explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:3231: Lightning

2026-04-17T13:07:30Z

2A00:23EE:2378:B3DB:A4E2:4E65:9C3C:659F:

I don't know if this is important, but at least right now there is no period. Might change later. [[User:Majordesmosnerd|Majordesmosnerd]] ([[User talk:Majordesmosnerd|talk]]) 20:52, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

im not sure how to insert it into the current state of the explanation, but by being a lightning rod nearby but higher up, he ''is'' providing protection to ponytail, right? - [[User:Vaedez|Vaedez]] ([[User talk:Vaedez|talk]]) 21:04, 10 April 2026 (UTC)
:That does seem to be the premise, but I doubt that a few inches are sufficient for this, especially if they're several feet apart. But I had the same idea and already put it into the explanation. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 21:11, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

Ironically, wearing a (properly grounded) anti-static strap would actually _increase_ the odds of being struck by lightning, turning you into a human lightning rod. The whole point of an anti-static strap is to dissipate any intrinsic potential difference between you and the ground, thus making you a (marginally) shorter path for the extreme potential difference between the clouds and the ground state. [[Special:Contributions/50.47.191.231|50.47.191.231]] 21:10, 10 April 2026 (UTC)
: - and of course someone said that in the explanation in the time it took me to write the comment. :-p. [[Special:Contributions/50.47.191.231|50.47.191.231]] 21:12, 10 April 2026 (UTC)
:[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/649:_Static Fortunately, Randall also presents an alternative solution.] [[Special:Contributions/216.7.114.74|216.7.114.74]] 23:13, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

Timing kinda sucks for this one: [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz90vpvlvq3o Colorado officials trying to identify woman struck by lightning]. [[User:RandalSchwartz|RandalSchwartz]] ([[User talk:RandalSchwartz|talk]]) 22:54, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

Compare xkcd [[795]]. [[User:X|X]] ([[User talk:X|talk]]) 00:59, 11 April 2026 (UTC)

THE EXPLANATION GIVEN ABOVE is WRONG-ish. ", Cueball has once again confused how anti-static devices work ". Actually, earthing does protect against lighting strikes -- the ground potential shapes around above the ground point. Cueball is less likely to be hit by lighting while wearing a correctly earthed grounding strap. Imagine that instead of "Cueball", what you see is the surface of the mountain curving up and around over Cueball. And yes, he is also more likely to be hit while he is the tallest point, lightning rods do get hit. Also, to work correctly, a lighting rod should have a pointed tip -- this makes it less likely to be hit because it works better at lifting the "surrounding ground" up to the point of the lighting rod. If it works perfectly, Cueball won't be the "high point" -- the surrounding air will be at the same potential has him.

> ""''possibility, however, that the wire goes down the torso (ideally in an insulated manner, ....''"" -- The lightning bolt has just jumped hundreds of feet through air from(/to) the sky. No wire insulation flexible enough to walk with will stop a lightning bolt that strong. --[[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 06:18, 11 April 2026 (UTC)
:It has long been a matter of contention whether a pointy tip (or even multiple spikes, branching out like crown of thorns), or (say) a ball-top, is the 'best' shape for the tip of a lightning conductor. It's very hard to practically test and compare different designs. But the balance of evidence seems to point (no pun intended!) towards a 'blunt-tipped-pencil'-like single extension (like a sharp end, but rounded off) for every 'summit' (though you can and should place multiple 'single spikes' for area-protection), in part because it never gets so thin as to have the flowing charge all trying to squeeze through it (at the moment where the atmosphere just is no longer enough of an insulator across the air-gap and the ionising 'feeler' can establish itself) which won't exactly help things if and when the lightning does strike.
:There's also a lot of other contentious/commonly-misunderstood details about how lightning-protection works,to which I originally elaborated. But it looked a bit too much TL;DR; even to me, so I just now cut it back, fortunately for y'all. ;) But the best way to prevent conductive damage between conductor and the structure (or person?) it's mounted upon is to have it ''standing off'' whatever it's attached to, secured periodically (enough to not flap about) but maintain an air-gap.
:Or, for things that ''really'' don't need (and maybe can't have) a conductor running down them, like rockets on pads, set up several free-standing 'lightning masts' surrounding the core structure, with a greater height sufficient to intercept chance lightning events that ''might'' have sought the structure of interest without these stand-offish towers being more ready to form the base of any initial upstroke. (Perhaps mount ionising lasers on them, to also make that 'bit of air' slightly more likely to be used, if you can't fly kites from them. Or even fire spool-tethered sounding rockets up when critical conditions are detected. Neither of which sound like good solutions when adjacent to a rocket-pad, of course. :p ). [[Special:Contributions/82.132.239.232|82.132.239.232]] 13:23, 11 April 2026 (UTC)

