explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1368: One Of The

2025-12-15T15:05:10Z

2001:4C4E:1C0C:F200:34E6:71FF:7ADB:420C: /* Explanation */ based on WP:MOS's present tense rule

{{comic
| number = 1368
| date = May 14, 2014
| title = One Of The
| image = one_of_the.png
| titletext = 'The world's greatest [whatever]' is subjective, but 'One of the world's greatest [whatever]s' is clearly objective. Anyway, that's why I got you this 'one of the world's greatest moms' mug!
}}

==Explanation==
Another of [[Randall|Randall's]] [[238: Pet Peeve 114|many]] [[:Category:Pet Peeves|Pet Peeves]], this time on reporters.

[[Cueball]] is a [[:Category:News anchor|news anchor]] describing the {{w|Gateway Arch}} as one of the most recognizable arches in {{w|St. Louis}}. In this case the designer the reporter is likely referring to is {{w|Eero Saarinen}}.

When describing things, reporters try to make only factual statements. If reporters use absolutes (that something is the largest or the smallest thing of its class, or that it is unprecedented, to give several examples) they risk making errors: it is possible that some other example of the thing exists that is even larger or even smaller or that there was some similar incident in the past, and they were not aware of it. If a reader or viewer points out the existence of that thing, even if obscure or trivial, the reporter must issue a correction. As a result, reporters learn to hedge by using formulations such as "one of the biggest" or "a rare example of."

[[Randall]] states that it is his {{W|pet peeve}} when reporters avoid absolutes unnecessarily — that is, in cases where there's vanishingly little risk of error. As an absurd example, Randall depicts one such reporter using this language about the Gateway Arch. As one of the most well-known monuments in Missouri and one of the largest free-standing arches in the world, it's indisputable that this would be one of the most recognizable arches in St. Louis; in fact, the reporter should be confident enough to say that the Gateway Arch is '''the''' most recognizable arch in St. Louis.

In the title text, Randall jokes about what could happen if you misunderstand the practice of avoiding absolutes; he thus appears to think it is an ostentatious display of faux objectivity, as opposed to a correction-avoiding strategy. The title text refers to novelty mugs (and T-shirts, and other printed items) that use superlative descriptions such as "World's Greatest Mom" or "World's Greatest Dad." Obviously, such a statement is an expression of personal affection on the part of the family member who gave such a gift and is not meant to be understood as a literally true fact about the world. Using a parody of reporter-speak (like giving a mug to your mother that says "one of the world's greatest moms") would ruin the compliment by suggesting to her that you thought some other people's moms were – or are – as good or better.

The title text also refers to {{w|Mother's Day}}, which in the US was three days before this comic was published.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is a news anchor sitting in front of a screen showing the Gateway Arch with some landscape features around it.]
:Cueball: ...And he went on to design the Gateway Arch, one of the most recognizable arches in St. Louis.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Pet peeve:
:Reporters unnecessarily hedging with "one of the"

==Trivia==
*This comic is referenced in the ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'' article ''{{what if|89|Tungsten Countertop}}'', with the quote "the sun is one of the meltiest things in the solar system."
*[[1261: Shake That]] features a gift mug with the absolute statement of "world's greatest daughter".
* This comic is very similar to [[2901: Geographic Qualifiers]], which deals with another case of strangely specified precision.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:News anchor]]
[[Category:Pet Peeves]]
[[Category:Language]]

1581: Birthday

2025-12-15T14:44:44Z

2001:4C4E:1C0C:F200:34E6:71FF:7ADB:420C: +2l

{{comic
| number = 1581
| date = September 23, 2015
| title = Birthday
| image = birthday.png
| titletext = I guess I need to apologize to my parents, friends, and the staff at Chuck E. Cheese's for all the times I called the cops on them.
}}

==Explanation==
[[xkcd]] turned 10 years old on September 30, 2015 (a week after the release of this comic). In this comic [[Randall]] honors his webcomic by singing to it the classic "{{w|Happy Birthday to You}}" song.

"{{w|Happy Birthday to You}}" is one of the most commonly sung songs in the English language (and is common in many others). Because of its age, ubiquity, and simplicity, it has long surprised people to learn that it was not in the public domain. {{w|Warner/Chappell Music}} claimed the copyright to the lyrics, and has demanded royalties for any recording, publication or public performance for commercial purposes. Total revenues for this song were estimated at US$2 million annually.

