explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1311: 2014

2024-07-12T17:07:22Z

172.70.90.161: Undo revision 346290 by 172.70.143.242 (talk) Looks very much like an irrelevent edit just for editing's sake... If I'm wrong, put it back with a proper explanation.

<noinclude>:''This page refers to the comic named "2014". For comic #2014, see [[2014: JWST Delays]].''</noinclude>
{{comic
| number = 1311
| date = January 1, 2014
| title = 2014
| before = [[#Explanation|↓ Skip to explanation ↓]]
| image = 2014.png
| titletext = Some future reader, who may see the term, without knowing the history of it, may imagine that it had reference to some antiquated bridge of the immortal Poet, thrown across the silver Avon, to facilitate his escape after some marauding excursion in a neighbouring park; and in some Gentleman's Magazine of the next century, it is not impossible, but that future antiquaries may occupy page after page in discussing so interesting a matter. We think it right, therefore, to put it on record in the Oriental Herald that the 'Shakesperian Rope Bridges' are of much less classic origin; that Mr Colin Shakespear, who, besides his dignity as Postmaster, now signs himself 'Superintendent General of Shakesperian Rope Bridges', is a person of much less genius than the Bard of Avon. --The Oriental Herald, 1825
}}

==Explanation==
This [[:Category:New Year|New Year comic]] is to commemorate the {{w|New Year}} by giving us a view of the coming year (2014) from the past. The comic includes many quotes from the 1800s and early 1900s that speak to a time close to 2014. Many of them are for the twenty-first century in general, and only three mention a year that would be 2014 exactly. All but one of them is a prediction, yet some of these are quotes from fictional literature, and therefore are not true predictions. Words are in boldface to highlight the relevant content in the quote. The grey or non-bold text is non-essential to the point Randall is interested in, and only to be used to understand the context of the quote.

The title text refers to a certain British officer, Mr. Colin Shakespeare, who experimented with and [http://books.google.com/books?id=aZRPAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA367 promoted the use of rope suspension bridges in India.] The reference to "The Bard of Avon" is a reference to {{w|William Shakespeare|Shakespeare (the playwright)}}, as {{w|River Avon (Warwickshire)|Avon}} is the river on which {{w|Stratford upon Avon}} is set, and is where the playwright was born and spent his youth. The author of this quote under the guise of eliminating the potential confusion that might result after decades or centuries have washed away the context, ironically and possibly vindictively, makes a point to note that the bridge is not named after the playwright, but Mr. Colin Shakespeare, whom he considers considerably less intelligent. This topic was previously covered in [[771: Period Speech]].

Two years before, another New Years comic with just the new years number as the title was released: [[998: 2012]]. But actually the content of this comic is more related to the comic coming out just before the 2012 comic: [[997: Wait Wait]], which is also a New Year comic, that took a look at what could happen in 2012, just as this one does for 2014... In 2016 another comic, with only the new year as the name theme, occurred again [[1624: 2016]]. For some reason this only seemed to happen in the even years, until [[1779: 2017]] was released, with [[1935: 2018]] being the next one.

The style of the comic is very similar to that of [[1227: The Pace of Modern Life]], which was released half a year earlier.

===Additional information===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Quote
! Author or publisher
! Year
! Years realized
! Description
|-
| "It's desirable '''every thing printed should be preserved,''' for we '''cannot now tell how useful it may become''' two centuries hence."
| Christopher Baldwin
| 1834
| Not a prediction
| A good idea. Now, with services like the Internet Archive, this can be done in an easier manner. Unfortunately, many books that were printed between the mid-19th century and the widespread usage of acid-free wood-pulp paper starting from the early 1990s are either no longer known to exist, are heavily damaged (mostly through deterioration — see {{w|slow fire}}) or are very scarce.
|-
| "I predict that a century hence the '''Canadian people''' will be '''the noblest specimens of humanity on the face of the earth'''"
| Rev John Bredin
| 1863
| Subjective
| Calling the citizens of any nation "the noblest" is difficult to quantify. Canada, in general, has a reputation as a safe, healthy and polite society, but, like any nation, they have both positive and negative qualities. The rest of the quote goes as follows: ''"all that was good in the Celt, the Saxon, the Gaul and other races, combining to form neither English, Irish, nor Welsh, but Canadians, who would take their place among the churches of Christendom and the nations of the earth."'' This religious prediction probably wasn't believed even by its author. It's only a harangue.
|-
| "In the twenty-first century '''mankind will subsist entirely upon jellies.'''"
| The Book Lover
| 1903
| Not yet, but we still have time to do so
| Concentrates, which are gelatin-like, form a large part of our food sources. Absurd if taken literally, because it would be nigh impossible to rely on only concentrates for nutrients,{{Citation needed}} but if he's talking about processed foods in general then he's not too far off the mark.
|-
| "The twenty-first century baby is destined to be rocked and cradled by electricity, warmed and coddled by electricity, perhaps fathered and mothered by electricity. '''Probably the only thing he will be left to do unaided will be to make love.'''"
| Mrs John Lane, The Fortnightly
| 1905
| 1960s–1980s
| The parameters of this prediction are fairly ambiguous. Certainly, electricity impacts nearly every aspect of modern life, from the time most children are born. While child-rearing is very much a human activity (and parents today arguably spend more time and effort on children than in past eras), electrically powered aids are everywhere. Children are indeed "rocked and cradled" in automatic swings, and "warmed and coddled" by means of electric heaters and incubators (in medical cases). In fact, most aspects of child-rearing can be aided by some electronic gadget or other. As of 2020, no children have been born without biological mothers and fathers, but the process of ''in vitro'' fertilization, in which conception is mediated by technology, has been in use since 1978. As for making love unaided, Mrs. Lane may have underestimated the implications of technology, as there are now a wide range of devices and aides, electronic and otherwise, which are designed to assist in sexual gratification, both with and without partners.
|-
| "To-day, in the city of New York, sixty-six different tongues are spoken. '''A century hence, there will probably be only one.'''"
| The American Historical Magazine
| 1907
| Not realized
| The number of languages spoken in New York City is believed to be greater than 100; some estimate as many as 800 languages are spoken there. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that in the greater New York metropolitan area, almost 7 million people speak a language other than English at home, including over 3.5 million who speak Spanish, 2 million who speak other Indo-European languages, 1 million who speak Asian or Pacific Island languages, and 300,000 who speak other languages. Also, New York City is the location of the headquarters of the United Nations, with diplomats from nearly every country in the world, and several official languages.
|-
| "I often think '''what interesting history we are making for the student of the twenty-first century.'''"
| William Carey Jones
| 1908
| 1900's–present
| Referring to the events that led to {{w|World War I}}. In 1908, {{w|Bosnian crisis|Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina}}. This led to the {{w|Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria|Sarajevo Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria}} in 1914 that is considered the starting event of the World War.
|-
| "China may be a '''great shoe market''' a decade or a century from now."
| Boot and Shoe Recorder
| 1914
| 1970's–present
| The publication in question appears only interested in footwear, while, in fact, China has become one of the world's largest economies, making it a huge consumer and producer of a full array of products. The range of "a decade or a century from now" makes for a pretty vague prediction. China didn't really qualify as a "great market" for western goods until trade barriers were removed in the 1970's. This was well over a decade from the prediction, but well under a century.
|-
| "'''We cannot settle the problem,''' and I venture the prophecy that perhaps '''a century from now this same question may be brought before some future society and discussed very much as it is tonight.'''
| Dr. Barton C. Hirst (on abortion)
| 1914
| 1914–present
| Abortion is still heavily debated. Various societies have different levels of legal regulation, social stigma, and assumed moral implications, and even within societies there is often not a clear consensus. While laws have changed heavily over the last century, and attitudes have very likely shifted, the debate has certainly not ended, and arguably hasn't substantially changed.
|-
| "By the twenty-first century '''we shall all be telepaths.'''"
| Gumbril, a character in {{w|Aldous Huxley}}'s novel ''{{w|Antic Hay}}''
| 1923
| Not realized{{Citation needed}}
| [http://books.google.com/books?id=pdXj2SZ1mT8C&pg=PA205]: "And it's my firm belief," said Gumbril Senior, adding notes to his epic, "that they [the birds] make use of some sort of telepathy, some kind of direct mind-to-mind communication between themselves. You can't watch them without coming to that conclusion." [...] "It's a faculty," Gumbril Senior went on, "we all possess, I believe. All we animals." [...] "By the twenty-first century, I believe, we shall all be telepaths. Meanwhile, these delightful birds have forestalled us."
|-
| "The physician of the twenty-first century… may even criticize the language of the times, and may find that '''some of our words have become as offensive to him as the term "lunatic" has become offensive to us.'''"
| Dr. C. Macfie Cambell
| 1924
| 1950's–present
| The word "lunatic" is still considered derogatory and because of that it would never be used in a clinical sense. He correctly predicts the trajectory of terms like "{{w|mentally retarded}}", itself adopted by his day to replace earlier terms for the intellectually disabled, such as "moron" and "imbecile", which had become pejorative. Soon enough the word "retard" joined them in that regard, and it has now largely been abandoned as a medical term. This cycle is a common one, known as (among other things) the "{{w|euphemism treadmill}}".
|-
| "Historians of the twenty-first century will look back with well-placed scorn on the '''shallow-minded days''' of the early twentieth century '''when football games and petting parties were considered the most important elements of a college education.'''"
| Mary Eileen Ahern, Library Bureau
| 1926
| Subjective
| This item is likely included somewhat sardonically, because an emphasis on college athletics and wild parties remains an important part of the college experience for many people, and that emphasis is likely at least as common as it was 90 years ago, and probably condemned less often. They're not considered "the most important elements" by most people, either now or then, but many students consider them to be an essential part of being in college. There's little to no evidence that college students have become more studious or less inclined to have fun over the last century.
|-
| "'''In the year A.D. 2014''' journalists will be writing on the centenary of the great war — '''that is, if there has not been a greater war.'''"
| F.J.M, The Journalist
| 1934
| 2014 and 1939 respectively
| At the time of this prediction, {{w|World War I}} was generally referred to as "The Great War". Five years after this prediction was made, {{w|World War II}} began, tragically fulfilling the condition of "a greater war". As bloody and brutal as World War I was, World War II was worse, by almost every possible metric. Journalists definitely wrote articles about World War I on its anniversary, and the war is still remembered and studied, but it has very certainly been overshadowed in most of the world by the "greater war".
|}

