or we're on our lunch-break and we ''are'' the louts stripping down to our shirtsleeves and splashing in the town-centre fountains. In neither case would sun-stewed tea be a priority. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.163|172.70.162.163]] 17:50, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

Perhaps it's worth to mention how dangerous it is to boil water in a microwave. https://tastecooking.com/dangerous-microwave-water/
[[User:Mestafais|Mestafais]] ([[User talk:Mestafais|talk]]) 15:22, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

There are several comics with unmarked scales. It would be interesting if the descriptions started using pixels to point where each mark is along the line. As a rough estimate, the four points mentioned here are at X-values: 90px, 115px, 345px, and 645px, indicating that the pot method is 10% as infuriating as the chalice method - or that making tea in a pot ten times would be equally as infuriating as making it once in a chalice (at least, assuming the kettle method causes zero furons. I know of {{w|hedons and dolors}}. I guess 'furons' are a unit of fury, right? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.46.236|172.70.46.236]] 16:11, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

Interesting to see the interest in editing this. Had a quick check of the last ten comics, looking at the number of edits made in the first 14 hours (the exact time this page has been around, as of me starting the check) and in total, and extrapolated to edits/day (in the case of total edits, both just to the latest edit and right up to 'now'). Thought it'd be interesting to give you my results (assuming I tallied/etc correctly)...
*3022 - 14hr: '''61''' ('''105'''/day); Total: 61 ('''105/day...''')
*3021 - 14hr: 23 (39/day); Total: 39 (11/day -> 10/day)
*3020 - 14hr: 22 (38/day); Total: 36 (10/day -> 6/day)
*3019 - 14hr: 28 (48/day); Total: 54 (17/day -> 7/day)
*3018 - 14hr: 14 (24/day); Total: 48 (4/day -> 4/day)
*3017 - 14hr: 29 (50/day); Total: 33 (32/day -> 3/day)
*3016 - 14hr: 28 (48/day); Total: 46 (4/day -> 3/day)
*3015 - 14hr: 20 (32/day); Total: '''83''' (5/day -> 5/day)
*3014 - 14hr: 40 (69/day); Total: 66 (16/day -> 3/day)
*3013 - 14hr: 36 (61/day); Total: 68 (3/day -> 3/day)
...of course, the first 14 hours probably biases to British readers/editors, and it was too fiddly to add up ''|bytes changed per edit|'' as a more useful metric than mere number of pokes. But quite a bit of interest we already have here. More edits in fourteen hours than any other article less than fourteen (indeed, 17!) days old... ;) Seems to have really hit a mark, this subject! [[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.201|172.69.195.201]] 19:21, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

Talk:3015: D&D Combinatorics

2024-12-05T18:18:53Z

172.69.195.201:

The bot originally created this page as “D Combinatorics”. I renamed it to the correct title and tried to get as many of the references as possible (including a few redirects). [[User:JBYoshi|JBYoshi]] ([[User talk:JBYoshi|talk]]) 00:54, 23 November 2024 (UTC)

:The title in the Atom feed (which I'm assuming the bot consumes) is "D Combinatorics". I'm guessing something in Randall's pipeline didn't like the ampersand. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.160|162.158.154.160]] 01:41, 23 November 2024 (UTC)

::Yup, if you look at [https://xkcd.com/3015/info.0.json 3015's JSON] you see that <code>title</code> and <code>safe_title</code> differ, and if you look at the HTML page source you'll see '''3''' different things: <code><title>xkcd: D Combinatorics</title></code>, <code><meta property="og:title" content="D&amp;D Combinatorics"></code>, and <code><div id="ctitle">D&D Combinatorics</div></code>! So probably what happened is Randall entered D&D but was supposed to enter D&amp;D, and the openGraph tags adder code, having to be HTML-aware, decoded & normalized D&D as HTML would, but the other parts of the pipeline just ate it for some reason. {{unsigned ip|172.69.65.224|06:09, 23 November 2024}}

::: The problem now is that the feed doesn't validate (because it contains a bare &) and it's also not updating (maybe because of the previous problem). --[[Special:Contributions/172.71.119.13|172.71.119.13]] 11:10, 28 November 2024 (UTC)

What are the odds of rolling 16 or higher on 3D6+D4? 3D6 average 10.5, D4 average is 2.5, total average should be 13. I do not know how to proceed from here. {{unsigned ip|172.71.147.206|01:14, 23 November 2024}}
:By raw combinatorics: 71 + 52 + 34 + 20 + 10 + 4 + 1 ways to get each of 16 - 22 respectively, for a total of 192, out of 4(6^3) = 864 total. 192/864 simplifies to exactly 2/9. I have no idea how Randall found this; if anyone has an idea, please let me know. [[User:Kaisheng21|Kaisheng21]] ([[User talk:Kaisheng21|talk]]) 01:33, 23 November 2024 (UTC)
::I used some simple python code to loop over every dice and confirm and it's 2/9 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.111|162.158.158.111]] 12:11, 23 November 2024 (UTC)
::I suspect there is no better way of doing it than looping over the dice. As to how Randall discovered it, it was obvious that at least 2d6 would be needed (since d6 is the only D&D dice that has a multiple of 3 sides), and after that my guess is Randall used a combination of a python script and some experimentation to land on the correct choice of dice. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.56|172.70.162.56]] 14:15, 1 December 2024 (UTC)

It seems like we edited the transcript at the same time. The odds of rolling 16 or higher in this situation seem to be 2/9? [[User:Darkmatterisntsquirrels|Darkmatterisntsquirrels]] ([[User talk:Darkmatterisntsquirrels|talk]]) 01:29, 23 November 2024 (UTC)

: There are 864 possible rolls (6 * 6 * 6 * 4). If you enumerate all of the rolls you will find that 192 are 16 or higher. 192/864 = 2/9, the value from the explanation. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.139|172.68.54.139]] 01:41, 23 November 2024 (UTC)

