explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2060: Hygrometer

2020-01-18T11:22:53Z

172.69.44.152: Replaced "-odometer" with "-ometer"

{{comic
| number = 2060
| date = October 17, 2018
| title = Hygrometer
| image = hygrometer.png
| titletext = I'm working on assembling a combination declinometer, sclerometer, viscometer, aleurometer, stalagmometer, and hypsometer. I'm making good progress according to my ometerometer, a device which shows the rate at which I'm acquiring measurement devices.
}}

==Explanation==

Here, [[Megan]] is talking to [[Cueball]] about hygrometers. But before she can even finish explaining what it does, Cueball has looked up, found, and purchased the product. A {{w|hygrometer}} is an instrument for measuring the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere, or the amount of water in solids such as soil or wood.

It seems [[Randall]] (or Cueball) loves being able to measure things and therefore finds instruments or measurement tools that end in ''-ometer'' very interesting, and wishes to own all of them. Many {{w|Measuring instrument|measuring instruments}} use the suffix ''-meter'' which is derived from the Greek noun ''μέτρον'' for "measure". The character "o" always belongs to the first term, but it also belongs to old Greek words like ''Thermo''-meter, ''micro''-meter, or even ''hygro''-meter. Other measurement devices such as speedometer use an English word with an "o" appended to mimic the Greek-derived terms, purportedly for easier marketing. Because themes in science often based on Greek terminology that ending at the first part appears often. Nonetheless, Randall believes that this "o" belongs to the general term for measuring devices.

In the title text, Randall states he is working on assembling a combination of usually unrelated measuring instruments, for a purpose that is neither stated in the comic nor easy to guess. The list consists of:

* A {{w|Declinometer|declinometer}} is an instrument to measure {{w|magnetic declination}}.

*A {{w|sclerometer}} is an instrument to measure {{w|scratch hardness}} of a solid by scratching it under some standard conditions and measuring the scratch. Instruments used to measure the elastic properties of concrete surfaces, like the {{w|Schmidt hammer}}, [https://www.pce-instruments.com/english/measuring-instruments/test-meters/concrete-test-hammer-sclerometer-kat_162426_1.htm are also often known as sclerometers].

*A {{w|viscometer}} is an instrument to test the viscosity (difficulty of pouring) of a liquid. For example, honey has a higher viscosity than water.

*An [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/aleurometer aleurometer] is an instrument to evaluate the quality of flour for baking by measuring how much a wet mass of wheat can expand when warmed while keeping its adhesivity.[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleurometer]

*A {{w|Stalagmometric method|stalagmometer}} is an instrument to measure {{w|surface tension}} of fluids by producing a drop and weighing it - the bigger the drop is, the larger surface tension the fluid has.

*The word {{w|hypsometer}} could refer to either of [https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/hypsometer two unrelated instruments] to measure height. One measures heights of a building or a tree by triangulation. The other measures altitude by measuring air pressure through its effect on the boiling temperature of water. It should not be confused with the {{w|altimeter}} which measures altitude by mechanically measuring air pressure (and which also does not follow the -ometer rule and might, therefore, be of less interest to Cueball? Is that the reason why Cueball appears in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypsometer#/media/File:HypsometerGeometry.png a diagram] at the Wikipedia page for hypsometer but not for altimeter?).

Finally, he mentions an ''ometerometer'', a concatenation of ''-ometer'' with itself, which would be a device for measuring devices. It has been included in a humorous list of ''[http://bleeet.blogspot.com/2007/07/other-types-of-ometers.html Other Types of Ometers]'' from 2007, where it was described as measuring the measuring capacities of other measuring devices.

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Cueball are walking and talking. Cueball is holding his phone with one hand, looking at it.]
:Megan: ...A hygrometer is a device for measuring—
:Cueball: ''I want one!'' Ooh, found one for $7.99 with free shipping! I'm buying it.
:Megan: —Humidity.
:Cueball: Oh, cool!

:[Caption below the frame:]
:For some reason, I feel a powerful compulsion to own any device whose name ends in "-ometer."

{{comic discussion}}

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

2192: Review

2019-09-19T11:01:34Z

172.69.44.152: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2192
| date = August 21, 2019
| title = Review
| image = review.png
| titletext = Controls are a little hard to figure out.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a REVIEWER. Examples of video games with huge worlds and nice graphics, and possible also mention some with hard to learn controls vs easy to learn. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is a five of five star review of planet {{w|Earth}}, by [[Randall]], depicted as [[Cueball]] in his profile picture. The review is written as a video game review, praising the size and realism of the world. The comic's humor draws from the fact that Earth is a completely real object and shouldn't be rated on the same lines as a video game, and the fact that there's no place that the Earth can be reviewed (with the possible exception of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''). The "huge world" remark is a play on {{w|Open world}} games like {{w|Minecraft}}, which are praised when their size allows hundreds of hours of exploration; exploring Earth would allow more than a lifetime of novelties.

The title text states that the 'controls are hard to figure out', possibly alluding to the fact that it takes a lot of time to learn how to walk and talk, a rather basic thing in most video games, or to the fact that it is in general hard to navigate around in one's life, as has been the subject of many comics.

Earth (or humans and other life forms on Earth) has many problems at the moment, such as [[:Category:Climate change|climate change]], {{w|overpopulation}}, {{w|gun violence}}, {{w|sexual violence}}, {{w|censorship}}, {{w|poverty}}, and increasing {{w|Depression (mood)|depression}}, to name just a few.

However, this comic also serves as a reminder that, overall, the world is a five-star world. It reminds us to look around: there's so much world to explore! And also that it is worth preserving for future generation to play around on. It is not a game that grows outdated and will be replaced by a new and better version next year...

While there aren't any games that can recreate the detail that reality has(Due to the computing power required to do such a thing would be on an intergalactic level to recreate earth 1 to 1 in a simulation), there are some games that can either attempt to have a map that is similar in square area, the graphic levels become close to reality, or difficult game-play/hard to learn controls.

Examples of such games that attempt these things would be: Minecraft,{{w|No Man's Sky}},{{The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim}},{{w|Grand Theft Auto V}},{{w|The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild}},{{w|The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt}},{{w|QWOP}},{{w|Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy}}, and any of the {{w|Souls (series)}}, which includes {{w|Demon's Souls}},{{w|Dark Souls}},{{w|Dark Souls II}}, and {{w|Dark Souls III}}. Some people like to include games like {{w|Bloodborne}},{{w|Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice}}, and {{w|Elden Ring}} into the same series as the Souls series due to similarity's to those games, and because they were developed by the same company.

==Transcript==
:[A profile picture of Cueball in a small frame is next to five solid yellow stars. Below this is a review:]
:★★★★★
:Great graphics, huge world

:[Caption below the comic:]
:My overall review of Earth

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Online reviews]]

2201: Foucault Pendulum

2019-09-13T17:42:30Z

172.69.44.152: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2201
| date = September 11, 2019
| title = Foucault Pendulum
| image = foucault_pendulum.png
| titletext = Trust me, you don't want to get on the wrong side of the paramilitary enforcement arm of the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Black Hat]] is attending what appears to be a guided tour of a museum with a {{w|Foucault pendulum}}. [[Megan]] is explaining to him, [[Cueball]] and [[Ponytail]] about the device which demonstrates the rotation of the Earth.

Black Hat, being himself, immediately sees an opportunity to cause chaos and seizes it with both hands, quite literally - as he grabs the pendulum which causes the others to shout after him to stop. At first this would seemingly be for fear of ruining the delicate demonstration. However, in the final panel, the [[:Category:News anchor|news anchor]] [[Blondie]] reveals to us that by arresting the motion of the pendulum, Black Hat has somehow stopped the rotation of the Earth. However it was only briefly since the local {{w|Geophysicist}} managed to wrestle him down, and then it must be assumed they quickly restarted the pendulum and thus the Earths rotation.

This of course is blatantly impossible since the Foucault pendulum's motion is tied to the earth's rotation, not the other way around (It could be possible that Black Hat could have a connection with [[Beret Guy]] in warping reality due to advanced technology, rather than the nature of his character(in the xkcd strip [2147: First News Memory] Black Hat mentions the idea that his family landed on earth to blend in with humanity, which would imply that they are likely at least a interstellar species, with the potential to alter planet properties)).

That is except for this specific one, which does seem to control the Earths rotation :-) This must thus of course be located at one of the Earths poles, that is it must be the [http://www.southpolestation.com/trivia/00s/southpolefoucault.html one at the South Pole], as there is no place that stays fixed over the North Pole. Also it has to have been close to either pole, else no one would have been able to stop Black Hat afterwards and restart the pendulum. Because if the Earth suddenly stops rotation, then every loose object would continue with their normal rotation speed across, which would move them fast across the surface. Thus had this been at the Equator, no one would have been able to stop him afterwards, as everyone would have been killed instantaneously! See more below.

A Foucault pendulum is a regular {{w|pendulum}} that swings from a bearing that allows rotation in any direction, like your shoulder joint instead of your elbow. But has been set up to display the Earth is rotating beneath it. If the Earth were stationary, it would continue to swing over the same portion of the Earth as when it was released, but any pendulum will continue to swing in the same plane in space compared to the distant fix stars. So because the Earth moves beneath it (and in comparison to those distant stars), over the course of the day the pendulum's motion gradually changes direction relative to the room. The low-resistance bearing doesn't allow the rotation of the Earth to affect the motion of the pendulum, so it stays aligned to its original inertial reference frame according to the fix star (far away in space) rather than to the rotating surroundings which follow with the Earth's rotation. If the pendulum is at one of the poles, it will take a full day to move one full round. At the equator there is almost no movement, and in between it will take longer than 24 hours.

The fact that the Earth's rotation does not influence the motion of the pendulum does NOT mean that other things can't affect it - for example, by running up and manually repositioning the pendulum. Of course, the apparent rotation of the pendulum's plane relative to the Earth is an effect of the planet's motion, rather than the cause of it. Thus, stopping a Foucault pendulum manually does not entail pausing the rotation of the Earth.

[[Randall]] covered this scenario in detail in his [[what if?]] book, see [https://io9.gizmodo.com/xkcds-creator-explains-what-would-happen-if-earth-stopp-1625068208 XKCD's Creator Explains What Would Happen If Earth Stopped Spinning].