==Transcript==
:(This is a series of quotes from various people of various timeframes. Each quote is followed by the author, the document of publication if applicable, and the year.)

:'''Notes from the past'''

:It's desirable '''every thing printed should be preserved,''' for we '''cannot now tell how useful it may become''' two centuries hence.
::Christopher Baldwin
:::'''1834'''

:I predict that a century hence the '''Canadian people''' will be '''the noblest specimens of humanity on the face of the earth'''
::Rev. John Bredin
:::'''1863'''

:In the twenty-first century '''mankind will subsist entirely upon jellies.'''
::''The Booklover''
:::'''1903'''

:The twenty-first century baby is destined to be rocked and cradled by electricity, warmed and coddled by electricity, perhaps fathered and mothered by electricity. '''Probably the only thing he will be left to do unaided will be to make love.'''
::Mrs. John Lane, ''The fortnightly''
:::'''1905'''

:To-day, in the city of New York, sixty-six different tongues are spoken. '''A century hence, there will probably be only one.'''
::''The American Historical Magazine''
:::'''1907'''

:I often think '''what interesting history we are making for the student of the twenty-first century.'''
::Willian Carey Jones
:::'''1908'''

:China may be a '''great shoe market''' a decade or a century from now.
::''Boot and Shoe Recorder''
:::'''1914'''

:'''We cannot settle the problem,''' and I venture the prophecy that perhaps '''a century from now this same question may be brought before some future society and discussed very much as it is tonight.'''
::Dr. Barton C. Hirst on the subject of '''abortion'''
:::'''1914'''

:By the twenty-first century I believe '''we shall all be telepaths.'''
::Gumbriel, character in ''Antic Hay''
:::'''1923'''

:The physician of the twenty-first century… may even criticize the language of the times, and may find that '''some of our words have become as offensive to him as the term "lunatic" has become offensive to us.'''
::Dr. C. Macfie Campbell
:::'''1924'''

:Historians of the twenty-first century will look back with well-placed scorn on the '''shallow-minded days''' of the early twentieth century '''when football games and petting parties were considered the most important elements of a college education.'''
::Mary Eileen Ahern, ''Library Bureau''
:::'''1926'''

:'''In the year A.D. 2014''' journalists will be writing on the centenary of the great war — '''that is, if there has not been a greater war.'''
::F.J.M, ''The Journalist''
:::'''1934'''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:New Year]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:American football]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|2014]]

1523: Microdrones

2024-07-12T17:04:00Z

172.70.90.161: Undo revision 346287 by 172.70.143.242 (talk) Misread? Nowhere does it says drones are out of stock, only butterfly nets.

{{comic
| number = 1523
| date = May 11, 2015
| title = Microdrones
| image = microdrones.png
| titletext = Oh, weird, Amazon is out of butterfly nets.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Amazon Prime Air}} is a conceptual {{w|drone}}-based delivery system currently in development by Amazon.com. While on one level he thinks the idea is cool, [[Cueball]] worries about living in a sci-fi dystopia, with those drones flying all around him, tracking his actions, etc. In the third panel, [[Megan]] suggests sending a message to Congress, suggesting a law for making the stealing of drones legal. This would alleviate the problem of drones flying around everywhere because if they did people would catch them to use for themselves. In the final panel Megan begins to search for {{w|butterfly nets}} so they are ready to catch the microdrones when the law to make it legal to steal the drones goes through.