I added a table of outcomes to clarify how it works out to 2/9, anyone know how to make it pretty? -- Laurence Cheers {{unsigned ip|172.71.150.247|02:03, 24 November 2024}}

A much simpler approach: Roll two six sided dice and sum the result. You are successful if the result is 5 or 9. That happens 8 times out of 36. 8/36 = 2/9. (Or successful if the sum is 4 or 6, or 2 or 7, or 2,3,4 or 11, or several other combinations.) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.139|172.68.54.139]] 01:41, 23 November 2024 (UTC)
:Clever, but dice rolls in D&D involving summing all the dice, applying modifiers, if any, and then comparing to one or more threshold values. Your method makes it very difficult to apply modifiers. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.41.8|162.158.41.8]] 02:49, 23 November 2024 (UTC)
::I think you misunderstand the problem here. This is not skill, no modifiers apply, it's purely probability [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.111|162.158.158.111]] 12:11, 23 November 2024 (UTC)

Minor quibble, arrows aren't fired (unless they're flaming or self-propelled, perhaps), they are shot. (Shotguns are fired of course.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.41.73|162.158.41.73]] 02:52, 23 November 2024 (UTC)
:Arrows are "loosed", even more accurately. At least to avoid the confusion from how so many things may be shot, or ''a'' shot. (Many different nouns, from a physical measure of liquer/coffee/vaccine to a projectile, or an even abstract fundemental of chance; and, as verb, projectiles perhps may be shot, then so may their targets.) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.178|172.68.205.178]] 14:32, 23 November 2024 (UTC)
:Well, lets not quarrel over it.[[Special:Contributions/172.71.103.67|172.71.103.67]] 14:37, 25 November 2024 (UTC)
:Too many barbed comments, and I'd be all of a quiver... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.153|141.101.99.153]] 14:51, 25 November 2024 (UTC)

Rolling 22 or lower on percentile dice (or, equivalently, 79 or higher) is close enough, and easier to come up with. (Give or take whether 00 is treated as 100 or zero.) Or directly represent the action: roll a d10. If it's 1-5, you lose. If it's 6-10, roll again; if it's 1-5 you lose, 6-9 you win, 10 roll again. (Modify slightly if you want to distinguish the case of grabbing *two* cursed arrows.) [[User:Jordan Brown|Jordan Brown]] ([[User talk:Jordan Brown|talk]]) 03:26, 23 November 2024 (UTC)

Alternative exact solution for getting this probability using dice: Roll: 1d8, 2d6, 1d4 succeed on 19 or higher.{{unsigned ip|172.68.55.11|03:54, 23 November 2024}}

I couldn’t remember the formula for binomial coefficients (“n choose k”), but there’s an easy way to calculate that the probability of drawing no cursed arrows is 2/9 without that formula. You just need to multiply the probabilities that each of the arrows drawn is not cursed. Since only two arrows are drawn, you only have to multiply two numbers.

The probability that the first arrow is not cursed is 5/10 – there are 5 non-cursed arrows and 5 cursed arrows out of 10 total. After taking out one non-cursed arrow, there are 4 non-cursed arrows and 5 cursed arrows out of 9 total, so the probability that the second arrow is not cursed is 4/9. Multiplying the two probabilities, the probability of drawing two non-cursed arrows is (4*5)/(10*9) = 20/90 = 2/9.

I was considering writing this observation in the Explanation section of the page, but I’m not if it belongs there. This solution avoids using formulas from combinatorics, so it might not be connected enough to the comic.—[[User:Roryokane|Roryokane]] ([[User talk:Roryokane|talk]]) 06:02, 23 November 2024 (UTC)

My simple-minded approach:
* Roll d10 once for your first arrow: if 1 to 5, the arrow is cursed, otherwise not;
* Roll d10 again for your second arrow: same rules, but repeat until you have a different number from the first one (so d10 is in fact only a d9 this time)
* I won't calculate probabilities – these are your arrows, live with it ;-) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.109.51|172.69.109.51]] 07:33, 23 November 2024 (UTC)
:That has the benefit (over 3d6+1d4) of telling you which arrow(s) (if either) was cursed. [[User:RegularSizedGuy|RegularSizedGuy]] ([[User talk:RegularSizedGuy|talk]]) 07:52, 23 November 2024 (UTC)
::Also tells you how many cursed arrows are left, which is useful if the next player wants to take their chances with them too.[[Special:Contributions/172.71.103.68|172.71.103.68]] 14:40, 25 November 2024 (UTC)
:If you don't like re-rolls, you can make d9 out of 2d3. Nine possibilities, so just assign one of them (perhaps by rolling them one at a time) to be the more significant digit. Don't have a d3 handy? Use d6 and modulo off the extra! (1=1, 2=2, 3=3, 4=1, 5=2, 6=3) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.150.91|172.68.150.91]] 05:59, 24 November 2024 (UTC)