If it were somehow possible for a Foucault pendulum to control Earth's rotation (see above), Black Hat would probably not want to alter the momentum of the pendulum if he where not at one of the Earths poles. That is assuming he was told that it was related to Earth's rotation and assuming that he would prefer to preserve his own life over making chaos (unless due to his advanced technology, he can resist being slammed into a nearby wall at the speed of sound). The reason why is because if the rotation of Earth were to be stopped for even very short amounts of time (a few seconds), it would cause everything on Earth that wasn't bolted/fastened to the ground to move eastward compared to the now stationary ground. If they are near the Equator it would be at a speed of 300-360 meters per second, likely causing the death of most lifeforms on Earth beneath a certain latitude almost instantaneously. Those close enough to the poles may survive though. Also this will cause massive windstorms, tsunamis, volcanic and tectonic events on a scale not previously observed on Earth. This would likely cause a mass extinction event and wipe out 99% of humanity in the initial events (which would eventually lead to our extinction). It is possible that Black Hat's grabbing the pendulum would cause a gradual slowing prior to stopping, minimizing the issue (though this doesn't seem to be the case), but the results would still be catastrophic, as the aforementioned events are still likely to occur (specifically the tsunamis and volcanic events). However, as mentioned above, if this pendulum was located at the South pole, then Black Hat and other people around him would not be affected immediately, and he could both do it, survive and be stopped again. The question is if there would be any more news stories to cover this given what would happen to the rest of the world! If there was no-one to readjust the pendulum's rotation, then certain events would happen after the initial damage (see this video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_T7L8rt1Ec])

In the title test the [https://www.iers.org/IERS/EN/Home/home_node.html International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service] is mentioned. It is an organization providing standards for global time and reference frames; this organization would have a very rough day after the fiasco with Black Hat. The title text refers to a (probably) fictional paramilitary enforcement arm of this organization and the foolishness of tangling with such a force. If Foucault pendulums were somehow able to influence the rotation of the Earth in any measurable way, the IERS enforcers would probably strictly control their installation and monitor their use (and misuse). Black Hat is likely in for a rough day as well. It seems like some on this team are geophysicist since they where the one that took Black Hat down.

==Transcript==
:[Megan is addressing Cueball, Black Hat and Ponytail as they are looking a pendulum, which consist of a large swinging sphere with a spike beneath it hanging on a string coming down from above with seven small markers under it. Megan is pointing at it while it is swinging towards them, as indicated with lines behind the sphere and the string.]
:Megan: This Foucault pendulum demonstrates Earth's rotation. It stays in a fixed plane while the Earth rotates under it.

:[Close-up on Black Hat holding a hand to his chin.]
:Black Hat: Hmm, really.
:Black Hat: So that means...

:[Zoom out to Black Hat running to the pendulum grabbing it with both hands. He turns over two of the seven markers that can now been seen to be small pegs standing up on he floor beneath the pendulum. A line goes from his hand on the pendulum up to a sound bubble. Two people off-panel yell at him.]
:Character of panel 1: Hey!
:Character of panel 2: Stop him!
:Sound:''Grab''

:[Blondie as a news anchor uses her out-held hand to indicating Black Hat who is shown on a screen next to her. There is a caption in two line above it. The first line in normal text, the second line in white in a black rectangle. There are further unreadable text below the picture.]
:Blondie: The Earth's rotation was briefly halted today until geophysicists wrestled the intruder to the ground...
:Breaking
:''news''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]
[[Category:News anchor]]
[[Category:Physics]]

2177: Gastroenterology

2019-08-01T04:02:43Z

172.69.44.152: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2177
| date = July 17, 2019
| title = Gastroenterology
| image = gastroenterology.png
| titletext = "Mostly it means that I'm acutely aware that the kid one table over coughed as the server walked past with our food."
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Gastroenterology}} is the study of the normal function and diseases of the digestive system: esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon and rectum, pancreas, gallbladder, bile ducts and liver.

{{w|Antibiotics}} are substances that kill bacteria. They are effective at treating bacterial infections, including in the gut; unfortunately, they can also kill the normal gut bacteria. {{w|Probiotics}} are harmless or helpful bacteria which are sometimes used to replace the bacteria killed by an antibiotic. This reduces chances of re-infection by pathogens, and allows the natural gut microbiome to recover more effectively; [[1471|comic 1471]] was about the same theme. Probiotics are included in many foods, such as yogurt, as well as supplements, and are marketed as having health benefits.

The comic plays on the names probiotic and antibiotic. When {{w|matter}} and {{w|antimatter}} are mixed, they {{w|annihilation|annihilate}} each-other, rapidly releasing energy (an explosion).
This comic imagines a similar process when probiotics and antibiotics are mixed: Ponytail and a nurse runs into a room, with someone chasing after them, leading the nurse to exclaim that “they’re right behind us.” Ponytail mixes the probiotics and antibiotics, and throws the jar like a grenade, before continuing to run with the nurse. The reaction between the probiotics and antibiotics causes the jar to explode presumably killing the pursuer. In reality, antibiotics and probiotics are often used simultaneously during treatment, but they are taken so that they do not mix (taken at different times or by different methods). Mixing them as in the comic, would just cause the antibiotic to kill the probiotic bacteria. Explosive reactions between antibiotics and probiotics are highly unlikely{{Citation needed}}.

Matter and antimatter would react pretty much instantly upon mixing, not a short time later, as in the comic. (Also, one could not keep antimatter in a normal jar, or pour it in an atmosphere). The reaction shown is similar to the reaction between a strong acid and a strong base, which could cause an explosion after a short delay if kept in a tightly sealed container like a water bottle, as in the explosion here.

In the last panel, Ponytail is giving a more mundane summary of what gastroenterology is like (lots of paperwork) this is similar to Indiana Jones saying that archaeology is boring{{Citation needed}}. The explosion sequence might be Ponytail's action fantasy of what the job could be, or it might be Megan's fantasy, and Ponytail is telling her what it is actually like, or the action could be real, and Ponytail is covering it up.

In the title text, Ponytail adds that her work makes her aware of a child coughing as the server was bringing food at the restaurant table, exposing the food to possible germs that could cause a gastrointestinal infection.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[The first five panels appear in a single row.]
:[Ponytail, wearing a lab coat, and a guy wearing a scrubs hat rush in from the right side of the panel. Ponytail is holding a water bottle. There is a desk on the left of the panel with two jars.]
:Hat guy: Hurry, they're right behind us!

:[Zoom in on Ponytail, behind the desk, pouring the two smaller jars into the water bottle.]
:An arrow points to the left jar: Probiotic
:An arrow points to the right jar: Antibiotic

:[A borderless panel. Zoom out on Ponytail shaking the water bottle to mix the two substances.]
:Shake Shake Shake

:[Ponytail throws the water bottle toward the right side of the panel, at something off-screen.]

:[Hat guy and Ponytail run toward the left side of the panel, as the water bottle explodes.]
:BOOM

:[The last panel is the only panel in its row, appearing at the far right end of the row and slightly narrower than the fifth panel above it.]
:[Megan and Ponytail sitting at a table, facing each other, having a meal.]
:Megan: So what's gastroenterology like?
:Ponytail: Pretty boring. Lotta paperwork.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Physics]]

2177: Gastroenterology

2019-08-01T03:59:46Z

172.69.44.152: /* Explanation */ removed the bacteria is chasing them assumption, because there’s no indication of that in the panel.

{{comic
| number = 2177
| date = July 17, 2019
| title = Gastroenterology
| image = gastroenterology.png
| titletext = "Mostly it means that I'm acutely aware that the kid one table over coughed as the server walked past with our food."
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Gastroenterology}} is the study of the normal function and diseases of the digestive system: esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon and rectum, pancreas, gallbladder, bile ducts and liver.

{{w|Antibiotics}} are substances that kill bacteria. They are effective at treating bacterial infections, including in the gut; unfortunately, they can also kill the normal gut bacteria. {{w|Probiotics}} are harmless or helpful bacteria which are sometimes used to replace the bacteria killed by an antibiotic. This reduces chances of re-infection by pathogens, and allows the natural gut microbiome to recover more effectively; [[1471|comic 1471]] was about the same theme. Probiotics are included in many foods, such as yogurt, as well as supplements, and are marketed as having health benefits.

The comic plays on the names probiotic and antibiotic. When {{w|matter}} and {{w|antimatter}} are mixed, they {{w|annihilation|annihilate}} each-other, rapidly releasing energy (an explosion).
This comic imagines a similar process when probiotics and antibiotics are mixed: Ponytail and a nurse runs into a room, with someone chasing after them, leading the nurse to exclaim that the bacteria is right behind them. Ponytail mixes the probiotics and antibiotics, and throws the jar at the bacteria like a grenade, before continuing to run with the nurse. The reaction between the probiotics and antibiotics causes the jar to explode amidst the bacteria, presumably killing them. In reality, antibiotics and probiotics are often used simultaneously during treatment, but they are taken so that they do not mix (taken at different times or by different methods). Mixing them as in the comic, would just cause the antibiotic to kill the probiotic bacteria. Explosive reactions between antibiotics and probiotics are highly unlikely{{Citation needed}}.

Matter and antimatter would react pretty much instantly upon mixing, not a short time later, as in the comic. (Also, one could not keep antimatter in a normal jar, or pour it in an atmosphere). The reaction shown is similar to the reaction between a strong acid and a strong base, which could cause an explosion after a short delay if kept in a tightly sealed container like a water bottle, as in the explosion here.

In the last panel, Ponytail is giving a more mundane summary of what gastroenterology is like (lots of paperwork) this is similar to Indiana Jones saying that archaeology is boring{{Citation needed}}. The explosion sequence might be Ponytail's action fantasy of what the job could be, or it might be Megan's fantasy, and Ponytail is telling her what it is actually like, or the action could be real, and Ponytail is covering it up.

In the title text, Ponytail adds that her work makes her aware of a child coughing as the server was bringing food at the restaurant table, exposing the food to possible germs that could cause a gastrointestinal infection.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[The first five panels appear in a single row.]
:[Ponytail, wearing a lab coat, and a guy wearing a scrubs hat rush in from the right side of the panel. Ponytail is holding a water bottle. There is a desk on the left of the panel with two jars.]
:Hat guy: Hurry, they're right behind us!

:[Zoom in on Ponytail, behind the desk, pouring the two smaller jars into the water bottle.]
:An arrow points to the left jar: Probiotic
:An arrow points to the right jar: Antibiotic

:[A borderless panel. Zoom out on Ponytail shaking the water bottle to mix the two substances.]
:Shake Shake Shake

:[Ponytail throws the water bottle toward the right side of the panel, at something off-screen.]

:[Hat guy and Ponytail run toward the left side of the panel, as the water bottle explodes.]
:BOOM

:[The last panel is the only panel in its row, appearing at the far right end of the row and slightly narrower than the fifth panel above it.]
:[Megan and Ponytail sitting at a table, facing each other, having a meal.]
:Megan: So what's gastroenterology like?
:Ponytail: Pretty boring. Lotta paperwork.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Physics]]

2179: NWS Warnings

2019-07-23T01:49:56Z

172.69.44.152:

{{comic
| number = 2179
| date = July 23, 2019
| title = NWS Warnings
| image = nws_warnings.png
| titletext = Kind of rude of them to simultaneously issue an EVACUATION - IMMEDIATE alert, a SHELTER IN PLACE alert, and a 911 TELEPHONE OUTAGE alert.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a NWS EMPLOYEE IN A BREAK. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The {{w|National Weather Service}} (NWS) is a United States federal agency that is tasked with issuing national weather forecasts and {{w|Severe weather terminology (United States)|extreme weather alert}}s.