This tactic may not work as well as planned; drones will likely simply fly higher or employ other security measures since there are no regulations on drone behavior.

The title text suggests one of five things:
*Amazon is out of stock of butterfly nets due to everyone purchasing them to catch drones with, implying many people had the same idea like Megan.
*Amazon doesn't want people stealing their drones, so the nets are just suspiciously "unavailable".
*Non-Amazon individuals controlling the drones have pre-emptively purchased them all.
*Amazon has put all of its nets into a private stock, in order to steal other companies' or individuals' drones.
*Amazon's drones have already become self-aware, and have altered the database in order to prevent their capture.

Amazon drones is also the subject of the title text in [[1625: Substitutions 2]] and there are two {{w|quadcopters}} over the volcano lake in [[1608: Hoverboard]]. Also, Cueball is abducted by seemly sentient drones in [[1630: Quadcopter]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing behind Megan who sits at a desk typing on her laptop.]
:Cueball: So how do we regulate all these micro drones?
:Cueball: I mean, Amazon delivery bots sound cool...

:[Cueball stands alone surrounded by three micro drones.]
:Cueball: But I worry that overnight we'll realize we're surrounded by these things, no one will know who's controlling them, and then ''bam'', sci-fi dystopia.

:[Megan turns in her chair towards Cueball.]
:Megan: If you wanna slow it down, why not just remove all regulations, but then make drone theft legal?

:[Cueball takes his hand to his chin and Megan turns back to type on the laptop.]
:Cueball: ...I ''like'' that.
:Megan: You write to congress.
:Megan: I'll stock up on butterfly nets.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Robots]]
[[Category:Butterfly net]]
[[Category:Drones]]

2952: Routine Maintenance

2024-07-01T08:27:51Z

172.70.90.161: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2952
| date = June 28, 2024
| title = Routine Maintenance
| image = routine_maintenance_2x.png
| imagesize = 299x413px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The worst was the time they accidentally held the can upside down and froze all the Earth's magma chambers solid.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an ONCOMING LETHAL DUST CLOUD - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

A recommended routine maintenance step for many electronics, such as desktop computer towers, is to remove the buildup of dust on a regular basis. This bit of routine maintenance can help prevent the electrical components from overheating, and lengthen the lifetime of these electronics. To make this job easier, safer, and cleaner, there exist {{w|Gas duster|cans}} of high-pressure gas, as depicted, which force through high-flow gas to displace the dust. (Attempting to do this with air from the lungs would be less effective, may add unintended moisture to the electronics, and could result in a faceful of dust).

The comic suggests that a similar maintenance step is performed on the Earth itself, blowing gas into the Earth to force out the dust. However, filling the atmosphere with dust would be unhealthy and fatal to living beings, so as a safety measure everyone would have to take shelter.

This may be a reference to one theory about the K-T extinction event — that a crashing meteor sent so much dust into the air that it killed off many plants and animals, including all non-avian dinosaurs, in a much wider area than that directly affected by the initial impact. Those lineages that chanced to survive the global effects (including our own mammalian ancestors, and the avian dinosaurs that led to todays birds) must have been able to escape the worst of the disrupted ecosphere, perhaps some of them by already being more inclined/suited to living in burrows while the worst of the atmospheric effects subsided and let them exploit various newly vacant (and/or changed) environmental niches. However, this dust cloud would have lasted longer than the 48 hours name in the comic.

The image suggests that the "routine maintenance" for Earth would involve using the {{w|Hawaii hotspot}} (possibly via its most active volcano, {{w|Kilauea}}), as the point to insert the high-pressure gas, causing volcanoes to erupt in Iceland, the {{w|Aleutian Islands}} or the {{w|Kamchatka Peninsula}}, the {{w|Andes}}, and elsewhere; the two geographically-indeterminate plumes may represent Italy and Indonesia.

The title text mentions using the can upside-down, and this freezing solid the magma chambers. Pressurised canisters of air, as with similar aerosol sprayers, make use of a propellant gas that condenses into a liquid when compressed. When the spray valve is opened, the release of pressure allows some of the liquid to evaporate and take the place of the released gases, or become some of the gas subsequently released (or all of it, if its purpose is not to spray other contents). The transition of the propellant liquid/gas from dense liquid to space-filling gas requires it to 'boil off', this process needing to pick up {{w|Enthalpy of vaporization|heat (or 'enthalpy') energy}}. Under typical operation, the cooling liquid/gas takes heat from the general mass of the can itself as it tries to attain thermal equilibrium. As a result, the can (and the expelled gases) will be cooled a little. Then (ultimately) heat will also be taken from anything touching or surrounding the slightly cooled can and its spray. This is precisely how a purposeful refrigerant acts, either as a one-time process or as a reversible cycle where repressuring a suitable gas can 'release' heat (the heat/enthalpy of condensation) at the 'hot side' of a refrigerator, returning the gas in the system to liquid that it can later let boil again and cool the 'cold side' of the refrigerator.

It is not normally useful for such a can to allow the liquid propellant-in-waiting to exit the container, as it would waste its usefulness as a source of pressure once it does. But by holding the container the wrong way up (which way that is being dependant upon its design, and intended use...) the pressurised contents push the liquid out via the nozzle's stream. The now exposed propellant is now free to evaporate into the air at atmospheric pressure, typically much lower than the constraints it had within the can, after landing directly upon whatever the can was sprayed at. The resulting demand for heat energy (much more rapid than normal, and likely concentrated upon a much smaller target than the can itself represents) produces a greater localised drop in temperature and can lead to freezing nearby liquids (which may or may not be intended/useful). Of course, the total 'cooling effect' of such a can does not change, depending upon how it is (mis)used, it merely changes the extent (and lifetime) of application, and how extreme the temperature change may be within a much more limited 'liberation' of its cooling ability.

Spraying canned "air" in reverse is a party trick used to very quickly cool beverages, being able to bring them down from room temperature to ice cold in seconds, if performed correctly. Some 'spray cans' are ''designed'' to let you freeze things (e.g. to help in plumbing repairs) or safely chill surfaces (e.g. for first-aid purposes), but these are exceptions (that require judicious use) and generally it is a wasteful use of a spray-can, if not actually unwise.

Given the location of the planetary-scale dust-busting 'air canister', it may be considered confusing which 'way up' is the correct orientation, given that Earth-gravity would be pulling the contents sideways (however that changes what the nozzle ends up ejecting from the can itself). But such as large can would also have its own significant internal 'can-centric' gravity that possibly (depending upon how full of still-liquid propellant it is) exceeds that of the Moon, possibly letting all the denser liquid hold itself into the centre of the canister, even against the nearby Earth's gravity. Being significantly closer to the Earth than the Moon is, this can could also be a far greater influence upon Earth's own tides (not alluded to in the comic), making the dusting of the atmosphere or the freezing of some of its magma secondary issues to the sheltering population.

