explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1557: Ozymandias

2024-02-06T22:27:52Z

172.70.86.68:

Look upon this comment and despair! {{unsigned ip|173.245.50.164}}
: The fact that the true author of this comment may never be known is reason enough to despair.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.66|173.245.55.66]] 14:35, 29 July 2015 (UTC)
: An unrelated but interesting piece of trivia about Ozymandias: "Ozymandias" is the Greek name of the pharaoh Ramesses II, one of the most famous of the Egyptian pharaohs, who built many monuments that still stand today. So the poem, which has a ruler whose monument has crumbled and who is implied to be nearly forgotten, is in fact completely inaccurate! [[User:JoeNotCharles|JoeNotCharles]] ([[User talk:JoeNotCharles|talk]]) 15:23, 29 July 2015 (UTC)
:: Perhaps the Ozymandias King of Kings from the poem is not the same one as Ozymandias the pharaoh? So he's doubly forgotten, because he has a more famous [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/namefellow namefellow]! [[User:Leoboiko|Leoboiko]] ([[User talk:Leoboiko|talk]])

So... [http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/Planepacked Planepacked]? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.145|173.245.50.145]] 05:44, 29 July 2015 (UTC)

The page seems to give a description, but not an explanation of the joke. I still don't get it! Why has Ozymandias been singled out for this treatment? Is there some way in which recursion is particularly appropriate or inappropriate in this case, or has it just been selected arbitrarily? Is the whole joke that recursion is inherently funny? Normally when recursion is used in XKCD it's making a larger point, or cleverly riffing on something in particular. This isn't just Describe XKCD, so I'd love to see an explanation of this comic. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.47|141.101.99.47]] 09:35, 29 July 2015 (UTC)

:The poem Ozymandias, like the statue of the king,can be thought of as a pinnacle of achievement for its civilizarion- in this case, English civilization. So it is entirely possible that one day, after the fall of this civilization, the poem will fill the same role for it that the statue filled for Ozymandias' (fictional) civilization. [[User:Bbruzzo|Bbruzzo]] ([[User talk:Bbruzzo|talk]]) 15:33, 29 July 2015 (UTC)

:May it be that Ozymandias is chosen because of Smith’s poem, where at last London has vanished, suggesting that Shelley’s poem is the last remains of British civilization? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.193|162.158.91.193]] 10:04, 29 July 2015 (UTC)

:I think Ozymandias was chosen because its opening is particularly famous. Even people who don't know much about poetry are often passingly familiar with it, and there's something funny about playing with well-known classics. And yes, I do believe the joke is that infinite recursion is inherently funny. There's a long tradition of these recursion-jokes among computer scientists and math people (like the "GNU" acronym, or recursive index references), with precedents in xkcd itself. [[User:Leoboiko|Leoboiko]] ([[User talk:Leoboiko|talk]])

In Germany, we have a childrens’ song „Ein Mops kam in die Küche“, which translates as follows (there are slightly different versions, though):

A pug came into the kitchen / and stole an egg from the chef. / Then the chef took his knife / and mashed the pug. // Then many pugs came / to his grave / and set a memorial for him, / where these words were written: // “A pug came into the kitchen …”

Maybe something similar exists in English? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.193|162.158.91.193]] 10:04, 29 July 2015 (UTC)

:We have:

: This is the song that doesn't end, / Yes, it goes on and on, my friend, / Some people started singing it not knowing what it was, / And they'll continue singing it / Forever, just because [repeat] :''— [[User:Tbc|tbc]] ([[User talk:Tbc|talk]]) 12:34, 29 July 2015 (UTC)''

:There's also:
::I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves,
::I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves and this is how it goes...[repeat] {{unsigned ip|197.234.243.249}}

:: In Dutch: "Het was nacht, stikdonkere nacht. Veertig rovers zaten rond een vuur. De roverhoofdman stond op een zei: "Het was nacht, stikdonkere nacht... " "
:: Which translates to something along the lines of: "It was night, a pitchblack night. 40 robbers sat round a fire, their leader stood up and said: "It was night, a pitchblack night..." "
:: Sometimes the fire is replaced by the shadow of a dandelion. "..Forty robbers sat in the shadow of a Dandelion, their Chief stood up and said: "It was a dark night, forty robbers sat in the shadow of a dandelion", etc. -- [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.67|141.101.104.67]] 13:01, 29 July 2015 (UTC)

::: The version I learned is: It was a dark and stormy night / and the good ship Marigold sailed the stormy seas. / The captain staggered down the steps / and said, "Mate, tell us a story!" / and the mate began, / "It was a dark and story night... --[[User:Mflansburg|Mflansburg]] ([[User talk:Mflansburg|talk]]) 15:44, 29 July 2015 (UTC)

:I've heard a very long infinitely recursive song in English, which is a variant of "The Bear Went Over the Mountain". The standard lyrics are:

:: The bear went over the mountain, the bear went over the mountain, the bear went over the mountain to see what he could see / And all that he could see, and all that he could see / Was the other side of the mountain, the other side of the mountain, the other side of the mountain, and that's what he could see.

: Well, the infinite variant goes:

:: The bear went over the mountain the bear went over the mountain, the bear went over the mountain to see what he could see / And all that he could see, and all that he could see / Was a valley in the mountain, a valley in the mountain, a valley in the mountain, and that's what he could see
:: The bear went over the mountain the bear went over the mountain, the bear went over the mountain to see what he could see / And all that he could see, and all that he could see / Was a lake in the valley, a lake in the valley, a lake in the valley, and that's what he could see
:: ... a sailboat on the lake ...
:: ... a man in the sailbot ...
:: ... pants on the man ...
:: ... a pocket in the pants ...
:: ... a nickel in the pocket ...
:: ... a beaver on the nickel ... (Note: I just realized this line only works in Canada, where the five cent coin has a picture of a beaver on it.)
:: ... a hair on the beaver ...
:: ... a flea on the hair ...
:: ... cells in the flea ...
:: ... a prisoner in the cells ...
:: ... pants on the prisoner ...
:: ... a pocket in the pants ...
:: etc.

: I prefer a slightly shorter version which goes from "a pocket in the pants" to "a dime in the pocket", then "a sailboat on the dime" (which again only works in Canada), and back to "a man in the sailboat". [[User:JoeNotCharles|JoeNotCharles]] ([[User talk:JoeNotCharles|talk]]) 15:14, 29 July 2015 (UTC)

:: I thought everyone (American) knew the song (needs music notation) "There's a Hole in the Bottom of the Sea?" One version finally ends with "There's a germ on the flea on the hair on the speck on the spot on the wart on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea." But kids make up all sorts of variations. Or they used to. [[User:Taibhse|Taibhse]] ([[User talk:Taibhse|talk]]) 10:00, 30 July 2015 (UTC)

: There's also [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.30|108.162.215.30]] 20:28, 29 July 2015 (UTC)

:: Yon Yonson - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yon_Yonson
:: Mighty mighty - https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070602235838AA6qSzz {{unsigned ip|108.162.215.30}}

::
Note that the recursion doesn't necessary be infinite. The list of travelers who met each other can have fixed length, for example 10. Imagining that the list is infinite is the joke. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:06, 29 July 2015 (UTC)
: I think that might be the point actually, the idea is that with each time someone tells the poem to someone else, it grows by one, for each traveler from an antique land has been told by by a different traveler from an antique land[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.39|108.162.219.39]] 01:08, 30 July 2015 (UTC)

Should we mention {{w|quines}}, which occur when lists like this end after two iterations, as "Yo, I'm MC Quine and I'm here to say/'Yo, I'm MC Quine and I'm here to say'!" {{unsigned|FourViolas}}

: That's not exactly a quine - a quine is a set of instructions which, when followed, recreates the instructions. If you take MC Quine's quote and write it out, you get just, "Yo, I'm MC Quine and I'm here to say", which doesn't contain the second repetition. To be a quine, you need to find some way that taking just the quoted part will automatically expand to the full statement plus the quote.

: A closer example of a quine: "Q: Pete and Re-Pete were sitting on a bridge. Pete fell off. Who was left? A: Repeat." If you take the answer "repeat" as an instruction, you would repeat the joke, recreating it completely. [[User:JoeNotCharles|JoeNotCharles]] ([[User talk:JoeNotCharles|talk]]) 15:19, 29 July 2015 (UTC)

This reminds me of Theodor Storm's "Schimmelreiter" ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rider_on_the_White_Horse "The Rider on the White Horse"]) which descends through three nested levels of narrators before it comes to the real story. --[[User:Ulm|ulm]] ([[User talk:Ulm|talk]]) 13:56, 29 July 2015 (UTC)

One connection between recursion and Ozymandias is the phrase "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" aka "Who watches the watchmen?" and the character in ''The Watchmen'' named Ozymandias. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.51|108.162.221.51]] 14:42, 29 July 2015 (UTC)

Nested Shelleys? Maybe associaing Shelley with shells could be part of the joke? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.115|108.162.216.115]] 16:02, 29 July 2015 (UTC)

I keep trying to see 10, but I keep counting 11 syllables in each line with the exception of the last one. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.210|108.162.210.210]] 16:48, 29 July 2015 (UTC)
:You have to read traveler as trav'ler. [[User:Uptonc|Uptonc]] ([[User talk:Uptonc|talk]]) 16:57, 29 July 2015 (UTC)
:: Well, that's just wrong... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.81|108.162.216.81]] 17:14, 29 July 2015 (UTC)
::: Um... No it's not. There are [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/traveler?s=t two ways to pronounce it] (trav-uh-ler and trav-ler), kind of like toe-may-toe, toe-mah-toe. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.196|108.162.219.196]] 18:11, 29 July 2015 (UTC)
::::And you can pronounce "dog" as "cat". Language is funny like that. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.187|108.162.210.187]] 15:24, 30 July 2015 (UTC)
:::::Ok it's going to bug me otherwise, but, how? I mean, I figure it's probably one of those ghoti-fish things, but still. -Pennpenn
::::::Sorry it took so long to see your response and to respond to it. I meant that the symbols that make up "dog" are arbitrary, and could just as easily be pronounced as anything. Language itself is arbitrary and new words are made all the time, and pronunciations of old words are changing as well. Rules of grammar change constantly, to the ire of English teachers everywhere. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.205|108.162.210.205]] 19:18, 26 September 2015 (UTC)
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 23:07, 30 July 2015 (UTC)
::::::There's certain British accents (and probably elsewhere, but let's start here as an example) where a person saying a word such as "film" can only seem to say it as if it is "fillum". A kind-of-1.5-syllable-at-most word for most people (close to the word "firm", but the tongue used differently), but distinctly two for others (who ''can'' say their "L"s, but 'disengage', rather than let the word flow). (Actually, there's also accents that would make "firm" sound like "firrum", because of their 'harder' "R"s, but that's superfluous to this explanation.) So if you have a problem getting "Traveller" down to the two-syllable "Travler", you may have a similar sort of acquired pronunciation. See also "vehicle" ("vee-hic-al", "vere-cal"), which I know is predominant in certain of the US states. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.188|141.101.98.188]] 06:14, 1 August 2015 (UTC)

I think everyone's looking far too hard for something obscure and clever. :) Ozymandias is in the poem described as the "king of kings", which makes him recursively kingly. Hence, the recursion joke. (I went ahead added that to the explanation, it's my first contribution here so hopefully I didn't bypass any explainxkcd wiki house rules) [[User:Orinthe|Orinthe]] ([[User talk:Orinthe|talk]]) 06:24, 30 July 2015 (UTC)

When my brother and I were very young, and stayed overnight at my grandparents, my grandfather would often tell us the following bedtime story, with great seriousness, and many dramatic pauses:

"We were all seated around the camp fire, when the Captain said, to his faithful servant: 'Antonio, Antonio, tell unto us a story.' And Antonio began: "We were all seated around the camp fire, when the Captain said, to his faithful servant: 'Antonio, Antonio, tell unto us a story.' And Antonio began: "We were all seated around the camp fire, when the Captain said, to his faithful servant: 'Antonio, Antonio, tell unto us a story...

By that time we were often asleep. {{unsigned|Matthew-e-hackman}}

There is a old Chinese story with recursion like this that goes like:
<pre>从前有座山 Once upon a time, there was a mountain.
山上有座庙 Upon that mountain, there was a temple.
庙里有个老和尚和小和尚 In the temple was an old monk and a young monk
老和尚讲了一个故事说 The old monk told a story, saying
从前有座山 Once upon a time, there was a mountain.
山上有座庙 Upon that mountain, there was a temple.
庙里有个老和尚和小和尚 In the temple was an old monk and a young monk
老和尚讲了一个故事说 The old monk told a story, saying
....</pre>

[[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.59|162.158.255.59]] 07:00, 31 July 2015 (UTC)

Not that you need another example of recursion, but this brings back very distinct personal memories. Whilst my father actually used to read books to me, at bedtimes, on occasion (for whatever unfathomable reason, lost on the mists of time) he would sometimes tell me a freestyle story that started "Once upon a time, there was a little boy who said to his daddy 'Daddy, tell me a story!', and his daddy said, alright then. 'Once upon a time, there was a little boy who said to his daddy "Daddy, tell me a story!", and his daddy said, alright then. "Once upon a time, there was a little boy who said to his daddy 'Daddy, tell me a story!', and his daddy said, alright then. ..."'" But by that point (if not earlier, depending on how grumpy I was) I'd usually interupt him, so I suppose I never actually ''did'' find out what where this was might have been going. (And he forever asserted it ''was'' going somewhere.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.188|141.101.98.188]] 06:14, 1 August 2015 (UTC)

This comic's TOO META. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.135|108.162.210.135]] 21:23, 2 August 2015 (UTC)

In response to "You're/That's/This is crazy: "Crazy!? I was crazy once. They took me to a room and locked me up. There were rats in that room that gnawed at the walls. The rats drove me crazy! Crazy!? I was crazy once ... " and so on...[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.91|108.162.221.91]] 20:40, 1 September 2015 (UTC) Kickasstimus

The B in "Benoit B Mandelbrot" stands for "Benoit B Mandelbrot."
Also I think Randall got the idea from this SMBC:
http://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=2470
Which is incidentally based off of the aforementioned joke.
[[User:International Space Station|International Space Station]] ([[User talk:International Space Station|talk]]) 04:58, 7 October 2015 (UTC)

Not quite sure what the proper protocol is, but it feels like the comment/suggestion at the end of the first paragraph should be in this discussion box rather than making the article itself more confusing to read.
--[[User:Aid1043|Aid1043]] ([[User talk:Aid1043|talk]]) 19:18, 8 March 2021 (UTC)

:Agreed; moved it below:
:{{Quote|This comment shows a misunderstanding of the phrase "king of kings." It refers to a king who rules over other kings; what is today known as an emperor.|[[Special:Contributions/162.158.122.84|162.158.122.84]] 22:31, 3 June 2020 (UTC)}}
:– [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 01:17, 19 March 2021 (UTC)

Not a member or anything, just wanted to say that reading all these stories that people wamted to share brought me great joy, it's lovely when people share things they liked or otherwise found interesting with each-other. Thank you all, from the depths of my heart.
:-Some Guy who read the discussion section on a whim {{unsigned ip|172.70.127.68|17:52, 6 February 2024}}

Talk:1102: Fastest-Growing

2024-02-06T22:25:19Z

172.70.86.68:

It's about Apple fanboys. [[Special:Contributions/62.195.79.12|62.195.79.12]]
: And how is that? [[Special:Contributions/173.44.98.247|173.44.98.247]] 05:52, 1 September 2012 (UTC)
What if I just started my own religion. Technically speaking it had 0 members, and then I joined it. Would this mean a growth of infinite percent? Also, a flaw with using percents is if a religion has one person, person a, and then person b joined it, it would have 100% growth. Then person b or a (doesn't matter which) leaves. The religion has increased by 100% and decreased by 50%. Now, you can't really add percentages, but I have just grown 50%! Ha! By adding no people! Then if the one tha left, comes and leaves again, I have grown by 100% this year. --[[Special:Contributions/98.221.139.80|98.221.139.80]]
:''Technically'', if you start your own religion, you start out with 1 member (yourself)... unless you invent a religion you don't actually believe in, and then suddenly, um, {{w|Drinking_the_Kool-Aid|drink the koolaid}}. ...;) -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 15:37, 3 September 2012 (UTC)
::OK. I create the religion. Leave it, and come back. It has grown by ∞ %. --[[Special:Contributions/98.221.139.80|98.221.139.80]]
::: You left it? How do we know you weren't excommunicated? ;-) Also, along the lines of ''if a tree falls in the woods and nobody is around to hear it...'', if a religion has nobody following it, does't it cease to exist? BTW, ∞ is not a numerical quantity, so ∞ % isn't really possible, even if the growth is infinite. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 05:19, 5 September 2012 (UTC)
: The flaw is that a 100% growth means it is 100% + 100% = 200% times as many people, and a 50% loss is 100% - 50% = 50% times as many people. 200% * 50% = 100% if one person joins and leaves your religion. [[Special:Contributions/107.2.113.228|107.2.113.228]] 6:58, 28 October 2018 (UTC)
The xkcd religion! Nice one, Black Hat.--[[Special:Contributions/98.221.139.80|98.221.139.80]]

The "claims to be fastest-growing religion" Wikipedia page is now a redirect to {{w|Growth of religion}}. I would change the link in the explanation, but, I'm not sure which section it should go to. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.45|108.162.216.45]] 03:18, 23 November 2013 (UTC)
:I did update the link and moved it into the section Trivia. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:20, 23 November 2013 (UTC)

"It seems safe to assume he dislikes this type of missionary method."
Well, it does get pretty boring doing things the same way every night. [[User:Hppavilion1|Hppavilion1]] ([[User talk:Hppavilion1|talk]]) 04:32, 18 December 2016 (UTC)

I love how the character is named "Combover". Fitting. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|'''JayRules''XKCD''' ]]<sup>[[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|what's up?]]</sup> 18:12, 9 January 2017 (UTC)

What kind of missionary do you think "Combover" is? Looks like a mormon to me... --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|'''JayRules''XKCD''' ]]<sup>[[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|what's up?]]</sup> 18:15, 9 January 2017 (UTC)

There's a couple (between 2 and 5) reasons why I don't think Combover is a Mormon. I looked it up—Mormon Missionaries always travel in pairs, but Combover doesn't appear to have any cohort. Also, the percentage mentioned doesn't correlate with Mormonism. Lastly, Mormon Missionaries teach lessons to prospective members before they join; they don't just say "join my religion because." If anyone else agrees with me, I think the references to Mormonism should be removed for these reasons. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.148|108.162.219.148]] 17:12, 2 July 2017 (UTC)

I'm new here, but I wanted to ask if someone can fix the link at the end to say the Church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints? I'm not sure how to without breaking the link, but it is incorrect and needs to be fixed. Additionally, The last comment is indeed correct about the reference to my religion, however the reference is not out of place and was a welcome sight. Thank you all for contributing so nicely. {{unsigned|SmallCorrector|17:17, 6 February 2024}}
:To teach you how, where there is a wikilink to a page "A Page On Wikipedia" using <code><nowiki>{{w|A Page On Wikipedia}}</nowiki></code>, you can give it "A Better Page On Wikipedia", instead, by <code><nowiki>{{w|A Better Page On Wikipedia}}</nowiki></code>, or "Different Text To Link With" as <code><nowiki>{{w|A Page On Wikipedia|Different Text To Link With}}</nowiki></code>.
:I checked where the "Mormon Missionary" link went to, in case it was a redirected page (I always prefer to send such links ''directly'' to the destination page). I found that ''they'' have called their own article by that name. An issue which you can always bring up on their own pages (assuming nobody has already). That page does start with the (I presume) proper and full nomenclature for the same, of course.
:Deciding that it would be dishonest to link to a "Mormon ..." page with the full/accurate name (it would look Ok until someone clicked on the link and finds themselves on the 'improperly named' page, and confusion could be had along the way), I hope you like my solution of appending the desired version, to cater for both those unfamiliar with the more formal term ''and'' those who deserve the right to expect it.
:...though maybe there's some even better way. You (now that you know how) or anyone else can try other things out, if wished. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.183|172.69.194.183]] 22:23, 6 February 2024 (UTC)

Talk:2887: Minnesota

2024-01-30T15:02:16Z

172.70.86.68: Forgot to sign. Still me, though.

Does NGS's request about "supple" have to be "rather than" commenting on the data? It could be in addition to it. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 19:38, 29 January 2024 (UTC)

Where do I find the latitude and longitude gain or loss of arbitrary points not relative to the African Plate but to the rotation axis and whatever is the official longitude? Does the official prime meridian move every time the European plate moves or is it fixed to Greenwich Observatory? {{unsigned|Oxygen|19:46, 29 January 2024}}
:Based on {{w|IERS Reference Meridian}} article, I think I can answer that with definitive "maybe". I mean, it's not fixed to Greenwich (is actually 100m apart of it) but I wasn't able to decipher what exactly they are doing regarding tectonic shifts, just that they were thinking about it. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 20:39, 29 January 2024 (UTC)

Personally, my go-to "other question" is "what is the square root of pi?". Tends to get a fun mix of answers. [[User:PotatoGod|PotatoGod]] ([[User talk:PotatoGod|talk]]) 05:50, 30 January 2024 (UTC)
:Rhubarb. (OK - it's not quite square, and it's a stem, not a root, but close enough, and it does make a damn good pie.) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.36|172.69.194.36]] 09:27, 30 January 2024 (UTC)
::Not to be pedantic (or, to be self-pedantic, maybe this ''was'' indeed pedantry), but rhubarb is surely the square ''stalk'' of pie. Or you're eating it wrongly. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.137|172.70.90.137]] 10:03, 30 January 2024 (UTC)

Probably unrelated, but I've seen several 'scare' articles over the weekend that say the Moon is 'shrivelling', due to its core cooling. Tend to say something like that it has shrunk by 330ft (without indicating over what time period, or relating that distance to the much larger general diameter such that it makes this not exactly a visible difference if you were to stare at any given bit of surface). The 'scare' is that it'll make it impossible to settle the Moon (due to selenological settling, ironically), especially at its (probably valuable) South Pole. Apart from it not being new info (LRO provided "the Moon has been shrinking 150ft over hundreds of millions of years" data, last decade; and that could even be the exact same thing, only quoted as a rough radius change instead of a roughish diameter one), there's also various ways of adding resiliance to reasonable surface changes (e.g. the current Halley Research Base used by the British Antarctic Survey) if you need to. Obviously the recent topical interest in landings (current and nearish-future) could have brought it up as a bit of 'current' news. ''Maybe'' it then filtered through to inspire the comic's premise (after searching for a sort-of-equivalent Earthly effect that was even more ripe for absurdist humour)... Likely not, but still thought it worth a mention, as a footnote. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.68|172.70.86.68]] 15:02, 30 January 2024 (UTC)

2880: Sheet Bend

2024-01-13T22:06:22Z

172.70.86.68: Changed incomplete tag

{{comic
| number = 2880
| date = January 12, 2024
| title = Sheet Bend
| image = sheet_bend_2x.png
| imagesize = 317x244px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = A left-handed sheet bend creates a much weaker connection, especially under moderate loads.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SHEET BOND - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is the seventh installment in the series of [[:Category:Cursed Connectors|Cursed Connectors]] and presents Cursed Connectors #46: The Sheet Bend. At the time of release this was the lowest number used for a cursed connector, with #286: [[2507: USV-C]] being the one with the highest number after those seven comics.

This comic shows two double-core cables being joined to make an electrical connection. Instead of the join being made the conventional way, that is, the silver-colored wires being soldered together and the gold-colored wires being soldered together, then the join covered with insulating tape, the diagram shows each core being connected to a conductive outer sheath, then the wires being tied together such that the outer sheaths touch and the connection is completed that way. A wire with two sequential points of connectivity for different signals is vaguely similar to a {{w|Phone connector (audio)}} plug with stereo audio, although that plug is not flexible enough to be tied into a sheet bend.

Although a fanciful extreme, this is a scenario commonly encountered by hobby engineers from the last millenium (the target demographic of the comic), who may have experience in electrical soldering and strong knowledge of how devices interconnect, but not always actual experience with professional repair, when handling the common situation of a broken wire. A hand-repaired wire can easily break again, and so hobby repairists can come up with solutions such as the tying the wire together. The proposed fanciful solution shows experience with both electrical work and knot work, and can appear quite satisfying with regard to how the knot holds the tension of the cable in a way that actually would strengthen the electrical connection rather than breaking it.

This is not the way electrical connections are usually made, as those familiar with larger currents are aware you might get an electric shock or start a fire from touching the outer side of the wires unless additional insulation is placed around the knot. Most connectors, even those like the relatively exposed {{w|punch-down block}} or {{w|screw terminal block}} types, would use some structural housing (and even {{w|AC power plugs and sockets#Protection from accidental contact|other methods}}) to ensure that the 'live' ends of a socket/plug/hybrid terminator are not trivially contactable to other exposed wires or objects/people, generally according to the relative dangers from, or to, the equipment to which the cable is connected.

The knot is designed to prevent the two connectors from touching, but this guarantee is not as strong as it could be, which would short out the circuit, but there is also the possibility of the cable slipping loose (perhaps by improper tensioning or handling of the knot, from the start) and the exposed conducting sheaths making other improper/dangerous connections across or beyond the knot itself. In both cases, the connection of the 'connector' would be at least become unreliable, even if it only disconnected the intended contact-points due to slippage – whether or not it became mechanically untied.

People who use “repair” jobs like this usually retain awareness and experience to continue learning and repairing as further issues develop.

The knot used to tie the two halves of the cable is a {{w|sheet bend}}, which is often used to join two ropes of different thicknesses, and explains the name for this type of cursed connector.

The title text says that a left handed sheet bend would provide a weaker connection. An actual left handed sheet bend provides less strength to the knot. This makes the title text a pun on the double meaning of "moderate load" (as in a moderate amount of physical tension applied through the cables ''or'' a moderate amount of electrical current passing through them). The difference between a left handed and right handed sheet knot is the free ends of the knots are on the same side in a right handed sheet knot (here both on the bottom side), but on opposite sides in a left handed sheet knot. When there is more tension pressing two conductive surfaces together, there is less resistance between them, strengthening the electrical connection as well.

==Transcript==
:[Above the drawing there is a header. Below the header there is a double-core wire going in from the left and stopping just past the middle of the picture. It shows how the inside of the wire looks and how the silver and golden wires inside are connected to two rectangular pieces of silver and golden material respectively. The golden piece is to the left and the silver piece to the right, closest to the end of the wire. Beneath this wire is shown two double-core wires forming a knot of the sheet bend type. Here it becomes clear that the silver and golden pieces are on the outside of the wires (but connected to the wires running inside the wires). In the knotted part of the wires gold touches gold and silver touches silver, without them touching the other color. Beneath this knot there is a label for the connector.]
:Cursed Connectors #46:
:The Sheet Bend

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Cursed Connectors]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

156: Commented

2023-12-07T18:42:32Z

172.70.86.68: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 156
| date = September 13, 2006
| title = Commented
| image = commented.png
| titletext = Your IDE's color may vary.
}}

==Explanation==
When [[Cueball]] asks [[Black Hat]] for a favor, he seems to be making a {{w|Obscene gesture|rude gesture}}, by lifting {{w|The finger|a finger}} towards Cueball. However, the word he says, ''Commented!'', does not seem to fit with the shorter {{w|%46uck#Modern_usage|four letter word}} usually combined with such a gesture.

Cueball also fails to understand this, but as it turns out, as the panels move around Black Hat and zooms in on his fingers, he is not making this rude gesture, but is instead actually lifting two fingers toward [[Cueball]], forming a double slash and thereby ignoring both him and his question for a favor, by commenting him out programming style, even to the point where Black Hat sees the commenting out slashes, Cueball, and anything he says in the color for ignored parts of the program (or real world in this case).

In certain {{w|Programming language|programming languages}} (including but not limited to C (since C99), C++, C#, Java, Javascript, PHP, and Scala), inserting a double slash (<code>//</code>) in a line marks everything after the double slash in the line as a "{{w|Comment (computer programming)|comment}}," i.e. something for humans to read that generally helps them understand the code better, rather than something for the computer to execute. Since all comment lines are ignored when a program is run or compiled, it is possible to simply put a double slash in front of any line of code to skip that line. This is known as "commenting out" the line. For example:

console.log("This line of code will be compiled and executed.");
<font color="green">//console.log("This line of code will be ignored, because it has been 'commented-out' by the two slashes.");</font>

An {{w|Integrated development environment|Integrated Development Environment}} (IDE for short) is an application that programmers use to write, compile, execute, and debug code. Many IDEs color-code text to make reading the code easier. In IDEs like Eclipse and Microsoft Visual Studio, a line that is commented out will be colored green; however, the color may vary depending on which IDE you use, and can usually also be customized. The title text refers to this variation among IDEs' color schemes.


==Transcript==
:[Cueball calls out to and Black Hat while they are some distance apart as seen from the side. Black Hat is holding an arm out towards Cueball making a gesture and speaking one word.]
:Cueball: Hey, can you do me a favor?
:Black Hat: Commented!

:[The same setting seen from behind Black Hat with Cueball drawn much smaller in the background.]
:Cueball: Huh?

:[Black Hat's hand is shown in close up. He is holding his first and second fingers parallel and at an angle towards the "small" Cueball to the left of the hand. The two fingers, as well as Cueball and his next line, are green.]
:<font color="green">Cueball: Wait, what does that gesture even mean?</font color>

{{Comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Programming]]

Talk:2831: xkcd Phone Flip

2023-10-21T17:50:51Z

172.70.86.68:

this is my first time editing, did i do well? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.134.202|172.70.134.202]] 21:39, 20 September 2023 (UTC)
:Decent enough, assuming you were the one giving the reference to the Z-series. But it'll be expanded, improved and reformatted a lot, I predict. I put in my own (intended) first-edit, but clearly there's you (and possibly A.N. Other) already adding their own thoughts. (Which I am counting on, rather than trying to write it all in one go all by myself... I'll wait for it to settle down and ''then'' see if there are various tweaks I'll want try on whatever form it becomes.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.7|172.70.90.7]] 21:50, 20 September 2023 (UTC)
:The other person was me, but I think there's someone else as well reformatting and rewriting things.--[[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.38|172.68.34.38]] 23:57, 20 September 2023 (UTC)

So, what is the meaning of "flip" here? [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 22:07, 20 September 2023 (UTC)
:It's a reference to the Samsung Galaxy line of folding smartphones, which is marketed as 'Galaxy Z Flip' phones. While there had been double-screened smartphones in the past, Samsung was able to figure out some way to have the actual screen flex and fold in the middle so that when it's closed the primary screen is protected, but when opened up the user sees a single screen without a hinge in the middle. The current model (the 'Z Flip 5') is the sixth iteration of the device since it was originally introduced in China in 2019. [[User:RAGBRAIvet|RAGBRAIvet]] ([[User talk:RAGBRAIvet|talk]]) 22:36, 20 September 2023 (UTC)

:I think it's just part of the whole marketroid feeling these are supposed to have. It's part of the name and the [alleged] "marketing" department, as is typical, came up with something extremely dumb and useless. See: [https://serverfault.com/questions/117799/which-version-of-sunos SunOS vs Solaris] [[Special:Contributions/162.158.197.132|162.158.197.132]] 22:32, 20 September 2023 (UTC)

Anybody else think the main sequence battery is a fusion cell that is also the chemical flashlight and full spectrum backlight that necessitates the SPF 15 coating? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.151.83|172.71.151.83]] 22:36, 20 September 2023 (UTC)
:I'm thinking it's a reference to the Cyalume lightsticks which need to be bent, which shatters a small glass vial inside and releases a hydrogen peroxide solution into a second solution of an oxalate ester and electron-rich dye contained within the outer plastic shell. The resulting chemiluminescent reaction creates visible light. [[User:RAGBRAIvet|RAGBRAIvet]] ([[User talk:RAGBRAIvet|talk]]) 22:42, 20 September 2023 (UTC)
:I assumed main sequence refers to stellar evolution in astronomy. {{w|Main sequence}} These stars have a relatively long life, matching the description. The SPF 15 coating and full spectrum would also make sense. However I am not sure that description as a chemical flashlight would follow appropriate. The primary energy generation would be nuclear (fusion). It has been long enough since I took astronomy I don't remember all the details of how the energy is converted into light, and whether that would ultimately be considered a chemical, thermal, or nuclear process (or combination thereof). [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.152|172.69.22.152]] 00:20, 21 September 2023 (UTC)
::Even relatively cold parts of stars are too hot for any chemical reactions. The photons produced from fusion are caught and re-emitted by atoms in outer layers of stars and the spectrum DOES match thermal radiation, so thermal maybe. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 21:21, 21 September 2023 (UTC)
:As chemist, I automatically interpreted it as made from main group elements in the periodic system. Which actually would be a neat feature. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.160.36|172.71.160.36]] 19:10, 22 September 2023 (UTC)

Arch support may also refer to the Linux distro [[Special:Contributions/162.158.110.237|162.158.110.237]] 08:42, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

I initially misread the title text as being a ''Thanos'' partnership. In which case, presumably inadvertently touching the button could wipe out half the population of the universe.[[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.77|172.71.242.77]] 10:25, 21 September 2023 (UTC)
:Can destroy mountains with one click, but not half the population [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.220|172.70.90.220]] 10:32, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

The breaking the glass might refer to “ Break glass (which draws its name from breaking the glass to pull a fire alarm) refers to a quick means for a person who does not have access privileges to certain information to gain access when necessary.”

With a chemical flashlight, I assume the free refills might actually come in handy (though it doesn't say there is a chemical flashlight and with the flip form, bending might just refer to some mechanical switch activating the flashlight - or considering the possibly stellar power source, it just removes shielding). [[User:627235|627235]] ([[User talk:627235|talk]]) 11:01, 21 September 2023 (UTC)
:At least it isn't a "chemical fleshlight". Moreover one activated by severe bending! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.46|172.70.162.46]] 11:20, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

Had thought to note (but couldn't find a way to slip it into the Explanation) that the origami-form relies upon a square sheet, but the unfolded form seems to be (close enough to) 2:1 ratio. If it ''is'' 2:1 (give or take excess to go around the initial bend), the first step might of course be to make the screen effectively 2-ply, then worry about how to seemlessly fold ''that'' into the Fortune Teller, with convex/concave folds and the necessary compound corners. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.46|172.70.162.46]] 11:20, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

"One pixel display" - I was surprised by the suggestion that this could be a static image, like a slide; I had imagined, and would like to see (perhaps more explicitly) the alternative, that the whole screen simply lights up in a single color (within the __-bit colorspace). --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.177|108.162.245.177]] 17:03, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

:I agree with the latter - I would consider the pixel as the minimum picture element, no subdetails. [[User:Vdm|Vdm]] ([[User talk:Vdm|talk]]) 20:30, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

:A single pixel with a lot of display states need not be static. Show a bunch in sequence like a film based movie projector. Pixel is the minimum addressable picture element. Think about ASCII art (e.g., printing Mona Lisa on a daisywheel printer), or graphics on the IBM PC monochrome display, Commodore PET, etc. There are also those pieces of art where each pixel is a small photograph (I don't know if there is a name for that). Not typical pixels, bit of a gray area. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.158.15|172.71.158.15]] 21:10, 21 September 2023 (UTC)
::A name for that: {{w|Photographic mosaic}}.
::Also, consider perhaps waving a single pixel around fast and using ''time'' and actual position at that time with sufficient image-retention (by the static viewer) to build up an observable but very temporary image. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.152|172.69.79.152]] 22:22, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

Anyone thinks the "Main sequence battery" could be a reference to [https://xkcd.com/1422 1422: My Phone Is Dying]? --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.97.11|141.101.97.11]] 08:00, 22 September 2023 (UTC)

I wonder if the "we didn't actually mean" thing is a reference to those bendy iPhones almost a decade ago? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.38.74|162.158.38.74]] 08:45, 22 September 2023 (UTC)

Maybe the explanation should also mention that kid's game that you do with a folded paper like the images on the right. I don't know how it is called, but this Facebook comment by "AJ Himmel" references it:
"Can also be used to find out who you'll marry someday! Just repeatedly flip it open then unfold a flap!"
[[User:Rps|Rps]] ([[User talk:Rps|talk]]) 17:01, 22 September 2023 (UTC)
:It already ''does'' mention the kids' (note apostrophe!) game... "paper fortune teller". [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.152|172.70.91.152]] 17:22, 22 September 2023 (UTC)
::I don't see any reason why a kid (singular) couldn't play with it on their own. In fact, in my experience, it was usually one kid that was playing the game - the rest were simply reluctant stooges.[[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.70|172.71.242.70]] 09:26, 25 September 2023 (UTC)
:::Are you saying that only one particular kid ''ever'' played with such a game? With as solo an effort as any such individual(s) may have had? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.59|172.70.85.59]] 16:10, 25 September 2023 (UTC)

Should Ruina montium really be described as a "lost mining technique" given [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_M%C3%A9dulas] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hushing]exist? It seems more like a colloquialism than lost knowledge to me.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.179.124|172.70.179.124]] 05:23, 23 September 2023 (UTC)

Possible (tenuous) connection: the Ruina Montium feature in combination with the phone's demonstrated ability to shift into an angular, geometric form could be a reference to the angel Ramiel in ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'', which demonstrated a mountain-destroying energy blast and has a somewhat similar shape. Shown here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u26WYI9oxoA] [[Special:Contributions/172.70.127.132|172.70.127.132]] 07:13, 24 September 2023 (UTC)

What's incomplete in the transcript? I couldn't find anything in the text that wasn't there already.[[User:Something|Something]] ([[User talk:Something|talk]]) 14:39, 21 October 2023 (UTC)
: Well, I had to remove the non-canon bulletpoints, to make it correct for Transcripts But I haven't also removed the {{template|transcript incomplete}} tag, just yet, as it probably needs someone else checking the way it has ended up and being happy with it. (NB. whenever someone declares themselves as happy, inevitably they attract the attention of someone who disagrees. ;) ) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.68|172.70.86.68]] 17:50, 21 October 2023 (UTC)

2727: Runtime

2023-10-19T22:17:14Z

172.70.86.68: /* Explanation */ Non-visible edit, because I don't know what the proper visible one ought to be. Just that it needs to be done.

{{comic
| number = 2727
| date = January 20, 2023
| title = Runtime
| image = runtime_2x.png
| imagesize = 399x389px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = At least there's a general understanding all around that Doctor Who is its own thing.
}}

==Explanation==

The comic presents two separate conversations, which boil down to the same premise and yet differing conclusions. In one, a particular TV show is being watched, in the other a film franchise.

While it is finding its feet, a new season of a television show (perhaps commissioned, on the back of some perceived interest in the story it will tell, for a dozen or so episodes of around 50 minutes - i.e. about ten hours) is not necessarily going to get everything right in the writing style, the slant it puts on the subject matter, the cast of characters or other production values. Or at least not for mass appeal to the everyman, for whom [[Cueball]] is the archetypal representative. Nevertheless, many series ''do'' get further seasons and greatly improve. [[White Hat]] (the optimist, and clearly won over by the production) is on the way to successfully convincing Cueball to view a particular series, or perhaps to continue to watch it after becoming jaded by its early failure to live up to its hype. It sounds reasonable to Cueball, just from his friend's recommendation, to get over the hump and appreciate it "when it gets good".

A series of films, however, is seemingly a different matter. By substituting 10+ hours of filmed-for-television with something more cinematic, the prospect of getting over a similar 'hump' in a long-running set of sequels. While the total runtime of movies varies, and the total runtime of television seasons varies even more, [[Randall]] estimates that 8 films and a season of television will both run between 10 and 15 hours.

There are legitimate reasons why people might treat these situations differently:
* A television series that gets good can be expected to run for at least five seasons, whereas nine movies is already quite long for a movie series. The ratio of 'good' to 'bad' content is likely to be much better for a television series.
* Watching a television series is generally more convenient than watching multiple films. While streaming has lowered the barrier to watching movies, each one still requires a continuous block of time and attention (usually between 90 and 120 minutes). TV episodes historically ran from 23 to 46 minutes, and still generally run less than an hour each. This makes it easier to fit the content into a busy schedule.
* The longer run-time of a movie generally means that a film series will focus on one specific plotline in each entry, whereas televised series are or can be more episodic (the characters are involved in a different situation each time) and can also interweave plotlines throughout individual episodes or episode arcs, so that less time per episode is spent on plots viewers dislike.
* In the US, a film typically begins shooting from a completed script with only minor revisions conducted once filming starts; whereas in television, writers are usually engaged throughout most of a series' season and can more quickly change unpopular elements in future episodes.

The mention of “after the first 8 movies” might be a reference to the long-running Fast and the Furious franchise, which now has 9 movies (plus a couple of spin-offs) at the time of this comic’s publication. The more recent movies are well-reviewed (rated “fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes), even though the first four were widely panned by critics. Someone like Randall, who may have ignored the franchise when it first came out in 2001, may be wondering if he should watch the more recent ones that critics generally like; and, if so, does he need to catch up on the initial movies first?

The title text talks of the long-running British TV series that is ''{{w|Doctor Who}}''. The original Doctor Who, running from 1963-1989 was typically low budget, for its time and locality, though initially considered cutting edge in many ways. Compared to more modern classics, and especially Hollywood sci-fi, it would be noticeably not as good. The revived series (2005-present) has a much higher production budget and is typically much more aligned to modern viewers, who may willfully ignore or not even know of the older episodes. Someone just starting to watching Doctor Who sequentially from the ''very'' first season (broadcast in 1963) would have to watch hundreds of episodes (26 'seasons', by some counts) before the series "gets good" to modern eyes, if the {{tvtropes|GrowingTheBeard|"good" point}} is the 2005 series revival, or even quite a few to reach any given key point in the original run. Thus Doctor Who is considered to be its own thing, and unlike other shows where the fans recommend you suffer through a poor first season to enjoy improvement in subsequent seasons, {{w|Whovians}} might recommend potential new fans to begin with the 2005 reboot (technically the 27th season), which was produced to appeal to all new-comers without even necessarily any cultural knowledge of what had been broadcast up until the long hiatus a decade and a half before.

It is vague about Randall's precise opinion, but even the most dedicated fan would acknowledge that it has had a varying quality/charm/consistency/etc, according to one's personal tastes for such things. Comparing the original run (pre-Millenium, featuring seven key actors sequentially taking on the title role over more than four decades, and another for a standalone TV-movie) with the revived series (continuing the pattern with a similar number of additional title-actors in just half the time), and any number of 'show-runners' (producers, main writers, etc) is one possible point of contention, probably more suited to British viewers. Possibly, in Randall's case, it is just the (perceived) ups and downs in the more recent era, which has been more consistently screened in the US.

==Transcript==
:[Two situations are depicted between White Hat and Cueball.]
:[Situation 1:]
:White Hat: You should keep watching! After the first season it gets really good.
:Cueball: Oh yeah, I've heard that!
:[Situation 2:]
:White Hat: You should keep watching! After the first 8 movies, they get really good.
:Cueball: Haha, what? I'm not going to sit through '''''eight''''' bad movies!
:[Caption below the panel:]
:It's weird how it's way more normal and socially acceptable to suggest someone spend 10-15 hours watching something when it's TV rather than movies.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Doctor Who]]

2583: Chorded Keyboard

2022-02-21T10:59:52Z

172.70.86.68: Clarified incorrect claim of QWERTY inefficiencies

{{comic
| number = 2583
| date = February 18, 2022
| title = Chorded Keyboard
| image = chorded_keyboard.png
| titletext = And even though it all went wrong / I'll stand before the lord of song / with nothing on my tongue but 'I don't understand, I swear I backed up my keyboard config before messing with it'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by LEONARD COHEN - Someone with proper computer knowledge should probably elaborate on the terms "chorded keyboard" and "keyboard config". Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This strip is a parody of the first verse (and in the title text, the end of the last verse) of {{w|Leonard Cohen}}'s "{{w|Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen song)|Hallelujah}}", which has become a distinctive and popular song of which {{w|Cover version|covers}} and versions exist. Written as a {{w|Sentimental ballad|ballad}}, it is partly based upon the allegory of a mystical {{w|Chord (music)|musical chord}} of several musical notes, that the words and tune both describe and illustrate by example.

