explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2961: CrowdStrike

2024-07-19T18:03:44Z

172.69.214.38: transcript

{{comic
| number = 2961
| date = July 19, 2024
| title = CrowdStrike
| image = crowdstrike_2x.png
| imagesize = 322x384px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = We were going to try swordfighting, but all my compiling is on hold.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an UNAFFECTED BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is about the {{w|2024 CrowdStrike incident}} occurring on the day of the comic's release.

The title text refers to [[303: Compiling]].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:White Hat: Hey, aren't you supposed to be working on the -
:Ponytail: Sorry, that's all on hold today because of the CrowdStrike thing.
:Protip: as long as you're not actually in charge of ''fixing'' the CrowdStrike thing, you can use this excuse for pretty much anything you want to do today.
{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2960: Organ Meanings

2024-07-18T14:05:36Z

172.69.214.38:

how is thymus formed [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.102|172.70.85.102]] 07:00, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
: It grows from seed.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.97|172.69.194.97]] 12:23, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

You think Randall might have made this one as a ploy to have explain xkcd educate him on the organs and metaphors mentioned? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.146.33|162.158.146.33]] 07:59, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

Why is 'Liver' so high up on the metaphor scale? The only one I can think of is 'lily-livered', which doesn't appear to make much sense at all. On the other hand, I'd have 'Spleen' nearer the top, and 'Tongue' fairly high up as well. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.185|172.70.162.185]] 08:06, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
:Agreed; personally I’d have liver and tongue switch places, and I’d guess the one who added silver-tongued and biting one’s tongue would probably agree also. But that might be because I understand the biological function of a liver better than the average person does. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.5|172.70.210.5]] 08:21, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
:: Are those really metaphors, though? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.40.152|162.158.40.152]] 09:24, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
::: They aren't, or at least not metaphors to the tongue. Just done an edit, before having read this, to remove the visibility of "silver tongue" (a tongue that is metaphorically as silver... or maybe even quicksilver) and a "bitten tongue" (the tongue as if restrained by biting). Though there are other forms, the metaphor to biological function must be of the general "it is the tongue of the <something else>" type, maybe such as a tongue of lava or the tongue of an oil-can (one being an extending appendage, the other additionally being a contact depositor of liquid - though not always consistent in application).
::: Something can more easily be understood as the metaphorical heart/nerves/spine/etc of something, and we also have a good understanding of what the originals do. A sewage treatment plant can be considered the kidneys of a town (arguably more understood than a liver of one, for example, so I'd have personally switched the two), but it gets more complex with some of them. In the case of the appendix, we pretty much ''only'' know (in lay-use) that it's a spare fleshy bit that might or might not have any use, so the metaphorical 'equivalent biological function' of a "town's 'appendix'" is probably more understood than a body's ''actual'' appendix, for most people, the opposite of the situation with metaphorical/actual tongues. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.64|172.70.91.64]] 10:06, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
:::: Your understanding of metaphors is... unique. A "silver tongue" certainly is a tongue-based metaphor; we're referring to someone's manner of speech as their "tongue".{{unsigned|Collapsinghrung}}
: The one I think of is "What am I chopped Liver". Though according to google that is usually a Jewish metaphor (which I am) {{unsigned ip|162.158.158.103}}

I'm not convinced that 'Metaphor meaning' is going to work as a column in the table - several of these have multiple metaphors associated, often with varied and little-related meanings.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.160.249|172.70.160.249]] 12:20, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

I just added the line about anatomical metaphors varying from culture to culture. Would people like to include any examples of culturally variable metaphors? I think it was Jonathan Safran Foer's "Everything Is Illuminated" where an Eastern European character kept shouting out "spleen". [[Special:Contributions/172.70.46.172|172.70.46.172]] 12:58, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
:One example off the top of my head - and might need a proper reference to add - is the common use of Kidneys in metaphor. Afaik, the most common-slang in NA for that is "ow my kidneys" as in "I laughed so hard, my kidneys hurt now." Meanwhile, in Chinese (and some other East Asian) culture, 'kidneys' is most commonly used as a metaphor for sexual performance due to the connection to traditional medicine, where having sex is seen as 'exerting/damaging the kidneys.'
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.214.38|172.69.214.38]] 14:05, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