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

:[The nozzle of a "Dust-Off" (compressed air) gas duster can is pointing into a hole on the Earth's surface in the Pacific Ocean around where Hawaii is located, and its trigger is pressed as an arrow indicates, resulting in dust clouds being released from five visible spots of the Earth. These eruptions can be seen in the Aleutian Islands or Kamchatka Peninsula, Iceland, the Andes, and two further in the eastern hemisphere on the other side of the Earth.]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I know routine maintenance is important, but I hate how we all have to take shelter for 48 hours every year while they flush out the Earth's magma system for cleaning.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Geology]]

Talk:2942: Fluid Speech

2024-06-15T11:06:39Z

172.70.90.161: Adding the missing "who" of the standard "who+when" signature. Probably didn't add enough tildes. Ironic, as also added commentary about that self-sams signature character, which in part repeated older info. ;)

I've noticed that this doesn't seem to be the case in all languages. For example, when native Polish speakers talk rapidly (even when speaking English), they enunciate every sound accurately in quick succession while flattening out the tone and rhythm of their speech. I wonder if this is because Polish is an inflected language where the grammar of the sentence is determined by endings of words rather than word order. Does anyone know if there have been any studies on this? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.49|162.158.74.49]] 23:12, 5 June 2024 (UTC)

:I'm not linguists but based on how many those are, definitely. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 00:10, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

:Russian also has vowel reduction like English and it's a Slavic language like Polish, so I don't think so. Although someone who knows more than me might be able to chip in on whether the effect is stronger in English. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.198|162.158.114.198]] 03:24, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

::Russian vowels are a tangle of reduction indeed. I think they’re much more complicated than English vowels, but I may be biased as a native speaker of Russian who started self-studying phonetics, phonology etc. to improve his English pronunciation and only relatively briefly looked up Russian phonology for fun. But at any rate, Russian vowel reduction happens in slow and fast, formal and colloquial speech alike, pretty much universally except when articulating a word exceedingly clearly when someone can’t hear you well; and Russian consonants are generally unaffected outside of several specific clusters and morphemes, even if you include those that are fully codified in modern language but retain etymological spelling (чувство, счастье, солнце). [[User:Chortos-2|Chortos-2]] ([[User talk:Chortos-2|talk]]) 16:30, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

:I know the comic specifies native speakers, but I just asked some of my East Asian friends and they very clearly enunciated the "t" in "hot potato". [[User:Tcf|Tcf]] ([[User talk:Tcf|talk]]) 07:22, 7 June 2024 (UTC)

I've just added a very barebones version of an explanation based on what I could understand from the comic. I can tell that the four diagrams depict that of the human mouth but since I am not a linguist, I lack the knowledge of various terms and thus, can't fully explain the comic. I understand what the comic is trying to convey, I just can't explain it. Looking forward to seeing how this progresses. [[User:OmniDoom|OmniDoom]] ([[User talk:OmniDoom|talk]]) 00:22, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

I don't think #4 is a real IPA symbol, but as I am not a linguist, I have no idea. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.36|162.158.91.36]] 01:38, 6 June 2024 (UTC)
:/ə̃/ is a {{w|Nasal_vowel|nasalized}} {{w|schwa}} --[[Special:Contributions/172.71.160.92|172.71.160.92]] 08:53, 6 June 2024 (UTC)
:A video for demonstrating the sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q2M9ILulTo [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.139|172.69.70.139]] 17:11, 7 June 2024 (UTC)

The hovertext joke is that every English speaker fully pronounces the first "t" in "Hot Potato". It's at the end of "hot". Nobody says "ha potato". [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 03:01, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

:Unless you mean "the glottal stop should be considered an allophone of <t> at the end of syllables" then yes they do. It's /hoʔ/, not /hotʰ/. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.198|162.158.114.198]] 03:24, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

:(Edit conflicted with 162, above, so this is my own reply...) I thought it was that it isn't "ho T'p otato", with the "teh-peh" awkwardness. For me, the natural way to say it is to glottalstop the first T for more "ho'potato" (the other Ts, there I find awkward ''not'' to get the "t>s<" out of, the ">s<"-tail being what makes a full-T not a lazy one). But clearly a different accent involved, as "ha" doesn't work at all for me unless I try to use some sort of (probably awful) Goodfellas-type accent. And my native accent is notoriously good at glottlestopped Ts (that most people misinpersonate badly, by attaching them to the wrong adjacent syllable).
:As for "going to", experimentally holding my finger over the length of my tongue, it seems it barely has to move at all in "going" (the whole tongue wants to rise on the "i", but I can suppress that and do the tone-change from further back, if not straight from the vocal chords). Though continuing through to the "to", with my finger in there, it's no better than "going ku" as I prevent the tongue-tip doing the necessary small movement to fulfil any form of T. I can do better through basic gastromancy, but behind my unmoving jaw and lips (''without'' the finger almost down my throat, of course), I can feel the tongue tip doing it's small but vital "crossing the T" work. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.64|172.70.86.64]] 03:53, 6 June 2024 (UTC)
:For me, it's more like "hobuh-deh-duh" - so none of the t's get pronounced properly. And I'd drop the n in 'going to' before I dropped the t.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.120|172.70.163.120]] 08:22, 6 June 2024 (UTC)
:Wunber dayder, doober dayder, freeber dayder for. (But then, oddly, uh baguv tayterz.)[[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.58|172.70.162.58]] 13:18, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