This comic portrays the NWS as a person that needs breaks, which is absurd, as it is an important service and would probably always have staff active, even on holidays. For example, the NWS [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2013/10/04/weather-service-office-begs-please-pay-us-in-secret-message/ continued to work during federal government shutdowns], as it was considered an essential service for the protection of life and property. Even if one of the NWS's 122 local weather offices were to be incapacitated, contingency plans are in place to ensure that nearby offices act as emergency cover; as happened in March 2019 with [https://twitter.com/mikeseidel/status/1106705454435057666 flooding in Nebraska forcing the NWS office in Valley to evacuate.]

Regardless, the NWS has decided to take a break, and so has opted to issue every extreme weather alert possible for the entire country to make sure one is not caught by surprise by extreme weather, since the NWS will not be able to issue warnings. As the NWS could not be sure which areas will need to get warned of severe incidents, the NWS has decided to issue warning polygons that cover the entire United States. A layer of humor is that this would necessitate warnings where they would be highly unlikely to occur in real life; examples include issuing Blizzard Warnings for Florida, where any amount of snow is rare, and Tsunami Warnings for areas very far from any ocean coastline.

The title text mentions how some of the warnings that have been issued require action to get to safety that contradicts the other warnings, for example, an evacuation warning and a shelter in place order, since doing one would mean failing the other. This adds another layer to the absurdity of the occurrence of the NWS taking a break.

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

[Title in frame]

Alert: Everyone Just Keep An Eye Out In General

[A map of the 48 contiguous states of the United States, surrounded by several warning polygons that cover most or all of the area, along with parts of neighboring countries or the sea.]

[The following warning headers are seen around the map of the United States, some of which are cut off by the frame. Assumptions about text outside of the frame are given in parentheses]

Gale Warning, Tornado Warning, Flash Flood Warning, Air Quality (Alert) 
Frost Advisory, Severe Thunderstorm Warning, Dense Fog Advisory 
(High W)ind Watch, Tropical Storm Warning, Ice Stor(m Warning) 
(High Wind) Warning, Heat A(dvisory) 
Advisory, Snow (Advisory) 
Warning, Brisk W(ind Advisory) 
Watch, Coastal Fl(ood Warning) 
Dense Smo(ke Advisory) 
(Sta)tement, Gale War(ning) 
Advisory, Wind Chill Ad(visory) 
(Extreme) Cold Warning, Blizzard Warn(ing) 
Hurricane Warning, Extreme Fire (Danger) 
(Adv)isory, Tsunami Warning, Avalanche W(arning) 
([Either "Winter" or "Ice"] S)torm Warning, Frost Advisory, Fire Warning, Volcano Warn(ing) 
Ashfall Advisory, Red Flag Warning, Radiological Hazard Warning 

[Text below frame]

When the National Weather Service needs to take a day off, they just issue warnings for everything so no one is caught by surprise.
{{comic discussion}}

2178: Expiration Date High Score

2019-07-19T17:18:02Z

172.69.44.152: Added transcript

{{comic
| number = 2178
| date = July 19, 2019
| title = Expiration Date High Score
| image = expiration_date_high_score.png
| titletext = "Wait, we've MOVED since 2010. How on Earth did--" "Look, some of us were just born to be champions."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by someone, born champion. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon. EXP 20190721}}
[[Randall]] is introducing the rules of a game. If you find an item which you purchased, but is now past its {{w|expiration date}}, you get a score which is what percent of your lifetime elapsed between when the item expired and when you found it. Many perishable items, such as food, cosmetics, medications, batteries, or condoms, have expiration dates, or sometimes best by dates. The only other rule is, that it has to be something you have purchased yourself, so that heritages or stuff that was left in the basement when one moved in, does not count.

The joke is, that owning expired items without of noticing for long here is getting you a high score, while in reality it is not considered favourable.{{Citation needed}}

Megan's mom does not have a jar of pickles with a 1978 expiration date because in 1978 jars and cans of food did not have expiration dates. Since then many countries introduced laws and regulations requiring companies to put expiration dates on perishable goods. In some instances this can have the negative effect of people throwing out good food by blindly following the suggested expiration date. This behavior can incentivise companies to adjust the expiration date so that people will re-buy the products sooner.

Megan's age is revealed to be 37, found by substituting 2019 and 2010 into the formula.

The title text continues the conversation from the comic. The beans were apparently bought while living in a different home, meaning they were moved along with Megan's and Cueball's other belongings. This is somewhat unusual as many people take moving as an opportunity to go through their old stuff and get rid of things they no longer need. Another interpretation would be that Megan Cueball didn't bring the beans but bought them along with the kitchen they were found in.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
(Title up in the panel)
What's the most expired item you've found in your house?

Calculate your expiration date high score (must be something you purchased)

(Equation in a circle)
Score equals year you found item subtracting year item expired, divided by your age, multiplied by 100

(Megan and Cueball talking, with Megan holding a can)

Megan: These beans expired in 2010! That's... let's see... 24.3! New personal best!

Cueball:You are never going to beat your mom's jar of pickles from 1978.

Megan: Maybe there are more cans in there. Remind me not to look until 2030.

Cueball: This is the worst competition

{{comic discussion}}

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

Talk:2177: Gastroenterology

2019-07-18T17:29:36Z

172.69.44.152: inspirations for the fantasy

I hope they are not eating italian, you never know what might happen if pasta and antipasta meet. [[User:Arachrah|Arachrah]] ([[User talk:Arachrah|talk]]) 16:23, 17 July 2019 (UTC)
: Yea I figure this is a matter / anti-matter joke. [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 16:55, 17 July 2019 (UTC)

: This antimatter explanation lacks the usual "punch" that I would expect from XKCD on a science joke. It's unsatisfying because the comic lacks any (other) reference to physics or space. My best guess is that it's a pun based on an alternate interpretation of the word "gastroenterology." Could some part of the word be re-used (or commonly used) in another, more explosive context? Could the explosion refer to methane production by the body? Or is it somehow a joke about a movie, or the general movie trope of making scientists into action heros? [[User:Jpaugh|Jpaugh]] ([[User talk:Jpaugh|talk]]) 14:41, 18 July 2019 (UTC)

Current transcript says "Cueball" is the second character in the first and fifth panels. I don't think that's usually how it's done for a character wearing a hat, so I was thinking he should instead be named something like "Beanie Guy" or similar. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 17:21, 17 July 2019 (UTC)
: I think the hat looks like a surgical scrub cap[https://www.allheart.com/men-scrub-caps-and-hats/c/597/]. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 22:45, 17 July 2019 (UTC)

Saying the final panel is a lie is just one possibility. The 5th panel below can potentially mean the "reality", as opposed to the 4 panels above that's a fantasy/joke. Almost all jobs have this "what people think I do" and "what I really do" gap.
Another possibility: I thought I saw in old cop/secret agent movies a common joke is when a character gets into a lot of action - and thus cause a lot of trouble - that person will need to write a lot of paperwork for the damage caused. Then the character will say "this job is boring. Lots of paperwork." Sorry I can't find an example right now but I seemed to remember seeing the joke multiple times.

It's hard to appreciate gastroenterology jokes if you've ever had a colonoscopy.[[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 17:44, 17 July 2019 (UTC)
:I disagree, & I'm holding back a bunch of bad puns about it. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 18:02, 17 July 2019 (UTC)

I see a thematic connection with the comic about appendicitis treatment, although this could be about an unrelated ailment. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.100|162.158.78.100]] 18:01, 17 July 2019 (UTC)

Current explanation says 'over-coughing'. What's that? a kid one table over, coughed.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.144.175|172.68.144.175]] 10:22, 18 July 2019 (UTC)
: Fixed! ([https://www.xkcd.com/699/| Did you know they just] ''hand out'' [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Main+Page| logins]?) [[User:Jpaugh|Jpaugh]] ([[User talk:Jpaugh|talk]]) 14:53, 18 July 2019 (UTC)

"Another possibility is that the sequence refers to a reaction between an acid and a base," WHAT? No. They're specifically labeled! Where did "acid and base" even come from? Why not "Yin and Yang" or "White meat and dark meat"?? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.136|162.158.214.136]] 10:46, 18 July 2019 (UTC)
:I think the editor meant that the sequence is comically pretending that the mixing of probiotics and antibiotics gives a similar explosive effect to an acid/base reaction (or a matter/antimatter reaction) - they're not saying that that's literally what's happening. They're explaining the possible inspiration behind the cartoon logic. [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]])

It seems possible that the fantasy as a whole is a reference to a scene in the series ''Breaking Bad'', in which Walter White substitutes fulminate of mercury for crystal meth, then uses it to cause a(n unrealistically large) explosion in the office of a rival. However, similar scenes can be found in earlier shows and films (e.g., the show ''MacGyver'' has several instance of such), so it may not be a reference to this specific one. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.44.152|172.69.44.152]] 17:29, 18 July 2019 (UTC)

Any take on the meaning of the abundance of white space in the lower left part of the comic? [[User:Spongebog|Spongebob]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 15:17, 18 July 2019 (UTC)

2172: Lunar Cycles

2019-07-08T16:33:21Z

172.69.44.152: Removed "no ocurrences of super blood moon", because this does happen

{{comic
| number = 2172
| date = July 5, 2019
| title = Lunar Cycles
| image = lunar_cycles.png
| titletext = The Antikythera mechanism had a whole set of gears specifically to track the cyclic popularity of skinny jeans and low-rise waists.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a MOONBOT. Joke cycle explanations need to be expanded and title text needs to be explained. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic shows a mixture of real, scientific lunar cycles and cycles that are comedic or fictional in nature.

*'''Nodal precession:''' The Moon's orbital plane is tilted slightly compared to the Earth's orbital plane around the sun (the {{w|ecliptic}}). This tilt is why we don't constantly see eclipses; most of the time, the Moon's orbital plane is tilted higher or lower than the Sun, so they generally don't cross each other. The two points at which these planes ''do'' cross are called {{w|lunar nodes}}. {{w|Nodal precession}} is the gradual rotation of these nodes over time, which for the Moon follows an 18.6 year cycle.

*'''Apsidal precession:''' All orbits have two points where the orbiting body is either closest to, or furthest away from, the thing they are orbiting. These points are called {{w|apsides}}, and the imaginary line between them is called the ''line of apsides''. {{w|Apsidal precession}} is the gradual rotation of this line over time, which occurs in cycles of around 8.9 years for the Moon.

*'''Phase:''' {{w|Lunar phase}} describes the change in shape of the sunlit side of the Moon as viewed from the Earth's surface, which is caused by the changing angle between Moon and Sun as the Moon revolves around the Earth. The cycle of lunar phases takes 29.5 days, a figure referred to as the ''synodic month''.

*'''Distance:''' Because the Moon's orbit around the Earth is elliptical, its distance from the Earth varies slightly over the course of an orbit. This means that the moon's distance also follows a cycle which is the same as the length of one lunar orbit: approximately 27.5 days. This figure is referred to as the ''anomalistic month''. Note that the synodic month is (perhaps counterintuituvely) two days ''longer'' than the sidereal month - or to put it another way, it takes 2 more days for the Moon's phases to cycle than it does for the Moon to go around the Earth. This is due to the fact that the Earth is also moving ''around'' the Sun while the phases are going on, which means that the Moon has to spend 2 extra days "catching up" to the point at which the lunar phase cycle can restart.