Talk:2960: Organ Meanings

2024-07-18T14:05:13Z

172.69.214.38:

how is thymus formed [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.102|172.70.85.102]] 07:00, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
: It grows from seed.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.97|172.69.194.97]] 12:23, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

You think Randall might have made this one as a ploy to have explain xkcd educate him on the organs and metaphors mentioned? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.146.33|162.158.146.33]] 07:59, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

Why is 'Liver' so high up on the metaphor scale? The only one I can think of is 'lily-livered', which doesn't appear to make much sense at all. On the other hand, I'd have 'Spleen' nearer the top, and 'Tongue' fairly high up as well. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.185|172.70.162.185]] 08:06, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
:Agreed; personally I’d have liver and tongue switch places, and I’d guess the one who added silver-tongued and biting one’s tongue would probably agree also. But that might be because I understand the biological function of a liver better than the average person does. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.5|172.70.210.5]] 08:21, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
:: Are those really metaphors, though? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.40.152|162.158.40.152]] 09:24, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
::: They aren't, or at least not metaphors to the tongue. Just done an edit, before having read this, to remove the visibility of "silver tongue" (a tongue that is metaphorically as silver... or maybe even quicksilver) and a "bitten tongue" (the tongue as if restrained by biting). Though there are other forms, the metaphor to biological function must be of the general "it is the tongue of the <something else>" type, maybe such as a tongue of lava or the tongue of an oil-can (one being an extending appendage, the other additionally being a contact depositor of liquid - though not always consistent in application).
::: Something can more easily be understood as the metaphorical heart/nerves/spine/etc of something, and we also have a good understanding of what the originals do. A sewage treatment plant can be considered the kidneys of a town (arguably more understood than a liver of one, for example, so I'd have personally switched the two), but it gets more complex with some of them. In the case of the appendix, we pretty much ''only'' know (in lay-use) that it's a spare fleshy bit that might or might not have any use, so the metaphorical 'equivalent biological function' of a "town's 'appendix'" is probably more understood than a body's ''actual'' appendix, for most people, the opposite of the situation with metaphorical/actual tongues. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.64|172.70.91.64]] 10:06, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
:::: Your understanding of metaphors is... unique. A "silver tongue" certainly is a tongue-based metaphor; we're referring to someone's manner of speech as their "tongue".{{unsigned|Collapsinghrung}}
: The one I think of is "What am I chopped Liver". Though according to google that is usually a Jewish metaphor (which I am) {{unsigned ip|162.158.158.103}}

I'm not convinced that 'Metaphor meaning' is going to work as a column in the table - several of these have multiple metaphors associated, often with varied and little-related meanings.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.160.249|172.70.160.249]] 12:20, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

I just added the line about anatomical metaphors varying from culture to culture. Would people like to include any examples of culturally variable metaphors? I think it was Jonathan Safran Foer's "Everything Is Illuminated" where an Eastern European character kept shouting out "spleen". [[Special:Contributions/172.70.46.172|172.70.46.172]] 12:58, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
One example off the top of my head - and might need a proper reference to add - is the common use of Kidneys in metaphor. Afaik, the most common-slang in NA for that is "ow my kidneys" as in "I laughed so hard, my kidneys hurt now." Meanwhile, in Chinese (and some other East Asian) culture, 'kidneys' is most commonly used as a metaphor for sexual performance due to the connection to traditional medicine, where having sex is seen as 'exerting/damaging the kidneys.'
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.214.38|172.69.214.38]] 14:05, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

2897: Light Leap Years

2024-02-24T02:25:22Z

172.69.214.38: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2897
| date = February 21, 2024
| title = Light Leap Years
| image = light_leap_years_2x.png
| imagesize = 288x389px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = When Pope Gregory XIII briefly shortened the light-year in 1582, it led to navigational chaos and the loss of several Papal starships.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A FLEET OF PAPAL STARSHIPS FROM ANNO DOMINI MDLXXXII - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The comic features [[Cueball]] and [[Ponytail]] updating astronomical distances in a database. The caption imagines a world in which {{w|leap year}}s, which add an extra day making the year 366 days long instead of 365, purportedly extend light-years by 0.27% due to the additional day (366/365 = 1.0027397...). This adjustment ostensibly shortens the distance to celestial bodies like Alpha Centauri by a corresponding percentage — a relatively small amount, but one that corresponds to approximately 730 times the average Earth-sun distance. The comic was released about a week before the leap day of 2024, a leap year.