Here is the verse from the song (see the lyrics [https://genius.com/Leonard-cohen-hallelujah-lyrics here]):
:Now I've heard there was a secret chord
:That David played, and it pleased the Lord
:But you don't really care for music, do ya?
:It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth
:The minor fall, the major lift
:The baffled king composing "Hallelujah"

[[Cueball]] is {{w|Filk music|filking}} upon this theme, but in his case he has somehow set up his computer so that, upon pressing a certain combination of multiple keys on his keyboard, the system will automatically type out the word "hallelujah" (xkcd's all-caps typesetting makes it unclear how the word is capitalized). In his description of the process, in both the comic proper and the title text, he uses adapted lyrics that again both describe and illustrate by example. Most of the initial lyrics are floating 'thoughts'. The punchline "hallelujah", however, is 'spoken' out of his computer monitor - typical of how on-screen text is indirectly shown in this comic series. It partially continues as a song parody through the title text but then trails off into a typical computer-complaint that he perhaps [[:Category:Cueball Computer Problems|may often have cause to make]].

The original lyrics rely upon typically nuanced rhymes, such as "do you" (or "do ya'") with "Hallelujah", and "fifth" with "lift", but fairly reliably rhymes "chord" with "Lord". In [[Randall]]'s version, it starts with "chord" and "word" which ''look'' like they should rhyme, but would be /kɔɹd/ {{w|International Phonetic Alphabet|vs.}} /wɝd/ in an typical US accent. Similarly "shift" and "left" might be considered not a {{w|Perfect and imperfect rhymes|perfect rhyme}} when read as prose, but should still be possible to meaningfully sing.

Technically, a {{w|Chorded_keyboard#Open-source_designs|chorded keyboard}} is one in which (nearly) all inputs are made by simultaneous pressing of a given combination of a limited number of keys, such as a literal handful of non-alphabetic keys that the user learns to combine to represent the key-presses of more standard keyboards. The workings of such a keyboard tends to be handled internally, sending to the computer the signal(s) that ''would'' have been sent from its larger cousin.

A big thing among millenial hackers like Randall and his original audience was customising keyboard uses. The linux operating system was originally designed and used for personal customisation, and people move their configurations from system to system, often customising how things respond to such a degree that other users struggle to make use of their system at all. The first major two text editors, vim and emacs, were composed of different camps of how to efficiently type. The emacs camp believed it was more effective to hit many keys at once to accomplish a large task, but both editors were designed to be highly customisable. It's {{w|QWERTY#Properties|erroneously believed}} that the traditional qwerty keyboard was specifically designed to make typing inefficient so as to reduce engineering burden in making old typewriters responsive and reliable. Given the prevalence of them, it has been common among hackers to remap a keyboard to be more efficient, such as to use a dvorak layout rather than a qwerty layout, as it is thought to be far more efficient to type with. Chorded configurations are an order of magnitude more efficient than the dvorak layout, but are more complex to configure because the result is not at all a one-to-one mapping. The traditional court reporting device is a chorded keyboard, to keep up with human speech.

Using a combination of normally single-use keys (the 'H' and a cursor) with others, including modifiers ('shift' and 'control'), i.e. 'chording' ''with'' his keyboard, is the kind of key combination found traditionally in emacs. The ballad then comes across as an ode to system customisation and the days of millenial linux hacking, when everybody who used a computer knew how to rebuild it by hand in any way they wanted.

The chording example goes beyond mainstream use (shift and an an alphabetic character changes the character case, whilst ctrl and a character may initiate an editing command) or mainstream multi-modifier combinations (ctrl, alt and the 'e' may result in the 'é', where the keyboard does not otherwise support it) and even goes beyond [[378: Real Programmers|emacs-like command ''sequences'']] which are generally software-specific. It seems more likely that such a setup is handled within the computer, either defined within the OS or (as is often the case with specialist configurable gaming keyboards) via the driver installed to mediate such esoteric keyboard combinations as the user has predefined for themselves.

Cueball's combination-keypress may in fact be better termed a 'macro', in some contexts. The single event, somehow triggered by this particular simultaneous multi-key input, invokes the injection of a pre-specified sequence of standard characters into the appropriate text-buffer/-stream in lieu of manual input.

The title text spoofs the last verse of the (original) song, with "Hallelujah" being replaced by Cueball trailing off musing about having apparently lost the backup of his keyboard configuration, implying that he ended up in a position where he would want to restore said backup (for instance, having tampered with it to the point he is no longer capable of operating the keyboard efficiently, if at all).

Here is the original verse, where the title text spoofs the last three lines:
:I did my best, it wasn't much
:I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
:I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool ya
:And even though it all went wrong
:I'll stand before the lord of song
:With nothing on my tongue but hallelujah

As added irony, while in the original that verse is hopeful, with the singer being thankful for experiencing joy even from a relationship that ultimately failed, contrarily in the alt text Cueball is apparently expressing regret. Or, if taken literally, it could instead imply that God himself is questioning Cueball about his tampering with software, which could fit with the running gag of [[:Category:Cueball Computer Problems|Cueball's (often self-inflicted) computer problems being hyperbolically atrocious]].

When one modifies one's keyboard config, it can make the system seem unusable (or at least highly unexpected) to things like a boss, a spouse, or an automated maintenance system. When an error is made somewhere in the process, it can make the system seem unusable to the very person who made the changes, making it hard to change them back.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting in an office chair at his desk, typing on his keyboard as shown by small lines over one hand, while looking at the screen of his stationary computer. The screen is on a raised platform on his desk. Lyrical text is written upon each scene, presumably what Cueball is typing.]
:I heard there was a secret chord
:That David pressed and it typed a word

:[A closeup on Cueball in a slim panel. We see him from the waist up, with his hands on the keyboard just beneath the panels frame.]
:But you don't use a chorded keyboard, do you

:[Same setting as in the first panel, except Cueball's arms have moved and there are movement lines above and below his arms.]
:It goes like this, <control> and <shift>
:The other hand hits H and <left>

:[Slimmer panel but same setting as in the first panel, again the arms have moved a bit, with movement lines above them. The final written word of text is marked as arising directly from the computer.]
:And all at once it types out
:Computer: Hallelujah

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Songs]]
[[Category:Cueball Computer Problems]]

Talk:2581: Health Stats

2022-02-16T22:47:29Z

172.70.86.68:

Pretty late comic! [[User:GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e|GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e]] ([[User talk:GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e|talk]]) 06:26, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

It's positive feedback, not negative. Negative feedback is when the response is in the opposite direction of the stimulus (e.g. Cueball becoming more relaxed as blood pressure goes up) and often results in an equilibrium state. A vicious circle (positive feedback) by contrast is when the response ends up increasing the stimulus further, as is the case in this comic.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.233.29|162.158.233.29]] 11:19, 15 February 2022 (UTC)
https://www.albert.io/blog/positive-negative-feedback-loops-biology/#:~:text=Positive%20feedback%20occurs%20to%20increase,back%20to%20a%20stable%20state.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.221|172.70.126.221]] 11:50, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

I feel Cueball's pain. My employer has a checklist where we are supposed to take our temperature every day before coming to work. My problem is, I run hot. My "normal" temperature is usually 99.6ish, not 98.6ish. I knew this for years prior to the pandemic - I used to be a frequent blood donor and would get turned away about a third of the time because they won't take anyone above 99.5. Even though I knew all this, the paranoia induced by daily monitoring and a value that would be abnormal for others but totally typical for me got so bad that I don't do it. No one is enforcing it at the door - it is basically the honor system, and it was causing me more anxiety than actually solving anything. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.69|172.70.114.69]] 18:54, 15 February 2022 (UTC)
:A simple "solution" to this, at least for forehead thermometers, would be to engage in some moderate exercise shortly before having your temperature taken, such that you get some perspiration on your forehead. Then you can discontinue the exercise, and the sweat will evaporate soon afterwards, resulting in a particularly low skin temperature for a short while. [[User:Dansiman|Dansiman]] ([[User talk:Dansiman|talk]]) 21:30, 15 February 2022 (UTC)
:: No one is taking my temperature - like I said, it is the honor system and they are expecting you to do it before you show up. My point is that doing so was creating anxiety much like Cueball's, with not a lot of utility to the acquired data. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.14|162.158.79.14]] 18:27, 16 February 2022 (UTC)
:'Google: 99.6 f to c' -> '37.56' Hmm, that seems very close to average. Why are those people so concerned about such a small difference compared to average body temperature? <span style="text-shadow:0 0 6px black">[[User:Beanie|<span style="font-size:11pt;color:#dddddd">Beanie</span>]]</span> <sup><span style="text-shadow:0 0 3px #000000">[[User talk:Beanie|<span style="font-size:8pt;color:#dddddd">talk</span>]]</span></sup> 20:11, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

I see this as mainly a joke on how consumer devices often provide more precision than is actually needed, and users don't understand that the extra precision is usually not significant. The only reason "normal" human temperature is 98.6F, to the 10th of a degree, is because average temperature was first measured in Celsius then this was convered to Fahrenheit. But 37C was originally rounded off from an average, so it wasn't precise enough to warrant using an extra decimal place in the conversion. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 19:23, 15 February 2022 (UTC)
:Also a saultory lesson in the misunderstanding of the relationship (i.e. that there really isnt one, at least reliably) between precision and accuracy. Without proper calibration, even moment-to-moment consistency of measurement can be sullied by it being (consistently) wrong, or wrongly read out. Adding more decimals may seem to give a more persuasive estimate, but doesn't do a thing to stop inaccuracy. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.225|141.101.98.225]] 19:51, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

I think we can assume that customer devices have a significant inaccuracy but have build-in time consistency to increase the trust in the device. Thus, I don't think the inconsistency between two measurements can explain the variation. Since the hand is moved around on the comic strip positioning is a more likely cause. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.38.243|172.70.38.243]] 20:10, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

Saw an article a few weeks ago on the nocebo effect of fitness gadgets ... could be related. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-12-15/wrist-size-fitness-gadgets-make-for-great-gifts-but-beware-of-the-nocebo-effect [[User:Boatster|Boatster]] ([[User talk:Boatster|talk]]) 00:02, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

Just a side note: 72.961% of all readers trusts fictional data more if it has lots of decimals. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.121|162.158.134.121]] 11:26, 16 February 2022 (UTC)
:True fact: When the height of Mount Everest was first accurately calculated, the result was 29,000 ft. That was within a precision of one foot, but ''looked'' like it was rounded to the nearest 1,000, so they announced it to be 29,002 ft instead to actually look as accurate as it was (or had been!) precise.
:Incidentally, that figure was established from measurements taken from no closer than 100 ''miles'' from the mountain (due to local politics and other difficulties) that had to account for atmospheric refraction, as well as the curvature of the Earth, etc. The current official measure, with 'hands on' access, is 29,031.7 ft. The difference (of 9.66m, to put it into modern units) is slight. If you assume it is changing directly in line with the average rise of the Himalayas, over the intervening 170 years, that's around 8.91m off. It's not possible to assess seasonal (snow-depth) changes, but that might cut another good fraction off again. Not bad for 1850s capabilities. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.68|172.70.86.68]] 22:47, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

The explanation says that it is a new smartwatch, but the comic immediately made me think it was a new feature added by a software update. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.54.203|172.70.54.203]] 15:55, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

2466: In Your Classroom

2022-02-15T19:16:43Z

172.70.86.68: Undo revision 227069 by 172.69.68.221 (talk) Looks like spiced ham in tins.

{{comic
| number = 2466
| date = May 21, 2021
| title = In Your Classroom
| image = in_your_classroom.png
| titletext = Ontology is way off to the left and geography is way off to the right.
}}

==Explanation==

[[Randall]] has created a thought experiment and corresponding chart about school courses. The idea is, "the subject of the class appears in the classroom" and the chart compares how dangerous and how unusual that would be.

In the title text two points that are off the chart to the left and right are also mentioned. See details about all the subjects in the [[#Table of subjects|table]] below.

Note that Randall uses similar diagrams in each of [[388: Fuck Grapefruit]], [[1242: Scary Names]] and [[1501: Mysteries]], which also contain different items. They also have extra points mentioned in the title text. In the first two comics the points are also off the chart, whereas for the last the description of the point is too long to fit on the chart. Extra info outside the chart is also used in the title text of [[1785: Wifi]], but this is a line graph.

==Table of subjects==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Breakdown of Subjects
|-
!Course Topic
!Weirdness
!Badness
!Explanation
|-

!scope=row|Atmospheric Physics
|0%
|0%
|Absent very strange and unprecedented circumstances, every classroom has an atmosphere {{Citation needed}}, and this is very good, because humans cannot survive without one.
|-

!scope=row|Ethics
|25%
|0%
|Ethical thinking and behavior are widely considered good and should normally be present in education, but are sadly not universal.
|-

!scope=row|Education
|0%
|10%
|Learning usually goes on in classrooms, so education as a concept is both being learned about and present in the form of learning itself.
|-

!scope=row|Bibliography
|25%
|7%
|Bibliography is the study of books, and books are normally present in classrooms, particularly bibliography classrooms. Although, more commonly speaking academically, a bibliography is a list of all sources used to compose a research paper, considered mandatory in all branches of academics but occasionally falsified or written in an incorrect style.
|-

!scope=row|Human Physiology
|0%
|20%
|This comic assumes that there are humans learning in the classroom, which was true at the time this comic was published, although in many places at the time the comic was published, many classrooms were closed due to COVID-19 restrictions.
|-

!scope=row|Public Speaking
|25%
|15%
|Some classes require students to present things in front of the class, which is likely a requirement in a public speaking class. Thus, public speaking itself would be present in the class.
Some classes also have a teacher talking or presenting to the students from the front of the class, another form of public speaking.
|-

!scope=row|Architecture
|0%
|30%
|All buildings can be considered architecture, and most classes take place in buildings. This comic also refers to a class''room'', which is a room, and therefore considered architecture.
|-

!scope=row|Library Science
|25%
|25%
|Library science is concerned with the organization of knowledge, and is useful for finding information. Many classes require [https://papersowl.com/pay-for-research-paper research papers] that require the use of books and other sources of information to complete them. This would be even more appropriate for a class actually taught in the school library.
|-

!scope=row|Furniture Design
|0%
|40%
|Most rooms have furniture,{{Citation needed}} so this would probably be present in a classroom. May also be implying the classroom furniture has not been assembled yet, making it not as good and a lesson in furniture design.
|-

!scope=row|Culinary Arts
|40%
|30%
|Most studies of culinary arts include the teacher and/or students preparing food using the tools and/or techniques that have been taught, so it would be fairly normal for food to be a result of classroom activities. How ''good'' it is, however, can be a mixed bag, especially for student cooking attempts.
|-

!scope=row|Ergonomics
|5%
|45%
|Ergonomic equipment and workspaces promote comfort and efficiency, while non-ergonomic ones may be unpleasant, unhealthy, or even immediately dangerous.
|-

!scope=row|Botany
|40%
|40%
|The near-neutral position of botany (aka plant biology) suggests that the most likely reason for plants to be present would be something like a potted plant, which is not uncommon, and usually not unpleasant, but not very noteworthy. There are other potential reasons for plants to be present, but those are generally less likely.
|-

!scope=row|20th Century Authors
|65%
|10%
|Literature classes would benefit greatly from an open discussion or interview with the author himself. Sadly such things are rare, but not unheard of, putting it slightly on the "weird" side of the spectrum. Well-known authors of the 20th century have an increased likelihood of being dead by 2021, but there are still some authors of the 20th century who were well-established enough to be studied and still alive at the time this comic was published.
|-

!scope=row|Exobiology
|100%
|0%
|Exobiology is the study of extraterrestrial life. This would mean that an alien lifeform was in the classroom. This is extremely weird but very good for people to investigate and research the alien.
|-

!scope=row|21st Century Authors
|60%
|20%
|21st century authors have the advantage (over 19th and 20th century authors) of typically being alive and active at the time this comic was published. However, most authors who were primarily active in the 21st century are still developing their body of work, and/or still awaiting the judgment of history. The better availability of such authors, as compared to 20th century author probably explains the slightly lower "weirdness" score, while the limited body of truly prominent authors probably explains the lower "goodness" score.
|-

!scope=row|19th Century Authors
|100%
|15%
|No author who was active in the 19th century was alive at the writing of this comic{{Citation needed}}, hence, having one of them show up in class would be extremely weird. The opportunity to interact with such a person would be utterly unique, meaning that it scores pretty high on the "goodness" metric, though interestingly not as high as a 20th century author. Possibly, the potential "badness" of having a zombie or other reanimated being show up in your class is weighed against the advantage of having a historical figure there in person. It may also be that someone from the 19th century has an increased danger of having outdated ethics, which may result in discomfort on the part of the students.
|-

!scope=row|Paleontology
|100%
|25%
|Paleontology is the study of the history of life on Earth as based on fossils. In geology classes, it would be normal to have some fossils in the classroom. However, fossils are not usually found in other classrooms, and especially below the college level. Randall is also probably implying the weirdness of finding a live ''Jurassic Park''-style dinosaur.
|-

!scope=row|Robotics
|55%
|30%
|A course on robotics would often be expected to have some form of working models of the robots being discussed. However, for it to have "showed up" in your classroom could imply an actual functioning robot prototype walked into the classroom. While not cause for concern (as long as nobody in the class is named Sarah Connor), this would be a bit weird.
|-

!scope=row|Martian Soil Chemistry
|100%
|35%
|Martian soil only reaches Earth in small amounts, so it would be unusual to find a meaningful amount anywhere, except Mars.
|-

!scope=row|Tourism
|75%
|40%
|Tourists coming into an active classroom would be quite unusual; while tourists sometimes visit university campuses, it would generally be rude for a tour guide to lead them into a classroom when class is in progress. This could also refer to the students leaving to become tourists in another location.
|-

!scope=row|Child Psychology
|60%
|45%
|Children are rarely students in classrooms advanced enough to teach child psychology. In order for child psychology to be on display, presumably someone would have to have brought a child (either for a demonstration, or for some other reason), which is slightly weird, but not unheard of. This is considered slightly "good", presumably because it would give students some opportunity for firsthand observation, and because most people like, or at least tolerate, children.
|-

!scope=row|Entomology
|15%
|55%
|Entomology is the study of insects. Insects getting into a classroom is a very common event, even putting aside the possibility of someone bringing insects specifically to study. Most insects that might get in are relatively benign, but some (such as mosquitoes) might sting or bite, and many people simply don't like insects, even when they're not harmful, pushing this slightly into "bad" territory.
|-

!scope=row|Occupational Therapy
|10%
|62%
|Injury, illness or mental health problem that hinder your participation in life/school. Many students who have significant physical injuries and conditions that require occupational therapy would generally not engage in those activities during a class, although volunteers may be brought in as a demonstration of a particular health problem or method of treatment.
|-

!scope=row|Hydraulic Engineering
|40%
|62%
|Likely in the form of flooding or plumbing problems.
|-

!scope=row|Pest Control
|25%
|70%
|This is not dissimilar to entomology, but pest control tends to involve larger infestations, as opposed to individual insects, and also includes non-insect animals, such as rats. Such events in classroom are not as common as individual insects getting in (especially in a well-maintained building), but are far from unheard of, and risk many negative effects, from bug bites to structural damage, and may require evacuation and fumigation to deal with.
|-

!scope=row|Foodborne Illness
|15%
|80%
|Sometimes students in a culinary arts class do not properly observe hygiene standards and the food they present would lead to illness in those that consume the food. Thankfully, this is rare if the teacher is paying enough attention to proceedings. Students could also be ill from food eaten outside of class.
|-

!scope=row|Criminal Law
|45%
|85%
|This might happen if a crime occurs in the class. While an armed robbery is unlikely, incidents involving theft or drug use are not particularly uncommon. Regardless, such an incident would be very bad.
|-

!scope=row|Physiology of Stress
|0%
|90%
|Stress in a classroom, even stress that's bad enough to manifest itself in physical symptoms, is all too common. Stress that bad is very harmful, and a student realizing that they were manifesting the symptoms they're studying should take it as a warning sign.
|-

!scope=row|Oncology
|25%
|100%
|Oncology is the medical practice of treating cancer. For someone in a classroom full of students to have cancer is, unfortunately, not an uncommon event, putting it on the "normal" side of the scale. While not abnormal, it's clearly very bad.
|-

!scope=row|Ornithology
|60%
|55%
|Ornithology is the study of birds. A bird getting into a classroom would be somewhat strange, but there are circumstances under which it would happen. In most cases, that's not especially dangerous, but it would be disruptive, and introduce the possibility of the bird making a mess, and possibly getting hurt (or even hurting others), which makes it slightly bad.
|-

!scope=row|Animation
|100%
|56%
|Presumably Randall isn't referring to examples of animated works being displayed to the students in an animation class, as that would be normal. However, it would be very weird for animated characters to appear physically in the classroom instead of being projected on screens. Possibly a reference to movies such as ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' in which cartoon characters actively interact with the live action cast. As many of the characters abide by different physics, and a couple are depicted as insane, this would be very weird and potentially bad.
|-

!scope=row|Petroleum Geology
|65%
|60%
|Crude oil coming up through the floor of the classroom would be ''very'' weird. Any potential for hands-on learning experience would be limited, and quickly outweighed by classes being disrupted entirely (be it damage to the building, or oil companies trying to negotiate for the land).
|-

!scope=row|Highway Engineering
|75%
|65%
|A highway being built through an active classroom would be very unusual and not that safe.
|-

!scope=row|Toxicology
|55%
|75%
|Most likely, a toxic substance is present in the room. This is not very weird if the room is in a building that has {{w|asbestos}}-containing insulation (typically associated with buildings constructed before the 1990s, although it has not been specifically outlawed in the United States due to industrial lobbying) or lead paint (which was fully outlawed in 1978, so any paint must have been applied prior to that date). However, toxic substances are unsafe for humans{{Citation needed}}.
|-

!scope=row|Hematology
|75%
|70%
|Hematology is the study of blood. Given that there should be blood in each of the students present{{Citation needed}}, we should probably assume Randall means "large quantities of blood outside of one's body", which would indeed be both bad and weird.
|-

!scope=row|Hostage Negotiation
|70%
|85%
|Reasons as to why there would be hostage negotiations taking place at a school have horrifying implications for the students and teacher.
|-

!scope=row|History of Siege Warfare
|100%
|80%
|This would be an exceptionally strange event. Given that the topic is "history", having it show up implies that either historical figures have the classroom under siege (possibly through time travel or reanimation) or at least that the besiegers are using traditional weapons and methods in their attack. In either case, it would be a very weird event, and also very bad.
|-

!scope=row|Trauma Surgery
|55%
|95%
|An injury severe enough to require trauma surgery would be rare in a classroom, but there are circumstances under which it could realistically happen. Such an injury would be, by its very nature, a very bad thing.
|-

!scope=row|Volcanology
|75%
|95%
|Having a live volcano in one's classroom is both very dangerous and very weird {{Citation needed}}. Volcanoes mature over very long time frames, but even the earliest stages are highly disruptive and potentially deadly, as seen in the {{w|Parícutin#Formation|1943 eruption of Paricutín}} and the {{w|2018_lower_Puna_eruption#Eruption|2018 flank eruption of Kilauea}}. Note this also applies to [[1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar | baking soda and vinegar volcanoes that are offshoots of much larger vinegar hotspots]].
|-

!scope=row|Quasar Astronomy
|75%
|100%
|{{w|Quasars}} are distant astronomical objects that release large amounts of energy. Not only would the power of a quasar destroy the classroom (as well as the rest of Earth), quasars are too large to fit inside any known classroom. For example, {{w|ULAS J1342+0928}} has a mass of 8*10^8 solar masses. This means the event horizon of the black hole is almost 16 AU in radius, and this size does not include the accretion disk.
|-

!scope=row|Ontology (title text)
|<0%
|?
|Ontology is the philosophical study of existence and being. Since there must be ''something'' learning in the classroom, it is unsurprising that ontology is a normal subject to appear in the classroom. It would, in fact, be more bizarre to have a lack of ontology in the classroom.
|-

!scope=row|Geography (title text)
|>100%
|?
|Geographers study the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of the Earth. While each classroom classroom contains a small portion of the Earth's surface (normally not enough of it to be interesting to geographers), having the ''entire Earth'' appear inside a classroom would likely demand explanation. In particular, if this is an ordinary classroom (i.e. located ''on'' the Earth), the planet's simultaneous appearance within its walls would both defy our current understanding of spacetime, and risk [[1515: Basketball Earth | disastrous consequences at the hands of curious students.]] This could also be implying the classroom is suddenly being located on top of a geographic border, which would be highly unlikely, especially if it happened without warning.

|}

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

:[Caption above scatter plot with labeled axes]
:Caption: The thing you study just showed up in your classroom! That's...
:Upper y-axis label: Good
:Lower y-axis label: Bad
:Upper x-axis label: Normal
:Lower x-axis label: Weird

:[First quadrant (left to right, top to bottom):]
:20th century authors
:Exobiology
:21st century authors
:19th century authors
:Robotics
:Paleontology
:Martian soil chemistry
:Child psychology
:Tourism
:[Second quadrant]
:Atmospheric physics
:Ethics
:Education
:Bibliography
:Human physiology
:Public speaking
:Architecture
:Library science
:Furniture design
:Culinary arts
:Ergonomics
:Botany
:[Third quadrant]
:Entomology
:Occupational therapy
:Hydraulic engineering
:Pest control
:Foodborne illness
:Criminal law
:Physiology of stress
:Oncology
:[Fourth quadrant]
:Ornithology
:Animation
:Petroleum geology
:Highway engineering
:Toxicology
:Hematology
:Hostage negotiation
:History of siege warfare
:Trauma surgery
:Volcanology
:Quasar astronomy

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Rankings]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Cancer]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Volcanoes]]
[[Category:Engineering]]

Talk:1235: Settled

2022-02-13T19:37:02Z

172.70.86.68:

I wouldn't be so sure, considering for example the number of times {{w|Loch Ness Monster}} was photographed. Note the case of 2004. On the other hand ... yes, it is going to be harder disprove some sighting if there is 20 videos from it instead of 30 eye witnesses. The secret services probably don't exactly like it - much harder to cover it too. Especially if 5 of those are on youtube before they get there. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 08:20, 8 July 2013 (UTC)
:Assuming within a given timespan a factor of lets say 10000 "ready to use" cameras being around at a given place, we would expect an equal factor of photos. So the only thing speaking agains this is that maybe at the places in question, there are not more people around, but a factor of 10000 less.{{unsigned ip|213.61.9.75}}
::Probably everyone's got their nose burried in their smart-phone, Twittering about what they think of the Haggis they had last night, instead of taking in the view. Thus nobody takes any photos ''at all''... [[Special:Contributions/178.98.181.133|178.98.181.133]] 14:15, 8 July 2013 (UTC)
Unless your phone is equipped with a PPC (protected phenomenon chip), which almost all phones are required to carry by the CIA. Every time someone takes a picture of one of the protected phenomenon the chip recognizes the image and replaces it with a kitten. Why else do you think there are so many pictures of kittens on the internet? --[[User:Shine|Shine]] ([[User talk:Shine|talk]]) 14:31, 8 July 2013 (UTC)
:::PPC is not needed nor is any phenomenon disproved thanks to the development of image editing software like gimp and photoshop. If I were to post authentic photographic proof that Big Foot shot Kennedy, most people wouldn't take it seriously. In fact, according to rule 34, now that I've mentioned it, there must be porn of it. The kittens are just more entertaining. Oh god, now it will have kittens in it. [[User:Db|db]] ([[User talk:Db|talk]]) 15:15, 17 November 2013 (UTC)

Overlay this graph with the that of access to the tools and knowledge required to make highly convincing hoaxes (probably a few % by now, and rising rapidly) and you have the very quick period of time in which photographic evidence was convincing. Video is slightly more convincing, but I think even the window for convincing video is coming to a close. There was basically about a decade or so in which a considerable number of people could instantly make proof of a paranormal event if one were to occur. Anything older was too old for a sufficient number of decent-quality cameras to exist, and anything newer could've been made in Photoshop by a normal person. Seeing as camera hardware and optics are fundamentally more difficult things to improve on than image-editing and video-editing software, we may come to a point in the near future where no commonly available camera hardware can produce evidence that couldn't just as easily be a hoax. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.105|199.27.133.105]] 23:55, 4 January 2015 (UTC)
:What happens then if an image is from an actual event like an earth quake or an actual happening which could be believed, then something strange happens, like a picture which is plausable, but it is from another incident / happening / situaton. <br> I remember a polar bear on an ice floe some years ago. The image / picture was valid, not an hoax, but the context used was not true. The polar bear was filmed and climbed on the ice to use it as a raft (the bear was lazy). The hoax context was to show the Arctic is declinig. Also true but the mix of the facts led to misuse of information and creating discussions not needed for the case. The point is, any picture which could be an evidence, could also be misused leading to distrust and by that no picture or videos can be true/trusted. Not all pictuers can be investigated by an expert, and not every expert can be trusted. There is a ring going on here. The only solution I can think of, is to be critical to information and hoping you do not miss the true facts floating around however strange the are. There are definately gosts around in the world, since there are human beeings with imaginations. Even if one are not told or believe there is a gost somewhere, some people see it / feel it, others don't. Does this mean it exists or not, or does this mean it exists and not everyone can see it. Or does this mean it exists, some see it and others not because the gost wants it like this. No matter what answer comes up here, it will be wrong. A picture cannot prove it and therefor it does not exist... But then again something might happen proving to others it does exist. Something cannot be two things at the exact same time. Well it can, ... the cat, the space cat, Schroedinger's, it is dead and alive at the same time, since we do not know it. If it is dead, and we believe it is alive, is it then a goast or just not dead, or is it so far away that it has been dead for a long time, or did it never exist. Again, no mattter what evidence is here, it can be proven differntly or at least discussed differently. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.232|173.245.53.232]] 23:42, 12 May 2015 (UTC)

If vampires don't show up in mirrors, there's a decent chance they can't be seen in photos either. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.68|172.70.86.68]] 19:37, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2580: Rest and Fluids

2022-02-12T02:18:13Z

172.70.86.68:

I added in an initial explanation; feel free to add anything you think is needed. [[User:KirbyDude25|KirbyDude25]] ([[User talk:KirbyDude25|talk]]) 19:45, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

I think the 'antihealing' advice is a two-edged sword. Just like the adage of "feed a fever, starve a cold" (however true that is), a hot-compress might at times be useful (hypothermia?), and similarly for the rest. Or most of them, anyway. A healthy person would need an excess of antimedicine to actually become ill again. Not sure where that limit lies with histomenes, that might be the 'worst' to suffer, going by relative ease of application. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.68|172.70.86.68]] 02:18, 12 February 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2579: Tractor Beam

2022-02-09T21:47:35Z

172.70.86.68:

This feels a lot like a SMBC outtake. (In a good way.) --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.147|172.70.110.147]] 20:42, 9 February 2022 (UTC)
:This reads like a bash.org comment. (In a good way.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.221|172.70.126.221]] 21:24, 9 February 2022 (UTC)

So, if I were rising in a tractor-beam, I think there'd be clues as to the scope of the effects. Are my clothes hanging off me, floating round me or am I being upwardly cradled by them? Do I feel like I'm standing on something, hanging upside-down by my feet (from a topsy-turvey horizontal) or freefalling? What's my inner-ear telling me? Is the air around me rushing up, feels still (even though I'm moving vertically through it) or is it like I'm being raised up through it? Does the air feel like treacle, can I push against it, angle my arms to spin in the 'wind' like with indoor freefalling? Does any lateral wind still pass by as it did before the beam (small adjustments for being away from ground-effects, allowed for) or swirl oddly laterally or vertically? Is anything in the air (bat or smoke or rain or whatever dust I kicked up as I scrabbled for footing upon the first surprise of being tractored up) going up or down or neither, or revealing eddies? A bat, or anything else that flies, is going to have excess lift until any confusion (again with the inner-ear?) stops it from using its wings to counteract any non-existent 'weight' element, if applicable. If I hold one hand atop another (easier to experiment with, and switch over, than feet being below my torso, especially if I can't control attitude) do I feel a 'force shadow' where levity does not pass and/or gravity from below is no longer nullified/negated? Am I held as vertically (or similarly, perhaps can adopt a 'seated' poise) or am I unable to hold my attitude/able to change it? ...And loads more obvious things to potentially experience, depending upon how I deal with the first few tests and how quickly I can form less open-ended and more practical/emperical theories about what all I have started to learn means... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.68|172.70.86.68]] 21:47, 9 February 2022 (UTC)

314: Dating Pools

2022-02-09T14:55:24Z

172.70.86.68: /* Explanation */ Came for a comma error, stayed for a slight rewrite.

{{comic
| number = 314
| date = September 10, 2007
| title = Dating Pools
| image = dating pools.png
| titletext = The full analysis is of course much more complicated, but I can't stay to talk about it because I have a date.
}}

==Explanation==
[[File:half-plus-seven.png|right|Half Plus Seven Rule]]
Megan is upset because she is apparently older than 26, and among people who marry, {{w|median|half}} do so below 26. The intuitive conclusion is that the number of potential partners is decreasing as time goes on.

The [http://onehalfplusseven.com Half Plus Seven Rule] is an unwritten rule that asserts that it is creepy to date anyone who is younger than half your age plus 7 years. For example, a 50-year-old dating someone who is younger than 32 (50/2 + 7 = 32) would be considered creepy. As the graph shows, there is a lower limit and an upper limit.

*The lower limit defines the minimum age of your partner in order that ''you'' are not considered creepy.
*The upper limit defines the maximum age of your partner in order that ''they'' are not considered creepy.

The lower limit can be defined as ''f(x)'' = ''x''/2 + 7 in which ''x'' is your age and ''f(x)'' is the minimum age of your partner. The upper limit can be defined as f^-1(x) = 2(''x'' − 7) in which ''x'' is your age and ''f^-1(x)'' is the maximum age of your partner.

As age increases, the age range of potential non-creepy partners widens. At 26, the range of non-creepy partners is 18 years (20- to 38-year-olds). At 50, it is 54 years (32 to 86 years old).

At age 14, you can only date people your own age. The same also works with infinity, but even {{w|Methuselah}} died once.

While the application of this rule actually reduces the number of potential matches further, [[Cueball]] presents it in a positive way by showing that there are whole swathes of people who she couldn't marry in the first place without being in a creepy relationship. But, as her age increases, the range of non-creepy partners also increases. Combined with {{w|United States Census Bureau|Census Bureau}} data for how many people exist within any such range, Cueball shows that her eligible dating pool is in fact still increasing.

Megan notes that graph-making nerds like Cueball may have a hard time finding dates, but this is refuted by the title text.

{{clear}}

==Transcript==
:[Megan is sitting on the ground with her elbows on her knees and her hands on her chin.]
:Megan: This sucks. The median first marriage age is 26. The pool of singles is shrinking. I'm running out of time.
:Cueball: Actually, not quite.

:Cueball: Yes, older singles are rarer. But as you get older, the dateable age range gets wider. An 18-year-old's range is 16–22, whereas a 30-year-old's might be more like 22–46.
:Text on chart: Standard creepiness rule: Don't date under (Age/2 + 7)

:Cueball: I did some analysis of this with the Census Bureau numbers just last weekend. Your dating pool actually <u>grows</u> until middle age. So don't fret so much!
:[The first chart is labeled "Singles" and is a decreasing graph. The second graph is labeled Dating Pool, and is a bell curve.]

:Megan: Did your analysis say anything about the dating prospects of people who spend weekends at home making graphs?
:Cueball: Come on. Somewhere at the edge of the bell curve is the girl for me.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Line graphs]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Statistics]]
[[Category:Math]]

2577: Sea Chase

2022-02-05T02:45:32Z

172.70.86.68: /* Explanation */ Linkies and things. (Conflicting with someone now, but can't see what to integrate!)

{{comic
| number = 2577
| date = February 4, 2022
| title = Sea Chase
| image = sea_chase.png
| titletext = There are two rules on this ship: Never gaze back into the projection abyss, and never touch the red button labeled DYMAXION.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a FLATTENED OBLATE SPHEROID - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In this comic, Randall returns to one of his pet subjects: [[977: Map Projections|map projections]]. Unusually, this time it is from the perspective of people living - or, in this case, sailing - upon the world that is quite literally being mapped.

Two sailing ships, of circa 19th century design, are engaged in a close chase across the {{w|Atlantic}}, the aggressor flying the Skull And Cross-Bones of a stereotypical pirate vessel. The ship being chased, however, has a plan to escape. And the means to do so. At a crucial moment, [[Cueball]] is told to flip an incongruous large switch that (like several [[1620: Christmas Settings|other]] [[1763: Catcalling|artefacts]] in Randall's universe) alters the nature of their reality.

Whereas beforehand the world is directly represented upon a simply contiguous map, the {{w|Robinson projection}p, it is now changed to a one (which is actually the new reality) known as {{w|Goode homolosine projection|Goode Homolosine}} in which the flattening of the world mitigates localised warping of angle/distance/area by introducing discontinuities in relatively 'unused' parts of the mapped world, such as the centre of the Atlantic.

By precisely timing the change (as they cross a particular {{w|meridian}}, possibly the 40°W one), the pursuer now finds themselves on the wrong side of the very real gap, allowing the pursued ship to escape whatever fate they were trying to avoid. Though there is still an oceanic connection, it requires sailing down the edge towards the tropics, rounding this particular rent in the planet's surface and heading back up the other side. This is vastly further than Cueball's ship needs to travel to reach (presumably) any European port in which they can safely moor.

The title text elaborates on the policies of the black-flagged ship: crewmates are never to look into the "projection abyss" and to never hit the button labeled "DYMAXION." The first rule suggests that changing the projection of physical reality produces a gap in reality, a void. This may be dangerous to gaze into, hence the rule, or simply unnerving to crewmates. The second rule references a button that seems to do the same thing as the lever but changes the world into a "Dymaxion" projection. The Dymaxion projection is somewhat notorious for projecting the globe of the Earth in a manner that creates sections of triangles in the effort to preserve land scale as much as possible, bucking the trend of most map projections causing land masses and their sizes relative to each other becoming warped, and therefore inaccurate.

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

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Maps]]

Talk:2575: What If? 2

2022-02-01T07:01:10Z

172.70.86.68:

Yay! \o/ [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 15:09, 31 January 2022 (UTC)

Note that there is actually a term for the 13th month of the year, and it's [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undecimber Undecimber].
[[User:Svízel přítula|Svízel přítula]] ([[User talk:Svízel přítula|talk]]) 15:12, 31 January 2022 (UTC)
:And the Jewish calendar has a 13th month every 2-3 years, since it's a lunar calendar. But rather than a completely different month name, the month Adar is doubled to Adar I and Adar II. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 16:12, 31 January 2022 (UTC)

This is awesome! I really hope one of the answers is about cotton candy breaking one's fall, since it was foreshadowed in book one. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.90.23|172.69.90.23]] 15:21, 31 January 2022 (UTC)

BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT YAYAYAYAYYAY!!!! [[User:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)]] ([[User talk:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|talk]]) 16:37, 31 January 2022 (UTC)

According to the Simpsons the 13th month is Smarch. What do we do when Simpsons and Randall disagree?
Also, pretty sure 2021 was the first year that 13th month aligned with our reality. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.18|172.70.211.18]] 17:28, 31 January 2022 (UTC)

I can't shake the feeling that he announced it on 31/01 because it's coming out on 13/09 and that's nearly 13/10 which is 31/01 with the month and day digits switched. But I might be one of those numerology people without realising it --[[User:192·168·0·1|192·168·0·1]] ([[User talk:192·168·0·1|talk]]) 17:38, 31 January 2022 (UTC)
:If you're not, you should count yourself lucky! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.68|172.70.86.68]] 18:15, 31 January 2022 (UTC)

The pre-order through all the different sources is good, but **What if** someone wanted a hard copy of the book autographed by Randall? I don't see any provision for that. [[User:RAGBRAIvet|RAGBRAIvet]] ([[User talk:RAGBRAIvet|talk]]) 00:16, 1 February 2022 (UTC)

Is it just me, but is 7 months in advance a bit early to announce a book release? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.228|108.162.250.228]] 01:04, 1 February 2022 (UTC)
: Seems an oddly advanced announcement to me too, but I guess with transport lines being so messed up, it's an attempt to be prepared well ahead for anything. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.87|108.162.249.87]] 05:12, 1 February 2022 (UTC)

This is one of the few times, it is quite explicit that Randall himself is in the comic instead of him as fictional narrator. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.68|172.70.86.68]] 07:01, 1 February 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2575: What If? 2

2022-01-31T18:15:37Z

172.70.86.68:

Countdown in header text

2022-01-31T13:32:39Z

172.70.86.68: /* count-wimRikmef */

{{comic
| date = January 10, 2022
| title = Countdown in header text
| image = Countdown_in_header_text.png
| before = The countdown will probably last 21 days. After February 1st 2022 it is likely to have disappeared. See this [https://web.archive.org/web/20220110183238/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-10] archive version.
| ldomain = www
| lappend =
| extra = yes
}}
*Go directly to the list of [[Countdown in header text/images|images]].
**Or [[Countdown in header text/images#newestpicture|Jump to the newest picture]]
***The images can also be found [https://munvoseli.github.io/xkcd-countdown/ here] on munvoseli's page where comparison of two images and an animation can be seen.
{{TOC}}
==Explanation==
*'''Amazon revealed the news a day too early!''' - it is Randall's new book [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0525537112 what if? 2] that will be announced tomorrow.
**The full title: What If? 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
**The Hardcover version is released September 13, 2022.
***A follow up on his first book based on his blog [[what if?]]
*On January 10th 2022, [[Randall]] added a countdown in the top right corner of the [[xkcd Header text]] on {{xkcd}}.
**This happened while the comic [[2565: Latency]] was up.
***First the xkcd Header text was [[xkcd_Header_text#2022-01-08_-_Back_to_standard_text|changed back]] to the [[xkcd_Header_text#Header_text|standard text]] for the first time in almost three years:
****xkcd updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
***But already while this Friday-comic was still up on the following Monday the [[xkcd_Header_text#2022-01-10_-_Standard_text_with_countdown|countdown]] was added.
****This was thus up when the Monday comic [[2566: Decorative Constants]] was released, drawing more people to the xkcd page.
*The first [[#Archived Versions|archived version]] from [https://web.archive.org/web/20220110183238/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-10] read 20d 20h 27m.
**It looks like it started on [https://munvoseli.github.io/xkcd-countdown/ 01-10 17:00 UTC].
***At that time it would have read 20d 21h 59 min. Just two hours and 1 minute short of 3 weeks.
*This countdown will reach zero on Monday 2022-01-31 at 14:59 (2:59 PM) {{w|UTC}}, or 9:59 AM in Boston, Randall's home town.
**If seconds will be added towards the end, it seems likely that it may end exactly at 15:00 UTC (10:00 AM in Boston).
***Further, the timer may be using [[1061:_EST|EST]], in which case it will count up for four hours on 2022-01-18, and will end on 2022-01-31 23:00 UTC.
****Though either way, it would fall on Monday, and therefore the day comic 2575 should be released.
****The full moon has since passed, and now we know that the timer isn't using EST, so it will indeed reach zero at or near 2022-01-31T15:00Z.
**The timer ends in January. Recall that the month is named for Janus, the Roman god of endings and beginnings. Two salient points: the clock hits zero at the end of the month and the plane is leaving. Look for a big ending and, we hope, something nice to replace it.
*The next day on [https://web.archive.org/web/20220111153818/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-11] a diagonal black bar appeared in the lower left-hand corner of the countdown box and started to move further into the image on following changes to the [[#Images|image]].
**This development called for the creation of this dedicated [[Countdown in header text]] page.
**The line had already moved further into the image at this time, but the latest version will never be available in the web archive.
***This development is reminiscent of the huge comic [[1190: Time]].
*As mentioned above, [https://munvoseli.github.io/ Munvoseli] is keeping [https://munvoseli.github.io/xkcd-countdown/ track of the changes] to the image on the countdown.
**Although there are (at 2022-01-12 12:35 UTC) thirteen different frames we know of, the first three looks the same (because the diagonal bar was not in the frame yet) and the seventh and the eighth also seems to be the same, even though the bar had already begun moving across the frame from the fourth. This is either on purpose, a slipup or means that The Frame<sup>TM</sup> might not be zooming out of a larger image.
***However, the images that look the same all have individual addresses on the xkcd server. See more under [[#Images|Images]] below.
***Similarly, frames 91 and 92 seem to be exactly the same. Also frame 92 did not upload as part of the roughly four hour schedule, but between two frames that are part of the regular schedule.

Randall has previously made a comic simply called [[1159: Countdown]]. However, in that the roles are reversed. There we know that the countdown is for (Super Volcano) but not if it will happen soon or very much later. Here we know when, and it is rather soon, but not what.

