explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2950: Situation

2024-06-25T03:52:31Z

172.70.175.84:

For reference, the bridge in question is the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. [[User:Trimeta|Trimeta]] ([[User talk:Trimeta|talk]]) 18:57, 24 June 2024 (UTC)
:Noting that in all cases ''except'' the Tacoma Narrows, the design flaws were but a part of the issue, with operational decisions at the time playing a big part in the designed-in risks becoming reasons for an actual incident. The bridge could never have been "run safely", once built, unlike trying to ignore bunker fires whilst speeding through iceberg-alley or conducting stress tests in parallel with other non-standard procedures or just not refusing to conduct flights under certain weather conditions. Yes, the other things, by skipping the 'bad end' they actually had, would still be susceptible to future incidents (lessons not now having been properly learnt, or even known to be learnable, so still liable to being mishandled).
:But the only thing that could have saved the Tacoma bridge was to have been so much more alert (and less 'amused') by Galloping Gerti and immediately rushed into developing the better analytical models that could lead to an expensive in-situ retrofit (as with the Millenium Bridge, across the Thames, though that didn't have unavoidable wind issues and ''could'' be managed 'at leisure', whilst being made safer). And, without the rather spectacular demonstration of failure, it was probably not on the cards to 'not do nothing', even if it wasn't already too late to avert history in any reasonable way.
:It's human hubris/failings (at various levels) in each case, of course. But operational and design-time errors do more damage in combination than either by themselves. (Case in point, no deaths from the bridge collapse... actually handled pretty well, considering.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.186|172.70.162.186]] 22:00, 24 June 2024 (UTC)

And for the record, the Challenger engineers *did* warn about the O-ring risk, but were overridden by management. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.35.95|172.68.35.95]] 19:25, 24 June 2024 (UTC)

It would have been so easy to draw a dam about to burst just behind the ocean liner {{unsigned ip|172.70.43.54|20:22, 24 June 2024}}
:Any particular dam-burst? There are many, but I'm not sure that we have an 'iconic' one... There's perhaps Taum Sauk, Vajont Dam, Brumadinho dam, El Cobre, Uttarakhand, Dale Dike Reservoir or Derna, picking a selection of notable ones. You couldn't count the deliberate Operation Chastise breaches or the (probably-)deliberate Kakhovka Dam one, nor all those 'nearly a disaster' ones (like Ulley and Toddbrook, two relatively recent concerns in the UK). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.186|172.70.162.186]] 22:00, 24 June 2024 (UTC)

Winds caused by maintenance on a nuclear reactor... What? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.208.173|172.69.208.173]] 22:46, 24 June 2024 (UTC)

Calling what leaked from the O-ring 'fuel' somewhat understates the issue. The O-ring failure let the SRB rocket exhaust itself burn through and damage the attachment strut and the external tank. [[User:Dkfenger|Dkfenger]] ([[User talk:Dkfenger|talk]]) 23:11, 24 June 2024 (UTC)

I can't help but think that the ship/bridge combination also refers to the Key Bridge collapse, given that MV ''Dali'' just left Baltimore today, passing through the wreckage of the Key Bridge and under a Chesapeake Bay Bridge temporarily closed to traffic. --[[Special:Contributions/172.71.222.92|172.71.222.92]] 03:01, 25 June 2024 (UTC)
:Not shown: Ship electrical system with redundant buses, multiple breaker trips, and all bus ties closed. Not existent: Dolphins and breakers surrounding the piers of a fracture-critical bridge. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.175.84|172.70.175.84]] 03:52, 25 June 2024 (UTC)

549: Westley's a Dick

2022-06-20T19:12:47Z

172.70.175.84: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number =549
| date =February 27, 2009
| title =Westley's a Dick
| image =westleys_a_dick.png
| titletext =Inigo/Buttercup 4eva <3
}}

==Explanation==
This is an alternate take on the 1973 fantasy romance novel ''{{w|The Princess Bride (novel)|The Princess Bride}}'' written by {{w|William Goldman}} which became a {{w|The Princess Bride (film)|film in 1987}}.

In the movie the main character, Buttercup, believes she has lost her first love to the Dread Pirate Roberts years ago. In the present she is considered one of the most beautiful women of the land and so is being married off to a prince. To provoke a war she has been kidnapped by mercenaries, one of whom is a very honorable Spanish swordsman named Inigo Montoya. A man claiming to be the Dread Pirate Roberts rescues her. On verifying his identity as Roberts, she attacks him by pushing him down a hill. While tumbling down the hill he shouts back "as you wish" identifying him as her first love. She tumbles after, landing on top of him as in the start of this comic.