The joke hinges on the fluidity of the term "year" throughout history, with the {{w|Gregorian calendar}}'s leap year system — adding a day every four years to align the calendar year with the astronomical year — being the current standard. A {{w|light year}}, defined in astronomy as the distance light travels in a vacuum over a Julian year (365.25 days), remains constant at 9,460,730,472,580.8 km, unaffected by the Gregorian calendar's leap years. However, the comic amusingly suggests that leap years lengthen light years, necessitating database updates for astronomical distances.

The title text imaginatively claims {{w|Pope Gregory XIII}}, who introduced the Gregorian calendar in 1582, inadvertently affected the length of the light-year. Not due to 1582 being a leap-year (it was not), but because of the calendar days that also had to be skipped to remove the timing error built up when using the less correct Julian method of leap-years. Those adopting that system in 1582 had to shorten this year by ten days. {{w|List of adoption dates of the Gregorian calendar by country|Later adopters}} may have had to shorten the year that they ''did'' change by up to 13 days, i.e. up to three extra days for every four whole centuries spent on the 'wrong' calendar.

A year of effectively 355 days, rather than 365, would therefore lead (by this comic's premise) to potential misunderstandings/misapplications of distance approaching 3%, leading to "navigational chaos" and the loss of "Papal starships." This satirizes the significant historical impact of calendar reforms on navigation and measurement, despite the anachronism, as the light-year wasn't defined until 1838 and the concept of a finite speed of light only emerged in 1676 with {{w|Rømer's determination of the speed of light}}, whilst practical starships (papal or otherwise) that would usefully rely upon light-year measurements, have yet to be developed. However, navigational chaos ''has'' been a cause of maritime shipwrecks, such as the notable {{w|Scilly naval disaster of 1707}} in which four ships were lost and over 1,400 sailors died due to navigational errors.

The comic implies the distance to Proxima Centauri varies slightly between leap years and non-leap years, according to the leap year calculation. In reality, astronomers wouldn’t be bothered by this change: they use the {{w|parsec}} for interstellar distances, a unit based on angular measurements unrelated to Earth's calendar.

This is the second comic in the last 10 about how differing interpretations of standard units could have absurd real-world implications, the other being [[2888]].

===Discussion of the use of light year values in the comic===
The values given for Proxima Centauri's distance from the Sun, 4.2377 light-leap-years and 4.2493 light-nonleap-years, are consistent with a distance of 4.2464 actual light-years as described by the {{w|International Astronomical Union}}, which is only minutely different from 4.2465 light-years, the value given by {{w|Gaia catalogues|Gaia Data Release 3}} in 2020. Though tiny on an interstellar scale, the difference between 4.2377 and 4.2493 light-years, 0.0116 light years, equals 109.7 billion km (68.2 billion miles), about 730 times the average distance between the Earth and the sun (150 million km or 93 million miles).

Ironically, this kind of change would not actually bother astronomers in the slightest. Astronomical distances on scales larger than the solar system are universally (or rather, globally: we do not know how things are done in other parts of the universe) measured with the {{w|parsec}} ("''pc''", or useful multiples such as ''kpc'', ''Mpc'', or ''Gpc''). One of those is approximately 3.24 light years, so has a [[2205: Types of Approximation|similar astronomical magnitude]], but is founded upon common interpretations of distance and angle instead of time. (Both partly rely upon baselines measure that are complimentary aspects of Earth's orbit, i.e. its periodicity and radius, which theoretically make for a globally agreeable system; but highly unlikely to match whatever equivalent any non-terran scientists would independently develop.) While light-years, and {{w|Light-year#Related units|related units}}, are common in publications intended for non-astrophysicists and for the benefit of laypersons, they are generally considered as secondary usefulness to parsecs within the actual fields of astronomy and astrophysics research. As such, it is highly likely that the clearly exacting database that Cueball and Ponytail are in the process of modifying is not even keyed to any light-units, making leap-/non-leap-light-years already an automatic conversion that the system may pander for without such a direct interaction.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting at a desk with a laptop on it and leaning to the back of his office chair, while having his other hand on the laptop. He is looking at Ponytail standing behind him. The text from the laptop screen is shown above it, indicated with a zigzag line.]
:Cueball: It took until February, but I finally got all the distances updated!
:Ponytail: I really wish we didn't have to do this.
:[Laptop screen:]
:Proxima Centauri
:Distance: [in red, crossed out] <s>4.2493 ly</s>
:[in green] 4.2377 ly

