explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3229: Grammar

2026-04-07T08:35:39Z

2A06:61C1:795F:0:53D8:A96B:A044:B192:

{{comic
| number = 3229
| date = April 6, 2026
| title = Grammar
| image = grammar_2x.png
| imagesize = 227x312px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Communication is one of the most popular ways to transmit information, ahead of rivals such as
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created recently by a CONTEXT-FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE GRAMMAR. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

[[Miss Lenhart]] is shown teaching a classroom about {{w|grammar}}. In this comic pecifically Miss Lenhart claims that grammar is "''one'' of the most popular ways to structure a language". She also presents two alternative methods (though it could be interpreted as a list of four items without commas to split it up) that competed to substitute grammar, yet evidently never took off to be implemented for practical use. Despite seeming nonsensical, they've gained their own endonyms:

;Words order words random words words random good
:This alternate to grammar likely has very loose rules around structure, as it consists of simply stating words that relate directly to the idea being conveyed. (As opposed to normal grammar, which focuses on linking together many words to form a single coherent idea.)

;EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
:This is the strangest of the two. It might be referencing a scream as a form of communication (albeit an unreliable one). Alternatively, it could be made up of various random syllables, with others in the system too. (like 'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH' & 'OOOOOOOOOOOH')

The title text continues Lenhart's lecture, as she moves on to {{w|communication}} and its rival alternatives, similar to the subject of grammar, but seems to cut off before naming the first one. This may reference {{w|nonverbal communication}} (which is communication without oral means), but this is a subset of communication. Either Miss Lenhart has transferred into another mode of transmitting information to self-demonstrate (that may be impossible to render textually) or lack thereof, as the sudden stop in the middle of the sentence could be a joke for how there no other ways to convey information without communication. Still, this doesn't rule out other possible alternatives to communication, as Lenhart implies that other methods exist. If communication is defined as successful transmission of information, it is possible she is referring to some sort of method/s that attempts, but fails to transmit information. Nonetheless, self-demonstrating lack of communication would not be useful in this setting without further explanation, as abruptly ceasing to provide more information could instill confusion in her students.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

:[ [[Miss Lenhart]] is teaching in a classroom. Two students can be seen sitting at desks in front of her, [[Cueball]] in the first row and [[Megan]] in the second row.]
:Miss Lenhart: '''Grammar''' is one of the most popular ways to structure a language, ahead of rival methods such as '''''words order words random words words random good''''' and '''''EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'''''.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Language]]

3229: Grammar

2026-04-07T08:34:44Z

2A06:61C1:795F:0:53D8:A96B:A044:B192:

{{comic
| number = 3229
| date = April 6, 2026
| title = Grammar
| image = grammar_2x.png
| imagesize = 227x312px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Communication is one of the most popular ways to transmit information, ahead of rivals such as
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created recently by a CONTEXT-FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE GRAMMAR. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

[[Miss Lenhart]] is shown teaching a classroom about {{w|grammar}}. Grammar is a system and set of rules to describe how a certain language is structured. This is useful to make communication and meaning standardized and clear with little to no difficulty for parsing. However, due to it's many rules & structures, grammer can be viewed with annoyance by people, wanting something 'simpler'. However, this comic shows how effective grammer is, by comparing it with various other 'forms' of structure. In this comic pecifically Miss Lenhart claims that grammar is "''one'' of the most popular ways to structure a language". She also presents two alternative methods (though it could be interpreted as a list of four items without commas to split it up) that competed to substitute grammar, yet evidently never took off to be implemented for practical use. Despite seeming nonsensical, they've gained their own endonyms:

;Words order words random words words random good
:This alternate to grammar likely has very loose rules around structure, as it consists of simply stating words that relate directly to the idea being conveyed. (As opposed to normal grammar, which focuses on linking together many words to form a single coherent idea.)

;EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
:This is the strangest of the two. It might be referencing a scream as a form of communication (albeit an unreliable one). Alternatively, it could be made up of various random syllables, with others in the system too. (like 'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH' & 'OOOOOOOOOOOH')

The title text continues Lenhart's lecture, as she moves on to {{w|communication}} and its rival alternatives, similar to the subject of grammar, but seems to cut off before naming the first one. This may reference {{w|nonverbal communication}} (which is communication without oral means), but this is a subset of communication. Either Miss Lenhart has transferred into another mode of transmitting information to self-demonstrate (that may be impossible to render textually) or lack thereof, as the sudden stop in the middle of the sentence could be a joke for how there no other ways to convey information without communication. Still, this doesn't rule out other possible alternatives to communication, as Lenhart implies that other methods exist. If communication is defined as successful transmission of information, it is possible she is referring to some sort of method/s that attempts, but fails to transmit information. Nonetheless, self-demonstrating lack of communication would not be useful in this setting without further explanation, as abruptly ceasing to provide more information could instill confusion in her students.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

:[ [[Miss Lenhart]] is teaching in a classroom. Two students can be seen sitting at desks in front of her, [[Cueball]] in the first row and [[Megan]] in the second row.]
:Miss Lenhart: '''Grammar''' is one of the most popular ways to structure a language, ahead of rival methods such as '''''words order words random words words random good''''' and '''''EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'''''.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Language]]

3209: Plums

2026-03-24T14:06:31Z

2A06:61C1:795F:0:53D8:A96B:A044:B192:

{{comic
| number = 3209
| date = February 18, 2026
| title = Plums
| image = plums_2x.png
| imagesize = 251x409px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = My icebox plum trap easily captured William Carlos Williams. It took much less work than the infinite looping network of diverging paths I had to build in that yellow wood to ensnare Robert Frost.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a rebellious icebox. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This is a reference to the {{w|William Carlos Williams}} poem [https://poets.org/poem/just-say This Is Just to Say], in which the narrator gives an apology (possibly [https://poemanalysis.com/william-carlos-williams/this-is-just-to-say/ sincere], possibly [https://www.litcharts.com/poetry/william-carlos-williams/this-is-just-to-say insincere]) for eating the plums in the icebox. In this comic, the joke is that [[Cueball]] (not likely intended to actually be William Carlos Williams given the laptop) learns that the person out of view has left themselves some plums in the refrigerator for tomorrow, and cannot resist eating them as a direct reference/inspiration to the poem.

The title text is another joke about trapping poets with situations based on their own poems. It is about another well-known poem, [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/the-road-not-taken The Road Not Taken] by Robert Frost, which was referenced in another comic, [[3076: The Roads Both Taken]]. Of course, constructing a network of infinitely branching paths seems physically impossible [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|for Cueball]], though some kind of circular or looping arrangement might work. Of course, the choice that Frost makes would change over time in such an arrangement, if he always takes the path least-travelled, so this could prove complex.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting at a desk with a laptop on it. He is looking backward towards someone offscreen.]
:Out of view: I got you the ingredients for dinner tonight.
:Out of view: Oh, and the plums in the fridge drawer are for my yogurt tomorrow; you should just leave them.
:Out of view: Be back later!
:Cueball [thinking]: Oh no.
:[Caption below the panel]:
:Help. It actually happened. I shouldn't. But how can I not!?

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]] 
[[Category:Food]]

3210: Eliminating the Impossible

2026-03-24T14:06:03Z

2A06:61C1:795F:0:53D8:A96B:A044:B192:

{{comic
| number = 3210
| date = February 20, 2026
| title = Eliminating the Impossible
| image = eliminating_the_impossible_2x.png
| imagesize = 675x349px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'If you've eliminated a few possibilities and you can't think of any others, your weird theory is proven right' isn't quite as rhetorically compelling.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was FOUND IN THE LAST PLACE YOU LOOKED. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

The discussion in this comic plays upon the [https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/1196-when-you-have-eliminated-all-which-is-impossible-then-whatever phrase] originating from the fictional detective {{w|Sherlock Holmes}} (and therefore also his author, {{w|Arthur Conan Doyle}}) that "When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." This describes the {{w|abductive reasoning}} Holmes uses to solve the crimes and mysteries set before him. The point of the original statement is that {{tvtropes|RealityIsUnrealistic|something being ''unlikely'' does not make it ''untrue''}}, and ignoring reality because it is "unlikely" is both absurd and counterproductive to the process of solving a problem. However, Holmes' statement is a [https://motleybytes.com/w/HolmesianFallacy fallacy], because nobody is omniscient,[{{w|omniscience|no citation needed}}] so it is impossible to rule out all alternatives.