There seems to be doubt that a "N locks and M keys to unlock them" system could be easily accomplished. I think it could be trivial, with strategically interlocking locked-restraints. A chain formed of bike-locks can give a larger locked loop that can be unlocked by just unlocking any ''single'' one of the constituent locks, leaving the other locked loops to not matter (or you could also try the {{w|Borromean rings}} system, whereby it is again secure against itself, until just one ring is opened up to reveal that the rest now ''aren't even locked at all''...). With almost arbitrary ability to cross-link (or, if you will, repeated/alternating-reflected Borromean triplet connections), you can extend the requirements to more than one unlocking being required (by looping chain elements to mre than just the 'adjacent' loops, sideways onto a parallel meta-loop or up/down the chain, all you might do is allow some slack (could be sufficient to get a thing held directly closed by the taut loop-of-loops, but not enough if the passage of the loop through a hasp/sneck actually prevents the otherwise free movement of the final slide-to-unlock action to occur), but a second (or third, or fourth) unlocking can be required to open-end the whole metaloop of locks. At the top end, M=N solutions are also trivial (e.g. two keys, two locks popularly of safety deposit boxes or [[2677: Two Key System|other things]]). Which is not to say that a specific M-of-N puzzle (where 1<M<N) might not need a ''little'' bit of thought to actually design and implement, but there's no obvious reason why all such combinations shouldn't be nicely doable. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.165|172.69.79.165]] 14:56, 23 November 2024 (UTC)
:Can we first confirm that the M-of-N Encryption was what Randall was referencing in the first place? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.140|172.71.154.140]] 03:17, 24 November 2024 (UTC)
::No, first confirm that this is what the explanation treats as what Randall was referencing. As it was, "complicated lock mechanics" and/or "magic" were suggested as the only ways of doing this, when this (or what we thought this was) just needs a little thought and N bike-locks suitably entangled. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.58.45|172.70.58.45]] 13:17, 24 November 2024 (UTC)
:I'm glad someone else chimed in on this, because it is definitely ''not'' difficult to require unlocking of multiple discrete locks! I can't even figure out why one might think it would be? [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 15:55, 24 November 2024 (UTC)
::I had assumed that the locks were built into the chests (as they sometimes are), and that the chests were physically separated. Using m of n keys on a single chest would merely be complicated, but wouldn't really fulfill the description. Leaving the chests unlocked, but tightly wrapped in a locked chain would be more like drawers of a single "chest". I instead assumed that each of m chests had to be individually opened with its own proper key, but you had n chests to choose from. It was unspecified what would happen if you tried pairing a chest to the wrong key; perhaps both the key and the chest would be disabled (melted/stuck/burned/teleported). (And yes, needing only a subset of the chests, but any sufficiently large subset will do, is a semi-standard class of problem; a search for Byzantine Generals or PAXOS algorithm will get you started.) [[User:JimJJewett|JimJJewett]] ([[User talk:JimJJewett|talk]]) 07:45, 5 December 2024 (UTC)
:::For certain combinations of Ms and Ns, one solution is to have each chest have M locks (that must all be unlocked), such that each possible combination of M keys fully opens (at least) one chest, within which are the necessary complimentary keys to now fully unlock every other chest. A looser version is to have possibly only M/2 (or M/3, etc) locks in a configuration whereby you get to open any given two (or 3+) chests that only produce the full set of keys (and probably spares), but does leave it open to being exploited as "we could only open the one chest, and maybe one or two others with (M/2)<(owned keys)<(M) partial key overlap but at least it had ''some'' of the available treasure", unless designed to not work like that.
:::The limited subset of workable {M,N} values makes it impractical as "I have N chests and M chests, how do I...?" puzzle-setting, but still leaves it possible to force a puzzle from scratch that works this way (e.g. "you must have visited at least M antechambers and deceated the Key Guardians within, before you can open the chests within which are all the components necessary to create the potion that makes you ElementalLevelBoss-Proof"), for which you can determine a convenient set of requirements.
:::One (simple) combination would be two of three distinct keys (#1, #2 and #3) and three chests ("A", needs #1+2, contains #3; "B" needs 1+3, contains 2; "C" need 2+3, contains 1).
:::Add in the feature of duplicate keys but also a mechanism (or magic, or valid physical reason) which causes keys to be stuck in the locks (or vanish/melt/shatter/etc) upon being used, and you can create an even more complex puzzle, whereby having keys enough to (theoretically) open two chests is actually only enough to open one of them initially as you then lose the ability to attempt to open the other... at least until the opened chest provides new keys enough to open (perhaps by opening a different interim chest, with its own new keys, etc) the one that you did not initially choose. This would greatly expand the number of higher-order "M-of-N" combinations that you could facilitate. And could even created "M>N" requirements (three keys, two (combo-)locks: chest A needs 1+2, chest B needs 1+3; both render any keys inserted beyond further use but also contain a 'spare' 1; you need to externally gain 1+2+3 to eventually open A+B).
:::Exactly how (and why) you do it is open to your own needs.
:::And, if you're open to add an intermediate "locked box", you can exploit the trivial many:one ''and'' one:many relationships by just compounding them together, and maybe even adding more steps; e.g. with the last example of keys 1+2+3 opening A+B, you can offer up (from A, 4)+(from B, 5). To unlock C needs both 4+5 (thus 1+2+3, once removed, which itself handily contains ''all'' the further individual keys (or copies of the one key) required to open D, E, F, ... Z, so "3 needed to open 23". Or the earlier 2 keys (non-sticking, or regained by copies) for 3 chests vrants the full co-keys needed to open that same key-store (see also {{w|Annett's key}}). Arbitrarily higher permutations of pretty much any initial number of (original) keys steps you through the means to then open an arbitrary number of (final) locks, but you won't get any of the last locks unlocked if you have not fully satisfied the very first requirement.
:::...although it'd be neater if it was an M-and-N that was more direct, I still think. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.85|141.101.99.85]] 18:13, 5 December 2024 (UTC)

"other polyhedral dice, with the number of faces denoted by dX (e.g., d10 is a 10-sided die, with numbers from 1 to 10 on it)." - the d10 may be a poor choice as exemplar here; Back in the last century, when I was playing D&D, d10 were typically (and uniquely) numbered 0-9, not 1-10. This may no longer be the case, and I may be showing my age, but if it is still the norm, the d8 or d20 might be a better choice of example. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.210.6|172.68.210.6]] 02:40, 24 November 2024 (UTC)
:Typically, I've only seen 0-9 d10s, as part of a "d100" dice pair, with one reading 0-9 & the other reading 0⁰-9⁰... Single d10, mostly seem to come in 1-10? Maybe it depends which reseller one shops at... [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 15:49, 24 November 2024 (UTC)
::They are usually numbered 0-9, but the 0 represents 10, since writing 10 would require that face to have a different font size. It is still a d10, since the die has ten sides, and still cannot roll at 0. The d100 variant does the same thing with 100, but for the added reason that the 00 face actually does mean 0 when the other die rolls a 1-9. This is the convention, so a die that actually writes 10 on it instead of 0 will be rare. [[User:Stardragon|Stardragon]] ([[User talk:Stardragon|talk]]) 23:14, 24 November 2024 (UTC)

