explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:3040: Chemical Formulas

2025-01-22T16:54:15Z

172.70.163.11:

I believe the diagram on the left incorrectly shows a double-bond between the carbon and the OH pair. -- [[User:Dtgriscom|Dtgriscom]] ([[User talk:Dtgriscom|talk]]) 03:13, 21 January 2025 (UTC)
:: ''"incorrectly shows a double-bond"'' This may be more correct (there are many ways to draw it):
:: https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/formic-acid-molecule-structure-260nw-1359283460.jpg [[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 03:42, 21 January 2025 (UTC)
:::what’s a double bond? '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 04:25, 21 January 2025 (UTC)
:::: if a hydrogen atom had hands it would have one and could only hold other atoms with one hand. Some atoms have more than one hand and in the case of a double bond can hold another atom with two hands. I almost recall something about electron orbits and spaces. I hope this isn't to unhelpful.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.58|108.162.242.58]] 05:08, 21 January 2025 (UTC)
:::::ohhhh, i think i get it now. thanks! '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 05:19, 21 January 2025 (UTC)
::::::For the molecules concerned (and ignoring some more exotic situations), you just need to know that;
::::::*Hydrogen should have only one bond in total (H-C... or H-O..., in whatever direction. An H-H would be H2, or hydrogen (probably!) gas unbonded to anything else).
::::::*Oxygen should have two bonds (...X-O-Y... as part of a link between X and Y, like the (acceptibly abbreviated) -OH ('hydroxy') group attached to a carbon; or ...C=O, as oxygen double-bonded to a carbon with those two bonds available). H-O-H would be water (H2O), O=O would be the pure oxygen molecule (O2).
::::::*Carbon has ''four'' bonds, which can be:
::::::**Four singles, often with alkane links, ...C-C... with three things (more carbons, hydrogens or hydroxys/etc) hanging off as well, as part of a hydrocarbon/similar, starting with CH4 which has ''only'' hydrogens hanging directly off the one and only carbon, longer chained alkanes string carbons together with two hydrogens off of each mid-carbon (in three-or-more chains) and a third completing each end.
::::::**Two singles and a double, like the ...C=O with two further off-shoots, or else an ...C=C... as an alkene link (with two things/continuations of carbon hanging off each of the ends of that carbon-pair),
::::::**''Two'' doubles (cumulenes, like ...C=C=C..., are rare, but O=C=O is the really common CO2/carbon dioxide molecule in its entirety), or
::::::**A single and a triple, typically back-to-back as alkynes, ...-C≡C-..., ''or'' something like -C≡N (nitrogen has exactly three bonds!) for a cyano-group, but it's often a strained group.
::::::**A quadruple-bond would be... beyond this basic overview.
::::::**(Benzene rings effectively have 1.5 shared links between the adjacent carbons, or alternating single/double three times round the six Carbon-Carbon links, leaving one "hang off" bond from each of them, without bothering which ring-bonds are single or double.)
::::::**(Graphene sheets effectively have three singles, plus "two halves" weakly bonding to adjacent graphene sheets, in actual graphite; or whatever else fun thing you're doing with graphene/nanotubes/buckyballs ''singly''...)
::::::If you check the "Hackoo", the C has ''five'' bonds (at least until and unless Randall corrects it!), the error most obviously (just from the above knowledge!) because the O in the -OH (i.e. -O-H) has three bonds (...C=O-H) where it should only have two (...C-O-H).
:::::::If I still had access to the university and its DFT calculator, I'd be tempted to do a run how stable the ion HC+=O=O+H would be (HCOOH with two electrons removed, charge at C and O), the only way to make sense of the formula. And write an April article for the regular column of the German Chemists Society Newsletter. Here is the data of the monocation: https://atct.anl.gov/Thermochemical%20Data/version%201.140/species/?species_number=731 ...wait, did I just nerdsnipe myself?[[Special:Contributions/172.71.148.103|172.71.148.103]] 08:48, 21 January 2025 (UTC)
::::::It can perhaps be explained as an interestingly radical-enhanced number of bonds, though you'd notate it differently (in diagram ''and'' formula) and it wouldn't really be the ethanoic/formic acid that Cueball(/Randall) clearly intends it to be. Simple slip of the stylus, maybe, from someone more a physical scientist who [[520: Cuttlefish|isn't always affiliated to chemical sciences]], so may not have realised when glancing at the 'finished' comic. (Or it's yet another (too?) subtle dig at the Cueball character that he's set up to fail/be creatively-wrong.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.108|172.70.90.108]] 07:01, 21 January 2025 (UTC)