In the real world, it is ''never'' true that eliminating the impossible leaves only a single possible outcome. There are always vast numbers of events that are technically possible, but so vastly improbable that they would be unlikely to ever be observed, even if every subatomic particle in the universe were a universe itself, and were to be observed from Big Bang to heat death. An example would be {{w|quantum tunnelling}} of a macroscopic object over a long distance... such as a set of keys from inside a house out to a car. In practice, such events are usually dismissed from consideration.

[[White Hat]] is expounding this principle to [[Cueball]] as a logical step for some undisclosed purpose. Cueball argues that human error - namely, making a mistake in the 'elimination' process - is also possible, and claims that the logic is faulty on this premise. When White Hat points out that the logic is just a guideline for problem-solving, Cueball criticizes this, arguing that the possibility of human error when operating on this logic makes the approach unsound. If there is one true version of events, then finding it by this process requires classifying all other possibilities as impossible. While that might be possible for a constrained problem, like a detective story or multi-option question, many daily situations require eliminating vast numbers of possibilities, while lacking sufficient information to be truly sure that the possibilities have been exhausted.

In the final panel, Cueball demonstrates a practical example of human error causing this issue. When a person is looking for their possessions, their first instinct may be to search the house in which they presently are. Having seemingly exhausted this search, their assumption may be that it must be in their mode of transportation (especially in the case of possessions that are regularly brought to and from other locations). White Hat agrees that he himself has been in the situation where he has searched the entire house, not found what he is looking for, and assumed it is in the car, but that assumption has always proved to be wrong. There are other possibilities, but the tendency to jump to conclusions (possibly by misuse of the quote) can lead to those being ignored. Additional possibilities:
* The house has not been fully searched, with the item left in some obscured corner, a clothing pocket that is in the laundry, or even a vent or pipe that one could not practically access.
* The searcher forgets that they took the item to some other location, or wishfully ignores that possibility because it is far away and/or inconvenient to search.
* The searcher never brought the item home in the first place, but mistakenly thought that they did.
* The searcher has never taken the item anywhere other than the house or car, but is unaware that someone or something else moved it.
* It is common for people to fail to see a thing even though it is present, sometimes even clearly in view, because of momentary cognitive glitching, {{w|The Purloined Letter|poor assumptions}}, or more fundamental cognitive failures such as {{w|visual agnosia}}. Another Holmes quotation is relevant: "[https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/205730-you-see-but-you-do-not-observe You see, but you do not observe.]"
* The item may have been destroyed or altered in a way that makes it unrecognizable when found.

The title text goes further in deconstructing how the quote might result in a logically incorrect {{w|argument from ignorance}}. In fiction, there is a {{tvtropes|TheoryOfNarrativeCausality|Law of Narrative Causality}}, by which events are successfully resolved in the way that the plot requires them to be resolved. Stating this approach as a logical rule would normally be {{tvtropes|LampshadeHanging|narratively unsatisfying}}. When Sherlock Holmes first uses the phrase in ''{{w|The Sign of the Four}}'', he "deduces" that {{w|Dr._Watson|Watson}} had sent a telegram at the post office instead of doing anything else by observing that he had not written a letter and that he already had a good stock of postcards and stamps. Holmes neglects the possibility that Watson had sent a letter that he had written some time previously, or any other possibility, yet he happens to be right because it would be unsatisfying were he to be wrong. As has been pointed out elsewhere in Holmesian works, however, Holmes knows Watson very well, and when it comes to a matter as narrow in scope as "Watson's behaviour", Holmes is better-equipped than most to eliminate impossibilities, even if these should strictly be considered ''improbabilities''.

Sherlock may have more accurately, yet less memorably, phrased the maxim as "When you have eliminated what is likely, the truth must be a more improbable outcome".

