explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

790: Control

2013-12-19T15:58:43Z

173.245.55.217: well, it's hard to affect real space-time with LSD, however hard you try

{{comic
| number = 790
| date = September 8, 2010
| title = Control
| image = control.png
| titletext = Which, at one point, led to a study showing that LSD produces no more hallucinations than a placebo.
}}

==Explanation==
In a product experiment, two groups of people are given a certain pill or lotion. Some people are given the product to be tested, while others (the control group) are given a placebo; nobody is told which group they belong to. The control group acts as a norm for comparison against the others.

Randall has messed with this process by giving LSD ({{w|lysergic acid diethylamide}}) to the control group. LSD is a drug that causes hallucinations and distortions in the perception of time and space. [[Megan]], apparently a control, is experiencing spiders in her hallucinations. Since the control group is supposed to reflect what "normally" happens, this is indeed very confusing to the scientists.

The title text adds yet another layer of confusion. The product being tested is itself LSD, and since the control group is also under the influence of LSD, both groups act the same.

==Transcript==
:My Hobby:

:[Cueball looks down at his arm calmly, while next to him Megan is violently flailing around in terror. In the foreground, two scientists, one holding a clipboard, look on in puzzlement.]
:Cueball: My rash seems to have shrunk by about 20% today.
:Megan: OH GOD SPIDERS
:Scientists: ???

:Sneaking into experiments and giving LSD to the control group.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

1114: Metallurgy

2013-12-18T18:28:25Z

173.245.55.217: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1114
| date = September 28, 2012
| title = Metallurgy
| image = metallurgy.png
| titletext = This exotic blade was wrought from a different fallen star. The meteorite was a carbonaceous chondrite, so it's basically a lump of gravel glued into the shape of a sword. A SPACE sword!
| imagesize =
}}

==Explanation==
The comic explains how weapons would really behave if they were made out of unusual materials. In fantasy stories, using unusual materials for weapons traditionally makes the weapons more powerful and cooler despite limited explanation for exactly why materials of extraterrestrial origin are so superior to their earthen counterparts.

The first sword is made from an iron meteorite. The quality of such metal can be rather hit-and-miss. On one hand, iron from meteorites was often mixed with "terrestrial" iron in the early stages of human development to create relatively high quality steel for swords. Undeveloped metalworking techniques at the time meant that extraterrestrial metal was often more refined and plentiful than man-made metal ingots. With that in mind, however, [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0016703767901408 research] has shown that meteorites have an abundance of the chemical element Antimony (Sb) which by itself is a very brittle metal and therefore swords forged from metals harvested from meteorites may not be as strong as lore would have one think.

The second panel is a reference to stories set in Middle Earth and the sword is Sting, which glows blue when Orcs are near. Sting used to belong to Bilbo Baggins; when he grew old he gave it to Frodo Baggins as a gift. The dagger in question, though, glows because of the radioactive properties of {{w|Actinium}} (Ac) which is also highly toxic. Definitely not a dagger you would want to carry around for your every day battles.

The word "Eldritch" in the third panel means sinister, ghostly, or magical.

The fourth panel mentions that the weapon gives a +2 to a player's attribute. This is a reference to role-playing games in which it is common to find items that are able to improve one's character by increasing desirable attributes. In this case, however, +2 to cancer risk would definitely not be considered a desirable attribute to increase.

The title text refers to the last season ("Book 3: Fire") of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Sokka lost his boomerang and decides to apprentice for a short time with a swordsmith. When he chooses his metal, he chooses the giant meteor which felll earlier in the episode. Throughout the rest of the season, his Space Sword is heavily spoken of, as he forms an emotional attachment to it. On a side note, Toph the Earthbender gets a small piece of the meteor and wears it as an armband and bends it into useful things. The characters have a long argument about the oximoronic term space-earth, and Toph becomes the first metalbender.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are in a weapon store talking to a bearded salesman wearing a hat.]

:[Salesman holds up a sword]
:Salesman: This sword was forged from a fallen star. Antimony impurities make the blade surpassingly ''brittle'' and ''weak''.

:[Salesman holds up a dagger]
:Salesman: And this dagger is made of metal from a far-off kingdom. It glows blue.
:Off-panel: When orcs are near?

:Salesman: No, always. Radiation from the Actinium content.
:Megan: ...Does it have eldritch powers?

