explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1513: Code Quality

2016-03-14T21:41:05Z

173.245.54.50: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1513
| date = April 17, 2015
| title = Code Quality
| image = code quality.png
| titletext = I honestly didn't think you could even USE emoji in variable names. Or that there were so many different crying ones.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is about the apprehension of asking for help from an expert who is a friend. Often we fear that we will be judged and they will think less of us, which is what occurs in this comic.

[[Ponytail]] is about to look at some {{w|source code}} [[Cueball]] has written, and he is warning her that he is self-taught so his code probably won't be written the way she is used to.

In spite of Ponytail's initial (polite) optimism, she comments in three increasingly harsh similes.

First, she suggests that reading his code is like being in a house built by a child, using a small axe to put together what he thought was a house based on a picture. She is saying that the code shows a lack of command of the language being programmed. This is like the common expression "if the only tool you have is a hammer, you'll treat everything as if it were a nail". New programmers make use the same techniques repeatedly, making them fit for situations that they are not intended for.

Second, she suggests that it looks like a salad recipe, written by a corporate lawyer on a phone with autocorrect that only corrected things to formulas from Microsoft Excel. She is saying that the code is verbose and the corrections that were done are illogical. This presumably relates to the developer not being an expert in their craft, and fixing the problems as they come up instead of reexamining the problem and solving it in a better way.

Third, she describes it as a transcript of a couple arguing at {{w|IKEA}}, which was then randomly edited until the computer compiled it with no errors. She is saying that the intent of the code is unclear due to the seemingly random use of the language. This is very similar to an infinite amount of monkeys bashing away on typewriters for an infinite amount of time eventually producing the complete works of Shakespeare. (A couple's argument may be even less coherent at Ikea than at the average store, since Ikea products have idiosyncratic names that are difficult to pronounce or transcribe for anyone who doesn't speak Swedish.) This might happen if the code was written so bad that it does not compile, and people edited the code until it compiles so they can see what the code accomplishes. That Cueball's code is in this bad a shape indicates he really hasn't learned the programming language; he just happens to have a program that works in some shape or fashion.

Finally, Cueball makes the rather weak assurance that he will read "a style guide", which articulates the intended use of the language. It seems clear from Ponytail's commentary that his {{w|Software quality|code quality}} would benefit from far more training in computer programming.

The title text refers to {{w|emoji}}. Ponytail's comment implies that some of Cueball's variables contained emoji, perhaps in an effort to capture the emotional content of the arguments which show through the requirements document.

===emoji===
Many crying-face emoji are possible if variables can include full Unicode (e.g., 😢,😭,😂,😪,😥,😰,😿,😹). In some programming languages it would be impossible to use them in variable names, as the symbols would break the language's syntax rules. Exceptions to this include {{w|Go (programming language)|Go}}, {{w|Swift (programming language)|Swift}}, and {{w|Java (programming language)|Java}} ([http://docs.oracle.com/javase/specs/jls/se7/html/jls-3.html#jls-3.8], [http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/lang/Character.html#isUnicodeIdentifierPart%28int%29]), but most languages with compilers that support Unicode characters can include this kind of emoji, even for languages that predate Unicode like {{w|C++}} and {{w|Lisp_(programming_language)|Lisp}}

===Programming Style===
Although few programming languages require a perfectly rigid style, so long as the code is syntactically accurate, most programmers follow some sort of {{w|Programming style|style}} to make the code easier to read. This includes indenting lines to show levels and using descriptive variable identifiers with special capitalization, (e.g., {{w|camelCase}}, capitalizing each word except for the first in a sentence, or {{w|snake_case}}, separating lowercase words with underscores).

==Transcript==
:[Cueball showing Ponytail his laptop.]
:Cueball: Keep in mind that I'm self-taught, so my code may be a little messy.
:Ponytail: Lemme see - I'm sure it's fine.

:[Ponytail sits at desk, Cueball stand behind her.]
:Ponytail: ...Wow. This is like being in a house built by a child using nothing but a hatchet and a picture of a house.

:[Ponytail sits at desk, Cueball stand behind her.]
:Ponytail: It's like a salad recipe written by a corporate lawyer using a phone autocorrect that only knew Excel formulas.

