explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1449: Red Rover

2014-11-20T03:55:04Z

199.27.133.127: /* Names made of nouns */ new section

I don't know the exact rules or premise of "Red Rover", nor do I know the date of the Orogeny depicted here. {{unsigned|‎Lacedemonian}}

Red Rover is children's game that is common in the US.
http://www.wikihow.com/Play-Red-Rover

[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.241|199.27.128.241]] 22:22, 19 November 2014 (UTC)

Slide and mountain are highly relatable to many hikers, mountaineers and rock climbers in the Adirondacks and New Hampshire White Mountains. A slide is a rock feature common where a landslide occurs, leaving a bare strip of rock. Infamous slides occurred on mountains called Big Slide, Mount Colden, Gothics and Basin Mountain in the Adirondacks. The same happens elsewhere, such as in Colorado for instance, but I'm not sure if the feature has the same regional nickname.

Sliding is also another term for glissading (a common term among mountaineers and hikers), or a controlled slide descent in snown or on ice by sliding on your feet, belly or butt, often with an ice axe.

However, these terms would not be obviously relatable to most people. {{unsigned ip|‎173.245.54.211}}

== Names made of nouns ==

Nice to know I'm not the only one who finds it funny when names are made up of all nouns. SeaTac airport has a restaurant called "Mountain Room Bar" that was one of the first things that got me thinking about the concept.

246: Labyrinth Puzzle

2014-08-19T04:33:04Z

199.27.133.127: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 246
| date = April 9, 2007
| title = Labyrinth Puzzle
| image = labyrinth_puzzle.png
| titletext = And the whole setup is just a trap to capture escaping logicians. None of the doors actually lead out.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic alludes to a famous {{w|Knights and Knaves}} logic puzzle, and specifically to the version featured in the Jim Henson movie {{w|Labyrinth (film)|Labyrinth}}, with ''two'' doors and ''two'' guards. One guard always lies, and the other always tells the truth. One of the doors leads to freedom, and you can only ask one guard one question. The solution to this riddle involves a tricky question indeed. If you want to give the original puzzle a try for yourself, don't read the spoiler below.
*Solution: Ask one guard (it doesn't matter which one) which door the ''other'' guard would say leads out. ''Both'' guards will indicate the same door, which will be the door that ''doesn't'' lead out.

[[Black Hat]] added a third guard here who would stab his spear to [[Cueball]] on every tricky question. But even if the questions from before are not tricky enough to get stabbed there would be no helpful answer. And if Cueball asks one of the other guards the answers can't help to find the correct door. The only saving grace is that Black Hat has seemingly forgotten to impose the limit of a single question, but depending on how stab-happy the third guard is or is not this may not be enough.

The title text presents a typical behavior of Black Hat — no door in fact does lead out of this labyrinth.

==Transcript==
:[Three guards with spears stand in front of three doors. Black Hat and Cueball stand in front of the guards.]
:Black Hat: And over here we have the labyrinth guards. One always lies, one always tells the truth, and one stabs people who ask tricky questions.

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

246: Labyrinth Puzzle

2014-08-19T04:31:01Z

199.27.133.127: /* Explanation */ Those were the same solution, so I consolidated and corrected

{{comic
| number = 246
| date = April 9, 2007
| title = Labyrinth Puzzle
| image = labyrinth_puzzle.png
| titletext = And the whole setup is just a trap to capture escaping logicians. None of the doors actually lead out.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic alludes to a famous {{w|Knights and Knaves}} logic puzzle, and specifically to the version featured in the Jim Henson movie {{w|Labyrinth (film)|Labyrinth}}, with ''two'' doors and ''two'' guards. One guard always lies, and the other always tells the truth. One of the doors leads to freedom, and you can only ask one guard one question. The solution to this riddle involves a tricky question indeed. If you want to give the original puzzle a try for yourself, don't read the spoiler below.
*Solution: Ask one guard (it doesn't matter which one) which door the ''other'' guard would say leads out. ''Both'' guards will indicate the same door, which will be the door that ''doesn't'' lead out.

[[Black Hat]] added a third guard here who would stab his spear to [[Cueball]] on every tricky question. But even if the questions from before are not tricky enough to get stabbed there would be no helpful answer. And if Cueball asks one of the other guards the answers can't help to find the correct door.

The title text presents a typical behavior of Black Hat — no door in fact does lead out of this labyrinth.

==Transcript==
:[Three guards with spears stand in front of three doors. Black Hat and Cueball stand in front of the guards.]
:Black Hat: And over here we have the labyrinth guards. One always lies, one always tells the truth, and one stabs people who ask tricky questions.