*'''Earth-Moon relative size''': This is a joke cycle; the Earth and Moon do not physically change size, nor does the Moon ever become larger than the Earth. This may be playing on the idea that the Moon often ''appears'' to change size to viewers on Earth, due to various factors; most commonly, this is due to the {{w|Moon illusion}}, which tricks the brain into perceiving the Moon as much larger than it really is. There are also so-called {{w|supermoon}}s, which occur when the full moon coincides with the Moon's closest approach to Earth; these actually do increase the Moon's apparent size, although by a relatively insignificant amount.

*'''Lunar shape:''' Again, this is a joke cycle; the Moon does not actually change shape. A shape intermediate between circle and square is known as a {{w|squircle}}, a subclass of the {{w|superellipse}}.

*'''Lunar mood:''' The moon does not have a mood, although humans can have moods that fluctuate over time, sometimes with a regularity akin to a cycle. Ironically, the section of the graph that shows a good (i.e. happy) mood has the graph line curving up then down like the mouth of a frown, and for the bad (unhappy) mood it curves down and then up, as in the mouth of a smile.

* The final diagram shows many different cycles superimposed on each other, highlighting areas where several cycles are coinciding. This is likely satirizing the media trend of overhyping astronomical coincidences and giving them grand-sounding names:
:*The light gray "phase × distance" plot does not correspond to the product of periods given for phase and distance, which [https://i.imgur.com/0i0mcPn.png look like this] instead.
:*A [[wikipedia:harvest moon|harvest moon]] is the traditional name for the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox, but there is nothing astronomically significant about it.
:*A [[wikipedia:Supermoon|supermoon]] is a full or new moon when the Moon is closest to the Earth, resulting in a slightly larger-than-usual apparent size. A full supermoon is roughly 14% larger in diameter than when the Moon is furthest away. See also [[1394: Superm*n]].
:*A [[wikipedia:blue moon|blue moon]] is the extra full moon in years with 13 full moons, which happens once every two or three years (hence the phrase "once in a blue moon"). Blue moons don't look any different from regular full moons.
:*{{w|Astrology}} is a pseudoscience which claims that the positions of the celestial bodies can be used to predict human affairs. The chart jokingly suggests that astrology actually ''does'' work, but only within a very specific two-week timeframe.
:*The [[wikipedia:Golden Age of Television|Golden Age of Television]] is said to have occurred in the 1940s and 50s, and the 2000s.
:*There are no occurrences of '''dire moon''' or '''pork moon''' in the Google Books N-Gram viewer, which includes many works from the 1800s through 2008. A [[wikipedia:blood moon|blood moon]] refers to the moon during a lunar eclipse.
:*While the popularity of '''skinny jeans''' ([[wikipedia:Slim-fit pants|slim-fit pants]]) does change over time, the idea that this is connected to a lunar cycle is also a joke.
:*Finally, while the idea of a '''total eclipse of the sea''' seems absurd, [https://www.deepseanews.com/2017/08/what-happens-in-the-sea-during-a-solar-eclipse/ an eclipse was famously used to explain the migration of maritime animals]:
:::''biologists were beginning to unravel the mystery of this ‘false bottom’–a layer in the ocean that looks the the sea floor on the sounder but isn’t–which covered much of the ocean. This false bottom rises in up at night and sinks down during the day. This rising and falling is in fact caused by the largest migration of animal on Earth–everything from fish, shrimp and jellyfish, moving hundreds of meters in unison up and down each day.... the moon moved into its place in front of the sun, daylight rapidly faded, and the scientists solved the migration mystery: the deep layer of animals began to rise. Bioluminescent creatures started to shine, and nocturnal creatures started a frantic upward thrust. As the world grew darker, they swam upward nearly 80 meters. But this frantic migration didn’t last long. As the moon receded and the sun revealed itself, the massive animal layer did an about-face, scrambling back into the safety of the darkness.''
:: (Backus, Clark, and Wing (1965) [https://sci-hub.tw/10.1038/205989a0 "Behaviour of certain marine organisms during the solar eclipse of July 20, 1963"] ''Nature'' '''4975:'''989-91.)
The '''{{w|Antikythera_mechanism|Antikythera mechanism}}''' mentioned in the title text is an ancient Greek machine, rediscovered in 1901, designed to calculate astronomical positions. The title text jokes that there is a set of gears on said mechanism that is used to predict the popularity of "skinny jeans" and "low-rise waists." Since it was likely created in the 1st or 2nd century B.C., it is impossible for the creators to have had any knowledge of skinny jeans or low-rise waists - both are modern-day clothing fashions.

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

:Understanding lunar cycles

:Nodal precession
:[A diagram showing a broad cosine-like wave with wavelength labelled as 18.6 years. To the right are two diagrams showing an orbital cycle moving in and out of plane.]

:Apsidal precession
:[A diagram similar to the one above but with a slightly shorter wavelength, labelled as 8.9 years. To the right are two diagrams showing an elliptical orbit around a planet and the same orbit rotated.]

:Phase
:[A diagram similar to those above with a shorter wavelength, labelled as 29.5 days. To the right is a diagram showing four phases of the moon: New, Waxing crescent, Waxinf gibbos, Full.]

:Distance
:[A diagram similar to those above with a shorter wavelength, labelled as 27.5 days. To the right is a diagram showing the distance of the moon from the Earth over time, with distances marked by arrows.]

:Earth-Moon relative size
:[A wave with long wavelength with an arrow pointing to the minimum labelled 'Earth bigger' and an arrow pointing to the maximum labelled 'Moon bigger'. To the right are two diagrams of the moon and Earth, one showing the Earth bigger than the Moon and the other showing the Moon bigger than the Earth.]

:Lunar shape
:[A wave with long wavelength with an arrow pointing to the minimum labelled 'Circle' and an arrow pointing to the maximum labelled 'Square'. To the right is a diagram showing a circle, a circle transforming into a square with outward arrows at each corner and a square transforming into a circle with inward arrows.]

:Lunar mood
:[A wave with long wavelength with an arrow pointing to the minimum labelled 'Bad' and an arrow pointing to the maximum labelled 'Good'. To the right are four emojis: :), :|, :(, :|]

:[A superimposed graph of all the above waves. Different points on the graph are labelled: Harvest moon, Supermoon, Blue moon, Skinny Jeans popular, Super blood moon, Golden age of TV, Dire moon, Pork moon, Two week window in which astrology works, Total eclipse of the sea.]

{{comic discussion}}

2172: Lunar Cycles

2019-07-08T16:31:18Z

172.69.44.152: Removed astrology paradox, because, it is using astronomy to discover when astrology works.

{{comic
| number = 2172
| date = July 5, 2019
| title = Lunar Cycles
| image = lunar_cycles.png
| titletext = The Antikythera mechanism had a whole set of gears specifically to track the cyclic popularity of skinny jeans and low-rise waists.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a MOONBOT. Joke cycle explanations need to be expanded and title text needs to be explained. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic shows a mixture of real, scientific lunar cycles and cycles that are comedic or fictional in nature.

*'''Nodal precession:''' The Moon's orbital plane is tilted slightly compared to the Earth's orbital plane around the sun (the {{w|ecliptic}}). This tilt is why we don't constantly see eclipses; most of the time, the Moon's orbital plane is tilted higher or lower than the Sun, so they generally don't cross each other. The two points at which these planes ''do'' cross are called {{w|lunar nodes}}. {{w|Nodal precession}} is the gradual rotation of these nodes over time, which for the Moon follows an 18.6 year cycle.

*'''Apsidal precession:''' All orbits have two points where the orbiting body is either closest to, or furthest away from, the thing they are orbiting. These points are called {{w|apsides}}, and the imaginary line between them is called the ''line of apsides''. {{w|Apsidal precession}} is the gradual rotation of this line over time, which occurs in cycles of around 8.9 years for the Moon.

*'''Phase:''' {{w|Lunar phase}} describes the change in shape of the sunlit side of the Moon as viewed from the Earth's surface, which is caused by the changing angle between Moon and Sun as the Moon revolves around the Earth. The cycle of lunar phases takes 29.5 days, a figure referred to as the ''synodic month''.

*'''Distance:''' Because the Moon's orbit around the Earth is elliptical, its distance from the Earth varies slightly over the course of an orbit. This means that the moon's distance also follows a cycle which is the same as the length of one lunar orbit: approximately 27.5 days. This figure is referred to as the ''anomalistic month''. Note that the synodic month is (perhaps counterintuituvely) two days ''longer'' than the sidereal month - or to put it another way, it takes 2 more days for the Moon's phases to cycle than it does for the Moon to go around the Earth. This is due to the fact that the Earth is also moving ''around'' the Sun while the phases are going on, which means that the Moon has to spend 2 extra days "catching up" to the point at which the lunar phase cycle can restart.

*'''Earth-Moon relative size''': This is a joke cycle; the Earth and Moon do not physically change size, nor does the Moon ever become larger than the Earth. This may be playing on the idea that the Moon often ''appears'' to change size to viewers on Earth, due to various factors; most commonly, this is due to the {{w|Moon illusion}}, which tricks the brain into perceiving the Moon as much larger than it really is. There are also so-called {{w|supermoon}}s, which occur when the full moon coincides with the Moon's closest approach to Earth; these actually do increase the Moon's apparent size, although by a relatively insignificant amount.

*'''Lunar shape:''' Again, this is a joke cycle; the Moon does not actually change shape. A shape intermediate between circle and square is known as a {{w|squircle}}, a subclass of the {{w|superellipse}}.

*'''Lunar mood:''' The moon does not have a mood, although humans can have moods that fluctuate over time, sometimes with a regularity akin to a cycle. Ironically, the section of the graph that shows a good (i.e. happy) mood has the graph line curving up then down like the mouth of a frown, and for the bad (unhappy) mood it curves down and then up, as in the mouth of a smile.