This strip refers to a court ruling from the day before the release of this comic, by a federal judge in California ({{w|George H. King|George King}}), stating that the song is not covered by valid copyright (see [http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-happy-birthday-song-lawsuit-decision-20150922-story.html Warner's 'Happy Birthday' Copyright Not Valid, Judge Rules]). This ruling resulted from a lawsuit filed by Good Morning To You Productions (singer {{w|Rupa Marya}} and filmmaker {{w|Robert D. Siegel|Robert Siegel}}) against Warner/Chappell Music to declare Warner/Chappell's copyright claim in the song invalid (filing at [http://www.scribd.com/doc/147645129/Happybirthday]). With this ruling, the court declared that Warner/Chappell does not have a copyright claim to the song, and therefore the song can now be sung or published by anyone, in any context, without having to pay royalties to Warner/Chappell.

The ruling does not go so far as to declare the song to be in the public domain, leaving it more correctly defined as an {{w|orphan work}}. Randall seems to be celebrating the fact that this strip, which would have put him at risk for a lawsuit the day before, is now unlikely to be challenged since the odds of a new party appearing and successfully claiming copyright on the lyrics and subsequently demanding license fees is approximately zero.

{{w|Chuck E. Cheese's}} is an entertainment restaurant, geared toward young children, which routinely hosts birthday parties as part of its business model. Parties held in commercial venues tend to be a gray area for this kind of issue. Singing copyrighted songs at a private function is allowed, but the staff of a restaurant singing them to patrons could be considered a commercial performance, and potentially expose the restaurant to claims from the copyright holder. The title text suggests that [[Randall]] was at a family birthday party, witnessed someone (possibly the staff) singing "Happy Birthday", and called the police. This would be an extreme overreaction in any case (even if it were a violation, copyright infringement is a civil liability, not a criminal offense), but the decision that the copyright wasn't valid in the first place makes such an action even more indefensible.

==Transcript==
:[Caption above the frame:]
:xkcd turns 10 years old this month.
:In light of last night's court ruling in
:''Rupa Marya v. Warner/Chappell Music Inc.'',
:I would just like to say:

:[The song text is written, with nine musical notes, three groups on each side of the text, above a birthday cake with 10 lit candles. The cake has two distinct layers. On each layer there are drawn 6 xkcd stick figures with small black bullets between them. The center bullet in the bottom layer is shaped like a heart. The figures at the edges can be difficult to recognize. The figures in the upper layer and from the left are: A man with a hat (hard to see if it is one of the recognized characters), White Hat, Megan, Pony Tail, Hairy and Cueball (hard to see him properly). Similar in the lower layer: Black Hat, Danish, Beret Guy, Rob, Cutie, and a girl (hard to see, but looks like girls hair, not a hat).]
:Happy birthday to you
:Happy birthday to you
:Happy birthday, dear xkcd
:Happy birthday to you

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Danish]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]

Talk:1708: Dehydration

2025-12-15T14:42:36Z

2001:4C4E:1C0C:F200:34E6:71FF:7ADB:420C: LGD is in several studies

Uhm, shot glasses or lemonade glasses? Does it have to be a glass or can it be a mug? Could we specify it in litres perhaps?
(How small a glass would you need for 5 glasses a minute in "normal" climate (20 C / 50% RH), without water poisoning? And maybe in 40 C / 15% RH?) --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.10|141.101.105.10]] 14:55, 18 July 2016 (UTC)

I think that's part of the joke, which is itself about how a large amount of people have been informed you should drink x amount of glasses of water per day, but the numbers wildly vary. I'd edit that into the page, but I'm bad at formal language. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.73|141.101.98.73]] 15:00, 18 July 2016 (UTC)

It is possible to drink too much water, causing a dangerous condition called hyponatremia. Basically you end up dilluting the sodium (and other salts) in your body to a point where many normal functions can't occur. So 3000 glasses a day would probably kill you. On the other hand, I think the difference between a scientific recommendation of 5 and 8 glasses a day is statistically insignificant because other factors (height, weight, metabolism, activity levels, outside temperature, etc.) contribute much more to your needs. Bottom line, it's a lot easier to drink too little water than too much. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.72|173.245.56.72]] 16:02, 18 July 2016 (UTC)

Of course it would be a WOMAN to get dizzy. #rapeculture {{unsigned ip|162.158.214.231}}

: She's doing <small>[[Science|SCIENCE, BITCHES]]</small>. What do you want? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.221|162.158.150.221]] 18:53, 18 July 2016 (UTC)