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

322: Pix Plz

2014-08-19T04:21:03Z

199.27.133.127: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 322
| date = September 28, 2007
| title = Pix Plz
| image = pix_plz.png
| titletext = But one of the regulars in the channel is a girl!
}}

==Explanation==
Though this comic predates it, there is an [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/there-are-no-girls-on-the-internet Internet meme] best stated as "there are no girls on the Internet." (It is also known as [http://rules-of-the-internet.urbanup.com/2799580 Rule 16] or [http://rulesoftheinternet.com Rule 30] [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rules-of-the-internet of the Internet], not to be confused with Wolfram's cellular automata.) This comes partly from a supposition that girls aren't smart enough to go on the Internet or even use technology, and more directly from the idea that they are afraid of interacting in such a male-dominated subculture. Thankfully for humanity at large the meme is now the opposite of true (just look at the female-dominated Facebook) but still lives on as a joke, albeit not always a pleasant one. For many users, the {{Wiktionary|puerile}} nature of the Internet creates a repulsive force because of exactly what [[Cueball]] is doing. As soon as anyone claims to be a female online there will invariably be a slew of "[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/tits-or-gtfo tits or gtfo]" replies.

Randall projects this stereotypical Internet douchebaggery onto [[Cueball]], who behaves this way out of {{w|misogyny}} thinly disguised as a joke. This barely-a-joke, found in certain areas of the internet (especially IRC and 4chan), holds the view that women are only "good for" sex and porn. By making such a huge deal out of her being a girl, he directs unwanted sexual attention at any female who joins.

[[Black Hat]], while usually a destructive force, and self-proclaimed [[classhole]], stands up for women everywhere. (This makes sense when you consider that Black Hat tends to pursue Randall's thoughts in a more controversial way (see [[86: Digital Rights Management]]). He enlists the help of a [[Ponytail]] character named Joanna to [http://banhammer.urbanup.com/1921346 ban] Cueball from the Internet.

{{w|IRC}} is the acronym for Internet Relay Chat. It is a protocol that eventually evolved into the {{w|instant messenger}}s, {{w|chat room}}s, and {{w|XMPP|XMPP (formerly Jabber)}} servers around today. With the advent of live-streaming video online, IRC channels are making a come-back as a way for hosts and audiences to communicate with each other in real-time.

An {{w|Electromagnetic pulse|EMP}} is an electromagnetic pulse that will disrupt electronics from functioning normally. An EMP is an unusual spike in voltage. Small EMPs will disrupt electricity momentarily, larger EMPs are capable of burning out circuitry.

At the title text Cueball tries to defend his misogyny by claiming one of his IRC chat system acquaintances is a female, as if to imply that makes his words no longer misogynist (this is similar to the defense "I'm not racist! Some of my best friends are black!").

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat stands in the entrance to a room. The door has been broken down. A surprised Cueball has turned away from his computer to face the remains of the door.]
:Black Hat: Hi. I'm here about the girl who visited your IRC channel last night looking for Java help.
:Cueball: What did you do to my door?

:Black Hat: When someone with a feminine username joins your community and you say "OMG a woman on the Internet" and 'jokingly' ask for naked pics, you are being an asshole. You are not being ironic. You are not cracking everybody up. You are the number one reason women are so rare on the Internet.
:Black Hat: At least, the parts of it you frequent.

:[Ponytail enters the room, holding some sort of device.]
:Black Hat: As someone who likes nerdy girls, I do not appreciate this. I'm here to ban you from the Internet. The gal behind me with the EMP cannon is Joanna - she'll be assigned to you for the next year. Try to go online and she'll melt your PC.
:Cueball: Dude, she's hot. Is she single?
:Black Hat: Joanna, fire.
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

87: Velociraptors

2014-08-19T03:27:34Z

199.27.133.127:

{{comic
| number = 87
| date = April 10, 2006
| title = Velociraptors
| image = velociraptors.jpg
| titletext = You're probably thinking, 'has it been a decade?' It's been over thirteen years, buddy.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic refers to the film ''{{w|Jurassic Park}}'', a 1993 movie based on the 1990 novel by {{w|Michael Crichton}}. The film depicts a billionaire who buys an island and opens a zoo/theme park for dinosaurs cloned from DNA recovered from blood found in fossilized mosquitoes. Naturally, everything goes haywire, and several of the creatures, among which are the {{w|velociraptor}}s subject of this comic, try to devour every human in the theme park.

Velociraptors (often shortened as "{{w|Dromaeosauridae|raptors}}") are a species of relatively small, carnivorous {{w|dinosaur}} that play a central role in the original film and its sequels. In the film, packs of Velociraptors antagonize the main characters at various points, even entering buildings; they play a large role in the climax of the film. According to Wikipedia, the velociraptors in the film were erroneously based on {{w|Deinonychus}}. The movie depicts the velociraptors as having scaly reptilian skin, though dinosaurs of this type are now theorized to have been feathered.