* The final diagram shows many different cycles superimposed on each other, highlighting areas where several cycles are coinciding. This is likely satirizing the media trend of overhyping astronomical coincidences and giving them grand-sounding names:
:*The light gray "phase × distance" plot does not correspond to the product of periods given for phase and distance, which [https://i.imgur.com/0i0mcPn.png look like this] instead.
:*A [[wikipedia:harvest moon|harvest moon]] is the traditional name for the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox, but there is nothing astronomically significant about it.
:*A [[wikipedia:Supermoon|supermoon]] is a full or new moon when the Moon is closest to the Earth, resulting in a slightly larger-than-usual apparent size. A full supermoon is roughly 14% larger in diameter than when the Moon is furthest away. See also [[1394: Superm*n]].
:*A [[wikipedia:blue moon|blue moon]] is the extra full moon in years with 13 full moons, which happens once every two or three years (hence the phrase "once in a blue moon"). Blue moons don't look any different from regular full moons.
:*{{w|Astrology}} is a pseudoscience which claims that the positions of the celestial bodies can be used to predict human affairs. The chart jokingly suggests that astrology actually ''does'' work, but only within a very specific two-week timeframe.
:*The [[wikipedia:Golden Age of Television|Golden Age of Television]] is said to have occurred in the 1940s and 50s, and the 2000s.
:*There are no occurrences of '''super blood moon''', '''dire moon''' or '''pork moon''' in the Google Books N-Gram viewer, which includes many works from the 1800s through 2008. A [[wikipedia:blood moon|blood moon]] refers to the moon during a lunar eclipse.
:*While the popularity of '''skinny jeans''' ([[wikipedia:Slim-fit pants|slim-fit pants]]) does change over time, the idea that this is connected to a lunar cycle is also a joke.
:*Finally, while the idea of a '''total eclipse of the sea''' seems absurd, [https://www.deepseanews.com/2017/08/what-happens-in-the-sea-during-a-solar-eclipse/ an eclipse was famously used to explain the migration of maritime animals]:
:::''biologists were beginning to unravel the mystery of this ‘false bottom’–a layer in the ocean that looks the the sea floor on the sounder but isn’t–which covered much of the ocean. This false bottom rises in up at night and sinks down during the day. This rising and falling is in fact caused by the largest migration of animal on Earth–everything from fish, shrimp and jellyfish, moving hundreds of meters in unison up and down each day.... the moon moved into its place in front of the sun, daylight rapidly faded, and the scientists solved the migration mystery: the deep layer of animals began to rise. Bioluminescent creatures started to shine, and nocturnal creatures started a frantic upward thrust. As the world grew darker, they swam upward nearly 80 meters. But this frantic migration didn’t last long. As the moon receded and the sun revealed itself, the massive animal layer did an about-face, scrambling back into the safety of the darkness.''
:: (Backus, Clark, and Wing (1965) [https://sci-hub.tw/10.1038/205989a0 "Behaviour of certain marine organisms during the solar eclipse of July 20, 1963"] ''Nature'' '''4975:'''989-91.)
The '''{{w|Antikythera_mechanism|Antikythera mechanism}}''' mentioned in the title text is an ancient Greek machine, rediscovered in 1901, designed to calculate astronomical positions. The title text jokes that there is a set of gears on said mechanism that is used to predict the popularity of "skinny jeans" and "low-rise waists." Since it was likely created in the 1st or 2nd century B.C., it is impossible for the creators to have had any knowledge of skinny jeans or low-rise waists - both are modern-day clothing fashions.

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

:Understanding lunar cycles

:Nodal precession
:[A diagram showing a broad cosine-like wave with wavelength labelled as 18.6 years. To the right are two diagrams showing an orbital cycle moving in and out of plane.]

:Apsidal precession
:[A diagram similar to the one above but with a slightly shorter wavelength, labelled as 8.9 years. To the right are two diagrams showing an elliptical orbit around a planet and the same orbit rotated.]

:Phase
:[A diagram similar to those above with a shorter wavelength, labelled as 29.5 days. To the right is a diagram showing four phases of the moon: New, Waxing crescent, Waxinf gibbos, Full.]

:Distance
:[A diagram similar to those above with a shorter wavelength, labelled as 27.5 days. To the right is a diagram showing the distance of the moon from the Earth over time, with distances marked by arrows.]

:Earth-Moon relative size
:[A wave with long wavelength with an arrow pointing to the minimum labelled 'Earth bigger' and an arrow pointing to the maximum labelled 'Moon bigger'. To the right are two diagrams of the moon and Earth, one showing the Earth bigger than the Moon and the other showing the Moon bigger than the Earth.]

:Lunar shape
:[A wave with long wavelength with an arrow pointing to the minimum labelled 'Circle' and an arrow pointing to the maximum labelled 'Square'. To the right is a diagram showing a circle, a circle transforming into a square with outward arrows at each corner and a square transforming into a circle with inward arrows.]

:Lunar mood
:[A wave with long wavelength with an arrow pointing to the minimum labelled 'Bad' and an arrow pointing to the maximum labelled 'Good'. To the right are four emojis: :), :|, :(, :|]

:[A superimposed graph of all the above waves. Different points on the graph are labelled: Harvest moon, Supermoon, Blue moon, Skinny Jeans popular, Super blood moon, Golden age of TV, Dire moon, Pork moon, Two week window in which astrology works, Total eclipse of the sea.]

{{comic discussion}}

2171: Shadow Biosphere

2019-07-05T01:31:03Z

172.69.44.152: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2171
| date = July 3, 2019
| title = Shadow Biosphere
| image = shadow_biosphere.png
| titletext = The typical Shadow Biology Department is housed in a building coated in a thin layer of desert varnish which renders it invisible to normal-world university staff.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by SCP-SHADOW BIOLOGIST. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A {{w|shadow biosphere}} is a hypothetical microbial {{w|biosphere}} of Earth that uses radically different biochemical and molecular processes than currently known life. Although life on Earth is relatively well-studied, the shadow biosphere may still remain unnoticed because the exploration of the microbial world targets primarily the biochemistry of the macro-organisms.([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_biosphere source: Wikipedia])

Because organisms based on RNA would not have ribosomes, which are usually used to detect living microorganisms, they would be difficult to find in normal circumstances.

The comic suggests that this hypothetical biosphere exists, and its study is funded by "shadow biotech" corporations. The field would be called "shadow biology", so people that study it would be "shadow biologists". However, this is reinterpreted to mean "shadow" biologist, meaning that anyone that studies it becomes undetectable. A "shadowy" figure, presumably a shadow biologist, is telling this to [[Megan]] and [[Cueball]], but they are not shadow biologists and can't hear him.

The title text references {{w|desert varnish}}, an orange-yellow to black coating found on exposed rock surfaces in arid environments, which has been suggested as a potential candidate for a shadow biosphere. Although it is impossible to cover a building in desert varnish, the joke is that if a building were covered in desert varnish, it would be invisible to biologists who don't study the shadow biosphere.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball and Megan are standing facing each other. A shadowy figure is behind Megan.]
:Shadowy figure: These days most of our funding comes in from the shadow biotech industry.
:Megan: Did you hear something?
:Cueball: I think it's the wind.

:[Caption below the panel:]
: The shadow biosphere exists, but if you study it, you become a shadow biologist.

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

Talk:1301: File Extensions

2019-06-15T16:38:38Z

172.69.44.152: .txt whitepaper, lol

Tex is a Turing complete language so when it compiles to a PDF it could hide malicious code.

The title text reference of "hand-aligned data" may refer to ASCII art. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.28|108.162.215.28]] 05:36, 9 December 2013 (UTC) Alan K.
:I'd think not, given that art isn't exactly data. My guess would be tables in the .txt - a .txt file is just raw text with no formatting, so putting a table in requires manually formatting it with a bunch of spaces/tabs. It's not hard, but can be time-consuming and obnoxious. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.47|108.162.219.47]] 23:57, 10 December 2013 (UTC)
::Any programmer would tell you to _never_ try and hand-align things with tabs. Different text editors will use anything from 3 to 8 spaces for a tab, meaning that what's aligned in your editor isn't in others.{{unsigned ip|108.162.236.13}}
:::Indent with tabs; align with spaces. More formally, tabs should only be at the beginning of a line, and should have a strong contextual relationship with the surrounding text. This is a reasonably thought out explanation: http://lea.verou.me/2012/01/why-tabs-are-clearly-superior/ [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.67|199.27.128.67]] 17:18, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

I think it's also a notable point, that the better rated document formats are more data centric while the low rated formats mix text informations with design elements and finally become pure graphic formats, which often is an indication, that the author didn't use the accurate file type for (mostly) pure text informations.
Something I don't understand is the gap between jpg and jpeg. The first suffix is AFAIK only an abbreviation used by older DOS/MS Systems to fullfill the 8.3 limitation for filenames. The note about hand alignment might concern the fact, that hand alignment is more time expensive which might increase the amount of the the author spend in overthink the content before layouting. Also often automated layouting as supported by many modern writing application might lead to unexpected and sometimes wrong results, because the automatism has no semantical knowledge about the authors intention, which might lead to post processed errors
Sorry for my bad english, I'm not a natural writer
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.239|108.162.231.239]] 05:45, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
:"hand-aligned data" seems to me like (manually) space-indented paragraphs, perhaps even manual padding to achieve the desired justification (centering and right-and-left-margin-hugging). And of course neatly lining up an 'embedded table', perhaps originally extracted from a .csv output. Although a number of plain-text editors (in the days of CGA and pure terminal/fixedspace fonts) or text formatters and wrappers (e.g. Lynx, man-page creaters, etc) ''would'' do things like this for you. And still do. At least insofar as the justification and margining is concerned. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.229|141.101.99.229]] 08:35, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
If anyone has taken the time to hand align a text file (as in a README, or other info file), they want it to look attractive for people to read. Odd are you're not going to take the time to "hand pretty" the document just to be malicious. Back in the BBS days there were a large number of "online" groups who had "signature" text files which were (very probably) hand aligned, and made extensive use of extended ASCII codes to generate basic graphics. (Granted there were programs to help auto-generate "ascii art".) If you've ever seen these files you'd know. [[http://www.thuglife.org/tlv5/aabout.shtml Example 1]] - [[http://textfiles.com/piracy/NFO/ Example 2]] [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 14:14, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

I find it interesting that .jpg and .jpeg are at different levels. Aren't those the same thing? --[[User:Mralext20|Mralext20]] ([[User talk:Mralext20|talk]]) 05:48, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
Perhaps the .gif could contain suddenly unexpected scary/surprising frames? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.208.172|108.162.208.172]] 14:54, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

:That JPG/JPEG thing indeed seems strange. The more important distinction is between JPEGs that are photographs (fine) and those that are not (stupid). Also, pre-PNG, non-photograph GIFs could be just fine. And with all the accounting scandals we've seen, why would those spreadsheet formats get any credibility? -- [[User:Dfeuer|Dfeuer]] ([[User talk:Dfeuer|talk]]) 06:06, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
::Alongside .jpeg ('full' extension format) and .jpg (MS '8.3'-compatible extension format), I'd have expected .jpe (often full extension historically truncated on an 8.3 system), I must be honest. (And interesting that .docx doesn't co-inhabit the .doc line... or be somewhere else.) And the disparity betwixt the two versions of JPEG extension ''may'' relate to the tendency for a higher artefact-intensity of images back in the early days (when a better option than GIFs for... certain pictures... e.g. on Usenet between *nix workstations with vastly restricted bandwidths and storage capacities) compared to today's users (cameras that regularly store 10+MP pictures in low-loss JFIF files, and/or in Raw format!). But that may be a spurious or off-track reasoning on my part. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.229|141.101.99.229]] 08:27, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

I measured the bars in photoshop to +/- 2pixels. If we scale .tex to a value of 100 like the transcript says, these are the values I get for the bar lengths (rounded to one decimal place)
.tex 100
.pdf 89.4
.csv 84.9
.txt 66.5
.svg 64.8
.xls 48.6
.doc 21.2
.png 15.1
.ppt 14.5
.jpg 3.4
.jpeg -8.4
.gif -35.8