The other 'problem' with "you need to drink x amount" of water is the the studies (citation needed) give the amount of water you should consume, which includes the water in all (nonalcoholic)* drinks and food**. I go for days on end without drinking any plain (or carbonated) water without ill effect. There is a reputed way to assess dyhdration which is related to the colour of your "water".
(*)the diuretic effect of alcohol results in the loss of more water than it was drunk with.
(**)no doubt you could devise a diet with lots of juicy veg and fruit but no drinks, but it probably would have too much sugar.[[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 18:26, 18 July 2016 (UTC)

Is this the first time White Hat and Black Hat have been in the same comic? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.70.127|141.101.70.127]] 19:25, 18 July 2016 (UTC)
:It's the first normal comic to include both. Zach Weiner included both of them in [[826]], and they were both in [[1110: Click and Drag]] and [[1608: Hoverboard]]. [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 20:19, 18 July 2016 (UTC)
::Have you made cross reference between both characters .42? They are also both in [[1000]] which to my frustration haven't got any categories yet. I swear I will add them someday... but that is also a large comic. Have mentioned the fact in the explanation but with a possible included as I have no citation that it is so. (Yet) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:22, 18 July 2016 (UTC)
::: Oh, I missed 1000. I was only comparing their category pages. [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 01:12, 19 July 2016 (UTC)
::::Yes and they are not mentioned in 1000, as someone thought that would be too much. I'm not agreing. But you also missed And [[1581: Birthday]] ;-) in which they are mentioned. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:11, 19 July 2016 (UTC)
:::::I also looked through and this is indeed the first comic where Black Hat speaks to White Hat. I have made explanation of this fact [[:Category:Characters with hats|here]]. And linked to this from the explanation above. Beret Guy and Black Hat has never spoken together yet, and only once has Beret Guy spoken directly to White Hat. This is also mentioned in the link above. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:10, 19 July 2016 (UTC)

previous references to drinking n glasses of water a day:
* https://what-if.xkcd.com/91/ (ctrl-f 8 glasses of water)
* https://xkcd.com/715/
maybe something to be put into the explanation? --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.91.247|141.101.91.247]] 20:11, 18 July 2016 (UTC)
:Someone has included those two already --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:22, 18 July 2016 (UTC)

is the "maybe you should just drink straight from the tap" is related to the person saying "i'll get some water" being black hat. no one wants that. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.84|141.101.98.84]] 11:35, 19 July 2016 (UTC)
:Funny detail, but since we do not know how much later we also do not know who is still there. Anyway if you are thirsty just drink from the tap, that saves the counting of glasses which was the point. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:37, 19 July 2016 (UTC)

I heard that the fuller quote is 'We need x glasses of water per day, most of which comes from our food'. {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.78}}
: Yes, this. [[User:Elvenivle|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle|talk]]) 02:11, 20 July 2016 (UTC)

It's my understanding that the ideal amount of water to drink is gauged by however much it takes to turn your urine clear, which would undoubtedly vary from person to person. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.25|173.245.50.25]] 05:35, 20 July 2016 (UTC)
*um, a-level chemistry flooding back, i think you mean colourless. if your urine is cloudy you're in trouble. if it is dark brown then all that happens is that people who subscribe to the belief that this is harmful in some way get alarmed. for every imaginary study they have pointing out how harmful this is i have three that show it isn't and the opposite is true, that putting unnecessary pressure on your kidneys will have Dire Results. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.84|141.101.98.84]] 12:09, 20 July 2016 (UTC)
*173.245.50.25 has the right idea, colorless urine = "you're drinking enough", yellow urine = "you should drink more" {{unsigned ip|162.158.83.144}}
Low-grade dehydration ''is'' used as a term in several studies, including but not limited to: Serra-Prat M, Lorenzo I, Martínez J, Palomera E, Cuquet M, Ferrer P, Pleguezuelos E (2025-09-30): Effect of small variations in hydration status due to 12-hour fasting on lower limb muscle function in middle-aged adults. ''Phys Act Nutr''. '''29'''(3): 33–39. [[doi:10.20463/pan.2025.0023]]. [[pmid:41093308|PMID 41093308]]. [[Special:Contributions/2001:4C4E:1C0C:F200:34E6:71FF:7ADB:420C|2001:4C4E:1C0C:F200:34E6:71FF:7ADB:420C]] 14:42, 15 December 2025 (UTC)