In ''{{w|The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul}},'' Douglas Adams commented on this Holmesian maxim:<blockquote>'The impossible often has a kind of integrity to it which the merely improbable lacks. How often have you been presented with an apparently rational explanation of something that works in all respects other than one, which is just that it is hopelessly improbable? Your instinct is to say, "Yes, but he or she simply wouldn't do that." '

'Well, it happened to me today, in fact,' replied Kate.

'Ah, yes,' said Dirk, slapping the table and making the glasses jump, 'your girl in the wheelchair [who was constantly mumbling stock prices from the day before]—a perfect example. The idea that she is somehow receiving yesterday's stock market prices out of thin air is merely impossible, and therefore ''must'' be the case, because the idea that she is maintaining an immensely complex and laborious hoax of no benefit to herself is hopelessly improbable. The first idea merely supposes that there is something we don't know about, and God knows there are enough of those. The second, however, runs contrary to something fundamental and human which we do know about. We should therefore be very suspicious of it and all its specious rationality.'</blockquote>

This time Cueball might have a point, since, if one really investigates Sherlock Holmes' cases, they often contain obvious logical leaps, like most of "{{w|The Hound of the Baskervilles}}" or the solution of "{{w|The Adventure of the Speckled Band}}". In the latter he claims that the only solution is that someone trained a snake to be controlled by music to bite and kill someone without being attacked, claiming to have eliminated all other solutions in a real-world scenario which is too complex to allow for that, without even having taken a closer look at the bigger picture. {{tvtropes|TheoryOfNarrativeCausality|Miraculously}}, he is right in both situations.

Knowing [[Randall]]'s work, the title text may be a jab at people who are overly quick to conclude that established results in physics are wrong, as he has done previously in [[955: Neutrinos]] and [[1621: Fixion]] (concerning a since-disproven finding that neutrinos can travel faster than the speed of light) and in [[2113: Physics Suppression]] and [[3155: Physics Paths]] (more generally).

==Transcript==
:[Across 4 Panels, White Hat and Cueball are standing together and talking. In the first panel, White Hat has one hand slightly raised.]
:White Hat: As Sherlock Holmes said,
:White Hat: When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

:[The second panel. Close-up of Cueball's head.]
:Cueball: What about the possibility that you forgot to eliminate a possibility?
:Cueball: Or that you eliminated one incorrectly?
:Cueball: Both of those remain, too.

:[3rd Panel zooms back out to show both. Cueball holds his arms out.]
:White Hat: You're being pedantic.
:White Hat: It's just a general rule for deduction.
:Cueball: But it's a '''''bad rule.'''''

:[Cueball holds up one finger in the 4th Panel.]
:Cueball: How often have you thought, "I can't find this thing, and I've searched the whole house. The only place I haven't looked is the car, so it '''''must''''' be there."
:White Hat: ...and then it's never in the car.
:Cueball: '''''It's never in the car!'''''

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Pedantic]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Logic]]
[[Category:Fiction]]

3213: Dental Formulas

2026-03-20T20:56:07Z

2A06:61C1:795F:0:53D8:A96B:A044:B192:

{{comic
| number = 3213
| date = February 27, 2026
| title = Dental Formulas
| image = dental_formulas_2x.png
| imagesize = 212x337px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I mean, half of these are undefined. And your multiplication dots are too low; they look like decimal points.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created recently to figure out a dental formula. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

A {{w|dental formula}} specifies the typical number and location of teeth of each type for a given species. There are two rows, representing the upper and lower jaw, separated by a horizontal line. On each row, the number of each type of tooth is given for one side of the jaw, with dots separating the numbers. The number of {{w|incisors}} is indicated first, {{w|canine teeth|canines}} second, {{w|premolars}} third, and finally {{w|molars}}. The formula in the comic would represent 3 incisors, 1 canine, 3 premolars, and 1 molar on each side of the upper jaw, and equal numbers in the lower jaw, with the exception that there are only 2 premolars; this is the dental formula for the {{w|Felidae|cat family}}. The adult human dental formula is 2.1.2.3 for both the upper and lower jaw.

Cueball is mistakenly treating a dental formula as an arithmetic expression, with the line indicating division and the dots indicating multiplication: 3⋅1⋅3⋅1 divided by 3⋅1⋅2⋅1, giving 9/6 = 3/2. Since the numbers involved are always small natural numbers, calculating the results when treating them this way would be fairly trivial, which is why he is surprised at the effort given to studying them.