This might be a stretch but the art reminds me a lot of the art for the Magic card Lightning Bolt, might be an intentional reference. [https://scryfall.com/card/a25/141/lightning-bolt] -magic nerd [[Special:Contributions/38.85.177.78|38.85.177.78]] 10:47, 11 April 2026 (UTC)
:Yes that is a very long stretch. There are only som many ways to draw lightning. ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:07, 12 April 2026 (UTC)

Does anyone know what the other comic is where Randall shows lightning? It's one where Cueball keeps walking in a storm, because he thinks the amount of people that die each year from lightning strikes is so small he can't possibly get struck-Despite him being all reckless in a storm by keeping going, thus making him a big target. Anyone know which one it is? [[User:GSLikesCats307|GSLikesCats307]] ([[User talk:GSLikesCats307|talk]]) 15:29, 11 April 2026
:Linked earlier: "Compare xkcd [[795]]." [[User:RandalSchwartz|RandalSchwartz]] ([[User talk:RandalSchwartz|talk]]) 17:29, 11 April 2026 (UTC)
:As well as prior confusion on how antistatic wrist straps work: [https://xkcd.com/649/ xkcd 649]. (Or I have misunderstood what is happening in the strip)[[Special:Contributions/24.255.31.134|24.255.31.134]] 00:34, 12 April 2026 (UTC)

I don't see any comments about the feature of this cartoon visible in my Safari browser on a Mac (not viewing the mobile friendly web site: m.xkcd.com but rather https://xkcd.com/3231/) which shows a Mode pulldown list instead of title text. The pull down list includes: Light Mode, Lighter Mode, Dark Mode, Darkest Mode (Sets the window totally black), Blury Mode, etc. the end of the list is the most disturbing of all, it's Boat Mode.
Isn't anyone else seeing these? They are hilarious. SAWilkus --[[Special:Contributions/2A09:BAC2:B089:1D37:0:0:2E9:CF|2A09:BAC2:B089:1D37:0:0:2E9:CF]] 00:44, 12 April 2026 (UTC)
:They all appeared on all comics since April fools day --[[User:Darth Vader|Darth Vader]] ([[User talk:Darth Vader|talk]]) 08:07, 12 April 2026 (UTC)
:Yes, see [[3227]] itself for all comments (explanations, general chit-chat, etc) directly arising from that...
:At this point, I'm tentatively thinking it's a permanent ''and global'' site addition (not just active for AFD itself, or even just the week following release), or at least as long as there are no further page-redesigns that force Randall to squish it out (except perhaps for #3227 itself).
:Most April 1st 'specials' (or ''intended'' April 1st, give or take delays) only did their thing (assuming there even was a 'thing') on themselves, and http://https://3d.xkcd.com/ only catered for (almost all) comics up until the one for which that was the release (also, you now need to go find it actively sitting on a parallel site). That this is a global site-redesign (except maybe not where it would clash with other single-comic interactivity?), that's not even that intrusive, bodes well for it being a 'standard' feature of the site perpetually from this point on... But I'm open to being wrong, if it for some reason needs to revert to become a feature only upon the 'origin' comic (where I hope it can at least stick around there, for as long as the site lasts). [[Special:Contributions/82.132.238.12|82.132.238.12]] 14:55, 12 April 2026 (UTC)
: Thank you for explaining the addition of the Modes to this and previous XKCD sites. --[[User:SAWilkus|SAWilkus]] ([[User talk:SAWilkus|talk]]) 20:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC)