There are, however, several "dick moves" Westley must have made in order for the film's narrative to make sense.
# He took over as the Dread Pirate Roberts becoming a pirate and therefore not respectable, killing people, sacking ports, and looting ships for a living.
# Over the last five years, Westley has allowed Buttercup to believe that he'd been murdered, preventing her getting on with the rest of her life.

Westley breaks the fourth wall and claims he did all of these things for the sake of the {{w|narrative}}. In other words, he did it to make the story better.
In the comic Buttercup realizes that Westley has behaved like a dick and chooses to give her love to Inigo Montoya. But in the movie, Westley and Buttercup end up together in spite of this behavior!

The title text shows what looks like a message she and Inigo have written together, for instance in a heart on a tree. Inigo is the Spaniard referred to by Buttercup. Their names, then forever (4eva) and a heart (smiley heart = "<3"), implying they did end up together according to this version of the story. Alternatively, it could simply be the narrator expressing his wish that this will come to pass.

It is not the first time [[Randall]] has referenced this movie, as the Dread Pirate was referenced in [[345: 1337: Part 5]], and a quote from this movie is in the title text of [[1427: iOS Keyboard]]. So it seems like a film that has some meaning for Randall.

Note: It's quite possible Westley hasn't been killing people as a pirate at all. People had been surrendering to The Dread Pirate Roberts without a fight for years before he took over the role, due to the terror of his name. Of course, there may be a few people who needed to be killed, over the years, but the implication in the book (and movie) is that at least most surrender without a fight and are presumably unharmed.

If you haven't seen the movie or read the book, you may find it helpful to read the synopsis of the book {{w|The_Princess_Bride#Plot_summary|here}}.

==Transcript==
:[A girl (Buttercup) with long hair and a man (Westley) looking like Cueball but with a bandana lies at the foot of a high cliff. There is a forest in the background]
:Buttercup: Oh, my sweet Westley!

:[Buttercup sits on her knees, Westley takes off his bandana.]
:Buttercup: Why did you let me think you were dead?
:Westley: You shacked up with the prince!
:Buttercup: After years of mourning! The worst pain of my life!

:[Buttercup stands up looking down on Westley who still sits with the bandana in his hand.]
:Buttercup: And now you ... kill people?
:Westley: I'd hardly be a dread pirate if I didn't.
:Buttercup: How lovable.

:[Westley stands with the bandana in hand while Buttercup walks away from him.]

:Westley: It was for the sake of the narrative!
:Buttercup: Fuck the narrative. I'm going to go see if that Spaniard's single.
:Westley: ...As you wish.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Romance]]

2627: Types of Scopes

2022-06-01T22:08:29Z

172.70.175.84: /* Table with scopes */ fixing the page, like who did that with all those images?

{{comic
| number = 2627
| date = June 1, 2022
| title = Types of Scopes
| image = Doug Walker and Mike Mozart (15132005215).jpg
| titletext = An x-ray gyroscope is used to determine exactly which toppings they included in the pita.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOTOSCOPE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
''{{w|Electron microscopes}}'', ''{{w|Calorimetric Electron Telescope|electron telescopes}}'' and ''{{w|radio telescopes}}'' are special forms of {{w|microscopes}} and {{w|telescopes}}, respectively. This comic explores what you could do with a hypothetical "electron ___-scope" and "radio ___-scope" for other "regular" items whose name also ends in -scope (namely: {{w|periscope}}, {{w|stethoscope}}, {{w|kaleidoscope}}, {{w|gyroscope}} and {{w|horoscope}}).

The third column with "radio" often plays on different meanings of the word ''radio:'' 1) related to radiation and 2) a device for receiving radio communication or broadcasts.

The title text makes a pun on "gyroscope" and the Greek foods {{w|gyros}} which are typically served in {{w|pita}} bread.