In the title text, his statement that half the formulae are undefined refers to animals that lack one of the four types of teeth in the lower jaw, leading to a zero in the lower part of the dental formula. Cueball is attempting to multiply all terms in that lower part, giving a result of zero, and then treat that as a mathematical denominator, resulting in an {{w|Division_by_zero|undefined division expression}}. He also notes that the "dots are too low", as the dots in a dental formula are {{w|Full stop|period characters}}, whereas multiplication in mathematical formulae uses {{w|Interpunct#In_mathematics_and_science|middle dot}} characters (except in the Commonwealth, where this is sometimes reversed).

The word '{{wiktionary|mammologist}}' is an alternate spelling of '{{wiktionary|mammalogist}}', meaning one who studies {{w|mammals}} (or, in some cases, specifically studying the mammaries (i.e. breasts) which mark out mammals in general). Unlike odontology (dentistry, not to be confused with {{w|odonatology}}), which studies the ''health'' of a patient's teeth, mammalogy studies teeth as a means to identify species and what they eat.

The comic's number, 3213, could also be interpreted as (part of) a dental formula.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are standing in front of a whiteboard, on which is written
::3.1.3.1 3.1.2.1
:along with a drawing of a tooth and some other scribbles, two of which look like the letters 'h' & 'j', respectively.]

:Cueball: Do mammologists think these are hard?
:Cueball: I mean, this one just evaluates to 3/2.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Mathematicians encounter dental formulas

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Math]]

3214: Electric Vehicles

2026-03-20T20:54:20Z

2A06:61C1:795F:0:53D8:A96B:A044:B192:

{{comic
| number = 3214
| date = March 2, 2026
| title = Electric Vehicles
| image = electric_vehicles_2x.png
| imagesize = 209x389px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Now that I've finally gotten an electric vehicle, I'm never going back to an acoustic one.
}}

==Explanation==
Many potential customers of {{w|electric vehicle}}s have "{{w|range anxiety}}", and are concerned about the ability of the vehicle batteries to allow the same freedom of travel as with those using the {{w|internal combustion engine}}. No one wants to be stuck on the side of the road, having run out of power, and finding a {{w|filling station}} for fuel ({{w|gasoline|gasoline/petrol}} or {{w|diesel fuel}}) to refill a motor vehicle is more likely than finding an electric vehicle recharging station. (An EV ''can'' be recharged from a "standard" electrical socket, albeit slowly, quite apart from specialized home setups as seen in [[3211: Amperage]].) Manufacturers have been trying to ease these fears by developing longer-lasting batteries, along with more recharging stations being set up.

This comic exaggerates this concern to an absurd degree: [[Cueball]] had apparently believed that electric cars were powered by single-use, non-rechargeable batteries (this comic being a flashback to some conversation before he was corrected). Practical electric vehicles, since {{w|History of the electric vehicle#First full-scale electric cars|their very early days}}, have pretty much always had {{w|rechargeable battery}} technology of some kind or other. He should indeed feel incredibly silly about this, given that rechargeable batteries are very common in many other devices.

Commercially available rechargeable polymer-electrolyte batteries have not always been common, however. The proliferation of Alkaline, NiMH, and Lithium-ion batteries happened during the late 1990s and early 2000s (during Randall's lifetime), although the {{w|lead–acid battery}} first appeared in the mid 19th-century and later became the staple (rechargable) electrical storage medium in both fully-electrical and IC-powered vehicles of all kinds. Rechargeable cells are still the minority of sales for household-use size batteries (AA, AAA), perhaps in part because they get [[https://www.rdbatteries.com/blog/post/how-many-times-can-you-recharge-rechargeable-batteries.html?srsltid=AfmBOopDQfsdCmfha-x95r8snSTCV8SIHi6S02PcMReOZyJlWa0ENY6w re-used many times]] rather than needing to be entirely replaced by a further purchase after they are first drained. Battery operated devices and toys for most of the 20th-century (e.g. tamagotchis) did not generally have recharging capabilities and required replacing the battery entirely, rather than (as with many modern devices, e.g. phones) having built-in batteries enabling the user to recharge them by plugging a suitable power-carrying cable into a port. For other devices that {{w|Batteries Not Included|may or may not}} have originally come with single-use cells prepackaged, households may have eventually decided to buy reliable rechargable equivalents to be charged as needed. It's not reasonable to completely throw away the batteries that power electric vehicles, every time they are discharged, or even throw away (or abandon) whole vehicles due to difficulties in replacing them. But, in assuming that an EV's battery is not rechargeable, [[Cueball]] is concerned that this is what he would be forced to do..