Note: There was indeed a brief period in real life when lightning rods were incorporated into clothing in France in 1778: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_rod_fashion {{unsigned ip|80.146.191.143|13:53, 13 April 2026}}

I removed this paragraph from the Explanation because I believe substantial parts of it are untrue or misleading:

''Additionally, merely ''wearing'' such a device has no effect at all if it isn't connected to a handy grounding point, which is unlikely to be the case if you're actively moving around, such as with the two characters here who seem to be hiking during the storm. You'd possibly even need a couple of grounding-wires, always one secured to some suitable 'earthing point' even while the other is being unclipped from where you've just been and reclipped to slightly ahead of where you're going. Close examination of the 'protected' individual shows that there is a loop of some dangling wire going from their wrist to their body. If that's all it does, then it's practically useless. There is some vague possibility, however, that the wire goes down the torso (ideally in an insulated manner, to avoid both electrical and thermal transference in the event of a lightning strike passing through it) and splits to connect down each leg and towards a grounding-plate/spike on the sole of each foot. ''This'' would technically create a dynamic 'always active' form of lightning-rod protection (ignoring the discrepancy between the height of the figure's wrist and the possibility that the higher crown of the head might be struck by lightning more in the first instance) where the act of walking will always create a protective connection to the ground — so long as Cueball does not attempt to run or (even momentarily) make any jumping movements. And it still relies upon an effective lightning-conductor connection that is rated sufficient to carry a strike's charge properly, without creating additional surface effects to the skin/clothing it passes down along. This is one of the rare situations in which wearing a {{w|tin foil hat}} might actually be of some benefit, assuming that it was connected to ground via a conductor, all sufficiently heavy-duty to carry the current.''

I believe removing that paragraph serves the readers, but it is not beyond repair. Let's workshop it! [[Special:Contributions/2603:800C:1200:596A:B10C:CCAA:E864:EE7B|2603:800C:1200:596A:B10C:CCAA:E864:EE7B]] 03:58, 14 April 2026 (UTC)
:Can't see anything substantially untrue or misleading. Care to elaborate? If it has a fault, it says too much, but then that's not exactly a problem unknown to this site. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.237.68|82.132.237.68]] 16:43, 15 April 2026 (UTC)
:: First of all, if you're wearing a grounding strap that increases the ground potential even at your wrist level, that's not "no effect at all" and it doesn't actually have to be touching the ground, just as long as it has less resistance than your skin and body. A tin foil hat would similarly have increased ground potential relative to hair and skin, and if it is connected to ground it's absolutely not beneficial to avoid being struck. [[Special:Contributions/2603:800C:1200:596A:A08E:FCB1:F968:D433|2603:800C:1200:596A:A08E:FCB1:F968:D433]] 20:13, 15 April 2026 (UTC)
:::Assuming that the tin foil hat and grounding cable are sufficiently conductive, they might protect the wearer from being ''harmed'' by the strike. Even in the case where the pointy bits of the outfit don't give protection by bleeding off static charge, there would be a tradeoff between "how much is the risk of a strike increased" vs. "how much is the harm from that strike reduced". [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 20:53, 15 April 2026 (UTC)
::: How does that objection apply to the "if it isn't connected to a handy grounding point" point that starts it, then?
::: I edited bits of that (others added other bits of it, and - as the above IP says - it got even more lengthy), and I'm positive(NPI!) that wearing a wrist-strap with (at best) the actual wire leading just to torso at roughly wrist-height isn't going to signficantly change the effective grounding potential.
::: The tinfoil hat addition is differemt, but it already says that with the caveat to having suitably current-rate ground connection (likely extremely impractical, as already described along with the foot-spike bit. (And as the reply just before this one says.)
::: But, hey... I'm as happy that what I wrote is now permanently down here, where everyone can read it and discuss the correct and incorrect parts about it. Whereas what could have happened up in the Explanation is that it gets totally deleted (as it did!) or rewritten as something totally different, unless you actually dig away into the page-history. ;)[[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 21:07, 15 April 2026 (UTC)

