explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1396: Actors

2020-09-29T18:54:22Z

172.69.62.246:

Could be Bieber... 04:42, 18 July 2014 (UTC)
:Good point. [[User:Sjrsimac|Sjrsimac]] ([[User talk:Sjrsimac|talk]]) 04:48, 18 July 2014 (UTC)
:More likely Timberlake.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.207|108.162.246.207]] 06:48, 18 July 2014 (UTC)Nix
:It's referring to Justin Theroux, currently in ninth place on IMDB's Most Popular Males list. (http://www.imdb.com/search/name?gender=male) Yeah, I have no idea who he is either. I feel old. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.170|108.162.237.170]] 06:49, 18 July 2014 (UTC)
:The name of the comic is ACTORS, guys. Last I checked, Bieber is not an actor. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.75|173.245.55.75]] 01:12, 20 July 2014 (UTC)
::He was in Statesmen, the sequel to Kingsmen, but I think that's it.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.246|172.69.62.246]] 18:54, 29 September 2020 (UTC)
Do you think it's necessary to add that the temperature is in Fahrenheit, and that normal body temperature is around 98.6? The part about getting a bit of his shirt should also probably be explained in that context. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.211|173.245.56.211]] 05:39, 18 July 2014 (UTC)
:Yeah, please do. Most Americans can't handle metric units, and I can't handle Fahrenheit. The only thing I can remember is that body temperature is around 100°F. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.59|108.162.254.59]] 07:26, 18 July 2014 (UTC)
:Inserted Fahrenheit and Celcius into the explanation...
:Compared Suns temp. to Xi Persei, inserted link to films about birds (them being the hottest warm-blooded creatures I know of) [[User:Tier666|Tier666]] ([[User talk:Tier666|talk]]) 08:03, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

I seem to recall several other comics making fun of these generic headlines of the form "The <n> <adjective> <nouns> you must see". I could only find one though: http://xkcd.com/1283/ --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.95|141.101.104.95]] 07:40, 18 July 2014 (UTC)
: http://www.xkcd.com/1307/ (Buzzfeed Christmas) has plenty of these. [[Special:Contributions/103.22.201.239|103.22.201.239]] 08:58, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

Forget animals and "stars" with fevers: certainly the "hottest" objects involved in creating characters are the server farms behind CGI cartoon films! I can only imagine the heat load during final rendering. (Note: I stated "creating characters" akin to acting; to use movie-making in general, the hottest objects would be stage lighting, or the Sun during outdoor scenes.) --BigMal // [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.88|173.245.55.88]] 12:20, 18 July 2014 (UTC)
: Rendering is not acting. The computation of {{w|MASSIVE_(software)|crowd behaviour}}, on the other hand, is. So question is how hot will became CPUs (or GPUs) of computers involved in computing the battles like in LOTR. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:35, 18 July 2014 (UTC)
::I'm sure there are plenty of movies in which the sun is a character. There might also be special effects or a separate voice actor, but if the sun plays itself for some of the time, it might be considered an (uncredited) actor. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Mr._Sun][http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=VEfomqnif34#t=833] [[Special:Contributions/103.22.201.239|103.22.201.239]] 16:54, 18 July 2014 (UTC)
:For that matter isn't ξ Persei visible in some night-sky scenes, making it once again the hottest? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.38|108.162.216.38]] 21:51, 18 July 2014 (UTC)
::Does it play a major role in any movie? Or are we lumping irrelevant background extras with actors? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.208.251|108.162.208.251]] 04:16, 19 July 2014 (UTC)

I'm not sure there is misunderstanding about stars. I mean, the misunderstanding about the meaning of ''hot'' is enough to rank ξ Persei as hotter that any actress, including Kirsten Dunst (which is sexiest according to [http://top10for.com/top-10-sexiest-hollywood-actresses-2014/ this list], my opinion is different). I'm also sure ξ Persei is more attractive if you measure the force in fixed distance of 10 meters from surface. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:35, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

Anybody else suddenly notice that ξ looks a lot like the new name of the "Artist formerly known as Prince"? And thus miss the Astronomical reference entirely and wonder if his last name was now Persei?[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 20:38, 18 July 2014 (UTC)
:I don't understand any of what you just said, but "The artist formerly known as Prince" has been referring to himself as "Prince" for at least 13 years. That strange symbol was only his name from 1993 to 2000. [[User:NealCruco|NealCruco]] ([[User talk:NealCruco|talk]]) 01:27, 19 July 2014 (UTC)