Unless someone's willing to start an "explain explain xkcd", I think this explanation still needs a lot of work to be intelligible to non-linguists (myself included). That aside, I do appreciate whoever took the time to type all that up. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.210|162.158.166.210]] 03:31, 6 June 2024 (UTC)
:The current explain reads, to me at least, more like a 102 lecture than an explanation of the comic. I of course have no idea what is in a 101 first week lecture so shrug. (Aside, wth? This keyboard doesn't have a tilda. Copy and paste ftw) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.223.38|172.71.223.38]] 05:51, 6 June 2024 (UTC)
:::Meta-response about the {{w|tilde}}: at the top of this editing window is a bar of formatting buttons (which I mostly just try to avoid accidentally clicking when I touchscreen-scroll). The second from the right gives <code><nowiki>--~~~~</nowiki></code>, having a depiction of a signature. (The "--" is not necessary, nor does anything with actual formatting/markup, but comes from quite old text communications standards.) Personally, in this current situation of using an onscreen keyboard, my configurstion hides the tilde behind the "?123" then "=\<" change-keyboard buttons.
:::(Ironically, all three of "=", "\" and "<" are already available as long-presses of the primary keyboard layout. But the much more useful "/" is hidden behind the "?123" press, ''except'' when it explicitly detects that I'm in a browser address field. Some UI designers have strange ideas that definitely mis-mesh with my usage!)
:::That's where I usually go, to sign-off. But on physical keyboards, depending upon internationalisation options, it might be either off the top-left (left of "1" key) 'triple-key, perhaps needing Shift or AltGr fingering (from experience of US (mis)configuring), or the key in the "hook" of the <Enter> key (all my physical UK keyboards, even the most squished-up laptop ones, have that as #~). If you're neither in US nor UK (and your device knows this), then where it gets shuffled out of the way of any ß, ē or ø type stuff, I wouldn't know for sure, but using the AltGr (right-Alt) ''might'' reveal characters you never ever knew you had... ;)
:::Copypasting out of the "<nowiki>Please sign your posts with ~~~~</nowiki>" Infobox or any residual from the {{template|unsigned}} templates is, of course, also a valid option. ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.184|172.69.43.184]] 10:18, 6 June 2024 (UTC)
::Re: Tilde, depends what keyboard you're using, :) On a FULL standard keyboard (so, not a laptop keyboard) the standard is top left, Shift-Backward Apostrophe (Shift-`), left of the 1, under the Esc (''standard'', but far from universal). On my iPad (so, probably all iOS devices) tap the ".?123" button to get to the first symbols keyboard, then "#+=" for the second symbols keyboard (ironically, all three of those are on the FIRST keyboard). It's the same button as C on the QWERTY alphabetical keyboard. On my ancient Android phone, it's ALSO the second symbol keyboard, pretty much dead center. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:27, 15 June 2024 (UTC)
:::Most of that is covered, above... I know you replied elsewhere first, maybe you didn't read that comment... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.161|172.70.90.161]] 11:06, 15 June 2024 (UTC)
: I think it's fine if you can read/interpret the {{w|International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA}}. If you don't it's utterly incomprehensible. I think we need some examples here as to how the sounds written here are pronounced. Like "sound <x> as in <word>" [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 06:52, 6 June 2024 (UTC)
:: Yeah, except [[2819]] [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.120|172.70.163.120]] 08:30, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

>Alien impersonating a human

Sounds like a normal Runglish to me, just like the one you can hear in this clip: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXNKUo5MrbM]

I hate that he pointed this out, because I'm going to start pronouncing things the way they're supposed to sound and everyone will think I'm weirder. [[User:Psychoticpotato|Psychoticpotato]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 12:37, 6 June 2024 (UTC)
: How are you pronouncing 'Psychoticpotato'?[[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.6|172.69.195.6]] 13:10, 6 June 2024 (UTC)
::Think of the words "psychotic" and "potato". [[User:Psychoticpotato|Psychoticpotato]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 15:35, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

I added a bit more detail to the first diagram, but I agree it's not really plain English right now. btw, maybe it's pedantic of me, but diphthongs such as /oʊ/ are one vowel, and the whole word /ɡoʊ.ɪŋ/ only has two vowels

As for "hot potato", the post-vocalic T *is* pronounced, it's pronounced as a glottal stop. T is simply pronounced differently in different positions, it's how the letter works. Randall's probably referring to the alveolar plosive /t/, which most people think of as "the T sound" and would make you sound like an alien. SMBC made the point better: https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/2012-05-08
[[User:FrustratedPhonetics|FrustratedPhonetics]] ([[User talk:FrustratedPhonetics|talk]]) 13:57, 6 June 2024 (UTC)
:Unless, like me, you just elide straight into the following consonant. Hock ross buns, hock ross buns, wunner penee tooer penee, hock ross buns.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.166|172.69.43.166]] 14:19, 6 June 2024 (UTC)
::This causes me physical discomfort. [[User:Psychoticpotato|Psychoticpotato]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 15:41, 6 June 2024 (UTC)
:I find I say 'hod p'tato' but the 'd' only the precursor to 'd' that's never 'plosived': my tongue forming a tube with the roof of my mouth, closed just behind my teeth, so I don't think that's glottal. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.168|172.70.85.168]] 10:21, 7 June 2024 (UTC)

Not exactly original, "hopotado": that's just how French works. Consonants at the end of a word are only pronounced if the following word starts on a vowel. In which case the two are drawn into one word. The cool thing about French is that knowing this little rule, you can read out a text alound and others understand even if you don't. :D --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.86.100|162.158.86.100]] 21:38, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

A very small proportion of people can read and understand the IPA, and the explanation depends on knowledge of it currently. So it's a terrible explanation which needs to be written without phonetician jargon. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.42.81|162.158.42.81]] 05:16, 7 June 2024 (UTC)

The UK "bo'le" - I find I still say the 't' but with the sides of my tongue instead of the tip. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.168|172.70.85.168]] 10:21, 7 June 2024 (UTC)

If you don't fully touch your tongue to the roof of your mouth when you say "hot", it sounds normal while also having the "t" sound. I learned this by saying the phrase multiple times in class and having people look at me strangely. [[User:Psychoticpotato|Psychoticpotato]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 12:36, 7 June 2024 (UTC)

It's infuriating - as a linguist who specialised in English phonology and has since spent years writing voiceover scripts, so is acutely aware of pronunciation - trying to explain these phenomena to people who say "No, but I ''do'' pronounce the [x] whenever I say [y]. Listen..." 
"No,that's not an actual "tuh" sound though you're making there though, is it? It's more like..."
[[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 17:56, 7 June 2024 (UTC)

== "Sandhi" ==

Now I want someone to name their kid Sandhi, pronounced [säní].
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 14:17, 7 June 2024 (UTC)
:Poor kid. Every substitute teacher they had would pronounce it wrong. [[User:Psychoticpotato|Psychoticpotato]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 15:42, 7 June 2024 (UTC)

== Found while reading ''Buttercup Festival'' ==
Grade A gray day!
[[File:grade_a.jpg|frameless|caption]]
-- [[User:Psychoticpotato|Psychoticpotato]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 16:07, 7 June 2024 (UTC)

so he reveals he doesnt know what a fully pronounced t sounds like. Because I have never heard anybody not fully pronounce the t in hot, not even when saying hot potato. That is not an optimization, that is how t's sound.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.202.134|162.158.202.134]] 17:50, 7 June 2024 (UTC)
:As if you don't say it hoppa taydo when you're not focusing LOL --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.207.192|172.70.207.192]] 21:26, 14 June 2024 (UTC)
:You probably have ONLY heard the lazy pronunciation. :) There really IS a difference, you just haven't noticed because all of this feels SO subtle (I didn't notice any of this until reading this comic). I'm no linguist or know the jargon, so all I can do is try to explain my findings in layman-speak. It's natural and usual to slip through the "T" (I'm noticing even ''without'' "potato") unless you want to emphasis it: "It's a cold potato?" "It's a HOT potato!". When fully pronouncing the T, the T sound is more like "Te". When I fully pronounce the T, I'm noticing my tongue snaps off the roof of my mouth, while when saying it normally, like in "hot potato", my tongue barely touches the roof, it speeds through it in preparation for the P. Verbally like the difference between a full stop at a stop sign or a rolling stop. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:56, 15 June 2024 (UTC)