You've all been nerd-sniped. [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 10:53, 24 November 2024 (UTC)

Combinatorics degree? Does such a degree really exist? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.130.37|162.158.130.37]] 17:19, 24 November 2024 (UTC)
:There are degrees for all kinds of things. A quick search reveals a number of "Combinatorics" or "Combinatorics and <Foo>" (e.g. "Optimisation") degrees. Some of them are marked as Masters degrees, and I haven't dug into the others to see if there are any 'pure' undergraduate ones (apart from anything else, I know there are crucial differences between the structures and scopes of UK and US 'degree courses' to consider, in particular), but there seems to be representation on both sides of the Atlantic (and elsewhere, e.g. Oceana).
:At the very least, it could be a selected specialised segment of an even wider mathematical degree course, or a cross-disciplinary one (like my own, which was part under Physics and part under Computing, but could have included a Stats-based element). [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.49|162.158.74.49]] 19:07, 24 November 2024 (UTC)
::So "Combinatorics and <Foo>" would be meta-combinatorics, since it is combining something with something else. :) [[User:RandalSchwartz|RandalSchwartz]] ([[User talk:RandalSchwartz|talk]]) 20:19, 28 November 2024 (UTC)
:::I shall do my degree in "Combinatorics, Selectivity, Comparison, Decision Making and/or Cross-Designation (Choose Any Three)"... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.5|172.70.90.5]] 21:28, 28 November 2024 (UTC)

I'm trying this on my DM. -[[User:Psychoticpotato|P?sych??otic?pot??at???o ]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 15:11, 25 November 2024 (UTC)

Can someone put into the Explanation the current details regarding the nature of cursed arrows, in whatever edition of DnD we're currently up to. (8th? I've lost track.) In different DnD-like media, I know that it can act somewhat negatively (reduces aim accuracy) or even outright problematic (it curses the person loosing the projectile; or even renders the bow otherwise useless, as analogue to a cursed weapon), or else reduces/inverts the damage (breaks easier, or essentially acts like a thrown beneficial potion to increase health/strength/stamina/etc of the target). I assume that it one of these, from the assumption that the player desires a "good enough" roll to avoid. On the other hand, cursed projectiles could be treated akin to poisoned arrows or vengeful weapons in doing more, better or more targeted damage (in which case it's a powerful aid, the archer is instead taking a chance of using up a stock of 'special arrows', perhaps in line with not knowing whether their foe ''needs'' that extra degree of offensive power). But, at least from the explaining text's approach to dice-roll results, that doesn't exactly mesh with the typical "higher is better" rolling mantra. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.129|172.70.86.129]] 22:43, 25 November 2024 (UTC)

I don't think making an M-of-N mechanism with physical locks would be "extremely cumbersome". For example you could have a bolt that must be drawn back to open the mechanism, with several padlocks over it, where the shackle of each padlock blocks the motion of the bolt, such that the distance you can draw the bolt is proportional to how many padlocks are removed. Removing any m of the n padlocks gives you enough range of motion to open the mechanism.
[[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.224|172.71.154.224]] 23:17, 27 November 2024 (UTC)

A DM with a degree in Combinatorics would be unlikely to find this annoying.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.245|162.158.62.245]] 05:30, 30 November 2024 (UTC)

With up to three D&D dice, it is impossible to achieve 2/9 exactly. The closest you can get is with d6 + 2d10x10 >= 146 (where d10x10 denotes the tens die, ranging from 10 to 100) yielding a probability of 133/600 = 0.2216667. [[User:Vandof|Vandof]] ([[User talk:Vandof|talk]]) 06:27, 30 November 2024 (UTC)

With four D&D dice, 2d6 + d8 + d10 >= 21 and d10 + 2d12 + d20 >= 36 are alternate solutions. The former is more feasible than 3d6 + d4 for those who don't have three d6's. [[User:Vandof|Vandof]] ([[User talk:Vandof|talk]]) 06:49, 30 November 2024 (UTC)

You can do it with two dice, although not by summation. Roll 2d3; if 1,1, or 3,3 pass, else fail. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.167.88|162.158.167.88]] 19:41, 3 December 2024 (UTC)

Could someone explain option 6, multiplying two six-sided dice, with a threshold of > 20? I think 66, 65, 64, 56, 55, and 46 all work, making it ... equivalent to 1D6.
[[User:JimJJewett|JimJJewett]] ([[User talk:JimJJewett|talk]]) 07:25, 5 December 2024 (UTC)
:It's >= 20, so 54 and 45 work as well. That brings the probability up to 8/36 = 2/9. [[User:Vandof|Vandof]] ([[User talk:Vandof|talk]]) 13:31, 5 December 2024 (UTC)

3019: Advent Calendar Advent Calendar

2024-12-03T16:13:06Z

172.69.195.201: /* Explanation */ Exchanging fact and presumability to match the proper presumption order. Minor other rewording.

{{comic
| number = 3019
| date = December 2, 2024
| title = Advent Calendar Advent Calendar
| image = advent_calendar_advent_calendar_2x.png
| imagesize = 482x324px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The growth rate of items per day may may seem absurd, but it's actually much less than the acceleration in the 12 Days of Christmas song.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by 5 CITATIONS, 4 ENVELOPE BACKS 3 NERDS A-EDITING, 2 TURTLE BOTS, AND A FUNNY NEW XKCD - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Advent calendars are a form of countdown to Christmas consisting of a card or structure with one closed "window"/opening for each day. Every day, another "window" is opened (e.g. a cardboard flap is opened along perforations), revealing a small present (traditionally, just a thematic picture or chocolate). While the religious season of {{w|Advent}} traditionally begins four Sundays before Christmas, most Advent calendars begin on December 1st for simplicity. Note that in 2024, when this comic was published, the Advent season coincidentally starts on December 1st. Advent calendars usually have either 24 or 25 doors (ending on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day), depending on manufacturer's choice and/or local tradition.

