explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3241: Horizontal Stabilizers

2026-05-06T16:12:03Z

64.189.140.61: /* Trivia */

{{comic
| number = 3241
| date = May 5, 2026
| title = Horizontal Stabilizers
| image = horizontal_stabilizers_2x.png
| imagesize = 436x341px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It started as a mistake that everyone was afraid to admit to, and then it stuck because removing it 'looks silly.'.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created HORIZONTALLY, so just make it BIGGER. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

A {{w|Stabilizer (aircraft)#Horizontal stabilizers|horizonal stabilizer}} (also often described as a {{w|tailplane}}) is part of an aircraft which typically provides extra longitudinal balance, with the tailplane maintaining balance and control of the aircraft. Although some alternate types of airframe work without them (e.g. by making use of more complex main wing control surfaces), most (and the most common) aircraft use {{w|Tailplane#Tailplane types|some version or other}} of a tailplane. The structure of aircraft varies based on what they {{What If|30|have to do}}.

This comic claims that horizontal stabilizers are a mistake in the design process, and not at all necessary. The original construction of some particular plane only had small wings and the mere stub of fusalage to which they were attached, but neither wings nor body were big enough to be useful. Rather than spending time and resources rebuilding from scratch, they just added more fuselage, with much bigger wings, and continued to use the original insufficient fuselage and 'wings' in the manner of a tailplane.

The title text takes this even further, stating that people deliberately ignored the superfluousness of this new part, and later, whenever they decided to remove the feature (perhaps to save weight, or just 'complexity') people were already so used to them being there that it "looked silly", so they put them back on to satisfy expectations. This may be referencing the use of 'spoilers' on everyday passenger cars, which are often included purely for cosmetic reasons, because it makes the vehicle look 'fast' or 'sporty' while having little or no effect in producing the desired downforce (for extreme cornering or acceleration), and may instead just add drag to the car to make it ultimately ''slower'' in a straight line speed-test.

There are some {{w|tailless aircraft}}, often designed as such precisely to minimise the latent drag from the tailplane surfaces (another possible reason being to create a {{w|Radar cross section|more 'stealthy' aircraft}}), and many people do consider them unusual-looking. Some aircraft, including the original {{w|Wright Flyer}}, have the horizontal stabilizers in the front rather than the tail section due to design assumptions made at the time (later superseded by the 'normal' and typically more stable configuration), with some more modern planes again using {{w|Canard (aeronautics)|canard}} 'forward control surfaces' instead of (or {{w|three-surface aircraft|in addition to}}) the rear-mounted ones using a more modern understanding of the actuve aerodynamic needs of a plane in flight.

The comic does not address the need for any {{w|vertical stabilizer}} and rudder, often integrated in some way with the (horizontal) tailplane or at least being rooted in the same section of fuselage. (Some may describe the {{w|empennage|whole assembly}} of horizontal and vertical rear surfaces (both static and actuated) as the "tailplane", due to it being all together in the same place.) The comic's original 'stabilizer only' plane ''also'' lacked any such vertical control surfaces. By the same logic, of course, a true 'tailless' aircraft like a Flying Wing ''can'' also fly without a tailfin-like structure, usually controlling its yaw through differential power and/or drag across its two remaining wings. Although 'half-tail' airframes exist that still use one ''or'' the other of horizontal and vertical control surfaces, where the main wing controls the other, and there are also tail designs that integrate both control and stabilization functions into {{w|V-tail|the same hybrid tail-structure}}.

At some point before the scene in the factory and the conversation about the airplane in flight, the evolving design seems to have gained the vertical stabiliser as well, for unstated in-comic reasons perhaps just as superfluous as that for which it has retained the horizontal version. But, then again, as well as gaining more fuselage (which may necessarily have completed the stated design expectation of it being 'bigger', by increasing its potential cargo capacity) it has also managed to gain such useful features as a cockpit/nosecone ''and also engines'', the ultimate superfluity of which is far less likely to (even reluctantly) justify.

==Trivia==
*This is a rare [[:Category:Tuesday comics|Tuesday comic]]. There was no [[:Category:Monday comics|Monday comic]] this week. However, the archive states the publication date as 2026-5-4 (the previous Monday), so the comic was likely intended to be a Monday comic.

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

:[Cueball and Ponytail are standing, looking up at an airplane in the sky. Cueball is pointing at the airplane.]
:Cueball: What's with the little wings on the tails of the airplanes? Do they really need them?
:Ponytail: They're horizontal stabilizers. They serve a crucial aerodynamic role.