Talk:2940: Modes of Transportation

2024-06-14T10:17:46Z

172.70.90.161: /* Trans less convenient than buses? */

I'd say a bicycle is way less dangerous than a car [[Special:Contributions/172.68.192.196|172.68.192.196]] 21:36, 31 May 2024 (UTC) (para 1/4)
:Considering only the two vehicles themselves, I would probably agree with you but this comic is about convenience and danger of various means of transport. Wouldn't you agree that using a bicycle for transport in crowded city traffic is rather more dangerous to the cyclist than using a car is to the driver? {{unsigned ip|172.69.60.138|21:46, 31 May 2024}}
:It depends on whether you're comparing worst case injuries versus injury rate. Since airliners are considered one of the safest, I think it's injury rate. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 22:07, 31 May 2024 (UTC)
:I'd say a bicycle is less dangerous than a unicycle, but apparently walking<unicycle<car<bicycle. No metric I can think of matches that order, neither danger in a vacuum, danger in a self-environment, danger in a car environment, or danger to others in any environment. I'm quite confused. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.29|172.70.114.29]] 05:29, 1 June 2024 (UTC)
::On a per-passenger-mile basis, walking is over ten times more dangerous than driving, and trains are about four times as dangerous as planes. So this comic can't be about risk of death per mile. It must be something more like risk of death per hour, which is extremely low for unicycles since people don't usually ride them in life-threatening situations outside of circuses. Similarly, travelling to and from work on a pogo stick every day would be quite dangerous, but in practice, people hardly ever die on a pogo stick. So it depends how you measure it. [[User:EebstertheGreat|EebstertheGreat]] ([[User talk:EebstertheGreat|talk]]) 06:07, 1 June 2024 (UTC)
::: I can see the danger/hour, but surely the unicycle shouldn't count as a mode of transportation when it is used in a circus? You also don't want to count the hours when a car is stationary and the driver is waiting for someone to enter or leave (which is a significant amount of time for taxi's). So when it is used for actual transportation, it is most certainly more dangerous per hour than many other things on this graph. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.99|172.70.110.99]] 23:58, 1 June 2024 (UTC)
:I think there is a couple that are off on here since I think light aircraft and helicopters are also less dangerous than cars when looking at accident rates vs trips or vs miles traveled. Cars are quite dangerous. They sure are convenient though. [[Special:Contributions/172.64.238.87|172.64.238.87]] 09:57, 1 June 2024 (UTC)
:Agreed: By any metric I can think of, this chart is grossly off on more than one form of transport. For one thing, inline skating is ''much'' safer than skateboarding in almost every scenario except approaching a bunch of mean kids. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 21:59, 2 June 2024 (UTC)
: I think the metric he's using is actually ''perceived'' danger.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.145|172.70.90.145]] 08:19, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
:: I think the whole chart is on a "perceived" level. I would assume that "convenience" also would include "getting from A to B fast" for which cars and bicylces are too close together. And motorcycles are surely fun but if they were even closely as convenient as a car I would use the former more often than latter - which I don't as a car is MUCH more convenient. I think the meaningfulness of the chart is more like [[Fuck Grapefruit]] a matter of opinion than an actual analysis based on actual statistics. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:39, 3 June 2024 (UTC)

Most deaths are either due to involved cars or people doing races or stunts. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.192.196|172.68.192.196]] 21:36, 31 May 2024 (UTC) (para 2/4)

I would not count "died because plane crashed onto road" into car dangers, as I would not count F1 driver death into the same bucket as car commuters. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.192.196|172.68.192.196]] 21:36, 31 May 2024 (UTC) (para 3/4)
:So I would do the same for bikes. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.192.196|172.68.192.196]] 21:36, 31 May 2024 (UTC) (para 4/4)
::Agreed. Deaths caused by cars should not count against bikes unless "plane crashed onto road" would count against cars & 'flying by nuclear rocket' would count against the poor people walking below.
::[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 22:00, 2 June 2024 (UTC)

It's not actually true that a hot air balloon has only one possible direction of travel. It seemed relevant so I added a couple of sentences to the explanation. I suspect Randall is aware of this of course, being a weather nerd. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.69|162.158.74.69]] 00:28, 1 June 2024 (UTC)

Meh... A hot air balloon is not a "mode of transportation", that is it's not a means to go from location A (on the ground) to location B (on the ground) A hot air balloon is means of going ''Up'', and staying ''up'' for an reasonable period of time. In most balloon rides, the "destination" is irrelevant, the purpose of the ride is to reach altitude, not travel horizontally. I feel Randall misses the point of balloons here. It shouldn't be only the graph, because it's not a "Mode of transport".
[[User:Zeimusu|Zeimusu]] ([[User talk:Zeimusu|talk]]) 21:13, 1 June 2024 (UTC)
:The graph only addresses how convenient\dangerous things are as a form of transport. A Slip-N-Slide could easily have made the list, if Randall had viewed any such record attempts lately. Putting only practical modes of transport on the chart, would leave the lower right empty. If one wanted to know whether hot-air balloon ''was'' a practical mode of transport, one could theoretically consult a chart like this to find out that it isn't.
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 21:59, 2 June 2024 (UTC)

Are American hot air balloonists commonly fond of taking sniper rifles up with them? [[User:Kev|Kev]] ([[User talk:Kev|talk]]) 23:11, 31 May 2024 (UTC)
:From what I understand, it's considered unamerican not to.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.176|172.70.85.176]] 10:36, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
::Its not a commonly known law, but its actally illegal to enter a hotair balloon with anything less than a 12 gauge [[User:Apollo11|Apollo11]] ([[User talk:Apollo11|talk]]) 16:25, 3 June 2024 (UTC)

Dangerous to whom is relevant. Yes, cars are less dangerous to the driver than bicycles and pedestrians, but that is because the main threat to bicyclists and pedestrians is cars. If you count victim deaths in addition to perpetrator deaths, then cars are the least safe vehicle. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.99.30|172.71.99.30]] 01:56, 1 June 2024 (UTC)Regret
:Cars aren't dangerous; drivers are...[[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.82|172.70.86.82]] 09:38, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
:In fact, even the first part isn't true. If you just count self-caused injury/death, cars are more dangerous to their occupants than bikes are to their riders or, er, feet are to those walking.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.18|172.70.162.18]] 10:39, 3 June 2024 (UTC)