==Images==
*Images will be put on [[Countdown in header text/images|this separate page]].
**The images can also be found [https://munvoseli.github.io/xkcd-countdown/ here] on munvoseli's page.
***It is possible to compare two images, chosen between those released, on that page!
***From 2022-01-14 it has also been possible to see an animation.
**See more details at the top of the image page.
*After a few days the black lines forming the image came into conflict with the clock, which has a rounded white frame around it. This can be seen in one of the earliest examples here:
[[File:Countdown in header text Clock Cover Black Lines.png]]
*Later this could cause problems for those only looking at the xkcd page. From frame 97 a new item appeared in the top right corner. This turned out to be a black curve that could resemble a dinosaurs tail. At this moment, frame 121, it is still unclear what it is. But when looked at on xkcd, the clocks rounded white frame intersects with the "tail" making the end curve inwards. This makes it look like an elephants trunk. But this is of course not the case, but an effect of how the clock is overlaid on the image:
[[File:Countdown in header text Clock Causes Trunk Appearance.png]]
*Also at this time a new development happened after the "plane tail" moved forward it stopped on 2022-01-18 and started moving up (or zooming in). See for instance these two comparison from munvoseli's page showing the difference from the 8 pictures before today, and then after three out today:
[[File:Countdown in header text Compare 40 to 48.png]] [[File:Countdown in header text Compare 48 to 51.png]]
*Later a similar change happens, as it changes from zooming out to slowly moving towards the right, although the windows and the door appear to move more in relation to the frame than the rest of the aircraft:
[[File:Countdown in header text Compare 85 to 90.png]] [[File:Countdown in header text Compare 95 to 90.png]]
*From frame 124 to 125 one of the largest changes occurred between images so far. A very large jump bringing two new things into view, the landing wheel and possibly a leg if it is dinosaur on top of the plane;
[[File:Countdown in header text Compare 124 to 125.png]]

===Ongoing description===
** Frames 1-12: A diagonal line.
** Frame 13: A curve seems to begin at the top left of the line.
** Frame 18: The curve connects the diagonal line with a horizontal line.
** Frame 27-28: A new line appears in the bottom left corner.
** Frame 40-42: The new line turns out to be connected to the horizontal line, forming a corner which is not attached to any other line.
** Frame 49: The "camera movement" direction changes, while the object is still moving upward it stopped moving towards the left side, moving towards the right instead.
** Frame 54: A slight upward curve seems to appear in the right line, the left line seems to have a small bend downwards, though that could at that point just be a straight line that Randall drew without a ruler.
** Frame 60-62: A new line appears in the bottom right corner, it turns out to be a continuation of the first original line which curves upward and has a positive slope at that point of the picture, between about 2 o'clock and 3 o'clock. The downward bend of the left line continues on straight in the same direction, it was probably an intentional bend and not an irregularity in drawing a straight line by hand.
** Frame 63: In the minimum of the right curved line a new line starts appearing, way thinner than the others (which were up to this point all rather part of one line) and going slightly downwards and very much to the left, at an angle somewhere between 8 o'clock and 9 o'clock.
** Frame 67: A possible feature becomes visible at the bottom edge of the image that might resolve the exact nature of the (currently presumed) aircraft, e.g. which particular aerodynamic surface we have been seeing and thus from which particular orientation we are viewing it.
** Frame 68-72 makes it clear this must be an aircraft by showing windows and a door and clearly the tail fin. As late as frame 69 some people argued that the tail fin could have been a wing.
** Frame 73-83 brings a horizontal stabilizer into view.
** Frame 87-89: A new curved line appears on the underside of the (presumed) aircraft, so there either is something behind it or it might not be an aircraft.
** Frame 96-99: An arc is coming into view in the upper right corner, likely the top edge of a cloud.
*** Turned out not to be a cloud.
** Frame 101-106 seems to be some kind of radar on top of the plane, like the one on {{w|Boeing E-3 Sentry}}. Or alternatively this plane is hanging beneath another plane. Not looking at all like {{w|Spaceshiptwo}}, but something similar, which could make this plane a spaceplane?
** Frame 106-114 a new element of the image appears on the right side, it could be the end of a wing. The arch no longer looks like a radar. Could be the tail of a Dinosaur or the cape of someone riding the airplane...
*** a cape is unlikely as it would probably be drawn to flap in the wind. The other element does appear to be a wingtip
*** Could it be [[Cory Doctorow]] flying with the airplane, but much closer to the 'camera'?
** Frame 115-121 makes it clear that the newest addition at the bottom right is the wing tip of the plane. The black curve above the plane still mostly looks like a tail as on a dinosaur or dragon. Could also be a tentacle. Either from an [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b5/1608_1038x1094y_Giant_octopus_in_Destroyer.pngv octopus] or from and alien like in [[2572: Alien Observers]]. Of course it could also be a cape, but seems too thick at the end...
** Frame 124 shows something beneath the plane, but already in 125, that makes one of the largest jumps between pictures so far, this is clearly one of the wheels on the landing gear. Also the hind leg of the Dinosaur whose tail has been visible long time is coming in to view. Not certain yet it is a dino (probably a velociraptor), but the leg makes it the number one candidate.
** Frames 126-127 almost confirm the dinosaur theory.
*** And at this time someone spotted the new What if? 2 book on Amazon and it is the Tyrannosaur from the [[what if?]] blog that is now eating a plane rather than being lowered into the Sarlac.
** Frame 134 reveals the last part of the plane, so now the entire plane and T-rex is visible. This was about 6 hours before the countdown ended.

==Theories==
*'''Amazon revealed the news a day too early!''' - it is Randall's new book [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0525537112 what if? 2] that will be announced at the end of the countdown.
**That is actually really sad they did that.
***Once again, Amazon ruins everything.
**So it is a book announcement, and the picture is Tyrannosaur eating a plane while in flight.
**Maybe it will be the entire book, or at least include the text 'what if? 2', and that more rapid zoom-out will happen during the last minutes.
***Since the entire plane is revealed with at least two more possible updates, even in 4 hours schedule, something new may certainly be expected to occur before the end of the countdown. This written after frame 134 that revealed the front of the plane.
*The XKCD store currently reports "will be opening soon" [https://store.xkcd.com/] perhaps anyannouncement will be simultaneous with a store re-launch.

*Here below are the different theories for what the countdown was for and what the picture was going to reveal from before it was clear what it was.

===The picture===
*Theories about the picture:
**From 2022-01-21 it became certain that it was a plane! Passenger plane. Door and windows are visible.
***From 2022-01-22 it became clear that it was the rear end, so it was a tailfin that came into the panel to begin with. Up til the day before it was still a bit uncertain if it could have been a wing.
*** from 2022-01-24 a bottom line has appeared which doesn't fit well with a 'standard' airliner. perhaps the image is deliberately misleading (eg will transform into something else)
*** From 2022-01-26 something looking like a radar like the one on a {{w|Boeing E-3 Sentry}} began emerging in the top right corner.
*** From 2022-01-28 it looks like an elephant's trunk to me.
**What will this lead up to - theories about this.
***It could be an airplane with a banner like in [[1355: Airplane Message]].
****That would very soon be clear as the bottom part of the rear end seems to be coming into view during 2022-01-24, if the direction does not change again.
*****This is now ruled out, since the plane is clearly not towing a banner.
***It could end up landing in a city, perhaps with a skyline pinpointing where Randall will be or move.
****However, unlikely to manage this in real life as the count down ends.
****Also, very unlikely (1 in 60, or even 1 in 3600) that such a landing would occur exactly on the hour.
*****But it could also just be the time when he announces he has moved...
***Maybe Cueball will make a parachute jump, and Cueball could represent a real life Randall, as this could in principle be timed very accurately.
****This is something you would schedule a month or more ahead, want to tell people about in advance, want to make a big deal about on your website, is not quite as bizarre as zero-G and probably more fun {{citation needed}}, could be done with an adventurous wife, explains why it’s the tail of the plane in the image, and (assuming no mechanical, medical, or meteorological problems, a safe assumption), might go something like “on my mark, it’ll be 9:59:56 A.M. in Boston... mark. 3, 2, 1, JUMP!” Maybe it’ll be just Cueball/Randall, but could more likely include Megan representing his wife.
****However, it could very easily be that the weather in January could foil the attempt, or at least the timing.
****The plane appears to be a commercial jetliner, though, rather than the small prop planes used for parachute jumps. Unless, of course, Randall is revealing his real identity has been Wesley Snipes all along
****The plane appears to have its landing gear down, which rules out a parachute jump.
*****At frame 124 it is a bit early to say that the dot beneath the plane is the landing gear, but from 125 it became clear. Also seems like the leg of the dino on the plane has come into vies. The below was written before number 125 came out.
*****Landing gear implies that the aircraft is either taking off or landing, and judging by the plane's nose-up attitude, most likely taking off. Therefore, assuming that the plane is in fact shown seconds after rotation (possibly still on the ground), there is a possibility that the black object could be an airport fixture, perhaps a wind sock in the foreground?
******Well, forget I said that. It's a dinosaur apparently.
*** Perhaps the new item on top of the plane is the tail of a dinosaur? perhaps like the one on the cover of "what if..." book. perhaps it's a new book?
*** There are two flights originating in Boston departing at 09:59 on 1/31/2022: Spirit NK433 to Orlando Florida and Delta DL5696 to Washington D.C.
***Frame 101-106 seems to be some kind of radar on top of the plane, like the one on Boeing E-3 Sentry. Or alternatively this plane is hanging beneath another plane. Not looking at all like Spaceshiptwo, but something similar, which could make this plane a spaceplane?
**** Predicting dinosaur
***** Cross-referencing it with the cover of ''What If?'', this does seem like a xkcd-style dinosaur tail. It could represent Randall, or xkcd as a whole, going somewhere. Or it could just be the cover of a new book.
******Yep, it's a dinosaur.
**** Revising my prior theory: It now looks very much like another aircraft (similar to theory below) but not part of the main aircraft, I think. I would guess it is either an improbable mid-air encounter (like a passenger jet and an ultra-lite) or an equally improbable "launch" of something from the jet (again like an ultra-lite or some other less common or even fictional craft.)
**** Maybe the torch of the Statue of Liberty?
**** The black wave looks like a superhero cape
**** the white element overlapping the fuselage could be the start of the wing-tip these fold up at the ends of many modern aircraft, could mean aircraft is banking left.
***Frame 107-121 the right wing of the plane moves into view. It is still unclear if the black curve is a tail, a cape or a tentacle. But seems like it cannot be another aircraft.
***Has now been resolved.

====Early theories====
Many early theories were generated before the picture was decisively revealed to be a plane.

*It seems after two days and 12 pictures like either something is moving into the frame or that it is a zoom out from a white area of a large picture. Maybe it is the arm of Cueball that will come into view.
*The second line makes it look somewhat like the tail fin of an aircraft.
**Or the wing of an aircraft (left if looking down at it). Perhaps the plane is towing a banner that will fly through the frame.
***After almost a week this looks like the most promising suggestion so far. Now that the direction of the camera movement has changed, we might get to see the rest of the aircraft soon.
****From picture 63, it more and more seems like it was the tail fin of a plane and now we can see the body.
*****It's almost certainly the tail (and now a bit of the rear fuselage) of an aircraft.
******It could just as easily be the left wing and part of the fuselage (showing windows on the right side of an airliner), with the tail fin out of view to the rear, as being the tail fin from an angle where the left wing is out of view behind the fuselage.
*******judging by the relative size of the (presumed) windows, I think it's more likely to be the left wing than the tail fin.
*******Based on the way planes are drawn in [[1868: Eclipse Flights]]. [[1355: Airplane Message]] and [[1669: Planespotting]], plane wings have a point on their edge and tail fins have a flat side, and (if a line is present) a thick line separates wings from the body, whereas thin lines or no lines separate tail fins, so this is a tail fin.
*******In the bottom left there appears to be the top part of a horizontal stabilizer, implying this is the tail.
********It’s a tail fin, that’s finally clear, but that’s the underside of the stabilizer. Which means this would be the best angle to view Cueball/Randall parachuting out of that door, something that would be predictable to the exact minute (barring all kinds of things that could go wrong).
*******Appears to be a door to the left of the windows
*******It could be an airplane with a banner like in [[1355: Airplane Message]]
***Tail of a space shuttle, perhaps?
****While I think Randall would've also drawn in the signature black part of the rudder, the shape fits perfectly
****Timing is close (though not exact) to the Columbia disaster anniversary (2003-02-01 1359 UTC)
***I'm thinking the tail of a Zeppelin.
****Although those normally have longer tail fins.
*Maybe it is some kind of vehicle rolling into frame, like a car?
*Or the word xkcd? (or xkcd 2?)
*Could have been "Hangman", but it looks like it's zooming in on the diagonal instead of continuing to make a gibbet.
*With the new second line appearing in the corner as of frame 28 it looks like it's definitely zooming out of an image. It looks like it could be someone's arm in a running position.
*I think it could also be two legs of a reclining stick person.
*The lines suggest a shark fin and the movement would suggest it swimming across the frame.
**If it was a shark fin, then the most likely candidates would be the first dorsal fin and the pectoral fin, but both end in points rather than edges like in the pictures of the header puzzle. An aircraft tail fin still seems most likely.
*Maybe it's a two-dimensional shape viewed from a weird angle?
**Like a rectangle viewed from a floating, tilted perspective
**Or the top of the k in xkcd
**Or a boat dock?
*The r/xkcd subreddit produced some early theories :
**Cueball's arm
**The letter D, as in "The End"
**A spider's web, in reference to comic 1688
***With the airplane revelation, this reference turned into a meme in the subreddit, where users tried to justify the presence of an airplane shape inside a bigger-scope spider picture
***Some joke theories included:
****A giant spider flinging airplanes from the sky, as a new potential "What If?"
****The lines are a web and the apparent windows the eyes of a giant spider
****The airplane is a complex-looking spider leg, and 8 of them form a spider
***Another redditor made the airplane part of a dragon's head

===Countdown===
*Theories about the countdown:
*Several have already been mentioned in the discussion:
**Maybe Randall is going on vacation?
**Notice that as of now - 22-Jan-2022 7am PST - (not sure exactly when it happened) the countdown has disappeared. Temporarily (perhaps to make the image cleaner?) or permanently? [[User:Pharmacovigilant|Pharmacovigilant]] ([[User talk:Pharmacovigilant|talk]]) 15:38, 24 January 2022 (UTC) The next time I looked (Sunday?), the countdown was back. No idea if it was a glitch or what.
**Randall's next book, either the countdown is counting down to the start of promotion or it is released when the countdown ends.
***Usually Randall has made month long [[:Category:Book promotion|book promotions]] before release. So if it is the release day it is a new way to do it. But he will get a lot of attention. If it is just the start of promoting it, people might get disappointed…
****For instance he began promoting his [[xkcd_Header_text#2015-05-14_-_New_book_Thing_Explainer|new book Thing Explainer]] in the header text. That was in May 2015 and the book was first released [https://blog.xkcd.com/2015/05/13/new-book-thing-explainer/ late November 2015]. Most of this time the header text was promoting the book.
***[[User:Flumnble|Flumnble]] found a book listing for [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0525537112 what if? 2], seems very likely to me.
**{{w|James Webb Space Telescope}} (JWST) going into orbit about L2 {{w|Lagrange point}}.
***Randall has already made several comics about the telescope. The latest [[2564: Sunshield]] was released just five days prior to the countdown was started.
***But the telescope will not reach the point but rather go into a large orbit around it, so a precise timer counting down to it seems a bit farfetched.
***On NASA's page on JWST it seems like it will [https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/content/webbLaunch/deploymentExplorer.html#25 go into orbit] 29.5 days after its [[December 25th Launch]], on Christmas Day, so it should have already started the orbit by the 23rd or 24th of January - 8 days before the countdown.
***Also No based on the image.
**{{w|Lunar New Year}}
***In China it starts on February 1st and a [https://yourcountdown.to/chinese-new-year countdown for China] is 8 hours behind.
****The South Korean time zone is UTC+9, hence 14:59 UTC = 23:59 in South Korea, one minute to Feb 1.
*****But it's weird if Randall that has basically never mentioned this holiday suddenly makes a three week countdown for it, and why choose South Korea when most would think of China in this context…?
**Randall will stop making xkcd (Goodbye in the image).
***Hopefully not.
****Agreed, {{tvtropes|PoisonOakEpilepticTrees|to be avoided}}
***It might be a temporary stop (hiatus).
**[https://nationaldaycalendar.com/backward-day-january-31/ National Backward Day]
***This is not a day mentioned on Wikipedia at the time of release of the countdown, so seems unlikely.
**Maybe it will be an announcement of xkcd 2, a new and improved version for… some reason?
***Seems unlikely…
**{{w|Black History Month}}. The {{w|Greensboro sit-ins}} started on Feb 1 1960. Black History Month also begins on February 1st, also in 2022.
***But this countdown stops early on January 31st so seems unlikely.
***However, before changing the Header recently it was about [[xkcd_Header_text#2020-06-03_-_Black_Lives_Matter|Black Lives Matter]] for more than 1.5 years, first ending on December 20th 2021, less than a month before the countdown began. In between that there was a short Christmas sale reminder until a week into 2022. So it could just be another way of reminding of us the issues faced by black people in the US.
****If this was true, I feel like it would be simpler to just change back to the Black Lives Matter text at the top of the screen. Also, it seems increasingly likely as of Jan. 20th that the image is some kind of plane, which doesn't really have much to do with Black History Month (that I know of?)
**The accompanying header says specifically "xkcd updates Monday, Wednesday, and Friday"--maybe the countdown is to the reveal of a new update schedule?
***Very unlikely. This was the standard header for a long time. It was used when Randall had nothing better to say. But with all his books and the trouble in US with elections and BLM, he has used the header as a platform most of the time many years now. So the standard text is rare. But he did return it for two days before adding the count down, making it seem just like normal.
***A guess is that it returned to this, so the header text did not take any focus away from the countdown.
**[[:Category:Red Spiders|Red spider]] attack?
***Un-Likely
**He will become a father - could be a planned C-section.
***As this is unpredictable, and could go wrong, then this would be a dangerous countdown, people can be very superstitious, even if scientist.
**As it currently looks (after a [[1070: Words for Small Sets|few days]] into the countdown) it may be a trip he is taking by plane.
***Maybe going somewhere people could meet him.
****Book tour?
***Moving a long way from home (down under or the like).
****Maybe he's moving to Japan? Could be a plane, and the time zone would fit, at least.
*****Then the countdown would be until when the plane lands, not to midnight.
******What has time zones to do with this clock? It counts down to the same time all over the world, and will reach zero at the same time no matter what time zone you are in.
******Time zones have to do with where it will be midnight when the countdown reaches zero. If it's a countdown to when January ends (a moment before February begins), then it's until that moment in the time zone where the countdown reaches zero at that time.
******* According to my calculations, the timer will coincide with midnight in the UTC+9 time zone, encompassing both Koreas, Japan, and small parts of Russia and Indonesia.
****If it is a plane, then maybe it will land in a new city Randall moves to when the counter ends, and the skyline will be visible...
**Perhaps it's a start to a new series like [[1190: Time]].
***It is already a series that works like Time, so seems unlikely.
**Zero-G flight, really looks like plane to me.
***Could be time he will first go weightless which could be fairly well known except for bad weather
**A parachute jump by Randall. Could be predicted as well as the zero G.
**How about the [https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2021/09/09/star-trek-picard-season-2-release-date-plot-cast/ new series of Picard]?
***{{w|Star Trek: Picard (season 2)}} is set to run from March 3 2022, which both Wikipedia (link before) and [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8806524/episodes?season=2 IMDb] agrees upon so bad to miss by more than a month, and what would the plane in the image have to do with this anyway?
***So No!
** The xkcd world tour!! I wish
** I'm beginning to see another part of the picture entering into view, underneath the arc and above the body of the plane. To me, it looks like it could be a leg of sorts (Early bet: it could be a dinosaur)
**Maybe something to do with aliens? Randall posted two comics about aliens secretly observing earth in a row now, could that be related?
** DB Cooper's jump from an airliner was 50 years ago, but not until november
*** Maybe Randall admits that he was DB Cooper all along?

===count-wimRikmef===
* The identifier of the script contains what is probably an acronym, but for what?
** count / wim (?) / Rik (name) & me f(light)
** Or it's just the output of whatever js minimizer was used.
** R = Randall?
** Randall is travelling to Germany? "Wo ist mein Reisepass? Ich komme mit einem Flug"
** "wi" are the initials for the book that's coming out
*** so what could mRikmef be?
** So the first two letters are what if, maybe the R is for Rex, and the f is flight, not sure about the others?
*** "what if" could be a good shout, the dino on the plane reminds me of the cover of the first "what if", and a raptor attack/snakes on a plane crossover would make for some great what-if analysis

* The "img" tag has a misspelled "heigth" attribute. Probably just a typo?

==Archived Versions==
*Here is a list of the versions that has been saved to the web archive during the countdown.
**The counter in that version is written behind the date of the web archive.
**Note that the counter is active on the archived version counting minutes down from the start. Some of the versions almost changing the minutes just after loading. But it will always count from the time given here:
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220110183238/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-10] 20d 20h 27m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220110214138/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-10] 20d 17h 18m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220111011115/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-11] 20d 13h 48m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220112005828/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-12] 19d 14h 1m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220113044552/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-13] 18d 10h 14m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220114010759/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-14] 17d 13h 51m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220114195624/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-14] 16d 19h 3m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220115052737/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-15] 16d 9h 32m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220116074923/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-16] 15d 7h 10m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220116225217/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-16] 14d 16h 7m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220118050255/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-18] 13d 9h 57m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220118195259/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-18] 12d 19h 6m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220119213308/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-19] 11d 17h 26m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220120103559/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-20] 11d 4h 23m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220120235630/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-20] 10d 15h 3m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220121023331/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-21] 10d 12h 26m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220121102349/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-21] 10d 4h 36m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220122002328/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-22] 9d 14h 36m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220122034744/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-22] 9d 11h 12m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220122223018/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-22] 8d 16h 29m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220123153950/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-23] 7d 23h 20m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220123231820/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-23] 7d 15h 41m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220124200931/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-24] 6d 18h 50m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220125064825/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-25] 6d 8h 11m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220126002713/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-26] 5d 14h 32m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220126175842/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-26] 4d 21h 1m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220127173721/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-27] 3d 21h 22m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220128225119/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-28] 2d 16h 8m
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20220129024550/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-29] 2d 12h 14m

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Meta]]

Talk:2574: Autoresponder

2022-01-29T12:29:58Z

172.70.86.68:

In Russia, this comic won't be relatable. Bosses here still use e-mail, and use regular phone calls for ASAP-like urgent requests. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.10.207|172.68.10.207]] 05:21, 29 January 2022 (UTC)

1) Why is White Hat is hairless, and 2) what’s with the nested panels? [[User:ISaveXKCDpapers|ISaveXKCDpapers]] ([[User talk:ISaveXKCDpapers|talk]]) 06:48, 29 January 2022 (UTC)
:White Hat never has hair. Yes the nested panel is a bit special but not unique. But should be mentioned in the transcript. I think it is to indicate the immediate response. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:27, 29 January 2022 (UTC)

Is the harness an auto responding exoskeleton?--[[User:Gunterkoenigsmann|Gunterkoenigsmann]] ([[User talk:Gunterkoenigsmann|talk]]) 06:59, 29 January 2022 (UTC)

I'm definitely going to need to come back when this has an explanation. I know what an email autoresponder is but that doesn't explain the joke. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.91|172.70.130.91]] 07:23, 29 January 2022 (UTC)

I've never once been sent an autoresponder message about the hour, just OOTO vacations and the like. Are the former common these days? What about people in different time zones? Or who work different shifts? Isn't the whole idea about using asynchronous email instead of synchronous chat or DM or whatever that the time of day doesn't matter? Weird. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.84|172.69.34.84]] 08:03, 29 January 2022 (UTC)
:Some territories, and/or businesses are moving to a situation which respects work/life-balance, again, after the 24/7 always-online world started to eat into (mostly) after-hours time off - e.g. the EU's Working Time Directive, or the automatic shutdown of office computers at the end of the (nominal) working day. But there are still ways for employer/employee to get round these measures if they 'need' to (or feel pressurised to).
:The US as a whole isn't that advanced in such things, I understand... Certainly regressive in other employment issues. But it would depend upon what position White Hat actually has in what kind of business. It seems he can (and feels he can) set up something, but of course he seems to have gone over oard in the configuration of it! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.68|172.70.86.68]] 12:29, 29 January 2022 (UTC)

Talk:1159: Countdown

2022-01-27T22:02:25Z

172.70.86.68:

If you assume (with nothing else known), that large numbers have a probability about reciprocal to themselves to ensure a sum/integral of 1, the digits not being zeroes is extremely unlikely.

Whether black hat guy thinks a supervolcanoe eruption is a favourable event or being spared from one is not made entirely clear. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/178.26.121.97|178.26.121.97]] 08:56, 11 January 2013 (UTC)
:I warmly recommend the article {{w|harmonic series (mathematics)}}. ;-) --[[Special:Contributions/131.152.41.173|131.152.41.173]] 13:30, 11 January 2013 (UTC)
::You are right, the harmonic series is divergent. However, the maximal number of digits - which can be possibly displayed - is finite. Which distribution would you suggest? Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/178.26.121.97|178.26.121.97]] 19:35, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

:Sebastian, do you know the specific name of the statistical principle you're invoking? I agree, but [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] does not, and he has a quick tendency to remove things. One part of it is that you don't know the magnitude of a number, exponential distribution is a more appropriate model than linear. Another part is about the unlikelihood of the middle digits being zero. - [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 21:37, 11 January 2013 (UTC)
::{{w|Benford's law}} is about the probability of certain first digit(s). Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/178.26.121.97|178.26.121.97]] 22:34, 11 January 2013 (UTC)
:::Hmm... "Benford's law also concerns the expected distribution for digits beyond the first, which approach a uniform distribution". I missed that the first time I read the article. Okay, that covers the essential parts of the argument. - [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 19:43, 12 January 2013 (UTC)
::::Come on now Frankie, I'm doing my best. I was just too quick to think that the claim was just another of these casual confusions about probability that non-math people have from time to time. (You know, I haven't rolled a 6 for some time, so now the chances must be pretty high...) I hadn't heard about this very counter-intuitive Benson-principle before, but found [http://plus.maths.org/content/looking-out-number-one this page] helpfylly explanatory.
::::So, I trust you on this. What I don't understand is, how do we know that Benfords law can be applied to this particular 14 digit number? The time left to an eruption? Also, how could a calculation of the actual probabiliy of the preciding digits being zero or anything else be made? – [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 22:52, 12 January 2013 (UTC)
:::::What is more important for this comic than the Benford's law itself, is its underlying condition that many naturally existing numbers are lognormally distributed. And not uniformally distributed. Under that premise we can try do hypothesize about the odds of leading zeroes. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/178.26.121.97|178.26.121.97]] 00:28, 13 January 2013 (UTC)
:::::The initial timer is a physical quantity, therefore scale invariant, and created by a lognormal distribution (first random experiment). Now there are two possibilities: -- a) BHG specifically got a 14-digit display for the countdown (with the first digit according to Benford's law of course) and the initial timer 14 digits wide. b) The initial timer value possibly was much smaller and it could have been any number which fit on the display. -- Cueball comes in. The shown timer is uniformally distributed within the range below the initial timer (second random experiment). Because of the visible zeroes a) does not seem to be likely and b) would be true, specifically b) with the hidden digits being zero, as the shown zeroes are very unprobable with all large timer values, and the short timer actually is quite probable (lognormal distribution). Is this a valid way to argue for probabilities? Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/178.26.121.97|178.26.121.97]] 00:55, 13 January 2013 (UTC)
::::::It seems legit, but I can't tell, really. But we have no concrete estimation yet (maybe that's too hard). Do you ''really'' think that this phenomenon is so strong so that (from the 1 in 30000) it makes the probability for four zeroes ''higher'' than for all the other 29999 possibilities together? –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 08:45, 13 January 2013 (UTC)
:::::::Another effect is that if the initial counter was small to begin with, it is quite unprobable (with only one supervolcanoe eruption) that Cueball comes in during the run of the counter. I will try to do a calculation example to compare the possibilities with reasonable assumptions. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/178.26.121.97|178.26.121.97]] 08:52, 13 January 2013 (UTC)
::::::::I restructured the last part somewhat. Hope that I didn't screw anything up, and if so, fix it! And it would be very nice if you could also add some more explanation of the math involved! –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 19:36, 13 January 2013 (UTC)
::This is a wholly inappropriate accusation to make here. If you have a problem, please put it through appropriate channels. No editor has a perfect score, we all slip up because we're all human. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]<span title="I'm an admin. I can help.">_a</span> ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 23:49, 12 January 2013 (UTC)
: Assuming that the middle digits are random, the expected value is 1.53 million years. But: If the display is off-the-shelf, it is probably larger than the largest number actually displayed. Maybe the counter started at 1e8, and the next smaller display had only 8 digits. Maybe we should have a look at the statistical distribution of digits in commercially available LED displays ... [[Special:Contributions/77.88.71.157|77.88.71.157]] 08:42, 14 January 2013 (UTC)
: Benford's Law does not apply to a countdown timer; the page even lists "numbers assigned sequentially" as a type of distribution that should not be expected to follow it. The comic could have taken place at any of the point in the timer's lifespan with those 9 visible numbers. Unless we attempt to compare actual predicted supervolcano eruption dates (which would be interesting, I will admit) there is no reasonable way to go about this prediction other than the stated 1 in 300,000 chance of it being all zeroes. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.111|108.162.216.111]] 01:12, 26 February 2015 (UTC)

::I don't think there are displays with that many digits. You have to buy several one digit (perhaps four digits) displays and multiplex them together. 23:56, 15 February 2014 (UTC)

"I forget which one" may be a reference to the 7 known supervolcanoes, or it might be to a list published by the Guardian in 2005 of the top 10 existential threats to life on Earth, which went briefly viral. It included a supervolcano eruption, as well as viral pandemic, meteorite strike, greenhouse gases, superintelligent robots, nuclear war, cosmic rays, terrorism, black holes, and telomere erosion [http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2005/apr/14/research.science2]

I understand how the hidden numbers could mean that a volcano could either erupt very soon or a very long time. But I don't get why this is a joke. Is there something funnny that I am missing? {{unsigned|72.38.90.50}}

:It's a joke, because a supervolcano eruption would have a major impact on the earth, and Black Hat has a timer that will tell him when one will occur, but he is too lazy to see whether it will happen soon. {{unsigned|76.14.25.84}}

The title-text may be a reference to the line "May the odds be ever in your favor!" in ''The Hunger Games''. I wonder if this might also be a commentary on the foolishness of assuming that a rare event won't happen anytime soon. [[User:gijobarts|gijobarts]] ([[User Talk:gijobarts|talk]]) 19:54, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

The picture could be somewhat symbolic. It could be a sunset or sunrise, like the would could be about to end or not. [[Special:Contributions/67.194.183.127|67.194.183.127]] 06:19, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Benford's Law has no bearing on what any of the covered digits are except the first, and even then it only weakly applies; it only applies to the FIRST digit of natural numbers, and since we can have leading 0's is really doesn't apply. Furthermore, even if it applied to all the digits, the probability distribution on the covered digits is not affected by the shown digits; that's not how probability works. If I flip a coin 10 times and it's heads all ten times, the probability that the 11th flip is still 50/50. -Mike Powers
:Benford's Law shows that with real-life (physical) numbers you cannot just use a 10% probability for each digit. These numbers are not uniformally, but lognormally distributed. That means, there is a smaller tendency to greater numbers than their possible number space would allow. Benford's Law with its relevancy to the first n digits is not directly applicable here, but its general validity contradicts some of the assumptions normally often made. As you see many zeroes in the middle part, the probability is quite high that also the first digits are zero. Here the length of the number has a normal distribution and a short number is about as probable as a long one. And long ones with zeroes in the middle are seldom so it is probably a short number. This would not be the case, if each digit is randomly selected from 0-9. Then the greater probability of longer numbers would cancel out this effect. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/178.26.121.97|178.26.121.97]] 10:07, 3 February 2013 (UTC)
:Regarding the independence of the digits: That is conditional probability. We have a probability distribution for the complete number. In nature this is a lognormal distribution (with suitable parameters regarding the scale; that is why the intention to buy a display with certain width is important). That means zero digits are quite common, as short numbers have much weight. With just creating the digits independently you do not get a lognormal distribution. With four zeroes shown only 1/10.000 of the longer numbers are possible any longer, making them much rarer. To begin with they would need a probability of at least 10.000 as high to counter this effect, but they do not have it (with a uniformal distribution they would have it). Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/178.26.121.97|178.26.121.97]] 10:25, 3 February 2013 (UTC)
:If we have initially the same probability for numbers of digit length 1-14 (about 7%): After looking we (partly) know that digits 1 till 4 are non-zero and digits 5-8 are zero. Then numbers of digit length 1-3 have 0% probability, numbers with digit length 5-8 have 0% probability. Numbers with digit length 9-14 have a probability of 0.01% each and numbers with length 4 have a probability of 99.94%. The results differ with the logarithmic distribution of number length. E.g. with mu=11 digits and sigma=2 digits, the probability of 4 digits is 85%. With mu=12 digits and sigma=3 digits, the probability of 4 digits is 98.3%. With mu=7.5 digits and sigma=4 digits the probability of 4 digits is 99.95%. With mu=12 digits and sigma=2 digits, the probability of 4 digits is 47.64%. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/178.26.121.97|178.26.121.97]] 11:07, 3 February 2013 (UTC)
The 11:59 subtle joke is slightly reinforced as the countdown steps over 2400. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/178.26.121.97|178.26.121.97]] 11:11, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

Could "the odds are in our favour" be a reference to the hunger games? {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.240}}

:If you had read all the comments, you would have seen that someone else already thought the same, and nesting your comment below his/hers would make more sense. But that's just me grammar naziing around. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.18|108.162.212.18]] 00:05, 16 February 2014 (UTC)

I think that it should be mentioned that there is no reliable way to accurately predict volcanic eruptions in the long-term; the best we can do is check current seismic activity to get an idea if it might happen "soon". A countdown clock would either be based on misconceptions that volcanoes follow statistical patterns and therefore based on gambler's fallacy, or would have to be based on future data or magic. That it is mentioned as an "oracle countdown" alludes to this, but I don't think it adequately explains the futility of predicting seismic activity. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.17|141.101.104.17]] 23:00, 11 December 2014 (UTC)

: Just in time by the look of things'''

Supervolcanic eruptions are signalled not by seismic waves but by tropical storms -from which they seem to draw their power. The steps are missing that fully describe the energy flow. But the sequence is still good, at least for fairly low VEI numbers. The heavy stuff from the 1980's doesn't carry the other data I require: So we wait.

If you are suffering volcano induced trauma, find yourself a planet-wide tropical storm advisory page and check it once every few days. I once met a Japanese couple who were caught in the Kobe disaster. The woman was still very nervous about things but I knew I didn't know enough then to comfort her. Shortly after that or about that time, Mt Untzen erupted, killing the journalists sent there by their lords and stoopids. I asked god to help me understand these things but I was too stupid to listen in those days.

Life is for regrets to blossom in.

I believe the more you learn about something the less you fear it. Unfortunately you have to use Windows to access the Smithsonian archives so if you are reading these comics >>>thataway>>> STOP NOW! (use Listserv or follow me on sci.geo.earthquakes.)[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 20:42, 11 January 2015 (UTC)

There has been some speculation about the picture. Someone noticed that it also closely remembers the very early "comic" (sketch) [[4]]? --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 14:49, 26 September 2019 (UTC)

For every one time the 6th digit rolls over, you will have one moment when the last eight digits are "00002409". You could assume that the number on the countdown clock started as a 14-digit number, so the 6th digit will roll over at LEAST 100,000 times, and the last 8 digits will read 00002409 at least 100,000 times. Therefore Blackhat is right to be unconcered about the very low probably of the event occuring in the next hour, which makes sense as a way to think about supervolcanos. ~~Waterengineer~~ {{unsigned|Waterengineer}}
:...just moved and sort-of-signed your comment. Bottom-posting is the standard in Talk (or indent with a(n extra) ":" straight after what you want to reply ''to''...) and using "<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>" to auto-insert a time-and-dated signature, like I'm doing, is advisible. If you have an account (like you do) you can modify what your .sig text is quite a lot, so "~~Waterengineer~~" can form part of it if you wish. Hope that helps. Please do enjoy your future editing! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.68|172.70.86.68]] 22:02, 27 January 2022 (UTC)

2573: Alien Mission

2022-01-26T19:25:52Z

172.70.86.68: /* Explanation */ Link to Bigfoot. And more what I meant.

{{comic
| number = 2573
| date = January 26, 2022
| title = Alien Mission
| image = alien_mission.png
| titletext = Fine, we can go search the Himalayas for the Yeti ONE more time, but keep a safe altitude over the Pacific and PLEASE watch where you're going. We can't afford another Amelia Earhart incident.
}}
*This was the eighth comic to come out after the [[Countdown in header text]] started.

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an ALIEN LOOKING FOR BIGFOOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This is a continuation of the previous comic, explaining why exactly the aliens are flying over Earth (and thus having to track and avoid humans' cameras) -- apparently, they are interested in {{w|cryptids}}, animals which are conjectured by some to exist but not known to exist (and often believed ''not'' to exist) by mainstream scientists.

At least some of the aliens clearly have a similar belief, at least in the {{w|Bigfoot}}/Sasquatch, which is why they came to the Earth. This implies that they had some prior knowledge (or suspicion) of its existence, and only then (possibly) narrowed it down to this one planet.

Their very thorough observation of the Earth (enough to comprehensively catalogue many of its humans and even track individual purchases of camera-technology, etc) seems to have been insufficient to find Bigfoot, but neither has it entirely refuted the claims. At least in the view of some of the holdouts with influence over this mission.

Whatever the arguments about the Sasquatch, the title text reveals a separate discussion regarding the {{w|Yeti}} (a similar large hominid purported to reside in the Himalayas), and the tentative permission to conduct ''one last search'' for it. This perhaps implies further unreferenced searches are also being made for the likes of the Loch Ness Monster, Mothman and Chupacabra.

That their clearly superior observation technology and methods have been apparently unable to resolve these issues at first seems like it shouldn't bode well for our own cryptozoologists, but the lack of definitively negative results does at least mean there's a degree of job-security, such as there already is.

==Transcript==
Left Alien: Sir, can we talk?
We've been observing earth for almost a century.
Hovering and zooming from place to place, trying to avoid being spotted by humans.

Alien Leader:Yeah.

Left Alien:By now we've flown over every inch of the surface many times.

Alien Leader:Yes, and?

Left Alien:Face it: if bigfoot ''is'' real, he's not anywhere on this planet.

Alien Leader:But humans have captured some intriguing videos!

Left Alien:*sigh*

Alien Leader:How else do you explain the...
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Aliens]]

2572: Alien Observers

2022-01-26T00:34:59Z

172.70.86.68: Better (still awful) grammar, and a link.

{{comic
| number = 2572
| date = January 24, 2022
| title = Alien Observers
| image = alien_observers.png
| titletext = ALERT: Human 910-25J-1Q38 has created a Youtube channel. Increase erratic jerkiness of flying by 30% until safely out of range.
}}
*This was the seventh comic to come out after the [[Countdown in header text]] started.

==Explanation==
There is speculation by many people that there could be some form of extraterrestrial life observing us, hovering around in various flying vehicles, or perhaps using some form of giant telescope. These claims are often backed up by blurry pictures which claim to be of alien vehicles. In this comic, the joke is that the aliens are deliberately making sure that all sightings are made unverifiable. However, with [[1235:_Settled|most people now carrying a camera with them all the time]], a sighting that would be unverifiable just by eyewitness testimony could now be captured by a smartphone camera.

This means that in order for the aliens to keep creating unverifiable sightings for humans, they must keep track of what camera capabilities each human has, leading to different distance restrictions for each human, as seen in the diagram. The effective range of each person's camera is depicted as a circular (or spherical) envelope around themselves, two on the cross-sectional diagram and at least one located off beyond the image edge.

There is also an apparently flat ground-hugging 'no fly zone' connecting two of these areas. This may be part of a general prohibition against landing (and/or causing verifiable ground effects, such as {{w|crop circles}}) or it could be there to show that the capability of a self-focussing camera is greatly enhanced when it also has ground-features to autofocus upon rather than a subject surrounded by nothing but sky.

The comic attempts to explain away the issue already discussed in prior comics, such as [[718: The Flake Equation]] and [[1235: Settled]], in which the phenomenon of UFO sightings/reports is still left not resolved (either way) despite what modern technology should suggest is possible. It appears that the reason for this is that the {{tvtropes|SufficientlyAdvancedAlien|sufficiently advanced aliens}} actually make more than enough observations of the human race to continuously determine how to stay just on the side of plausible deniability in any interactions that they still seem to wish to make.

The attitude of the aliens also mirrors that of a subset of humans, namely those who hold disdain for the {{w|consumerism|consumerist}} mindset. These humans are frustrated by the tendency of their fellow humans to compulsively buy the latest and greatest versions of products at all times, often at great expense and without regard for the practical benefits of upgrading. Cellphones are one such product, as Apple and their competitors typically release new phone models annually (occasionally semi-annually), often introducing only minor or cosmetic changes with each new iteration.

In the title text, the aliens note that one particular human now has a YouTube account, meaning they are likely to record video instead of attempting to capture still images. This means that the alien craft used to create the sighting must behave as erratically as possible, in order to avoid being identified. This relates to the often wildly oscillating (as well as blurry) films and videos of 'UFOs' that have been taken by the impromptu human observer, beyond the limit of their ability to hold their fully-zoomed camera steady. Although here it is explained away as the flying saucers ''actually'' moving in an improbably jerky manner to prevent detailed recording of their craft. Further briefings of the sort depicted would doubtless accompany upgrades in optical/digital-stability features or the purchase of a camera tripod.

It appears the aliens have a classification and tracking system for all humans. It is unclear what the system for assigning these identifiers is, since we see two different formats (''38XT11-B-C54'' and ''910-25J-1Q38''). One possibility is that there are two different tracking systems represented, with at least two possibilities for the relation between them.
# Perhaps the two tracking systems are from two different alien agencies dedicated to human tracking, perhaps isomorphic to each other. One may come from a live observation while the other comes via an online alerting system, with no definitive link agreed between the two systems as not even the aliens can guarantee to resolve online anonymity, obfuscation or duplication of identity.
# On the other hand, perhaps the identifier system evolved over time and any given human only has an identifier from one system or the other. Assuming all numbers and letters are usable and each identifier could have only a letter or number in that place, the first identifier represents a space with at least 10*10*26*26*10*10*26*26*100=457 billion entries, while the space of the second is 10*10*10*10*10*26*10*26*10*10=68 billion. Perhaps, like IP addresses evolving from IPV4 to IPV6 because of the fear of exhaustion, the alien tracking systems similarly changed. This would imply the second (YouTube-posting) human is older than the first (cellphone carrying).
# A third possibility is simply regional variations, where different sectors of the Earth have developed their own identification systems, perhaps when population movements (or vacations) were far fewer and intercontinental travel was very rare indeed. Starting from an arbitrary point of time in history, one system may have applied to the Americas and the other to Eurasia (for example) with different challenges of recognising and serupticiously tracking all individuals from cradle to grave within their communities (the shorter identifier of which forms some part of their personal alphanumeric identifier). A revised globally-used system might in development (or now even in use, as per the above suggestion) but the diverse legacy systems could still apply to those born before the implementation period).

The identifier for the one buying the phone begins with "Human 38XT11". This seems likely to be a reference to {{w|THX 1138}}. This was the title of {{w|George Lucas}}' first film, which is also {{w|THX_1138#Etymology_and_references|referenced}} in the original {{w|Star Wars (film)|Star Wars}} film. The name contains the number in reverse as well as the letters if human could be written as H.

These aliens look like, but not exactly the same as, the one in [https://what-if.xkcd.com/20 What-If #20].

==Transcript==
:[Three aliens are looking at a screen. They each have six tentacles, of which four are used as legs, and the other two can be used as arms. They also have a small mouth and two eye stalks with a large eye at the end of each. The eyes has large eyelashes all the way around. One of the aliens is standing to the left of the screen, pointing to it by raising one of its tentacles. The other two aliens stand to the right of the screen looking at the picture. The screen's image depicts a cross-sectional diagram showing two humans in a rough landscape. There is a shaded area above each of the humans and the terrain. The shaded area's boundary consists of arcs of differing sizes centered upon each human. To the left of the first human there is also a small straight area over the ground. To the left of this towards the edge of the screen, what appears to be an arc with a very large radius that begins and rises high up compared to the other two arcs, around a point beyond the on-screen image's edge. The rightmost human's zone has a dashed region between concentric radii of different sizes indicating that this zone has been revised further out than before. Four flying-saucer like spaceships are shown in the air close to, but above, the shaded areas. One high near the left curve, one over the flat area, one near the intersection between the two small arcs and one over the middle of the right arc.]
:Left Alien: Human 38XT11-B-C54  just bought a new phone with a 10x zoom, so we have to expand our restricted flight zone by 1,800 meters to keep our ship blurry.
:Right Alien 2: Seriously? Didn't they '''''just''''' upgrade?
:Left Alien: I know, I know...

