explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2875: 2024

2024-01-02T18:26:09Z

172.69.71.140: Undo revision 331978 by 172.70.90.29 (talk)

<noinclude>:''This page refers to the comic named "2024". For comic #2024, see [[2024: Light Hacks]].''</noinclude>
{{comic
| number = 2875
| date = January 1, 2024
| title = 2024
| image = 2024_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x553px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It wasn't originally constitutionally required, but presidents who served two terms have traditionally followed George Washington's example and gotten false teeth.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by OBAMA'S TEETH - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In what starts off almost like a "[[:Category:Comics to make one feel old|doesn't time fly?]]" scene, the unstoppable progression of the calendar is observed, as [[Ponytail]] points out that it's now 2024. [[Cueball]], in response, notes that it is an election year, in this context a {{w|President of the United States#Election|US ''Presidential'' election}} year, which occurs every four years and has (in one form or other) since 1788. Ponytail then replies in some form of exasperated tone that they "keep on happening", which is true but (normally) unsurprising, even/especially with other major elections happening every two years, presumably not compared to how [https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/youre-joking-not-another-one/ some other democracies] might be less predictable/more frequent.

On top of this, Ponytail seems to have not been aware (or maybe has chosen to forget) the passing of two whole election cycles (and two newer incumbents) as the discussion focuses upon {{w|Barack Obama}}, the ''former'' US President. Ponytail seems to be quite behind the times as she asks if Obama is still president (he left office January 20th, 2017, which was 7 (!) years ago, a fact that Cueball cannot quite believe Ponytail is ignorant of). Ponytail states that she liked him, and wonders if he'll be up for taking on the position again. But Cueball states that he ''can't'' be made President again, having already served two terms, which Ponytail confirms by checking for herself the details of the {{w|Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution}}.

The humor in the comic comes in the second half; Cueball and Ponytail discuss whether Obama is the same person (like the mythical {{w|Ship of Theseus}}, most of his constituent cells are frequently replaced), with Ponytail looking into the possibility of Obama's re-election based upon philosophical/biological technicalities (as applied to the Constitution's words), rather than as legal/political convention might normally suggest. But when even that approach is seen to be wanting, requiring a wait significantly exceeding 30 years, Ponytail suggests negating that issue by having all of Obama's teeth removed and replaced with false teeth.

In order to facilitate the latter goal, Ponytail announces her intention to consult a dentist and (for exact reasons that can only be guessed at) a lawyer. Seeing where her current misplaced, and {{w|Dunning–Kruger effect|less than informed}}, zeal might be leading her, Cueball gives his prediction that the probable {{w|Supreme Court of the United States|ultimate legal arbiters}} of her plan might be unanimous in rejecting its validity (if not dissuading its attempt). SCOTUS being unanimous on an issue is now a [https://www.scotusblog.com/2022/07/as-unanimity-declines-conservative-majoritys-power-runs-deeper-than-the-blockbuster-cases/ comparatively rare event].

The title text combines two {{w|George Washington}} references. The first part of the sentence is the beginning of the mundane but true claim that "It wasn't originally constitutionally required, but presidents who have served two terms have traditionally followed George Washington's example and not sought a third term." However, the title text veers off-course to the subject of {{w|George Washington's teeth|George Washington's (in)famous 'false teeth'}}. Washington's dentures are often falsely claimed to be made of wood; in truth they were ''real'' teeth procured from other sources. Regardless, this would have likely resolved the rather specific philosophical/legal problems established in the comic, were they real. However, since Washington only ran for president twice, even if the 22nd amendment had been in effect, it would have been unnecessary!

It goes almost without saying that no one has yet even ''attempted'' to carry out this plan. Only one President has exceeded the 2-term limit; {{w|Franklin D. Roosevelt}} died in office during his ''fourth'' term, but he served prior to the 22nd Amendment and was thus unaffected by the rule, which was enacted six years after his death. (FDR did have a partial denture, but given that he retained some of his natural teeth, he did not engage in Ponytail's proposed scheme.) Presidents since then have definitely tried various schemes aimed at securing a second term, with both successes and failures, but nobody has yet attempted''this particular plan'' to achieve a third or beyond. Or at least one can assume that those that perhaps did (including, as noted, all those who were not yet 'required' to go to these lengths) failed to attain their goals for entirely different reasons.