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Astronomers hate leap years because they make light-years 0.27% longer.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Time]]
[[Category:Calendar]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

2877: Fever

2024-01-05T21:00:02Z

172.69.214.38: basic explanation

{{comic
| number = 2877
| date = January 5, 2024
| title = Fever
| image = fever_2x.png
| imagesize = 514x587px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Hypothermia of below 98.6 K should be treated by leaving the giant molecular cloud and moving to the vicinity of a star.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by the BIG BANG - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The comic purports to be a chart on fever temperatures. It starts out reasonably and then progresses to very high, impossible to have — at least for meaningful periods of time — temperatures, a theme present in many xkcd comics.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"
|+ Treating a Fever
|-
! Fever Temperature (Celsius) !! Equivalent Fahrenheit temperature !! Treatment !! Additional notes
|-
| 38-40 || 100-104 || Fluids, rest, normal doctor stuff || Normal fever temperatures.
|-
| 40-45 || 104-113 || Hospital, advanced doctor stuff || Point at which humans might start experiencing brain damage from fever.
|-
| 45-100 || 113-212 || Exit that steam cloud immediately ||
|-
| 100-400 || 212-752 || Stop, drop, and roll ||
|-
| 400-500 || 752-932 || Return to Earth from Venus ASAP ||
|-
| 500-1,500 || 932-2,732 || Please climb out of that volcano ||
|-
| 1,500-5,000 || 2,732-9,032 || Turn your tunneling machine around and come back up to the surface ||
|-
| 5,000-6,000 || 9,032-10,832 || No, the surface of the '''''Earth''''', not the Sun ||
|-
| 6,000-50,000 || 10,832-90,032 || Wait, that's not the Sun. What star are you visiting? Come back right now. ||
|-
| 50,000-20,000,000 || 90,032-90,032 || At least stay on the '''''surface''''' of the star instead of diving down to the core ||
|-
| 20,000,000-10,000,000,000 || 90,032-18,000,000,032 || You know, you could've picked a normal star instead of one that's exploding ||
|-
| 10,000,000,000 or higher || 18,000,000,032 or higher || I hope you're enjoying your visit to the Big Bang but you should really come back home immediately ||
|}

The title text suggests that those with temperatures under 98.6 Kelvin (-173.55 Celsius or -280.39 Fahrenheit) are in a {{w|molecular cloud}} and that they should get near a star to warm them up. 98.6 ''Fahrenheit'' is the average human resting body temperature.

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

:Treating a Fever

:Fever   Treatment
:38°C-40°C (100°F-104°F): Fluids, rest, normal doctor stuff
:40°C-45°C: Hospital, advanced doctor stuff
:45°C-100°C: Exit that steam cloud immediately
:100°C-400°C: Stop, drop, and roll
:400°C-500°C: Return to Earth from Venus ASAP
:500°C-1,500°C: Please climb out of that volcano
:1,500°C-5,000°C: Turn your tunneling machine around and come back up to the surface
:5,000°C-6,000°C: No, the surface of the '''''Earth''''', not the Sun
:6,000°C-50,000°C: Wait, that's not the Sun. What star are you visiting? Come back right now.
:50,000°C-20,000,000°C: At least stay on the '''''surface''''' of the star instead of diving down to the core
:20,000,000°C-10,000,000,000°C: You know, you could've picked a normal star instead of one that's exploding
:10,000,000,000°C or higher: I hope you're enjoying your visit to the Big Bang but you should really come back home immediately