:[Ponytail sits at desk, Cueball stand behind her.]
:Ponytail: It's like someone took a transcript of a couple arguing at IKEA and made random edits until it compiled without errors.
:Cueball: '''''Okay,''''' I'll read a style guide.

==Trivia==
*Emoji can be simulated using {{w|ASCII}} characters, and have roots in ASCII {{w|emoticon}}s. Most languages will allow variable names to include underscores, so some sad face ASCII emoticon will be legal variable names, such as <code>T_T</code>, <code>p_q</code>, <code>ioi</code> etc., but such things rarely show up in software variables. Many more can be made possible using [http://hexascii.com/sad-emoticons/ UTF-8 characters].

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Language]]

1648: Famous Duos

2016-02-28T03:00:16Z

173.245.54.50: /* List of alternative duos */

{{comic
| number = 1648
| date = February 26, 2016
| title = Famous Duos
| image = famous_duos.png
| titletext = The Romeo and Butt-Head film actually got two thumbs up from Siskel and Oates.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|More on the reasons for why different alternative parings are made and what would the combos mean to people compared to the originals? Use the explanation column in the [[#List of alternative duos|list of alternative duos table]] for these updates.}}

In popular culture (the term is loosely used in this case) there are many '''famous duos''', such as {{w|Calvin & Hobbes}} (six-year-old boy and his toy tiger, from the cartoon strip with the same name) or {{w|David & Goliath}} (famous past King of Israel and giant, {{w|Biblical}} characters from the {{w|Book of Samuel}} in the {{w|Old Testament}}).

In this table, [[Randall]] describes a fictional {{w|Many-worlds interpretation|parallel universe}} where the same names are used in different combinations -- instead of Calvin, it is now Thelma (from the movie ''{{w|Thelma & Louise}}'') who is paired up with Hobbes, and Calvin is instead paired of with the King, from ''{{w|Anna and the King}}''. In all cases the one mentioned first on the list is also mentioned first in our universe, so it is always of the form Calvin and the King, never Calvin and Anna. There are 24 duos, and all 48 partners are mentioned (they go through four [[#Cycles|cycles]]). (In the title text of [[1644: Stargazing]] from the week before this comic, there is an indirect reference to parallel universes/{{w|multiverse}}).

The humor of this comic comes from the ridiculousness of the pairings, and the reader's imagination of the stories that are created with the pairs. See the whole [[#List of real duos|list of real duos]] as well as the [[#List of alternative duos|list of alternative duos]] below, with more detailed explanations.

In the title text, alternative movie ''Romeo and Butt-Head'' is mentioned, the fifth entry on the list. This is a combination of the famous {{w|Shakespeare}} play "{{w|Romeo and Juliet}}", which has been filmed many times; most recently in ''{{w|Romeo + Juliet}}'' from 1996 with {{w|Leonardo DiCaprio}} and {{w|Claire Danes}} in the leading roles. {{w|Butt-Head}} is the less stupid one (of the very stupid duo) from the animated TV series ''{{w|Beavis and Butt-Head}}'' (and a {{w|Beavis and Butt-Head Do America|film}}). As Romeo and Juliet is one of the best known love stories and Butt-Head is one of the most disgusting teens ever depicted on the big screen (only overtaken by {{w|Beavis}}), the combination could create disturbing pictures in people's heads (especially in the heads of anyone who may identify themselves with Juliet).

In the alternative universe, when this movie was released, it got the best possible review of two thumbs up from the critics ''Siskel and Oates''. {{w|Gene Siskel}} was paired with {{w|Roger Ebert}}, when they reviewed movies as the famous duo {{w|Siskel and Ebert}}. They were widely known for the "thumbs up/thumbs down" review summaries, with their best combined review being ''Two Thumbs Up'', one from each of them.

In the alternative universe Siskel and his partner gives the film a (surprising) two thumbs up, but Ebert has been replaced with Oates. This is a reference to John Oates of {{w|Hall & Oates}}, a famous American musical duo from Philadelphia.

There also exists a comedy duo named {{w|Garfunkel and Oates}}, formed by Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci, who chose the "Garfunkel and Oates" name by combining the second names from both ''Hall & Oates'' and ''{{w|Simon and Garfunkel}}'' (the latter duo is mentioned in the main comic). Although this exact combo would not be possible in the xkcd version, as the "real universe" combo takes the second names from two duos rather than the first name from one and the second name from another (as in this comic), there may definitely be a deliberate reference to this group as well which has taken the parallel universe idea into our universe.