Are scooters really more convenient than bikes or does Randall just think they are cooler? Please discuss. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.58.128|172.69.58.128]] 04:17, 1 June 2024 (UTC)
:The convenience of scooters probably includes their relative storability/carryability between uses, easier to hop on and off (also you might get away with scootering down long corridors where a bike would be (more) frowned upon) and takes less maintenance. (Electric ones do have the additional fuss of charging (and ICE ones needing fuel/being more disruptively noisy), but hard to tell whether Randall means shove-along or motorised in any way). Probably he doesn't mean mopeds (also known as 'scooters', in some contexts), but they also may be considered like bicycles but marginally more convenient (when fuelled/serviced) and commensurately a little bit more dangerous (though I'd argue further over to near full-on-motorbikes, myself). But it's a lot of speculation either way. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.28|172.71.242.28]] 11:32, 1 June 2024 (UTC)
:Very inconvenient, and definitely more dangerous. No way to transport anything except in a rucksack. Terribly small wheels. Muscle-powered very strenous compared to a bike. Electrical make you freeze to death in winter. Wear down very quickly (bearings in wheels and steering, brakes). Only use for scooters are flat, smooth passages, certainly indoors. --[[Special:Contributions/172.71.246.69|172.71.246.69]] 09:49, 2 June 2024 (UTC)
:I think Randall's use of "scooters" here, may include mopeds & ebikes, since ebikes aren't listed here, yet are roughly equivalent to (or even just ''are'') a moped, while mopeds & high-output ebikes <45MPH are often classed among "scooters". [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 21:59, 2 June 2024 (UTC)
::A "high-output e-bike" is (or should) be classified under "motorbike". And I already (before I read this) included reference to electrically-assisted bicycles under the Bicycles entry itself. There may be various distinctions recognised under different local laws, but power-assisted-pedalling versions (augmenting, but not making insigificant, the riders' 'normal' effort) and power-rather-than-pedalling versions (which would go all the way up to those with ''no pedals'', totally reliant upon the motor) would probably sit either side of the notional divide that might be recognised by those in charge of classifying them. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.182|172.69.79.182]] 22:43, 2 June 2024 (UTC)
:::I suspect what ProphetZarquon was getting at is that they are often ''referred to'' as "scooters", as opposed to legally classed as such.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.121|172.70.163.121]] 10:41, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
::::"Scooter" for moped, yes. But though "moped" comes from "motor-assisted pedal cycles", where I come from, they're mini-motorbikes and essentially classed as such (you need road training, driving licence, insurance, vehicle registration), divorced entirely from non-motorised bicycles and now (fudging the issue) those bicycles with electric motor assistance. It's perhaps confusing enough with "bike" being understood differently by the cycling and the motorcycling communities, but an "e-bike" that's a "scooter" is really going to be an "e-motorbike" to avoid this kind of ambiguity, and I invite anyone who might be more confused by the current crop of motor-assisted-bicycles being called "e-bikes" to submit their own more disambiguative term. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.65|172.70.90.65]] 21:58, 3 June 2024 (UTC) (PS, the CAPTCHA I was just presented with was asking about "Motorcycles" and, as usual, just contained several obvious mopeds/scooters... But I know from experience that I have to go along with supporting the CAPTCHA's technically miseducated classification system.)
:::::Thing is, in a technical sense, any ebike is literally a moped, & not only are mopeds commonly and legally classed with scooters, but there's also a '''big''' regulatory gap between ≤750W ebikes & the >12KW emotos that consistently require "motorcycle" registration. A low-power ebike ''is'' just classed as a bicycle in most US regions, & over 45 MPH you're ''always'' into motorcycle classifications, but the plethora of moderately assisted 2-wheelers ''in between'', are not nearly so powerful or fast as to require motorcycle registration in many states, & instead fall into the non-licensed "scooter" classification, ''right alongside the classic mopeds which their performance characteristics are most directly comparable to.'' Not legal on interstates or other high-speed routes, nor on non-motorized routes, but legal to ride on surface streets & generally without requiring licensure. A low-power ebike doesn't differ from the performance characteristics of a bicycle enough to merit a separate listing, & a high-powered emoto is literally just an EV motorcycle, but a 1500W "ebike" is ''technically'' most similar to a moped, & legally falls into that same "scooter" category in many jurisdictions, due to being utterly unable to attain highway speeds. So, to the extent that some ebikes ''are'' much faster than a bicycle yet slower than a motorcycle, I believe ''those'' would logically be classed (like mopeds) as scooters.
:::::[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 01:47, 4 June 2024 (UTC)

I would expect that unicycles are more dangerous than bicycles. For that matter, bicycles are probably more dangerous than tricycles, and those would be slightly less safe than quadcycles. There we probably hit the optimal point, but I doubt anyone has done an in dept study into this matter. Just for starters: a double blind test would not be particularly safe for the riders. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.98.101|172.71.98.101]] 07:00, 1 June 2024 (UTC)
:When you have learnt how to ride a bike, a tricycle can actually be ''harder'' to ride, due to having to unlearn your existing bicycling instincts. To turn (or not to turn) on a bicycle involves at least 'microleaning', as well as steering, which can actually work against the steering geometry on a tricyle (perhaps a quadricycle is less effected, as one reverts to car-like behaviour/has to account for uneven road surfaces even more differently). Before you have the bike-riding skills (especially on front-wheel-pedal kids' trikes, which have yet more things going on than proper road-cycling tricycles) you generally don't get into the wrong mode of balance where you actually veer off exactly the opposite way to what you intend and maybe start to lift one of the rear wheels off the ground, or more.
:For similar reasons, it's much better to have a completely new passenger ('stoker') on a tandem who is not a cyclist than one who is (but it being their first time on a tandem). The 'steersman' does not need too much complication from their "luggage" instinctively leaning on their own (or unconsciously tugging left/right on their fixed-handlebars), at least until they've practiced their coordination so that there's just the right amount of weight redistribution at the right time to make the whole machine correctly metastable for the circumstances. A non-cyclist can generally be asked to "just sit there and pedal" and not, despite being told, throw themselves around in various ways not related to the (synchronised with the steersman) pedal-revs. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.28|172.71.242.28]] 11:32, 1 June 2024 (UTC)

There's a "jetpack" missing to the right of hot air ballons... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.61|108.162.221.61]] 10:26, 1 June 2024 (UTC)
:On the far right. Together with paragliding. --[[Special:Contributions/172.71.246.69|172.71.246.69]] 09:49, 2 June 2024 (UTC)
::Hey now, paragliding is quite safe & convenient, so long as you can locate updrafts, & have free airspace, & stay away from the back & sides of any upwind slopes, & don't bank too hard, & ... OK yeah, I can see it now. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 22:20, 2 June 2024 (UTC)
:: And jetskis.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.177|172.70.90.177]] 08:25, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
::: Also, {{w|Lawnchair_Larry_flight|helium balloon chair}}.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.7|172.70.85.7]] 08:29, 3 June 2024 (UTC)

Hot air balloons can be particularly dangerous in large groups, each being approximately 1.11% of an extinction level event. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.246.143|172.69.246.143]] 15:53, 1 June 2024 (UTC)
:That's only asserted to be true for the red ones... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.157|172.70.85.157]] 17:23, 1 June 2024 (UTC)

