explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2348: Boat Puzzle

2020-08-20T15:53:25Z

172.69.63.247:

A link could be made to this wiki entry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf,_goat_and_cabbage_problem#Occurrence_and_variations . Also the last panel is seemingly a reference to the trolley problem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolley_problem

Callback to strip 1134. https://xkcd.com/1134/ I don't know how to add a proper link.
Pete [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.71|162.158.154.71]] 22:23, 19 August 2020 (UTC)

Oh boy someone out there is gonna get nerd-sniped ''real'' hard [[User:Fieldbox|Fieldbox]] ([[User talk:Fieldbox|talk]]) 23:48, 19 August 2020 (UTC)

Some thoughts I had:

- There's a hierarchy: Wolfeater -> Wolves -> Goats & Cabbage moths -> Cabbages

- Does Wolfeater also eat cabbage? Yes. It's a goat

- There are [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_paper_scissors#Additional_weapons additional weapons for Rock paper scissors]

- Black Hat's moths and termites could obviously be transported so far (Black Hat might lie, source needed), but in the spirit of the question: moths can't be left alone with cabbages, and termites will destroy the boat if a crossing with them is attempted

- Cabbages can cushion the trolley, and still function as cabbages afterwards. Use White Hat's, because he has 100/101 cabbages, Ponytail's 1 cabbage adds less than 1% to the cushion, and if it's a special kind (probably not in the spirit of the question), it would get jumbled with the rest of them in the cushioning

- 6 humans to keep an eye on things, instead of the normal 1

- Trolley doesn't get to cross. It can hold multiple wolves, let's say at least 3, and if the trolley ''could'' cross, then Cueball wouldn't hesitate to recommend Ponytail go across with her 3 items [[User:Coverbe|Coverbe]] ([[User talk:Coverbe|talk]]) 05:03, 20 August 2020 (UTC)

Relevant: "Rubicon" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-ROdRgRRsY [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.14|162.158.159.14]] 07:28, 20 August 2020 (UTC)

Question: is the wolf-eating goat the same goat as the goat that Beret Guy won from Monty Hall? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.247|172.69.63.247]] 15:53, 20 August 2020 (UTC)

Talk:402: 1,000 Miles North

2020-08-11T17:57:15Z

172.69.63.247:

+1 for 'a tornado that likes to chase people'
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.8|108.162.216.8]] 14:16, 24 January 2014 (UTC) marvis

. . . Years before sharknado!{{unsigned ip|173.245.54.167}}

Does the title refer to anything. I can't find any analogy such as "1000 Miles West" etc. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.107|141.101.106.107]] 19:06, 1 January 2015 (UTC)

Could the title mean that the action here is happening 1,000 miles north of the tornato-chasing in the movie? [[User:Wdstarr|Wdstarr]] ([[User talk:Wdstarr|talk]]) 03:04, 21 October 2018 (UTC)

The speed of permafrost movement is, well, glacial. [[User:Danshoham|Mountain Hikes]] ([[User talk:Danshoham|talk]]) 04:32, 9 November 2015 (UTC)

Randall would've been more accurate if he wrote "1000s of miles north of Tornado Alley".[[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.247|172.69.63.247]] 17:57, 11 August 2020 (UTC)

2318: Dynamic Entropy

2020-06-10T22:44:25Z

172.69.63.247:

{{comic
| number = 2318
| date = June 11, 2020
| title = Dynamic Entropy
| image = dynamic_entropy.png
| titletext = Despite years of effort by my physics professors to normalize it, deep down I remain convinced that 'dynamical' is not really a word.
}}

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

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

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:731: Desert Island

2020-05-15T00:01:00Z

172.69.63.247:

There's a shark, a manta ray, giant jellyfish, and a giant squid in the water. It's totally safe. And what the heck are those worms at the ocean bed? '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:27, 18 February 2013 (UTC)

:Those worms are ''extremophiles'' feeding off of the nutrients emitted by the volcanic column... and from what I understand, they're completely harmless. Their entire ecology centers around the extreme heat and alternative chemical sources of energy provided by the center of the earth (vs sun-based photosynthetic life.) Oh, and I think Randall left off the "not to scale" attribute of the map, otherwise the ocean floor would only be a few hundred feet deep... -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 15:50, 18 February 2013 (UTC)
The title text seems to be alluding to a song. No idea what it could be. --[[User:Qwach|Qwach]] ([[User talk:Qwach|talk]]) 18:27, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

In my mind, I hear the alt-text as lyrics to the Can-Can song, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0WRJES4cyw "Infernal Gallop"]. See if you agree! {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.12}}

I'm pretty sure it's meant to go with the Major-General's song from the Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan. The meter and rhyme works out, and Randall based comic 1052 (Every Major's Terrible) on it, showing that he knows and likes the song. {{unsigned ip |141.101.88.208}}

Also the title text is a poem since no one mentions it: 
''Telescopes and bathyscapes 
''and sonar probes of Scottish lakes, 
''Tacoma Narrows bridge collapse 
''explained with abstract phase-space maps, 
''some x-ray slides, a music score, 
''Minard's Napoleonic war: 
''the most exciting new frontier 
''is charting what's already here. 
--[[User:7buergen|7buergen]] ([[User talk:7buergen|talk]]) 09:32, 13 February 2014 (UTC)

I think the point of the commentary is "there's more than meets the eye". [[Special:Contributions/141.101.81.216|141.101.81.216]] 13:47, 21 February 2014 (UTC)

It's to the tune of "We Didn't Start the Fire"... {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.116}}
:I agree. It lines up perfectly, arguably better than Major General. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.57|108.162.221.57]] 05:34, 14 July 2015 (UTC)

If "We Didn't Start the Fire" had been the original intended tune, then the "some" and "a" in line 5 should not be there; they are superfluous and do not fit the rhythm of "We Didn't Start the Fire". The most plausible conclusion is that those words were added or retained to make the text fit the meter of a different song. To my ear, "Infernal Gallop", as noted above, seems quite plausible, although it doesn't exactly account for "some". Being (to my shame) unfamiliar with Gilbert and Sullivan, I can't comment on the Modern Major-General theory. --[[User:5parrowhawk|5parrowhawk]] ([[User talk:5parrowhawk|talk]]) 10:18, 8 March 2016 (UTC)
Feels like it has something to do with those I Spy books idk {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.116}}

The white/blue colored things on the left could be scrap metal from the game subnautica[[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.184|162.158.134.184]] 06:19, 16 July 2019 (UTC)
: ...which was released mere 8 years after this comic... --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:09, 16 July 2019 (UTC)

The title text can be sung to the tune of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start The Fire". I found this out because someone pointed it out [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/remarks.php?trope=Main.WeDidntStartTheBillyJoelParodies#comment-80250 here]