:Salesman: It gives the wearer +2 to cancer risk.
:Cueball: I think we should find another shop.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Cancer]]

Talk:670: Spinal Tap Amps

2013-12-12T16:49:11Z

173.245.55.217:

Specifically, it's $166.66 recurring per unit of loud. [[User:Thokling|Thokling]] ([[User talk:Thokling|talk]]) 22:49, 29 September 2013 (UTC)

I vote we start using "units of loud" instead of "decibels" {{unsigned ip|149.152.191.2}}
:Aye! [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.217|173.245.55.217]] 16:49, 12 December 2013 (UTC)BK201

Talk:1217: Cells

2013-12-11T20:10:22Z

173.245.55.217:

One can test the cytotoxicity (the ability to kill cells) on a petri-dish level for cancer cells and healthy cells separately. However, this is often not done, knowingly neglecting selectivity issues one could face if the tests were done. This should be included in the explanation. The part that is written in the moment mainly explains the title text. [[Special:Contributions/130.60.152.125|130.60.152.125]] 08:34, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

Sorry to correct you. Toxicity is tested for both, healthy cells an cancer cells. But as the targets for drugs are often present in both celltypes, the drug itself affect also both cells. Then you have to choose between certain death by cancer in short time and maybe death or side effects in the long row but survival. It's replacing one evil with another. Only very modern anticancer drugs (e.g. Gleevec) are selective enough to target (mostly) only cancer cells. The drawback is, as cancer in different people is not the same but different cells, you would need different drugs for everybodey affected. One way here lies in the personalized medicine, but that is very expensive...
[[Special:Contributions/195.37.27.58|195.37.27.58]] 10:05, 27 May 2013 (UTC)Richard

I've seen plenty of (academic, not industry) studies where tests on healthy cells were not done: The author present the synthesis of fancy new anti-cancer compounds XY, test it on HELA cells, see it is killing them, and publish this - even in high impact journals. This is a fact. [[Special:Contributions/130.60.152.125|130.60.152.125]] 11:09, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

I am pretty sure this comic refers to the most recent overhyped headline of that type 'Vitamin C kills cancer cells'. Since it sounded like a natural remedy it was very widely spread, and widely misunderstood.[[Special:Contributions/62.220.2.194|62.220.2.194]] 11:38, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

Oxygen kills cancer cells! Under high enough temperatures it reacts with organic molecules in cancer cells, and produces CO2, H2O and some other stuff. --[[Special:Contributions/81.23.24.43|81.23.24.43]] 12:28, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

Read environmentalists-how-to-tell-the-bad-ones-from-the-good[http://reformedperspective.ca/index.php/component/content/article/65-environmentalists-how-to-tell-the-bad-ones-from-the-good] as analogous on how people commonly are unable to decipher scientific information. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 20:51, 27 May 2013 (UTC)
:Hey, that's "A Canadian-based monthly Christian magazine". Randall and me do not accept this!--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:23, 27 May 2013 (UTC)
::Sure, we can just go with the Snopes [http://www.snopes.com/science/dhmo.asp] version instead ... [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 21:31, 27 May 2013 (UTC)
:::That April's fool is also a really old joke. "dihydrogen monoxide". H (hydrogen), two times - and O (oxygen) one time (mono...). My body and also yours too contains 60% of water. Any link to cancer? --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:45, 27 May 2013 (UTC)
::::They are both dangerous to your health [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 03:18, 28 May 2013 (UTC)
::[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] It would be "Randall and '''I''' do not ... " [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.217|173.245.55.217]] 20:10, 11 December 2013 (UTC)BK201

Actually, oxygen is quite toxic to all cells, even though our cells will quickly die without it. A very large proportion of our physiological pathways are involved in the two tasks of (1) using oxygen to meet the energy needs of our cells while (2) protecting our cells from its toxicity. Outside our cells also, oxygen is both essential and dangerous: much of our technology would not work without oxygen from the air, but that same oxygen creates a fire hazard.
[[Special:Contributions/24.91.233.200|24.91.233.200]] 12:16, 29 May 2013 (UTC)

I think [http://www.thethingspatientssay.com/2012/08/why-i-hate-herbal-supplements.html supplements i hate]this blog post is particularly relevant to this article --[[User:Guru-45|Guru-45]] ([[User talk:Guru-45|talk]]) 02:18, 9 September 2013 (UTC)

Talk:1302: Year in Review

2013-12-11T13:17:07Z

173.245.55.217:

"...she never saw an aurora borealis '''(or australis)'''"
Australis?
She specifically states ''northern'' lights. {{unsigned ip|141.101.81.8}}

Eclipses are so predictable I suspect that the 2017 eclipse was already predicted by Chinese before christ. I mean, they executed two astrologers in 2134 BCE for failing to predict one, so I'm sure others worked hard to save themselves. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:22, 11 December 2013 (UTC)