:[Caption below the panel:]
:The hardest part of being an alien observing Earth is keeping track of what cameras everyone has.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Aliens]]
[[Category:Comics referencing THX 1138]]

Talk:2559: December 25th Launch

2022-01-25T17:47:40Z

172.70.86.68:

Santa delivers his presents on Christmas Eve. The launch is scheduled for 9:20am French Guiana time, so Santa should be long gone during the final countdown. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 06:05, 25 December 2021 (UTC)

I feel like the way it's written and also the "update" in the title text is a reference to the NORAD Santa Tracker (or maybe the Google one). I'd do it myself but it's 2AM, so can someone fact check me and possibly add it to the article assuming I'm not misremembering. Thanks, [[User:Zman350x|Zman350x]] ([[User talk:Zman350x|talk]]) 07:20, 25 December 2021 (UTC)

Launches have been stopped many times at less than 8 seconds, and Randall would be familiar with this fact. The "unavoidable" bit of the explanation can safely (and preferably) be dropped. Given Randall's demonstrated frustration with Webb delays, the joke about the RSO shooting down Santa is almost certainly attributable to intolerance of another delay. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.213|172.70.130.213]] 07:45, 25 December 2021 (UTC)
:Thanks for the heads up; edited my addition. It still feels like an italicized "oh no" is too big of a reaction to a delay that's <strike>short, unique, and measurable</strike>. Maybe forcing a launch to abort at -7 seconds causes some kind of fuel combustion(??)/consumption issue that damages some of the spacecraft and requires a much longer delay? Then this could be added to the explanation. (Obviously I'm not an expert here.) Alternatively, say it takes 7 seconds to say the words in the second and third panels, so the spacecraft has already launched. [[User:Zowayix|Zowayix]] ([[User talk:Zowayix|talk]]) 08:16, 25 December 2021 (UTC)
:Edit: Found a real example of an abort delay and added to the explanation.
::I mean, it kinda feels like a “straw that broke the camel’s back” type of situation here. It’s not the incident itself, it’s everything leading up to that moment and how it probably left Cueball on edge. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.195|108.162.215.195]] 08:30, 25 December 2021 (UTC)

I think there's a barb here about NASA ruining xmas for a lot of people, by slipping the launch date to 25 December. [[User:Arithex|Arithex]] ([[User talk:Arithex|talk]]) 08:58, 25 December 2021 (UTC)

As far as I know, Range Safety Officers don't have ground-to-air weapons, and are therefore incapable of shooting down Santa. when RSO's need to kill something, they use remote detonation commands. How any RSO managed to pre-place a self-destruct package aboard Santa's Sleigh remains an open question: normally they only have those placed aboard the actual rocket stages. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.57|172.70.130.57]] 11:15, 25 December 2021 (UTC)
:That's easy: Write Santa a letter that you want a remotely controllable self-destruct package for Christmas. It will be conveniently placed on the sleigh on December 25. This must be one of the gazillion steps on the JWST pre-launch checklist. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.164|162.158.91.164]] 13:14, 25 December 2021 (UTC)
:All will be revealed in the new {{w|How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000 film)|Grinch}} sequel, '''How the Grinch Killed Christmas''' which details how he finds work as a Range Safety Officer. [[User:Kev|Kev]] ([[User talk:Kev|talk]]) 19:12, 25 December 2021 (UTC)
As far as you know. The possibility of an RSO having an FIM-92G in the backseat is low, but never zero. {{unsigned ip|172.70.126.221}}
: (For those as confused as I was, that's the Range Safety Officer (only a momentary confusion) and a Stinger Missile. Also adding their unsigned IP for them, for neatness.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.68|172.70.86.68]] 17:47, 25 January 2022 (UTC)

While I like the current note about Santa being aware about this launch due to astronomy geeks asking for it as a present, I would note that Santa must already have extremely good collision avoidance system considering the speed his sleight is moving (at least 650 miles per second) to manage all deliveries over single night. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 03:33, 26 December 2021 (UTC)
:That's assuming Santa moves with finite speed and well-defined position. Personally I'm a big fan of the time stop/time loop explanation.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.42.121|172.69.42.121]] 03:56, 26 December 2021 (UTC)

Real launch aborts have occurred after T=0. For Ariane 5 launches T=0 is ignition of the main engines. Liftoff occurs when the solid boosters are ignited at T+6seconds. (This is different from NASA and other American launchers where T=0 is liftoff)[[Special:Contributions/172.70.34.91|172.70.34.91]] 15:46, 27 December 2021 (UTC)

Arguably observing Santa Claus should be prioitized over launching JWST ASAP, if Santa ''really'' appear on a flying sleigh. It could lead to completely new science if it ever happens :p [[User:Lamty101|Lamty101]] ([[User talk:Lamty101|talk]]) 08:51, 14 January 2022 (UTC)
:It might have implications for the to-orbit industry. The speeds and other capabilities of a reindeer-guided-sleigh seem to be believed to sufficient to deliver to the ISS at the very least. But it should at least outperform LauncherOne ('only' delivering seven packages to orbit, yesterday), if not the CargoDragon/CrewDragon. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.121|172.70.90.121]] 09:48, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

2572: Alien Observers

2022-01-25T01:28:56Z

172.70.86.68: /* Transcript */ Apparently I missed an apostrophe.

2572: Alien Observers

2022-01-25T01:27:46Z

172.70.86.68: /* Transcript */ The other corrections were fair (even the UK/US conversion of centred/centered) but it is an image that is put on the screen. Another good alternative would be "The screen's image..." Another acceptable alternative: hyphenate the term.

Talk:730: Circuit Diagram

2022-01-23T16:05:25Z

172.70.86.68:

So, is the arena a new kind of comparator or something? '''[[User:Davidy22|<span title="I want you."><u><font color="purple" size="2px">David</font><font color="green" size="3px">y</font></u><sup><font color="indigo" size="1px">22</font></sup></span>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:28, 18 February 2013 (UTC)

11:13, 10 April 2013 (UTC)11:13, 10 April 2013 (UTC)[[User:Jh6p|Jh6p]] ([[User talk:Jh6p|talk]])
The 3 liter capacitor could also be a ball approximately 6 inches in diameter if the seams on the ball were similar to the seams on a basketball. Perhaps a volleyball?

: "A squirrel. What it does as a circuit element is unsure."
Perhaps an allusion to a {{w|Squirrel-cage rotor|squirrel cage}}?
[[User:Wwoods|Wwoods]] ([[User talk:Wwoods|talk]]) 18:51, 22 April 2013 (UTC)

: The shape of the squirrel's tail reminds me of a {{w|hysteresis}} curve, although this is admittedly a bit of a stretch. —[[User:Scs|Scs]] ([[User talk:Scs|talk]]) 16:02, 17 November 2013 (UTC)

The 'to scale' motor would be about half a mile wide. Powering the rabbit on Gaia's vibrator (also included)? --[[User:StarChaser Tyger|StarChaser Tyger]] ([[User talk:StarChaser Tyger|talk]]) 08:40, 22 June 2013 (UTC)

I beg to differ on the flux capacitor thing, as cool as it sounds. Since it is right above the I-90 notation, it is more likely a fork in the road (notice the road stripes indicating that you can pass at any point in the fork). [[Special:Contributions/97.87.12.114|97.87.12.114]] 02:15, 24 June 2013 (UTC)
: Oh, I'm pretty sure it's a flux capacitor. Compare some of [http://www.google.com/search?q=flux+capacitor&tbm=isch these images]. Yes, there are several road references in this comic, but an electronic reference (especially to a ''fictional'' electronic component!) makes more sense. Also I've never seen a Y-shaped highway intersection that looked quite like that (and especially not on an interstate). —[[User:Scs|Scs]] ([[User talk:Scs|talk]]) 14:52, 17 November 2013 (UTC)

I have wasted 4 hours on the puzzle, and after wasting 9 pages of A5 paper, the resistance of that terrible resistor mess worked out to be exactly 25265/33783 ohm, or about 0.74786135 ohm. --KopaLeo [[Special:Contributions/199.48.226.89|199.48.226.89]] 15:16, 27 June 2013 (UTC)

I think that the "fishing float" might actually be a picture of an ordinary push switch (similar to foot switches used on standard lamps). [[Special:Contributions/87.194.171.29|87.194.171.29]] 16:12, 10 July 2013 (UTC)

Isn't the "YES" resistor a reference to the anecdote of how John Lennon and Yoko Ono met? That's what I thought when I saw it, but then, I kinda like The Beatles a bit. [[Special:Contributions/200.70.22.74|200.70.22.74]] 12:27, 16 September 2013 (UTC)

I think the attempt to explain every single piece of the comic is rather silly. The humor largely draws from the absurdity of the diagram, and that can probably be summarized without going into detail about the possible references of each individual component. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.180|199.27.130.180]] 03:22, 26 November 2013 (UTC)
: I disagree. The joke works on multiple levels, both the absurdity of the circuit, and the smaller parts of which it is comprised. [[User:Hydroksyde|Hydroksyde]] ([[User talk:Hydroksyde|talk]]) 02:40, 21 April 2014 (UTC)

I concur with KopaLeo - I got the same answer for the resistance of the grid of resistors - about 0.748 when rounded. What a problem!
--techdude
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.65|108.162.215.65]] 20:45, 1 January 2014 (UTC)

I feel like I should point out that putting a ground connection in holy water probably creates {{w|Holy Ground}} [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.197|108.162.212.197]] 11:36, 26 March 2014 (UTC)

To center of Sun could possibly be another map reference. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.202|108.162.250.202]] 01:08, 19 November 2014 (UTC)

The 'moral rectifier' seems like it's built of diodes which prevent current flow to the left, which might mean it's making the current 'more right'? with right being a synonym for moral?
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.18|108.162.212.18]] 00:15, 17 December 2014 (UTC)

;3L capacitor

The capacitor reminded me of a time I asked my dad why desktop PCs (the kind we could afford at the time were 200-500 W) couldn't have capacitors to protect them from 1-second or shorter power interruptions without the cost of a UPS. He said such a capacitor would have to be as wide and tall as a 2L pop bottle. (He didn't say how much it would weigh.) [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 04:38, 9 September 2014 (UTC)

Where did the claim that the EKG is atrial fibrillation come from? At best it it hard to tell without a time scale what the ventricular rate is, but there is no evidence of extra P waves between QRS complexes that I see. If the diagnosis is made based on the absence of P & T waves, keep in mind that some recording conditions make those (especially T) hard to see. In an {{w|Einthoven's triangle}} arrangement, they might not show up at all above the noise. If we had a time scale that let us calculate ventricular rate, we might be able to conclude {{w|supraventricular tachycardia}}, but I'm hesitant to make a strong claim that this is abnormal at all given that it's hand drawn and we have no scale.[[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 21:07, 22 January 2015 (UTC)

Does this really belong in Category:Charts? I'm moving it to Category:Maps instead. [[User:gijobarts|gijobarts]] ([[User Talk:gijobarts|talk]]) 21:38, 19 February 2015 (UTC)

Are we really explaining "vibrator" as "a motor with an off-center weight attached to it"? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.91.97|141.101.91.97]] 06:51, 13 March 2015 (UTC)

I just spent 3 hours trying to work out the resistor nest. I was unsuccessful. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 05:32, 19 March 2015 (UTC)

I did an LTSpice simulation or the resistor mess. It looks like the 25265/33783 ohm answer above is correct. It drew 1.3371463 amps from a one volt source. {{unsigned ip|108.162.215.133}}

Based on Randall's promotion of international standards (such as ISO 8601), it seems odd that he's using the US zigzag symbol for a resistor, rather than the IEC rectangular one. [[User:Walale12|Walale12]] ([[User talk:Walale12|talk]]) 21:37, 17 April 2015 (UTC)

Looking at the label "Tear Collector" I think it refers to the heartbeat below it, not the symbol above, suggesting that a heart (or heart break) is a likely source of tears. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.44}}

I'm not sure why the rat's nest of resistors is considered such a difficult problem. I would like to respectfully point out that by far the easiest way to solve it is by assuming a constant current through the network. You can then assign a name to each of the nodes, set one of the end nodes to 0V, and solve by KCL. Granted, there are 13 unknowns and 14 equations, but it still took less than 30 minutes to complete since they are all 1st order! archerator [[User:Archerator|Archerator]] ([[User talk:Archerator|talk]]) 04:57, 30 August 2015 (UTC)

120×72 @ 537,847: the coil symbol next to "Take off shirt while wiring this part. Ooh, yeah, I like that." is similar in appearance to chest hair in stylized comic strips. [[User:Thaledison|Thaledison]] ([[User talk:Thaledison|talk]]) 17:19, 5 October 2015 (UTC)

144×177 @ 31,753 - Could the rats next of 1 Ohm resister be a reference the the sign that Blackhat holds up in: https://xkcd.com/356/ as you can't show an infinite numbers of 1 ohm resistors in the diagram?{{unsigned ip|141.101.98.108}}

To me, the arena calls to mind the one in the Labyrinth in the Percy Jackson book series. One of the figures resembles a centaur, which was a gladiator that was defeated in said arena in the scene it is introduced. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.46|108.162.245.46]] 22:16, 30 October 2016 (UTC)

And here I was thinking that the fishing float was a Pokeball... [[User:Whoop whoop pull up|Whoop whoop pull up]] ([[User talk:Whoop whoop pull up|talk]]) 19:03, 28 April 2017 (UTC)

I think that "take off shirt while wiring this" could be sexual reference- there is "ooh, i like that"

:I always thought that the 555 timer was called so because of the three 5k ohm resistors...apparently it is a myth! Does anybody know the real reason?

Regarding the resistor part - I read http://mathworld.wolfram.com/ResistanceDistance.html and implemented it in Mathematica. <nowiki>g = Graph[{1 <-> 2, 1 <-> 3, 1 <-> 4, 1 <-> 5, 2 <-> 3, 2 <-> 6, 3 <-> 6, 3 <-> 7, 3 <-> 8, 4 <-> 7, 4 <-> 5, 5 <-> 9, 5 <-> 10, 6 <-> 12, 6 <-> 11, 7 <-> 12, 7 <-> 11, 7 <-> 13, 7 <-> 14, 7 <-> 9, 8 <-> 15, 8 <-> 10, 9 <-> 14, 10 <-> 15, 11 <-> 12, 11 <-> 13, 13 <-> 14, 14 <-> 15}]; m = KirchhoffMatrix[g] + 1/15; inverse = Inverse[Table[m[[i, j]], {i, 1, 15}, {j, 1, 15}]]; omega[i_, j_] := inverse[[i, i]] + inverse[[j, j]] - 2*inverse[[i, j]]; omega[1, 13]</nowiki>. The result was 167294/195327 = 0.856482...

I feel that it needs to be electronic eel more than an electric one.

Ok, who the hell did the explanation for Magic Smoke? I even had to make a <sup><nowiki>[</nowiki>[[285|REAL Citation needed]]<nowiki>]</nowiki></sup> sign to indicate that the needed citation wasn't a joke.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.21|108.162.242.21]] 15:02, 4 November 2019 (UTC)

Isn't it 616 not 666 citation[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_of_the_Beast]--[[User:Galactic ascencion|Galactic ascencion]] ([[User talk:Galactic ascencion|talk]]) 07:32, 17 March 2020 (UTC)
:Well the image clearly shows a 666. Also the wikipedia article you use as a citation here, states also both numbers. The number should be most famous (at least to people who do not follow the bible/quran word by word and to specific translation) due to its use by iron maiden in the song "the number of the beast" which also states it as 666, and other pop culture references. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 10:10, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

Could wimp also stands for {{w|weakly interacting massive particles}}, a candidate of {{w|dark matter}}? Then it will reasonably omit the electromagnetic interactions running in this circuit diagram.--[[User:Lamty101|Lamty101]] ([[User talk:Lamty101|talk]]) 14:13, 2 July 2020 (UTC)

; Balloon

The line of the balloon also crosses another circuit, which could be a hazard in itself (flying kites or balloons near high-voltage lines is quite dangerous, and helium-filled balloons are often forbidden in railway stations with overhead catenary). This may also be what the "caution" arrow is indicating. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.73|162.158.159.73]] 13:14, 22 January 2022 (UTC)
:By my reading, the ballon is anchored ''at'' the junction between the caution-bend and the vertical one. I think there's danger of the balloon rising to touch the solder-blob, or other bits above it, but I think its already electrically bonded at the non-balloon end (insofar as 'reality' can be interpreted). Yes, there's possible danger (and you IRL point is true) but it's elsewhere, if not almost everywhere else..! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.77|172.70.162.77]] 15:34, 22 January 2022 (UTC)

While I won't revert [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=730:_Circuit_Diagram&oldid=225428 this minor 'correction'], I disagree that it was wrong before. "Types of junction" is a plural-phrase already. "One type of junction" vs. "(Two/Many/No) types of junction". (It is the type(s) that is/are singular/plural, what they then are ''of'' is similar to a postpositive adjective, but in propositional form. "Types of junctions" reads clunkily.

Caveat: I am approaching this as British English (I hope!) but I extensively looked to see if this was one of those cases* US English differs and failed to find anything at all about it. * - by complete fluke, I wrote "this was one of those cases", which could have been "'''one''' of those case'''s''' which '''was'''", where the plurality agreement does not not ask for "were". Well, except in a certain dialect ("He were, she were, they were, we were ...") not far from another area that goes the other way ("He was, she was, they was, we was, ..."), but that doesn't help matters. ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.68|172.70.86.68]] 16:05, 23 January 2022 (UTC)

Talk:Countdown in header text

2022-01-22T15:50:46Z

172.70.86.68:

The talk on from [[2565: Latency]] and [[2566: Decorative Constants]] has been moved here by me when I created this page --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:01, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

;From Latency:
What is happening around Feb 1st, there is a countdown that appeared a few hours ago in the upper right corner of the xkcd index. There is also the directory xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef which might be an acronym, if it isnt a countdown package? {{unsigned ip|172.70.130.57}}
:Damn you beat me to it ;-). But I have made a [[2565:_Latency#Trivia|Trivia]] here on this comics page and links to more detail on the [[xkcd Header text]] page. I belie you are a day of, but someone will likely correct me if I'm wrong. As I can see it will be January 31st, 9:59 in Randall's home town Boston.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:06, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
::But damned if I can wait. Sure millions will watch the page when it goes to zero! At least it is no April 1st. :-D --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:10, 10 January 2022 (UTC)

;From Decorative Constants
Any idea what's going on with the clock that's counting downwards in the banner? Currently counting down from 20 days 16 hours? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.95|172.70.214.95]] 22:08, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
:(Simultaneous edit) What is the days-hours-minutes in the box above the comic referring to? The image itself is dated yesterday, as you can see by saving it. Worst-case-scenario, is this a countdown to the end of XKCD? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.223|108.162.245.223]] 22:11, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
:: It's going to hit zero at around midnight on Jan 31st 2022 CST? [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 22:16, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
:::'''Posted this on the previous comics discussion. But lets take it here where there will be more traffic:''' --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:44, 10 January 2022 (UTC) -- Copy paste from previous comics discussion:
::::Damn you beat me to it ;-). But I have made a [[2565:_Latency#Trivia|Trivia]] here on this comics page and links to more detail on the [[xkcd Header text]] page. I believe you are a day of, but someone will likely correct me if I'm wrong. As I can see it will be January 31st, 9:59 in Randall's home town Boston.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:06, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
:::::But damned if I can wait. Sure millions will watch the page when it goes to zero! At least it is no April 1st. :-D --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:10, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
::::Yeah - you're right - I messed up. So as I type this, it's Jan 10th 2022 at 4pm - 1600 hrs Mountain time - which is 1800 hours EST. At this moment, the countdown reads 20d 16h 0m - so Jan 30th + (18+16) hours = which is Jan 30th + 34 hours - which is Jan 31st + 10am in Boston (EST). [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 23:05, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
:::::Hey great, can see they agree in the link to reddit below. So happy I got it right both in UTC and Boston. It will be 15:59 here in DK. Not 16:00. ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:44, 10 January 2022 (UTC)

Counting down to Backwards Day? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.88|162.158.91.88]] 23:28, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
:There's a reddit thread discussing it: https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/s0oynl/xkcd_countdown_timer_20d_21h_49m_remaining_until/ I think the most likely guess is that Randall has a new book coming out. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:40, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
::Would still seem strange if it came out that day with only promotion before being a count down. But then again, he will have the xkcd communities boiling if he gives no other hint. So every one will see if he promotes a book. Also as they wrote at the time I looked at reddit I do not think it is the end of xkcd, or Webb related. Although Webb was the first I thought about. But I mean even if it came to L2 at that day, it is not going to any specific point but just in orbit. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:47, 10 January 2022 (UTC)

::The date fits the idea of it being Backwards Day (https://nationaldaycalendar.com/backward-day-january-31) but what about the choice of time? [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 03:38, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
:::Backwards day... Never head of it until now. Is it big in the US. I mean when looking after dates so obscure they are not mentioned on wikipedia then there are probably lots of things happening on that day? But maybe it is a think in the US? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:48, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
:::: I haven't heard of it until now either, so it is probably one of the bajillions of holidays no one actually cares about, and is unrelated to the countdown. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.163|108.162.221.163]] 13:22, 11 January 2022 (UTC)Bumpf

Someone has noticed the image is changing with pixels added at the bottom left corner and is keeping track of it here: https://munvoseli.github.io/xkcd-countdown/ [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.107|198.41.238.107]] 05:49, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
:Looks like an image is "moving" into the frame because at the moment you can see some white pixel in the lower left, i.e. the black part might end up as a line as part of some comic. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.8|162.158.89.8]] 08:31, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
::Thanks used that to pinpoint the start of the countdown. Have added this info to the header text page, and the original trivia. Also just added a line of trivia to this explanation with the link. This was when this comic came out most people noticed the count down. But it did came out while [[Latency]] was up. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:43, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
:::Speculating on what it could be, the only thing that makes sense at that angle is a character's arm. 04:47, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
:As of 7 PM PST, the two lines appear to be disconnected from anything else, which rules out a lot of the theories put forth here. Hmmm… I can’t really think of anything it could be other than the wing of an airplane. Maybe it’ll zoom out after it moves into view?[[User:Szeth Pancakes|Szeth Pancakes]] ([[User talk:Szeth Pancakes|talk]]) 03:17, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

The header changes page says that it's forcing "Friday" to move down to the next line. Not for me. Did he fix it, or is it browser-specific? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 14:58, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
:It must be browser specific. But i have tried bot the old Internet Explorer, Edge, Chrome and Firefox, and it does it in all cases and zooming does nothing.. Which browser do you use? I have corrected to in some browsers though, in the [[xkcd_Header_text#2022-01-10_-_Standard_text_with_countdown|explanation]] you refer to. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:31, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

This is much more likely a count down related to the James Webb Space Telescope. At approximately the day the count down indicates the telescope will be orbiting the L2 gravitational spot.Perhaps most of the mirrors will be approximate place to allow for months of fine tuning. An example of a slightly similar idea is https://www.space.com/nasa-james-webb-space-telescope-next-steps
[[User:Punchcard|Punchcard]] ([[User talk:Punchcard|talk]]) 15:35, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
:I really do not think so. There is nothing special about a specific moment for reaching L2. It will go in orbit around it, but when to day it is there or in orbit is hard to pinpoint. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:13, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
::And after I looked at it, it seems it will reach L2 several days before the countdown. See [[Countdown in header text#Theories]]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:31, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

I think the Countdown should get its own entry. What do we think? [[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 16:25, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
: I think it should! What with the count itself, the speculation about what it could mean, and now the slowly arriving image (?) this seems like something beyond either of the two comics since it started! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.49|108.162.219.49]] 18:00, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
: I'm surprised it doesn't have one already. This is one of the more unique situations in a long while, more speculation could happen. [[User:Thisfox|Thisfox]] ([[User talk:Thisfox|talk]]) 22:26, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
::I have now created this page and talk page for us to continue the discussion and make dedicated changes about this countdown here. And have moved all discussion from the two pages that had some already (except a few on the first talk page that was also mentioned here. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:13, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

If you take a look at this [[https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/state|link]] it displays this: '''{"img":"72cb154b23f959f908f5dc8eb03069c6df3f0f54aae896a0e7ed27befb2ee639.png","start":"2022-01-10T17:00:00Z","target":"2022-01-31T15:00:00Z","until":"2022-01-11T20:55:38.205303701Z"}''' [[User:Hoodiesandboba|Hoodiesandboba]] ([[User talk:Hoodiesandboba|talk]]) 20:58, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
:To correct your link:
:"...If you take a look at this [https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/state link] it displays..."
:As to where the "72cb154b23f959f908f5dc8eb03069c6df3f0f54aae896a0e7ed27befb2ee639.png" is rooted, I haven't dug into that (or what transforms might be being applied), but it looks like a manipulation of browser states might be able to prematurely reveal it. (I'm on mobile at the moment, and it's significantly more fiddly to poke into the page-scripting and markup than I can be bothered with this moment, but I know what I'd do with a good acreage of screen, mouse control and a proper keyboard to rattle away at. And the combined minds here surely can do even better than myself.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.116|172.70.91.116]] 22:38, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
::The filename is a random number long enough to prevent brute force guessing to find future images. The state-file looks like some information for the javascript script where this URL comes from. I haven't looked into the script that much but from the values I'd say that it's telling when to start doing refreshs (2022-01-10T17:00:00Z) and when to stop doing that (2022-01-31T15:00:00Z). While these values are constant, the third value changes and is ten minutes after the time the page has been requested. I suppose this is telling the script, when to do a refresh of the image load. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.16|141.101.77.16]] 11:05, 13 January 2022 (UTC)
:::After some fiddeling, I've found the origin of the filename: It's the SHA-256 hash of the image [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.16|141.101.77.16]] 11:05, 13 January 2022 (UTC)
::::There's already a note that it would be impossible to brute-force the filenames. But as the images are very similar to each other, would it be feasible to programmatically generate images similar to the last one (extending up and to the right, different variations of the line shape), hash those files, and test to see if they match images on the server? I'd expect it to reduce the number of possibilities by orders of magnitude, but not sure if that's enough to make brute-force attempts feasible and non-destructive. (Also don't know the PNG format well enough to know if an image with the same pixels in it is guaranteed to produce the same bytes in the file across different implementations) -- [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 11:16, 14 January 2022 (UTC)
:::::Hmm… if it was pure black and white, the total number of possible images would be within the realms of sanity to brute force. But add antialiasing and the numbers rapidly become silly. Even if you only allow pixels to change within a certain distance of the previous image, and restrict greys to places between a black and a white, the numbers quickly become absurd. Although that makes me think about making 1-bit versions of all the images so far, predicting a set of "next frame" possibilities at each step, and training a CNN to pick the correct next one; and if it gets accurate enough by the time we get to the present… hmm. How predictable is antialiasing? Do we know the software he's using to create the images; and if so is there a relatively predictable algorithm applied along the edges? [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 11:41, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

I think it counts down to Lunar New Year (the Year of the Tiger), as measured in Korea (the earliest timezone where that is celebrated). Actually, it reaches 0 one minute before the New Year, so maybe it will switch to seconds for the last minute. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.98.75|172.70.98.75]] 05:10, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
:Could be, but why. Randall has never to rarely? mentioned this new year... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:13, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

I think we are seeing a zoom out of some image. Perhaps it is the arm of Cueball? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:36, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
:It looks like there's a little curve at the top left of the line entering the frame! This makes the Cueball arm hypothesis more likely. [[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 14:18, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
::I also noticed that (and moved your comment up here, as it is kind of a reply to that). Seems like the picture updates every four hours, and that it happened last time at noon UTC today. And thus it will also be at midnight. So 4, 8, 12, 16, 20 and 24. But it is not certain yet and not sure it happened like that the first day or two. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:46, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

I have added the first 12 images on this page: [[Countdown in header text/images]] - anyone may help uploading the new ones there. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:43, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
: Thank you! [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.194|173.245.52.194]] 12:44, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

Does anyone mind if I make a few spelling/grammar corrections to the article? It feels like the kind of thing that could be interpreted as rude, so I wanted to ask first. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.167|172.70.114.167]] 13:00, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
:No no please help me with my poor spelling. I'm Danish and not very good at spelling in English. Also anything I write is up for debate and can be changed. Just because I started this page do not give me ownership over it. As long as relevant info is not deleted the entire layout maybe changed. But better to get the page going sooner rather than later.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:46, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
::Alright!! Thank you so much for all your great work on this page! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.151|172.70.110.151]] 18:02, 13 January 2022 (UTC)

I originally put this (without realising it wasn't the Talk page) in the Images sub-page, in response to the revelation it was (very probably) the SHA256 of the image data that was used to name the file:
*When I first looked at it and decided it was an obvious hash (yes SHA256 sounds about right, but nice to know someone's tried it) I personally had hoped it would be a hash of the datetime (plus a salt, maybe, to give it that extra little frisson of difficulty in reverse engineering... ;) ). But if it's as you say I think I'll refrain from getting any rainbow-tables set up and bashing through the possibilities in the rather huge phase-space it could represent. Of course, there must be a look-up table used by the server. It'd be too much to hope for that it's publically exposed though, and totally a rookie-error if it is. (That Randall, and maybe anyone he actually drafted in to implement it to save himself the worry, is surely not going to commit.)
...anyway, bringing it here, as being more conversational than informative. Still thought I should say it, but stupidly long as a comment so maybe I needn't have repasted it again! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.79|172.70.85.79]] 03:39, 13 January 2022 (UTC)

(Put this in here as it was before in the explanation --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:02, 13 January 2022 (UTC):)
Was going to say it's Hangman, but it looks like it's zooming in on the diagonal instead of continuing to make a gibbet. [[User:Thisfox|Thisfox]] ([[User talk:Thisfox|talk]]) 06:37, 13 January 2022 (UTC)

I read the javascript of the countdown and noticed one thing that i didn't see mentioned anywhere on this page: the countdown text is moving upwards. When the countdown started the text was exactly in the middle of the image and at the end of the countdown the text will be at the top (you can see how it will look by changing the time in your system). The code will also make the text disappear and leave only the image after the countdown goes to zero. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.41|162.158.90.41]] 23:52, 13 January 2022 (UTC)
:Uuuh thanks that was interesting. Maybe to make more room for the image? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:09, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

The Greensboro sit-ins started on Feb 1, though the time is different.. But black history month? {{unsigned ip|172.70.135.48}}

Thanks to [[User:Theusaf|Theusaf]] for helping with putting the images up on the image page. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:09, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

Anyone here that can make an animation out of the images and put it in the explanation? If it is "easy" could it be updated some times on the way towards the final image on January 31st... Like the one on [[Time]]. That would be really nice. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:02, 14 January 2022 (UTC)
:I made an animation: [https://imgur.com/a/INh77nL] (Now i realize it wasn't needed because there already is automatically updating animation linked from the page...) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.105|162.158.159.105]] 18:18, 15 January 2022 (UTC)
::Not if you would let us use it here on xkcd. I have no contact to munvoseli. But if you made one we could upload here on xkcd on this page and then update it a few times, until we have a final version, then that would be much better than having one on a private persons page. Which may be deleted at any time. So cool you made one. If it is possible I would like to have one like the one at [[Time]]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:41, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

There's something else moving into the frame... We'll have to see what it is. [[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 19:12, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

To even find this page, I had to page backward through the comic to get to Decorative Constants, go to the discussion, and come across the link to this page from there. I suggest that there be a direct link to this page from the explanation of every comic that existed while the countdown was in progress. A second question: has anyone determined for sure whether the ‘camera’ is zooming out from a blank spot in the final image, in which case we can expect other stuff to come into view from above and right, OR is it panning onto an image that is not changing size, in which case nothing will appear except from the direction it’s moving toward? And if it’s panning, has anyone tried estimating where the current stuff will end up?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.76|108.162.246.76]] 07:42, 15 January 2022 (UTC)
:I agree with you and have now changed the four comics that was active while the count down was active so far, so the link to this page is above their explanations. If people keep updating like this for new comics, there will be a link to the countdown page from the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page front page]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:40, 15 January 2022 (UTC)

Does Randall already have kids? If not, maybe his wife is expecting? That's something you'd announce and the last two comics are about kids. Another idea: he's going to space 🚀. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.233.115|162.158.233.115]] 20:47, 15 January 2022 (UTC)
:I’m sure he would have a birth announcement afterward, but I doubt he would try to predict it to the exact second, 21 days in advance.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.105|162.158.106.105]] 22:36, 15 January 2022 (UTC)
::Maybe it's a C section? Those are usually scheduled. lol but yeah that's unlikely.Wouldn't rule it out though.[[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 13:58, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

I noticed that it almost appears to be the tail fin of an airplane. I don’t know if it is, or if an airplane even makes sense? --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.57|172.70.230.57]] 22:11, 15 January 2022 (UTC)
:There's not enough time for it to make the several passes necessary, before the big 'reveal', but I'd have suspected Randall capable of parodying the {{w|Airplane!}} in-title parody of {{w|Jaws}}. Would have somewhat been a {{w|Shaggy dog story|shaggy}}-{{tvtropes|Brick_Joke|brick}} joke, but wouldn't put it past him... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.79|172.70.85.79]] 00:18, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
:: I actually think, after watching the animation so far on musoveli’s page, it looks more like a main wing of a swept wing commercial aircraft. If it is, and the pattern continues, we should be able to see the main body or an engine nacelle at least. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.108|162.158.62.108]] 13:39, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
:::I agree now. First I was sure it was the tail of an airplane, but the way it moves into the image now, makes me think of the wing, with the plane body soon coming into view. That was at image 59... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:48, 19 January 2022 (UTC)
::::I think at the time of posting the body has just come into view! I may be wrong, as it is only a tiny sliver, but I am hopeful!--[[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.151|172.70.110.151]] 01:59, 20 January 2022 (UTC)
:::::I'm still more mentally-prepared for it being a tailfin (seen from the side, the 'new' line being the mid-dorsal surface of the main aircraft hull) than the port wing (the new bit being of the lateral airframe surface forward of the wings and perhaps just behind the cockpit point). But this POV will doubtless be overturned by the revelation of the next frame(s), which will make many of us look just as misdirectedly creduluous as each other. ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.22|172.70.86.22]] 02:50, 20 January 2022 (UTC)
::::::I can see the tailfin too, but because I am a human, and we dont shift our opinons easily, i still think its a plane. We might all be wrong though! This makes me think of a game from elementary school where on kid would draw a line, we would guess what it was, then the would draw another, and so on, until we guessed it. (I just realized that I wasnt logged in for my previous few posts here). --[[User:BlackBeret|BlackBeret]] ([[User talk:BlackBeret|talk]]) 13:34, 20 January 2022 (UTC)
::::::(Me again, 172.70.86.22, whatever this signs as.) In case you read me wrong, I was meaning a tailfin ''of a plane'' (rudder surface, vertical stabiliser, whatever), so I think we have agreement. Or had. Not seen the latest picture update(s), so my views may imminently change in a few moments when I actually do, and/or yours also will by the time you read this. ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.173|172.70.90.173]] 16:18, 20 January 2022 (UTC)
:::::::I understood what you meant by tail fin. I also now think you are right, becuase I think I can see a tiny little line poking out from the bottom corner that could be the vertical tail fin. (Is there a better word for it?)--[[User:BlackBeret|BlackBeret]] ([[User talk:BlackBeret|talk]]) 00:46, 21 January 2022 (UTC)
::::::::Once again, my opinion has changed. I now once more believe that it is a wing, now that we can see the windows of the plane. It almost looks like spaceshiptwo, which in my opinion is the coolest rocket in the industry right now. But it isn’t, because it doesn’t have the right wings. That was unrelated.--[[User:BlackBeret|BlackBeret]] ([[User talk:BlackBeret|talk]]) 02:54, 21 January 2022 (UTC)
:::::::::On a second look, it could be SpaceShipTwo in “shuttlecock” formation for reentry. Wouldn’t it be cool to see Randall in space? --[[User:BlackBeret|BlackBeret]] ([[User talk:BlackBeret|talk]]) 15:23, 21 January 2022 (UTC)
::::::::::{{w|SpaceShipTwo}} is not really looking at all like this commercial plane I believe it is. A passenger plane is my idea of how it looks now. I cannot tell if it is the wing or tail we see, but is inclined to sat that the thin line is the top of the passenger hull, and thus it is a wing, as the tailfin would not need this extra line as it is fused with the planes body. I also now begins to think the plane will land somewhere we can recognize (sky line) when the counter ends, and Randall is going there. But if he can actually land somewhere that precise seems farfetched. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:07, 21 January 2022 (UTC)

I believe it looks like he would draw the arm and upper "body" of a person running to the left. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.50.107|172.68.50.107]] 01:11, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

Am I the only one thinking it'll be another extra long comic like 1190? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.91|108.162.241.91]] 02:52, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

Randall is secretly in space, having launched a few days after JWST, and the countdown is to when NASA will see the fruits of his elaborate plan to create the most epic photo bomb of all time. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.187.220|162.158.187.220]] 20:59, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

Surprised no one has linked to the xkcd comic called Countdown. It centers on the problem of having a countdown to something and people not knowing what it is (and also not being able to see all relevant information). Seems relevant in a couple ways. https://xkcd.com/1159/ {{unsigned ip|172.70.230.157}}
:Yes but there we don't know when the count ends, but we know what it is about. So kind of the reverse of this countdown. But I think I will add a line about it in the explanation. Also a search for [[Countdown]] goes there so maybe I also add a link here from that comic. (Remember to sign you comment) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:32, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

Did anyone calculate the speed/acceleration of the object moving in the frame? We can predict future positions if nothing changes {{unsigned ip|172.70.162.155}}
:It just changed direction so nothing will come from that now. (Remember to sign you comment) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:32, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

Randall's new comic is about [[Hypothesis Generation|hyposthesis genration]] (Sound familiar?), and the title text makes a lot of sense if you think about it from his perspective. [[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 13:06, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
:I really do not think this comic is a comment on the countdown. But I can see why it could be funny for us here at explain. But I'm quite sure that Randall stays away from all these fora discussing his comics. We put way to much importance to this site if we think he actually comes here... ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:14, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

What do the comments in the explanation above that say "the timer may be using EST" mean? The timer is just counting down days, hours, and minutes. We should all see the timer reach zero at the same time even though that may be morning for some readers, afternoon for others, and night for other readers. Randall's living on Eastern Standard Time isn't going to make the countdown run any faster or slower than it would if he lived in a different time zone. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.87|172.70.126.87]] 16:00, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
:Agreed have removed all ref to EST. It is UTZ that is interesting and of course Randall's local time zone in Boston. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:29, 18 January 2022 (UTC) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.115.20|172.70.115.20]] 03:54, 19 January 2022 (UTC)
::Guys put that back! It's referring to comic 1061! Not that I think it's likely, butlet's not dismiss that out of hand. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.115.20|172.70.115.20]] 03:54, 19 January 2022 (UTC)
:::That is ridiculous! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:42, 19 January 2022 (UTC)

I think the image entering the frame is a boomerang! [[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 12:53, 20 January 2022 (UTC)
:Well Randall has sure been fond enough of those that we have the [[:Category:Boomerangs]]. However, in none of those have he drawn that extra line that have appeared before you suggested this. So I would say, it is not!--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:24, 20 January 2022 (UTC)

Yay, started by the new development with the counter in the [[xkcd Header text]], I was inspired to continue the work I started back in [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=xkcd_Header_text&oldid=175813 June 2019] when I created the page regarding changes in the header. When I began adding the [[xkcd_Header_text#2022-01-10_-_Standard_text_with_countdown|countdown]] at the top I became aware that I had left a period of more than a year with [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=xkcd_Header_text&oldid=224089#Changes_not_documented_yet_2 Changes not documented yet 2] from September 2015 to November 2016 ([[xkcd_Header_text#Changes_not_documented_yet_1|Changes not documented yet 1]] is anything earlier than March 2014). And today I finished documenting the gap so now [[xkcd_Header_text#2016-04-04_-_Protip_on_Garden|Protip on Garden]] is suddenly also here, just below where the undocumented section was, which I deleted today. And thus the protip is now not just mentioned in the trivia on the [[1663: Garden]] page. Of course it would be great to continue backwards, but it is a hughe project. But there where some important changes in the now closed gap, among other the longest running book promotion for [[Thing Explainer]]. Of course I cannot say it is complete back to march 2014, but anything staying longer than two weeks in the front page header I believe I would have found. But I have not walked through every archived version ;-) They load terribly slow. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:39, 20 January 2022 (UTC)

I guess when more windows come into view, we’ll finally know whether the windows continue far to the left of the wing, or stop well short of the tail fin (which the two currently showing already seem to me to be too close to). {{unsigned ip|162.158.107.188}}
:That is true. Wonder if the plane will land in a city that can be recognized when the counter runs out? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:07, 21 January 2022 (UTC)

That new bottom-left line worries me. No matter what the fin is that we were first introduced to (I'm still stuck on vertical stabiliser, for the record) the curve doesn't look right for the other fin base (e.g. horizontal stabiliser) on the fuselage. It doesn't look quite right as a rocketry-stern (flatish circular cross-section, that if we see more of it we will see the bell of a combustion nozzle sat within it) which makes me wonder if it's even more exotic. Could be a feature on the fuselage other than a fin, though, e.g. a NASA logo (must check what their current version is, I think it's a flowing one). Low-slung and/or inverted-V control surfaces being still entirely beyond the image edge. Which may make it a much more obviously identifiable model of craft (airplane or spaceplane or something between) once we get a ''leeeettle'' bit more of the view in the image-window. So that's why it's being held back so long, to delay the final revelation. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.68|172.70.86.68]] 15:50, 22 January 2022 (UTC)

1391: Darkness

2022-01-22T10:32:18Z

172.70.86.68: /* Explanation */ Just hedging the bets, here. Whilst also mildly rewording. (Hmm. "Habits" better than "rituals", "departure actions", "shutdown procedure", but I'm sure there's a better term.)

{{comic
| number = 1391
| date = July 7, 2014
| title = Darkness
| image = darkness.png
| titletext = This was actually wish #406. Wish #2 was for him to lose the ability to remember that each new wish wasn't my first.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Ponytail]] as a [[:Category:News anchor|news anchor]] describes the sunset as though it were an unprecedented, newsworthy event, rather than {{tvtropes|MundaneMadeAwesome| something mundane}} that happens every day. They even have a reporter ([[Cueball]]) on the spot reporting from where the ''darkness'' has spread so far.

The {{w|sunset}} is a common event. {{w|Isaac Asimov}} based his short story {{w|Nightfall (Asimov short story and novel)|Nightfall}} on a fictional civilization that doesn't know darkness because the planet is always illuminated by the six stars surrounding it. The story describes how people would react (mass insanity, fall of civilization) when the orbital motion of the planet eventually leads to five of the suns setting, plus one in eclipse.

Describing mundane occurrences in unusual detail, to show off how odd they really are, is something [[Randall]] has done before (for instance about dreaming in [[203: Hallucinations]]). But the caption below the main panel adds another twist to the joke by showing that the news report wasn't a mere imagine spot, but something actually happening due to the interference of Randall's final wish to his {{w|genie}}, which caused all news reporters to forget the day-night cycle.

Another possible meaning is that this comic is a reference to the way the media often talk about {{w|global warming}} as if each weather occurrence had meaning outside of its context like in [[1321: Cold]]. That take on the weather and the day-night cycle being denied because of a skewed point of view was also used on the {{w|Daily Show}}. The segment "[http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/18l8gy/unusually-large-snowstorm Unusually Large Snowstorm]" from February 10, 2010, used the same trope. Several Daily Show correspondents have different views on the weather based on where they are, ending with a correspondent who equates nighttime with everlasting darkness.

The caption references the fact that there is a limit to the number of wishes. It is a common rule, often used in fiction, that you get {{tvtropes|ThreeWishes|three wishes}} from a {{tvtropes|GenieInABottle|genie in a bottle}}. There usually is an added stipulation that no wish may be used to acquire more wishes.

In the title text, however, it is stated that Randall has managed to bypass the three wish limit rule. This was accomplished by using his second wish to simply make the genie unable to remember granting the speaker any wishes. He has thus used the same trick on the genie as he used here on the media. The media wish turns out '''not''' to have been his last (i.e. third), but rather wish number 406. This shows just how far, "make someone forget something", can go by applying it to the genie.