In this comic, Randall has devised an Advent calendar that contains multiple smaller Advent calendars, each of which contains the same number of items as there are days left until (and ''including'') Christmas Day. By the time he reaches Christmas, he will have 325 different items, or 350 if counting the sub-calendars. The calendar is shown as it might be on December 2nd, the date of publication of this strip. The "window" in the upper left, presumed to be for the 1st of December, has 25 sub-windows, of which two are open. (One would have been opened on December 1st and the next for the day after.) The "window" 5th from the left in the bottom row, probably for December 2nd, has 24 sub-windows, of which one (that for the initial 2nd) is open.

The title text refers to {{w|The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)|The Twelve Days of Christmas}}, a traditional Christmas carol in which the singer receives many gifts from their paramour for each day of the Twelve Days of Christmas. On day one, they receive one gift, and on day ''n'', they receive again all the gifts they received on day ''n-1'', plus ''n'' copies of a new gift. The exact gifts given each day vary by version of the song, receiving 78 gifts on day 12, for a total of 364 gifts. For the Advent calendar Advent calendar, each day a number of items equal to the number of days left until Christmas are added. There are 364 items total in the 12 Days of Christmas, the final day itself having exceeded the gifts of the nested calendars (the sub-gift count being 325, and regardless of the 25 calendars also being included). However the advent calendar uses 25 days rather than just 12, hence the song's acceleration in number of gifts each day is much higher.

The advent calendar's advent calendar gift total follows the {{w|triangular number}} sequence of all new gifts on a given day being one more than those the day before: on the first day, this is 1 (the first sub-gift of the first sub-calendar); on the second, we now have 3 (add two sub-gifts from two sub-calendars); on the third, we have 6 (three sub-gifts added), etc. The formula for the total on day ''n'' is <table style="display: inline-table; line-height: 0.6em; vertical-align: middle; font-size:9pt; text-size-adjust: none;"><tr><td style="text-decoration: underline">''n''(''n''+1)</td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center">2</td></tr></table>. For the Twelve Days song (which goes from the 25th of December to 5th of January), ''each day'' adds to the total the next ''triangular number'' in the sequence: +1=1, +3=4, +6=10, etc... The formula for this {{w|tetrahedral number}} (a 'pyramid of triangular numbers') is <table style="display: inline-table; line-height: 0.6em; vertical-align: middle; font-size:9pt; text-size-adjust: none;"><tr><td style="text-decoration: underline">''n''(''n''+1)(''n''+2)</td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center">6</td></tr></table>, and matches a triple-nested meta-Advent Calendar's non-calendar gift count. This already starts in a more rapid escalation of gift-giving, immediately after the first day where both counts are at one item. However, due to the later start of the Twelve Days, one would have to extend the gift-giving patterns to the 17th Day Of Christmas (and thus the 41st day of Advent) for the number of ''true love'' gifts (969) to properly overtake the continuing meta-calendar's ones, with (902) or without (861) counting the sub-calendars as gifts. (The number of ultimate gifts in any quadruple-nested Advent Calendar would be <table style="display: inline-table; line-height: 0.6em; vertical-align: middle; font-size:9pt; text-size-adjust: none;"><tr><td style="text-decoration: underline">''n''(''n''+1)(''n''+2)(''n''+3)</td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center">24</td></tr></table>, excluding all the calendars themselves.)

It is not clear what is inside each sub-calendar. The typical filling would be chocolate, however it could also be possible that the advent calendar advent calendars had even more advent calendars within. That this is not the case is revealed in the title text as, if they were (and were run concurrently), the number of (sub-sub-)gifts would always equal those in the song.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[On a grey board, there are 23 Advent calendars behind large "windows", numbered from 3 to 25, plus two open calendars with their covers torn off.]
:[From top-left to bottom-right, the boxes are numbered as such: (opened), 14, 23, 16, 11, 3; 5, 24, 18, 7, 21; 10, 17, 4, 9, 22, 15, 12; 8, 20, 13, 25, (opened), 19, 6]
:[Each calendar numbered ''n'' has 26−''n'' squares in it.]
:[The open calendar on the top left has 25 squares, two of which are black. The other open calendar has 24 squares, one of which is black.]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I like Advent calendars, so I got an Advent calendar that gives me a new one every day until Christmas.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Christmas]]
[[Category:Calendar]]
[[Category:Songs]]

Talk:3016: Cold Air

2024-11-26T00:02:39Z

172.69.195.201:

Back In The Day, one of the idiot youngsters in a first-year chemistry lab, before leaving at the end of the afternoon, connected a water faucet to a natural-gas line (used for Bunsen burners) with a rubber hose, and opened both taps. By the next morning, much of the natural-gas network in the heart of the city was flooded. It took a while to get everything working again, and the cleanup wasn't cheap. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 22:50, 25 November 2024 (UTC)
:You have the right username to mention this! ;)
:Also, the 'big trick', back in my day, was to be at the (correct end of) the science-lab bench and briefly blow into a pipe (temporarily unplugged from the burner) just as you turn your tap on. Then watch as the rest of the row (downstream of your connection to the supply) have their active flames go out. ...but I leave it to your imagination the ''three'' main problems (and various other less major ones) with trying that, with the benefit of hindsight. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.201|172.69.195.201]] 00:02, 26 November 2024 (UTC)