I think the joke of the comic is that she's giving an actual review/critique of the astronomical year itself, like one would review a movie. This is in contrast to the expected summary or recap of events occuring during the year. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.217|173.245.55.217]] 13:17, 11 December 2013 (UTC)Pat

Talk:564: Crossbows

2013-12-10T15:51:28Z

173.245.55.217:

Is there ''any'' evidence for involvement of velicoraptors in this comic?[[User:Guru-45|Guru-45]] ([[User talk:Guru-45|talk]]) 17:24, 29 July 2013 (UTC)
:I did add the incomplete tag. Physicists are unsure on gravity? I also can't see any hints for Velociraptors at the comic. The explain does need a major review. When I have enough time I will give a try.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 17:57, 29 July 2013 (UTC)

The "explanation" is really bad and contains many errors. The first sentence "Physicists are unsure of most of the forces that govern our everyday lives" is extremely vague; "attraction" is a certain sign of a force (i.e. the force pulls two particles together instead of pushing them apart), "gravity" is a certain type of force (like electromagnetism or the nuclear forces). The Higgs Boson is not a force, it wasn't theorized in the late 1900s, and it acts on the scale of fundamental particles which are several orders of magnitude smaller than atoms. The LHC was not set to be released, but to be activated. No serious particle physicist expected that the experiments at the LHC would have drastic ramifications. That accelerator had a malfunction shortly after its first activation had nothing to do with the Higgs Boson. etc. I Think this needs to be completely rewritten. --[[Special:Contributions/37.209.61.239|37.209.61.239]] 15:46, 19 August 2013 (UTC)

Err yes. This piece was a train wreck which I turned into a rundown shack. It needs a few more citation links (for the confirmation, and to Cueball and Randall), a few more examples of infestations, and a more fleshed out explanation of why a crossbow in particular (and if velociraptors come in). --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 21:38, 20 August 2013 (UTC)

The point of this was missed completely by this explanation. The physics Nobel price has never been avarded to more than three people and is only awarded to people alive when the price is given. As the discovery of the Higgs certainly will give a Nobel price to someone, and there are more than three people working in that particular lab on the Higgs, they prepare for some kind of battle royale until there are less than three researchers left, such that they can be awarded the price. {{unsigned ip|176.11.125.174}}

I did add the incomplete tag again because a summarize of some theories doesn't help.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:14, 22 August 2013 (UTC)

I think it's more likely to be option number 2, as they talk about how Cueball hasn't yet done the maths. If it was just a Nobel prize, they would've already known they were close to a breakthrough, without having to do any calc. Obviously the maths reveals the possibility of some sinister mutation as explained in point 2. Just a random opinion floating through. [[User:Alcatraz ii|Alcatraz ii]] ([[User talk:Alcatraz ii|talk]]) 10:31, 23 August 2013 (UTC)

No 2 might also be a reference to the quote by an American physicist that the LHC might discover dragons (see eg
http://blog.iandavis.com/2008/09/15/the-lhc-may-discover-dragons/). I still like explanation 1 best though, even dispute the math thing. Maybe it just refers to counting the lab members? [[Special:Contributions/85.164.251.29|85.164.251.29]] 17:47, 23 August 2013 (UTC)

I'm glad people are not complaining about the explanation anymore (I did put more effort into this baby than any page yet). I do not, however, think we can proceed any further until we get something straight from the horse's mouth, i.e. a clear indication from Randall of which way this comic was to be interpreted.

Until then, this explanation has explained all it can, and I thus see it as complete. --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 03:42, 24 August 2013 (UTC)

I think it just might be pointing at all the inside jokes a group of people have and the nuances the newbies have to put up with in order to be "IN" the group. Might also be a precursor to {{xkcd|794}}, although seemingly unrelated. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.217|173.245.55.217]] 15:51, 10 December 2013 (UTC)BK201

96: Mail

2013-12-09T20:10:01Z

173.245.55.217: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 96
| date = May 1, 2006
| title = Mail
| image = mail.png
| titletext = I'm on the USPS no fly list
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|phone and mail spam is missing here, should reference TSC no fly list instead of no fly zone}}
We see [[Cueball]] on a phone with someone who sends various strange things through postal mail. The third panel is a pun on the usage of the phrase 'a lot of time.' Normally, this means that something will take a while to finish; in this case, however, it means it is literally a large quantity of time that is being sent.

{{w|Chronon|Quantizing time}} ("discrete packets of time") is a theory that time is not continuous like as particles in the {{w|quantum mechanics}}. It could be one of the big mistakes in modern science, but feels as if there's more to it, in the world of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.