:[Hairy, another Cueball, and Megan are standing in a room, with Hairy on the left of a small fuselage segment with small wings attached to the sides of it, while Cueball and Megan are standing on the right of it. Hairy has his arms raised. There is a caption in a box at the top of the panel.]
:Caption: Previously, at the airplane factory...
:Hairy: These wings you made are way too small! The plane is supposed to be much bigger!
:Other Cueball: Sorry! We'll start over.
:Hairy: No, there's no time. Just make it longer and put the bigger wings on the new section.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Aviation]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

1000: 1000 Comics

2026-05-06T02:14:26Z

64.189.140.61:

{{comic
| number = 1000
| date = January 6, 2012
| title = 1000 Comics
| image = 1000 comics small.png
| titletext = Thank you for making me feel less alone.
}}
A [http://xkcd.com/1000/large/ larger version] of this image can be found by clicking the image on [https://xkcd.com/1000 xkcd.com].
==Explanation==

This comic is the 1000th comic shown on xkcd containing 1000 characters from previous comics arranged in the shape of the number "1000". [[Megan]] is clearly excited as she screams "Woooo!", but [[Cueball]], in true nerd fashion, thinks in base-2, saying that there are just 24 to go until a "big round-number milestone". The joke is that during programming, base-2 is used more often than base-10, making milestones powers of two rather than powers of 10. Where 1000 is a round number in base 10 (103), 1024 is a round number in base 2 (210). Binary is also referenced in the "Connect the Dots" puzzle, explained below.

In the 1000 comic [[Randall]] included [[404: Not Found]], see why in the explanation for this comic. This comic strengthens the fact that Randall did indeed count 404 as a "real" comic.

===The 1000 characters===
Each of the characters/drawings is numbered on this page:
*[[1000: 1000 Comics/Numbered images]]
They are described on this page:
*[[1000: 1000 Comics/1000 characters]]

===Connect the Dots===
There is a "Connect the Dots" puzzle hidden within the comic. However, rather than using the conventional decimal system numbering which would start with 1 and count up, 2, 3, 4, 5, ... This "Connect the Dots" puzzle starts with 0 as a programmer would do and counts up in binary numerical order - 0,1,10,11,100,101,110,111,1000,1001 and back to 0. The revealed image forms the shape of a heart. This fits well with the title text where feeling less alone can equate to feeling loved.

[[File:1000 comics binary.png]]

==Transcript==
:[1000 characters, numerous of which have appeared previously in other comics, are arranged to create the number "1000". Two more people stand in the foreground commenting on the formation. There are several comments amongst these 1000 but here are only written the text that can be read from the small version shown above.]
:1000
:Megan: ''Woooo!''
:Cueball: Wow—Just 24 to go until a big round-number milestone!

{{comic discussion}}


[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Binary]]



[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]] 
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]] 
[[Category:Comics featuring Mrs. Roberts]] 
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]] 
[[Category:Comics featuring Jill]] 
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]] 
[[Category:Comics featuring Danish]] 
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]] 
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]] 
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]] 
[[Category:Comics featuring Rob]] 
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]] 
[[Category:Comics featuring Richard Stallman]] 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cory Doctorow]] 
[[Category:Comics featuring Ron Paul]] 
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]] 
[[Category:Public speaking]] 
[[Category:Animals]] 
[[Category:Squirrels]] 
[[Category:Kites]] 
[[Category:Hamster balls]]
[[Category:Fiction]] 
[[Category:Electric skateboard]] 
[[Category:Star Wars]] 
[[Category:Boomerangs]] 
[[Category:American football]] 
[[Category:Soccer]] 
[[Category:Comics featuring Summer Glau]]
[[Category:Comics featuring politicians]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Donald Knuth]]
[[Category:Turtles]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Barrel Boy]]

explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals

2026-05-06T00:49:55Z

64.189.140.61: /* possible new "superheroes" category */

<noinclude>{{Community links}}

{|-
|valign="top" width="100%"|[[File:Crystal Clear app ktip.png|left|120px]] <big><big>Proposals</big></big>

Place for ideas and suggestions to improve the wiki's design and organization on general issues can be incubated for later submission for consensus discussion. Be sure to check whether your proposal has already been submitted. {{AddNewSection|Page=Explain XKCD:Community portal/Proposals|Text=(+post)}}
|}</noinclude>