===Table with scopes===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ What the words could mean according to the comic
|-
! Word !! Regular ___ !! Electron ___ !! Radio ___
|-
| Microscope || A laboratory instrument used for magnifying small objects. || ''Really exists:'' A microscope that uses a beam of accelerated electrons as a source of illumination, has a higher resolution than a conventional microscope. || Simply a microscope that one would use when repairing a radio.
|-
| Telescope || An optical instrument used for observing distant objects. || ''{{w|Calorimetric Electron Telescope|''Really exists''}}'': A type of telescope used to detect electrons and other high-energy particles, such as cosmic rays. || ''Really exists:'' A directional antenna used to detect radio waves from astronomical radio sources in the sky.
|-
| Periscope || Periscopes allow submarine crews to watch what happens above the water surface, without exposing the submarine to enemy observers, or enemy radars. In practice, periscope use is minimized because periscopes are still observable, but to a lesser degree. || An electron microscope seemingly mounted on a periscope. Examining enemy boats like a periscope, with the detail of an electron microsope. This would not be useful in combat. || In principle, the German navy has invented radio periscopes during World War 2. The {{w|Metox radar detector}}'s early antenna had to be built up after surfacing, and dismantled before diving. Later, the fixed ''Bali'' antenna could act like a true periscope, in order to detect aircraft and ships that were using radar to hunt submarines.

Radio signals do not propagate well in salt water, so raising a radio receiver above the water would be necessary for listening to NPR or any radio station which is not in the {{w|extremely low frequency}} band. Military submarines carry an extendable, buoyant antenna to communicate with naval headquarters on shorter frequencies, but for obvious reasons, that antenna is rarely used.
|-
| Stethoscope
|| A medical device for listening to sounds made by a patient's body, for example the heart. Has a disc-shaped resonator that is placed against the patient's skin.
|| If the resonator is emitting electromagnetic radiation, it could burn the skin due to its close proximity.
|| Normally, the sounds are transmitted to an earpiece that the examiner wears. There are also recording stethoscopes. A radio stethoscope would transmit the sound either directly via radio waves, or send it to a radio station such as NPR where it could then be broadcasted.
|-
| Kaleidoscope || A optical instrument which uses two or more tilted reflectors to show a regular symmetrical pattern || Seemingly a pun of electron "collide"-oscope, as electron collisions generate {{w|Bremsstrahlung}}. || The scan button on a radio scans through many frequencies, and the radio station changes a lot, depending on the frequency. The rapid change is reminiscent of a normal Kaleidoscope.
|-
| Gyroscope || Gyroscopes are used for {{w|inertial navigation}}, for example. || Gyroscopes make stuff point in certain directions by spinning. An {{w|Electromagnet}} uses sometimes-spinning electric fields to induce a magnetic field, moving magnetic stuff and, in some instances, making it point in a certain direction. || A music turntable spins a vinyl record to stimulate an electromagnetic needle, which plays music. Such devices are common in radio stations.

In theory, radio waves could be sent around in a triangular pattern, thus replicating the existing {{w|ring laser gyroscope}}.
|-
| Horoscope
|| In common usage, predictions or advice given based on the position of stars and planets. Proven to be unscientific junk.
|| Predicting the position of a particle, such as an electron (possibly based on the position of stars and planets). In a funny twist, the exact location of an electron cannot be determined, due to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle.
|| Predictions or advice given based on the radiation emitted by exploding stars or galaxies.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Content is a table, with column headings "Regular ''Blank'' Scope", "Electron ''Blank'' Scope", and "Radio ''Blank'' Scope". Row headings are "Micro", "Tele", "Peri", "Stetho", "Kaleido", "Gyro", and "Horo".

;Regular Microscope
:Look at small stuff
;Electron Microscope
:Look at ''really'' small stuff
;Radio Microscope
:Figure out why your radio broke
;Regular Telescope
:Look at stuff that's far away
;Electron Telescope
:Detect cosmic rays
;Radio Telescope
:Look at distant high-energy stuff
;Regular Periscope
:Look for enemy ships
;Electron Periscope
:Examine the hull of an enemy ship for structural flaws
;Radio Periscope
:Let the crew of your submarine listen to NPR
;Regular Stethoscope
:Listen to a patient's chest
;Electron Stethoscope
:Burn a patient's skin
;Radio Stethoscope
:Play the noises from a patient's chest on NPR
;Regular Kaleidoscope
:See cool shapes and colors
;Electron Kaleidoscope
:See cool Bremsstrahlung
;Radio Kaleidoscope
:Another word for the "Scan" button
;Regular Gyroscope
:Balance by spinning
;Electron Gyroscope
:Another word for electromagnet
;Radio Gyroscope
:Another word for turntable
;Regular Horoscope
:Get random life advice
;Electron Horoscope
:Predict a particle's quantum state
;Radio Horoscope
:Get random life advice from exploding galaxies

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Space]]