There is possibly an inconsistency in the comic, when seen from the title text's perspective. Since his second wish, all his wishes would have been seen as the first by the genien and thus, if the title text is true, he could have said: "Genie, for my ''first'' wish, make everyone in the media forget about the day-night cycle." However, in the light of the title text (to be seen as an add on, and thus not always related directly to the comics image) he appears to voluntarily end the whole scenario by explicitly declaring it over. Whether this would finally trigger the genie to end the wishing-cycle is unknown, and depends upon the exact priority of the genie's induced amnesia over its end-of-wishes habits.

It is interesting that it was his second wish that gave him unlimited wishes. What did he wish for on wish #1? Maybe he wasted the first wish because he did not believe the genie was able to grant wishes – a common error. On the other hand, he may have used the first wish to learn how to make his second wish circumvent the three rule limit. His first wish could have been to read the genie's mind to determine what he could wish for to give him unlimited wishes.

*To have three wishes from a genie, but really only needing one was the joke in [[152: Hamster Ball]]. Perhaps this genie is the same, and the first wish was for a human-sized hamster ball. Much later - inspired by the hamster ball? - he breaks the genie rules to get access to unlimited (not limited to the normal three) genie wishes.
*The concept of having unlimited wishes has previously been explored in [[1086: Eyelash Wish Log]] - one of the wishes is also related to news anchors - the wish is to control the direction they are looking.
*Genies are also part of [[532: Piano]] and [[879: Lamp]], although these two jokes are of a more juvenile character.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail is a news anchor at a media desk and she reports:]
:Ponytail: ...getting reports that the darkness has spread as far west as Texas. Let's go live to our reporter in Houston.

:[From a breaking news window in the bottom right corner of the panel, Cueball as a newscaster stands in darkness with two people walking behind him:]
:Cueball: It's been thirty minutes since the sun vanished...

:[Caption below the panel]:
:Caption: "Genie, for my last wish, make everyone in the media forget about the day-night cycle."

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:News anchor]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]

2497: Logic Gates

2022-01-21T10:53:26Z

172.70.86.68:

I like hentai

80: My Other Car

2022-01-21T09:08:37Z

172.70.86.68: /* Explanation */ While no Ferrari (or AC Cobra, or whatever), Mitsubishi is a competitive brand in motor-sports and at least in the UK people proudly own a sporty (or at least sport-styled) model. The US may be different.

{{comic
| number = 80
| date = March 24, 2006
| title = My Other Car
| image = other_car.jpg
| titletext = It's much better than the other one.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic refers to a popular form of {{w|bumper sticker}} that follows the template "my other car is a ____." Sometimes the blank is a fancy vehicle like a {{w|Porsche}} or a {{w|Ferrari}}; sometimes it's related to the person's job (e.g. "My other car is a fire truck"); sometimes it's an even more expensive form of transportation like a "{{w|yacht}}" or "{{w|private jet}}," or even something joking or in fiction (like a "{{w|TARDIS}}").

The premise was to jokingly imply that someone driving in a less fancy vehicle was wealthier than they looked, as they could afford a fancy car (they simply chose to drive the clunker that day). The designer of the first stickers might even have intended them for serious use by wealthy drivers. The form of sticker ultimately became so well known that the phrase entered the pop-culture lexicon.

Due to their popularity, these stickers also have been parodied in various ways, like the one [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] has invented here. Randall's sticker is a more "honest" sticker that admits "this IS my other car;" in other words, this is the nicer of the two cars.

This sticker could probably be used on an expensive car to mirror the traditional sticker's use on a cheaper car. However, the car in the strip is a Mitsubishi, which is not a particularly expensive brand, though the presence of a spoiler indicates it may be one of the top-range models, or at least has had a little extra paid for some sports 'extras'. Thus it appears that Randall is using the sticker for contrasting purposes: while others would drive a modest car but joke that they have a really nice one at home, Randall's car is the one you see, and, as he noted in the title text, his other one is much worse than this one.

It's also possible that this is a play on meta-levels; by definition, the car that you're driving can't be your other car, as it's your car you're driving now. Your other car is the one sitting at home.

==Transcript==
:[The back of a blue Mitsubishi with a spoiler is shown.]
:Bumper sticker: This '''<big>IS</big>''' my other car.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]

2570: Captain Picard Tea Order

2022-01-20T08:32:42Z

172.70.86.68:

{{comic
| number = 2570
| date = January 19, 2022
| title = Captain Picard Tea Order
| image = captain_picard_tea_order.png
| titletext = We can ask the Earl for his order once he's fully extruded from the dispenser.
}}
*This was the fifth comic to come out after the [[Countdown in header text]] started.

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by EXTRUDED EARL GREY- Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Captain {{w|Jean-Luc Picard}} is the captain of the starship ''USS Enterprise'' in the TV series ''{{w|Star Trek: The Next Generation}}''. {{w|Earl Grey tea}} is a beverage that he requests many times in the series, with the exact phrase "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaAT6-dY1QI Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.]" Randall is parodying this expression with other words that could follow "Tea. Earl Grey.", from "most normal" to "least normal".

The machine that Picard is using is a {{w|Replicator (Star Trek)|replicator}}, which can create objects, such as Picard's requested Earl Grey tea. The title text refers to the last item, "Tea for him, too." which presumes that the replicator has produced a regular (unspecified) tea and "Earl Grey", a person (either one of the {{w|Earl Grey}}s or a person named Grey with the title of {{w|earl}}), and Picard has requested a tea for him. And so Picard also will ask the Earl for his exact order of tea after he is fully created.

{| border =1 width=100% cellpadding=1 class="wikitable"
! Word !! Explanation
|-
| Hot
| A fairly normal word to be used when ordering tea. Although that it even needs specifying is itself a clue that other variations (such as "Iced", below) are available.
The act of requesting this is illustrated, though not of the appearance of the tea itself.
|-
| Iced
| {{w|Iced Tea}} is a 'normal' variation of tea.
|-
| Decaf
| Traditional teas (from {{w|Camellia sinensis}}) tend to have caffeine in them. Asking for {{w|Decaffeination|decaffeinated}} tea is not particularly uncommon if the drinker requires it.
|-
| Good
| A normal, subjective term. Most people drinking tea would want it to be good, but to specify it like this would perhaps be strange.
|-
| Lukewarm
| While this is a temperature that tea can be at, most people do not want their teas to be lukewarm.
|-
| Tasty
| Similar to good, most people would want their tea to be tasty, or at least flavorsome.
|-
| Boiled
| Boiling the water used to make the tea is a common and normal way to increase the flavor and nutrients extracted from the tea leaves, though it is suggested that the actual ideal temperature of hot water is 75-98°C (167-210°F), according to whether it is a light tea or a dark one, and that perhaps it should be sipped at around 65°C/150°F-ish if desired 'hot'.
Having made a tea and ''then'' bringing it back to the boil (especially after adding milk/etc) may destroy some of the desirable qualities previously imbued.
|-
| Watery
| Tea is a drink that often involves water, but this perhaps suggests over dilution or under infusion in some way.
|-
| Sour
| Many people do not enjoy a sour taste, which can indicate rot and is a strange thing to specify when ordering Earl Grey tea. Although lemon juice is often an additive used in the same way (but as a complete alternative) to milk.
|-
| Meaty
| Most teas are plant-based.
|-
| Solid
| Tea is usually drunk as a liquid. It would be strange to ask for solid tea.
|-
| Dry
| Tea is a liquid typically made with water and may have milk. A dry version might be either unmade (e.g. tea leaves in their un-infused form) or freeze-dried back into a dehydrated form.
("Dry" can also be used to describe {{w|Dryness (taste)|less-sweet varities of wine}} ''or'' {{w|Prohibition|enforced alcohol-free scenarios}}. For either option, it assumes a default serving with an {{w|Hot_toddy#Variations|alcoholic component}}, or an entirely {{w|Long Island iced tea|alternate basis}} for the beverage, which the request needs to be specify it is not.)
|-
| Raw
| This describes tea that has not been "cooked", so it would just be tea made with room-temperature water. This is {{w|Iced_tea#Sun_tea|possible}} but generally takes many hours.
|-
| Deep-fried
| Tea is not usually deep-fried. But you'll probably {{w|Deep-fried Mars bar|find someone}} who has tried it, [https://www.pitco.com/blog/deep-fried-liquids-trend one way or another].
|-
| Sticky
| Perhaps significantly dehydrated, or thickened with enough of a hydrophilic substance, this would produce something very unlike most teas that would usually be requested.
This scenario is illustrated to show a clearly messy product that awkwardly sticks to and drips from the replicator as well as Picard.
|-
| Grilled
| Tea is not usually grilled.
|-
| Fossilized
| Since tea is a liquid, it would be tricky to figure out how to fossilize it.
|-
| Magnetic
| Tea is not magnetic. Magnetic metals would have to be added to the tea, which would not be pleasant to drink.
|-
| Ballistic
| Usually, the replicated beverage is deposited in a stationary cup, but Picard could ask for it to be dropped or thrown out instead.
|-
| Unstable
| This word is often used to refer to radioactive materials, which hopefully is not a property that would apply to something meant to be ingested.
|-
| Blessed
| Tea is a beverage, and it may be strange to ask a machine to create 'blessed' tea.
In role-playing games, items can be Blessed, i.e. having greater positive or lesser negative effects. This includes potions, a class of drinks that do not include any teas but could contain the "potion of water", which may therefore be the basis of this blessed brew.
|-
| Blurry
| Being blurry is not a normal state for tea to have.
|-
| Loud
| While molecules in tea (especially hot tea, and vitally so in an {{w|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (novel)|Infinite Improbability Drive}}) do move vigorously, this does not usually result in distinct audible effects.
However, as illustrated, it seems the requested cup of tea is produced capable of emitting a high-pitched, high-volume whining sound that entirely dominates the vicinity.
|-
| Virtual
| Virtual tea cannot be produced physically, so asking a physical tea machine for it would be very strange.
|-
| Intravenous
| This means the tea would be injected directly into the customer's veins, likely a very painful experience if the tea comes out boiling.
|-
| Expanding
| In a sense, most hot tea is expanding: as the water in the tea evaporates, it becomes much less dense, increasing in "size".

But most people would probably argue that the evaporated water is no longer part of the tea. Water, like most materials, usually expands as it increases in temperature—except between freezing and about 4° C, where it has the unusual property of {{w|Water_%28molecule%29#Density_of_water_and_ice|''contracting slightly''}} as temperature increases. If tea behaves similarly despite the extra dissolved compounds, then "expanding tea" would describe any tea between 4° C and boiling point. Possibly beyond, and explosively so, if {{w|Superheating|superheated}} and then nucleating points are introduced.
|-
| Ironic
| How tea could be ironic is a mystery.
|-
| Segmented
| Tea is usually served in a cup. It tends to stick together and form one liquid. Separating the tea into segments would not be possible.
|-
| Verbose
| This describes using lots of words and language, and would not likely be used for tea, because it cannot speak.{{citation needed}} Command-line computer programs often run in a 'silent' mode without displaying every step of what happens on the screen. Such programs may have a {{w|Verbose mode|''-verbose'' parameter}} that disables the silent mode. As the replicator is run by a computer, the verbose parameter could be applied to the process of tea-making, with the replocator providing an info-dump on the molecular arrangement of the tea, together with the cup pf liquid.
|-
| Cursed
| As with "Blessed", above, items can be Cursed in role-playing games, i.e. having greater negative or lesser positive effects; while there are strategic uses for Cursed items, generally the player would prefer uncursed ones (neutral or blessed). Amongst the curseable items are potions, a class of consumables that do not include any teas but does contain the "potion of water", which may therefore be the cause of this cursed cuppa.
Cursed items have featured in xkcd previously: [[2332: Cursed Chair]], [[2376: Curbside]], and [[:Category:Cursed Connectors]].
|-
| Unexpected
| By definition, Picard is asking for tea, expecting it promptly. Perhaps the request for it to be "unexpected" would cause it to be delivered at an unknown time in the future, or to have some alteration.
|-
| Bipedal
| Tea does not walk.{{citation needed}} This would be a very strange term to use when describing tea.
|-
| Afraid
| Tea does not have feelings. Although [https://www.quotes.net/mquote/901305 water may consider some things to be unpleasant].
|-
| Infinite
| The scope of this request is unclear. It could mean endless production (a steady stream of tea, without obvious limits so long as servicing the request remains practical) or an instantaneous production of an infinite volume of tea (possibly more immediately shown to be flawed in its method of execution). Either could result in an infinitely ''dense'' tea (eventually?), but this may no longer be {{w|No-hair theorem|identifiable as tea}} so might be one of the less practical options, even amongst those on this list.
Indeed, Randall ranks it as the least 'normal', except for just ''one'' further named order.
|-
| Tea for him, too
| {{w|Earl Grey tea|Earl Grey}} is a tea blend.
Taken along with the context of the title text, this Replicator order is for "Tea" (not otherwise qualified), a replicated version ''of'' the Earl Grey (one or other of those {{w|Earl Grey|of that name}}, possibly the {{w|Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey|2<sup>nd</sup> Earl}} for whom the tea blend was supposedly named) and a second such beverage for him to later drink.
|-
! colspan="2" | Descriptions included in comic, but not on the line
|-
| Cold
| Like Iced tea, asking for cold tea is a relatively normal request.
|-
| Pink
| Earl grey is usually an orange-brown color, not pink.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[There is a line going towards the bottom of the panel in a curve with marks and words next to them. Various pictures of Captain Picard, are displayed next to the curves.]
:[Caption at top of the panel:]
:Other words Captain Picard tried at the end of his tea order before settling on "hot"
:[Subtitle below the caption:]
:From most normal to least
:[Picard stands next to a machine labeled 'REPLICATOR', giving a command. Some options such as 'Good,' 'Cold,' 'Dry,' and 'Pink' are displayed perpendicularly adjacent to 'Hot', the latter clearly selected.]
:Picard: Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.
:[Below, another version of Picard standing next to the replicator is displayed. Picard is holding a cup, with sticky lines connecting his hands and the machine]
:Picard: Tea. Earl Grey. Sticky.
:[This time, Picard is holding a vibrating cup and large letters are displayed in the background to the exclusion of all else.]
:Picard: Tea. Earl Grey. Loud.
:Teacup: '''TEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'''
:[Words on the arrow from start to finish. The tail of the arrow is labeled 'Normal.' There is a parallel arrow pointing in the same direction labeled 'Less normal.']
:Hot
:Iced
:Decaf
:Good
:Lukewarm
:Tasty
:Boiled
:Watery
:Sour
:Meaty
:Solid
:Dry
:Raw
:Deep-fried
:Sticky
:Grilled
:Fossilized
:Magnetic
:Ballistic
:Unstable
:Blessed
:Blurry
:Loud
:Virtual
:Intravenous
:Expanding
:Ironic
:Segmented
:Verbose
:Cursed
:Unexpected
:Bipedal
:Afraid
:Infinite
:Tea for him, too

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Star Trek]]
[[Category:Food]]

Talk:2569: Hypothesis Generation

2022-01-18T21:30:28Z

172.70.86.68:

I removed a couple of paragraphs that seem to be more about the the editor's opinions on education and the philosophy of science than the comic. {{unsigned|Nitpicking}}
:I had a look at what you removed:
:* I think this ''is'' a personal tutorial, or else bad teaching/learning by the intense Lenhart/Cueball interaction to the exclusion of all those unpictured.
:* It is indeed important not to do tests and then work out what kind of hypothesis would lead to the inevitably significant results you have already seen to stand out.
:That said, the bits could have been less wordy.
:(I'd be tempted to add Reversion To The Mean as a key problem of reacting wth ideas to prior 'random' test-results, but that wouldn't help to shorten anything!) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.126|172.70.91.126]] 17:38, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

Also, what the heck happens on 31 January, as mentioned in the top image at xkcd.com?{{unsigned|Nitpicking}}
:Haha, this is Randall teasing us about our hypotheses about the Countdown over at https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Countdown_in_header_text [[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 13:01, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
::I just added this link [[Countdown in header text]] at the top of the comic aws for the previous four comics. See there. (and sign you comments ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:03, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
:::Oh, and I just read the title text. Totally makes sense from Randall's perspective! [[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 13:04, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
::::I really do not think this comic is a comment on the countdown. But I can see why it could be funny for us here at explain. But I'm quite sure that Randall stays away from all these fora discussing his comics. We put way to much importance to this site if we think he actually comes here... ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:14, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
:::::He doesn't need to come here! He just needs to like, go on the xkcd subreddit. [[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 14:26, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
::::::I don't think he would go there either... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:23, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

I'm too shy to do the edit myself, but shouldn't the explanation mention how the comic is going meta ? Like, Cueball is generating a hypothesis about hypothesis generation! (btw, how would you test that kind of hypothesis?…) --Anonymous reader {{unsigned ip|172.70.86.22}}
:You are never more anonymous than your IP, so please sign anyway. I think the meta of this is already implicit in the current explanation when it says: "He has made a hypothesis about how to generate a hypothesis. " --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:23, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
:: "You are never more anonymous than your IP, so please sign anyway." All right, sorry. Let's say I never commented yet, and I don't mean to start doing this regularly (although… we'll see!) (Understand: I don't have an account, and I don't want to register atm.) By the way, the IP signoff seems broken: I have nothing to do with "172.70.86.22", and it's faaaar from where I live, according to GeoIP. Back to my original point, I though it would be better to make an *explicit* reference to the meta level. Since it's an explanation, it ought to be made as clear as can be. But here's why I didn't make the edit myself: I don't usually edit wikis, so I'll trust your better jugement. --Not So Anonymous reader {{unsigned ip|172.68.226.223}}
:::Hi, as another anon-IP (of long standing... Hi Kynde, it's me again! ;) ) I'll just clue you in. The IP gets publically recorded in the change-history (so long as you don't have a username you're logged into) and this is likely the IP of the Cloudflare server/whatever that helps to aggregate ''some'' high volume traffic across the internet. It is possible to do two edits a minute apart and be recorded as (slightly) different IPs, because of the traffic-shaping that occurs. The geolocation of the IP is often nearest city (or a further city that is more important) either because of the infrastructure hub locales or because the geolocation tables are poisoned by having already been associated to a different location.
:::So the IP isn't that useful for tying you down (I've seen other comments picking up the same IP as me, or vice-versa, by happening to route onwards via the same onward gateway) but it does tend to at least identify your country, while Kynde, there, doesn't give away his rough proximity to the original Legoland so long as he doesn't tell you that he's from Denmark. (Which he readily has - I'm not doxxing!)
:::But what is ''really'' useful about signing your contribution properly with <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> is that it handily shows the end of your comment, that ''vaguely'' useful IP (or logged-in identity) and the date-time of the edit. Others can work all this out by checking the history/revisions of a page (it's where I got the info for the ''<nowiki>{{unsigned ip|aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd}}</nowiki>'' I appended to your last text, didn't bother to transfer the timestamp too) but it's useful to try to remember to do it yourself.
:::...and, as for whether you intend to edit wikis... Well, I do that an awful lot (not that I can prove it, but I also don't intend to) and yet I'm not sure I started off that way. I spotted an IP comment, the other day, that looks like it was me. It was (being properly signed and datestamped, to save time) a 2015 comment, and certainly not my first.
:::There's nothing to lose. And neither is there if you get an account (probably... I've yet to do that after >7 years!). But use the four tildes either way (in Talk edits, etc, not in Explanation pages themselves) and you:
:::a) Look like you know what you're doing, blending in with the other users in a useful way, and,
:::b) Don't get an oververbose idiot like me tapping out a small handbook of 'useful hints and tips', in response to your idle comment, breaking the fourth wall of the usual conversational convention. ;)
:::...yeah, so. That's just what I think. Well, some of it, but I'll stop now and sign this off. *pbbbt* [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.68|172.70.86.68]] 21:30, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

How science works in primary school:
* Consider a question and generate a hypothesis
* Study the literature to understand the problem space
* Design a methodology to test the hypothesis
* Perform the experiment and record the results
* Analyse and interpret your results
* Draw conclusions and write a report
How science works in practice:
* The sponsor comes to you with an invention he wants to sell
* Design a methodology to showcase the invention's advantages
* Run the experiment and hope the undocumented fragile DAQ system works
** Start with the test cases where the invention is expected to perform best
** Scrap the remaining test cases once it falls behind existing tech
* Graph the data and write a paper merely describing what the graphs show
* Skim any prior literature on the design to add citations
[[User:D5xtgr|D5xtgr]] ([[User talk:D5xtgr|talk]]) 19:30, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

336: Priorities

2022-01-18T20:20:01Z

172.70.86.68: /* Explanation */ Subtle difference in meaning.

{{comic
| number = 336
| date = October 31, 2007
| title = Priorities
| image = priorities.png
| titletext = You should start giving out 'E's so I can spell FACADE or DEFACED.
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, [[Cueball]] is a student, who apparently didn't turn in his homework assignment repeatedly, for which he gets a warning from his Cueball-like teacher.

In some schools in the United States, a student's grades are determined mainly using letters for quick reference. In most schools, the letter grades are given as follows:

::A — 100%–90%
::B — 89%–80%
::C — 79%–70%
::D — 69%–60%
::F — 59%–0%

Traditionally, these schools send '{{w|report card}}s' in which the student's current grading of the semester or even the entirety of the class the student is taking is denoted using these letters, for example:

::English — A
::Mathematics — D
::Science — B
::Social Studies — B
::World Building — C

The student may have noted that, if he aims for certain scoring (for example: altering the quality of his homework or even sending out his homework only at the times needed for his grades to reach a certain level), he could make the report card spell every letter grade in alphabetical order. Deriving from the previous example, the student would aim for the following report card:

::English — A
::Mathematics — B
::Science — C
::Social Studies — D
::World Building — F

Interestingly, since in some schools even a 0% grade would produce the required 'F' grade, the student does not need to work at all (not even turn in any school assignments) to get the required 'F' grade, this leading to the situation presented in the comic above. There are some schools, though, where turning in nothing would result in the class being marked "incomplete" or "inc" instead of having a grade shown at all.

The title text references that, not only can the grades in the report card inadvertently spell out certain words (for example: 'CAB' or 'FAD'), but also that the letter grade system denoted omits the letter 'E' in standard letter grading. The reason for the missing "E" is complex and explained in [http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2010/08/e_is_for_fail.html this Slate article]. However, this is not universal in the United States: Ohio State University, for example, uses 'E' for failing.

==Transcript==
:[A teacher is talking to a student, sitting at a desk.]
:Teacher: If you don't turn in at least one homework assignment, you'll fail this class.
:[The student holds up his report card.]
:Student: Yeah. But if I can fail this class, the grades on my report card will be in alphabetical order!

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Language]]

980: Money/Prices in tables

2022-01-11T13:03:44Z

172.70.86.68: Removed (or rewritten) all obvious Oxford Commas, given that there are also valid "<clause>, <conjunctioned clause>" cases in the text. (I also happen to hate Oxford Commas with a vengeance, but would have left them if not for definitely ambiguity).

__NOTOC__
Below are five tables listing the prices of the items in [[980: Money]].

{{incomplete|Values still need double-checking. Possibly spelling as well.}}
==Dollars==
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
{| class="wikitable"
! Category
! Item
! Price
! Notes
|-
! rowspan="5"|Dollar bills
|-
| $1 Bill
| $1
| one dollar is generally believed to have the value of one dollar {{citation needed}}
|-
| $10 Bill
| $10
| ten dollars are just ten times one dollar,{{citation needed}} see above
|-
| $500 Bill (William McKinley, discontinued)
| $500
| discontinued bills [https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/06/11/how-much-is-a-500-bill-worth.aspx might be worth more than their original value] but can still be used as normal currency worth its designated value (in this case 500$)
|-
| $1000 Bill (Grover Cleveland, discontinued)
| $1000
| discontinued bill, see above
|-
! rowspan="3"|Fruit
|-
| Apples (one dozen)
| $5.68
| the price has since [https://www.in2013dollars.com/Apples/price-inflation/2011-to-2021?amount=1.31 risen due to inflation]
|-
| Oranges (one dozen)
| $3.08
| the price has since [https://www.in2013dollars.com/Oranges,-including-tangerines/price-inflation/2011-to-2021?amount=1.44 risen due to inflation]
|-
! rowspan="3"|Fast Food
|-
| Dollar Menu item
| $1.00
| most dollar menus cost one dollar,{{citation needed}} hence the name
|-
| Starbucks Coffee
| $2.00
| ten years later, one might for that price get a <s>small</s> [https://realmenuprices.com/starbucks-menu-prices/ tall freshly brewed coffee]
|-
! rowspan="3"|Average US Restaurant Meals
|-
| Average single US restaurant meal
| $35.65
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
| Average meal at the 20 costliest San Francisco restaurants
| $85.27
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
! rowspan="7"|Dinner for four
|-
| Homemade rice and pinto beans
| $9.26 (With time cost of two hours of shopping, travel, preparation and cleanup: $41.80)
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
| Homemade chicken dinner
| $13.78 (With time cost of two hours of shopping, travel, preparation and cleanup: $46.32)
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
| McDonalds
| $27.89 (With time cost of 30 minutes travel: $36.03)
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
| Arby’s
| $34.00 (With time cost of 30 minutes travel: $42.13)
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
| Chili’s
| $69.64 (With time cost of 30 minutes travel: $77.78)
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
| Outback Steakhouse
| $109.82 (With time cost of 30 minutes travel: $117.96)
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
! rowspan="2"|Vehicles
|-
| Low-end bicycle
| $190
| [https://www.google.com/search?q=low-end+bicycle+price a quick google search] will tell us that this is a fairly realistic price still
|-
! rowspan="2"|Clothes
|-
| Men's suit
| $400
| [https://www.google.com/search?q=men's+suit+price a quick google search] will tell us that this is a fairly realistic price, although there are much cheaper suits out there
|-
! rowspan="2"|Debt
|-
| Daily interest on average credit card debt
| $5.63
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
! rowspan="4"|Daily income
|-
| Median household daily income
| $136.28
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
| Taxes
| $32.16
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
| After-tax
| $104.12
| it is just the taxes subtracted from the median household daily income
|-
! rowspan="4"|Game Consoles
|-
| PS3
| $250
| [https://www.google.com/search?q=playstation+3+price a quick google search] will tell us that their demand has decreased significantly since other consoles (PS4, PS5) were released and there are no more new games being developed for the Playstation 3
|-
| Xbox 360
| $200
| [https://www.google.com/search?q=xbox+360+price a quick google search] will tell us that their demand has decreased significantly since other consoles (Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S) were released and there are no more new games being developed for the Xbox 360
|-
| Wii
| $150
| [https://www.google.com/search?q=nintendo+wii+price a quick google search] will tell us that their demand has decreased significantly since other consoles (Wii U, Nintendo Switch) were released and there are no more new games being developed for the Nintendo Wii
|-
! rowspan="9"|Electronics
|-
| Kindle Fire
| $199
| like video game consoles, other electronics such as ebook readers become less demanded over time due to newer models and the discontinuation of support
|-
| Basic iPad
| $499
| like video game consoles, other electronics such as tablets become less demanded over time due to newer models and the discontinuation of support
|-
| iPad + 3G + a year of data
| $869
| as above; also 3G internet is being gradually shut down across the world ([https://eu.usatoday.com/story/tech/2021/10/22/wireless-service-3-g-shutdown-coming-soon/8538388002/ USofA], [https://blog.telegeography.com/3gs-sun-is-setting-in-europe Europe]) so it won't be easy getting 3G internet for a whole other year (information as of December 2021)
|-
| Basic Macbook Air
| $999
| like video game consoles, other electronics such as laptops become less demanded over time due to newer models and the discontinuation of support
|-
| Netbook
| $249.99
| like video game consoles, other electronics such as laptops become less demanded over time due to newer models and the discontinuation of support
|-
| iPod Nano
| $129
| like video game consoles, other electronics such as music players become less demanded over time due to newer models and the discontinuation of support
|-
| Mac Mini
| $599
| like video game consoles, other electronics such as desktop PCs become less demanded over time due to newer models and the discontinuation of support
|-
| Comcast cable internet for a year ($59.99/month)
| $719.88
| Comcast has changed its name to Xfinity since the comic came out
|-
! rowspan="7"|Books
|-
| Paperback book
| $6.80
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
| Hardcover book
| $32.27
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
| Audio book
| $50.42
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
| [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I15SB16/ref=r_kdia_h_i_gl Kindle]
| $79.00
| nowadays the price ranges from 24$ up to a little over 300$, depending on the model
|-
| New video game
| $49.99
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
| Kindle keyboard + 3G
| $139
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
! rowspan="6"|Loose change
|-
| Loose change value per pound
| $12.80
| The chart depicts 12 blocks instead of 13.
|-
| Loose change with no quarters
| $5.40
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
| One-gallon jug of loose change
| $270
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
| Loose change with no pennies
| $17.40
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
| Annual value of pennies received in change (at one daily cash purchase)
| $7.30
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
! rowspan="7"|Pet ownership (Based on ASPCA estimations)
|-
| Annual cost of rabbit ownership
| $730
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
| Annual cost of dog ownership
| $695
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
| Annual cost of cat ownership
| $670
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
| Annual cost of fish ownership
| $35
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
| Annual cost of bird ownership
| $200
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
| Annual cost of small mammal ownership
| $300
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
! rowspan="5"|Cell phone bill
|-
| Traditional cell phone average monthly fee
| $77.36
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
| Traditional cell phone average annual bill
| $928.30
| would be $928.32 since it is just the monthly fee times twelve
|-
| Smartphone average monthly fee
| $110.30
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
| Smartphone average annual bill
| $1,320
| would be $1,323.60 since it is just the monthly fee times twelve
|-
! rowspan="5"|Worker/CEO comparison
|-
| 1965 production worker average hourly wage
| $19.61
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
| 2007 production worker average hourly wage
| $19.71
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
| Typical 1965 CEO pay for the same period
| $490.31
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|-
| Typical 2007 CEO pay for the same period
| $5,419.97
| {{Actual citation needed}}
|}
</div>

==Thousands==
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
{| class="wikitable"
! Category
! Item
! Price
! Notes
|-
! rowspan="6"|Typical household net worth by head of household’s age in 1984
|-
| <35 years
| $11,680
|
|-
| 35-44 years
| $72,090
|
|-
| 45-54 years
| $115,060
|
|-
| 55-64 years
| $149,240
|
|-
| >65 years
| $122,100
|
|-
! rowspan="6"|Typical household net worth by head of household’s age in 2009
|-
| <35 years
| $3,710
|
|-
| 35-44 years
| $40,140
|
|-
| 45-54 years
| $103,040
|
|-
| 55-64 years
| $164,270
|
|-
| >65 years
| $172,820
|
|-
! rowspan="4"|Raising a child to age 17
|-
| Upper income
| $302,860
|
|-
| Middle income
| $206,920
|
|-
| Lower income
| $150,380
|
|-
!rowspan="5"|Vacations
|-
| All-inclusive one-week trip for two to St. Lucia resort from New England (incl. flights)
| $3,204
|
|-
| Twenty week-long Hawaiian vacations
| $136,020
|
|-
| Typical week-long Hawaii trip for two from US West Coast (incl. flights)
| $6,801
|
|-
| Typical weekend Hawaii trip for two from US West Coast incl. flights)
| $2,863
|
|-
!rowspan="5"|School Prices
|-
| Estimated one-year Hogwarts cost (incl. tuition)
| $43,000
|
|-
| Seven-year Hogwarts degree
| $301,000
|
|-
| Average community college tuition
| $10,340 (One year $2,580)
|
|-
| Average in-state university tuition
| $28,920 (One year $7,230)
|
|-
!rowspan="8"|Income per capita (2005)
|-
| United States 2005 per capita income
| $32,360
|
|-
| Switzerland 2005 per capita income
| $29,910
|
|-
| Germany 2005 per capita income
| $27,550
|
|-
| UK 2005 per capita income
| $23,240
|
|-
| France 2005 per capita income
| $16,400
|
|-
| China 2005 per capita income
| $3,540
|
|-
| Brazil 2005 per capita income
| $5,540
|
|-
!rowspan="3"|Houses
|-
| Small rural house
| $100,000
|
|-
| Typical new home
| $224,910
|
|-
!rowspan="3"|Health
|-
| Average individual health insurance annual premium
| $5,430
|
|-
| Cancer treatment including chemo
| $117,260
| The chart depicts 115 blocks instead of 117.
|-
!rowspan="8"|Annual Household Costs
|-
| A daily pack of cigarettes for a year (NJ)
| $3,050
|
|-
| One Starbucks latte per day
| $1,820
|
|-
| Average smartphone annual cost
| $1,320
|
|-
| Annual cost of car ownership
| $3,650
|
|-
| Typical annual household food spending
| $5,650
|
|-
| Average household CC debt
| $9,960
|
|-
| Annual cost to carry that debt
| $2,090
|
|-
!rowspan="13"|Typical annual housing cost for various cities (based on military's Basic Allowance for Housing for an E1 servicemember with no dependents)
|-
| NYC
| $25,416
|
|-
| San Francisco
| $21,888
|
|-
| Boston
| $18,216
|
|-
| Los Angeles
| $17,640
|
|-
| Washington DC
| $16,380
|
|-
| Chicago
| $13,664
|
|-
| Worcester
| $12,456
|
|-
| Houston
| $11,888
|
|-
| Minneapolis
| $10,908
|
|-
| Detroit
| $10,080
|
|-
| Salt Lake City
| $9,108
|
|-
| Scranton
| $8,604
|
|-
!rowspan="4"|Prince William and Kate Middleton's Wedding
|-
| Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding cake
| $78,000
|
|-
| Kate Middleton's wedding dress
| $350,000
| This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $375,000.
|-
| Flower cost for Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding
| $800,000
|
|-
!rowspan="10"|Value of an investment of $1,000/year
(NOT changing with inflation) for 30 years at 5% annual interest
|-
| 1 year
| $1,000
|
|-
| 5 years
| $5,526
|
|-
| 10 years
| $12,850
|
|-
| 15 years
| $21,580
|
|-
| 20 years
| $33,070
|
|-
| 25 years
| $47,730
|
|-
| 30 years
| $66,440
|
|-
| 30 years ($30,000 saved in mattress)
| $30,000
|
|-
| 30 years ($1,000/yr at a 4% real return (long-term stock + dividend average)
| $56,080
|
|-
!rowspan="3"|Value of investment (accounting for inflation)
|-
| 30 years
| $27,370
|
|-
| 30 years ($30,000 saved in mattress)
| $12,360
|
|-
!rowspan="4"|Average Vehicle Costs
|-
| Average used car
| $8,910
|
|-
| Average new car
| $27,230
|
|-
| High-end bicycle
| $1,500
|
|-
!rowspan="15"|Total cost to buy and own selected vehicles for five years
|-
| Honda Insight
| $27,874
|
|-
| Toyota Prius
| $38,771
|
|-
| Jeep Patriot
| $35,425
|
|-
| Honda Fit
| $28,745
|
|-
| BMW Z4
| $61,312
|
|-
| Ford Explorer
| $45,524
|
|-
| Toyota Camry
| $34,697
|
|-
| smart fortwo
| $29,629
|
|-
| Honda CR-V
| $35,183
|
|-
| Chevy Volt
| $42,180
|
|-
| Hyundai Sonata
| $34,644
|
|-
| Ford F-150
| $48,734
|
|-
| Nissan Cube
| $29,383
|
|-
| Porsche 911
| $91,590
|
|-
!rowspan="7"|Total cost to buy and own selected vehicles for five years, if gas were $10/gallon
|-
| Toyota Prius
| $48,990
|
|-
| Honda Fit
| $45,233
|
|-
| Ford Explorer
| $69,076
|
|-
| smart fortwo
| $45,058
|
|-
| Chevy Volt
| $50,612
|
|-
| Ford F-150
| $77,111
|
|-
!rowspan="8"|Typical annual household income
|-
| Bottom 20%
| $10,200
|
|-
| Second 20%
| $24,800
|
|-
| Middle 20%
| $44,400
|
|-
| Fourth 20%
| $76,100
|
|-
| Top 10%
| $201,100
|
|-
| Top 1%
| $822,000
|
|-
| Top 1/500th
| $2,080,000
|
|-
!rowspan="6"|Median US household income
|-
| Median US household income
| $51,570
|
|-
| After-tax
| $39,170
|
|-
| Taxes
| $12,100
|
|-
| Total lifetime income from ages 25-65 at $50,000/year after 25% taxes (including Social Security)
| $1,500,000
|
|-
| Cost per household served by US Rural Utilities Service program to expand broadband access
| $359,790
|
|-
!rowspan="13"|If I had $1000000 (Cost of the items the singer in "If I had $1000000" would buy to win your love: $263,330)
|-
| Furniture
| $21,160
|
|-
| Plymouth Reliant
| $3,000
|
|-
| Tree fort
| $15,000
|
|-
| Llama
| $2,120
|
|-
| Joseph Merrick's remains
| N/A (Held in Royal London Hospital collection and not available for purchase)
|
|-
| House
| $224,820
|
|-
| Tiny fridge
| $99.08
|
|-
| Gourmet pre-wrapped sausages (2)
| $34.48
|
|-
| Kraft Dinner (two double servings)
| $3.06
|
|-
| Expensive ketchup
| $10.75
|
|-
| Faux fur coat
| $198.00
|
|-
| Limo ride to the store
| $186.59
|
|-
!rowspan="5"|Luxuries
|-
| [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Opulence_Sundae Golden Opulence ice cream sundae]
| $1,000
|
|-
| Waist deep half-room ball pit
| $2,400
|
|-
| All 30 bestselling game consoles (refurb, eBay)
| $2,640
|
|-
| Initial seat on Virgin Galactic suborbital flight
| $200,000
|
|-
!rowspan="3"|Video Games
|-
| Typing F-U-N-D-S
| $10,000
|
|-
| Daily sales of [http://www.minecraft.net/ Minecraft]
| $193,500
|
|}
</div>

==Millions==
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
{| class="wikitable"
! Category
! Item
! Price
! Notes
|-
! rowspan="3"|Dr. Evil
|-
| Amount Dr. Evil thought he was demanding from the 1997 world
| $6,630,000
|
|-
| Amount he was demanding
| $1,380,000
|
|-
! rowspan="2"|Video Games
|-
| Minecraft sales by October 2011
| $56,780,000
|
|-
! rowspan="4"|William and Kate's wedding
|-
| Flowers
| $800,000
|
|-
| Security
| $20,000,000
|
|-
| Total cost
| $80,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="6"|Human Values
|-
| Amount needed to live comfortably off investments
| $4,090,000
|
|-
| EPA value of a human life
| $8,120,000
| The chart depicts 10 blocks instead of 8.
|-
| Six Million Dollar Man (2011 dollars)
| $29,870,000
|
|-
| 50,000 salary for 40 years after 25% taxes
| $1,500,000
|
|-
| Lifetime cost to avoid changing your oil by abandoning your car and buying a new one whenever you hit 5.000 miles
| $3,270,000
|
|-
! rowspan="4"|Corporation Expenses
|-
| 30-second Super Bowl ad slot
| $3,000,000
|
|-
| Annual cost to run Wikipedia
| $18,500,000
|
|-
| Loss in NewsCorp value over hacking scandal
| $750,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="6"|Vehicles
|-
| Most expensive production car (Bugatti Veyron)
| $2,400,000
|
|-
| Most expensive car ever sold (1957 Ferrari 250)
| $16,390,000
|
|-
| Marginal cost to launch one shuttle
| $450,000,000
|
|-
| Total shuttle program per launch
| $1,451,000,000
|
|-
| One B-2 bomber
| $2,500,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="5"|Structures
|-
| Large city office building
| $100,000,000
|
|-
| Dubai Fountain
| $224,540,000
|
|-
| Burj Khalifa
| $1,521,000,000
|
|-
| New Yankee Stadium
| $1,545,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="12"|Rare Items
|-
| Qianlong Chinese vase sold in 2010
| $83,710,000
|
|-
| Leonardo’s Codex Leicester (bought by Bill Gates)
| $45,930,000
|
|-
| Estimated value of first-edition Gutenberg Bible
| $34,610,000
|
|-
| 1933 Double Eagle coin (All destroyed uncirculated save a few stolen from the US Mint)
| $9,330,000
|
|-
| Treskilling Yellow postage stamp (At $50 billion/lb possibly the world’s most expensive thing by weight)
| $2,780,000
|
|-
| 1297 Magna Carta original copy signed by Edward I
| $21,890,000
|
|-
| Painting from The Card Players series (rumor)
| $250,000,000
|
|-
| Willem de Kooning’s “Woman III” (2006 auction bought by David Geffen)
| $168,780,000
|
|-
| Jackson Pollock’s “No. 5, 1948” (2006 auction bought by David Geffen)
| $153,440,000
|
|-
| Airbus A380
| $264,000,000
|
|-
| Mona Lisa assessed value
| $730,660,000
|
|-
! rowspan="3"|Bitcoins
|-
| Market value of all Bitcoins as of 11/2011
| $22,819,797
|
|-
| Market value of all Bitcoins as at July 2011 peak price
| $210,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="9"|Millionaires
|-
| Darrell Issa (R-CA) net worth
| $304,000,000
|
|-
| Jane Harman (D-CA) net worth
| $294,000,000
|
|-
| John Kerry (D-MA) net worth
| $239,000,000
|
|-
| Mitt Romney net worth
| $210,000,000
|
|-
| Jon Huntsman net worth
| $40,000,000
|
|-
| Average net worth of US senator
| $13,400,000
|
|-
| Average net worth of US representative
| $4,900,000
|
|-
| A billionaire
| $1,000,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="5"|Per US resident
|-
| $1 per US resident
| $312,620,000
|
|-
| $1 per US household
| $117,290,000
| The chart depicts 138 blocks instead of 117.
|-
| $10 from every US resident
| $3,326,200,000
| The chart depicts 3126 blocks instead of 3326.
|-
| $10 from every US household
| $1,179,180,000
| The chart depicts 854 blocks instead of 1179.
|-
! rowspan="3"|Raptors
|-
| One F-22 raptor
| $154,500,000
|
|-
| One velociraptor (25% of Jurassic Park production budget amortized over three velociraptors)
| $1,930,000
|
|-
! rowspan="8"|Professional rapper net worth
|-
| 50 Cent
| $100,000,000
|
|-
| 50 Cent (stage name)
| $0.50
|
|-
| 50 Cent (adjusted for inflation)
| $0.70
|
|-
| Birdman
| $100,000,000
|
|-
| Dr Dre
| $125,000,000
|
|-
| Jay-Z
| $450,000,000
|
|-
| Diddy
| $475,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="3"|J.K. Rowling
|-
| J.K. Rowling
| $1,000,000,000
|
|-
| J.K. Rowling had she become a rapper (Professional assessment by rapper/geek culture expert MC Frontalot)
| $82,000
|
|-
! rowspan="4"|Hurricanes
|-
| Annual hurricane forecast R&D funding
| $20,000,000
|
|-
| Hurricane forecast improvement funding since 1989
| $440,000,000
|
|-
| Economic savings—during Hurricane Irene alone—due to limiting evacuations made possible by recent forecast advances
| $700,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="6"|Prizes
|-
| $64,000 in 1955 when "The $64,000 Question" first aired
| $528,310
|
|-
| £1,000,000 in 1998 when the UK "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" aired
| $2,270,000
|
|-
| $1,000,000 in 1999 when the US "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" aired
| $1,330,000
|
|-
| $1,000,000 in 1955 when the TV show "The Millionaire" aired
| $8,250,000
|
|-
| $1,000,000 in 1931 when the film "The Millionaire" opened
| $14,530,000
|
|-
|}

===Elections===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Person !! Funds raised
|-
| 2012 presidential fundraising || $188,260,000
|-
| Herman Cain || $5,380,000
|-
| Jon Huntsman || $4,510,000
|-
| Michele Bachmann || $9,870,000
|-
| Ron Paul || $12,790,000
|-
| Rick Perry || $17,200,000
|-
| Mitt Romney || $32,610,000
|-
| Barack Obama || $88,420,000
|-
| Other || $17,480,000
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Person !! Funds raised
|-
| 2008 presidential campaign fundraising ||$1,860,390,000
|-
| Excluding candidate Lee L. Mercer, Jr of Houston, who claimed, in his combined FEC filings, || $900,005,507 in fundraising and $900,006,431 in campaign spending.
|-
| Ron Paul || $32,480,000
|-
| John Edwards || $64,410,000
|-
| Rudy Giuliani || $66,520,000
|-
| Mitt Romney || $116,730,000
|-
| Barack Obama ||$799,670,000
|-
| John McCain || $394,280,000
|-
| Hilary Clinton || $259,050,000
|-
| Other || $127,250,000
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Person !! Funds raised
|-
| 2004 presidential campaign fundraising || $1,006,810,000
|-
| Howard Dean || $61,620,000
|-
| Wesley Clark || $34,620,000
|-
| John Edwards || $39,310,000
|-
| John Kerry || $352,090,000
|-
| George W. Bush || $429,660,000
|-
| Other || $89,510,000
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Person !! Funds raised
|-
| 2000 presidential campaign fundraising || $805,120,000
|-
| Pat Buchanan || $37,440,000
|-
| John McCain || $75,180,000
|-
| Bill Bradley || $65,680,000
|-
| Steve Forbes || $114,400,000 *The Money Chart incorrectly reads $11,440,000
|-
| Al Gore || $170,520,000
|-
| George W. Bush || $247,100,000
|-
| Other || $94,800,000
|}