All types of vehicle can only be driven so far, or even idled for so long, without refilling their energy storage, be that liquid fuel or electrochemical potential. Because of this, any vehicle (other than perhaps a {{w|solar car}}, or similar) will require occasional top-ups at roadside facilities or even through a direct feed ({{w|overhead line}}s can provide electricity to {{w|Rubber-tyred tram|suitable road or rail vehicles}}, and a {{w|third rail}} is an additional option for the latter type, along some or all of their prepared routes). As of 2021, a modern electric car commonly had [https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/evolution-of-average-range-of-electric-vehicles-by-powertrain-2010-2021 a range above 300 km/200 miles,] and this is continuing to expand. Combustion engine cars usually reach [https://energynow.ca/2022/10/visualizing-the-range-of-electric-cars-vs-gas-powered-cars/ at least twice this range] on a full fuel tank.

Many countries now have vast networks of public charging infrastructure, to echo the almost ubiquitous presence of refuelling stations across the road network. The spacing of these in all but the most sparsely populated areas usually permits any electric vehicle (even one with an unusually low range of <100km) to recharge before it runs out of energy, and fast charging capabilities of 400kW and greater makes the current waiting time to recharge more and more like the quick topping-up process people are used to in liquid refuelling. As an alternative, {{w|battery swapping}} is also a possibility in some places, for suitably designed EVs, and has been [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNZy603as5w commercialized]. In these cases, replacing the battery does not substitute charging it, but it reduces the “refill” time from a possible thirty minutes stop-over to just a few minutes (the time needed to pull out the discharged battery pack from the vehicle and put in a fully charged one). The prior batteries are then charged by the facility, and later used to directly replace some other vehicle’s battery when it requires it. Most electric vehicles will provide a recharge warning (equivalent to a low fuel warning) well in advance of the battery being depleted, to prevent vehicle stranding.

The title text imagines that electric cars are distinct from others in a similar way as electric instruments are from other instruments. In particular, {{w|electric guitar}}s are contrasted with {{w|acoustic guitar|non-electric (aka acoustic) ones}}. In the case of instruments, though, the 'electric' and 'acoustic' don't refer to how they're powered (the latter isn't even 'powered' at all), but how they transmit and amplify the sound produced by the player. There's no such thing as an acoustic vehicle, though sound ''can'' be used to [https://hackaday.com/2025/02/21/acoustic-engine-harnesses-the-power-of-sound/ generate propulsion] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je7eLZS6GG0 on a small scale][https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCnxsoXtlmY in a variety of ways]. It has become a common practice to refer to ''bicycles'' without a motor by the misnomer 'acoustic bicycle', but this does not seem to be much the case with cars. (Bicycles are sometimes also referred to as 'analog bicycles' — this is even more of a misnomer, being borrowed from the distinction between mechanical and digital devices, where the latter are sometimes misnamed as 'electric'.) When particular bicycles were developed to supersede the "ordinary" type (later) known as {{w|penny-farthing}}s, the ''new'' bicycles with wheels of the same size were called "{{w|safety bicycle}}s", to promote the idea of their being less tricky to ride, a term that later fell out of use as the new design became more standard (and, in its own way, 'ordinary').