===List of real duos===
*See the list of [[#List of alternative duos|alternative duos]] below.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
|+ Famous duos in this universe
|-
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | pairing
! scope="col" | Partner
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Explanation
! scope="col" | Name index
! scope="col" | Partner index
|-
| Thelma
| and
| Louise
| {{w|Thelma & Louise}} is a famous road trip film from 1991.
| 1
| 3
|-
| When Harry
| Met
| Sally
| {{w|When Harry Met Sally...}} is a romantic comedy film from 1989.
| 2
| 16
|-
| Batman
| and
| Robin
| {{w|Batman}} and {{w|Robin (comic)|Robin}} are comic book characters (first appearance for Batman was in 1939 Robin the year after). There have been several {{w|Batman_in_film#Films|films}} including one called {{w|Batman & Robin (film)|Batman & Robin}} from 1997. A new Batman film {{w|Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice}} has its release date three weeks after the release of this comic (2016-02-26).
| 3
| 4
|-
| {{w|Mark Antony|Antony}}
| and
| {{w|Cleopatra}}
| {{w|Mark_Antony#Antony_and_Cleopatra|Antony and Cleopatra}} are historical figures who had an afair and three children together after the death of {{w|Julius Caesar}} up to Anthony's death 30 BC.
| 4
| 12
|-
| Romeo
| and
| Juliet
| {{w|Romeo and Juliet}} are characters from {{w|Shakespeare's}} famous romantic tragedy, from 1597, made into several {{w|Romeo_and_Juliet_on_screen#Significant_feature_releases|major films}}.
| 5
| 24
|-
| {{w|Bonnie_and_Clyde#Bonnie_Parker|Bonnie}}
| and
| {{w|Bonnie_and_Clyde#Clyde_Barrow|Clyde}}
| {{w|Bonnie and Clyde}} were American criminals who traveled the central United States with their gang during the Great Depression until their death on May 23rd 1934. They are well known from the film {{w|Bonnie and Clyde (film)|Bonnie and Clyde}}.
| 6
| 7
|-
| {{w|Pinky_and_the_Brain#Pinky|Pinky}}
| and
| {{w|Pinky_and_the_Brain#Characters|the Brain}}
| Two mice from {{w|Pinky and the Brain}}, an American animated TV series from the nineties.
| 7
| 20
|-
| {{w|Paul Simon|Simon}}
| and
| {{w|Art Garfunkel|Garfunkel}}
| {{w|Simon & Garfunkel}} is a very famous musical duo from the sixties. (See also explanation for the title text).
| 8
| 22
|-
| Beauty
| and
| the Beast
| {{w|Beauty and the Beast}} are fairy tale characters from a French book from 1740, today best known from the {{w|Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Disney film}} from 1991.
| 9
| 10
|-
| {{w|Beavis}}
| and
| {{w|Butt-head}}
| {{w|Beavis and Butt-Head}} is an animated TV series from the nineties shown on {{w|MTV}}.
| 10
| 5
|-
| {{w|Rocky the Flying Squirrel|Rocky}}
| and
| {{w|Bullwinkle J. Moose|Bullwinkle}}
| A flying squirrel and a moose known from the {{w|The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show}}, an American animated TV series from the sixties.
| 11
| 2
|-
| {{w|Bud Abbott|Abbott}}
| and
| {{w|Lou Costello|Costello}}
| {{w|Abbott and Costello}} is a famous American comedy duo whose work in vaudeville and on stage, radio, film and television made them the most popular comedy team during the forties.
| 12
| 17
|-
| Dr. Jekyll
| and
| Mr. Hyde
| {{w|Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (character)|Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde}} are well known characters from the book {{w|Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde}} written by the Scottish author {{w|Robert Louis Stevenson}} in 1886. It has been adapted into several {{w|Adaptations_of_Strange_Case_of_Dr._Jekyll_and_Mr._Hyde#Film|films}}.
| 13
| 15
|-
| {{w|Samson}}
| and
| {{w|Delilah}}
| Samson and Delilah are Biblical characters from the {{w|Book of Judges}} (chapters 13-16). Samson was given supernatural strength by God in order to combat his enemies Samson had two vulnerabilities, however: his attraction to untrustworthy women and his hair, without which he was powerless. These vulnerabilities ultimately proved fatal for him when Delilah had him reveal the secret of his hair, which she subsequently cut of and handed him over to to be captured by the Philistines who gouges out his eyes and brought him to imprisonment in Gaza. He died when he got his hair back, Delilah had not explained why he was no longer strong so it had been allowed to grow out again, and then he used his power to tear down a temple he was led into, taking many enemies standing on the roof with him in death.
| 14
| 11
|-
| {{w|Butch Cassidy}}
| and
| the {{w|Sundance Kid}}