Anyone understand the physics here? It seems clear that adding tanks of cool, dry air will make storms (and particularly tornados) far worse, not better, as the incoming hot, wet air will react with any released air to make even worse/dramatic weather patterns. But is there more to it? If the tanks are sealed, then effect could be muted by simply not releasing the stored air once the problem is realized, but this would be countered by at least two factors: First, the title text indicates that an additonal error was made resulting in it beingg impossible to seal the stored air completely (it escapes through the water system). But also, any time weather got bad enough to open leaks in the system, I think this would produce a catastrophic result as the storm mixed with all the cold dry air at once? [[User:Mneme|Mneme]] ([[User talk:Mneme|talk]]) 23:01, 25 November 2024 (UTC)
:My understanding is generally that explosive failure of a container with sufficient "anti-tornado" air inside is going to be non-trivial (and you face this threat constantly, in the settlement that has an "air tower", whereas tornados are relatively infrequent and mostly cross countryside).
:And the water-connection would be bad due to (first) extremely pressurised water and (immediately afterwards) almost as pressurised air pushing through the areas plumbing systems, with unknown secondary effects such as effectively blowing empty any water-heaters that ''really'' shouldn't be left to be 'boiled dry' (after enough air bubbles in, the remaining water will soak up the burner heat and evaporate beyond design limitations, adding to the gas pressure ''and'' no longer moderating the effects on the boiler body itself; not sure exactly what will go wrong, but it may not be pretty). [[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.201|172.69.195.201]] 00:02, 26 November 2024 (UTC)

3009: Number Shortage

2024-11-11T17:29:32Z

172.69.195.201: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3009
| date = November 8, 2024
| title = Number Shortage
| image = number_shortage_2x.png
| imagesize = 284x269px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = "10 minutes ago we were down to only 2 0s!" "How many do we have now?" "I ... don't know!!"
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT WITH 11 0S AND 10 1S. NO, WAIT... - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic presents a situation where the ability to use numbers is a limited resource. Even quantifying how many numbers are left uses up some of those numbers when stating the results.

In real life, being able to write or say digits is not a limited resource. However, the comic does parallel the {{w|Look-and-say sequence|Look-and-say sequence}} as well as many {{w|Math Blaster Episode I: In Search of Spot|educational video games}} for young children where numbers and mathematical concepts are treated as living people or factory goods, in order to give some sort of story or context to the math-related activities.

The comic conflates numbers with decimal digits. So when [[Miss Lenhart]] says "15 2s and 12 3s", that uses up two 2s (one in "2s" and one in "12") and one 3 (in "3s"). She adjusts the counts as she's speaking, so when she says "13 2s", that uses up another 3, leaving only 10 3s when she's completing the sentence.

In the title text, she uses the last two 0s when saying that they had two 0s left, so now they have no more 0s. But she can't use the number 0 to describe this situation because they're now out of them.

===Continuation===

A continuation of the pattern would go:

* "We have only 15 2s and 12 3s left."
* "No, wait, 13 2s and 10 3s."
* "No, wait, 12 2s and 9 3s."
* "No, wait, 10 2s and 8 3s."
* "No, wait, 9 2s and 7 3s."
* "No, wait, 8 2s and 6 3s."
* "No, wait, 7 2s and 5 3s."
* "No, wait, 6 2s and 4 3s."
* "No, wait, 5 2s and 3 3s."
* "No, wait, 4 2s and 1 3."
* "No, wait, ? 2s and 0 ?s."

At that point, having used up the last 3 at the end of the previous line, Miss Lenhart would lack the necessary 3s to articulate that there are "3 2s and 0 3s."

* "No, wait, 2 2s and 0 ?s."
* "No, wait, 0 ?s and 0 ?s."

Or perhaps at this point, she might just say "We have run out of some digits," since she can no longer articulate which ones or, indeed, how many.

==Transcript==
:[Miss Lenhart is standing on the left, facing Cueball and Megan on the right.]
:Miss Lenhart: The Math Department number shortage is getting worse. We have only 15 2s and 12 3s left.
:Miss Lenhart: No, wait, 13 2s and 10 3s.
:Miss Lenhart: No, wait...

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]

Talk:2956: Number Line Branch

2024-09-25T05:36:03Z

172.69.195.201:

Is it significant that the branch point is close to the value of π? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 20:28, 8 July 2024 (UTC)
:I was thinking the same thing, but decided it was probably nothing worth mentioning - probably just an arbitrary starting point. *Possibly* referencing the strange appearance of π but I doubt it. Anything can be significant if you believe hard enough, anyway.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.60|162.158.158.60]] 20:30, 8 July 2024 (UTC)
: Keep in mind π isn't special. Most real numbers are like π. The rational numbers, and the roots of polynomials with rational coefficients (algebraic completion), are the aberration. --[[Special:Contributions/172.71.160.71|172.71.160.71]] 07:25, 10 July 2024 (UTC)

How does adding a new branch to a railway line reduce congestion? Isn't this more like a highway? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.47|141.101.105.47]] 23:30, 8 July 2024 (UTC)
:Read about the 2nd avenue subway. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.111.168|172.70.111.168]] 02:22, 9 July 2024 (UTC)

What is "thrembo"? [[User:AndroidTheLucario|Your favorite aura doggo]] ([[User talk:AndroidTheLucario|talk]]) 04:12, 9 July 2024 (UTC)
: I think the whole section can be removed. The point is to explain the comic, not to describe what is seen (unless it's relevant for the explanation, which, so far, seems not be the case). "Various symbols" should cover it. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 06:35, 9 July 2024 (UTC)

The symbols seem well chosen TBH, I can totally see how they substitute for 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.146.32|162.158.146.32]] 14:42, 9 July 2024 (UTC)
:Except that, according to the title text, they should be 4, 8, 16, 32, 64. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.159|172.71.242.159]] 15:59, 9 July 2024 (UTC)
::I think that the express train travels on the regular number line, so I think the second branch parallels the regular number line. Thus, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. [[User:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)]] ([[User talk:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|talk]]) 02:11, 10 July 2024 (UTC)