===2010 midterm elections fundraising===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Party !! Funds raised
|-
| Democrats || $815,000,000
|-
| Republicans || $587,000,000
|}

===2011-2012 Campaign donations by industry===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Industry !! To Democrats (approx) !! To Republicans (approx) !! To Other (approx) !! Total Funds donated
|-
| Finance industry || $47,000,000 || $68,000,000 || $7,000,000 || $122,900,000
|-
| Organized labor || $14,000,000 || $2,000,000 || $2,000,000 || $18,720,000
|-
| Energy industry || $6,000,000 || $21,000,000 || $0 || $26,680,000
|-
| Lawyers and general lobbyists || $39,000,000 || $19,000,000 || $0 || $57,590,000
|-
| Health industry || $19,000,000 || $23,000,000 || $0 || $42,727,000
|-
| Electronics and communication industry || $21,000,000 || $12,000,000 || $7,000,000 || $32,420,000
|}

===Inaugurations===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Thing !! Price
|-
| Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration || $174,100,000
|-
| Festivities (private donors) || $46,400,000
|-
| Federal + state + local government (mainly security) || $127,700,000
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Thing !! Price
|-
| George Bush’s 2005 inauguration || $178,600,000
|-
| Festivities (private donors) || $47,800,000
|-
| Federal + state + local government (mainly security) || $130,800,000
|}

===Past presidential campaign fundraising===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Campaign Year !! Funds raised
|-
| 1996 || $559,810,000
|-
| 1992 || $521,480,000
|-
| 1988 || $606,300,000
|-
| 1984 || $429,860,000
|-
| 1980 || $434,220,000
|-
| 1976 || $664,160,000
|}

===Value of a solid gold toilet (626 lbs) by year===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! Value (Approximate)
|-
| 1967 || $2,000,000
|-
| 1968 || $2,000,000
|-
| 1969 || $2,000,000
|-
| 1970 || $2,000,000
|-
| 1971 || $2,000,000
|-
| 1972 || $3,000,000
|-
| 1973 || $4,000,000
|-
| 1974 || $7,000,000
|-
| 1975 || $6,000,000
|-
| 1976 || $4,000,000
|-
| 1977 || $5,000,000
|-
| 1978 || $6,000,000
|-
| 1979 || $9,000,000
|-
| 1980 || $15,000,000
|-
| 1981 || $10,000,000
|-
| 1982 || $8,000,000
|-
| 1983 || $9,000,000
|-
| 1984 || $7,000,000
|-
| 1985 || $6,000,000
|-
| 1986 || $7,000,000
|-
| 1987 || $8,000,000
|-
| 1988 || $7,000,000
|-
| 1989 || $6,000,000
|-
| 1990 || $6,000,000
|-
| 1991 || $5,000,000
|-
| 1992 || $5,000,000
|-
| 1993 || $5,000,000
|-
| 1994 || $5,000,000
|-
| 1995 || $5,000,000
|-
| 1996 || $5,000,000
|-
| 1997 || $4,000,000
|-
| 1998 || $4,000,000
|-
| 1999 || $3,000,000
|-
| 2000 || $3,000,000
|-
| 2001 || $3,000,000
|-
| 2002 || $3,000,000
|-
| 2003 || $4,000,000
|-
| 2004 || $4,000,000
|-
| 2005 || $5,000,000
|-
| 2006 || $6,000,000
|-
| 2007 || $8,000,000
|-
| 2008 || $8,000,000
|-
| 2009 || $10,000,000
|-
| 2010 || $13,000,000
|-
| 2011 || $15,000,000
|}

===Value of a carry-on suitcase full of $100 bills (30,00 ct, 60lbs)===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! Value (Approximate)
|-
| 1967 || $20,000,000
|-
| 1968 || $19,000,000
|-
| 1969 || $18,000,000
|-
| 1970 || $17,000,000
|-
| 1971 || $16,000,000
|-
| 1972 || $16,000,000
|-
| 1973 || $15,000,000
|-
| 1974 || $13,000,000
|-
| 1975 || $12,000,000
|-
| 1976 || $12,000,000
|-
| 1977 || $11,000,000
|-
| 1978 || $10,000,000
|-
| 1979 || $9,000,000
|-
| 1980 || $8,000,000
|-
| 1981 || $7,000,000
|-
| 1982 || $7,000,000
|-
| 1983 || $7,000,000
|-
| 1984 || $6,000,000
|-
| 1985 || $6,000,000
|-
| 1986 || $6,000,000
|-
| 1987 || $6,000,000
|-
| 1988 || $6,000,000
|-
| 1989 || $5,000,000
|-
| 1990 || $5,000,000
|-
| 1991 || $5,000,000
|-
| 1992 || $5,000,000
|-
| 1993 || $5,000,000
|-
| 1994 || $4,000,000
|-
| 1995 || $4,000,000
|-
| 1996 || $4,000,000
|-
| 1997 || $4,000,000
|-
| 1998 || $4,000,000
|-
| 1999 || $4,000,000
|-
| 2000 || $4,000,000
|-
| 2001 || $4,000,000
|-
| 2002 || $4,000,000
|-
| 2003 || $4,000,000
|-
| 2004 || $4,000,000
|-
| 2005 || $3,000,000
|-
| 2006 || $3,000,000
|-
| 2007 || $3,000,000
|-
| 2008 || $3,000,000
|-
| 2009 || $3,000,000
|-
| 2010 || $3,000,000
|-
| 2011 || $3,000,000
|}

</div>

==Billions==
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">

===Harry Potter movie franchise total revenue===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Item !! Value
|-
| Harry Potter movie franchise total revenue || $21,000,000,000
|-
| Treasure found in a temple in India in 2011 || $22,000,000,000
|}

===Box office revenue===

Adjusted for monetary inflation but not ticket price inflation
Highlighted [sic]: films that earned more than 2009's ''Avatar''

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! Movie !! Revenue !! Highlighted
|-
| 2009 || ''Avatar'' || $783,510,000 ||
|-
| 2008 || ''The Dark Knight'' || $547,520,000 ||
|-
| 2003 || ''Shrek 2'' || $516,610,000 ||
|-
| 1999 || ''The Phantom Menace'' || $572,000,000 ||
|-
| 1997 || ''Titanic'' || $827,260,000 || Yes
|-
| 1994 || ''The Lion King'' || $625,810,000 ||
|-
| 1993 || ''Jurassic Park'' || $625,810,000 ||
|-
| 1984 || ''Ghostbusters'' || $507,720,000 ||
|-
| 1983 || ''Return of the Jedi'' || $686,710,000 ||
|-
| 1982 || ''E.T.'' || $996,580,000 || Yes
|-
| 1980 || ''The Empire Strikes Back'' || $778,530,000 ||
|-
| 1977 || ''Star Wars'' || $1,681,000,000 || Yes
|-
| 1975 || ''Jaws'' || $1,067,510,000 || Yes
|-
| 1973 || ''The Exorcist'' || $1,019,000,000 || Yes
|-
| 1965 || ''The Sound of Music'' || $1,144,920,000 || Yes
|-
| 1962 || ''101 Dalmatians'' || $1,131,310,000 || Yes
|-
| 1960 || ''Ben-Hur'' || $561,090,000 ||
|-
| 1957 || ''The Ten Commandments'' || $532,570,000 ||
|-
| 1943 || ''Bambi'' || $1,391,000,000 || Yes
|-
| 1942 || ''Fantasia'' || $1,146,000,000 || Yes
|-
| 1940 || ''Gone With the Wind'' || $3,157,000,000 || Yes
|-
| 1938 || ''Snow White'' || $2,841,700,000 || Yes
|}

===Charity===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Area !! Amount given
|-
| US annual charitable giving || $294,850,000,000
|-
| To religious organizations || $102,000,000,000
|-
| To educational organizations || $42,240,000,000
|-
| To foundations || $33,450,000,000
|-
| To human services || $26,850,000,000
|-
| To societal benefit organizations || $24,570,000,000
|-
| To health organizations || $23,140,000,000
|-
| To international affairs || $15,980,000,000
|-
| To arts and culture || $13,460,000,000
|-
| To animals and environment || $6,750,000,000
|-
| Other || $6,410,000,000
|}

====Type of giving:====
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Type !! Amount given
|-
| Individual giving || $214,650,000,000
|-
| Foundation grantmaking || $41,560,000,000
|-
| Bequests || $23,140,000,000
|-
| Corporate giving || $15,500,000,000
|}

===Gates Foundation total giving since 1994===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Area !! Amount given
|-
| Gates Foundation total giving since 1994 || $25,360,000,000
|-
| Global health || ~$12,000,000,000
|-
| US || ~$4,000,000,000
|-
| Developments || ~$3,000,000,000
|-
| Grants || ~$1,000,000,000
|-
| Missing || ~$5,000,000,000
|}

===Book publishing industry revenue===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Genre !! Revenue
|-
| Book publishing industry revenue || $28,320,000,000 (Sum of genres is $29.39 billion, 1 block more than depicted)
|-
| Romance || $1,380,000,000
|-
| Trade books || $14,130,000,000
|-
| K-12 || $5,570,000,000
|-
| Professional || $3,750,000,000
|-
| Higher education || $4,560,000,000
|}

===Video game industry revenue===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Area !! Revenue
|-
| Video game industry revenue || $48,900,000,000
|-
| United States || $18,830,000,000
|}

===Education===
{| class= "wikitable sortable"
|-
! Item !! Value
|-
| Student loans outstanding || $955,800,000,000 (This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $956,800,000,000)
|-
| Federal student loans || $792,900,000,000
|-
| Defaulted Federal student loans (Private total unknown) || $65,020,000,000
|-
| Private student loans || $163,900,000,000
|-
| Total spending on primary and secondary education in the US || $612,470,000,000
|-
| Teacher Salaries || $295,810,000,000
|-
| Total annual higher education spending in the US || $355,110,000,000
|}

===Harvard University revenue===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Area !! Revenue
|-
| Tuition, donations and fees || $1,425,000,000
|-
| Investments || $7,900,000,000
|}

In other words, if Harvard eliminated tuition, it would mean roughly a 15% budget cut.

===Education foundations===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Foundation !! Amount given
|-
| Gates Foundation || $36,700,000,000
|-
| INGKA Foundation || $36,000,000,000
|-
| Howard Hughes Medical Institute || $14,800,000,000
|-
| Ford Foundation || $13,800,000,000
|-
| John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation || $6,100,000,000
|}

===Endowments of the 63 wealthiest universities===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! University !! Endowments
|-
| Endowments of the 63 wealthiest universities || $277,570,000,000
|-
| Harvard || $32,000,000,000
|-
| Yale || $19,400,000,000
|-
| Princeton || $17,010,000,000
|-
| U of Texas || $16,610,000,000
|-
| Stanford || $16,500,000,000
|-
| MIT || $9,900,000,000
|-
| Columbia || $7,800,000,000
|-
| U of Michigan || $7,800,000,000
|-
| Texas A&M || $7,030,000,000
|-
| Northwestern || $7,030,000,000
|-
| The other 53 || $136,490,000,000
|}

===Corporate revenue===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Corporation !! Revenue !! Profit !! Loss
|-
| Walmart || $421,800,000,000 || $16,390,000,000 ||
|-
| ExxonMobil || $354,700,000,000 || $30,460,000,000 ||
|-
| Chevron || $196,300,000,000 || $19,020,000,000 ||
|-
| Fannie Mae || $153,800,000,000 (the chart depicts 156 blocks instead of 154) || || $14,010,000,000
|-
| GE || $151,600,000,000 (the chart depicts 151 blocks instead of 152) || $11,640,000,000 ||
|-
| Berkshire Hathaway || $136,100,000,000 ([[Randall]] rounded down from 136.185 billion) || $12,970,000,000 ||
|-
| PepsiCo || $57,840,000,000 || $6,320,000,000 ||
|-
| Coca-Cola || $35,840,000,000 (this appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $35,120,000,000) || $11,800,000,000 ||
|-
| VISA || $8,100,000,000 || $2,700,000,000 ||
|-
| MasterCard || $5,500,000,000 (the chart depicts 5 blocks instead of 6) || $1,850,000,000 ||
|-
| General Motors || $135,600,000,000 (the chart depicts 135 blocks instead of 136) || $6,170,000,000 ||
|-
| Ford || $129,000,000,000 || $6,560,000,000 (the chart depicts 6 blocks instead of 7) ||
|-
| Chrysler || $44,950,000,000 (this appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $41,950,000,000) || || $653,000,000 (this appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $652,000,000)
|-
| AT&T || $124,600,000,000 (the chart depicts 126 blocks instead of 125) || $19,860,000,000 ||
|-
| Verizon || $106,560,000,000 (the chart depicts 106 blocks instead of 107) || $2,550,000,000 ||
|-
| Bank of America || $134,200,000,000 (the chart depicts 135 blocks instead of 134) || || $2,240,000,000
|-
| JP Morgan Chase || $115,480,000,000 || $17,370,000,000 ||
|-
| Citigroup || $111,060,000,000 || $10,600,000,000 ||
|-
| AIG || $104,420,000,000 || $7,790,000,000 ||
|-
| HP || $126,000,000,000 || $8,780,000,000 (this appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $8,760,000,000) ||
|-
| Apple || $65,230,000,000 || $14,010,000,000 ||
|-
| Microsoft || $62,480,000,000 || $18,760,000,000 ||
|-
| Google || $29,320,000,000 || $8,510,000,000 ||
|-
| Combined annual profit of the Fortune 500 companies || || $708,600,000,000 ||
|}

===US health care spending===
{| class="wikitable"
! Category
! Item
! Price
! Notes
|-
! rowspan="5"|US cancer spending
|-
| US spending on lung cancer treatment
| $11,310,000,000
|
|-
| US spending on tobacco marketing
| $13,600,000,000
|
|-
| US spending on all cancer treatment
| $106,870,000,000
|
|-
| US spending on cigarettes
| $91,660,000,000
| The chart depicts 93 blocks instead of 92.
|-
! rowspan="10"|US health care spending (2005 data)
|-
| Private insurance
| $785,900,000,000
|
|-
| Out-of-pocket
| $282,260,000,000
| The chart depicts 250 blocks instead of 282.
|-
| Other private spending
| $79,000,000,000
| The chart depicts 111 blocks instead of 79.
|-
| Total private spending
| $1,147,050,000,000
|
|-
| Medicare
| $387,070,000,000
|
|-
| Medicaid
| $351,980,000,000
|
|-
| Other government spending
| $219,000,000,000
|
|-
| Total Government spending
| $958,950,000,000
|
|-
| Total
| $2,106,000,000,000
|
|}

===NCAA budget===
$5,640,000,000

===Total annual tax breaks to the five largest oil companies===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Item !! Value !! Notes
|-
| Combined pay at Wall St. banks and securities firms || $135,000,000,000 ||
|-
| Mobile computing annual sales || $220,000,000,000 ||
|-
| Online spending in 2009 || $251,070,000,000 ||
|-
| Total annual tax breaks to the five largest oil companies || $2,100,000,000 ||
|-
| US annual oil and gas subsidies || $41,000,000,000 ||
|-
| Ethanol subsidies || $5,000,000,000 ||
|-
| Combined annual profits of the five largest oil companies || $36,000,000,000 ||
|-
| Combined annual profits of the ten largest health insurance companies || $12,870,000,000 ||
|-
| 2010 lobbying || $3,560,000,000 ||
|-
| 2005 lobbying || $2,750,000,000 ||
|-
| 2000 lobbying || $2,000,000,000 ||
|-
| One B-2 bomber || $2,500,000,000 || The chart depicts 2 blocks instead of 3.
|}

===US R&D===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Item !! Value
|-
| US annual corporate R&D || $334,490,000,000
|-
| Information technology || $46,560,000,000
|-
| Scientific, technical or professional services || $31,060,000,000
|-
| Manufacturing industries (Unlabelled on the money chart) || $236,151,000,000
|-
| Other || $20,710,000,000
|}

===US GDP===

The combined economic value of all goods and services produced in a year

{| class="wikitable"
! Category
! Item
! Value
! Notes
|-
! rowspan="2"|US GDP
|-
|
| $14,545,950,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="2"|Government
|-
|
| $1,980,640,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="4"|Real estate
|-
| Non-rental real estate
| $1,737,500,000,000
| The chart depicts 1736 blocks instead of 1738.
|-
| Rental and leasing
| $187,610,000,000
|
|-
| Total
| $1,925,210,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="10"|Nondurable Goods
|-
| Food, beverage and tobacco
| $212,330,000,000
|
|-
| Chemicals
| $223,050,000,000
|
|-
| Petroleum and coal
| $123,630,000,000
|
|-
| Apparel
| $12,050,000,000
| The chart depicts 14 blocks instead of 12.
|-
| Paper products
| $57,800,000,000
| The chart depicts 62 blocks instead of 58.
|-
| Plastics and rubber products
| $58,410,000,000
|
|-
| Textile mills
| $18,130,000,000
| The chart depicts 12 blocks instead of 18.
|-
| Printing and related supports
| $33,790,000,000
|
|-
| Total
| $739,300,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="13"|Durable Goods
|-
| Computers and electronics
| $212,640,000,000
|
|-
| Metal products
| $125,590,000,000
|
|-
| Machinery
| $116,110,000,000
|
|-
| Wood products
| $21,530,000,000
| Rounded down to 21 blocks.
|-
| Furniture
| $24,930,000,000
|
|-
| Other transportation equipment
| $93,440,000,000
|
|-
| Motor vehicles, trailers and parts
| $80,560,000,000
|
|-
| Mineral products
| $39,360,000,000
|
|-
| Metals
| $44,710,000,000
|
|-
| Miscellaneous
| $81,390,000,000
|
|-
| Electrical equipment and components
| $53,260,000,000
|
|-
| Total
| $898,420,000,000
| This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $893,420,000,000.
|-
! rowspan="6"|Finance and insurance
|-
| Federal Reserve banks and credit intermediaries
| $529,540,000,000
|
|-
| Insurance
| $437,340,000,000
|
|-
| Investments
| $180,500,000,000
|
|-
| Funds and trusts
| $59,550,000,000
|
|-
| Total
| $1,207,030,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="8"|Professional and business services
|-
| Waste management
| $39,870,000,000
|
|-
| Administrative and support services
| $358,110,000,000
|
|-
| Legal services
| $225,830,000,000
|
|-
| Computer systems design and service
| $174,730,000,000
|
|-
| Corporate management
| $253,950,000,000
|
|-
| Other professional or technical services
| $700,250,000,000
|
|-
| Total
| $1,752,750,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="6"|Health and education
|-
| Social assistance
| $93,750,000,000
|
|-
| Ambulatory health care services
| $529,750,000,000
|
|-
| Hospitals
| $466,390,000,000
|
|-
| Educational services
| $159,580,000,000
|
|-
| Total
| $1,294,580,000,000 (This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $1,249,580,000,000)
|
|-
! rowspan="2"|Utilities
|-
|
| $276,210,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="2"|Other services
|-
|
| $345,540,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="2"|Construction
|-
|
| $553,750,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="5"|Mining
|-
| Mining (other than oil and gas)
| $50,380,000,000
|
|-
| Mining support
| $51,270,000,000
|
|-
| Oil and gas
| $145,990,000,000
|
|-
| Total
| $248,080,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="4"|Agriculture
|-
| Farms
| $107,140,000,000
|
|-
| Forestry, fishing and related
| $30,080,000,000
|
|-
| Total
| $137,120,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="6"|Arts and entertainment
|-
| Food service
| $285,480,000,000
|
|-
| Performing arts, sports and museums
| $73,040,000,000
|
|-
| Amusements, gambling and general recreation
| $73,040,000,000
| This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $58,110,000,000
|-
| Accomodation [sic]
| $111,990,000,000
|
|-
| Total
| $528,620,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="6"|Information
|-
| Information and data processing
| $78,300,000,000
|
|-
| Publishing (including software)
| $152,170,000,000
|
|-
| Film, video and sound recording
| $61,610,000,000
|
|-
| Broadcasting and telecommunications
| $366,560,000,000
|
|-
| Total
| $658,630,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="10"|Transportation and storage
|-
| Warehousing and storage
| $40,590,000,000
|
|-
| Water
| $14,730,000,000
|
|-
| Air
| $36,770,000,000
| This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $63,770,000,000
|-
| Rail
| $31,730,000,000
|
|-
| Truck
| $116,520,000,000
| Rounded down to 116 blocks
|-
| Transit and land passenger
| $24,110,000,000
| The chart depicts 22 blocks instead of 24
|-
| Pipeline
| $12,360,000,000
|
|-
| Other transport
| $97,560,000,000
|
|-
| Total
| $401,280,000,000
|
|-
|}

===Billionaires===
{| class="wikitable"
! Category
! Person
! Networth
! Ten Richest Ranking
|-
! rowspan="14"|Technology
|-
| Carlos Slim Helú and family
| $74,000,000,000
| First
|-
| Bill Gates
| $56,000,000,000
| Second
|-
| Larry Ellison
| $39,500,000,000
| Fifth
|-
| Larry Page
| $19,800,000,000
|
|-
| Sergey Brin
| $19,800,000,000
|
|-
| Jeff Bezos
| $18,000,000,000
|
|-
| Steve Ballmer
| $14,500,000,000
|
|-
| Mark Zuckerberg
| $13,500,000,000
|
|-
| Paul Allen
| $13,500,000,000
|
|-
| Steve Jobs (D)
| $8,300,000,000
|
|-
| Eric Schmidt
| $7,000,000,000
|
|-
| Sean Parker
| $1,600,000,000
|
|-
| Steve Case
| $1,300,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="9"|Politicians and alleged evil plutocratic puppet masters
|-
| Warren Buffett
| $50,000,000,000
| Third
|-
| Charles Koch
| $22,000,000,000
|
|-
| David Koch
| $22,000,000,000
|
|-
| Michael Bloomberg
| $18,100,000,000
| The chart depicts 19 blocks instead of 18.
|-
| George Soros
| $14,000,000,000
|
|-
| Silvio Berlusconi and family
| $7,800,000,000
|
|-
| Rupert Murdoch
| $7,600,000,000
|
|-
| David Geffen
| $6,000,000,000
| The chart depicts 4 blocks instead of 6.
|-
! rowspan="6"|Uncategorized
|-
| Bernard Arnault
| $41,000,000,000
| Fourth
|-
| Lakshmi Mittal
| $31,100,000,000
| Sixth
|-
| Amancio Ortega
| $31,000,000,000
| Seventh
|-
| Eike Batista
| $30,000,000,000
| Eighth
|-
| Mukesh Ambani
| $27,000,000,000
| Ninth
|-
! rowspan="5"|Walmart
|-
| Christy Walton and family
| $26,500,000,000
| Tenth
|-
| Jim Walton
| $21,300,000,000
|
|-
| Alice Walton
| $21,200,000,000
|
|-
| S. Robson Walton
| $21,000,000,000
|
|-
|-
! rowspan="5"|Fictional (source: ''Forbes'')
|-
| Carlisle Cullen
| $34,500,000,000
|
|-
| Scrooge McDuck
| $33,500,000,000
|
|-
| Bruce Wayne
| $6,500,000,000
|
|-
| Artemis Fowl
| $1,900,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="4"|Fashion
|-
| Lilianne Bettencourt
| $23,500,000,000
|
|-
| Ralph Lauren
| $5,800,000,000
|
|-
| Ronald Lauder
| $3,100,000,000
| The chart depicts 2 blocks instead of 3.
|-
! rowspan="5"|Art and media
|-
| George Lucas
| $3,200,000,000
|
|-
| Oprah Winfrey
| $3,200,000,000
|
|-
| Five wealthiest rappers combined
| $1,250,000,000
|
|-
| J. K. Rowling
| $1,000,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="2"|Donald Trump
|-
| Donald Trump
| $2,700,000,000
| The chart depicts 2 blocks instead of 3.
|-
|}

Combined net worth of the world's 1,210 billionaires $4,500,000,000,000

===Corporations===

by market capitalization (combined value of all stock)

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Company !! Value
|-
| Saudi Aramco (State-owned company—estimated market value) || $2,940,000,000,000
|-
| Apple || $358,310,000,000
|-
| ExxonMobil || $357,910,000,000
|-
| PetroChina || $280,160,000,000
|-
| IBM || $211,640,000,000
|-
| Microsoft || $211,340,000,000 (the chart depicts 212 blocks instead of 211)
|-
| Bank of China || $208,810,000,000
|-
| China Mobile || $201,510,000,000
|-
| Royal Dutch Shell || $199,780,000,000
|-
| Nestle || $193,700,000,000
|-
| Chevron || $188,030,000,000
|-
| Facebook 2011 valuation || $70,000,000,000
|-
| AT&T attempted T-Mobile purchase || $39,000,000,000
|-
| Facebook 2010 valuation || $33,450,000,000
|-
| Zynga 2011 valuation || $14,000,000,000
|-
| LivingSocial 2011 valuation || $2,980,000,000
|}

===Cost to buy the world a coke===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Item !! Cost
|-
| Cost to buy the world a coke (2011 wholesale prices) || $2,240,000,000
|-
| Coca-Cola's annual marketing budget || $2,980,000,000
|-
| Cost to teach the world to sing (four half-hour lessons at $30 each) || $840,000,000,000
|}

===US household income===

This section shows the money made every year in the US, broken into five pools of about $2 trillion each. The pools are sorted by income level—the top $2 trillion is made by a small number of wealthy households (the "one percent"), while the bottom $2 trillion represents the combined annual income of the poorer half of the country.

Note: Figures are only estimates—these statistics were computed using data from the Congressional Budget Office analysis of 2007 incomes, and have been subject to the normalizations detailed below.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Who !! # Households !! % Households !! Typical income/year !! Income
|-
| The 1% || 1.6 million || 1.3 || >$400,000 || $1,397,000,000,000
|-
| High incomes || 9 million || 8 || $150,000 - $400,000 || $1,411,000,000,000
|-
| Upper incomes || 18 million || 16 || $90,000 - $150,000 || $1,553,000,000,000
|-
| Upper middle incomes || 27 million || 23 || $55,000 - $90,000 || $1,610,000,000,000
|-
| The bottom 50% || 63 million || ~50 || <$55,000 || $1,711,000,000,000
|-
| Total || 118.6 million || 98.3 || || $7,682,910,000,000
|-
|}

===Amount needed===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Type !! Amount !! Notes
|-
| Required for poverty-line income || $2,602,000,000,000 || This is the amount that must be set aside from each pool to leave $22,350—roughly a poverty-line income—for each family in that pool. If taxes are cut into this region, then it forces the average after-tax income for the pool below $22,350. (Of course, many families in this group make less than that already.)
|-
| Required for a middle-class income || $4,874,000,000,000 || This is the amount that must be set aside from each pool to leave $44,700—roughly double the poverty-line income—for each family in that pool.
|-
| Amount needed to give everyone an income over $100,000 || $7,070,000,000,000 || Amount which must be left in the pool to keep the average income above $100,000 (See descriptions below for details)
|-
| Amount needed to give everyone an income over $250,000 || $8,836,000,000,000 || Amount which must be left in the pool to keep the average income above $250,000 (See descriptions below for details)
|-
|}

===Taxes===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Type !! Amount !! Notes
|-
| State taxes || $642,030,000,000 || Unlike federal taxes, state taxes are regressive—the poor pay a higher percentage of their income than the rich. This is because sales taxes, a large component of state revenues, fall disproportionately on the poor.
|-
| Federal taxes || $2,192,180,000,000 || effective total federal taxes paid, after deductions and tax credits
|-
|}

Note on methodology: these totals were calculated from an analysis of the 2007 CBO report on effective federal tax rates by income. There were some mismatches between figures on total income from various sources and combined CBO tax rates/federal revenue. The income totals here were adjusted for inflation and then scaled slightly to match federal tax revenue. This should only affect the total reported income and not the distribution of the tax burden or the rough makeup of the quintiles.

===State government spending===

[map without amounts]

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
| Total US states' debt || $46,000,000,000
|}

====US foreign military aid====
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Area !! Amount !! Notes
|-
| Total || $11,010,000,000 ||
|-
| Afghanistan || $5,800,000,000 ||
|-
| Israel || $2,410,000,000 ||
|-
| Egypt || $1,320,000,000 ||
|-
| Other || $5,800,000,000 || This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $1,480,000,000.
|}

====US foreign humanitarian and economic aid====
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Area !! Amount
|-
| Total || $34,410,000,000
|-
| Iraq and Afghanistan || $5,370,000,000
|-
| West Bank and Ghana || $1,050,000,000
|-
| Africa (total) || $8,850,000,000
|-
| Other || $19,130,000,000
|}

===Ft. Knox gold reserves===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Item !! Value
|-
| Ft. Knox gold reserves (November 2011 prices) || $245,900,000,000
|-
| Unclaimed US treasury bonds || $16,000,000,000
|-
| All the tea in China || $4,210,000,000
|}

===Corporate tax deduction===

(Note: some of the corporate deductions are very technical and, even with the help of a technical accountant, I had trouble making sense of them. The text below is my best attempt at an English interpretation of the legalese.)

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Area !! Deductions !! Notes
|-
| Corporate tax deduction || $125,180,000,000 ||
|-
| Reduced tax on first $10 million of corporate income || $3,240,000,000 ||
|-
| Delay of taxes on 'income' made from defaulting on a debt (Temporary stimulus measure) || $21,390,000,000 ||
|-
| Temporary change to equipment depreciation rules allowing more (and sooner) deductions on the purchase of new equipment || $24,390,000,000 ||
|-
| Clean energy, space, science and tech R&D || $13,900,000,000 ||
|-
| Miscellaneous rules for international corporate finance || $6,800,000,000 ||
|-
| Foreign corporation income financing rules || $13,680,000,000 ||
|-
| Other || $41,740,000,000 || Rounded down to 41 blocks
|}

===Individual tax deductions===

These are types of income, or uses of income, which the government has partly or fully exempt from tax, often to encourage some activity. This can be thought of as 'spent' tax revenue, although it's not quite that simple; there's no guarantee [that] removing the deduction would add that amount to revenue, because the presence of the deduction may be affecting taxpayers' spending habits.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Area !! Deductions !! Notes
|-
| Small business health insurance|| $1,620,000,000 ||
|-
| Federal employee expenses abroad || $7,910,000,000 ||
|-
| EITC (anti-poverty low-income tax credit) || $78,760,000,000 || This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $56,460,000,000.
|-
| Donations to charity || $39,130,000,000 ||
|-
| Capital gains (investment income) || $78,760,000,000 ||
|-
| Pension contributions || $84,940,000,000 ||
|-
| Other || $64,970,000,000 ||
|-
| Employee fringe benefits || $6,690,000,000 ||
|-
| Scholarships || $2,130,000,000 ||
|-
| Property taxes || $15,710,000,000 ||
|-
| Employer-provided transportation || $3,850,000,000 ||
|-
| Retirement accounts || $24,630,000,000 || Rounded down to 24 blocks.
|-
| Cafeteria plans || $26,760,000,000 || Rounded down to 26 blocks.
|-
| State and local bonds || $19,560,000,000 || Rounded down to 19 blocks.
|-
| Company daycare || $3,140,000,000 ||
|-
| College and university tax credits || $12,060,000,000 ||
|-
| Mortgage interest || $92,040,000,000 ||
|-
| Medicare Benefits || $55,850,000,000 || Rounded down to 55 blocks
|-
| Child care || $55,850,000,000 || The chart depicts 104 blocks instead of 107.
|-
| Employer health plans || $107,140,000,000 ||
|-
| Making Work Pay (ending) || $60,510,000,000 || The chart depicts 64 blocks instead of 61.
|-
| First-time homebuyer credit || $8,820,000,000 ||
|-
| Veterans' benefits || $5,570,000,000 ||
|-
| Life insurance benefits || $25,750,000,000 ||
|-
| Capital gains death exclusion || $25,750,000,000 ||
|-
| Social security and railroad retirement || $27,170,000,000 ||
|-
| Home sale capital gains || $15,200,000,000 ||
|-
| Total || $964,970,000,000 ||
|-
|}

===Federal spending===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Item !! Value
|-
| Annual deficit || $1,394,530,000,000
|-
| Additional receipts || $83,230,000,000
|-
| Taxes raised || $2,192,180,000,000
|}

===Disasters===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Disaster !! Estimated Total Damage !! Notes
|-
| Japan 2011 Earthquake || $235,000,000,000 || reconstruction and recovery cost, World Bank estimate
|-
| Hurricane Katrina || $107,440,000,000 ||
|-
| 1988 US Drought || $78,060,000,000 || The chart depicts 83 blocks instead of 78
|-
| 1980 US Drought || $60,740,000,000 ||
|-
| Hurricane Andrew || $46,180,000,000 ||
|-
| 9/11 insured losses || $40,000,000,000 || For hurricanes, the rule of thumb is that total losses are roughly double insured losses. It is unclear if a similar rule exists for terrorism.
|-
| Hurricane Ike || $28,170,000,000 ||
|-
| Hurricane Irene || $8,000,000,000 || (estimated) (the chart depicts 10 blocks instead of 8)
|}

===Hypothetical disasters===

Estimated total losses if the disaster happened today
(based on insurance industry modeling)

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Disaster !! Estimated Total Losses !! Notes
|-
| 1938 Long Island Express || $236,960,000,000 || if it had curved left and made landfall in New Jersey instead of Long Island (rounded down to 236 blocks)
|-
| 1812 New Madrid, Missouri earthquake || $206,050,000,000 ||
|-
| 1926 Miami hurricane || $202,000,000,000 ||
|-
| 1906 San Francisco earthquake || $197,810,000,000 ||
|-
| 1900 Galveston hurricane || $82,420,000,000 ||
|-
| Long Island Express || $78,060,000,000 || (1938 New England Hurricane)
|-
| Charleston SC, quake of 1886 || $76,240,000,000 ||
|-
| 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake || $12,360,000,000 ||
|}

===Cost of electricity===

(Price of electricity to power all US homes for a year, by plant type)

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Plant Type !! Cost !! Notes
|-
| Advance combined cycle natural gas || 78,100,000,000 ||
|-
| Conventional Coal (without societal costs) || 117,340,000,000 ||
|-
| External societal costs from the use of that amount of coal power || $226,690,000,000 || Harvard Medical School analysis. The range of possible values was $119b to $342b. Most of the uncertainty was due to potentially lower costs from air pollution or higher ones from climate change.
|-
| Public Health Burden in Appalacia [sic] || $55,400,000,000 || This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $60,400,000,000.
|-
| Air pollution from power plants || $118,300,000,000 || This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $123,300,000,000.
|-
| Climate Impact || $40,030,000,000 ||
|-
| Advanced coal with carbon capture || $168,590,000,000 ||
|-
| Biomass || $139,250,000,000 || Estimates of climate impact vary wildly Consensus seems to be more than nothing but less than coal.
|-
| Geothermal || $125,880,000,000 ||
|-
| Advanced nuclear || $140,980,000,000 || Little impact on climate/air, but hard to find assessments of meltdown and fuel storage costs/risks. Some past costs shown for perspective.
|-
| Hydroelectric || $106,940,000,000 ||
|-
| Wind || $120,070,000,000 ||
|-
| Offshore wind || $301,030,000,000 ||
|-
| Solar (photovoltaic) || $260,800,000,000 ||
|-
| Solar (thermal) || $385,940,000,000 ||
|-
|}

===Nuclear accidents===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Accident !! Cost !! Notes
|-
| Fukushima meltdown estimated total cost to Japan || $131,100,000,000 || Compare to $128,590,000,000 for deaths from quake/tsunami
|-
| Fukushima cost from 300 extra cancer deaths (EPA conversion) || $2,570,000,000 ||
|-
| Belarus estimated 30-year costs from Chernobyl || $282,350,000,000 ||
|-
| Cost of estimated 42,457 Chernobyl deaths (EPA method) || $344,750,000,000 ||
|}

===BP oil spill claims fund===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Item !! Value
|-
| BP oil spill claims fund || $20,270,000,000
|-
| Total 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami aid from all countries || $15,840,000,000
|-
| Worldwide aid to Somalia since 1991 || $55,000,000,000
|-
| G8/IMF loan pledge to Arab Spring || $73,000,000,000
|-
| Japan's contribution to TEPCO victim fund || $62,000,000,000
|-
| Cost to fund Wikipedia at current levels for 100 years || $1,850,000,000
|-
| Cost to provide free yearly tax prep to every US household || $8,450,000,000
|-
| Cost to give every US 18 year-old a free degree at a community college || $46,340,000,000
|-
| Additional cost to fund all US schools at magnet school levels || $46,340,000,000
|-
| Annual cost to send every US child to a university for free || $127,610,000,000
|-
| Cost to buy the Amazon rainforest || $130,000,000,000 || $100/acre going rate for poor-access land
|-
| UBS loss from one rogue trader || $2,300,000,000
|-
| DoE loan to CA Valley Solar Ranch Project || $1,200,000,000
|-
| Apple's cash on hand || $76,200,000,000
|}

===New York CIty===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Area !! Combined Property Value !! Notes
|-
| New York City || $806,490,000,000 ||
|-
| Manhattan || $281,040,000,000 ||
|-
| Queens || $208,180,000,000 || rounded up to 209 blocks
|-
| Brooklyn || $201,230,000,000 ||
|-
| Staten Island || $61,380,000,000 ||
|-
| Bronx || $54,660,000,000 || rounded down to 54 blocks
|}

===Megaprojects===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Project !! Cost !! Notes
|-
| National missile defense shield cost through 2013 || $107,690,000,000 ||
|-
| F-22 Raptor program (halted) || $67,610,000,000 || The chart depicts 61 blocks instead of 68.
|-
| Planned Russian Bering Strait tunnel || $66,000,000,000 || The chart depicts 56 blocks instead of 66.
|-
| Obama's 2011 high-speed rail proposal || $53,000,000,000 ||
|-
| Cost to build SF-to-LA high-speed rail || $45,000,000,000 ||
|-
| UK Crossrail || $26,490,000,000 ||
|-
| King Abdullah Economic City || $50,020,000,000 || High-speed rail $9,120,000,000
|-
| Hong Kong International airport || $27,120,000,000 ||
|-
| Manhattan Project || $24,400,000,000 || Rounded up to 25 blocks
|-
| 2nd Avenue NYC subway line || $17,960,000,000 || Rounded down to 17 blocks
|-
| Big Dig cost || $18,510,000,000 || as of 2008 (rounded down to 18 blocks)
|-
| Failed Army intelligence-sharing computer system || $2,700,000,000 ||
|-
| Bay Bridge span replacement || $6,300,000,000 ||
|-
| Downtown Dubai project || $20,270,000,000 || Burj Khalifa $1,520,000,000
|-
| Channel Tunnel || $22,960,000,000 ||
|-
| ''Nimitz''-class carrier || $4,930,000,000 ||
|-
| ''Gerald R. Ford''-class carrier || $9,000,000,000 ||
|-
| Amtrak 30-year plan for northeast corridor || $192,000,000,000 || This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $117,000,000,000.
|-
| City Qatar is building to host the 2022 World Cup || $207,000,000,000 ||
|-
| Apollo moon landing project || $192,000,000,000 ||
|-
| International Space Station || $138,000,000,000 ||
|-
| Space Shuttle program || $194,620,000,000 ||
|-
| US interstate highway system || $465,970,000,000 || The largest single public-works project in the history of mankind
|}

===Federal budget===
{| class="wikitable"
! Category
! Item
! Price
! Notes
|-
! rowspan="8"|General/Legislative
|-
| Policy and regulation
| $629,460,000
| Merged into one block with Management.
|-
| Fiscal assistance
| $5,150,000,000
|
|-
| Property and records
| $1,550,000,000
|
|-
| Legislative
| $4,140,000,000
|
|-
| Fiscal operations
| $12,070,000,000
|
|-
| Management
| $535,000,000
| Merged into one block with Policy and regulation.
|-
| Total
| $24,074,460,000
|
|-
! rowspan="6"|Energy
|-
| Conservation
| $5,070,000,000
|
|-
| Supply
| $5,870,000,000
|
|-
| Policy and regulation
| $629,460,000
|
|-
| Preparedness
| $201,710,000
|
|-
| Total
| $11,771,170,000
|
|-
! rowspan="4"|Science/Tech
|-
| General R&D
| $12,850,000,000
| Rounded down to 12 blocks.
|-
| Space
| $18,620,000,000
|
|-
| Total
| $31,470,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="4"|Agriculture
|-
| Farm income
| $16,830,000,000
|
|-
| R&D and services
| $4,820,000,000
|
|-
| Total
| $21,650,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="6"|Justice
|-
| Law Enforcement
| $28,140,000,000
|
|-
| Criminal justice assistance
| $4,920,000,000
|
|-
| Legal
| $13,250,000,000
|
|-
| Corrections
| $7,850,000,000
|
|-
| Total
| $54,160,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="5"|Community and regional development
|-
| Community
| $10,040,000,000
|
|-
| Regional
| $3,290,000,000
| Label swapped with Disaster relief.
|-
| Disaster relief
| $10,800,000,000
| Label swapped with Regional.
|-
| Total
| $24,130,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="5"|Transportation
|-
| Air
| $21,720,000,000
|
|-
| Water
| $9,480,000,000
| Rounded up to 10 bocks.
|-
| Ground
| $61,610,000,000
| Rounded down to 61 blocks.
|-
| Total
| $92,810,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="7"|Education and job training
|-
| Social services
| $19,440,000,000
|
|-
| Research and other labor
| $5,470,000,000
|
|-
| Training/employment
| $9,990,000,000
|
|-
| Higher education
| $20,300,000,000
|
|-
| K-12 and vocational education
| $74,260,000,000
| The chart depicts 73 blocks instead of 74.
|-
| Total
| $129,460,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="7"|Natural resources
|-
| Pollution control
| $10,990,000,000
|
|-
| Conservation
| $10,930,000,000
|
|-
| Recreation
| $3,960,000,000
|
|-
| Other resources
| $6,560,000,000
|
|-
| Water
| $11,810,000,000
|
|-
| Total
| $44,250,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="5"|Health/Medicaid
|-
| Health care
| $335,320,000,000
|
|-
| Safety
| $4,200,000,000
|
|-
| Research
| $34,670,000,000
|
|-
| Total
| $374,080,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="2"|Interest on debt
|-
|
| $198,870,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="3"|Social Security
|-
|
| $716,360,000,000
|
|-
| Federal payments to dead retirees
| $120,200,000
|
|-
! rowspan="8"|Income security
|-
| Other income aid
| $184,350,000,000
|
|-
| Food aid
| $96,410,000,000
|
|-
| Retirement and disability (non-SS)
| $6,650,000,000
|
|-
| Housing
| $59,450,000,000
|
|-
| Government retirement and disability
| $121,500,000,000
|
|-
| Unemployment
| $162,330,000,000
|
|-
| Total
| $630,680,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="7"|Veterans
|-
| Other
| $4,940,000,000
|
|-
| Training and rehab
| $8,200,000,000
|
|-
| Housing
| $547,000,000
|
|-
| Medical care
| $46,340,000,000
|
|-
| Unemployment
| $49,830,000,000
|
|-
| Total
| $109,860,000,000
|
|-
! rowspan="10"|Military
|-
| R&D
| $78,040,000,000
|
|-
| Housing
| $3,220,000,000
|
|-
| Nuclear security
| $19,580,000,000
|
|-
| "Defense-related"
| $7,670,000,000
|
|-
| Construction
| $21,460,000,000
|
|-
| Personnel
| $157,810,000,000
|
|-
| Operations
| $279,750,000,000
|
|-
| Equipment
| $135,420,000,000
|
|-
| Total
| $703,030,000,000
|
|}

===Budget options===

Estimates by the Congressional Budget Office of the effect of various hypothetical policy decisions on annual tax revenue averaged over the next ten years.