Similar to 2492 [[User:Chakra|Chakra]] ([[User talk:Chakra|talk]]) 03:18, 21 January 2025 (UTC)

My favorite hydrocarbons are C6H6 (Bouba) and C5H12 (Kiki) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.105|172.69.70.105]] 03:21, 21 January 2025 (UTC)

I assume 'Nackle' is NaCl (Sodium Chloride, aka salt) [[User:Pvnic|Pvnic]] ([[User talk:Pvnic|talk]]) 03:30, 21 January 2025 (UTC)
: for blood pressure reasons I use fake salt = potassium chloride. Note to self: don't say "please pass the kackle" because at best at best I'd get a funny look and a chicken nugget. (Thinking) Or do. Chicken nuggets are good.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.245.179|172.68.245.179]] 04:41, 21 January 2025 (UTC)
::Wouldn't that be more like "kickle" or "keckle"? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.212.173|162.158.212.173]] 07:10, 21 January 2025 (UTC)
And in the meta-humor department, the explanation message "Created by a BORON-OXYGEN-TANTALUM-URANIUM-TITANIUM-MOLYBDENUM-TITANIUM-CARBON-ALUMINUM-LITHIUM" abbreviates to "B O Ta U Ti Mo Ti C Al Li", or "BOT aUTiMoTiCaLLi". [[User:Jordan Brown|Jordan Brown]] ([[User talk:Jordan Brown|talk]]) 04:27, 21 January 2025 (UTC)
: The bot probably drank too much choo-choo-oh (CH₃CH₂OH) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.103.187|162.158.103.187]] 15:57, 22 January 2025 (UTC)
: OH! Thank you. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.245.179|172.68.245.179]] 04:41, 21 January 2025 (UTC)
:: In my family, we actually do (occasionally) call it "nackle", so I updated the explanation accordingly. [[User:Gbisaga|Gbisaga]] ([[User talk:Gbisaga|talk]]) 16:25, 21 January 2025 (UTC)

Guilty as charged! (And I got a Ph.D. in chemistry...) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.195.130|172.68.195.130]] 08:35, 21 January 2025 (UTC)
:nice! which uni? '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 22:46, 21 January 2025 (UTC)

The 'put it on a plate' and 'take with a pinch of salt' stuff all seems a bit of a stretch.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.59|172.69.194.59]] 10:08, 21 January 2025 (UTC)
:I don't see any sign that anybody would anyone be literally requiring salt, so more probably is one or other figurative use. "Are you upset? I don't ''care'' you're upset. Pass the salt... Mmmmm..." from our Cueball or "Yeah, so I'm hearing what you're telling me, but I'm gonna ignore your inane mutterings, so pass the salt...". Or maybe from a similar sort of vein as "Are you salty about that? I think you're salty, boo-hoo!" sarcastic response. There are plenty of possible phrases using the substance in analogy, and I'm sure others could be imagined by anyone worth their salt. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.246|172.70.91.246]] 14:45, 21 January 2025 (UTC)
::There's absolutely no indication that the title text is spoken by anyone in the comic. It's an example of a common phrase with the twist of using the phonetic pronunciation described here. It's supposed to be a secondary punchline of sorts, and overthinking it doesn't make it funnier. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.50.7|172.68.50.7]] 09:19, 22 January 2025 (UTC)
:::Many TTs ''are'' clearly spoken by the comic's characters (some readily identifiable as one or other of the protagonist, antagonists or off-panel voices - restating their initial point and/or following-up their ripostes). Others are the "Voice of (Relative) Sanity" that is Randall, only then emerging out of the fourth wall (as a counterpoint to ''whatever'' his possible avatars on-page might be thinking or saying).
:::And it's also entirely consistent for it to be left flapping in the wind. Either it was left directly ambiguous, or (despite whatever intent), we're able to reinterpret according to our own individual impressions. I think it's not a problem to appreciate the different nuances.
:::The secondary punchline ''might'' be asking for salt as an accompaniment for the vinegar (if this isn't too {{w|Fish and chips#Accompaniments|anglocentric}} for Randall, as a Leftpondian himself who might not actually partake of that particular combination), but it does seem like it lacks any reason for the off-page switch from a 'presentation' on organic chemistry to some random cullinary scenario. As opposed to directly messing about with obtuse language, which flows straight into a metaphorical or figurative derision (from whoever, to whoever).
:::And "overthinking it" is ''very'' on-brand, from both creator and his fandom. I'd personally have no problem suggesting that the salt-request was primarily a put-down phrase, but with the possibility that it was ''actually'' about heretofor unreferenced table-salt, just so that no opinion (or lingering need for further satisfactory explanation) is left unsatisfied. It's all grist to the mill. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.99|141.101.99.99]] 15:02, 22 January 2025 (UTC)