Mathematicians been there, done that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-standard_model_of_arithmetic
Although a nonstandard model of the integers can't branch by Peano axioms. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.160.71|172.71.160.71]] 15:08, 9 July 2024 (UTC)
:Hold my beer! [Prompts Claude 3.5 Sonnet to create a non-standard model of arithmetic.]
::"Here is a non-standard model of arithmetic consistent with the Peano postulates:
::Axioms:
::
::∃0, ω : 0 ≠ ω
::∀x : S(x) = x + 1 if x ∈ ℕ; S(ω) = ω
::
::Theorems:
::T1. ∀n ∈ ℕ : n < ω
::T2. ∀n ∈ ℕ : n + ω = ω
::T3. ω + ω = ω
::
::Lemma:
::L1. ∀n ∈ ℕ : S(n) ≠ ω
::"Induction" Principle:
::For any property P, if P(0) ∧ P(ω) ∧ (∀x : P(x) → P(S(x))), then ∀x : P(x)
::
::Conclusions:
::C1. This model "satisfies" Peano axioms while introducing a non-standard element.
::C2. Arithmetic with ω leads to paradoxical results.
::C3. Use of this model may violate conservation of sanity."

:Oh, no! .... Tentacled one sleeps. Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu. Accept this new soul. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.103|172.70.210.103]] 03:24, 10 July 2024 (UTC)
:::That is just the ''[later edit:'' positive'']'' integers plus infinity, it should place you in the thrall of Asmodeus, not Cthulhu. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.42|108.162.245.42]]
::::The Russell-Riemann-Cantor diagonalization applies to integers with infinity, mapping each integer to a tentacle on an Eldritch manifold. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.53|172.70.210.53]] 03:59, 10 July 2024 (UTC)

Personally I would have branched off between 9 and 10, and had single character symbols for 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 so that you could do base 16 without having to use letters. Randell just lacks vision. [[User:Andyd273|Andyd273]] ([[User talk:Andyd273|talk]]) 15:12, 9 July 2024 (UTC)
:Letters are single character symbols! I think he should extend the number line with all the letters, getting to 36 (z) before needing any new symbols[[User:PotatoGod|PotatoGod]] ([[User talk:PotatoGod|talk]]) 21:46, 9 July 2024 (UTC)

In my eyes they all seem like geometry or geometry-related symbols. A square, sideways pi, phi (the golden ratio), a spiral, and a triangle. That should probably be noted somewhere.--[[User:Rerere284|Rerere284]] ([[User talk:Rerere284|talk]]) 18:23, 10 July 2024 (UTC)
: I was thinking that the first symbol looks like a square too, so what is this stuff about a Brahmi letter instead of a square? How do we get that complicated with a square? [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 18:57, 10 July 2024 (UTC)

assuming particular mappings of the depicted symbols to phonemes, and saying "Putting these 5 phonemes together gives a word that sounds a bit like 'bisect,'" is absolutely a stretch and should be removed. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.208|162.158.159.208]] 22:20, 10 July 2024

I'm rather surprised that these mathematicians have decided to subdivide each integer by 8, instead of by 10, like good metricists.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.132|172.70.86.132]] 08:13, 11 July 2024 (UTC)

It looks to me that the split happens just beyond 3, probably at around 3.14156... [[User:Xplora1a|Xplora1a]] ([[User talk:Xplora1a|talk]]) 13:09, 11 July 2024 (UTC)

The new branch comes up between 3 and 4, which may reference The Secret Number, a sci-fi novel in which a mathematician find a number between 3 and 4. [[User:799571388|799571388]] ([[User talk:799571388|talk]]) 07:41, 16 July 2024 (UTC)
:It's called bleem btw (Anonymous) 14:51, 24 Sep 2024 (UTC) ~actually {{unsigned ip|172.70.43.93|14:52, 24 September 2024}}

Not even a mention of the line with two origins. Who are you people?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.206|162.158.154.206]] 07:52, 21 July 2024 (UTC)

Talk:2981: Slingshots

2024-09-05T10:14:37Z

172.69.195.201:

Hi [[Special:Contributions/172.71.150.236|172.71.150.236]] 03:02, 5 September 2024 (UTC)
:Hi [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.5|172.70.210.5]] 04:27, 5 September 2024 (UTC)
::'Lo[[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.201|172.69.195.201]] 10:14, 5 September 2024 (UTC)
We don't put tables in the transcript, which is supposed to be screen-readable. Tables are not screen-readable. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 04:25, 5 September 2024 (UTC)
:I now see the hidden "Tables are bad?" content in the incomplete transcript notice! Cute! [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 04:33, 5 September 2024 (UTC)

We should clarify that it's the American Dennis and not the British one. There are differences, which I learned the hard way :( [[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.184|172.69.43.184]] 06:48, 5 September 2024 (UTC)

I'm really surprised that "regular slingshot" is "no" for spacecraft instead of something like "not yet". [[User:SystemParadox|SystemParadox]] ([[User talk:SystemParadox|talk]]) 09:46, 5 September 2024 (UTC)

2981: Slingshots

2024-09-05T10:13:34Z

172.69.195.201: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2981
| date = September 4, 2024
| title = Slingshots
| image = slingshots_2x.png
| imagesize = 397x420px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = In my reboot, Dennis the Menace was just trying to send Mr. Wilson a nice comet, but accidentally wiped out his dinosaur garden.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a WRIST ROCKET SMUGGLED INTO MASSACHUSETTS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The {{w|Slingshot|slingshot}} (in this comic, styled "Regular Slingshot") is a hand-held device used for accelerating small projectiles, such as stones or steel balls. It has existed since ancient times, and has been used for personal defense and for hunting game such as squirrels, birds, and {{w|Goliath|Philistines}}.