==ARCHIVED DISCUSSIONS==
<div class="plainlinks" style="background:#edf6ff; border:1px solid #a7d7f9; margin:1em auto 1em auto; width:100%; font-size: 120%; padding: 0.5ex; text-align: center;">Most of the discussions on this page have been archived. The archive is available at '''[[explain xkcd talk:Community portal/Proposals]]'''.</div>

== Removing unnecessary 3-comic categories? ==

I count eight categories on explainxkcd that satisfy the following properties: 1. They have only three comics in them. 2. They aren't really a comic series; they just feature or reference a comic theme. 3. They aren't Featuring some person or character. In short, they seem to have no real reason to exist. (They're [[:Category:Spice_Girls|t]][[:Category:Wind_turbine|h]]e[[:Category:Ender%27s_Game|s]]o[[:Category:FernGully|n]][[:Category:Giraffes|e]]s.) So my proposal: remove them. -[[User:Account|Account]] ([[User talk:Account|talk]]) 20:37, 9 November 2019 (UTC)
:In addition, there are [[:Category:Sketches|t]][[:Category:BSD|h]][[:Category:Emacs|i]][[:Category:Identity_Theft|r]][[:Category:Katamari_Damacy|t]][[:Category:Super_Bowl|e]][[:Category:The_Matrix|e]][[:Category:Tournament_bracket|n]][[:Category:Traffic_light| ]][[:Category:Trebuchet|m]][[:Category:Wingsuit|o]][[:Category:Euler_diagrams|r]][[:Category:Pedantic|e]] four-comic categories that also seem rather in need of deletion.
:: Shouldn't the community at least have some time to expand on these categories, in case they're currently incomplete? For example, [[:Category:The Matrix]] is on your list and now contains 7 strips, and [[:Category:Tournament bracket]] got its 5th entry after your post. Even if they're not, a theme category can save some typing in the search box (and is probably also cheaper in terms of server resources than all the searches it'll eliminate). [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 22:43, 21 November 2019 (UTC)
:::So what do you think the limit should be for categories? Should we create a category when two comics mention the same topic? Three? --[[User:Account|Account]] ([[User talk:Account|talk]]) 16:28, 22 November 2019 (UTC)
::::Three seems reasonable to me, and I could see a case being made for two. Categories aren't expensive. [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 00:17, 23 November 2019 (UTC)

== New transcript ==

The transcripts in the comic pages are quite inconsistent, especially in the brackets where you have to describe what happens in the panels. If I understand correctly, the transcripts are for people to copy the text in the comic without having to type them out. If that's the case, then I think propose a new transcript. This transcript should have the comic with the words erased, and then the copy-pasteable words on top of that. Such a transcript would have no room for error, which would let anyone contribute to a seamless transcript.
:The aim of the transcript is to provide a text-only version of the comic that would allow someone who is visually impaired to use a text-to-speech converter to understand the comic and also in a machine readable format for searching (see the [[explain_xkcd:Editor_FAQ#What_is_the_format_of_the_transcript_section?|Editor FAQ]]). Anything using mark-up, images or anything other than plain text will interfere with this and so should be avoided in the transcript. [[User:A(l)Chemist|AlChemist]] ([[User talk:A(l)Chemist|talk]]) 18:22, 23 November 2019 (UTC)User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al

== Add title text and heading to transcript section ==

It has always bothered me that the transcript did not include the title text since it contributes so much to the humor of the comics. Also, it looks to me like the comic heading is sometimes included as part of the transcript and sometimes left out. I checked the previous proposals and did not see any discussion of these issues. Please consider having a policy going forward of including the heading and the title text within the transcript. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 22:43, 1 January 2020 (UTC)
:To my understanding (and also others, see discussion directly above) one of the main points of the transcript is to make the comics searchable, the other is, to make it readable when images are not an option. In both cases the comic's name and the title text mentioned above and below the image should be sufficient. I personally think this convention is fine. [[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 08:28, 2 January 2020 (UTC)

::Pardon me -- (and, '''<big>''thanks'' for your patience</big>''') -- if this is too off-topic (/slash "boring") or [[wikt:TMI|TMI]] (see {{w|Information overload#Web accuracy}} e.g.), '''...OR''' if this should have been posted elsewhere ...instead of here.