I wonder if this is inspired by people in Cyberpunk 2077 pronouncing CHOOH2 (the fuel cars are powered by in universe) as "chew two." [https://cyberpunk.fandom.com/wiki/CHOOH2#:~:text=CHOOH2%20is%20not%20actually%20the%20chemical%20formula%2C%20it%27s%20just%20a%20moniker%20for%20marketing%20purposes. Game wiki page.] [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.31|172.69.22.31]] 17:50, 21 January 2025 (UTC)

Edible oil analysis is now like B-Box [[User:799571388|799571388]] ([[User talk:799571388|talk]]) 21:04, 21 January 2025 (UTC)

Can we make an emperical formula-to-speech model? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.215.72|172.70.215.72]] 02:42, 22 January 2025 (UTC)
:Oh definitely. I played with a text-to-speech freeware program back in the late '80s/early '90s that used the ''PC speaker'' to say things. Surprisingly well, for its simplicity, but you ideally needed to convert text to its syllabary to not just plough through what ''it'' thought it should, although English is tough ("... pl-a-ow th-r-oo w-ot IT th-or-t it sh-ud, awl-th-oh IN-g-l-isch iz t-uff", or similar, is what it really needed). I'd be surprised if Alexa-era synth software with another 30+ years of development (and actual soundchips, plus clock frequencies greater than at most the tens of megahertz of 286s/386s this would run on) don't have extensive pre-processing that could say something that derives from Cr2(CH3CO2)4(H2O)2 without batting a virtual eyelid ("Cratch Coho"?) — or at least not stumbling and stuttering. Assuming they don't use their amazing internet-connected reference system to look up and say "Chromium-2 acetate hydrate". ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.11|172.70.163.11]] 16:54, 22 January 2025 (UTC)

3035: Trimix

2025-01-09T10:29:00Z

172.70.163.11: /* Explanation */ This whole paragraph makes no sense. Looks like helium is being treated as anti-gravity gas, not the low-density space-filler that it (when not trapped in a tank) really is.

{{comic
| number = 3035
| date = January 8, 2025
| title = Trimix
| image = trimix_2x.png
| imagesize = 436x259px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = You don't want the nitrogen percentage to be too high or you run the risk of eutrophication.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a FLOATING TRIMIX SCUBA DIVER - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{{w|Trimix (breathing gas)|Trimix}} is a gas used in {{w|SCUBA}} tanks that consists of {{w|helium}}, {{w|oxygen}}, and {{w|nitrogen}}. Trimix comes in some standard ratios between the component gases, depending on the required diving depth, for example 21/35/44 (percentage oxygen/helium/nitrogen), 18/45/37 and 15/55/30 for increasing depth. Helium replaces a portion of the nitrogen to minimize nitrogen's narcotic effects at greater depths and to ease the effort required for breathing. This comic jokes that if the helium amount is too high, a diver will float away before reaching the water to start a dive, as a helium balloon will do if not securely tethered.