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

:[Ponytail and Cueball are walking.]
:Ponytail: So this is 2024.
:Cueball: Yup. Guess it's an election year now.
:Ponytail: Again? Man, those just keep happening, huh?

:[Ponytail and Cueball now standing.]
:Ponytail: Who's the president these days, anyway? Is it still Obama?
:Cueball: What? No? He hasn't been... How do you not...

:[Ponytail and Cueball still standing.]
:Ponytail: Darn, I liked him. Is he running this time?
:Cueball: No, he's not allowed to.
:Ponytail: He's not? Why?
:Cueball: Constitution.

:[Ponytail checks her smartphone.]
:Phone: ''Amendment 22''
:Phone: No person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice
:Ponytail: What?? C'mon...

:[Ponytail talking to Cueball.]
:Ponytail: Don't all your cells get replaced every seven years, Ship of Theseus-style? Is he even the same person?
:Ponytail: Maybe "no person shall be elected more than twice" isn't a prohibition, it's more of an observation, like "you can't step in the same river twice."

:[Zoom in on Cueball.]
:Cueball: Isn't the cell thing a myth?
:Cueball: I think tooth enamel has a turnover half-life of 30+ years. His teeth molecules are probably the same.

:[Ponytail heads off with a finger raised.]
:Ponytail: So if Obama just gets false teeth, he can run again! I need to talk to a dentist and a lawyer!
:Cueball: The Supreme Court is about to vote 9-0 to block your number.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Elections]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Biology]]

Talk:2873: Supersymmetry

2023-12-29T14:57:21Z

172.69.71.140:

Ah, good, I was ''just'' about to tell people (on 2872's Talk page) that there was a new one... (And that we obviously need to prod the theusafBOT.) Currently, [[2872: Hydrothermal Vents]] doesn't have the 'Next' links to here, but (from last comic's experience) it might just be a matter of nudging its server-side cache a bit. I'll try the tricks I tried yesterday. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.101|141.101.99.101]] 20:08, 27 December 2023 (UTC)

Too bad the franchise has never introduced a Weach character (there's a couple of witches). A game with Peach as the main protagonist would be interesting, and it would give us a convenient positron. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.26.135|172.71.26.135]] 20:56, 27 December 2023 (UTC)
:If they made Weach, people would start asking for Wowser. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.202|108.162.245.202]] 21:53, 27 December 2023 (UTC)
::Isn't that just Bowyer? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.131.37|172.70.131.37]] 21:59, 27 December 2023 (UTC)
:There is a Princess Peach game, Super Princess Peach. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.174.237|172.68.174.237]] 14:06, 28 December 2023 (UTC)
::We're getting another next year (Princess Peach Showtime). Maybe we'll be seeing new physics? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.105.143|172.70.105.143]] 13:04, 29 December 2023 (UTC)
I think the mouse over text references mariokart? We know that Randall plays... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.200.144|172.70.200.144]] 00:43, 28 December 2023 (UTC)
: Absolutely. It's directly referring to the track ''GCN Baby Park'', found in ''{{w|Mario Kart: Double Dash|Double Dash}}'', ''{{w|Mario Kart 8|MK8}}'', and ''{{w|Mario Kart 8 Deluxe|MK8DX}}''. on the other hand, it also references ''The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask'' (which is already included in the explanation) [[User:SomeoneIGuess|someone, i guess]]([[User talk:SomeoneIGuess|talk i guess]]|[[Special:Contributions/SomeoneIGuess|le edit list]]) 02:21, 28 December 2023 (UTC)
:Bot should be working again. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 19:19, 28 December 2023 (UTC)