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Charts]]

xkcd: volume 0

2024-01-03T22:36:24Z

172.69.214.38: /* Back cover */

[[File:xkcd_volume_0.jpeg|260px|right|thumb|The cover of the book]]
{{notice|'''This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect:''' The article is missing more information and links about the book. If you can address this issue, please '''[{{fullurl:{{{target|{{FULLPAGENAME}}}}}|action=edit}} edit the page]!''' Thanks.}}

{{Quote|<nowiki></nowiki>''xkcd: volume 0'' is the first xkcd book! It features selections from the first 600 comics, including various author and fan favorites. It was lovingly assembled from high-resolution original scans of the comics (the mouseover text is discreetly included), and features a lot of doodles, notes, and puzzles in the margins.
|''[[Randall Munroe]]|[https://web.archive.org/web/20100701115034/http://store.xkcd.com/ Source]}}

'''''xkcd: volume 0''''' is a book by [[Randall Munroe]] released on August 24, 2010. It features a collection of comics personally chosen by the artist from the initial 600 entries of the webcomic. These comics were assembled from high-resolution original scans and include the original or, sometimes, a different title text. The book is available to [https://archive.org/details/2009Xkcd read in full on the Internet Archive].

The book is published by {{w|Breadpig}}, a company founded by Randall's friend Alexis, and their portion of the profits will go to build a school in Laos through the charity {{w|Room to Read}}.

==Included comics==
* [[10: Pi Equals]]
* [[242: The Difference]]
* [[249: Chess Photo]]
* [[123: Centrifugal Force]]
* [[214: The Problem with Wikipedia]]
* [[221: Random Number]]
* [[231: Cat Proximity]]
* [[20: Ferret]]
* [[21: Kepler]]
* [[30: Donner]]
* [[37: Hyphen]]
* [[82: Frame]]
* [[44: Love]]
* [[54: Science]]
* [[55: Useless]]
* [[85: Paths]]
* [[105: Parallel Universe]]
* [[108: M.C. Hammer Slide]]
* [[112: Baring My Heart]]
* [[114: Computational Linguists]]
* [[120: Dating Service]]
* [[116: City]]
* [[117: Pong]]
* [[124: Blogofractal]]
* [[128: dPain over dt]]
* [[134: Myspace]]
* [[135: Substitute]]
* [[136: Science Fair]]
* [[137: Dreams]]
* [[138: Pointers]]
* [[149: Sandwich]]
* [[152: Hamster Ball]]
* [[160: Penny Arcade Parody]]
* [[153: Cryptography]]
* [[159: Boombox]]
* [[157: Filler Art]]
* [[161: Accident]]
* [[162: Angular Momentum]]
* [[184: Matrix Transform]]
* [[163: Donald Knuth]]
* [[165: Turn Signals]]
* [[201: Christmas GPS]]
* [[177: Alice and Bob]]
* [[173: Movie Seating]]
* [[179: e to the pi times i]]
* [[191: Lojban]]
* [[210: 90's Flowchart]]
* [[200: Bill Nye]]
* [[182: Nash]]
* [[180: Canada]]
* [[215: Letting Go]]
* [[239: Blagofaire]]
* [[225: Open Source]]
* [[230: Hamiltonian]]
* [[240: Dream Girl]]
* [[247: Factoring the Time]]
* [[248: Hypotheticals]]
* [[253: Highway Engineer Pranks]]
* [[257: Code Talkers]]
* [[258: Conspiracy Theories]]
* [[262: IN UR REALITY]]
* [[276: Fixed Width]]
* [[274: With Apologies to The Who]]
* [[279: Pickup Lines]]
* [[275: Thoughts]]
* [[77: Bored with the Internet]]
* [[150: Grownups]]
* [[167: Nihilism]]
* [[144: Parody Week: A Softer World]]
* [[209: Kayak]]
* [[202: YouTube]]
* [[285: Wikipedian Protester]]
* [[472: House of Pancakes]]
* [[556: Alternative Energy Revolution]]
* [[442: xkcd Loves the Discovery Channel]]
* [[264: Choices: Part 1]]
* [[265: Choices: Part 2]]
* [[266: Choices: Part 3]]
* [[267: Choices: Part 4]]
* [[268: Choices: Part 5]]
* [[282: Organic Fuel]]
* [[280: Librarians]]
* [[320: 28-Hour Day]]
* [[316: Loud Sex]]
* [[284: Tape Measure]]
* [[287: NP-Complete]]
* [[290: Fucking Blue Shells]]
* [[303: Compiling]]
* [[291: Dignified]]
* [[305: Rule 34]]
* [[327: Exploits of a Mom]]
* [[333: Getting Out of Hand]]
* [[323: Ballmer Peak]]
* [[322: Pix Plz]]
* [[325: A-Minus-Minus]]
* [[340: Fight]]
* [[356: Nerd Sniping]]
* [[349: Success]]
* [[366: Your Mom]]
* [[369: Dangers]]
* [[372: To Be Wanted]]
* [[374: Journal]]
* [[377: Journal 2]]
* [[373: The Data So Far]]
* [[376: Bug]]
* [[380: Emoticon]]
* [[387: Advanced Technology]]
* [[386: Duty Calls]]
* [[412: Startled]]
* [[389: Keeping Time]]
* [[397: Unscientific]]
* [[391: Anti-Mindvirus]]
* [[393: Ultimate Game]]
* [[416: Zealous Autoconfig]]
* [[396: The Ring]]
* [[398: Tap That Ass]]
* [[420: Jealousy]]
* [[429: Fantasy]]
* [[434: xkcd Goes to the Airport]]
* [[435: Purity]]
* [[445: I Am Not Good with Boomerangs]]
* [[475: Further Boomerang Difficulties]]
* [[451: Impostor]]
* [[452: Mission]]
* [[463: Voting Machines]]
* [[500: Election]]
* [[481: Listen to Yourself]]
* [[486: I am Not a Ninja]]
* [[487: Numerical Sex Positions]]
* [[505: A Bunch of Rocks]]
* [[488: Steal This Comic]]
* [[511: Sleet]]
* [[530: I'm An Idiot]]
* [[513: Friends]]
* [[518: Flow Charts]]
* [[540: Base System]]
* [[569: Borders]]
* [[565: Security Question]]
* [[552: Correlation]]
* [[559: No Pun Intended]]
* [[591: Troll Slayer]]
* [[571: Can't Sleep]]
* [[592: Drama]]
* [[585: Outreach]]