Electric vehicles are {{w|Electric vehicle warning sounds|commonly designed}} to emit sound, sometimes like an electronic instrument, to give an audible warning of their presence for the purpose of safety, particularly when traveling at lower speeds. Several jurisdictions around the world {{w|Electric vehicle warning sounds#Regulations|require}} them to emit a minimum sound level. In some cases, electric vehicle sounds are designed by [https://abcnews.com/Business/famed-composer-hans-zimmers-score-giving-sound-electric/story?id=69242502 renowned composers]. Though it is not their intended use,{{Citation needed}} motorised vehicles can be used as music instruments. Composer Ryoji Ikeda has composed a [https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/37885/1/building-a-synth-orchestra-out-of-one-hundred-cars symphony for 100 thermal ("acoustic") cars].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing to the left side of the panel with his arms out, and [[Megan]] and [[White Hat]] are standing to his right, facing him.]

:Cueball: I would never get an electric vehicle.
:Cueball: Sure, they sound great, but what do you do if the battery runs out of charge?

:[Caption below the image:]
:I felt pretty silly when someone finally explained to me that EVs are rechargeable.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category: Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]

3222: Star Formation

2026-03-20T20:53:35Z

2A06:61C1:795F:0:53D8:A96B:A044:B192:

{{comic
| number = 3222
| date = March 20, 2026
| title = Star Formation
| image = star_formation_2x.png
| imagesize = 676x272px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It's ok, I still have some nice, cool gas clouds that aren't collapsing. As long as nothing ionizes them, I can continue to enjoy their ... HEY! NO!!!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a DIRECT COLLAPSE BLACK HOLE. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

This comic depicts a simplified model of how structure forms in the universe, then pushes it to an absurd extreme. In cosmology, small density variations in the early universe grow over time: regions with slightly higher density attract more matter via {{w|gravity}}, eventually forming {{w|gas cloud}}s, stars, and galaxies. Pressure, driven by temperature, resists collapse, so the evolution of a cloud depends on the balance between gravitational attraction and internal pressure; this is often described by the {{w|Jeans instability}} criterion.

In the first panel, the on-screen narrator (with a passing resemblance to the [[:Category:Time-Traveling Sphere|time-travelling sphere]]), and apparent creator of the universe, describes pressure waves moving through gas and causing it to clump, which is broadly accurate. In the second, the clouds begin to collapse under gravity as more gas falls in, again matching real astrophysical processes. However, the third panel exaggerates the outcome: as collapse proceeds, the gas heats up (via compression and radiation processes), increasing pressure and often slowing or fragmenting the collapse rather than causing a runaway “explosion.” The comic instead imagines a catastrophic, accelerating collapse, akin to forming a {{w|black hole}} or triggering an energetic outburst. In reality, only under specific conditions, such as in the formation of {{w|direct collapse black hole}}s, can gas clouds avoid fragmenting and collapse rapidly into massive objects.

The final panel humorously frames this as the narrator lamenting the destruction of their “beautiful clouds,” as the process has gone out of control and produced an intense central object (likely a star or black hole) instead of stable clouds.

The title text continues this joke by referencing the importance of ionization. “Cool” gas clouds (low temperature, neutral gas) can remain stable or collapse slowly. If they are ionized (for example, by nearby stars emitting {{w|ultraviolet}} radiation), the gas heats up, increasing pressure and preventing or disrupting collapse. The narrator hopes to preserve some calm, neutral clouds but then reacts in horror as something ionizes them, ruining the delicate balance and ending their ability to “enjoy” stable gas clouds. It's unknown what the 'something' is, & from the comic it sounds as if a 2nd diety is with the first, destroying their creations & being a right nuisance in general. Who they are & what their purpose is is unknown.

==Transcript==
:[A glowing dot is in a field of clouds, speaking to itself.]
:Dot: I think I did a good job with this universe.
:Dot: Pressure waves dance through gas clouds.
:Dot: They clump together and then pressure pushes them apart.

:[The dot observes some more densely gathering of clouds.]
:Dot: Oh weird, that big clump of clouds is staying together.
:Dot: Their gravity is overcoming the pressure and more gas is falling in.

:[More of the increasingly fragmentary clouds start to fall into a nascent star.]
:Dot: It's not stopping!
:Dot: The heat is rising but the collapse is only accelerating!
:Dot: I messed up bad. I messed up '''bad.'''

:[There is now a shining star in place of the dense field of clouds, with a few small clouds only at a distance.
:Dot: NOOOOOOOO!!!
:Dot: My beautiful clouds!
:Dot: Ruined! It's all ruined!

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>