| They are historical criminals who died in 1908. They were notorious American train and bank robbers with the {{w|Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch}} gang in 1899-1901. They were made famous by the film {{w|Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid}} from 1969.
| 15
| 23
|-
| Bill
| and
| Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Bogus Journey
| {{w|Bill & Ted (franchise)|Bill & Ted}} are characters from the two films {{w|Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure}} (1989) and {{w|Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey}} (1991). The two titles are spread out on the two new pairings for Bill and Ted, in recognition that this duo is mainly known for these two films, although there also is a {{w|Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures (1990 TV series)|spin-off animated series}} from 1990-1991.
| 16
| 6
|-
| {{w|David}}
| and
| {{w|Goliath}}
| Biblical characters from best known from small David's defeat of giant Goliath in the story {{w|David#David_and_Goliath|David and Goliath}}. Davis later became the second king of Israel (according to the {{w|Books of Samuel}}, and according to the {{w|New Testament}}, an ancestor of {{w|Jesus}}.
| 17
| 8
|-
| {{w|Sherlock Holmes}}
| and
| {{w|Dr. Watson}}
| Characters from {{w|Arthur Conan Doyle}} famous books (from 1887-1927) which have been made into numerous {{w|Adaptations_of_Sherlock_Holmes#Film|films}}, recently (2009 and 2011) a new {{w|Sherlock Holmes (2009 film)|series of movies}} has been released with {{w|Robert Downey Jr.}} and {{w|Jude Law}} as the two characters, and there have also been several TV series, most famously the {{w|Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV series)|1984 TV series}}.
| 18
| 19
|-
| Jay
| and
| Silent Bob
| {{w|Jay and Silent Bob}} is a strange duo from {{w|View Askew Productions|View Askew's}} film universe first seen in the film {{w|Clerks}} from 1994 but they now even have a film names after the duo with {{w|Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back}} from 2001. The director of these movies, {{w|Kevin Smith}} plays Silent Bob, who of course rarely speaks, but when he finally does it often becomes a long defining monologue. Jay (played by {{w|Jason Mewes}}) talks all the time!
| 19
| 18
|-
| {{w|Anna Leonowens|Anna}}
| and
| the {{w|Mongkut|King}}
| Recently made famous by the film {{w|Anna and the King}} from 1999, based on the book {{w|Anna and the King of Siam (novel)|Anna and the King of Siam}} from 1944 by {{w|Margaret Landon}} who again is based on two memoirs written by Anna Leonowens in 1870 and 1872 based on her experience as Royal governess for King Mongkut's children and also as language secretary for the king from 1862-1867.
| 20
| 21
|-
| {{w|Calvin (Calvin and Hobbes)|Calvin}}
| and
| {{w|Hobbes (Calvin and Hobbes)|Hobbes}}
| {{w|Calvin and Hobbes}} is a famous comic series by {{w|Bill Watterson}} that ran from 1985-1995. Calvin being a six year old boy and Hobbes is Calvin's stuffed tiger and best friend, who becomes animated in his private fantasy world. They have been [[:Category:Calvin_and_Hobbes|featured regularly]] in xkcd most prominently in the "duo" comic: [[409: Electric Skateboard (Double Comic)]].
| 21
| 1
|-
| Timon
| and
| Pumbaa
| {{w|Timon and Pumbaa}} are characters from {{w|The Lion King}} film (1994) and they now also have their own {{w|The Lion King 1½|film from 2004}} and a {{w|Timon & Pumbaa (TV series)|TV series}} that ran from 1995-1999. There have been [[:Category:The Lion King|many references]] to ''The Lion King'' in xkcd, for instance the comment in the final panel of [[1504: Opportunity]], is from the original movie.
| 22
| 14
|-
| {{w|Mary Kate Olsen|Mary Kate}}
| and
| {{w|Ashley Olsen}}
| Known as the {{w|Mary-Kate_and_Ashley_Olsen|Olsen twins}} these {{w|Twin#Dizygotic_.28fraternal.29_twins|fraternal twin}} actresses from 1986 has been on TV since they were infants (on {{w|Full House}} from 1987) and began starring together in TV, film, and video projects, which enabled them to join the ranks of the wealthiest women in the entertainment industry at a young age. They have previously been the pun of the joke in [[362: Blade Runner]].
| 23
| 13
|-
| {{w|Mario}}
| and
| {{w|Luigi}}
| {{w|Mario Bros.}} is a very famous video game from 1983 where Mario and his brother Luigi are the main characters. They have been referenced in several xkcd comics for instance [[151: Mario]] or the entire [[:Category:Mario Kart|category that references]] the {{w|Mario Kart}} video game series.
| 24
| 9
|}