The reason a helium balloon creates lift is that it can inflate. The balloon has a thin and expandable layer, weighing almost nothing, that allows the intrinsically less dense gas to take up space at not much more than atmospheric pressure. The total weight of the filled balloon is less than the total weight of the air it displaces, thus creating {{w|buoyancy}}. A SCUBA tank is made of metal, is heavy and cannot inflate,{{Citation needed}} which means it will never become lighter on air as you pump more of ''any'' kind of gas into it. (In fact, it will just get heavier, as an inflating helium balloon does, but without the over-compensating increase in volume.) Thus it will never be able to create any kind of lift, no matter the amount of helium or any other gas that is compressed inside of it, and neither could a typical SCUBA tank even attain lift by thoroughly emptying it to try to create a {{w|vacuum balloon}}.

More to the point, the rise into the air would be caused by Archimede's force, which is proportional to the weigh of the displaced volume. Air being ~ 1,3 g/L, it takes 1m3 to lift 1,3kg, and ~50m3 to lift a 65kg person. Such a volume represents a 2.3m radius sphere, which is obviously way bigger than the helium tank.

The real reason SCUBA divers need to be careful with the amount of helium is to not get too little oxygen or too much nitrogen.

The title text asserts that a trimix diver whose gas mix contains an excess of nitrogen runs "the risk of eutrophication". The term {{w|Eutrophication|eutrophication}} describes the process by which nutrients ("fertilizers") accumulate in an environment, typically a body of water, leading to consequences that are often unfortunate for inhabitants or users of that environment. The human body is an ecosystem, but one that is not typically subject to eutrophication due to its manner of acquiring and jettisoning nutrients. Moreover, the nitrogen in trimix is diatomic elemental nitrogen, not the {{w|Nitrogen_fixation|"fixed"}} nitrogen that serves as a component of eutrophication. The diver would not breathe "fixed" nitrogen unless nitrogen-fixing bacteria were somehow incorporated into the SCUBA gear, a complex feature of dubious utility.

[[Randall]] addressed the question "how much helium is needed to lift a human body" in a [https://what-if.xkcd.com/62/ What if?] article. Helium has also featured in comics [https://xkcd.com/2766/ 2766] and [https://xkcd.com/2972/ 2972].

==Transcript==
:[In a single frame five images of Cueball is shown as a kind of carton, with each image a later time in the process. The first image to the left shows Cueball standing by the shore of a body of water. He is wearing SCUBA gear, goggles, breathing tubes, SCUBA tanks with a small H logo on it on his back, and swimming flippers, which almost touch the water.]

:[In the next four images he has the same equipment on, but with changes. It should be seen as he is still at the edge of the water, but that is not drawn in the next four depictions of Cueball.]

:[In the second image to the right of the first, Cueball's SCUBA tank is beginning to float upwards, so the end that is not teetered to Cueball move out and up, as shown with three small lines beneath the tank.]

:[In the third image the SCUBA tank is now floating above Cueball's head and the strings pull his arms a bit upwards. Cueball has turned his head looking up at the tank floating above and behind his head. Again three small lines beneath the tank indicates it is moving upwards.]

:[In the fourth image Cueball is now being lifted up, so his feet are now off the ground and he is tilting forward. The tank is now pointing it's bottom almost straight up and Cueball is looking down with his arms out the each side as the tank pulls him up. Two lines on either side of the tank indicate that it now wobbles above him as it lifts him up.]

:[In the fifth and last image the SCUBA tank is now pulling a dangling Cueball high above the ground, above his head's height in the first image. The tank is now turned so it points it's bottom to the left with lines on either side indicating wobbling motion. Cueball is floating as lying prone a bit bended on the middle as the tanks straps pulls him up. At this point he yells:]
:Cueball: ''Help!''