The title text states that due to his habit of mailing strange things, he has been barred from sending mail through the {{w|United States Postal Service}} (USPS).

A no fly list is a list of people that are not allowed to use commercial airlines for travel in the United States. It is maintained by the {{w|Terrorist Screening Center}}. Here the person sending strange objects through mail is on the USPS no-fly-list for people. The joke here is that USPS does not have such list for people. However, it does have one such list containing most consumer electronics with lithium batteries.<ref> {{cite web | url=http://www.ebnonline.com/author.asp?section_id=1061&doc_id=244675 | title=USPS Develops No-fly-list for electronics }} </ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Transcript==
:Phone: Do you think I could mail a running chainsaw to someone?
:Cueball: I doubt it.
:Phone: What about a baby's first word?
:Cueball: Look, your obsession with sending strange things through the mail is getting out of hand.
:Phone: Can you mail a blank stare?
:Phone: A dizzying height?
:Phone: Pi?
:Cueball: ...
:Phone: Well, did you at least get that package of time I sent you?
:Cueball: I ... you ... no, I didn't.
:Phone: Well, there was a lot of it, so it will probably take a while.

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

96: Mail

2013-12-09T20:08:28Z

173.245.55.217: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 96
| date = May 1, 2006
| title = Mail
| image = mail.png
| titletext = I'm on the USPS no fly list
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|phone and mail spam is missing here, should reference TSC no fly list instead of no fly zone}}
We see [[Cueball]] on a phone with someone who sends various strange things through postal mail. The third panel is a pun on the usage of the phrase 'a lot of time.' Normally, this means that something will take a while to finish; in this case, however, it means it is literally a large quantity of time that is being sent.

{{w|Chronon|Quantizing time}} ("discrete packets of time") is a theory that time is not continuous like as particles in the {{w|quantum mechanics}}. It could be one of the big mistakes in modern science, but feels as if there's more to it, in the world of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.

The title text states that due to his habit of mailing strange things, he has been barred from sending mail through the {{w|United States Postal Service}} (USPS).

A no fly list is a list of people that are not allowed to use commercial airlines for travel in the United States. It is maintained by the {{w|Terrorist Screening Center}}. Here the person sending strange objects through mail is on the USPS no-fly-list for people. The joke here is that USPS does not have such list for people. However, it does have one such list containing most consumer electronics with lithium batteries.<ref> {{cite web | url=http://www.ebnonline.com/author.asp?section_id=1061&doc_id=244675 | title=USPS Develops No-fly-list for electronics }} </ref>

==Transcript==
:Phone: Do you think I could mail a running chainsaw to someone?
:Cueball: I doubt it.
:Phone: What about a baby's first word?
:Cueball: Look, your obsession with sending strange things through the mail is getting out of hand.
:Phone: Can you mail a blank stare?
:Phone: A dizzying height?
:Phone: Pi?
:Cueball: ...
:Phone: Well, did you at least get that package of time I sent you?
:Cueball: I ... you ... no, I didn't.
:Phone: Well, there was a lot of it, so it will probably take a while.

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

Talk:1194: Stratigraphic Record

2013-12-04T19:31:02Z

173.245.55.217:

{{w|Zircon}} --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 06:58, 3 April 2013 (UTC)

See? THIS is how professionals shred evidence. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 09:12, 3 April 2013 (UTC)

I'm more curious if stuff from beginning of earth is still suspended in water somewhere. Think about it, can there really be 100% settlement of materials on the bottom of the ocean? Then again the light from that time is still traveling somewhere, we just need faster then light travel and very good sensor. - [[Special:Contributions/50.143.22.159|50.143.22.159]] 20:58, 3 April 2013 (UTC)

Interesting that the Earth's replies come from the {{w|Canadian Shield}}? Also, what with the coquettish tone of the Earth, and the detective story tone of the alt-text, could Randall be referencing the {{w|Giant impact hypothesis}}? --[[Special:Contributions/68.173.54.150|68.173.54.150]] 23:17, 3 April 2013 (UTC)

The line "I'll never tell" rings in my head from some movie, a little girl repeating it over and over, possibly just from a trailer for the movie. Maybe "Don't Say a Word" (2001) but I'm at work so I don't want to play the trailer.... Did this happen to anyone else? --[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 14:14, 4 April 2013 (UTC)
:"I'll never tell" is a song from the famous {{w|Once More, with Feeling (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)}}, which may explain why it 'rings' in [[User:DanB|DanB]]'s head. --GD [[Special:Contributions/94.173.98.162|94.173.98.162]] 21:06, 9 April 2013 (UTC)
:I have never heard the song, and yet I still feel the same as DanB does. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.217|173.245.55.217]] 19:31, 4 December 2013 (UTC)-BK