A tinfoil hat connected electrically to a conductor on one of the wearers shoes might actually provide some protection, despite marginally increasing the chance of being struck. I think it's kind of funny that wearing such an apparatus as a precaution would be "tinfoil hat" level paranoia about lightning, unless it's just for one occasion when for some reason the wearer is deliberately visiting a location where being struck at the time would be unusually likely.

Talk:3230: Overton

2026-04-17T12:56:25Z

2A00:23EE:2378:B3DB:A4E2:4E65:9C3C:659F:

4 January 1960 – 30 June 2003 {{unsigned ip|77.87.241.9|18:34, 8 April 2026}}

Someday this cartoon will be politically inappropriate. [[Special:Contributions/64.201.132.210|64.201.132.210]] 19:16, 8 April 2026 (UTC)
: ^ Absolutely. [[Special:Contributions/66.154.219.123|66.154.219.123]] 21:16, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

randall posting a politics-related comic? which could be construed as discontent with the current political landscape? inb4 somebody <s>bashes</s> complains at kynde again - [[User:Vaedez|Vaedez]] ([[User talk:Vaedez|talk]]) 22:15, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

I think it's worth noting that the window keeps updating to the right. [[Special:Contributions/50.47.108.55|50.47.108.55]] 02:22, 9 April 2026 (UTC) Ale10ander
: Only if you consider dates to go from left to right instead of any other direction. [[Special:Contributions/2A02:C7C:7344:4C00:BC19:A5A4:14E8:E888|2A02:C7C:7344:4C00:BC19:A5A4:14E8:E888]] 08:27, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

Well, in English (Which both the comic and this website are written in), that is usually the case, and always is on gravestones. The implication is quite obvious. Blatant, even, when you consider the state of politics today, especially in Randall's home country. [[Special:Contributions/2A00:23EE:2378:B3DB:A4E2:4E65:9C3C:659F|2A00:23EE:2378:B3DB:A4E2:4E65:9C3C:659F]] 12:56, 17 April 2026 (UTC)

What's the next death date? 2027? (Just guessin) [[User:Cream Starlight|Cream S.L.]] ([[User talk:Cream Starlight|talk]] / [[Special:Contributions/Cream_Starlight|contribs]]) 03:33, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

Does he keep dying because he's gone over a ton? (1 ton = 2000 lbs) {{unsigned ip|2607:fb91:bd8a:8e2f:858d:1e1b:f461:5f6e|04:35, 9 April 2026 (UTC)}}
:Too heavy even the time is altered, i see [[User:Cream Starlight|Cream S.L.]] ([[User talk:Cream Starlight|talk]] / [[Special:Contributions/Cream_Starlight|contribs]]) 05:53, 9 April 2026 (UTC)
:F.Y.I.: 1 ton = 2,000 ''or'' 2,204.6 ''or'' 2,240 pounds, at least.
:Also it can be 40, 42 or 60 cubic feet (amongst others). Or 12,000 British Thermal Units-per-Hour. And, at least colloquially, I might use it to describe 100 ''miles per hour'' or GB£100. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.238.115|82.132.238.115]] 16:02, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

Reincarnation - Can someone suggest a suitable Buddhist or Hindu text as citation for them multiple lifes? [[Special:Contributions/87.129.222.20|87.129.222.20]] 06:39, 9 April 2026 (UTC)
:The windows are overlapping, so no this is not a reference to reincarnation. [[User:Zmatt|Zmatt]] ([[User talk:Zmatt|talk]]) 16:00, 9 April 2026 (UTC)
:: Are they French windows, or sash windows? [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 10:00, 10 April 2026 (UTC)
::I only read this in relation to the Dalai Lama so idk if it changes in other forms of Buddhism, but [https://tibetanbuddhistencyclopedia.com/en/index.php?title=Emanation_before_the_passing_away_of_the_predecessor_(ma-dhey_tulku) You can have multiple reincarnations in overlapping windows] in certain cases, although I doubt those cases apply here [[User:Brontosaurus|Brontosaurus]] ([[User talk:Brontosaurus|talk]]) 22:24, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