As we see in this comic, and will see in future comics, even though it had been approximately thirteen years since he presumably first saw the film, [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] apparently has lived in perpetual fear of a real raptor attack. Specifically, in this comic he worries how a building would stand up against the creatures. The main risk posed by the house depicted comes by the large window in the living room, through which a Velociraptor could break-and-enter (believing that the bathroom window is too high for them to reach, and the door too secure to break through).

The image text points out what he presumes is the reader's disbelief that ''Jurassic Park'' had (as of 2006) been released so long ago (thirteen years prior). This is another classic xkcd premise which will later be the subject of a least one comic outright: #[[891]] five years later, which includes ''Jurassic Park'' again. It's the first in a long line of comments and comics Randall has made for the sole purpose of making us feel old.

==Transcript==
:[Picture of a suburban house, with lines pointing to various aspects.]

:High bathroom window: probably secure.

:Outer door: secure.

:Picture window: VELOCIRAPTOR ENTRY POINT!

:It's been over a decade since Jurassic Park opened, and I still size up buildings for their potential as shelter against Velociraptor attacks.

==Trivia==
*This comic marks the first reference in [[xkcd]] to ''{{w|Jurassic Park}}'', and specifically to [[Randall]]'s fear of [[:Category:Velociraptors|velociraptors]]. The fear will continue to be a subject of future comics and running jokes.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Jurassic Park]]
[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]

983: Privacy

2014-08-10T05:18:04Z

199.27.133.127: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 983
| date = November 28, 2011
| title = Privacy
| image = privacy.png
| titletext = Eventual headline: 'University Researchers Create Life in Lab! Darkness, Faulty Condoms Blamed.'
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is about [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] attempting to find some privacy to "hook up", which is slang for engaging in sexual activity.

They start by going to a dorm, supposedly Cueball's; however, the door is locked. They try Megan's dorm next, but Megan's roomate is currently playing a video game and is "in a {{w|Raid_(gaming)|raid}}", which is a phrase used in {{w|World of Warcraft}} and other {{w|Massively multiplayer online role-playing game|Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games}} or MMORPGs. A Raid is a large gathering of players that work together to defeat a difficult enemy.

The Rare book collection in the library in frame three is usually deserted, so it would be perfect for sexual activity, but instead a tour is going through the area instead. It is unclear if the tour is visiting {{w|Nelson Mandela}} in the rare book section or Nelson Mandela is visiting the school and is getting a tour through the rare book section.

Next they try an accelerator tunnel that is in use and thus locked. This is a normal safety feature in particle accelerators in order to protect researchers from being exposed to potentially dangerous radiation from the particle beam, simply by being near the accelerator while it is in use.

Then they try a beaver lodge. A beaver lodge is usually only accessible from underwater and during winter, the entrances are even further protected by a solid sheet of ice. Note that the final level of the Nintendo 64 game [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banjo-Kazooie Banjo-Kazooie] includes a beaver's living space resembling the one shown. In the game, the lodge is only accessible during the winter phase, when the player must swim from a hole in the ice to the underwater entrance.

With our current understanding of physics, there is neither the possibility of {{w|hyperspace}} existing, nor the possibility of getting there quickly.

The title text indicates that the two found privacy for sex in the lab, but inadvertently got Megan pregnant. This is a pun on news titles about scientists who have created synthetic life in the lab. This eventual headline appears in a few [[1037: Umwelt]] frames as "Scientists Create Life In Lab".

The comic [[658: Orbitals]] is similar.

==Transcript==
:Dorm:
:[An incredibly libidinous, extremely attractive couple try and enter one person's dorm room.]
:Locked.

:Other Dorm:
:[The same couple in the other person's dorm room, where the roommate is sitting at a computer playing an MMO.]
:Roommate: I'll be done Tuesday.
:Roommate in raid

:Library Rare Book Collection:
:[Libidinous couple staring inside the room from outside. Nelson Mandela and other university workers inside the room, looking at some extremely expensive items.]
:Occupied by tour for visiting Nelson Mandela

:Accelerator Tunnel:
:[Couple stares at a heavy, imposing door denying them entry.]
:Sealed while beam is in operation.

:Beaver Lodge:
:[Couple attempting to enter an occupied beaver lodge.]
:Frozen over for winter to keep out predators; only accessible via underwater entrance.

:Hyperspace:
:[Couple in front of a number of highly advanced physics textbooks.]
:Cueball: Are you ''sure?''
:Ruled out by current understanding of physics.

:College Law #27:
:The availability of private space is inversely proportional to the desirability of the hookup.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Sex]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Physics]]

983: Privacy

2014-08-10T05:15:11Z

199.27.133.127: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 983
| date = November 28, 2011
| title = Privacy
| image = privacy.png
| titletext = Eventual headline: 'University Researchers Create Life in Lab! Darkness, Faulty Condoms Blamed.'
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is about [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] attempting to find some privacy to "hook up", which is slang for engaging in sexual activity.