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Trimix SCUBA divers need to be careful not to let the helium percentage get too high.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

3031: Time Capsule Instructions

2024-12-31T15:12:42Z

172.70.163.11: /* Potential solutions */ Correcting some hurried grammar, and adding better context. (And lengthy acknowledging of logic limits in a comment, just for future record of my considerations.)

{{comic
| number = 3031
| date = December 30, 2024
| title = Time Capsule Instructions
| image = time_capsule_instructions_2x.png
| imagesize = 692x235px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Inside is a third box, labeled DO NOT OPEN UNLESS YOU ARE IN THE TIME ZONE WHERE YOU OPENED BOTH PREVIOUS BOXES.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an ANNUAL TIME CAPSULE SUBSCRIPTION - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon. Do NOT delete this tag too late either.}}
This [[:Category:New Year|New Year comic]] sees a New Year party held at a location where a {{w|time capsule}} has clearly been buried, as evidenced by a sign marking the spot. It is likely that this was buried some years ago with the intention of being unearthed at the start of 2025, after some significant number of years have passed, rather than for an inderterminate anount of time (such as was the case in [[1617: Time Capsule]]), with the intent to allow people of a then-future time see what those of that era found interesting to preserve and "send" into the future.

Some form of New Year Celebration is happening near to the Time Capsule site, as indicated by the off-panel noises, probably especially convened at the capsule's site in eager anticipation. [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] who has already said cheers with their wine glasses, looks eagerly on when Ponytail opens the time capsule.

Not all such projects are kept conspicuously marked, or may lose their signage due to circumstances unanticipated at the time of the original installation, resulting in a surprise (or accidental) unearthing, while others may still be known for what they are (as with the intended time to stay closed) but need to be relocated/reconcealed due to later redevelopment of the location. (There is generally nothing to prevent premature unearthing and opening, perhaps especially to ensure that the contents are not damaged, but often {{w|Blue Peter#Time capsules|efforts are taken}} to best adhere to the original wishes.) To this end, as might be expected of such a time capsule, the box that [[Ponytail]] digs out is itself marked that it must not be opened until the year 2025 and it seems that (for the comic) this is the case, and at least part of the reason for the gathering.

Within the capsule, however, is a second container (a not untypical precaution), but this one has the instruction to do not open after 2024, which is a far less obvious element for a time capsule (though various supplies, from [[2178: Expiration Date High Score|packaged food]] to [[2297: Use or Discard By|signal flares]], may have a similar requirement). Obeying the instruction for opening the first box has entirely precluded obeying that given as a prerequisite for opening the second... at least without using some form of time-travel. This could be either be a mundane twist of the circumstances (changing reference calendars or time-zones), or else require actual time-travel, but it is unlikely that they have [[1203: Time Machines|any practical solution]] prepared to use to overcome this twist.

The title text alludes to one of the ways one can open the first two boxes without ignoring the instructions: by crossing time zones. When more easterly-referenced locations have become the 1st of January 2025, it will (for a short while) still be the 31st of December 2024 in more westerly ones (the boundaries themselves might be any orientation, not just north-south; the whole concept inverts across the International Date Line, before even considering hour-shift differences), meaning that theoretically someone could open the first box in a time zone where it is 2025 and then quickly travel to one in which it is still 2024 to open the second box. Depending upon where the capsule was located, timely travel opportunities ''may'' be possible, but it seems unlikely to have been something anticipated by the recipients of the task.

However, the title text implies that if you take advantage of this loophole, you will not then be allowed to open a third box inside the second box, as the instructions for ''that'' box requires that you have opened the first two boxes in the same time zone. You must not open the third (and final?) container unless you opened both previous boxes in the same time zone as you are now, which is not compatible with having changed location to get to this point.

===Potential solutions===

Depending on interpretation, you could defeat the third box by placing it inside two time zones at once before opening it, as there is no time limit on the third box. This works if the instruction on the box is read as "unless you are in the time zone where you opened the first box, and you are in the time zone where you opened the second box". However, this new loophole could be patched by interpreting the third box as "unless you are in the ''one'' time zone where...".