For what it's worth, though Wikipedia currently describes Overton as a "political scientist," that is likely to shift soon. (That is to say, unless someone makes a compelling case on the Talk page, I'm going to change his description to "political activist," which I think is more accurate to someone who never had a political science degree, never had academic employment, and worked as an electrical engineer before working at an activist think tank.) [[Special:Contributions/38.69.197.145|38.69.197.145]] 12:33, 9 April 2026 (UTC)
: Does that mean that the Overton Window Overton Window has moved? [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 13:16, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

In case anyone wants to check: [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/122681438/joseph_paul-overton/photo#view-photo=94839436 Here's a pic of his grave] {{unsigned ip|74.87.89.226|18:04, 9 April 2026 (UTC)}}

Just want to say that I think the title text is true. Randall will probably find that, in a few months time, the Sun will no longer be in his face, but the cycle will repeat on an annual basis. I have a similar window. [[User:Jeremyp|Jeremyp]] ([[User talk:Jeremyp|talk]]) 19:18, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

;Significance of the Dates

Many of the dates in listed correspond to major geopolitical events concerning US military and diplomatic policy. They may also correspond to milestone events in US domestic politics. This is an attempt to compile some of the key events that the comic may be referencing.

*1965:
**The beginning of Operation Rolling Thunder, the US ground invasion of Vietnam.
**President LBJ signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965
*- 2011:
**US special forces kill Osama Bin Laden
**NATO forces without the US intervene in the Libyan Civil War leading to the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi.
**More widely, protests spread accross the Middle East and North Africa, dubbed the Arab Spring
**The last of the US combat forces stationed in Iraq are withdrawn.
**The Occuppy Wall Street movement begins.
*1973:
**The United States signs the Paris Peace Accords, withdrawing from the Vietnam conflict and claiming the war was over
**The United States Congress overrides a presidential veto to pass the War Powers Resolution, limiting the ability of future presidents to wage war without Congressional approval
**The Watergate Scandal breaks.
**Roe v Wade.
*- 2018:
**President Donald Trump unilaterally withdraws the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, aka the Iran Nuclear Deal.
**Congress reverses many of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act's reporting and compliance requirements for all but the largest US banks.
*1982:
**Israel violates a 1981 U.S. Brokered ceasefire agreement and invades Lebanon. In response the United States spearheads the establishment of a peacekeeping force to protect Beirut, the Multinational Force in Lebanon.
<wbr/>{{unsigned|In-Sanity|22:16, 8 April 2026}}
:Unfortunately, I suspect that you could easily find such events for absolutely ''every'' year across that range... Unless you narrow down the choices to just something current (i.e. specifically the ones related to current Middle East events, I suppose), which are going to be less frequent but perhaps specifically in Randall's mind.
:(Oh, and I slightly re-reformatted your amended contribution, presuming that you meant it to look a bit more like it is now.)
:I was wondering if there was a mathematical pattern to the numbers, myself. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 23:00, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

"sunlight is not generally influenced by social attitudes" - Please tell that to the people sitting by the windows and controlling the shades on the airplane and in my workplace. [[User:SammyChips|SammyChips]] ([[User talk:SammyChips|talk]]) 22:05, 13 April 2026 (UTC)

What is the basis for the claim that "the most recent updated death time should be in 2023"? I think that paragraph should be removed. [[Special:Contributions/174.53.211.85|174.53.211.85]] 19:41, 15 April 2026 (UTC)

Doesmunroe, like, just keep editing this everytime the "Overton window" moce [[Special:Contributions/73.15.242.202|73.15.242.202]] 01:31, 17 April 2026 (UTC)