They start by going to a dorm (supposedly Cueball's); however, the door is locked. They try Mega's dorm next, but Megan's roomate is currently playing a video game and is "in a {{w|Raid_(gaming)|raid}}", which is a phrase used in {{w|World of Warcraft}} and other {{w|Massively multiplayer online role-playing game|Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games}} or MMORPGs. A Raid is a large gathering of players that work together to defeat a difficult enemy.

The Rare book collection in the library in frame three is usually deserted, so it would be perfect for sexual activity, but instead a tour is going through the area instead. It is unclear if the tour is visiting {{w|Nelson Mandela}} in the rare book section or Nelson Mandela is visiting the school and is getting a tour through the rare book section.

Next they try an accelerator tunnel that is in use and thus locked. This is a normal safety feature in particle accelerators in order to protect researchers from being exposed to potentially dangerous radiation from the particle beam, simply by being near the accelerator while it is in use.

Then they try a beaver lodge. A beaver lodge is usually only accessible from underwater and during winter, the entrances are even further protected by a solid sheet of ice. Note that the final level of the Nintendo 64 game [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banjo-Kazooie Banjo-Kazooie] includes a beaver's living space resembling the one shown. In the game, the lodge is only accessible during the winter phase, when the player must swim from a hole in the ice to the underwater entrance.

With our current understanding of physics, there is neither the possibility of {{w|hyperspace}} existing, nor the possibility of getting there quickly.

The title text indicates that the two found privacy for sex in the lab, but inadvertently got Megan pregnant. This is a pun on news titles about scientists who have created synthetic life in the lab. This eventual headline appears in a few [[1037: Umwelt]] frames as "Scientists Create Life In Lab".

The comic [[658: Orbitals]] is similar.

==Transcript==
:Dorm:
:[An incredibly libidinous, extremely attractive couple try and enter one person's dorm room.]
:Locked.

:Other Dorm:
:[The same couple in the other person's dorm room, where the roommate is sitting at a computer playing an MMO.]
:Roommate: I'll be done Tuesday.
:Roommate in raid

:Library Rare Book Collection:
:[Libidinous couple staring inside the room from outside. Nelson Mandela and other university workers inside the room, looking at some extremely expensive items.]
:Occupied by tour for visiting Nelson Mandela

:Accelerator Tunnel:
:[Couple stares at a heavy, imposing door denying them entry.]
:Sealed while beam is in operation.

:Beaver Lodge:
:[Couple attempting to enter an occupied beaver lodge.]
:Frozen over for winter to keep out predators; only accessible via underwater entrance.

:Hyperspace:
:[Couple in front of a number of highly advanced physics textbooks.]
:Cueball: Are you ''sure?''
:Ruled out by current understanding of physics.

:College Law #27:
:The availability of private space is inversely proportional to the desirability of the hookup.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Sex]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Physics]]

985: Percentage Points

2014-08-10T05:08:51Z

199.27.133.127: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 985
| date = December 2, 2011
| title = Percentage Points
| image = percentage_points.png
| titletext = Grayton also proposed making college scholarships available exclusively to sexually active teens, amnesty for illegal immigrants who create room for themselves by killing a citizen, and a graduated income tax based on penis size. He has been endorsed by Tracy Morgan, John Wilkes Booth's ghost, and the Time Cube guy.
}}

==Explanation==
Senator Grayton is a fictional character, made up for this comic, which is unusual for xkcd, which typically uses real-world references.

The issues that Grayton supports:

*Tax Breaks to Drunk Drivers: Grayton proposes giving those who have been convicted of a {{w|DUI}} or DWI (i.e. Driving Under the Influence or Driving While Intoxicated) money back on their taxes, when those infractions are typically severely penalized, as drunk driving has resulted in numerous deaths.
*{{w|Predator Drones}} and the {{w|Christmas controversy|War on Christmas}}: The War on {{w|Christmas}} is not a real war; it is simply the perception by some {{w|Christian}}s that non-Christians are trying to replace traditional Christmas imagery with more inclusive and generic holiday customs. No politicians have explicitly announced their support of the "War on Christmas," and the idea that one would not only do so, but would also want to use drones —ostensibly to harm or possibly kill people— in the effort is an absurd exaggeration of a relatively harmless culture war.

The caption's issue with "percentage" versus "percentage points" is that if Grayton's 20% approval rating drops by 19%, that means that his support has only dropped 3.8 percentage points since 19% of 20% is only 3.8%. That would mean that even after all his outrageous statements, his support dropped only from 20% to 16.2%. However, if the news reports that his 20% approval rating dropped 19 ''percentage points'', that means his support has dropped to 1%, which appears to be more accurate given Grayton's egregious policy decisions and the description of his campaign as having "imploded."