How to be considered to be simultaneously covered by two time-zones (in a way that you can [[2846: Daylight Saving Choice|choose which to observe]] is left up to the reader, although another variation of this solution would be to change the calendar used as point of reference, as {{w|Calendar era|many calendars}} use a lower year than the Gregorian calendar, and you could justify changing the date (if not the hour) that you consider true. Or perhaps mix and match calendar traditions that consider a day (and therefore a calendar date) to start only at dawn, rather than at astronomical/geopolitical midnight.

Perhaps the solution would be for both the box and the person opening it to be on the boundary between two time zones, half in each. Or, depending on how one interprets the nature of Daylight Saving Time, there may be another solution. In Australia, {{w|Northern Territory}} and {{w|South Australia}} are in the same time zone (by the most common interpretation of the word) and border each other, but only the latter uses Daylight Saving Time; similarly, {{w|Queensland}} does not use Daylight Saving Time but is in the same time zone (by the most common interpretation of the word) as multiple Australian territories that do use Daylight Saving Time, including {{w|New South Wales}}, with which Queensland shares a border. This suggests the idea of opening the first box in South Australia or New South Wales then taking it north of the (latitudinal) DST boundary without crossing any (longitudinal) time zone boundaries; one will then have up to an hour to open the second box and then as long as one wants to open the third box. However, Randall [[:Category:Daylight saving time|has historically expressed opposition to Daylight Saving Time]], so he might not count the first opening as occurring in 2025 if that year has already started only by virtue of Daylight Saving Time.

Some of the above solutions might only be used if you already knew of the instructions on the boxes, unless it was previously dug into one of the relevant locations (and, depending upon the 'author' of the box-puzzle, this may have also been anticipated and be an intended part of the puzzle). Even getting the second box open following instructions would require it was possible to travel fast enough and far enough to reach a second New Year, which is not easily guaranteeable on the spur of the moment. This is definitely possible if you plan for it, but whether this disinterment party was prepared is unlikely.

Having made the initial two openings in different locations, another possibility is to choose either location (e.g. remain where you were allowed to open the second box) and, with the third box removed/accessible, close the box that is out-of-zone. Creatively interpreting its own probibition as no longer relevant, trivially re-open that box to fulfil the requirements of the third.

In any case it seems more likely that normal people, having taken the initial instruction at its word, you would ignore any new [[2841: Sign Combo|contradictory rules]]. The original rule that the Time Capsule should remain closed until 2025 is the one that makes sense. So after opening the first at the right time, one could just disregard the words on the boxes (or at least Randall's interpretation of them); there is probably not some kind of [[242: The Difference|magical enforcement mechanism]]. Also it seems likely this was just a prank so there will be nothing interesting inside, but one might fear some kind of booby trap, or a [[325: A-Minus-Minus|bobcat]]. So there could be some kind of enforcement mechanism.

Consider when the comic was published, however, well prior to any territory having actually celebrated the arrival of 2025. It is also possible that the depicted party (both diggers-up and associated party-goers) were fully aware of the stipulations they were to be subject to and (at least equally as slyly as the boxes-burier) marked the arrival of 2025 ''early''. Ha ing self-justifying themselves for the opening the outer box, they could then conveniently reconsider themselves to be rightfully still at an occasion back at the end of 2024 and have no further trouble with either of the inner instructions, assuming they opened the next box before the ''official'' arrival of 2025.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are clinking wine glasses while Ponytail is digging with a shovel under a sign standing on two legs next to Ponytail. From the off-panel to the left several voices are shouting. On the sign are two large words above two lines of unreadable lines of text.]
:Off-panel voices: <big><big>''Happy New Year!''</big></big>
:Sign: <big>Time</big> Capsule

:[A dirty box with a hasp closing it. There is a label on the lid:]
:Do not open until 2025

:[Cueball and Megan, holding their wine glasses, look over Ponytail's shoulder as she crouches down near the box and opens it with an audible sound. The shovel is standing behind the box, dug into the ground.]
:Click

:[The open box is shown revealing that it contains a second, pristine, box with a similar label:]
:Do not open after 2024

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:New Year]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Time]]