The place where motorcycles are on the map is why my uncle calls them "donercycles" - so many of their riders are organ donors because they die so much.
:You mean people are scraping them up and using them to make kebabs?![[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.184|172.69.43.184]] 12:48, 4 June 2024 (UTC)

== Other in-between modes of transport? ==

So which modes of transports belong in the white band between the "Zone of specialty and recreational vehicles" and the Hot air balloons? I would suggest the Autogyro (see [[1972:_Autogyros|#1972]]) between the skis and the hot air balloon. Any other suggestions? [[User:Frog23|Frog23]] ([[User talk:Frog23|talk]]) 22:44, 31 May 2024 (UTC)
:A shovel? Tunneling is both dangerous & inconvenient...
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 22:13, 2 June 2024 (UTC)
::Jet packs and guns https://whatif.xkcd.com/21/ [[User:Apollo11|Apollo11]] ([[User talk:Apollo11|talk]]) 16:28, 3 June 2024 (UTC)

== Explain "sign error" (done?) ==

I came here to find out what a sign-error is, but the description assumes I already know. {{unsigned ip|162.158.74.69|22:58, 31 May 2024}}
: I think he means if you have erroneously given a negative as a positive, and thereby flipped your y-axis the wrong way up - making inconvenient things appear convenient.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.186|172.70.162.186]] 08:33, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
::''And'' flipped the x-axis. Or at least how you treat it. Note that one axis is "more is better" (convenience) and the other is "less is better" (danger), so any analysis that looks at comparative overall desirability has to treat one axis's position in a negative manner, whether seeking the coordinate with least deviation from perfection, the most deviation from imperfection, the most desirable vector away from a midpoint or whatever. The choice of exactly how to compare might juggle the effective linear rank of all items, although it visually looks like Trains would always rank first in most treatments (except those with a very weird weighting between the two measures, or even an 'ideal' position not on the "not dangerous at all" edge but maybe at a 'comfortably desired' amount of thrill).
::So you need to apply exactly one sign-flip to identify the (normally) practical zone for being best (not "very convenient and very dangerous", which is high+high seeking; nor "undangerous and inconvenient", which seeks low+low). Apply that sign-flip to ''x'' instead of ''y'' (or vice-versa, depending upon your goal-seeking method) and you're identifying Hot Air Balloons as your perfect solution instead of (by Randall's apparent perception) Trains.
::At this point, you've not (just) flipped the Convenience axis over. Either you've flipped ''both'' around or you're now not doing the sanity-check on the original graph ''at all'' and just relying upon your doubly-missigned 'algorithm' (one input flipped, the other ''de''flipped).
::A related sign-error coordinate thing is in 3D data, where left-handed and right-handed coordinate systems are just a single sign-flip away (or all three flipped!), but often also combined with whether you should go with ''z'' being 'into' (or out of!) the paper graph (standard x-along and y-up, from 2D graphing) or it being 'up' (or 'down'!) with x/y being both laid horizontally. Both can be made true on a 'tabletop map', but less obvious which is the best way to use on a vertical screen. All this before you start applying other rotations, of course, to the data you initially define in whichever choice of fundemental coordinates you wish. But it can be confusing if you're unsure as to which baseline (left/right-handed, and "which axis is ''z''" probably less certain than subsequently filling in where the other two are) either to implement yourself or to interact with when you start work atop another basic implementation. I probably had more designs come up sideways (in some manner) than I ever did have them accidentally mirrored, whenever I started to dabble in a new 3D platform. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.230|172.69.195.230]] 10:37, 3 June 2024 (UTC)

"There is no such thing as a gliding helicopter." is a common misconception. Every helicopter pilot learns to [[wikipedia:Autorotation|autorotate]] reflexively when there is a power failure. {{unsigned|Ericprud|20:53, 5 June 2024|You're new: Remember to sign Talk comments; Don't top-post; We tend to use the handy wikilink template here... Otherwise, a valid comment. -- RandomIP editor, passing by.}}

Other than jetpack as someone mentioned, and a few other oddities with things attached to a chair, I thought of something worse, so bad I've only seen it in works of fiction, though I've seen it in a few separate ones, including the Secret of Mana video game and the original War of the Worlds novel (unlike many later adaption like the famous radio play and movies, which all changed quite a lot, the Martin's didn't travel to Earth using a rocket.) Namely, travel by being shot out of a cannon.
--[[Special:Contributions/172.70.131.28|172.70.131.28]] 18:02, 13 June 2024 (UTC)

== Trains less convenient than buses? ==

I am sorry but who wrote "examples such as buses (a mass transit solution arguably more convenient than trains)"? Is this some us centric view or what? I think I found Noone who would say a bus is more convenient than a train. Yet alone because buses are waaay slower while fast trains can drive with 300 km/h (sorry for SI units again, European here as you see). In trains you usually also have restaurants etc. so what could be less convenient than in a bus? --[[User:Rugk|Rugk]] ([[User talk:Rugk|talk]]) 00:26, 14 June 2024 (UTC)
:If you want a train to go between two places, you might need to build tracks, stations, etc to service the route. If you want to establish a bus route, you just need the roads, that many of the other transport options will possibly already be using.
:You can set up potentially unlimited bus-stops, as well as whatever end-point depot(s) might serve as hub, so less infrastructure there, too. (Some train services grant flag-down purposes in remote areas, and can handle there being no platforms, but there'll still be limitations and stopping/starting a train all the time isn't very convenient ''for the train''.)
:You can have a bus that takes you up or down a hill, on a local journey, in which any practical train route would (dedicated funiculars/cog-railways aside) have to take a long, slow and shallow-gradient route that will probably take you much longer and cost far more.
:...if you have the presence of a train service (and a long enough journey to make it worthwhile), then the possible added comforts of restaurant cars/other facilities are icing on the cake (long-distance coach journeys might also have basic choice of food and drink, on board, and the necessary means to deal with the inevitable sanitary issues without a road-stop), but planes can do much of that ''only'' with the provision of end-point airport (or prearranged airstrips/suitable floatplane-compatible bodies of water). Or else the dubiously 'convenient' use of {{w|Fulton surface-to-air recovery system|skyhook}} and/or parachute.
:But in comparison with many of the other types of transportation (assuming you have access to the particular vehicle, and the minimal amount of infrastructure as that vehicle requires to operate), trains are only convenient when a train-route infrastructure (or a set of linked ones) is established ''just for the train'', which (as far as end-points, at least) also applies to fixed-wing air travel to various degrees.
:Define your exact journey, and we can probably better define the convenience. I don't think unicycling from Denver to Honolulu is ever going to be practical, but then neither is relying (entirely) upon a railroad system and the boat will have a difficult start. Meanwhile, getting across campus for your first lecture of the day might make that unicycle ''one'' of the best options (quick; and least objectionable, apart from any implied smugness), assuming you can ride one. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.161|172.70.90.161]] 10:17, 14 June 2024 (UTC)