I'm not that familiar with Mario or particle physics. What would the anti-Peach particle be? Bowsette? [[User:GreatWyrmGold|GreatWyrmGold]] ([[User talk:GreatWyrmGold|talk]]) 00:59, 28 December 2023 (UTC)
:I'm fairly well acquainted with particle physics but not at all with anything Mario (post Donkey Kong, at least). I wish now I'd formatted my own initial explanation with unordered-list (*) or tabular format of the referenced-particles side of this parody when I first visited (141.101.99.101, 20:08, 27 December 2023) rather than the current stop-gap version, but would naturally want to have columns/continuation for the Marioland characters (of which I know too little, only that they exist and that Mario's evil 'twin' is Wario at some much later point in the franchise). Can we perhaps knock it into shape, or are too many editors on Christmas break/distracted by RL? I can still reformat it into a table, but I have less idea what the Mario columns need to leave space for than the other bits... [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.14|172.69.194.14]] 12:37, 28 December 2023 (UTC)

Clearly, he's referencing Wapeach. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.118|162.158.74.118]] 10:35, 28 December 2023 (UTC)

I'd suggest to prefix the explanation by explaining what a "Super Nintendo" is. I had to look it up in the other wiki to figure that the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Nintendo_Entertainment_System SNES] (which I'm only familiar with by name) actually stands for "Super Nintendo". [[User:Ralfoide|Ralfoide]] ([[User talk:Ralfoide|talk]]) 15:09, 28 December 2023 (UTC)
:Wow. In USA in the 90s, nobody said "SNES", they all said "Super Nintendo", and all the ads called it that too.{{quote|When it comes to value, don't forget! Super Nintendo Super Set!}}[[Special:Contributions/172.69.6.107|172.69.6.107]] 23:34, 28 December 2023 (UTC)

Far out in the reaches of Zelda we find the legendary Tom Brier rendering a Zelda theme on the piano. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dvF-Z7vPK0
[[Special:Contributions/172.71.26.127|172.71.26.127]] 16:03, 28 December 2023 (UTC)

According to Wikipedia, Electron Capture "is a process in which the proton-rich nucleus of an electrically neutral atom absorbs an inner atomic electron, usually from the K or L electron shells. This process thereby changes a nuclear proton to a neutron and simultaneously causes the emission of an electron neutrino." Does this mean Bowser is an unstable amalgamation of Marios and Luigis? Maybe all of the Marios And Luigis that failed to reach the castle become part of Bowser. And since he is made of them that is why he is obsessed with capturing Peaach. Does he release Daisy whenever he captures Peach? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.18.28|162.158.18.28]] 16:10, 28 December 2023 (UTC)

I wonder if there's significance to the "Γ" on Waluigi's hat being mirrored, or if that's just an error. Right now it's a rotated L, when it should be a vertically flipped L (or an upper-case gamma, which complicates things further). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.46.84|172.70.46.84]] 23:31, 28 December 2023 (UTC)
: I was about to dispute this claim, but then i searched Waluigi and learned this is correct. maybe it's a mandela effect, like the [[What If? 2|''O'' in Wint-O-Green]]. [[User:SomeoneIGuess|someone, i guess]]([[User talk:SomeoneIGuess|talk i guess]]|[[Special:Contributions/SomeoneIGuess|le edit list]]) 23:35, 28 December 2023 (UTC)
:: You didn't know lifesavers were "Wint-O-Green" instead of wintergreen? - [[Special:Contributions/172.69.6.107|172.69.6.107]] 09:33, 29 December 2023 (UTC)

Regarding the bit where it's claimed we don't see Luigi alone games because it would spontaneously decay into Mario, the truth is that there actually are a few Luigi alone games, it's a series of games called Luigi's Mansion. Can I remove that bit? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.90.140|172.69.90.140]] 08:42, 29 December 2023 (UTC)
:Just added that bit --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.140|172.69.71.140]] 14:57, 29 December 2023 (UTC)