==Transcript==
{{Incomplete transcript}}
===Front cover===
===Back cover===
:[There are several otherwise nondescript gray rectangles on which the characters stand on. Red spiders are present throughout the panel.]
:[Two of these rectangles are attached from the area around the right corner and going off of the cover, in an L-shape. Black Hat stands on it, taking notes on a journal. Twenty-three red spiders lie on the object. Nine of them are clustered in the inner L corner, four of them forming chains. An additional red spider has just fallen off of the object from the right.]
:[To its right, Cory Doctorow in his red suit is shown punching a red spider.]



[[Category:Red Spiders]]
[[Category:Problematic pages]]
[[Category:Books]]
{{xkcdmeta}}

2869: Puzzles

2023-12-18T21:04:33Z

172.69.214.38:

{{comic
| number = 2869
| date = December 18, 2023
| title = Puzzles
| image = puzzles_2x.png
| imagesize = 328x455px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Why couldn't the amulet have been hidden by Aunt Alice, who understands modern key exchange algorithms?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by AUNT '''A'''MY, AS IN AN '''A'''WFUL CLUE FROM A CHILDREN'S BOOK - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}



The title text references {{w|Alice and Bob|Alice}}, a fictional character commonly used in discussions about cryptography. In those discussions, Alice is often sending and receiving encrypted messages, and she would be expected to be able to make a better puzzle than the one shown in the comic. Alice and Bob and other characters from the same set have been mentioned previously in xkcd, like in [[177: Alice and Bob]].

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

:Hairy: Aunt Gertrude must have left a clue to the amulet's location.
:Jill: Hmm. Wait a minute.
:Jill: '''G'''ertrude. '''G'''.
:Hairy: As in "'''G'''round!"
:Hairbun: And "di'''G''' a hole!"
:Ponytail: I'll get a shovel!
:Cueball: To the yard!

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Some of the authors of books I read as a kid were '''''terrible''''' at designing puzzles.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] [[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]] [[Category:Comics featuring Jill]] [[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]