The article says "They are shooting stars with a laser beam...", is this a typo, or a phrasing I don't understand? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.38|108.162.216.38]] 21:51, 18 July 2014 (UTC)
:Using a laser beam to point out stars is common. See http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/some-pointers-on-the-use-of-laser-pointers/ . In movies, shooting refers to filming. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.75|108.162.216.75]] 17:11, 21 July 2014 (UTC)

Incidentally, an IR thermometer is great for the kitchen -- the best way to heat a skillet to a consistent temperature for making perfect pancakes or stir-fry.
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.99|173.245.52.99]] 23:43, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

The fact that "ξ Per rises in Hollywood every night" is incorrect: the time of rise can be at any time of the day/night and it depends on the time of year. Moreover, the explanation using ξ Per's declination is incorrect: the stars with declination δ rise in a location with latitude φ if and only if |δ| < 90° - |φ|, so the given statement "star rises every night if (approximately) δ = φ" is only correct for |φ| < 45° (and so is incidentally correct in this case). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.164|141.101.99.164]] 15:21, 19 July 2014 (UTC)

2122: Size Venn Diagram

2019-03-11T16:56:02Z

172.69.62.246: added table of items

{{comic
| number = 2122
| date = March 11, 2019
| title = Size Venn Diagram
| image = size_venn_diagram.png
| titletext = Terms I'm going to start using: The Large Dipper, great potatoes, the Big Hadron Collider, and Large Orphan Annie.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a Large Terror. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is a {{w|Venn diagram}} illustrating the complete set of possible intersections of five different size descriptors: "little, "large", "small", and "great", “big”. Each unique intersection contains a short list of terms that can be preceded by each applicable descriptor. For example, "flying fox" (a type of bat) appears at the intersection of "large", "small", and "great", because the species {{w|large flying fox}}, {{w|small flying fox}}, and {{w|great flying fox}} all exist, but there is no such species as a "big flying fox" or a "little flying fox". {{w|Small intestine}} and {{w|large intestine}} both exist, not the rest.

Some descriptors are applied in pairs; for example, "planet" is placed to be in both the "little" and "big" groups, a reference to the video game Little Big Planet.

The title text has Randall suggesting he will start using term combinations that don't appear in the above diagram.

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

The comic is a five-variable venn diagram, with some words that fit with those prefixes.

:Big: [[wikipedia:Big Bang Theory|Bang Theory]], [[wiktionary:big enchilada|Enchilada]], [[wikipedia:Big Board|Board]], [[wikipedia:Big Sur|Sur]]
:Little: [[wikipedia:Little Orphan Annie|Orphan Annie]], [[wikipedia:Little House on the Prairie|House on the Prairie]], [[wikipedia:Little Richard|Richard]]
:Large: format, Millimeter Telescope, Hadron Collider
:Small: claims court, potatoes
:Great: Barrier Reef, Wall of China, Depression, Terror, aunt

:Big/Little: Dipper, Planet, lies, sister
:Big/Large: Toothed Aspen
:Big/Small: time, screen
:Big/Great: Bend, Bear Lake
:Little/Large: Professor, Forest Bat
:Little/Small: wonder, soldiers
:Little/Great: Blue Heron
:Large/Small: intestine, Magellanic Cloud
:Large/Great: Billed Seed Finch
:Small/Great: pox, cardiac vein

:Big/Little/Large: foundation
:Big/Little/Small: foot
:Big/Little/Great: league
:Big/Large/Small: Eyed Conger, Blue
:Big/Large/Great: hearted
:Big/Small/Great: end
:Little/Large/Small: ...
:...