References in the title text:

*{{w|Tracy Morgan}} is an actor who plays himself in the TV Show {{w|30 Rock}}. He has been reprimanded for controversial comments on homosexuals and {{w|Sarah Palin}} (in separate incidents).
*{{w|John Wilkes Booth}} is the person who assassinated {{w|Abraham Lincoln}}. He was a {{w|Confederate}} sympathizer and supported slavery.
*"The {{w|Time Cube}} Guy" would be Gene Ray, also known as Otis E. Ray. He has a website known as Time Cube where he sets out his personal model of reality, which he calls Time Cube. He suggests that all of modern physics is wrong, in addition to claiming that religion is evil, specifically Christianity, and that the idea of family is poisoning children.
*College Scholarships to Sexually Active Teens: Many people think adolescents should not engage in sexual activity, let alone encouraged to do so by college scholarships. This is the opposite of {{w|Abstinence-only sex education|abstinence programs}}, which encourage teens not to be sexually active until marriage.
*Illegal immigrants who create room for themselves by killing a citizen: {{w|Illegal immigration to the United States|Illegal immigration}} is a highly controversial topic in the United States. One argument against illegal immigration is that illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from American citizens. Proponents of immigration assert that this is not the case, since more people in the overall economy creates jobs and brings in more sales tax revenue. Neither group would be in favor of illegal immigrants murdering citizens even though it would not result in a net gain or loss in population.
*Graduated income tax based on penis size: Many men are sensitive about their penis size and would probably consider the measurement of their penises for tax assessment purposes an enormous embarrassment and invasion of privacy. Even the scenario in which those with relatively smaller penises would be levied less tax than those with larger penises would probably not be sufficient for them to accept this policy, and even if they did, those with larger penises would probably consider this policy to be unfair. And the alternative - a scenario in which ''larger'' penises pay less taxes - would be both unfair and incredibly demeaning.

==Transcript==
:[An average news anchor reading news copy of below average intelligence appears on a TV, with Cueball watching it in utter disgust.]

:News Anchor: Senator Grayton's campaign has imploded following the candidate's promise to give tax breaks to drunk drivers and to authorize the use of unmanned Predator drones in the War On Christmas. Grayton had been polling at 20%, but his support has since plunged by 19%.

:I hate the ambiguity created when people don't distinguish between percentages and percentage points.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Penis]]

985: Percentage Points

2014-08-10T05:05:23Z

199.27.133.127: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 985
| date = December 2, 2011
| title = Percentage Points
| image = percentage_points.png
| titletext = Grayton also proposed making college scholarships available exclusively to sexually active teens, amnesty for illegal immigrants who create room for themselves by killing a citizen, and a graduated income tax based on penis size. He has been endorsed by Tracy Morgan, John Wilkes Booth's ghost, and the Time Cube guy.
}}

==Explanation==
Senator Grayton is a fictional character, made up for this comic, which is unusual for xkcd, which typically uses real-world references.

The issues that Grayton supports:

*Tax Breaks to Drunk Drivers: Grayton proposes giving those who have been convicted of a {{w|DUI}} or DWI (i.e. Driving Under the Influence or Driving While Intoxicated) money back on their taxes, when those infractions are typically severely penalized, as drunk driving has resulted in numerous deaths.
*{{w|Predator Drones}} and the {{w|Christmas controversy|War on Christmas}}: The War on {{w|Christmas}} is not a real war; it is simply the perception by some {{w|Christian}}s that non-Christians are trying to replace traditional Christmas imagery with more inclusive and generic holiday customs. No politicians have explicitly announced their support of the "War on Christmas," and the idea that one would not only do so, but would also want to use drones —ostensibly to harm or possibly kill people— in the effort is an absurd exaggeration of a relatively harmless culture war.

The caption's issue with "percentage" versus "percentage points" is that if Grayton's 20% approval rating drops by 19%, that means that his support has only dropped 3.8 percentage points since 19% of 20% is only 3.8%. That would mean that even after all his outrageous statements, his support dropped only from 20% to 16.2%. However, if the news reports that his 20% approval rating dropped 19 ''percentage points'', that means his support has dropped to 1%, which appears to be more accurate given Grayton's egregious policy decisions and the description of his campaign as having "imploded."

References in the title text:

*{{w|Tracy Morgan}} is an actor who plays himself in the TV Show {{w|30 Rock}}. He has been reprimanded for controversial comments on homosexuals and {{w|Sarah Palin}} (in separate incidents).
*{{w|John Wilkes Booth}} is the person who assassinated {{w|Abraham Lincoln}}. He was a {{w|Confederate}} sympathizer and supported slavery.
*{{w|Time Cube}} Guy is Gene Ray, also known as Otis E. Ray. He has a website known as Time Cube where he sets out his personal model of reality, which he calls Time Cube. He suggests that all of modern physics is wrong, in addition to claiming that religion is evil, specifically Christianity, and that the idea of family is poisoning children.
*College Scholarships to Sexually Active Teens: Many people think adolescents should not engage in sexual activity, let alone encouraged to do so by college scholarships. This is the opposite of {{w|Abstinence-only sex education|abstinence programs}}, which encourage teens not to be sexually active until marriage.
*Illegal immigrants who create room for themselves by killing a citizen: {{w|Illegal immigration to the United States|Illegal immigration}} is a highly controversial topic in the United States. One argument against illegal immigration is that illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from American citizens. Proponents of immigration assert that this is not the case, since more people in the overall economy creates jobs and brings in more sales tax revenue. Neither group would be in favor of illegal immigrants murdering citizens even though it would not result in a net gain or loss in population.
*Graduated income tax based on penis size: Many men are sensitive about their penis size and would probably consider the measurement of their penises for tax assessment purposes an enormous embarrassment and invasion of privacy. Even the scenario in which those with relatively smaller penises would be levied less tax than those with larger penises would probably not be sufficient for them to accept this policy, and even if they did, those with larger penises would probably consider this policy to be unfair. And the alternative - a scenario in which ''larger'' penises pay less taxes - would be both unfair and incredibly demeaning.

==Transcript==
:[An average news anchor reading news copy of below average intelligence appears on a TV, with Cueball watching it in utter disgust.]

:News Anchor: Senator Grayton's campaign has imploded following the candidate's promise to give tax breaks to drunk drivers and to authorize the use of unmanned Predator drones in the War On Christmas. Grayton had been polling at 20%, but his support has since plunged by 19%.

:I hate the ambiguity created when people don't distinguish between percentages and percentage points.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Penis]]

988: Tradition

2014-08-10T04:52:58Z

199.27.133.127: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 988
| date = December 9, 2011
| title = Tradition
| image = tradition.png
| titletext = An 'American tradition' is anything that happened to a baby boomer twice.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic uses the source of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers to say that the 20 most played Christmas songs in the US between 2000 and 2009 were all released between the 1930s and 1970s. It conspicuously excludes a number of more modern songs that seem ubiquitous, but this is because those songs do not appear on the ASCAP list.

"Popular release" in this context means release to the general public, not the version of the song which is most popular.

The {{w|Post–World War II baby boom|Baby Boomers}} were born in a period of time after {{w|World War II|the second World War}} after the troops came home and, thankful for their lives, went on to produce lots of children.

The data appears to come from [http://www.ascap.com/press/2009/1123_holidays_songs.aspx an ASCAP survey conducted in 2009].

The title text points out that many "traditions" actually have no historical precedent, they're just routines that have been spread by lots of people. The Baby Boomers, since they made up a ''huge'' fraction of the US population, were able to accidentally ground many "traditions" that their parents made up in American society just by consensus among themselves.

==Transcript==
:The 20 most-played Christmas songs (2000-2009 radio airplay) by decade of popular release
:[A bar chart labeled on the X-axis with the decades "1900s" through "2000s" labeled. Each bar has, as one unit, a labeled song.
:"1900s", "1910s", "1920s", "1980s", "1990s", and "2000s" are empty.
:"1930s" has "Santa Claus is Coming to Town".
:"1940s" has "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "Winter Wonderland", "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire", "Let it Snow", "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", "I'll be Home for Christmas", and "White Christmas".
:"1950s" has "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", "Jingle Bell Rock", "Blue Christmas", "Little Drummer Boy", "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus", "Silver Bells", "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas", "Sleigh Ride", and "Frosty the Snowman"
:"1960s" has "Holly Jolly Christmas" and "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"
:"1970s" has "Feliz Navidad"]
:Every year, American culture embarks on a massive project to carefully recreate the Christmases of Baby Boomers' childhoods.

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

Talk:1260: LD50

2014-08-03T20:56:31Z

199.27.133.127:

There's one toxicology paper that's facing us instead of laying flat. Is it just me, or is there a funny "concerned" face on it? --[[User:Druid816|Druid816]] ([[User talk:Druid816|talk]]) 05:58, 4 September 2013 (UTC)
:I think that's just pareidolia at work [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.127|199.27.133.127]] 20:56, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

Oh my, when I checked the comic this morning I didn't even see Cueball lying underneath the stack of toxicology papers... --[[User:Buggz|Buggz]] ([[User talk:Buggz|talk]]) 06:17, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

Is there any way to move this page from LD50 to LD50? [[Special:Contributions/208.120.153.144|208.120.153.144]] 06:31, 4 September 2013 (UTC)
:We try to stay as faithful to the main xkcd comics as possible when referencing xkcd materials. If the comic title on xkcd.com is LD50, it's LD50 here too. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 06:51, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

Wait, that's just one scientist out of three that died of toxicity data. Doesn't that mean, that they've only determined LD33? Is there any way to estimate LD50 from LD33? Imho the exact distribution of death rate / dose would have to be known up to one free parameter for such an estimate... -- [[User:Xorg|Xorg]] ([[User talk:Xorg|talk]]) 10:56, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

:I tried to address this with an edit. Betwixt the ultimate and penultimate ("...he/she weighs.") sentences I started to add:
::Presumably, for every recorded death a statistically matched second person survived the same load. In this case ''perhaps'' this is the Cueball scientist behind the Megan scientist, although he is now obviously unencumbered.