The '''gravitational''' slingshot, or {{w|Gravity_assist|gravity assist}}, is not a device but a term used to describe how gravity may alter the path of an object in space, such as a spacecraft or an asteroid.

This comic humorously compares the two, in tabular format.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! Regular slingshot
! Gravitational slingshot
|-
! Used for hunting
| ✓
| X
|-
! Used for sport shooting
| ✓
| X
|-
! Used for spacecraft propulsion
| X
| ✓
|-
! Large online enthusiast community
| ✓
| ✓
|-
! May have caused dinosaur extinction
| Probably not
| Maybe
|-
! Used by Dennis the Menace to terrorize Mr. Wilson
| ✓
| Not yet, but I'm pitching a reboot
|}

The first four categories accurately reflect reality. As a hunting tool (and as an offensive weapon), recent designs have been claimed to propel a projectile with [https://www.uslawshield.com/tactical-slingshots-mere-toy/ more force than .22 and .38 caliber pistols]. Consequently, several communities have prohibited the possession of such slingshots, which may be called "wrist rockets". The state of Massachusetts, where cartoonist Randall resides, is one of those communities. Gravitational slingshots would be inefficient and overkill for such purposes, as well as being difficult to achieve sufficient accuracy and specificity.

Conversely, gravitational slingshots are a useful way to add velocity to a spacecraft without having to use large amounts of fuel, whereas building a regular slingshot capable of propelling a spacecraft is likely to be impractical.

Both types of slingshot excite interest among many people who may form online communities to discuss them, but for quite different reasons, and the size of overlap between these communities is uncertain.

The fifth category ventures into the absurd, at least with respect to "regular" slingshots, which did not exist (as humans, which invented them, did not) at the time of the {{w|Cretaceous–Paleogene_extinction_event|Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event}}. However, it is possible, even likely, that the event resulted from a meteorite impact, with a gravitational slingshot perturbing the orbit of the space rock that crashed into the Earth.

The sixth category references the long-running comic and cartoon character {{w|Dennis_the_Menace_(U.S._comics)|Dennis the Menace}}, in which the titular character unintentionally harasses neighbor Mr. Wilson with (regular) slingshots and other devices and behaviors. In Randall's projected reboot of the franchise, which is elaborated on in the title text, Dennis trades his regular slingshot for a gravitational slingshot. By miscalibrating his ammunition, or the force of his slingshot, he turns a demonstration ("a nice comet") into a destructive event (the loss of Wilson's dinosaur garden). The reference is to the relative size and velocity of the space objects responsible for, respectively, comets and "meteors" versus asteroid impacts.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Tables are bad? Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! Regular slingshot
! Gravitational slingshot
|-
! Used for hunting
| ✓
| X
|-
! Used for sport shooting
| ✓
| X
|-
! Used for spacecraft propulsion
| X
| ✓
|-
! Large online enthusiast community
| ✓
| ✓
|-
! May have caused dinosaur extinction
| Probably not
| Maybe
|-
! Used by Dennis the Menace to terrorize Mr. Wilson
| ✓
| Not yet, but I'm pitching a reboot
|}

==Trivia==
The "Dennis the Menace" that the [[Randall]] refers to, familiar to those in the US, is not to be confused with the ''other'' long-running comic and cartoon character from the UK, also called {{w|Dennis the Menace and Gnasher|Dennis the Menace}}, who has a surprisingly similar premise and identical date of creation but is more wilfully disruptive and capable of far more 'cartoonish' behaviour (which might well include planetary-scale fork-stick slingshots/catapults). {{w|Mark Hamill}} is a fan of the British character (possibly from his time filming the original Star Wars films in the local studios), and also has some experience with (fictional) disruption of planets by constructed weapons.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category: Charts]]
[[Category: Space]]
[[Category: Dinosaurs]]

2978: Stranded

2024-08-29T14:20:41Z

172.69.195.201: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 2978
| date = August 28, 2024
| title = Stranded
| image = stranded_2x.png
| imagesize = 219x323px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = At least they're not alone down there.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by TWO ASTRONAUTS THAT ARE ABSOLUTELY NOT STRANDED NOSIREEBOB - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is making fun of the {{w|Boeing Starliner}}, which launched for its Crewed Flight Test on June 5th, 2024. The mission to the {{w|International Space Station}} was originally scheduled for only eight days, but as of the comic’s release, August 28, 2024, the astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are still "stranded" on the ISS, not expected to return to Earth until February 2025.

The comic points out that being stranded is a matter of perspective and circumstances; people on Earth could equally be considered "stranded", unable to get off the planet. Many science fiction stories deal with some sort of rush to evacuate the Earth, though there's usually a reason why they would wish to leave, a reason that's notably absent in the comic. Moreover, the proposed solution of one rocket would not be able to bring all 8 billion people on Earth to space.{{cn}}

The comic is also making fun of the fact that during press conferences, NASA has stressed that the Starliner astronauts are not actually stranded, because there are procedures for emergency returns to Earth. However, the current circumstances are not dire enough to warrant this emergency procedure.

The title text references commentators saying that at least the Starliner crew aren't alone up there, as there are currently nine people aboard the ISS, but flips it around to be about the (8 billion) people on Earth. Another funny take on the title text would be that in the turbulent times the fact that one is "stranded" like this might even be a benefit.

==Transcript==
:[Two astronauts, Megan and Cueball, are shown floating in the cabin of a space station, Megan near the top and Cueball near the bottom. Various miscellaneous devices and features are visible, all across the inner walls of the space station, as well as a large round window through which they can see some of the Earth's surface. Three white shapes are visible that could represent landmasses in a large body of water, bodies of water in/around a landmass or possibly weather systems.]
:Megan: Until they get another rocket ready to launch, 8 billion people are stranded down there.

{{comic discussion}}

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