:Big/Large/Great/Small:
:...
:Little/Big/Large/Great:
:Little/Big/Large/Small:
:Little/Big/Great/Small:
:Little/Large/Great/Small:

:Little/Big/Large/Great/Small: Island

==List of Items in the Diagram==
{| class="wikitable"
!Item
!Big
!Great
!Large
!Little
!Small
|-
|'''Blue'''
|IBM (also movie)
|
|butterfly
|
|butterfly
|-
|'''Eyed Conger'''
|eel
|
|eel
|
|eel
|-
|'''Island'''
|Hawaii
|Cork Harbor, Ireland
|Antilles
|movie
|novel, movie
|-
|'''Pox'''
|
|syphilis
|
|
|disease
|-
|'''Screen'''
|movies
|
|
|
|TV
|-
|'''Time'''
|major
|
|
|
|minor
|-
|'''White'''
|ski resort
|shark
|pig
|
|butterfly
|}

{{comic discussion}}

2121: Light Pollution

2019-03-11T02:51:15Z

172.69.62.246: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2121
| date = March 8, 2019
| title = Light Pollution
| image = light_pollution.png
| titletext = It's so sad how almost no one alive today can remember seeing the galactic rainbow, the insanity nebula, or the skull and glowing eyes of the Destroyer of Sagittarius.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by the DESTROYER OF SAGITTARIUS. Some answers appear possibly one-person poorly-backed opinions such as Lovecraft; any other opinions to counter them? Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic shows how {{w|Light pollution|light pollution}} in cities affect what you can see from the night sky. The first three panels show realistic examples of what you could see from the sky inside a large city, in the suburbs and far away from light pollution. These panels roughly correlate on the {{w|Bortle Scale}} to 8-9 (city), 5-6 (suburbs) and 2-3 (remote area).

The last panel contrasts these for comedic effect with fake things in the sky that are not actually present in the night sky.{{Citation needed}} "{{w|Celestial spheres|Crystal spheres}}" is an ancient theory about the heavens and what it was that held up the stars, before it was commonly accepted that space could be made of hard vacuum and celestial bodies held there by mere law of inertia and vast distances. The spheres are nested inside each other concentrically. Randall proposes they are held by {{w|latticework}} like that which supports the Eiffel Tower, and that the lattice structure could be seen long ago when the sky was much darker.

Although all crystals do have a {{w|Crystal structure|crystal lattice}}, as in the [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crystal meaning 3] of the word "crystal" in Merriam-Webster (<i>a body that [...] has a regularly repeating internal arrangement of its atoms and often external plane faces</i>), these lattices are sub-microscopic and would be invisible in the sky. Additionally, crystal structure was not yet known at the time that the crystal spheres theory was popular.

In consensus reality, the sky does contain many invisible objects that can observe us and/or provide major structures of our society, such as satellites, {{w|Mesosphere#Exploration_and_uses|nearcraft}}, and drones, but these are usually invisible due to size and distance more than brightness.

The title text starts off sounding like a legitimate statement about light pollution. It is common to remark that the vast majority of people never see things in the night sky that were commonly seen by our ancestors every night prior to industrialization, such as the {{w|Milky Way}} or now-obscure phenomena such as {{w|Zodiacal light}}, {{w|Airglow}} or {{w|Gegenschein}}. The title text then further adds to the humor of the last panel by describing non-existent features, many of which a reader has suggested could be references to {{w|H. P. Lovecraft}}. He often refers to beasts the possible size that “The Destroyer of Sagittarius” would have to be. He also often speaks of insanity and color, connecting the two.

{{w|Sagittarius (constellation)|Sagittarius}} is one of the constellations of the zodiac and {{w|Sagittarius A*}} a black hole at the center of the {{w|Milky Way}} inside of that constellation.

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

:[Four views of the night sky are shown among each other. The text on top reads:]
:'''Light Pollution and the Disappearing Night Sky'''

:[The first view shows only a few bright stars visible on a fairly light gray-brownish background. The inline text on the left top is:]
:High Light Pollution
:(Cities)

:[On the second view more stars are visible and some faint blurry white clouds on a dark-gray background are visible.]
:Moderate Light Pollution
:(Suburbs)

:[A lot of stars, even partly colored, and a clear image of many clouds on a dark background are shown.]
:Low Light Pollution
:(Very remote areas)

:[The last image shows the same region as above but with even more exposed stars and clouds, the colors are also more explicit. A faint lattice of triangles overlaying the image to its full extent and three ghastly silhouettes of sail-ships are shown embedded in clouds. The text on the top left reads:]
:No Light Pollution
:(How the sky should look)
:[Four arrows are pointing to some triangles:]
:Lattice of the crystal spheres
:[Three arrows are indicating the sail-ships:]
:Ships of the Sky King

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]