===List of alternative duos===
*See the list of [[#List of real duos|real duos]] above.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ Famous Duos in a nearby parallel universe
|-
! scope="col" | Duo name
! scope="col" | Explanation
|-
| Thelma and Hobbes
|
|-
| When Harry met Bullwinkle
|
|-
| Batman and Louise
| This duos name comes rather close to the real duo {{w|Clark Kent}} and {{w|Lois Lane}} especially since the film {{w|Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice}} was set for release three weeks after the release of this comic in February 2016.
|-
| Antony and Robin
|
|-
| Romeo and Butthead
| It would be quite a different story if either Butt-head should replace Juliet or if Romeo should replace Beavis... (Note Butt-Head is spelled with a hyphen, but has been misspelled in the comic.)
|-
| Bonnie and Ted's excellent adventure
|
|-
| Pinky and Clyde
| {{w|Ghosts_(Pac-Man)#Pinky|Pinky}} and {{w|Ghosts_(Pac-Man)#Clyde|Clyde}} are the names of the pink and orange {{w|Pacman}} ghosts in real life. But they are not a duo as there are {{w|Ghosts (Pac-Man)|four ghosts}} ({{w|Ghosts_(Pac-Man)#Blinky|Blinky}} and {{w|Ghosts_(Pac-Man)#Inky|Inky}} being the two others). As a result, the pinkyrefered to here is likeley the cartoon mouse who normally serves as minion to The Brain, another cartoon mouse featured elsewhere in this list. Clyde here refers to Clyde Chestnut Barrow, bank-robber and counterpart to Bonnie Elizabeth Parker also featured in this list.
|-
| Simon and Goliath
| Goliath begins with G as Garfunkel. Simon was the shorter of the duo thus fitting as David vs. Goliath.
|-
| Beauty and Luigi
|
|-
| Beavis and the Beast
| Beavis starts with the same three letters as Beauty, just like Beast does.
|-
| Rocky and Delilah
|
|-
| Abbot and Cleopatra
| Abbot starts with an A as does Anthony
|-
| Dr. Jekyll and Ashley Olsen
| Dr. Jekyll is the same as Mr. Hyde just like twins are (almost) the same persons (Although the Olsen twins are not {{w|Twin#IdenticalTwins|identical twins}}!) There are only three switches in this cycle. Butch Cassidy takes Mr. Hyde and the other Olson twin takes The Sundance Kid. This means that both twins are paired with a man instead of as in real life with a woman.
|-
| Samson and Pumbaa
| Samson has several letters in common with Timon but Samson is a huge man where Timon is a very small animal compared to the other main characters in The Lion King film. Samson and Goliath are the names of Belfast's two iconic cranes - it is only by knowing that Delilah and David is not a famous duo that the correct pairs can be determined.
|-
| Butch Cassidy and Mr. Hyde
| See above explanation for Dr. Jekyll and Ashley Olsen.
|-
| Bill and Sally's Bogus Journey
|
|-
| David and Costello
|
|-
| Sherlock Holmes and Silent Bob
| This is the only case of a direct switch between two duos. Dr. Watson usually listen to the musings of Sherlock Holmes and Silent Bob is, as his name indicates, mainly silent. Jay talks all the time
|-
| Jay and Dr. Watson
| See explanation above for their respective real universe partners (the only case of a direct switch between two duos).
|-
| Anna and the Brain
| The Brain desires to take over the world; the King is ruler of his domain.
|-
| Calvin and the King
| Although it is Calvin's fantasy that decides what happens, it is Hobbes that behaves like the King in their relationship at least when it comes to displaying physical strength to determine who decides.
|-
| Timon and Garfunkel
| Timon is put together with Garfunkel, which makes it a close match to Simon and Garfunkel.
|-
| Mary-Kate and the Sundance Kid
| See above explanation for Dr. Jekyll and Ashley Olsen.
|-
| Mario and Juliet
| Mario would have no issue with balconies. His name has some similarities with Romeo.
|}