Dunno if it is helpful - or even trusted given I'm a first time commenter - but there it is. Closer values than just estimating, though the eyeballed estimates aren't bad. Not going to adjust the actual transcript because I feel that's overstepping my bounds. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.56}}
:Not at all, wikis are free to edit for a reason. If we didn't want new users to be editing pages, we could have turned that off long ago. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 07:55, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

'''As the information that is provided by the graph comes as png, we should probably not trust her. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.92.120|141.101.92.120]] 09:03, 9 December 2013 (UTC)'''
: Ha, +1 Like :-) [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]])

I never saw image of cute cats lying to me ... I mean, the gif is STILL the preferred format for animation, mostly because it's the only one supported. Animation formats based on PNG didn't catched up, hard to say why ... on the other hand, gif animation apparently have huge number of weird extensions, judging by the number of animated images I found which don't render properly in anything EXCEPT the browser. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:27, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
:The cute cat may not be lying, but since the format is used in other context -- like banner ads, then the average GIF may well be lying, also I believe there have been many security issues with GIFs and JPGs as they have been used as an attack vector for internet-bad-guys to take over your computer -- so while security issues is not specifically the topic for todays strip, then that may be worth noticing as well [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]])
:It is also possible to create animations with svg which is (for good reason, I like that format) ranked higher. Especially for scientific purposes it can be handy. Unfortunately is the MediaWiki software unable to show them. For example in the previous comic is an animation of the Galilean moons shown. That is an gif but someone also uploaded an [[Wikipedia:commons:File:Galilean_moon_Laplace_resonance_animation_(en_-_monochrome_-_350x217).svg|svg animation]] and I would say it does look smoother than the gif. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.215|108.162.231.215]] 14:40, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
:The Grumpy Cat is not grumpy in real life - so cat pictures DO lie! [[User:Schmammel|Schmammel]] ([[User talk:Schmammel|talk]]) 15:40, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
'''What is the scale of the chart? Does 'top' = most trusted'? Never assume anything with xkcd.''' [[User:David.windsor|David.windsor]] ([[User talk:David.windsor|talk]]) 18:29, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
: Brilliant. I didn't think of that at all. But now that you mention it... a .gif would be like a small part of a video. And people tend to trust those more than a static picture. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.222.209|108.162.222.209]] 08:58, 13 December 2013 (UTC)

Of course Randall does not really think that the file extension determines trustworthiness; the graph is tongue-in-cheek. Information can be trustworthy or untrustworthy no matter the format it's given in. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.221|108.162.216.221]] 18:50, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
:Yes, I believe the explanation somewhat misinterprets Randall's intentions, especially when it comes to the image formats. I interpret it not as a question of loss of information due to compression but instead a more general impression of when and by whom these formats are used and, as a consequence, the trustworthiness of the information conveyed through these formats. That would explain the jpg/jpeg distinction as (in my experience though I can't provide data that support it) .jpg is nowadays the preferred compressed format in professional contexts and .jpeg looks slightly childish. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.117|141.101.80.117]] 23:59, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

Reading more into the linked info about viruses embedded in JPEGs, it appears that the only way to receive a virus from a JPEG file would be to have ''already'' received another virus from a standard executable file, where such a virus causes the computer to execute code in a JPEG file rather than simply display it as it normally would. Since such a possibility is independent of the file type (the first virus might just as well have enabled code execution in DOC files, for instance), I've removed that bit of info. [[User:Zowayix|Zowayix]] ([[User talk:Zowayix|talk]]) 03:44, 10 December 2013 (UTC)

Can anyone explain the banner near the top of xkcd.com today, 10 Dec 2013? It reads,
"Dear Wikipedia readers: if everyone reading this _showed up at my house,_ (yellow highlight)I would be like "what {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.220}}
: I believe that is a reference to the similar banner that is on top of wikipedia right now asking for donations. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 18:02, 10 December 2013 (UTC)
::I don't see that banner, but it appears to be a play on Wikipedia's donation "pleas" that are often posted (including now) as banners at the top of Wikipedia which suggest that (to use the lates one:) "If everyone reading this donated, our fundraiser would be done within an hour". [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 18:05, 10 December 2013 (UTC)

I think it's a bit ambiguous whether Randall's references (for example) to jpg and gif means he doesn't trust that the images are accurate because of artifacting and stuff, or whether he's referring to jpgs and gifs that occasionally circulate with text on them as if to present information (e.g., lifehack images, or cat memes...) [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 18:05, 10 December 2013 (UTC)

;missing suffices

Obviously .html & .htm are so far to the left, they're off the chart. :-)
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.117|108.162.249.117]] 17:43, 10 December 2013 (UTC)

Any idea what file type was used to spread this hoax?
http://www.dailydot.com/lifestyle/apple-secret-bitcoin-mining-feature/
Various websites reporting on it use .JPG and .PNG, but I don't know what format the original graphic was.
[[User:InspectorClouseau|InspectorClouseau]] ([[User talk:InspectorClouseau|talk]]) 16:16, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

I'd be pretty wary of .flv...
[[User:Nick Douglas|Nick Douglas]] ([[User talk:Nick Douglas|talk]]) 15:16, 18 December 2013 (UTC)

I don't completely agree with ".png"'s explanation: "But since he rates the format so low, is Randall saying we shouldn't trust this chart?" I think it's being seen from the wrong perspective. In my opinion, ".png" is rated low due to being less capable and less commonly used to transmit trustworthy information than those rated higher. What do you all think? If you agree with me, please edit it, as I will not monitor this page.

I also think that ".tex"'s explanation is lacking. It should be said it's a way to format text documents using programming, in order to make them better looking and easier (for some) to write and format.

Plus, I generally disagree with a lot of what is said about file extensions, since our whole operating systems could work just fine if all extensions disappeared (provided that programs look for the right files by name only, and maybe a few more folders where created). But that's my own opinion, and not something to be added here. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.125|108.162.219.125]] 02:57, 6 February 2015 (UTC)

One thing that seems to be overlooked here, is that GIFs are probably the least trustworthy because they can have those pop out horror images that scare you when you think you are just looking at a normal picture. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.120|199.27.128.120]] 17:32, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

Funny story related to the trustworthiness of files, The other day a friend asked me "How do you make a jpg with transparency?" I said, "you can't." He sent me the file, sure enough it looked like a .jpg with transparency, it opened in windows pictures, in chrome, in firefox, however it wouldn't load in Gimp and it wouldn't load in Photoshop. I popped it into a file analyzer and it registered as a gif! So, yeah, gifs are pretty shady... [[Special:Contributions/172.68.58.107|172.68.58.107]] 16:42, 11 September 2017 (UTC) Sam

Here's an entire Whitepaper written in a .txt file. If this isn't what this comic is trying to explain, I don't know what.
http://www.linux-kvm.org/downloads/lersek/ovmf-whitepaper-c770f8c.txt?fbclid=IwAR1JnAtCs5syKoF70I0d-KnZpI3BnsceIRrCDgevCGrbVSejVThaKNlHDc0

2153: Effects of High Altitude

2019-06-12T18:26:18Z

172.69.44.152:

{{comic
| number = 2153
| date = May 22, 2019
| title = Effects of High Altitude
| image = effects_of_high_altitude.png
| titletext = If she'd lived in Flagstaff (elevation 6,903 feet), Cruella de Vil would only have needed 89 dalmatians for her coat.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a HIGH BOT. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic starts out with three effects of high altitude related to the air getting "thinner" and the lower air pressure. {{w|Denver}} is one mile (5280 feet or 1609 meters) above sea-level (as marked on the steps of the State Capitol). At this elevation, the [http://www.altitude.org/air_pressure.php average atmospheric pressure] is about 83% of sea level pressure, or about 840 mbar instead of 1013 mbar, and [https://www.sensorsone.com/local-gravity-calculator/ gravity] is 99.94% of gravity at sea level at the same latitude, or 9.796 m/s2 instead of 9.801 m/s2. This has a number of effects:

* Water {{w|boiling|boils}} at 202 degrees F (94 degrees C), slightly lower than the baseline 212 degrees F (100 degrees C) it takes at sea level.
* Baseballs and golf balls fly slightly farther (with the same initial velocity, the distance is inversely proportional to gravitational acceleration so it would be 0.06% farther; in addition, the lower air pressure will reduce the resistance from the air the ball will experience, therefore it will slow down at a lower rate and thus fly even farther than the 0.06% due to gravity).
* {{w|Sunburn}} develops faster because there is less atmosphere above to filter out harmful ultraviolet rays.

As usual for xkcd, the effects of high altitude are extended in a comically absurd manner, applying this "slightly less" rule to things that have nothing to do with altitude:

* {{w|Scrabble}} is a board game where each letter is assigned a point value based on its frequency of use in the edition's language. The comic claims all letters are worth 16% more. When applied to the {{w|Scrabble_letter_distributions#English|normal values for the Scrabble tiles in English}}
** Q is worth 12 instead of 10
** X is worth 9 instead of 8
** Y is worth 5 instead of 4
This point increase would have little impact in the board game when two players sit across each other. However, it would imply that scrabble played via internet should require players to state their altitude at the begin of the online game which then assigns advantages to higher-altitude players. This advantage seems arbitrary, unless the altitude difference is really significant enough to impede the thinking ability of the higher-altitude party.
* A common {{w|superstition}} states that breaking a mirror causes 7 years of bad luck. The comic claims that at higher altitudes, only 5½ years are caused. This implies that people living at higher altitudes have less bad luck.
* Marketing campaigns will often state "X is the new Y" to draw the audience of Y in toward the newer X. When used with age, usually at 10 year intervals ("40 is the new 30" is the slogan referenced), it is an attempt to convince an older audience that they can share in an experience commonly associated with a younger audience. At higher elevations, the comic claims, people can use or do things designated for an even younger audience. This is contrary to facts however: Most activities, especially in sports, are more difficult at higher altitudes, not easier.
** In the base 16 ({{w|Hexadecimal|hexadecimal}}) number system, the value 28 represents 2 * 16^1 + 8 * 16^0 = 40. Thus, 40 is the new 28. Remember that, although {{w| Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything|Douglas Adams doesn't write jokes about other bases}}, Randall [[1000: 1000 Comics|does]].
* German band {{w|Nena (band)|Nena}}'s hit ''99 Red Balloons'' (an English adaptation of the original song called ''{{w|99 Luftballons}}'') is a song about a war started by a large clump of balloons mistaken for enemy aircraft (see [[#Trivia]]). The comic claims that if launched from a higher altitude, 94 balloons would have sufficed.
* {{w|420 (cannabis culture)|4:20}} is a code word for {{w|cannabis}} and has evolved in some circles to be the socially acceptable hour to consume cannabis. This has in turn evolved into a joke that when checking the time and finding it is exactly 4:20, people will add "blaze it" as a reference. The comic claims that, at higher altitudes, the socially acceptable time is earlier, so if there is an elevation of one mile, the socially acceptable time would be 4:17 and therefore, marijuana jokes are made earlier. This joke is probably related to the {{w|Cannabis in Colorado|legalization of recreational marijuana use in Colorado}}.