{| class="wikitable"
! Category
! Item
! Price
|-
! rowspan="4"|Cost of existing tax cuts (Loss in annual revenue if tax cuts are made permanent)
|-
| 2001 (Bush) tax cuts
| $158,240,000,000
|-
| 2003 (Bush) capital gains tax cuts
| $27,190,000,000
|-
| 2010 (Obama) payroll tax cut
| $111,700,000,000
|-
! rowspan="4"|Potential new taxes (Increase in annual tax revenue if implimented)
|-
| Raise corporate taxes by one percentage point
| $10,060,000,000
|-
| Legalize marijuana (and tax it at levels similar to tobacco)
| $7,020,000,000
|-
| Institute tax on CO2 emissions
| $10,060,000,000 (This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $118,000,000,000)
|}

===Stimulus spending===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Item
! Value
! Notes
|-
| rowspan="5"|2008
|-
| Individual tax breaks
| $120,110,000,000
|
|-
| Student loan guarantees
| $33,470,000,000
|
|-
| Business tax breaks
| $52,360,000,000
| Rounded up to 53 blocks.
|-
| Total
| $205,930,000,000
|
|-
| rowspan="9"|2009
|-
| Tax breaks
| $307,530,000,000
| The chart depicts 318 blocks.
|-
| Education
| $90,460,000,000
| The chart depicts 92 blocks.
|-
| Medicare/Medicaid
| $80,500,000,000
| The chart depicts 89 blocks.
|-
| Transportation
| $32,560,000,000
|
|-
| Unemployment
| $62,740,000,000
|
|-
| Infrastructure
| $24,000,000,000
|
|-
| Other
| $150,160,000,000
| The chart depicts 183 blocks.
|-
| Total
| $747,950,000,000
| The chart depicts 800 blocks.
|-
|}

===Bailouts===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Item !! Value !! Notes
|-
| 1980s-1990 S&L bailout || $78,300,000,000 || total cost to taxpayers (the chart depicts 180 blocks)
|-
| Cost to FDIC of bank failures || $19,000,000,000 || resulting from the 2008 financial crisis
|-
| TARP bailout funds distributed || $392,980,000,000 || Out of $700,000,000,000 available
|-
| Estimated TARP taxpayer losses || $41,660,000,000 || The chart depicts 36 blocks instead of 42.
|-
| Value of outstanding TARP assets || $144,440,000 || This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $144,440,000,000.
|-
| Bailout funds returned || $206,880,000,000 ||
|-
| Current Eurozone bailout fund || $1,361,700,000,000 || The chart depicts 1162 blocks instead of 1362.
|}

===Federal Payments===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Item !! Cost !! Notes
|-
| Annual improper federal payments comprising fraud, abuse and poorly-documented payments || $125,400,000,000 ||
|-
| Federal payments to dead retirees || $120,200,000 ||
|-
| Ground Zero medical expenses fund || $2,800,000,000 ||
|-
| NEA-estimated cost to bring all US schools into good repair || $413,300,000,000,000 || The chart depicts 423 blocks instead of 413.
|-
| Annual economic cost of unmaintained infrastructure || $129,000,000,000 ||
|-
| Estimated direct annual agricultural value of bees || $220,000,000,000 ||
|}

===Military/Security Spending===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Item !! Cost
|-
| Wasted money in Afghanistan/Iraq war contracts || $60,000,000,000
|-
| Reconstruction money reportedly missing || $18,000,000,000
|-
| Total US spending since 2001 to secure borders || $90,000,000,000
|-
| US nuclear arms spending during the Cold War || $2,818,300,000,000
|-
| Ballistic missile submarines || $451,360,000,000
|-
| Ballistic missiles to put on those submarines || $136,690,000,000
|-
| The $87 billion which John Kerry voted for/against || $101,800,000,000
|-
| "Star Wars" missile defense system (1987 Heritage Foundation estimate) || $185,300,000,000
|}

===US Spending on Wars===

Including only direct spending on war operations, and not the resulting veterans' benefits or interest on debt incurred.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! War !! Cost !! Notes
|-
| World War I || $334,000,000,000 ||
|-
| Spanish-American War || $9,030,000,000 ||
|-
| Civil War || $79,740,000,000 ||
|-
| American revolution || $2,410,000,000 ||
|-
| 1812 || $1,550,000,000 ||
|-
| Mexican War || $2,380,000,000 ||
|-
| World War II || $4,104,000,000,000 ||
|-
| Korean War || $341,000,000,000 ||
|-
| Vietnam War || $738,000,000,000 ||
|-
| Persian Gulf War || $102,000,000,000 ||
|-
| Iraq War || $784,000,000,000 || The chart depicts 786 blocks.
|-
| War in Afghanistan || $321,000,000,000
|-
| Total || $804,410,000,000 || This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $8,044,100,000,000.
|}

</div>

==Trillions==
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">

===Size of derivatives market by year===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year !! Amount !! Notes
|-
| 1988 || $3,090,000,000,000 ||
|-
| 1995 || $26,690,000,000,000 || Rounded down to 26 blocks.
|-
| 2001 || $86,390,000,000,000 ||
|-
| 2005 || $227,260,000,000,000 ||
|-
| 2009 || $439,000,000,000,000 ||
|-
|}

===Size of credit default swap market by year (included in derivatives)===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year !! Amount
|-
| 2001 || $1,150,000,000,000
|-
| 2005 || $19,350,000,000,000
|-
| 2007 || $66,280,000,000,000
|-
| 2009 || $31,350,000,000,000
|-
|}

===US household net worth===

$58,740,000,000,000

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Item !! Net Worth
|-
| Richest 1% || $19,620,000,000,000
|-
| Richer half || $57,270,000,000,000
|-
| Poorer half || $1,470,000,000,000
|-
|}

===Total debt in the US===

$36,560,000,000,000

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Item !! Debt
|-
| Household || $13,560,000,000,000
|-
| State and local government || $2,500,000,000,000
|-
| Federal government || $9,510,000,000,000
|-
| Business || $10,980,000,000,000
|-
|}

===World GDP===

$62,900,000,000,000

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Region !! GDP
|-
| North America || $17,850,000,000,000
|-
| United States || $14,530,000,000,000
|-
| South America || $3,070,000,000,000
|-
| EU || $16,240,000,000,000
|-
| Europe (incl. Russia and Turkey) || $20,130,000,000,000
|-
| Africa || $1,610,000,000,000
|-
| Asia || $17,530,000,000,000
|-
| Oceania || $1,310,000,000,000
|-
|}

===Total public debt===

Note: US figures are from 2011, while the other totals use 2010 debt in 2011 dollars, which is likely an underestimate.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Region !! Debt !! Notes
|-
| EU (total) || $13,340,000,000,000 ||
|-
| United States || $10,200,000,000,000 || Plus internal government borrowing of 4,740,000,000,000
|-
| Japan || $8,630,000,000,000 ||
|-
| Germany || $2,480,000,000,000 ||
|-
| Italy || $2,140,000,000,000 ||
|-
| India || $2,140,000,000,000 ||
|-
| China || $1,907,000,000,000 ||
|-
| France || $1,767,000,000,000 ||
|-
| United Kingdom || $1,654,000,000,000 ||
|-
| Brazil || $1,281,000,000,000 ||
|-
| Canada || $1,130,000,000,000 ||
|-
| Spain || $834,210,000,000 ||
|-
| Mexico || $584,860,000,000 ||
|-
| Greece || $460,180,000,000 ||
|-
|}

===World total===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Item !! Value !! Notes
|-
| proven oil reserves || $131,960,000,000,000 || November 2011 prices
|-
| US reserves || $20,580,000,000,000 ||
|-
| proven coal reserves || $72,850,000,000,000 || 2011 central Appalachian prices
|-
| US reserves || $20,020,000,000,000 ||
|-
| proven natural gas reserves || $21,470,000,000,000 || 2011 NYMEX prices
|-
| US reserves || $930,470,000,000 ||
|-
| liquid assets || $77,000,000,000,000 ||
|-
| Estimated total economic production of the human race (so far, roughly three-fifths of it since 1980) || $2,396,950,000,000,000 ||
|-
|}

===Value of 10 years of electricity generated if the surface of Texas were converted to:===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Item !! Value
|-
| Solar power plants || $89,240,000,000,000
|-
| Wind turbines || $7,950,000,000,000
|-
|}

===All US real estate===

$28,380,000,000,000

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Type !! Value !! Notes
|-
| Home || $23,010,000,000,000 ||
|-
| Commercial || $5,370,000,000,000 || includes stores, apartments, industrial, etc.
|-
|}

===Value of all gold ever mined (late 2011 prices)===

$9,120,000,000,000

===GDP by year===
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! GDP (total economic activity) the world (minus the US) !! GDP (total economic productivity) of the US (minus government) !! US federal government
|-
| 1920 || || ||
|-
| 1930 || || ||
|-
| 1940 || || ||
|-
| 1942 || || || $500,000,000,000
|-
| 1943 || || || $1,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1944 || || || $1,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1945 || || || $1,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1946 || || || $500,000,000,000
|-
| 1947 || || $2,000,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000
|-
| 1948 || || $2,000,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000
|-
| 1949 || || $2,000,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000
|-
| 1950 || || $2,500,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000
|-
| 1951 || || $2,500,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000
|-
| 1952 || || $2,500,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000
|-
| 1953 || || $2,500,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000
|-
| 1954 || || $2,500,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000
|-
| 1955 || || $3,000,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000
|-
| 1956 || || $3,000,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000
|-
| 1957 || || $3,000,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000
|-
| 1958 || || $3,000,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000
|-
| 1959 || || $3,500,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000
|-
| 1960 || || $3,500,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000
|-
| 1961 || || $3,500,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000
|-
| 1962 || || $3,000,000,000,000 || $1,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1963 || || $4,000,000,000,000 || $1,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1964 || || $4,000,000,000,000 || $1,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1965 || || $4,000,000,000,000 || $1,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1966 || || $4,000,000,000,000 || $1,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1967 || || $5,000,000,000,000 || $1,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1968 || || $5,000,000,000,000 || $1,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1969 || || $5,000,000,000,000 || $1,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1970 || || $5,000,000,000,000 || $1,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1971 || || $5,500,000,000,000 || $1,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1972 || || $6,000,000,000,000 || $1,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1973 || || $6,000,000,000,000 || $1,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1974 || || $6,000,000,000,000 || $1,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1975 || || $5,500,000,000,000 || $1,500,000,000,000
|-
| 1976 || || $6,000,000,000,000 || $1,500,000,000,000
|-
| 1977 || || $6,000,000,000,000 || $1,500,000,000,000
|-
| 1978 || || $6,500,000,000,000 || $1,500,000,000,000
|-
| 1979 || || $7,000,000,000,000 || $1,500,000,000,000
|-
| 1980 || $19,000,000,000,000 || $6,500,000,000,000 || $1,500,000,000,000
|-
| 1981 || $19,000,000,000,000 || $6,500,000,000,000 || $1,500,000,000,000
|-
| 1982 || $19,500,000,000,000 || $6,000,000,000,000 || $1,500,000,000,000
|-
| 1983 || $20,000,000,000,000 || $6,000,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1984 || $20,000,000,000,000 || $7,000,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1985 || $22,000,000,000,000 || $7,000,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1986 || $23,000,000,000,000 || $7,000,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1987 || $23,500,000,000,000 || $7,500,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1988 || $25,000,000,000,000 || $8,000,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1989 || $26,000,000,000,000 || $8,000,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1990 || $27,000,000,000,000 || $8,000,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1991 || $27,000,000,000,000 || $8,000,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1992 || $31,000,000,000,000 || $8,000,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1993 || $32,500,000,000,000 || $8,500,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1994 || $33,000,000,000,000 || $9,000,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1995 || $34,000,000,000,000 || $9,000,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1996 || $34,500,000,000,000 || $9,500,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1997 || $36,500,000,000,000 || $9,500,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1998 || $36,500,000,000,000 || $10,500,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000
|-
| 1999 || $37,000,000,000,000 || $10,500,000,000,000 || $2,500,000,000,000
|-
| 2000 || $39,000,000,000,000 || $10,500,000,000,000 || $2,500,000,000,000
|-
| 2001 || $39,000,000,000,000 || $10,500,000,000,000 || $2,500,000,000,000
|-
| 2002 || $41,000,000,000,000 || $10,500,000,000,000 || $2,500,000,000,000
|-
| 2003 || $42,500,000,000,000 || $11,000,000,000,000 || $2,500,000,000,000
|-
| 2004 || $45,000,000,000,000 || $11,500,000,000,000 || $2,500,000,000,000
|-
| 2005 || $47,500,000,000,000 || $11,500,000,000,000 || $3,000,000,000,000
|-
| 2006 || $50,000,000,000,000 || $12,000,000,000,000 || $3,000,000,000,000
|-
| 2007 || $53,000,000,000,000 || $12,000,000,000,000 || $3,000,000,000,000
|-
| 2008 || $58,500,000,000,000 || $11,500,000,000,000 || $3,000,000,000,000
|-
| 2009 || $57,500,000,000,000 || $11,000,000,000,000 || $3,500,000,000,000
|-
| 2010 || $61,000,000,000,000 || $11,500,000,000,000 || $3,500,000,000,000
|-
| 2011 || $63,500,000,000,000 || $11,500,000,000,000 || $4,000,000,000,000
|}
</div>
{{DEFAULTSORT:0980}}

2566: Decorative Constants

2022-01-10T22:45:20Z

172.70.86.68: Added line breaks for readability

{{comic
| number = 2566
| date = January 10, 2022
| title = Decorative Constants
| image = decorative_constants.png
| titletext = Arguably, the '1/2' in the drag equation is purely decorative, since drag coefficients are already unitless and could just as easily be half as big. Some derivations give more justification for the extra 1/2 than others, but one textbook just calls it 'a traditional tribute to Euler and Bernoulli.'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a DECORATIVE BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

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

EQ. 4-15<br>
T = Dm_0(r_out - r_in)^mu(bar)<br>
T: Net Rate<br>
m_0: Unit mass<br>
(r_out-r_in): Flow balance<br>
D, mu(bar): Decorative

Math tip: if one of your equations ever looks too simple, try adding some purely decorative constants.
{{comic discussion}}

426: Geohashing

2022-01-07T16:22:39Z

172.70.86.68: "Everyday"≈"common", "Every day"≈"(at least) once per day"

{{comic
| number = 426
| date = May 21, 2008
| title = Geohashing
| image = geohashing.png
| titletext = Saturday is game night
}}

== Explanation ==

{{w|Geocaching}} is a sport where you have to find things hidden by other people based on geographical coordinates. Randall has had a similar idea before in [[201: Christmas GPS]].

[http://wiki.xkcd.com/geohashing/ Geohashing] is a sport created by Randall based on reaching a random location determined by an [http://wiki.xkcd.com/geohashing/Algorithm algorithm] that uses a {{w|hash function}} that involves the current date, location, and the {{w|Dow Jones Industrial Average|Dow}} opening price. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a {{w|stock market index}} dealt in New York City.

The algorithm is built in a way that:
* Makes it impossible to plan a meeting in advance of more than a few days and usually not more than a day.
** This is due to incorporation of the Dow opening as seed - there isn't a new value of the seed every day since the Dow doesn't open on weekends or holidays, but there is for most days. The reason Saturday is mentioned in the title-text is that the coordinates for that day are generated using Friday's open, giving a greater number of hours to plan the 4 PM local time meetup (how many depends on the time zone(s) of the graticule, hence the '30W' rule).
* Changes every day, due to the incorporation of the UTC date.
* Has only a vanishingly small chance of generating a point in the same exact location twice via hash collision. Some of them have gotten closeish to each other, however.
* Gathers people who are nearby - everyone within the same 1°×1° grid square ('graticule') gets the same position, and one hash in the von Neumann 3*3 neighborhood of surrounding graticules is guaranteed to be the closest to a hasher in the central graticule (not necessarily the one for that graticule, however).

The algorithm works as follows:
# Take the current date in the format yyyy-mm-dd and append the most recent opening value for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
# Pass this string through the MD5 algorithm.
# Divide the hash value into two 16 character halves, and convert each half to a decimal.
# Take the integer portions of your current coordinates and append the decimal hash values.

{{w|MD5}} is a cryptographic hashing algorithm, and converts plaintext data into a seemingly random 128-bit (32 character) string. A good hashing algorithm should have three main properties: it is non-reversible, you cannot generate any plaintext data back from the hash, and a given sample of data will always produce the same hash value, but even a tiny change to the original plaintext should produce an entirely different hash.

The example co-ordinates are for the Google headquarters in California, as you can see here: [https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=37.421542+-122.085589&aq=&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=73.209607,135.263672&vpsrc=0&ie=UTF8&t=m&z=17&iwloc=A 37.421542 -122.085589]. The example date, May 26 2005, may reference the fact that the first edition of the Dow came out on May 26, 1896. (Why 2005? Unclear.)

While geohashing was originally intended as a joke{{citation needed}}, there are people who geohash regularly. Please see the link to the Geohashing wiki above.

The title-text may imply that people should bring games to their geohashing location on the Saturday following the comic's release. If they do so and take photos, they may post them to https://geohashing.site/geohashing/games_we_play.

==Transcript==
:Date (example): 2005-05-26
:That date's (or most recent) DOW opening: 10458.68
:[Concatenate, with a hyphen: 2005-05-26-10458.68]
:md5: db9318c2259923d08b672cb305440f97
:[Split it up into two pieces:]
:0.db9318c2259923d0, 0.8b672cb305440f97
:To decimal: 0.857713..., 0.544544...
:Your location (example): 37.421542, -122.085589
:[Combine integer part of location with fractional part of hash:]
:Destination Coordinates: 37.857713, -122.544544
:Sample Implementation: <nowiki>http://xkcd.com/geohashing/</nowiki>

==Trivia==
* In response to comic [[353: Python]], the Python developers implemented the module <code>antigravity</code> in version 2.7+. This module contains a reference geohashing function.
* Due to the 2019 hacking of the XKCD forum server, which the Geohashing wiki was also hosted at, the wiki was unavailable until February 2020. It is since back online under the new domain of [http://geohashing.site geohashing.site].

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Stock Market]]

2562: Formatting Meeting

2022-01-04T11:21:15Z

172.70.86.68: /* Explanation */ Nobody uses DD/MM/YY format in Europe. We almost always write full year, so 2022, and slash '/' is very uncommon as a separator, common separators include '-' or '.'

{{comic
| number = 2562
| date = December 31, 2021
| title = Formatting Meeting
| image = formatting_meeting.png
| titletext = Neither group uses iso 8601 because the big-endian enthusiasts were all at the meeting 20 years ago.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a LOCAL VERSION OF DR SEUSS, WHO IS NOT JONATHAN SWIFT - Needs wikification (but no overlinking) and consideration of whether there is a relation to new year's eve. Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic came out on New Year Eve 2021. But neither this nor the next comic from 2022 had any relation to New Year. This was the first time that happened in 11 years. See this [[2563:_Throat_and_Nasal_Passages#Trivia|Trivia]] on the next comic [[2563: Throat and Nasal Passages]], where this fact became clear.

In the {{w|United States}}, it's common to {{w|Writing|write}} {{w|Calendar dates|dates}} {{w|Numerical analysis|numerically}} in the {{w|Calendar date#Date format|format}} ''{{w|Month|month}}/{{w|Day|day}}/{{w|Year|year}}'' -- 2/3/22 means {{w|February}} 3, {{w|2022}} (the {{w|Century|century}} is often {{w|Purposeful omission|omitted}} when it's obvious that the date is around the {{w|Present|current time}}). In {{w|Europe}}, the {{w|Calendar date#Gregorian, day–month–year (DMY)|usual order}} is ''day-month-year'' - so 2-03-2022 is 2nd {{w|March}}, 2022.

"{{w|Internationalization and localization|Localization}}" is the technique used in {{w|Software|software}} to make it accept {{w|Input (computer science)|input}} and display output in the formats most natural to {{w|User (computing)|users}} in their {{w|Location|locations}}. For example, in the United States {{w|Number|numbers}} use {{w|Comma|commas}} "," to separate {{w|1000 (number)|thousands}} and a {{w|Decimal separator#Countries using decimal point|decimal point}} "." to separate the decimal values, while in large areas of the EU {{w|Decimal separator#Countries using decimal comma|it is the reverse}}. And the textual output will be {{w|Translation|translated}} to the local {{w|Language|language}}. Naturally, this also includes displaying dates in the local format, as described above. Localization may also include the adoption of the {{w|Tax law|tax law}} to the location, for instance when adopting tax software made for the US to the {{w|United Kingdom|UK}}.

The {{w|Joke|joke}} in this {{w|Comics|comic}} is that two dates are shown, on the same {{w|Display device|display}}, relating to {{w|Meeting|meetings}} regarding localization. The date of the meeting of the US team is localized in the US format while the EU team's meeting is localized in the European format, and these two dates (about a month apart) happen to be formatted the same (there are 64 such pairings of dates, as long as the day of the month of one is between 1 and 12 and not equal to the presumed month of the other). [[Cueball]] needs to explain that the European meeting will be a month later than the US meeting to avoid any confusion due to the ambiguity. Which is {{w|Irony|ironic}}, since the aim of localization is to reduce such {{w|Confusion|confusion}}.

A further interpretation, which is extendeds also into the title text, is that these groups may have been supposed to meet on the same day. But even the a committee that was supposed to fix these problems messed this up. Cueball may be 'explaining' the staggered approachto cover up that the two groups are already reading the date(s) for the meeting quite differently.

{{w|ISO-8601}} (that is, standard number 8601 as promulgated by the {{w|International Organization for Standardization}} since 1988) specifies a date format of YYYY-MM-DD (e.g. 2021-12-31), which results in dates being listed in chronological order when sorted stringwise. The ISO format is called "{{w|big-endian}}", which refers to the fact that the most significant unit in the date (the year) comes first. The European format is instead "{{w|little-endian}}", as the front-end value represents the finest possible distinction the date can convey - the particular day. The American format is "{{w|middle-endian}}", or occasionally "mixed-endian", since the value given first is the one which is neither the one with greatest significance nor the most precise.

In the above, the 'value groups' are not usually internally checked for '{{w|Endianness|endianness}}', but regular numerals are also usual written with the largest place values on the left – for example, the first 2 in {{w|2021}} is the thousands place – though whether this convention is big-endian or little-endian depends on whether the writing system of such numbers is in the context of left-to-right or right-to-left text. The concept of endianess is most often used in reference to the storage order, whether of indivisible binary bits or of values built up of successive value groups. Pairs of hexadecimal values are individually usually represented in big-endian 'numeric' order, where bitwise distinctions are not necessary, but it is useful to know if a system stores a multibyte value in big-endan or little-endian packing, i.e. whether the value 0x01 0x02 (values 1 and 2, on their own) is treated as a value of 258 (0x01*256 + 0x02*1) or 513 (0x01*1 + 0x02*256). (The term was taken in inspiration from a [https://www.ling.upenn.edu/courses/Spring_2003/ling538/Lecnotes/ADfn1.htm Jonathan Swift story] about a war over which end of a boiled egg one was to cut into, a useful metaphor for many other situations where diametrically opposed self-justifications for one ''or'' another practice may lead to standing by vague principles rather than agreeing upon a unifying resolution.) This standard was also mentioned in [[1179: ISO 8601]] and used in [[1340: Unique Date]].

The joke in the title text is that it appears some people attempted to interpret the improperly formatted date as if it were expressed in the more ISO-8601 style of format of "Y/M/D". They read the date as ''20''02, March 22, so they already went to their meeting almost 20 years ago. Unless the announcement of the meetings was made 2 decades in advance, there's a {{w|Paradox|paradox}} that these participants would have taken the date from an announcement in the far future. However a strict interpretation of the date would make this incorrect: ISO-8601 format specifies four-digit years (which also avoids having to assume the century), two-digit months, and two-digit days. Therefore "2/3/22” ''can by specification not'' be an ISO-8601 date, as "2" can only be rendered as "0002", and "3" must be "03". Even if the leading {{w|0|zeroes}} were omitted in violation of ISO-8601, the year would become {{w|AD 2|Year 2}}, not Year 2002. Since the standard always uses a 4 digit 'YYYY' format in the first field, and no common formatting uses YYYY-DD-MM, any date written in ISO-8601 is easily recognized and (comparatively) {{w|Ambiguity|unambiguously}} interpretable as YYYY-MM-DD. Dates written as if Y-M-DD or other distortions should be considered formatted improperly, and unwisely.

==Transcript==
:[A screen is shown which displays five rows of text, the top three above a dividing line. To the right of the screen the upper part of Cueball is visible as he delivers a message concerning the text on the screen:]
:Localization working group
:Upcoming meetings
:-----------------
:US Team: 2/3/22
:EU Team: 2/3/22

:Cueball: And the European formatting and localization team will meet a month later...

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Calendar]]

1536: The Martian

2022-01-03T19:51:32Z

172.70.86.68:

{{comic
| number = 1536
| date = June 10, 2015
| title = The Martian
| image = the_martian.png
| titletext = I have never seen a work of fiction so perfectly capture the out-of-nowhere shock of discovering that you've just bricked something important because you didn't pay enough attention to a loose wire.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is very excited about seeing that the trailer for ''{{w|The Martian (film)|The Martian}}'' is finally released, because he really liked the book. Cueball most likely represents [[Randall]] himself in this comic.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue4PCI0NamI This trailer] for ''The Martian'' was released on Monday, June 8, 2015, two days before this comic, although a teaser [https://youtu.be/CumZP6_9sHU "viral" trailer] had been released the previous day. The film, starring {{w|Matt Damon}} (''{{w|The Bourne Identity (film)|The Bourne Identity}}''), is directed by {{w|Ridley Scott}} (''{{w|Alien (film)|Alien}}''). It was released in the United States on October 2, 2015.

''The Martian'' is based on {{w|The Martian (Weir novel)| a book of the same name}} by {{w|Andy Weir (writer)|Andy Weir}}. The book is very popular among nerds. The plot is a cross between the film ''{{w|Apollo 13 (film)|Apollo 13}}'' and the plot of the novel ''{{w|Robinson Crusoe}}'' — but just on {{w|Mars}}.

Cueball is telling [[White Hat]] about this trailer and the book, thus White Hat asks if he should read it. Cueball then describes a scene from Apollo 13: ''You know the scene in Apollo 13 where the guy says "we have to figure out how to connect this thing to this thing using this table full of parts or the astronauts will all die?"'' And he then tells White Hat that ''The Martian'' is like that the whole way through. What is actually said in the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry55--J4_VQ mentioned scene] is: ''We gotta find a way to make this fit into the hole for this using nothing but that.'' The first part being a large square box and the other a smaller cylinder.

The film ''Apollo 13'' is based on the true historical event of the {{w|Apollo 13| Apollo 13 incident}} where the astronauts find themselves in a damaged spacecraft. They evacuated from the {{w|Apollo Command Module}}, losing all its life support systems, to the {{w|Lunar Module}} which was designed only for two people for two days instead of three people for four days. One issue the crew faced was a buildup of carbon dioxide. In order to resolve the issue, the crew needed to find a way to attach a square-shaped air-cleaning cartridge from the command module to the circular receptacle of the lunar module: literally fitting a square peg into a round hole. In one [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry55--J4_VQ brief scene], the {{w|Mission Control}} staff gather together a box of items equivalent to what the crew would also have on-board and sit down with the mandate to figure out how the astronauts can connect the two with the items available to them. In that case, the ground crew took on the task of trial and error given the availability of backup supplies in case they damaged or destroyed some of the supplies. Once a working solution was devised, specific instructions were relayed to the astronauts. Cueball suggests that ''The Martian'' essentially consists primarily of the type of problem-solving shown in that scene (as was suggested by the author, Andy Weir, in [https://youtu.be/5SemyzKgaUU?t=45m56s this] interview). The Apollo 13 scene is actually referenced in the book, when the Matt Damon character says "CO2 isn't a problem. (...) All systems use standard filters (Apollo 13 taught us important lessons)."

In the final panel, White Hat, who probably would not be so interested in this kind of story, wonders how a novel based on that kind of seemingly cerebral and procedural problem-solving became a big-budget film starring Damon. Big-budget films are generally films with a great deal of special effects and often also action sequences likely to draw big audiences — and to gain big returns. Matt Damon has become a high-profile big-budget star known for action films like the {{w|Bourne (film series)|''Bourne'' film series}}.

On the day the movie was released in the US Randall went to see it and released this comic about it: [[1585: Similarities]].

In [[2561: Moonfall]] a similar discussion of an upcoming movie is made for {{w|Moonfall (film)|Moonfall}}. But in that case it is the scientific inaccuracy that is the subject, and the huge explosion that makes it worth seeing anyway... maybe?


'''Spoiler alert:'''<br>
It references a particular part of ''The Martian'''s story: The astronaut stranded on Mars has previously established communications with Earth by {{w|repurposing}} the {{w|Mars Pathfinder|Pathfinder}} space probe that NASA landed on Mars in 1997. While working on another piece of equipment, he accidentally subjects the probe to an electrical short-circuit, destroying its electronics and "bricking" it. "{{w|Bricking}}" is a term in consumer electronics which essentially means to cause an electronic device to become non-functional and essentially no more useful than a "brick". The term is commonly used in respect of an unrecoverable failure of {{w|software}} and often a corruption of {{w|firmware}}. An unexpected "bricking" can be very surprising, and in a case where the item is critical, could be devastating. This bricking scene from the book was left out of the movie.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting at a desk using a computer and White Hat walks in.]
:Cueball: Ooh, trailer for ''The Martian!''
:White Hat: What's that?
:Cueball: Movie of a book I liked.
:White Hat: Should I read it?

:[Cueball pivots on chair and turns away from computer to face White Hat.]
:Cueball: Depends. You know the scene in Apollo 13 where the guy says "we have to figure out how to connect ''this'' thing to ''this'' thing using ''this'' table full of parts or the astronauts will all die?
:White Hat: Yeah?

:[Cueball pivots on chair again and resumes using computer while talking. White Hat looks at his smart phone.]
:Cueball: ''The Martian'' is for people who wish the whole movie had just been more of that scene.
:White Hat: How on earth did ''that'' become a big-budget thing with Matt Damon?
:Cueball: No idea, but I'm ''so'' excited.

==Trivia==
In [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SemyzKgaUU&feature=youtu.be&t=2760 a video interview] by Adam Savage with Andy Weir the author of ''The Martian'' says that his goal was to make the whole book like the mentioned scene from ''Apollo 13'' - exactly what the comic is saying. The video was posted on YouTube the day after the xkcd comic.

In the end, ''The Martian'' likely didn't disappoint the big-budget movie makers, grossing more than $630 million against a budget of $108 million.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Space probes]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

1536: The Martian

2022-01-03T19:47:54Z

172.70.86.68: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1536
| date = June 10, 2015
| title = The Martian
| image = the_martian.png
| titletext = I have never seen a work of fiction so perfectly capture the out-of-nowhere shock of discovering that you've just bricked something important because you didn't pay enough attention to a loose wire.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is very excited about seeing that the trailer for ''{{w|The Martian (film)|The Martian}}'' is finally released, because he really liked the book. Cueball most likely represents [[Randall]] himself in this comic.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue4PCI0NamI This trailer] for ''The Martian'' was released on Monday, June 8, 2015, two days before this comic, although a teaser [https://youtu.be/CumZP6_9sHU "viral" trailer] had been released the previous day. The film, starring {{w|Matt Damon}} (''{{w|The Bourne Identity (film)|The Bourne Identity}}''), is directed by {{w|Ridley Scott}} (''{{w|Alien (film)|Alien}}''). It was released in the United States on October 2, 2015.

''The Martian'' is based on {{w|The Martian (Weir novel)| a book of the same name}} by {{w|Andy Weir (writer)|Andy Weir}}. The book is very popular among nerds. The plot is a cross between the film ''{{w|Apollo 13 (film)|Apollo 13}}'' and the plot of the novel ''{{w|Robinson Crusoe}}'' — but just on {{w|Mars}}.

Cueball is telling [[White Hat]] about this trailer and the book, thus White Hat asks if he should read it. Cueball then describes a scene from Apollo 13: ''You know the scene in Apollo 13 where the guy says "we have to figure out how to connect this thing to this thing using this table full of parts or the astronauts will all die?"'' And he then tells White Hat that ''The Martian'' is like that the whole way through. What is actually said in the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry55--J4_VQ mentioned scene] is: ''We gotta find a way to make this fit into the hole for this using nothing but that.'' The first part being a large square box and the other a smaller cylinder.

The film ''Apollo 13'' is based on the true historical event of the {{w|Apollo 13| Apollo 13 incident}} where the astronauts find themselves in a damaged spacecraft. They evacuated from the {{w|Apollo Command Module}}, losing all its life support systems, to the {{w|Lunar Module}} which was designed only for two people for two days instead of three people for four days. One issue the crew faced was a buildup of carbon dioxide. In order to resolve the issue, the crew needed to find a way to attach a square-shaped air-cleaning cartridge from the command module to the circular receptacle of the lunar module: literally fitting a square peg into a round hole. In one [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry55--J4_VQ brief scene], the {{w|Mission Control}} staff gather together a box of items equivalent to what the crew would also have on-board and sit down with the mandate to figure out how the astronauts can connect the two with the items available to them. In that case, the ground crew took on the task of trial and error given the availability of backup supplies in case they damaged or destroyed some of the supplies. Once a working solution was devised, specific instructions were relayed to the astronauts. Cueball suggests that ''The Martian'' essentially consists primarily of the type of problem-solving shown in that scene (as was suggested by the author, Andy Weir, in [https://youtu.be/5SemyzKgaUU?t=45m56s this] interview). The Apollo 13 scene is actually referenced in the book, when the Matt Damon character says "CO2 isn't a problem. (...) All systems use standard filters (Apollo 13 taught us important lessons)."

In the final panel, White Hat, who probably would not be so interested in this kind of story, wonders how a novel based on that kind of seemingly cerebral and procedural problem-solving became a big-budget film starring Damon. Big-budget films are generally films with a great deal of special effects and often also action sequences likely to draw big audiences — and to gain big returns. Matt Damon has become a high-profile big-budget star known for action films like the {{w|Bourne (film series)|''Bourne'' film series}}.

On the day the movie was released in the US Randall went to see it and released this comic about it: [[1585: Similarities]].

In [[2561: Moonfall]] a similar discussion of an upcoming movie is made for {{w|Moonfall (film)|Moonfall}}. But in that case it is the scientific inaccuracy that is the subject, and the huge explosion that makes it worth seeing anyway... maybe?


'''Spoiler alert:'''<br>
It references a particular part of ''The Martian'''s story: The astronaut stranded on Mars has previously established communications with Earth by {{w|repurposing}} the {{w|Mars Pathfinder|Pathfinder}} space probe that NASA landed on Mars in 1997. While working on another piece of equipment, he accidentally subjects the probe to an electrical short-circuit, destroying its electronics and "bricking" it. "{{w|Bricking}}" is a term in consumer electronics which essentially means to cause an electronic device to become non-functional and essentially no more useful than a "brick". The term is commonly used in respect of an unrecoverable failure of {{w|software}} and often a corruption of {{w|firmware}}. An unexpected "bricking" can be very surprising, and in a case where the item is critical, could be devastating. This bricking scene from the book was left out of the movie.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting at a desk using a computer and White Hat walks in.]
:Cueball: Ooh, trailer for ''The Martian!''
:White Hat: What's that?
:Cueball: Movie of a book I liked.
:White Hat: Should I read it?

:[Cueball pivots on chair and turns away from computer to face White Hat.]
:Cueball: Depends. You know the scene in Apollo 13 where the guy says "we have to figure out how to connect ''this'' thing to ''this'' thing using ''this'' table full of parts or the astronauts will all die?
:White Hat: Yeah?

:[Cueball pivots on chair again and resumes using computer while talking. White Hat looks at his smart phone.]
:Cueball: ''The Martian'' is for people who wish the whole movie had just been more of that scene.
:White Hat: How on earth did ''that'' become a big-budget thing with Matt Damon?
:Cueball: No idea, but I'm ''so'' excited.

==Trivia==
In [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SemyzKgaUU&feature=youtu.be&t=2760 a video interview] by Adam Savage with Andy Weir the author of ''The Martian'' says that his goal was to make the whole book like the mentioned scene from ''Apollo 13'' - exactly what the comic is saying. The video was posted on YouTube the day after the xkcd comic.

In the end, ''The Martian'' likely didn't disappoint the big-budget movie makers, grossing more than $630 million against a budget of $108 million.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Space probes]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

972: November

2022-01-03T19:28:53Z

172.70.86.68:

{{comic
| number = 972
| date = November 2, 2011
| title = November
| image = november.png
| titletext = November marks the birthday of Charles Schulz, pioneer of tongue awareness.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a homage to {{w|Charles Schulz}}, the creator of the comic {{w|Peanuts}}, who was born on November 26, 1922. Both comics carry the idea that when you start thinking about your tongue, you can hardly stop thinking about it. (Similarly: if you start thinking about your breathing, you stop breathing unless you consciously think to breathe, same goes for blinking.) This is similar to {{w|Ironic process theory|the ironic process theory}}, where trying to not think about something will invariably make you think about it. The intention of [[Black Hat]] in this comic is for [[Cueball]] to consciously feel his tongue for the entire month of November. Since it was Black Hat's idea, Black Hat probably suffers the same consequences.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
Here is the comic in question by Charles Schulz from Peanuts.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">[[File:tongue awareness.jpg]]</div>
</div>

[http://fuckyeahexistentialism.tumblr.com/post/852726235/im-aware-of-my-tongue-its-an-awful-feeling A random person on tumblr] speculates that Schulz's comic has a deeper meaning about becoming conscious about one's existence in the world. This is similar, in concept, to the expression and phrase used for trolling in online communities, "[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/you-are-now-breathing-manually You Are Now Breathing Manually]".

The line "you are now aware of your tongue" was mentioned much later in the title text of [[2563: Throat and Nasal Passages]]. Here it was throat and nasal passages awareness which was the subject, due to the, at that time, two year long {{w|2019–20 coronavirus outbreak|2020 COVID-19 pandemic}}.

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat and Cueball sit in a room.]
:Black Hat: Did you know November is Tongue Awareness Month?

:[Cueball is suddenly aware of his tongue.]

:[Cueball continues to be aware of his tongue.]

:[Cueball is *still* aware of his tongue.]
:Cueball: I hate you.
:Black Hat: Enjoy the next four weeks.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]

Category:New Year

2022-01-03T19:02:08Z

172.70.86.68: Hej, det er mig igen. Den anonyme. Husk: ikke "hvor"; es "var". ((Alt 'kredit' her til Google. Jeg besøgte sidst dit (Lego)land i begyndelsen af 80'erne, som barn. Jeg vidste "Kartoffelmos" og et par andre ting, men ikke noget så komplekst. ;)

*A list of comics pertaining to {{w|New Year}}.
**'''Click''' to expand for a more detailed explanation:
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed leftAlign" style="width:100%">
<br>

==Explanation==
*The first two listed New Year comics were not directly referring to New Year, but both were related to a wild party and both were released on New Years eve two years in a row (2007 and 2008).
*The first directly relating to the changing of the year is the two comics released over the New Year from 2011 to 2012.
**December 30th it was [[997: Wait Wait]] and on January 2nd [[998: 2012]]
**Since then there was at least one New Year related comic every year up until the New Year from [[2563:_Throat_and_Nasal_Passages#Trivia|2021-2022]].
*Next years New Year comic (2012-2013) was the first that directly related to New Year: [[1154: Resolution]], where the tradition of {{w|New Year's resolutions}} is the joke.
*With the [[1302: Year in Review]], that is not directly related to New Years eve, but still to the end of the year, there where also two in 2013-2014, with the other being [[1311: 2014]].
*Resolutions was also part of the joke in [[1467: Email]] in 2014-2015.
*Also in the New Year from 2015 to 2016 where there again two comics for one New Year.
**Once again one of them was called the new year: [[1624: 2016]], making it the third even year with such a new year title.
**In 2017 the first comic named like this with an uneven number, [[1779: 2017]], where released, and in 2018 the trend continued like this for the third year in a row with [[1935: 2018]].
***But the trend stopped for at lest four years, thus skipping not only two uneven but also two even years, 2020 and 2022.
*There were nothing related to New Year between 31st December 2008 and December 30th 2011.
**So the two New Years ending 2009 and 2010 had no comic related to their New Year.
**There were also nothing prior to the one on 31st December 2007, thus for the New Years ending 2005 and 2006.
**Next time this happened was the New Year from 2021 to 2022.
***This was so special that a [[2563:_Throat_and_Nasal_Passages#Trivia|Trivia]] was made on the comic after New Year.

===Comics around and about New Year===
*Here is a list of the comics coming out as the one before or after New Year.
**The list counts the real New Years comics, but also list those comics hitting those days '''without''' having any relation to New Year (i.e. comics from 29th of December to 3rd of January).
***If there is not number it is not a New Year comic.
***So far only one New Year comic has been released on the 29th and none on the 3rd. But sometimes those days will be the last release before or first release after New Year.
***A few obvious New Year comics have been released outside the given window. Those will be counted and a note made. But other than those comics, only the last and first comic in each of the years around New Year, will be given.
**New Year from 2005 to 2006:
***From December 5th 2005 to January 4th 2006 [[Randall]] were taking a break while starting up {{xkcd}} so there were no releases right before New Year. This was the first after New Year:
***January 4th: [[45: Schrodinger]]
**New Year from 2006 to 2007:
***December 29th: [[203: Hallucinations]]
***January 1st: [[204: America]]
**New Year from 2007 to 2008:
***1st New Year comic released on December 31st: [[364: Responsible Behavior]]
***January 2nd: [[365: Slides]]
**New Year from 2008 to 2009:
***2nd New Year comic released on December 31st: [[524: Party]]
***January 2nd: [[525: I Know You're Listening]]
**New Year from 2009 to 2010:
***December 30th: [[682: Force]]
***January 1st: [[683: Science Montage]]
**New Year from 2010 to 2011:
***December 30th: [[841: Audiophiles]]
***January 3rd: [[842: Mark]]
**New Year from 2011 to 2012:
***Both where New Year comics (1st time this happened)!
***3rd New Year comic released on December 30th: [[997: Wait Wait]]
***4th New Year comic released on January 2nd: [[998: 2012]]. (1st time one appeared in January!)
**New Year from 2012 to 2013:
***5th New Year comic released on December 31st: [[1154: Resolution]]
***January 2nd: [[1155: Kolmogorov Directions]]
**New Year from 2013 to 2014:
***6th New Year comic was released already on December 11th: [[1302: Year in Review]]
***December 30th: [[1310: Goldbach Conjectures]]
***7th New Year comic released on January 1st! [[1311: 2014]] (1st time there was a comic right after but not before New Year!)
**New Year from 2014 to 2015:
***8th New Year comic released on December 31st: [[1467: Email]]
***January 2nd: [[1468: Worrying]]
**New Year from 2015 to 2016:
***Both where New Year comics (2nd time this happened).
***9th New Year comic released on December 30th: [[1623: 2016 Conversation Guide]]
***10th New Year comic released on January 1st: [[1624: 2016]]
**New Year from 2016 to 2017:
***Only one of the two closest to New Year was a New Year comic, but then one about resolutions came out a week later.
***11th New Year comic released on December 30th: [[1779: 2017]]
***January 2nd: [[1780: Appliance Repair]]
***12th New Year comic released on January 9th: [[1783: Emails]] (Late release!)
**New Year from 2017 to 2018:
***Both where New Year comics (3rd time this happened).
***13th New Year comic released on December 29th: [[1935: 2018]]
***14th New Year comic released on January 1st: [[1936: Desert Golfing]]
**New Year from 2018 to 2019:
***15th New Year comic released on December 31st: [[2092: Consensus New Year]]
***January 2nd: [[2093: Reminders]]
**New Year from 2019 to 2020:
***Both where New Year comics (4th time this happened).
***16th New Year comic released on December 30th: [[2248: New Year's Eve]]
***17th New Year comic released on January 1st: [[2249: I Love the 20s]]
***The comic [[2253: Star Wars Voyager 1]] from January 10th references both fireworks and Auld Lang Syne, and is thus related to New Year, although not technically a New Year comic.
**New Year from 2020 to 2021:
***18th New Year comic released on December 30th: [[2405: Flash Gatsby]]
***January 1st: [[2406: Viral Vector Immunity]]
****First time a release on New Years Day was not a New Year comic since January 1st 2010 (so 11 years).
****That also happened with the January 1st 2007 release, but the first New Year comic did not come out until December 31st 2007.
**New Year from 2021 to 2022:
***December 31st: [[2562: Formatting Meeting]]
****First time a release on New Years Eve was not a New Year comic.
***January 3rd: [[2563: Throat and Nasal Passages]]
****Last time neither of the comics around the New Year was a New Year comic was the New Year from 2010 to 2011.
****So after 10 years in a row with at least one such comic, Randall did nothing to celebrate that it became 2022.
****This is also only the third time out of 15 without such a comic since the first came out 14 years before new year 2022.
***See this [[2563:_Throat_and_Nasal_Passages#Trivia|Trivia]] on comic [[2563: Throat and Nasal Passages]] about no new year comic.
</div>
<br>

[[Category:Holidays]]
[[Category:Comics by date]]

104: Find You

2022-01-02T02:13:51Z

172.70.86.68: Removed explainxkcd-specific Trivia; Replaced previously (accidentally?) removed Discussion and Categories

{{comic
| number = 104
| date = May 19, 2006
| title = Find You
| image = find you.jpg
| titletext = I'm like the Terminator, except with love!
}}

==Explanation==
This comic depicts [[Cueball]] climbing on a rope in a cavern. The text indicates that one of his loved ones used to be afraid of being taken away from him and being forgotten. It is not explicitly made clear whether the loved one in question is a woman with whom he is in love, a family member, or a relation of some other kind, but presumably the loved one is his partner.