===Cycles===
*There are four cycles.
*The cycles listed below are sorted like explained this example from the longest cycle:
**It starts with "Thelma" (from Thelma and Louse), who is paired with "Hobbes". Hobbes is then shown diagonally down in the next entry below, Calvin and Hobbes, thus leading from "Hobbes" to "Calvin", who is similarly paired with "the King" leading to Anna and so on, until "Batman" is paired with "Louise", completing the cycle.
* First cycle: length 15
Thelma & Louise
Calvin & Hobbes
Anna & the King
Pinky & the Brain
Bonnie & Clyde
Bill & Ted
Harry & Sally
Rocky & Bullwinkle
Samson & Delilah
Timon & Pumbaa
Simon & Garfunkel
David & Goliath
Abbot & Costello
Antony & Cleopatra
Batman & Robin

* Second cycle: length 4
Romeo & Juliet
Beavis & Butthead
Beauty & the Beast
Mario & Luigi

* Third cycle: length 3
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen
Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid

* Fourth cycle: length 2
Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson
Jay & Silent Bob

* Assigning an index starting with 1 (= Thelma & Louise) to 24 (= Mario & Luigi), they can be written as:

(1, 21, 20, 7, 6, 16, 2, 11, 14, 22, 8, 17, 12, 4, 3)
(5, 10, 9, 24)
(13, 23, 15)
(18, 19)

==Transcript==
:[Caption above the panel:]
:Famous Duos in a nearby parallel universe

:[A list with 24 duos with a gray “and" between the two names (in one case it is a “met") and three times there is a gray word before (once) or after (twice) the names. The list is centered with the “and" in the middle disregarding the length of the names on each side:]
:{|
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Thelma
| and
| Hobbes
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | When Harry
| met
| Bullwinkle
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Batman
| and
| Louise
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Antony
| and
| Robin
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Romeo
| and
| Butthead
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Bonnie
| and
| Ted's excellent adventure
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Pinky
| and
| Clyde
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Simon
| and
| Goliath
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Beauty
| and
| Luigi
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Beavis
| and
| the Beast
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Rocky
| and
| Delilah
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Abbot
| and
| Cleopatra
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Dr. Jekyll
| and
| Ashley Olsen
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Samson
| and
| Pumbaa
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Butch Cassidy
| and
| Mr. Hyde
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Bill
| and
| Sally's Bogus Journey
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | David
| and
| Costello
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Sherlock Holmes
| and
| Silent Bob
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Jay
| and
| Dr. Watson
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Anna
| and
| the Brain
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Calvin
| and
| the King
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Timon
| and
| Garfunkel
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Mary-Kate
| and
| the Sundance Kid
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Mario
| and
| Juliet
|}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Calvin and Hobbes]]
[[Category:The Lion King]]

1340: Unique Date

2014-03-10T14:03:24Z

173.245.54.50: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1340
| date = March 10, 2014
| title = Unique Date
| image = unique_date.png
| titletext = If our current civilization lasts another 8,000 years, it's probably fair to assume the Long Now Foundation got things right, and at some point we started listening to them and switched to five-digit years.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|The existing explanation has been updated with wiki links etc. But is the 10,000 year clock relevant at all? Should it maybe just be a trivia item?}}

Some people make a big deal about special dates such as 2000-01-01 or 2011-11-11. Many people for instance chooses these more "unique" days to get married, even though the day do not fall in a weekend. For instance 2007-07-07 - a summer day was very popular.