I'm pretty sure it comes from an old commercial, perhaps for Oil of Olay, where an actress talks about how it keeps her looking young and the the camera pulls in closer until she says "How old am I? I'll never tell." That would also fit the context. --RB

The current explanation isn't an explanation at all, it just restates stuff that's in the comic's transcript. I'd improve it, but the only reason I'm here is because I didn't understand the point. Presumably the last two panels refer to some thing from popular culture. [[User:Jeremyp|Jeremyp]] ([[User talk:Jeremyp|talk]]) 11:56, 5 April 2013 (UTC)

"Who am I? I'll never tell" was in the opening voice over of every episode of Gossip Girl. [[User:Jackdavinci|Jackdavinci]] ([[User talk:Jackdavinci|talk]]) 18:26, 5 April 2013 (UTC)
:Except "Gossip Girl" is newer than a lot of other potential references, and we already have the identity of the speaker given as Earth (or the personification thereof). [[Special:Contributions/76.106.251.87|76.106.251.87]] 07:27, 6 April 2013 (UTC)

Talk:422: A Better Idea

2013-12-04T16:39:18Z

173.245.55.217: Created page with "Why ''almost''? ~~~~BK"

Why ''almost''? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.217|173.245.55.217]] 16:39, 4 December 2013 (UTC)BK

Talk:545: Neutrality Schmeutrality

2013-12-02T16:02:17Z

173.245.55.217:

What if instead of word count, it was determined by letter count. so insert a word with multiple spellings like "colour/color" and people will repeatedly edit and re-edit the word over and over until the servers crashed ? --[[User:ParadoX|ParadoX]] ([[User talk:ParadoX|talk]]) 09:01, 26 June 2013 (UTC)ParadoX

I think that the idea is that the edit and re-editing would overload the servers without it being a change to a single word. [[User:Theo|Theo]] ([[User talk:Theo|talk]]) 21:06, 13 August 2013 (UTC)

:If Wikipedia's aim is to take a neutral stance, and Wikipedia is being exploited to determine which of two opposing sides receives a donation, Wikipedia's correct action would be to prevent the article from being written, thus enforcing Wikipedia's stance on neutrality. [[User:Thokling|Thokling]] ([[User talk:Thokling|talk]]) 20:17, 26 September 2013 (UTC)
::If there is no article, the word count is 0, which is an even number, so it goes to pro-choice activists. :) [[Special:Contributions/173.245.51.209|173.245.51.209]] 13:03, 6 November 2013 (UTC)

Lock the article mid-edit leaving a single word unfinished. That becomes a fraction of a word which is neit- [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.217|173.245.55.217]] 16:02, 2 December 2013 (UTC)BK

Talk:1293: Job Interview

2013-11-20T18:33:17Z

173.245.55.217:

Wouldn't this be a continuation of the story in "[http://xkcd.com/1032/ Networking]" [[User:Whiskey07|Whiskey07]] ([[User talk:Whiskey07|talk]]) 09:00, 20 November 2013 (UTC)

Isn't it [[Beret Guy]] character, and not just "employer with a hat"? --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 10:02, 20 November 2013 (UTC)

Why is the soup coming out of the electrical outlet (OK, it is label "soup", but that still does not explain it) [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]])
:Who said it was an electrical outlet? It's clearly a soup outlet, it's even labeled as such. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.208|141.101.98.208]] 16:23, 20 November 2013 (UTC)

"We can offer you a bunch of paychecks" - but not actual money? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.215|173.245.55.215]] 16:31, 20 November 2013 (UTC)

Anyone have an idea of what "There are ghosts here" means? --[[User:Dangerkeith3000|Dangerkeith3000]] ([[User talk:Dangerkeith3000|talk]]) 16:34, 20 November 2013 (UTC)

I think the joke here is just that this is an example of a "job interview from hell" or at least a very surreal/oddball job interview. Basically everything Beret Guy says or does is nonsensical or a non sequitur. E.g. "this real building I found" gives the impression that it may be a vacant building that he has somehow gained entrance to. It seems unlikely that a real company would make both apps and stickers for phones. Obviously you can't get soup out of a wall by plugging a cord into an electrical outlet. The humor derives from putting oneself in the position of the interviewee being confronted with this odd situation. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.217|173.245.55.217]] 18:33, 20 November 2013 (UTC)Pat