2736: Only Serifs

2024-12-14T04:27:01Z

172.70.163.11: Undo revision 359450 by 172.71.219.103 (talk) Red category

{{comic
| number = 2736
| date = February 10, 2023
| title = Only Serifs
| image = only_serifs_2x.png
| imagesize = 246x112px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = If you ever want to get beaten up by a bunch of graphic designers, try removing the serifs from Times New Roman and adding them to Comic Sans.
}}

==Explanation==
This is a play upon the main difference between {{w|serif}} and {{w|sans-serif}} fonts. Serifs are ticks, or end-bars, at the ends of lines that make up letters. Rather than mere lines, there are (for example) "feet" put at the bottom of a letter such as A, and possibly also at angles such as its peak. Fonts that use this visual decoration are called "Serif" fonts, while others do not and are thus "Sans Serif" fonts ("sans" being French for "without"). [[Randall]] is suggesting a font using ''only'' these accent pieces and skipping the "body" of the letters entirely. Of course, this renders the text basically unreadable.

In the comic, the text as a whole appears to be "Aa Bb Cc Dd", perhaps written in variant #3 or variant #540 of {{w|Caslon}}.

As for the title text, {{w|Times New Roman}} is a widely available and recognized typeface with serifs, being one of the most commonly used fonts of its type. {{w|Comic Sans}} is a ''mostly'' sans-serif typeface (hence the “Sans” in the name) inspired by comic book lettering. Many graphic designers {{w|Comic_Sans#Opposition|dislike Comic Sans}} due to a history of amateurs using it in contexts where its informal style is inappropriate. Defenders claim that it is easier for dyslexics to read (although this is disputed), and that it works well in less formal, typically children's contexts. Randall is suggesting here that if you want to severely anger a bunch of graphic designers (i.e. enough to beat you up), then you should try removing the characteristic and aesthetic serifs on Times New Roman and add them instead to the hated Comic Sans – which would probably make it look even worse to a graphic designer.

[[:User:NiceGuy1|One of the users of explain xkcd]] took the chance anyway of getting that beating and here is what it looks like normally and what it might look like after moving the serifs: 
[[File:2736MovedSerifsV2.jpg]]

Randall has had numerous careers and [[:Category:My Hobby|hobbies]] where he has delighted in exploring novel methods of resolving disputes, all of which has satisfied nobody and led to him being banned from numerous [[:Category:Banned from conferences|events]].

==Transcript==
:[A very thin comic panel with three light gray horizontal lines drawn as on ruled paper used for handwriting. Superimposed on these ruling lines are 15 black markings, either in the form of lines, horizontal or vertical, and in other cases merely dots, and some markings are in between, like a dot with a small line. These marks line up with either the top, middle or bottom ruling lines, with only two dots near the middle line. There seem to be no order in how these markings are placed. There is a caption beneath the panel:]
:Instead of serif or sans-serif, my new font is '''''only''''' serifs.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Language]]

522: Google Trends

2024-11-15T03:00:43Z

172.70.163.11: /* Explanation */ No point <ref>ing if doesn't do more than a decent inline-link gives.

{{comic
| number = 522
| date = December 26, 2008
| title = Google Trends
| image = google_trends.png
| titletext = Obama has been writing Lincoln/Obama erotic fan fiction on his secret livejournal. Excerpt: Lincoln lay back on the bed, nude save for his trademark stovepipe hat. 'Tell me,' he purred seductively, as he and Obama formed a more perfect union. 'When you come, is it 10% ethanol?'
}}

==Explanation==

{{w|Google Search|Google}} keeps track of which searches are most popular in which regions as part of more general data mining to improve their service. For the enjoyment/education of others, they release select, non-personal parts of this data under the banner "[http://www.google.com/trends/ Google Trends]."