In the title text, ''{{w|One Hundred and One Dalmatians (franchise)|One Hundred and One Dalmatians}}'' is a Disney franchise (based on a children's book), where the villain, {{w|Cruella de Vil}}, aims to capture and kill 99 Dalmatian puppies (97 in the book) to have the perfect spotted fur coat. (The title includes the parents [book: and other Dalmatian caregivers] of the Dalmatian puppies.) The comic claims that, at a higher altitude in {{w|Flagstaff, Arizona|Flagstaff}} (6903 ft / 2104 m), she would only have needed 89 Dalmatians, possibly implying that puppies at higher altitudes are bigger (perhaps because there is {{w|Decompression (altitude)|less air pressure to compress them}}) or that Cruella de Vil at high altitudes is smaller (possibly because of the {{w|Wrinkle#Water-immersion wrinkling|higher humidity and lower temperature}}).

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:'''Effects of High Altitude'''
:How life is different at one mile above sea level
:(e.g. in Denver)

:[Eight small panels, each containing an image with a caption at the top:]

:Water boils at 202°F
:[A pot on a stovetop, with steam rising from the pot]

:Baseballs and golf balls fly 5-10% farther
:[A baseball flying through the air]

:Sunburns develop significantly faster
:[Five wavy arrows hitting a curved surface, two at a low point and three at a high point]

:Scrabble letters are worth 16% more
:[Scrabble tiles for letters Q, X and Y with point values 12, 9 and 5, respectively]

:Breaking a mirror only causes 5½ years of bad luck
:[Cueball looking down at a broken hand mirror on the floor]

:40 is the new 28
:[Cueball and Megan are talking. Megan is gesturing]
:Megan: 50 is the new 40, and when you account for elevation it's more like 37.

:Nuclear war can be started with only 94 red balloons.
:[Five black balloons floating]

:People make marijuana jokes slightly earlier
:[Cueball and Ponytail are talking. Ponytail is looking at her phone]
:Cueball: Hey, what time is it?
:Ponytail: 4:17 Blaze it!

==Trivia==
*A similar effect on sports caused by different latitudes was the topic of [[852: Local g]].
* ''99 Red Balloons'' is generally assumed to mean a UFO starts a nuclear war, but the craft is not necessarily a flying saucer nor is the war necessarily nuclear. Although the original German song refers to "UFOs aus dem All", the lyrics of the English-language song say "There's something here from somewhere else" which does not imply extraterrestrial origins, merely that the object is not of domestic origin; and "the war machine springs to life", which implies that a rival nation on earth is thought to be the culprit.

{{comic discussion}}

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

2153: Effects of High Altitude

2019-06-12T18:19:04Z

172.69.44.152: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2153
| date = May 22, 2019
| title = Effects of High Altitude
| image = effects_of_high_altitude.png
| titletext = If she'd lived in Flagstaff (elevation 6,903 feet), Cruella de Vil would only have needed 89 dalmatians for her coat.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a HIGH BOT. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic starts out with three effects of high altitude related to the air getting "thinner" and the lower air pressure. {{w|Denver}} is one mile (5280 feet or 1609 meters) above sea-level (as marked on the steps of the State Capitol). At this elevation, the [http://www.altitude.org/air_pressure.php average atmospheric pressure] is about 83% of sea level pressure, or about 840 mbar instead of 1013 mbar, and [https://www.sensorsone.com/local-gravity-calculator/ gravity] is 99.94% of gravity at sea level at the same latitude, or 9.796 m/s2 instead of 9.801 m/s2. This has a number of effects:

* Water {{w|boiling|boils}} at 202 degrees F (94 degrees C), slightly lower than the baseline 212 degrees F (100 degrees C) it takes at sea level.
* Baseballs and golf balls fly slightly farther (with the same initial velocity, the distance is inversely proportional to gravitational acceleration so it would be 0.06% farther; in addition, the lower air pressure will reduce the resistance from the air the ball will experience, therefore it will slow down at a lower rate and thus fly even farther than the 0.06% due to gravity).
* {{w|Sunburn}} develops faster because there is less atmosphere above to filter out harmful ultraviolet rays.

As usual for xkcd, the effects of high altitude are extended in a comically absurd manner, applying this "slightly less" rule to things that have nothing to do with altitude:

* {{w|Scrabble}} is a board game where each letter is assigned a point value based on its frequency of use in the edition's language. The comic claims all letters are worth 16% more. When applied to the {{w|Scrabble_letter_distributions#English|normal values for the Scrabble tiles in English}}
** Q is worth 12 instead of 10
** X is worth 9 instead of 8
** Y is worth 5 instead of 4
This point increase would have little impact in the board game when two players sit across each other. However, it would imply that scrabble played via internet should require players to state their altitude at the begin of the online game which then assigns advantages to higher-altitude players. This advantage seems arbitrary, unless the altitude difference is really significant enough to impede the thinking ability of the higher-altitude party.
* A common {{w|superstition}} states that breaking a mirror causes 7 years of bad luck. The comic claims that at higher altitudes, only 5½ years are caused. This implies that people living at higher altitudes have less bad luck.
* Marketing campaigns will often state "X is the new Y" to draw the audience of Y in toward the newer X. When used with age, usually at 10 year intervals ("40 is the new 30" is the slogan referenced), it is an attempt to convince an older audience that they can share in an experience commonly associated with a younger audience. At higher elevations, the comic claims, people can use or do things designated for an even younger audience. This is contrary to facts however: Most activities, especially in sports, are more difficult at higher altitudes, not easier.
** In the base 16 ({{w|Hexadecimal|hexadecimal}}) number system, the value 28 represents 2 * 16^1 + 8 * 16^0 = 40. Thus, 40 is the new 28. Remember that, although {{w| Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything|Douglas Adams doesn't write jokes about other bases}}, Randall [[1000: 1000 Comics|does]].
* German band {{w|Nena (band)|Nena}}'s hit ''99 Red Balloons'' (an English adaptation of the original song called ''{{w|99 Luftballons}}'') is a song about a (not necessarily nuclear) war started by a large clump of balloons mistaken for enemy aircraft (although the original German song refers to "UFOs aus dem All", the lyrics of the English-language song say "There's something here from somewhere else" which does not imply extraterrestrial origins, merely that the object is not of domestic origin; and "the war machine springs to life", which implies that a rival nation on earth is thought to be the culprit). The comic claims that if launched from a higher altitude, 94 balloons would have sufficed.
* {{w|420 (cannabis culture)|4:20}} is a code word for {{w|cannabis}} and has evolved in some circles to be the socially acceptable hour to consume cannabis. This has in turn evolved into a joke that when checking the time and finding it is exactly 4:20, people will add "blaze it" as a reference. The comic claims that, at higher altitudes, the socially acceptable time is earlier, so if there is an elevation of one mile, the socially acceptable time would be 4:17 and therefore, marijuana jokes are made earlier. This joke is probably related to the {{w|Cannabis in Colorado|legalization of recreational marijuana use in Colorado}}.

In the title text, ''{{w|One Hundred and One Dalmatians (franchise)|One Hundred and One Dalmatians}}'' is a Disney franchise (based on a children's book), where the villain, {{w|Cruella de Vil}}, aims to capture and kill 99 Dalmatian puppies (97 in the book) to have the perfect spotted fur coat. (The title includes the parents [book: and other Dalmatian caregivers] of the Dalmatian puppies.) The comic claims that, at a higher altitude in {{w|Flagstaff, Arizona|Flagstaff}} (6903 ft / 2104 m), she would only have needed 89 Dalmatians, possibly implying that puppies at higher altitudes are bigger (perhaps because there is {{w|Decompression (altitude)|less air pressure to compress them}}) or that Cruella de Vil at high altitudes is smaller (possibly because of the {{w|Wrinkle#Water-immersion wrinkling|higher humidity and lower temperature}}).

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:'''Effects of High Altitude'''
:How life is different at one mile above sea level
:(e.g. in Denver)

:[Eight small panels, each containing an image with a caption at the top:]

:Water boils at 202°F
:[A pot on a stovetop, with steam rising from the pot]

:Baseballs and golf balls fly 5-10% farther
:[A baseball flying through the air]

:Sunburns develop significantly faster
:[Five wavy arrows hitting a curved surface, two at a low point and three at a high point]

:Scrabble letters are worth 16% more
:[Scrabble tiles for letters Q, X and Y with point values 12, 9 and 5, respectively]

:Breaking a mirror only causes 5½ years of bad luck
:[Cueball looking down at a broken hand mirror on the floor]

:40 is the new 28
:[Cueball and Megan are talking. Megan is gesturing]
:Megan: 50 is the new 40, and when you account for elevation it's more like 37.

:Nuclear war can be started with only 94 red balloons.
:[Five black balloons floating]

:People make marijuana jokes slightly earlier
:[Cueball and Ponytail are talking. Ponytail is looking at her phone]
:Cueball: Hey, what time is it?
:Ponytail: 4:17 Blaze it!

==Trivia==
*A similar effect on sports caused by different latitudes was the topic of [[852: Local g]].

{{comic discussion}}

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

2162: Literary Opinions

2019-06-12T18:16:53Z

172.69.44.152: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2162
| date = June 12, 2019
| title = Literary Opinions
| image = literary_opinions.png
| titletext = If I really focus, I can distinguish between John Steinbeck and John Updike, or between Gore Vidal and Vidal Sassoon, but not both at once.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Hunter S Thompson was high while writing it. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Megan]] is telling [[Cueball]] about a literary opinion she has: She believes that {{w|William S. Burroughs}}, {{w|Hunter S. Thompson}}, {{w|Chuck Palahniuk}}, and {{w|David Foster Wallace}} are different names for the same person. To believe that different people are actually a same person is known as the {{w|Fregoli delusion}}; the person is usually believed to change appearance.

She then says that ''{{w|Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas}}'' (by Thompson) and ''{{w|Fight Club (novel)|Fight Club}}'' (by Palahniuk) are the same book with different covers, probably because the title and promotional images for both hint at fighting taking place in a big city (i.e., she is literally {{w|Don't judge a book by its cover|judging the books by their covers}}), when in reality the books are vastly different. Books sometimes have [https://www.rifflebooks.com/list/170553 different covers and titles in different regions].

Cueball realizes anyone who has so much as looked at the first page would know this to be false, and so offers Megan the chance to check. She refuses and just moves on to the next opinion she wants to share.

Cueball realizes all her "literary opinions" are probably about books she's refused to read, and tries to interrupt her, humorously proposing she should start a book club to discuss them. This may be to congregate all people who criticize books without reading them, or in hopes that it will be attended by people who have read the book and can prove to Megan her opinions are baseless.

Megan finishes telling him her opinion anyway, which is that {{w|E.B. White}} and {{w|T.H. White}} are the same person. This is apparently an opinion that Cueball can agree with, as he tells her that he believes it. This is likely a joke that the two names are hard to distinguish due to the having the same last name with only initials instead of a first name. In reality, the books they authored are very different, with E.B. White writing children's books ({{w|Charlotte's Web}}, {{w|Stuart Little}}, etc.) and T.H. White writing adult books about King Arthur ({{w|The Sword and the Stone}} and its sequels), although his works ''were'' adapted into a {{w|Disney movie}} so they could, to some degree, be considered children's books.