:::But what do we know, maybe Cueball is only half dead.{{unsigned ip|189.186.105.168}}

:...although it started to run away with me. Was also going to say something about saving paper by re-using the 'test dose', or something, but it's already getting too long. But someone might be able to edit it (and even re-arrange it) better than I. [[Special:Contributions/178.106.190.241|178.106.190.241]] 11:42, 4 September 2013 (UTC)
:Second-thoughts edit! The person beneath the documentation isn't ''necessarily'' the dead one (in any given pair)! He lacks any obvious signs of being deceased (e.g. "a cross for an eye", by common cartoon standards, albeit that cueballs generally don't have eyes, or signs of bodily breakage or presumably vital fluids slowly seeping across the floor, or...). Thus maybe this is one of the (uncomfortable!) survivors from the cohort of testees, being observed. If only Randall would have added a sign of death (or life, like a "groan") then we could get on with our lives! (Unlike fully half of those tested upon.) [[Special:Contributions/178.106.190.241|178.106.190.241]] 11:51, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

A third edit from me: Regular printing paper's density (according to Wiki) is 800kg/m³, with the human body being slightly less than 1000kg/m³ as a ready reckoner (oh, go on then... wiki says... oh, it doesn't, obviously at least... well, given how we float in water, I'd estimate it at 850-950kg/m³). Doesn't that pile of literature (even assuming air gaps, and possibly some lamination/plastic covering of perhaps even less dense nature) look a ''little'' more than than twice-and-a-bit the volume of the typical Cueball beneath, even unflattened and unstickified? Right, that was my last edit. Honest. [[Special:Contributions/178.106.190.241|178.106.190.241]] 12:02, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

Could it be that by "administered orally", Randall means "verbally" (i.e. read out loud)? I think that could be quite a funny interpretation... :-) [[User:Gregatar|Gregatar]] ([[User talk:Gregatar|talk]]) 18:56, 4 September 2013 (UTC)
:Aurally? [[Special:Contributions/79.45.204.116|79.45.204.116]] 16:55, 5 September 2013 (UTC)APB
::YA RLY!!! [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.67|173.245.55.67]] 14:06, 1 April 2014 (UTC)BK201

I totally agree with this 'verbally' thing, I was thinking the same, that a too large set of data read out loud would be fatal after a few 100 pages :) Include in explanation?
[[User:Flekkie|Flekkie]] ([[User talk:Flekkie|talk]]) 23:50, 5 September 2013 (UTC)

Laughing my ass off!!! But nothing to contribute other than laughter. :¬D [[User:ExternalMonolog|ExternalMonolog]] ([[User talk:ExternalMonolog|talk]]) 20:14, 4 September 2013 (UTC)ExternalMonolog

Something is very wrong here. The LD50 is the dose required to kill HALF of the test population, but here we see only one guy, and he's presumably either dead or not-dead. The "2kg/kg" figure suggests that if you drop 2x each person's weight in paper on an entire population, *half* of them will die. {{unsigned ip|58.28.131.238}}

:I don't think it's wrong, Randall just didn't draw all the experiments (like in [http://xkcd.com/882/ Significant]), but just the last one. The humour is just to show how the experiment is performed, not how many people it kills. The LD50 term just adds fun by using toxicology jargon.--[[Special:Contributions/92.231.34.227|92.231.34.227]] 14:25, 5 September 2013 (UTC)

When I first read this, I thought it was referring to a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fork_bomb| fork bomb], saying that the data was toxic to the computer and that the data's mass is twice its own mass, i.e. its size doubles before you know it. The toxicology explanation does seem more convincing though. [[Special:Contributions/98.237.178.64|98.237.178.64]] 01:37, 6 September 2013 (UTC) edited [[Special:Contributions/98.237.178.64|98.237.178.64]] 01:42, 6 September 2013 (UTC)

The explanation of subcutaneous injection mentions blood clots in vessels. Subcutaneous injection in used in the medical field to refer to injections under the skin, but not inside muscle (intramuscular) or inside the veins (intravenous). IV would clearly be more lethal at a lower dose than subcutaneous and I would imagine Randall's intent was to describe an IV injection. I would expect the cause of death from paper particles injected under the skin to be infection if a small to moderate amount of paper was used to hemorrhage due to mechanical tearing of the skin and underlying tissues in a high dose.[[Special:Contributions/99.126.226.212|99.126.226.212]] 05:25, 7 September 2013 (UTC)