The first statistic – that "Men kissing" was popular in {{w|Utah}}, a state known for possessing a large population with very conservative social values, including opposition to homosexuality – is real.{{acn}} The others are made up for the sake of the joke. In order:

*'''"Installing Ubuntu" – Redmond, WA''': {{w|Ubuntu}} is a {{w|Linux}} distribution; {{w|Redmond, Washington}} is home to {{w|Microsoft}}, the company that makes the rival operating system {{w|Microsoft Windows|Windows}}.
*'''"Running for President in 2010" – Wasilla, AK''': 2010 was not a presidential election year in the United States; {{w|Wasilla, Alaska}} is home to {{w|Sarah Palin}}, a politician known for making such gaffes and who was {{w|John McCain}}'s {{w|running mate}} in the {{w|United States presidential election, 2008|2008 election}} that occurred a few weeks before this comic.
*'''"Lincoln Fan Fiction" – Chicago, IL''': {{w|Abraham Lincoln}} was the US president from 1861 to his assassination in 1865; {{w|Chicago, Illinois}} is home to {{w|Barack Obama}}, who apparently reads (presumably {{w|erotic}}) {{w|fanfiction}} about the former president.
*'''"Raptors on Hoverboards" – Somerville, MA''': {{w|Velociraptors}} are a favorite xkcd topic; there are also frequently references to ''{{w|Back to the Future}}'' as with the {{w|hoverboards}} here. {{w|Somerville, Massachusetts}} is home to [[Randall Munroe]]. The speed of a ''Raptor on Hoverboard'' is given in [[526: Converting to Metric]].
*'''"How is babby formed" – Wasilla, AK''': "How is babby formed?" was the title (and most of the content) of an infamous Yahoo! Answers question (see the title text of [[481: Listen to Yourself]] and [[550: Density]]). Wasilla, Alaska is, again, home to {{w|Sarah Palin}}; a few months prior to this comic's release, Sarah Palin revealed that her daughter, {{w|Bristol Palin}}, was pregnant out of wedlock. Ironically, before her pregnancy, Bristol Palin advocated sexual abstinence before marriage<ref name="Time.com">Time (May 08, 2009). "[ Nancy Gibbs: In Defense of Bristol Palin, Abstinence Spokeswoman](https://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1896815,00.html)"</ref> as well as banning sex education in schools.{{Actual citation needed}} Ignorance of common contraceptives like condoms can cause unplanned pregnancies to happen.
*'''"I hate this website" – Mountain View, CA''': {{w|Mountain View, California}} is home to {{w|Google}}'s headquarters. The implication is that Google employees are putting "I hate this website" into Google.

With regards to the excerpt Randall provides in the title text:
*{{w|Slash fiction}} is a genre of fan fiction that focuses on homosexual behavior.
*Lincoln/Obama (pronounced Lincoln slash Obama) fan fiction normally should be between Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama.
*The "more perfect union" line comes from the preamble to the US Constitution: "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union...". However, it seems to have a sexual connotation in this case.
*{{w|orgasm|Come}} (sometimes spelled cum) might be a reference to Obama orgasming and/or ejaculating.
*{{w|Ethanol}} is the more scientific name for drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol.
*"{{w|Common ethanol fuel mixtures#E10_or_less|10% ethanol}}" refers to automotive gasoline that includes 10% ethanol (usually made from corn or other vegetables), with the hopes of reducing the dependence on oil for fuel. The Obama administration [https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/nov/15/obama-lower-quotas-ethanol-gasoline adopted a policy in 2013] that mandated ethanol to make up 10% of the US’s fuel supply.

==Transcript==
:Bloggers were recently amused to discover that,
:according to Google Trends, the search term:
:"men kissing" is most popular in conservative Utah.
:A few other embarrassing correlations:

:[A two-column table]
:[On the left side of the table:]
:;Search Term

:;Installing Ubuntu

:;Running for President in 2010

:;Lincoln Fan Fiction

:;Raptors on Hoverboards

:;How is babby formed?

:;I hate this website

:[On the right side of the table:]
:;Top City

:;Redmond, WA

:;Wasilla, AK

:;Chicago, IL

:;Somerville, MA

:;Wasilla, AK

:;Mountain View, CA

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Linux]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Google Search]]
[[Category:Homosexuality]]
[[Category:Sex]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]