The title text continues with this, with Megan saying that she can distinguish between {{w|John Steinbeck}} and {{w|John Updike}}, as well as between {{w|Gore Vidal}} and {{w|Vidal Sassoon}}, but she can't do so simultaneously. Again this is likely due to the similarities in their names. Additionally, the mention of simultaneity could be a nod to the {{w|Heisenberg uncertainty principle}}, which states that there is a trade-off in precision when simultaneously measuring position and momentum.

===Explanation of people===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name
! Description
|-
| {{w|William S. Burroughs}}
| (1914–1997), American writer and visual artist. Wrote many semi-autobiographical works, best known for ''{{w|Naked Lunch}}'' and ''{{w|Junkie (novel)|Junkie}}''.
|-
| {{w|Hunter S. Thompson}}
| (1937–2005), American journalist and author. Founder of the {{w|Gonzo journalism}} movement. Best known for his novel ''{{w|Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas}}''.
|-
| {{w|Chuck Palahniuk}}
| born 1962, American novelist and freelance journalist. Best known for his novel ''{{w|Fight Club (novel)|Fight Club}}''.
|-
| {{w|David Foster Wallace}}
| (1962–2008), American writer and university professor for English and creative writing. Best known for his novel ''{{w|Infinite Jest}}''.
|-
| {{w|E.B. White}}
| (1899–1985), American writer. Co-author of the English language style guide ''{{w|The Elements of Style}}''. Also known for his children's books, including ''{{w|Stuart Little}}'', ''{{w|Charlotte's Web}}'', and ''{{w|The Trumpet of the Swan}}''.
|-
| {{w|T.H. White}}
| (1906–1964), English author. Known for his Arthurian novel series, ''{{w|The Once and Future King}}''.
|-
| {{w|John Steinbeck}}
| (1902–1968), American novelist. Known for his novels set in Central California, including ''{{w|Tortilla Flat}}'', ''{{w|Cannery Row (novel)|Cannery Row}}'', ''{{w|East of Eden (novel)|East of Eden}}'', ''{{w|Of Mice and Men}}'', and ''{{w|The Grapes of Wrath}}''.
|-
| {{w|John Updike}}
| (1932–2009), American novelist, poet, short-story writer, art critic, and literary critic. Known for his prolific career and for his "Rabbit" series, chronicling the life of {{w|Rabbit Angstrom}}.
|-
| {{w|Gore Vidal}}
| (1925–2012), American writer and public intellectual. A political commentator and essayist, as well as a novelist.
|-
| {{w|Vidal Sassoon}}
| (1928–2012), British-American hairstylist, businessman, and fashion icon. Founded a worldwide chain of hairstyling salons as well as a line of hair treatment products. A philanthropist later in life.
|}

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

:[Megan is walking with a finger raised toward Cueball, who is seated in a chair with a book.]
:Megan: Literary opinion:
:Megan: I firmly believe that William S. Burroughs, Hunter S. Thompson, Chuck Palahniuk, and David Foster Wallace are different names for the same person.
:Cueball: ...I see.

:[Megan puts down her hand.]
:Megan: ''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'' and ''Fight Club''? Same book with different covers, I bet.
:Cueball: I have both. Want to open them and check?
:Megan: I do not.

:[Cueball turns back to his book.]
:Megan: Moving on: my next opinion--
:Cueball: You should start a book club for discussing the books you refuse to read.
:Megan: --is that E.B. White and T.H. White are the same person.
:Cueball: Ok, ''that'' I believe.

{{comic discussion}}

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

2162: Literary Opinions

2019-06-12T18:14:56Z

172.69.44.152:

{{comic
| number = 2162
| date = June 12, 2019
| title = Literary Opinions
| image = literary_opinions.png
| titletext = If I really focus, I can distinguish between John Steinbeck and John Updike, or between Gore Vidal and Vidal Sassoon, but not both at once.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Hunter S Thompson was high while writing it. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Books sometimes have [https://www.rifflebooks.com/list/170553 different covers and titles in different regions].

[[Megan]] is telling [[Cueball]] about a literary opinion she has: She believes that {{w|William S. Burroughs}}, {{w|Hunter S. Thompson}}, {{w|Chuck Palahniuk}}, and {{w|David Foster Wallace}} are different names for the same person. To believe that different people are actually a same person is known as the {{w|Fregoli delusion}}; the person is usually believed to change appearance.

She then says that ''{{w|Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas}}'' (by {{w|Hunter S. Thompson}}) and ''{{w|Fight Club (novel)|Fight Club}}'' (by {{w|Chuck Palahniuk}}) are the same book with different covers, probably because the title and promotional images for both hint at fighting taking place in a big city (i.e., she is literally {{w|Don't judge a book by its cover|judging the book by its cover}}). They are not the same book, though.

Cueball realizes anyone who has so much as looked at the first page would know this to be false, and so offers Megan the chance to check. She refuses and just moves on to the next opinion she wants to share (a practice criticized by {{w|Stephen Covey}} as "waiting for one's turn to speak" as opposed to "listening")

Cueball realizes all her "literary opinions" are probably about books she's refused to read, and tries to interrupt her, humorously proposing she should start a book club to discuss them. This may be to congregate all people who criticize books without reading them, or in hopes that it will be attended by people who have read the book and can prove to Megan her opinions are baseless.

Megan finishes telling him her opinion anyway, which is that {{w|E.B. White}} and {{w|T.H. White}} are the same person. This is apparently an opinion that Cueball can agree with, as he tells her that he believes it. This is likely a joke that the two names are hard to distinguish due to the having the same last name with only initials instead of a first name. In reality, the books they authored are very different, with E.B. White writing children's books (''Charlotte's Web'', etc.) and T.H. White writing books about King Arthur (''The Sword and the Stone'', et al; although his works ''were'' adapted into a {{w|Disney movie}} so they could, to some degree, be considered children's books).

The title text continues with this, with Megan saying that she can distinguish between {{w|John Steinbeck}} and {{w|John Updike}}, as well as between {{w|Gore Vidal}} and {{w|Vidal Sassoon}}, but she can't do so simultaneously. Again this is likely due to the similarities in their names. Additionally, this could be a nod to the {{w|Heisenberg uncertainty principle}}.

===Explanation of people===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name
! Description
|-
| {{w|William S. Burroughs}}
| (1914–1997), American writer and visual artist. Wrote many semi-autobiographical works, best known for ''{{w|Naked Lunch}}'' and ''{{w|Junkie (novel)|Junkie}}''.
|-
| {{w|Hunter S. Thompson}}
| (1937–2005), American journalist and author. Founder of the {{w|Gonzo journalism}} movement. Best known for his novel ''{{w|Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas}}''.
|-
| {{w|Chuck Palahniuk}}
| born 1962, American novelist and freelance journalist. Best known for his novel ''{{w|Fight Club (novel)|Fight Club}}''.
|-
| {{w|David Foster Wallace}}
| (1962–2008), American writer and university professor for English and creative writing. Best known for his novel ''{{w|Infinite Jest}}''.
|-
| {{w|E.B. White}}
| (1899–1985), American writer. Co-author of the English language style guide ''{{w|The Elements of Style}}''. Also known for his children's books, including ''{{w|Stuart Little}}'', ''{{w|Charlotte's Web}}'', and ''{{w|The Trumpet of the Swan}}''.
|-
| {{w|T.H. White}}
| (1906–1964), English author. Known for his Arthurian novel series, ''{{w|The Once and Future King}}''.
|-
| {{w|John Steinbeck}}
| (1902–1968), American novelist. Known for his novels set in Central California, including ''{{w|Tortilla Flat}}'', ''{{w|Cannery Row (novel)|Cannery Row}}'', ''{{w|East of Eden (novel)|East of Eden}}'', ''{{w|Of Mice and Men}}'', and ''{{w|The Grapes of Wrath}}''.
|-
| {{w|John Updike}}
| (1932–2009), American novelist, poet, short-story writer, art critic, and literary critic. Known for his prolific career and for his "Rabbit" series, chronicling the life of {{w|Rabbit Angstrom}}.
|-
| {{w|Gore Vidal}}
| (1925–2012), American writer and public intellectual. Was a political commentator and essayist, as well as a novelist.
|-
| {{w|Vidal Sassoon}}
| (1928–2012), British-American hairstylist, businessman, and fashion icon. Founded a worldwide chain of hairstyling salons as well as a line of hair treatment products. Was a philanthropist later in his life.
|}

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

:[Megan is walking with a finger raised toward Cueball, who is seated in a chair with a book.]
:Megan: Literary opinion:
:Megan: I firmly believe that William S. Burroughs, Hunter S. Thompson, Chuck Palahniuk, and David Foster Wallace are different names for the same person.
:Cueball: ...I see.

:[Megan puts down her hand.]
:Megan: ''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'' and ''Fight Club''? Same book with different covers, I bet.
:Cueball: I have both. Want to open them and check?
:Megan: I do not.

:[Cueball turns back to his book.]
:Megan: Moving on: my next opinion--
:Cueball: You should start a book club for discussing the books you refuse to read.
:Megan: --is that E.B. White and T.H. White are the same person.
:Cueball: Ok, ''that'' I believe.

{{comic discussion}}

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

2158: Qualifiers

2019-06-03T16:42:32Z

172.69.44.152: Improved description

{{comic
| number = 2158
| date = June 3, 2019
| title = Qualifiers
| image = qualifiers.png
| titletext = [20 minutes later] ", hi."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a QUALIFIER. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic shows how qualifiers can be used to delay saying something, that is usually used where the person who says that is nervous about saying something. In this comic, The qualifiers are not used to delay to say something, just to delay enough until [[Cueball]] thinks something new.

The title text says that after 20 minutes, he runs out of qualifiers and says "hi".

==Transcript==
([[Cueball]] (or [[Randall]]) talking to Hatty):

Cueball: Ok, so, listen, the thing is well, like, I'm just saying, and maybe it's just me, but, I mean, here's the thing, I could be way off here, but, look, I gotta say,

(Caption beyond comic):
When I forget what I was going to say, I just keep prefixing qualifiers until I think of something new.
{{comic discussion}}

2158: Qualifiers

2019-06-03T16:40:22Z

172.69.44.152: Added transcript

{{comic
| number = 2158
| date = June 3, 2019
| title = Qualifiers
| image = qualifiers.png
| titletext = [20 minutes later] ", hi."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a QUALIFIER. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic shows how qualifiers can be used to delay saying something, that is usually used where the person who says that is nervous about saying something. In this comic, The qualifiers are not used to delay to say something, just to delay enough until [[Cueball]] thinks something new.

The title text says that after 20 minutes, he runs out of qualifiers and says "hi".

==Transcript==
([[Cueball]] (or [[Randall]]) talking to Hatty)
Cueball: Ok, so, listen, the thing is well, like, I'm just saying, and maybe it's just me, but, I mean, here's the thing, I could be way off here, but, look, I gotta say,

(Caption beyond comic)
When I forget what I was going to say, I just keep prefixing qualifiers until I think of something new.
{{comic discussion}}