This comic, however, points out that every date is equally unique.

The Mayans had a repeating circle of years, which made it very difficult to record the dates of events far into the past as a given date was not unique! To prevent this, the {{W|ISO 8601}} states that the {{W|Gregorian calendar}} should be used (i.e. our system), which has no limit on years - but "only" uses four digit years.

Cueball thinks it's interesting that we have an infinite number of years; it never starts over again. This means that today's date will never be applicable again. It is one of his many [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:My_Hobby hobbies] to point this out every day. This would be incredibly annoying to Megan and everyone else!

The title text is referring to the {{W|Long Now Foundation}} who uses five digit year (the date of this comic would be written as 02014-03-10 by the foundation). They are for instance designing a [http://longnow.org/clock/ 10,000-year clock] that should be able to run for this long - and in principle it could display every date up to 99999-12-31 with its five digits.

As we currently use four-digit years this may cause a {{W|Year 10,000 problem|Y10K problem}}. Randall remarks that by the year 10,000, we will probably have switched over to a larger number of digits realizing that 'the Long Now Foundation got things right'.

A previous comic on date formats was [[1179: ISO 8601]]

==Transcript==
:[Cueball speaking to Megan and another person.]
:Cueball: Whoa, it's 2014-03-10! Under our system, this day will ''NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN!!''
:My Hobby: Pointing this out every day.
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]

Talk:720: Recipes

2014-02-06T10:51:43Z

173.245.54.50: added possible reference

are you sure it's mepls? looks like the A and the L just overlap a bit... [[Special:Contributions/98.201.111.246|98.201.111.246]] 17:59, 3 February 2013 (UTC)mr

The title text seems to be a reference to "dazed and confused," which must mean something more significant than most simple conjunctions. I'll figure it out at some point. --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 02:48, 20 August 2013 (UTC)

Also, I believe the laptop (notice how he holds it by the top of the screen) may be a reference to comic 925's (Cell Phones) title text "He (Black hat guy) holds the laptop like that on purpose, to make you cringe"...this is an unlikely reference though.
- androidtribbles

Talk:1324: Weather

2014-02-05T08:11:48Z

173.245.54.50:

So, how 'bout that local sports team eh? --[[User:Buggz|Buggz]] ([[User talk:Buggz|talk]]) 07:28, 31 January 2014 (UTC)

:The same gag is made in the movie Groundhog Day:

:'''Mrs. Lancaster''': There's talk of a blizzard.

:'''Phil Connors''': We may catch a break and that blizzard's gonna blow right by us. All of this moisture coming up out of the south by midday is probably gonna push on to the east of us and at high altitudes it's gonna crystallize and probably give us what we call snow. Probably will be some accumulation but here in Punxsutawney our high is gonna get up to about 30 today, teens tonight. Chance of precipitation about 20% today, 20% tomorrow. Did you want to talk about the weather or were you just making chit chat?

:[[User:Condor70|Condor70]] ([[User talk:Condor70|talk]]) 09:58, 31 January 2014 (UTC)

::But because February 2 is this Sunday, today is the appropriate day for this comic. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.35|108.162.221.35]] 14:39, 31 January 2014 (UTC)

Does Minnesota have anything to do with the actual comic? --[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.187|199.27.128.187]] 21:36, 31 January 2014 (UTC)

Article: "In title text, a clerk instead makes small talk about Derinkuyu Underground Cities"
Title Text: "store clerks aren't like 'hey, how 'bout those Derinkuyu underground cities!'" (emphasis mine) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.64|108.162.237.64]] 23:08, 31 January 2014 (UTC)

This could still use an explanation for "Think it'll verify?" [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.50|173.245.54.50]] 08:11, 5 February 2014 (UTC)

Talk:582: Brakes

2014-01-23T00:48:59Z

173.245.54.50:

The shirt would have been even better if they would have put the alt-text underneath! -- mwburden [[Special:Contributions/70.91.188.49|70.91.188.49]] 20:53, 12 December 2012 (UTC)

Car Talk wasn't a live call-in show! You call them, and they call you back, and it's edited into a show structure!
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.50|173.245.54.50]] 00:48, 23 January 2014 (UTC)