Why is the image missing?--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.8|108.162.250.8]] 10:32, 5 December 2013 (UTC)

533: Laptop Hell

2014-08-02T21:10:36Z

199.27.133.127: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 533
| date = January 21, 2009
| title = Laptop Hell
| image = laptop hell.png
| titletext = The xkcd.com sysadmin has a Q2010, and I can attest that it can handle a fall down several flights of concrete steps. Relatedly, he's upset with me - I hope he doesn't take revenge by messing with my site's contenDISREGARD THAT I SUCK COCKS
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Does not explain Devil or laptop; too short}}
The {{w|Devil}} is greeting the new souls sentenced to {{w|Hell}}, and recognizes an executive from {{w|Fujitsu|Fujitsu Ltd}}. The Devil singles her out and comments that she caused his favorite {{w|laptop}}, the Fujitsu Q2010, to be taken out of production. The Devil is displeased because he thought it was a good laptop, just poorly marketed. The executive is confused and asks the Devil why it is upset, as acts of evil are generally encouraged by the Devil. The Devil explains that Hell uses laptops as well and the need for laptops is greater than the need to encourage evil works. Though, it later confesses, Hell has an exclusive deal with Fujitsu competitor, Sony.

This comic is likely a wish fulfillment fantasy by Randall for the canceling of his favorite laptop, the Fujitsu Q2010. Likely Sony was chosen as the electronic distributor to hell because of the {{w|Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootkit_scandal|Sony rootkit scandal}}. This scandal inspired many to call Sony as an evil company.

Exclusivity deals are typically ill though off as they are bad for competition, and typically are forced upon somebody who have little negotiation power or who does not understand the deal they are entering into -- hence being able to convince the devil to enter an exclusivity deal with sony is a impressive feat by sony's sales team, and indicate that the smarter devil is a sony sales rep.

===Title Text===
The title text explains that Randall's systems administrator is upset with him because he tested the systems administrators laptop by throwing it down several flights of steps. The systems admin is implied to have taken revenge childishly, by replacing part of the text with "DISREGARD THAT I SUCK COCKS"

The "suck cocks" part is a reference to [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/disregard-that-i-suck-cocks a post] in bash.org which went on to attain moderate fame.

==Transcript==
:Devil: Welcome to Hell. Here's— Wait. I know you.

:Devil: You're the Fujitsu exec who killed the Q-series.
:Fujitsu Exec: ...Yes?
:Devil: The Q2010 was the perfect laptop!

:Devil: Powerful, durable, had every feature, and made the Air look bulky. And that was back in 2006!
:Fujitsu Exec: But no one bought it!
:Devil: Then you marketed it wrong!

:Fujitsu Exec: Wait. Don't you ''encourage'' evil acts down here?
:Devil: In theory, yes, but we need laptops too! Although it's moot, since we have an exclusive deal with Sony.
:Fujitsu Exec: I ''knew'' it!

{{comic discussion}}

1115: Sky

2014-07-31T04:37:52Z

199.27.133.127:

{{comic
| number = 1115
| date = October 1, 2012
| title = Sky
| image = sky.png
| titletext = I dropped a bird and I didn't hear it hit bottom.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Not only the title text is missing.}}
There is no set rule that says the ground is down. Yes, that is what most people think, and what your body's instincts default to, but down can be any direction. [[Beret Guy]] handles this in his usual way, by defining down to be toward the sky. Forcing yourself to think in a different perspective changes a lot of things that are usually thought of as mundanities. Here we are challenged with the perspective that we live pulled (by Earth's gravity) towards a ceiling (land/oceans) hanging over a bottomless abyss (space seems to be limitless). If gravity (under no control of our own) were to fail we would fly helplessly off into the abyss. If a hole actually had no bottom, there would be no gravitational force towards its non-existing bottom.

The title text continues this idea, where someone - possibly Megan or Beret Guy - claims to have dropped a bird, and never heard it hit the "bottom". Since "down" is currently the direction space is in, there would be no "bottom" for the bird to hit, unless one were to define it as the edge of the atmosphere. If the bird were to have made a sound there, it is unlikely that the person who dropped it would be able to hear it. However, it is more likely that instead of falling into space, the bird just flew away.

==Transcript==
:[Megan approaches Beret Guy, who appears to be doing a handstand on the lawn.]
:Megan: What are you doing?
:Beret Guy: Clinging to the ceiling of a bottomless abyss.

:[Megan walks past him.]
:Megan: You are very odd.

:[Megan towards a mailbox.]

:[As she passes the mailbox, she looks up.]

:[This panel appears to be upside down. Megan is clinging to the mailbox, and Ponytail approaches her.]
:Ponytail: What's wrong?
:Megan: I looked down.

==Trivia==
*This comic's official transcript actually refers to [[Ponytail]] as Ponytail.
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]