Cueball had promised that he would always come looking for this person, but then they were actually taken from him. He reiterates that he was serious about his promise, and that he hopes they are not afraid, because he's coming to find them.

It's not clear exactly in what manner his loved one was taken from him, only that they were torn from his arms and vanished from this world. Though there are many other possible interpretations, this might be read to indicate that they have died and that Cueball is descending a cavern in search of the underworld where they have been taken.

The title text compares Cueball to the apparently unstoppable Terminator, from {{w|The Terminator|the 1984 film}} of the same name, in which Kyle Reese, talking to Sarah Connor, gives the following description of the Terminator: "It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead." The implication is that Cueball, motivated by love, can't be persuaded to stop looking for his loved one by any means, and that he will never stop looking until he finds them.

==Transcript==
:[The panel is black with rough-edged white passages running down through it. Cueball is climbing onto a rope that is dangling down one of these passages. White text is in the black sections.]
:You were afraid that you would disappear, that you would be lost and forgotten.
:I held you tight against the dark and said that I would always come for you.
:Then one day it happened. You were torn from my arms and vanished from this world.
:Maybe you don't remember my promise. But I meant every word.
:I hope you're not afraid, wherever you are.
:You don't need to be.
:I'm not.
:I will find you.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Terminator]]

Talk:2562: Formatting Meeting

2022-01-01T09:46:38Z

172.70.86.68:

I downloaded and ran theusaf's bot from its website to make this page. Not sure how to give page creation permission to [[User:Baffo32RunningTheusafBOT]]. When you run the bot you notice that Theusaf's username is "the usa f". [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.45|172.70.110.45]] 16:02, 31 December 2021 (UTC)

shouldn't it be ISO, not iso? actually, the whole title text is lowercase-d when I feel like it shouldn't be [[Special:Contributions/172.70.35.70|172.70.35.70]] 16:59, 31 December 2021 (UTC)Bumpf
: you're probably right. as a geek, one uses lowercase 'iso' all the time in computer date code where it is usually lowercase. e.g. i type `date --iso=seconds` every day into my linux terminal; it outputs 8601 format. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.167|172.70.114.167]] 19:23, 31 December 2021 (UTC)

Speaking as a European, we'd often read 2/3/22 as "2nd March 2022" (same order as the numbers), not "March 2, 2022", though obviously we'd understand both expressions. Also, the suggestion that the thousands/decimal punctuation is reversed in the EU is wrong, as this does not apply to all countries of the EU. For example, Ireland uses the same as the US (and the same as the UK, though that is no longer part of the EU and might eventually give up decimalisation altogether on account of fractions being more wholesome...) [[User:Rotan|Rotan]] ([[User talk:Rotan|talk]]) 18:47, 31 December 2021 (UTC)

Another comic which references ISO-8601 is: https://xkcd.com/1179/ [[User:Rps|Rps]] ([[User talk:Rps|talk]]) 21:27, 31 December 2021 (UTC)

It's been more than 20 years since in 'casual' date writing I started prefering "D/Mmm/YYYY" format (today is 31/Dec/2021, for me right now, tomorrow is 1/Jan/2022) when I had a totally free hand. A combination of indicating to US colleagues in my multinational company of that time that I wasn't writing trying to write Jan/1/2022 (not that it would matter in that particular case!) and doing my bit to support the upcoming Y2K-compatability issues that other people were gradually getting to know about. Though for coded dates, YYYYMMDD[.hh[mm[ss[...]]]] always worked best for me. It numerically sorts (it will even when YYYY eventually becomes YYYYY!) and can be given arbitrary sub-day specification - at least until float-rounding errors start to creep in. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.43|172.70.90.43]] 22:25, 31 December 2021 (UTC)

Around year 2000 there was short time when people were writing the years properly. Afterwards, the laziness won again and people started using just two digits again ... sigh ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 01:19, 1 January 2022 (UTC)

Is localization spelled localisation in countries that use English? [[User:Boatster|Boatster]] ([[User talk:Boatster|talk]]) 01:59, 1 January 2022 (UTC)
:It is. Obviously that excludes the US and any other past colonials who picked up the wrong habit along the way. ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.22|172.70.86.22]] 02:18, 1 January 2022 (UTC)

:Actually, the -ise/-ize distinction only came in in UK English quite recently and some UK publishers still use -ize endings. I was told both endings were OK at school in the UK in the sixties.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.68|172.70.86.68]] 09:46, 1 January 2022 (UTC)

2561: Moonfall

2021-12-30T15:21:34Z

172.70.86.68:

{{comic
| number = 2561
| date = December 29, 2021
| title = Moonfall
| image = moonfall.png
| titletext = Novel ideas and cool explosions are both good, but what I really want from a movie is novel ideas ABOUT cool explosions.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by COOL EXPLOSIONS. - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Megan]] asks [[Cueball]] if he is excited by Moonfall or if he is cringing.

''{{w|Moonfall (film)|Moonfall}}'' is an upcoming 2022 movie scheduled for release in February. Its director, {{w|Roland Emmerich}}, is known for blowing up things in his movies (see for instance [https://www.gq.com/video/watch/explosions-the-roland-emmerich-supercut the Roland Emmerich Supercut]), as well as for factual inaccuracies in his work (mainly the scientific implausibility of his many disaster movies like ''{{w|Independence Day (1996 film)|Independence Day}}'', ''{{w|The Day After Tomorrow}}'' and ''{{w|2012 (film)|2012}}'').

The [[#Plot|plot]] of ''Moonfall'' is scientifically preposterous, making it potentially "cringe-worthy" for someone who enjoys "hard" science fiction, like Cueball.

Cueball explains to Megan that he usually likes it when stories are based on good science. Maybe only bending it a bit to create the story, to expand our ideas of what is possible. But then he goes on to state that he supports giving Roland Emmerich as much money as he wants, to make cool spaceship noises and smash moons into things. In the movie it is only a moon (the {{w|Moon}}, presumably, see the [[#Plot|plot]] below). But in general Roland often uses huge explosions in his movies, something also previously said about other similarly-styled directors like [[748: Worst-Case Scenario|Michael Bay]].

Megan sums the situation for Cueball up, stating that he is excited to expand our ideas of how much stuff can explode at once.

In the title text Cueball continues by explaining that while novel ideas and explosions are good, what he really want from a movie is novel ideas about cool explosions. So new ways to explode things, or ideas about exploding more things at once. Or both.

===Plot===
'''Spoiler Alert'''
:In Moonfall, a mysterious force knocks the Moon from its orbit around Earth and sends it hurtling on a collision course with life as we know it. With mere weeks before impact and the world on the brink of annihilation, NASA executive and former astronaut Jo Fowler is convinced she has the key to saving us all - but only one astronaut from her past, Brian Harper and a conspiracy theorist K.C. Houseman believe her. These unlikely heroes will mount an impossible last-ditch mission into space, leaving behind everyone they love, only to find out that our Moon is not what we think it is. —Centropolis Entertainment, [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5834426/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl quoted at IMDB]

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan walking to the right]]
:Megan: Are you excited for ''Moonfall''?
:Megan: Or cringing?
:Cueball: Well...

:[Closeup on Cueball]]
:Cueball: I like when stories are grounded in good science because it's exciting to expand our ideas of what's possible.

:[Zoomed back out to Cueball and Megan walking to the right. Cueball has his palms raised]
:Cueball: But I also support giving Roland Emmerich as much money as he wants to make cool spaceship noises and smash moons into things.
:Megan: Excited to expand our ideas of how much stuff can explode at once.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category: Fiction]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category: Comics featuring real people]]

2558: Rapid Test Results

2021-12-28T18:51:12Z

172.70.86.68: Possessive. And "-ing"ing it.

{{comic
| number = 2558
| date = December 22, 2021
| title = Rapid Test Results
| image = rapid_test_results.png
| titletext = A solid red area with two white lines means that you have been infected with the anti-coronavirus, COVID+19, which will cure anyone you have close contact with.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|RAPIDLY created by a college-ruled BOT with longness of breath, low body temperature, vigour, and a wet sneeze, that is NOT a reference to comic 2279- Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is another in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus outbreak|2020 COVID-19 pandemic}}.

This comic is a joke about COVID-19 rapid {{w|lateral flow test}} results. These devices are used in many countries for individuals to test their own nasal and oropharynx fluid for evidence of COVID-19 virus to detect asymptomatic infection. These tests have two indicator strips - a test line for covid-19 and a control line to check the device is working correctly. Where a control line is not present, the test should be ignored and repeated. Until comparatively recently {{w|Pregnancy test|pregnancy}} was the occasion [[583|most familiar]] for requiring this form of test)

The first 2 answers are the standard indicators for a negative and positive result, but Randall takes this to absurdity, see below in the [[#Table of results|table]].

The title text interprets the hyphen in "Covid-19" as a negative sign to make a mathematical joke (or possibly a reference to {{w|antimatter}}, which in reality mutually annihilates when coming into contact with regular matter). Here Randall postulates a counterpart virus to Covid-19, resulting in a test with inverted colors, which he names Covid+19. When combined this anti-coronavirus exactly matches the original one and results in zero Covid, curing those who had previously been infected.

This was the last comic before this year's [[:Category:Christmas|Christmas comic]]. It was about Covid-19 testing. The last comic before the 2020 Christmas comic, [[2402: Into My Veins]], was about the Covid-19 vaccine.

===Table of results===
{| class="wikitable"
!Result
!Interpretation
!Explanation
|-
|Control line only
|Negative
|As for all such actual tests, the Control line indicates that the test has run without error. Without this Control line (which ''always'' shows on a correctly functioning test after proper use), a lack of result on the test strip is meaningless.
A control line with no Test line indicates that the molecule being tested for is not present.

|-
|Control and test line
|Positive
|This clearly shows the (un)desired test result, with both the Control line and the indicator of the tested-for condition.
|-
|2 wavy lines resembling the {{w|Approximation#Typography|approximately equal}} sign
|Approximately positive
|While it would be possible to make the test produce wavy line(s) by default, and some versions 'activate' more complex patterns such as tick-marks or wording, these are still binary yes/no results. The waviness or other patternation would not normally be contingent upon the testing state it must reveal, and the complicated pattern could result in a fainter Test line (which perhaps should be taken as Positive until shown otherwise).

A real test intended to produce straight lines might become wavy if manufactured poorly. Two lines would still indicate a positive test, but the poor quality of the device calls into question that result - making "approximately positive" an appropriate description.

Whilst this may have been unintended, it is worthwhile noting that lateral flow tests sacrifice some accuracy in order to be quick and cheap. They therefore have some risk of {{w|false-positive}} test results, hence the need for a follow-up gold-standard laboratory controlled confirmation test. In this sense, a positive rapid test result would give an approximately positive result.
|-
|2 lines closer together than usual
|Positive (college ruled)
|This is the same as the Positive result, just with less distance between the two lines. {{w|Ruled paper#United States|College ruled}} refers to how college ruled notebooks in the United States have narrower spacing between the lines.
Again, there is no simple way to make the test reveal different patterns as a result-indicator of any qualitative or quantitative result; this is not a different result from the original Positive. It also remains more desirable to maintain an easily-identifiable separation between lines and not risk the Test and Control lines bleeding together into one.
|-
|Five lines of decreasing lengths
|Good cell signal
|Mimics the standard image for a strong mobile (or cellular in the United States) phone signal.
There are tests which give multiple 'indicator test strips' for progressively greater/lesser sensitivity, perhaps to identify concentrations, or other qualitative differences like a 'fingerprint' of multiple targetable reagents, but this is not at all useful for a solid Yes/No question such as the one this scenario is supposed to be for.
|-
|2 lines on a background of radiating lines
|Did you know these lines are actually parallel?
|This is a reference to an {{w|optical illusion}} called the {{w|Hering illusion}}, where two parallel lines appear to bend outward.
Whether the radial lines can (or should) be designed into the test has no bearing upon the core test, and probably should not confuse the identification of what are ''supposed'' to be one/two ''clear'' straight lines.
|-
|Multiple lines in the shape of a scary stick figure
|The Blair Witch is near
|In the found-footage movie ''{{w|The Blair Witch Project}}'', stick figures shaped like this indicated that the Blair Witch was near.
The type of rapid test used for COVID-19 probably{{fact}} does not have any useful method for revealing the proximity of witchcraft, unless a witchcraft-related molecule could be identified that can be indicated within the sample material itself.
|-
|Three lines
|Click to expand COVID menu
|A reference to {{w|Hamburger button|hamburger buttons}}, an icon that is widely used on websites to reveal a menu. It is especially used on mobile versions of sites designed to be read on a small screen, where compressing a menu until needed saves space.
As a 'read-only' display of results, there is no potential for further interaction by tapping the indicator material, and this may even spoil the state of the proof it gives.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Yeah. This definitely needs to be redone in proper descriptive-transcript format. This tag WAS deleted too soon. Don't do it again until properly fixed.}}
'''Interpreting Rapid Test Results'''
A set of 8 possible rapid test results are displayed in the style of a patient use leaflet, as one might have for a COVID-19 rapid test.

Result options are:
* Negative
* Positive
* Approximately positive
* Positive (college ruled)
* Good cell signal
* Did you know these lines are actually parallel?
* The Blair Witch is near
* Click to expand Covid menu

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category: COVID-19]]
[[Category: Comics with color]]
[[Category: Charts]]
[[Category: Fiction]]

Category:Christmas

2021-12-28T18:48:30Z

172.70.86.68: Hope I caught them all, changing "where" (location) -> "were" (to have been). And in singular cases -> "was"

*A list of comics pertaining to {{w|Christmas}}.
**Not all of these are released in conjunction with Christmas.
***As of 2021 there have been 23 Christmas comics released during the Christmas days. See more here by expanding.
**'''Click''' to expand for a more detailed explanation:
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed leftAlign" style="width:100%">
<br>

==Explanation==
*The first Christmas after [[xkcd]] began, there were no releases a month around Christmas.
**But since then there has been at least one Christmas related comic every Christmas.
**And when the 25th has been an official release day, it has since then always been a Christmas comic.
***The release date has never been moved, though, to accommodate a release on the 25th.
***As it has been the case for [[:Category:April fools' comics|April Fool's comics]].
*In 2009 both comics around Christmas were Christmas comics.
**This has happened 7 times up till and including 2021 (last time was 2019).
*True Christmas comics come out just before, on or after Christmas day on the 25th of December.
**Until 2017 they had all been released between 23rd and 26th of December, but in 2017 the 22nd was also used, even though the 25th was also a release day and where thus also used for a Christmas comic.
**There have been several other Christmas comics released earlier in December.
**And others released in different months, that only referred to Christmas, but was not in themselves Christmas comics.
**This is all listed below in the [[#Comics around and about Christmas|Comics around and about Christmas]] section.
*In 2019 two Christmas related comics came out just before and after December 1st, with only one comic in between.
**This was so different than what usually occurs, so a [[2236:_Is_it_Christmas%3F#Trivia|trivia section]] mentions this in the second of these comics.

===Comics around and about Christmas===
*Here is a list of the comics coming out as the one before, the one on, or the one after Christmas day.
**The list counts the real Christmas comics, but also list those comics hitting those days '''without''' having any relation to Christmas (i.e. comics from 22nd to 26th of December).
***If there is not number it is not a Christmas comic.
***If it is not released on the Christmas days there will be a note explaining.
**Until 2017 Christmas comics had only been released on days falling in the interval between 23th and 26th of December.
**There will always be at least one release day during this interval, and usually two.
***When the 23rd is a Thursday there will only be one release day on the 24th and when the 23rd falls on a Saturday, there will only be one release day on the 25th.
***This has so far occurred thrice; only the 25th in 2006 and 2017 and only the 24th in 2010.
****In 2017 there was a Christmas comic already on Friday the 22nd.
**A few comics related to Christmas have not been released this close to Christmas, or even in December. They will be mentioned here below as well, but they will not be numbered.
*Christmas 2005:
**From December 5th 2005 to January 4th 2006 [[Randall]] were taking a break while starting up xkcd so there were no release around Christmas.
**This was the last comic released before the break:
***December 5th: [[39: Bowl]]
**This was the first comic released after the break:
***January 4th 2006: [[45: Schrodinger]]
*Christmas 2006:
**December 22nd: [[200: Bill Nye]]
**1st Christmas comic released on December 25th: [[201: Christmas GPS]]
*Christmas 2007:
**2nd Christmas comic released on December 24th: [[361: Christmas Back Home]]
**December 26th: [[362: Blade Runner]]
*Christmas 2008:
**December 22nd: [[520: Cuttlefish]]
**3rd Christmas comic released on December 24th: [[521: 2008 Christmas Special]]
**December 26th: [[522: Google Trends]]
*Christmas 2009:
**Both where Christmas comics (1st time this happened)!
**4th Christmas comic released on December 23rd: [[679: Christmas Plans]]
**5th Christmas comic released on December 25th: [[680: December 25th]]
*Christmas 2010:
**December 22nd: [[837: Coupon Code]]
**6th Christmas comic released on December 24th: [[838: Incident]]
**In 2010 another Christmas related comic [[835: Tree]] were released '''already''' on December 17th. (First Christmas comic not released during the Christmas days.)
**In 2010 there was also another comic that referred to Christmas, but it had not much to do with Christmas and was not released anywhere near Christmas
***October 8th: [[803: Airfoil]]
*Christmas 2011:
**Both were Christmas comics (2nd time this happened)!
**7th Christmas comic released on December 23rd: [[994: Advent Calendar]]
**8th Christmas comic released on December 26th: [[995: Coinstar]]
**In 2011 there was also an early Christmas comic [[988: Tradition]] released two weeks before the others on December 9th.
*Christmas 2012:
**Both were Christmas comics (3rd time this happened)!
**9th Christmas comic released on December 24th: [[1151: Tests]]
**10th Christmas comic released on December 26th: [[1152: Communion]]
*Christmas 2013:
**Both were Christmas comics (4th time this happened)!
**11th Christmas comic released on December 23th: [[1307: Buzzfeed Christmas]]
**12th Christmas comic released on December 25th: [[1308: Christmas Lights]]
*Christmas 2014:
**December 22nd: [[1463: Altitude]]
**13th Christmas comic released on December 24st: [[1464: Santa]]
**December 26th: [[1465: xkcd Phone 2]] (although it could be seen as a perfect gift for Christmas...)
*Christmas 2015:
**Both were Christmas comics (5th time this happened)!
**14th Christmas comic released on December 23rd: [[1620: Christmas Settings]]
**15th Christmas comic released on December 25th: [[1621: Fixion]]
**In 2015 there were also two comics that referred to Christmas, but neither had much to do with Christmas and they were not released anywhere near Christmas:
***April 15th: [[1512: Horoscopes]], just mentions Christmas songs might be playing for one out of 12 zodiac signs.
***September 14th: [[1577: Advent]], is not about Christmas advent calendars, although it does mention Christmas trees.
*Christmas 2016:
**16th Christmas comic released on December 23rd: [[1776: Reindeer]]
**December 26th: [[1777: Dear Diary]]
*Christmas 2017:
**Both were Christmas comics (6th time this happened)!
**17th Christmas comic, the first to be released on December 22nd: [[1932: The True Meaning of Christmas]]
**18th Christmas comic released on December 25th: [[1933: Santa Facts]]
*Christmas 2018:
**19th Christmas comic released on December 24th: [[2089: Christmas Eve Eve]]
**December 26th: [[2090: Feathered Dinosaur Venn Diagram]]
*Christmas 2019:
**Both were Christmas comics (7th time this happened)!
**20th Christmas comic released on December 23th: [[2245: Edible Arrangements]]
**21st Christmas comic released on December 25th: [[2246: Christmas Presents]]
***In 2019 there were also [[2236:_Is_it_Christmas%3F#Trivia|two comics]] that referred to Christmas, but neither had much to do with Christmas and were released close to the beginning of December:
***There was also a comic, [[2101: Technical Analysis]], that mentions Christmas because a graph has red and green colors, but the comic has nothing else to do with Christmas.
***November 27th: [[2234: How To Deliver Christmas Presents]], mentions Christmas shopping and presents
***December 2nd: [[2236: Is it Christmas?]], which replies ''No'', and it is thus correct 99.73% of the time.
*Christmas 2020:
**December 23rd: [[2402: Into My Veins]]
**22nd Christmas comic released on December 25th: [[2403: Wrapping Paper]]
***There was also a comic, [[2379: Probability Comparisons]], that mentions the probability of a white Christmas seven time as part of the probabilities listed, but the comic has nothing else to do with Christmas.
*Christmas 2021:
**December 22nd: [[2558: Rapid Test Results]]
**23rd Christmas comic released on December 24th: [[2559: December 25th Launch]]
***In 2021 there were also two other comics that referred to Christmas, but neither can be considered a true Christmas comic. They where both released in the first half of December:
***December 3rd: [[2550: Webb]], an advent calendar counting down to the Webb space telescopes launch, which was set on the 22nd at the time of release. The actual launch was on Christmas Day, and the years Christmas Comic was celebrating this launch, few hours before it happened, imagining a last problem that could have delayed the launch.
***December 13th: [[2554: Gift Exchange]], Christmas is not mentioned though.
</div>
<br>

[[Category:Holidays]]
[[Category:Comics by date]]

2550: Webb

2021-12-24T16:29:39Z

172.70.86.68: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2550
| date = December 3, 2021
| title = Webb
| image = webb.png
| titletext = Each one contains a chocolate shaped like a famous spacecraft and, for the later numbers, a pamphlet on managing anxiety.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by the ZENO SPACE TELESCOPE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic depicts an {{w|advent calendar}} geared toward astronomers anticipating the launch of the {{w|James Webb Space Telescope}}.

At the time this comic was published, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was scheduled to be launched on the 22nd of December (after [[2014: JWST Delays|many prior delays]]). Christmas would indeed have come early for astronomers if the launch had been successful and on time. By December 14, the launch date had been pushed back again to "no earlier than December 24", as NASA was working on resolving a communications issue between the observatory and its launch vehicle system. This was followed by another delay announced on December 21, when the launch date was pushed back to December 25, due to weather concerns.

A normal advent calendar marks the days until Christmas by allowing miniature doors to be opened, or other means of revealing some treat/picture. This is often from the 1st of the month until the 'big reveal' on the 24th or 25th, though other schemes may exist in other cultures. This particular calendar features 18 hexagonal features, intended to be sequentially accessed over several days, in the same layout as the 18 gold-beryllium mirror segments designed to fold out to form the JWST's primary mirror. The first door is on the 5th, two days after this comic's publication date, making the last on the 22nd, the 'Big Day'.

Cueball's question could be interpreted two ways: Cueball doesn't know about JWST, so he is asking why this advent calendar ends before Christmas (and possibly fearing this calendar is similar to the one in [[1245: 10-Day Forecast]]); or Cueball does know about JWST and its history of delays, so he is asking why the calendar ends on 22 when there is no certainty in that launch date (and also implying that he expects it to be delayed). [Note: two weeks after the comic was posted, the JWST was again delayed, this time to no earlier than Christmas Eve (and later finally to Christmas itself), making the expectation accurate. This would also make a traditional advent calendar serve equally well, were it not for the hexagon design.]

December 22 is also the day after the northern hemisphere winter solstice. The end of the world was famously predicted for the winter solstice in [[998: 2012|2012]].

The title text references the fact that chocolates in advent calendars are often molded into different shapes, and the fact that the later numbers have a "pamphlet on managing anxiety" is probably supposed to quell the impeding fear that the launch could be delayed further or go wrong. The telescope's launch was initially planned for 2007, but due to various redesigns, financial issues, accidents, flaws, and the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}, the launch date was pushed back to 2011, then 2013, 2018, 2020, May 2021, October 2021, and finally to the current launch date in December 2021. It may also allude to post-launch concerns; even if the launch goes well, there will still be nervousness about the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6ihVeEoUdo| complex 160-day process] in which the JWST reaches its intended {{w|James_Webb_Space_Telescope#Mission|observation point}} 930,000 miles from Earth, many subsystems are unfolded/deployed, and the instrument passes its final calibrations. There is effectively no way to rescue/repair this expensive piece of equipment should anything be amiss, unlike the {{w|Hubble Space Telescope}}, which was visited five times by {{w|Space Shuttles}} to remedy and enhance various features. (There exist issues with even Hubble that cannot currently be considered repairable without the Shuttles or any proven replacement, and the JWST will be located far beyond Hubble's operational orbit in a place much more difficult to get to.)

The JWST has been referenced previously in [[1730: Starshade]], [[2014: JWST Delays]], and [[2447: Hammer Incident]], as well as indirectly in [[975: Occulting Telescope]] and [[1461: Payloads]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Ponytail are looking at an advent calendar hanging on a wall in front of them. The advent calendar is loosely tiled with 18 smaller hexagons, numbered from 5 to 22 in no clear order or pattern. They are regularly arranged into a larger hexagonal shape and of the five rows, there are three in the top and bottom ones, as also with each diagonal edge. There are four in each of the other rows, offset symmetrically, with a gap where a fifth could have been in the centre of the middle row.]
:Cueball: The hexagons are nice.
:Cueball: But why does it end at 22?
:Numbers:
5 22 10
11 15 19 17
14 7 none 13 8
9 16 6 20
18 21 12

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Astronomer Advent Calendar

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Christmas]]
[[Category:Calendar]]
[[Category:Telescopes]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Food]]

2558: Rapid Test Results

2021-12-22T16:49:23Z

172.70.86.68: /* Explanation */

599: Apocalypse

2021-12-20T03:25:57Z

172.70.86.68: /* Explanation */ Forgive me if this is more British English, or something, but doing it separately so any soul that finds it wanting can quickly revert it.

{{comic
| number = 599
| date = June 19, 2009
| title = Apocalypse
| image = apocalypse.png
| titletext = I wonder if I still have time to go shoot a short film with Kevin Bacon.
}}

== Explanation ==
This comic begins with the beginning of the {{w|Apocalypse}}, hence the title. It is depicted, properly, with a very dystopian color picture with several yellow burning {{w|meteors}} striking down from the blood red sky, towards a black, red, orange and yellow ground. The way the panels are drawn below makes a transition from this dark image to a normal comic, with the first normal panel being superimposed on the dark image.

In this image [[Beret Guy]] shouts out '''The apocalypse!''' And then he continues to explain what this will mean: ''The skies burn, the seas turn to blood, and the dead walk the earth!''

All three sentences are attributed to the apocalypse, but it seems that the first one about the sky burning, actually comes from a translation of one of the {{w|Nostradamus}} predictions which has, amongst others, been used to "{{w|Nostradamus_in_popular_culture#September_11.2C_2001|predict 9/11}}". In {{w|Revelation 16}} from the Bible about the {{w|Seven bowls}}, which are a set of seven plagues of God's wrath poured over the wicked towards the Apocalypse, the {{w|Seven_bowls#Second_Bowl|second bowl}} describes that ''{{w|Revelation_16#Structure|The Sea Turns to Blood}}''. The {{w|Universal resurrection|resurrection of the dead}} is from the biblical version of the Apocalypse, the {{w|Last Judgment}}.

After Beret Guy has announced this, he runs into [[Cueball]] who has heard part of this, but he is only interested in the last part and asks to check if he understood correctly that the dead will walk the earth. When this is confirmed Cueball becomes very busy.

He runs to his office and quickly writes a scientific math paper, then runs as fast as he can to the math department and get his colleagues to sign it. Then he runs to a cemetery where the dead are rising, finds the one he searched for, and asks the resurrected {{w|zombie}} if he is Erdős. When confirmed that he is indeed Erdős, Cueball asks him to sign the math paper.

{{w|Paul Erdős}} (26 March 1913 – 20 September 1996) was a Hungarian mathematician who (according to Wikipedia) published more papers than any other mathematician in history, working with hundreds of collaborators. His grave is in the Kozma Street Cemetery in Budapest.

There is an in-joke developed among mathematicians called the {{w|Erdős number}} (similar to a Bacon number for film actors, referenced in the title text, see below). By definition, Erdős has an Erdős number of 0. Everyone who has co-written a mathematical paper with Erdős has an Erdős number of 1. Everyone who collaborated with them (but not Erdős himself) is assigned an Erdős number of 2. In general, if ''k'' is the minimal Erdős number of all the people you've [https://paperell.com/ written papers] with, your Erdős number is ''k'' + 1. The Erdős number is the length of the shortest "chain" from you to Erdős.

Thanks to collaboration between mathematicians and other researchers, many people in science and medical research now have Erdős numbers. Not everyone has an Erdős number, though; people without any chain linking them to Erdős have an undefined Erdős number. For example, most people who are not mathematicians or scientists do not have Erdős numbers. Nor do mathematicians and scientists whose publications were written by themselves only with no collaborators.

By this trick Cueball thinks that he and his colleagues will now all have a an Erdős number of 1. The joke is that he would be using his last few hours in this life to write a math paper just to improve his and his friends' Erdős numbers.

There are, however, many problems with his idea, even assuming the dead will walk the earth on that day. First of all, just having your name on a piece of paper with Erdős's signature does nothing for your Erdős number. It needs to be a {{w|Scientific_literature#Scientific_article|scientifically valid paper}}, published in a {{w|peer reviewed}} {{w|scientific journal}}. And given that the apocalypse is happening, there seems no time, chance or reason to publish any more math papers.

Even if there were time, it would not count for much to have someone sign a math paper they haven't even read, let alone had anything to do with the actual writing and research. The same would be true for the other five mathematicians who signed it. But of course many papers have coauthors who did not do much more than work in the same department as the person who actually wrote the paper (a sad but true fact). Presumably Cueball's friends assume that nobody will investigate whether they, or Erdős, truly participated in the writing and research of Cueball's paper.

Furthermore, even if it did count, they will not be able to take the paper with them into the afterlife, and thus since no one would have had time to read the paper, no one would know they had an Erdős number of 1. In the afterlife they could all say that they had such a number, but then again everyone else with such an interest could do the same, since no one could prove otherwise. Of course if you end up in the same part ({{w|Heaven}} or {{w|Hell}}) of the {{w|afterlife}} as Erdős he could confirm or deny the claim, but that would probably not help Cueball and his friends, since he could tell the truth about their paper. (Erdős was known for using an idiosyncratic set of slang terms, in which he described people who had stopped doing mathematics as having "died", whereas people who had died had "left".)

That the whole comic is about the Erdős number, and not just Erdős signature, is made clear in the title text which refers to a similar (and less esoteric) meme called "{{w|Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon}}", or simply Bacon numbers. This time, the chain's center is actor {{w|Kevin Bacon}}, and the links are formed by two people appearing in the same movie. Unlike Erdős, Kevin Bacon is not dead, so those of you wishing to get a Bacon number of 1 still have a chance.

In the title text Cueball thus wonders if there is still time for him to make a short film with Kevin Bacon, now he has used so much time on improving his Erdős number. Again, if the film hasn't been shown to the public it would not count for anything...

One of the mathematical scribbles appearing in panel 5 shows the square root of 163, which may be a reference to {{w|Ramanujan's constant}}.

[[403: Convincing Pickup Line]] has a parody of the Erdős collaboration graph.

Zombies are a [[:Category:Zombies|recurring theme]] in xkcd, particularly zombie scientists, which has also occurred both before with {{w|Richard Feynman}} in [[397: Unscientific]] and after with {{w|Marie Curie}} in [[896: Marie Curie]].

==Transcript==
:[The first panel is very large and shows a dark scene with one large meteor in front and four smaller in the background showering the darkened earth. They are all five black with yellow fire around them and a fire trail behind them, and all are flying from the top left corner and down towards right. The sky at the top is pitch black, but then the sky turns blood red under dark clouds. Two large mountain peaks, one almost pyramid shaped, are shown to the left and to the right there are two smaller peaks towards the distant horizon. The mountains and the ground around them are mainly black, but with red, orange and yellow streaks spread all over the black area beneath the mountain peaks, maybe indicating fire or lava, or reflections in water or blood. At the bottom right corner a normal white panel is superimposed on this apocalyptic image.]

:[The smaller panel at the bottom of the first is halfway over the first panel, haflway below, and only to the right of the middle of the first panel. Beret Guy is running towards left, with his arms raised in the air.]
:Beret Guy: The apocalypse! The skies burn, the seas turn to blood, and the dead walk the earth!

:[From here a normal sequence of panels in three rows begin beneath the second panel. This leaves a gap between the apocalyptic panel and the first row of regular panels, on the left side where the 2nd panel did not reach over. In this panel Beret Guy (coming from the right) finds Cueball.]
:Cueball: The dead what?
:Beret Guy: Walk the earth!

:[Cueball running right in a thin panel.]
:Cueball: I have to go.

:[Cueball sitting on a chair at a table scribbling vigorously and noisily with a pen on a paper. Mathematical symbols appear above Cueball's head, including a summation from i=0 to n, a logarithm of n and the square root of a number.]
:<big>∑</big><sup>n</sup><sub>i=0</sub>i<sup>k</sup>1/i log(n)
:√163
:''Scribble''
:''Scribble''

:[Cueball running right again, in a thin panel, pen and paper in hand.]

:[Cueball opening door with label:]
:Math Dept
:Cueball: The dead return!
:Cueball: Everyone, quick, get your names on here!

:[Cueball stand on the left side of a table looking left over his shoulder. Five people are lining up to sign the paper lying on the right side of the table. The first who signs with a pen is Blondie, then in line follows Megan, a Cueball-like guy, Ponytail and another Cueball-like guy who stand with one hand to his chin looking right, away from the other.]
:Blondie: At last!
:Guy looking right: I hope there's time!

:[Cueball running right in yet a thin panel, with pen and the paper flowing behind him.]

:[Cueball walks right with the paper and pen in his hand as he arrives at at a cemetery as revealed by an old worn sign. Scary sounds appear off-panel right.]
:Sign: Cemetery
:Rising dead (off-panel): ''Hurrghhh''

:[Cueball, still going right, arrives at a grave, pen in hand and the other hand almost outside the panel, but with a corner of the paper just visible. The grave has a large gravestone to the right and in front of it there is a Cueball-like guy rising up from the ground using his arms to push up on the base of the stone and the small pile of earth towards Cueball. The guy looks very worn, with dirt on his head and scratches on his cheek.]

:[Cueball bends a little down and offers pen and paper to the raised dead man who looks up at him when he is addressed.]
:Cueball: Paul Erdős?
:Erdős: Yes?
:Cueball: We need you to sign this.

==Trivia==
*This version of [[Blondie]] seems to be employed at a mathematical department on a university. It could thus also be [[Miss Lenhart]], but there is no proof that she is a teacher...

{{Comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Zombies]]
[[Category:Comics with blood]]
[[Category: Research Papers]]

599: Apocalypse

2021-12-20T03:23:36Z

172.70.86.68: /* Explanation */ And now I'm reading this, a glaring grammatical mistype. Plus recommaing in a more valid (but not ambiguous) way.

{{comic
| number = 599
| date = June 19, 2009
| title = Apocalypse
| image = apocalypse.png
| titletext = I wonder if I still have time to go shoot a short film with Kevin Bacon.
}}

== Explanation ==
This comic begins with the beginning of the {{w|Apocalypse}}, hence the title. It is depicted, properly, with a very dystopian color picture with several yellow burning {{w|meteors}} striking down from the blood red sky, towards a black, red, orange and yellow ground. The way the panels are drawn below makes a transition from this dark image to a normal comic, with the first normal panel being superimposed on the dark image.

In this image [[Beret Guy]] shouts out '''The apocalypse!''' And then he continues to explain what this will mean: ''The skies burn, the seas turn to blood, and the dead walk the earth!''

All three sentences are attributed to the apocalypse, but it seems that the first one about the sky burning, actually comes from a translation of one of the {{w|Nostradamus}} predictions which has, among others, been used to "{{w|Nostradamus_in_popular_culture#September_11.2C_2001|predict 9/11}}". In {{w|Revelation 16}} from the Bible about the {{w|Seven bowls}}, which are a set of seven plagues of God's wrath poured over the wicked towards the Apocalypse, the {{w|Seven_bowls#Second_Bowl|second bowl}} describes that ''{{w|Revelation_16#Structure|The Sea Turns to Blood}}''. The {{w|Universal resurrection|resurrection of the dead}} is from the biblical version of the Apocalypse, the {{w|Last Judgment}}.

After Beret Guy has announced this, he runs into [[Cueball]] who has heard part of this, but he is only interested in the last part and asks to check if he understood correctly that the dead will walk the earth. When this is confirmed Cueball becomes very busy.

He runs to his office and quickly writes a scientific math paper, then runs as fast as he can to the math department and get his colleagues to sign it. Then he runs to a cemetery where the dead are rising, finds the one he searched for, and asks the resurrected {{w|zombie}} if he is Erdős. When confirmed that he is indeed Erdős, Cueball asks him to sign the math paper.

{{w|Paul Erdős}} (26 March 1913 – 20 September 1996) was a Hungarian mathematician who (according to Wikipedia) published more papers than any other mathematician in history, working with hundreds of collaborators. His grave is in the Kozma Street Cemetery in Budapest.

There is an in-joke developed among mathematicians called the {{w|Erdős number}} (similar to a Bacon number for film actors, referenced in the title text, see below). By definition, Erdős has an Erdős number of 0. Everyone who has co-written a mathematical paper with Erdős has an Erdős number of 1. Everyone who collaborated with them (but not Erdős himself) is assigned an Erdős number of 2. In general, if ''k'' is the minimal Erdős number of all the people you've [https://paperell.com/ written papers] with, your Erdős number is ''k'' + 1. The Erdős number is the length of the shortest "chain" from you to Erdős.

Thanks to collaboration between mathematicians and other researchers, many people in science and medical research now have Erdős numbers. Not everyone has an Erdős number, though; people without any chain linking them to Erdős have an undefined Erdős number. For example, most people who are not mathematicians or scientists do not have Erdős numbers. Nor do mathematicians and scientists whose publications were written by themselves only with no collaborators.

By this trick Cueball thinks that he and his colleagues will now all have a an Erdős number of 1. The joke is that he would be using his last few hours in this life to write a math paper just to improve his and his friends' Erdős numbers.

There are, however, many problems with his idea, even assuming the dead will walk the earth on that day. First of all, just having your name on a piece of paper with Erdős's signature does nothing for your Erdős number. It needs to be a {{w|Scientific_literature#Scientific_article|scientifically valid paper}}, published in a {{w|peer reviewed}} {{w|scientific journal}}. And given that the apocalypse is happening, there seems no time, chance or reason to publish any more math papers.

Even if there were time, it would not count for much to have someone sign a math paper they haven't even read, let alone had anything to do with the actual writing and research. The same would be true for the other five mathematicians who signed it. But of course many papers have coauthors who did not do much more than work in the same department as the person who actually wrote the paper (a sad but true fact). Presumably Cueball's friends assume that nobody will investigate whether they, or Erdős, truly participated in the writing and research of Cueball's paper.

Furthermore, even if it did count, they will not be able to take the paper with them into the afterlife, and thus since no one would have had time to read the paper, no one would know they had an Erdős number of 1. In the afterlife they could all say that they had such a number, but then again everyone else with such an interest could do the same, since no one could prove otherwise. Of course if you end up in the same part ({{w|Heaven}} or {{w|Hell}}) of the {{w|afterlife}} as Erdős he could confirm or deny the claim, but that would probably not help Cueball and his friends, since he could tell the truth about their paper. (Erdős was known for using an idiosyncratic set of slang terms, in which he described people who had stopped doing mathematics as having "died", whereas people who had died had "left".)

That the whole comic is about the Erdős number, and not just Erdős signature, is made clear in the title text which refers to a similar (and less esoteric) meme called "{{w|Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon}}", or simply Bacon numbers. This time, the chain's center is actor {{w|Kevin Bacon}}, and the links are formed by two people appearing in the same movie. Unlike Erdős, Kevin Bacon is not dead, so those of you wishing to get a Bacon number of 1 still have a chance.

In the title text Cueball thus wonders if there is still time for him to make a short film with Kevin Bacon, now he has used so much time on improving his Erdős number. Again, if the film hasn't been shown to the public it would not count for anything...

One of the mathematical scribbles appearing in panel 5 shows the square root of 163, which may be a reference to {{w|Ramanujan's constant}}.

[[403: Convincing Pickup Line]] has a parody of the Erdős collaboration graph.

Zombies are a [[:Category:Zombies|recurring theme]] in xkcd, particularly zombie scientists, which has also occurred both before with {{w|Richard Feynman}} in [[397: Unscientific]] and after with {{w|Marie Curie}} in [[896: Marie Curie]].

==Transcript==
:[The first panel is very large and shows a dark scene with one large meteor in front and four smaller in the background showering the darkened earth. They are all five black with yellow fire around them and a fire trail behind them, and all are flying from the top left corner and down towards right. The sky at the top is pitch black, but then the sky turns blood red under dark clouds. Two large mountain peaks, one almost pyramid shaped, are shown to the left and to the right there are two smaller peaks towards the distant horizon. The mountains and the ground around them are mainly black, but with red, orange and yellow streaks spread all over the black area beneath the mountain peaks, maybe indicating fire or lava, or reflections in water or blood. At the bottom right corner a normal white panel is superimposed on this apocalyptic image.]

:[The smaller panel at the bottom of the first is halfway over the first panel, haflway below, and only to the right of the middle of the first panel. Beret Guy is running towards left, with his arms raised in the air.]
:Beret Guy: The apocalypse! The skies burn, the seas turn to blood, and the dead walk the earth!

:[From here a normal sequence of panels in three rows begin beneath the second panel. This leaves a gap between the apocalyptic panel and the first row of regular panels, on the left side where the 2nd panel did not reach over. In this panel Beret Guy (coming from the right) finds Cueball.]
:Cueball: The dead what?
:Beret Guy: Walk the earth!

:[Cueball running right in a thin panel.]
:Cueball: I have to go.

:[Cueball sitting on a chair at a table scribbling vigorously and noisily with a pen on a paper. Mathematical symbols appear above Cueball's head, including a summation from i=0 to n, a logarithm of n and the square root of a number.]
:<big>∑</big><sup>n</sup><sub>i=0</sub>i<sup>k</sup>1/i log(n)
:√163
:''Scribble''
:''Scribble''

:[Cueball running right again, in a thin panel, pen and paper in hand.]

:[Cueball opening door with label:]
:Math Dept
:Cueball: The dead return!
:Cueball: Everyone, quick, get your names on here!

:[Cueball stand on the left side of a table looking left over his shoulder. Five people are lining up to sign the paper lying on the right side of the table. The first who signs with a pen is Blondie, then in line follows Megan, a Cueball-like guy, Ponytail and another Cueball-like guy who stand with one hand to his chin looking right, away from the other.]
:Blondie: At last!
:Guy looking right: I hope there's time!

:[Cueball running right in yet a thin panel, with pen and the paper flowing behind him.]

:[Cueball walks right with the paper and pen in his hand as he arrives at at a cemetery as revealed by an old worn sign. Scary sounds appear off-panel right.]
:Sign: Cemetery
:Rising dead (off-panel): ''Hurrghhh''

:[Cueball, still going right, arrives at a grave, pen in hand and the other hand almost outside the panel, but with a corner of the paper just visible. The grave has a large gravestone to the right and in front of it there is a Cueball-like guy rising up from the ground using his arms to push up on the base of the stone and the small pile of earth towards Cueball. The guy looks very worn, with dirt on his head and scratches on his cheek.]

:[Cueball bends a little down and offers pen and paper to the raised dead man who looks up at him when he is addressed.]
:Cueball: Paul Erdős?
:Erdős: Yes?
:Cueball: We need you to sign this.

==Trivia==
*This version of [[Blondie]] seems to be employed at a mathematical department on a university. It could thus also be [[Miss Lenhart]], but there is no proof that she is a teacher...

{{Comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Zombies]]
[[Category:Comics with blood]]
[[Category: Research Papers]]