::IMHO the term '''"title text"''' is a misnomer. I think the term is used to refer to the little (or, '''BIG!''') pop-up -- (kinda like what is sometimes called a <code>"tooltip"</code>, but ... aren't those usually pretty '''small?''') -- that appears when one "hovers" his mouse [pointer] over an XKCD cartoon. ...at least, according to '''the "Talk:" page section''' [[Template talk:comic#The template field called .22titletext.22]] which was added almost 3 years ago. I think that calling it a <code>"BONUS text"</code> would be even better than calling it a "caption". However, [to me], '''either one''' of those terms would make sense ''WAY'' more than calling it a '''"title text"''' ... for reasons which are stated in the [Template] "Talk:" page section mentioned (and ... '''LINKED TO''') above. '''<big>Any Comments? . . ''' *** Thanks! *** for listening!</big> --[[User:Mike Schwartz|Mike Schwartz]] ([[User talk:Mike Schwartz|talk]]) 08:57, 7 April 2020 (UTC)

:::Hi Mike, I see your point, and yes, something like "bonus text" might be a bit more descriptive. But FWIW, I think the reason it's called "title text" is because that's the text that appears in the <code>[https://www.w3schools.com/tags/att_global_title.asp title]</code> attribute of the HTML <code>[https://www.w3schools.com/tags/tag_img.asp <img>]</code> tag of the comic's image on the xkcd.com site. For example, at https://xkcd.com/2364/, the code for the comic image looks like this:
<pre>
<img src="//imgs.xkcd.com/comics/parity_conservation.png"
title="Bloody Mary is made of antimatter. It explains so much."
alt="Parity Conservation"
srcset="//imgs.xkcd.com/comics/parity_conservation_2x.png 2x">
</pre>
:::In there, you can see the title text as <code>title="Bloody Mary is made of antimatter. It explains so much."</code> See [[title text|here]] for more explanation about that, and some discussions about it [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Miscellaneous#Common mistake|here]]. – [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 03:11, 29 September 2020 (UTC)
::: While the current layout suits the first purpose (ease of search), I would argue that having the "title text" come before in the page layout, and in a completely different section, makes it fail the second (accessibility). Often the contents of the title text are a continuation of the humour in the strip, so it's about as useful as having the explanation ahead of the transcript as far as accessibility is concerned. My suggestion on this matter is to either a) move the transcript to the top of the content, maybe within a collapse section or b) not claim it for accessibility.
::: As for the secondary topic, I've seen it called "Author Text" before, as it is text by the author and most people won't care what the element attribute is named. [[Special:Contributions/64.114.211.89|64.114.211.89]] 06:55, 18 November 2025 (UTC)

== Wikipedia links. ==

I think the links to Wikipedia should have symbols, so it's not confusing which ones lead to other comic pages.

== It's time to remove the HTTPS lock icon ==

Explainxkcd should do the same thing that browser makers have done: treat HTTPS as the modern standard, and mark HTTP as the deviation instead.

Here are appropriate replacement icons:
* https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Unlock_Icon_Red_(32_bit).png
* https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Unlock_Icon_Red_(4_bit).gif
- [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 12:49, 16 May 2020 (UTC)

== New page for Randall's regular column in the New York Times ==
Randall Munroe has been writing and illustrating a monthly science column in the New York Times. I suggest a page in this Wiki, indexing those columns. For some reason the New York Times itself does not provide such an index. If they ever do add one, we would still have a topic article here, similar to the one we have for the What If blog, that could link to their index. --[[User:JohnB|JohnB]] ([[User talk:JohnB|talk]]) 00:47, 11 June 2020 (UTC)
------
=== New York Times column: Good Question ===

'''Good Question''' is a more-or-less monthly column written and illustrated by '''[[Randall|Randall Munroe]]''' in the '''[https://www.nytimes.com/section/science Science section of the New York Times]''', beginning in November 2019. The columns give serious answers to science questions, in Munroe's inimitable style.

The New York Times website ordinarily requires registration, and its content is always protected by copyright. Most particularly it is ''not'' under [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License] the way [[xkcd]] is. The good news: anyone can register for a free digital subscription to the New York Times, with access to 'recent' Science articles among some others, but outside of that only five articles per month. See [https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/info/help/freesearch.html Free Articles].

Unlike for many of their other regular columnists, the New York Times does not provide a clickable link either on the byline '''Randall Munroe''' or on the column title '''Good Question'''. The following tables are intended to correct that omission.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ New York Times columns ''by'' Randall Munroe
! Column !! Headline !! Byline !! Date
|-
! SCIENCE
| [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/13/science/what-makes-a-red-sky-at-night-and-at-morning.html What Makes a Red Sky at Night (and at Morning)]
| Randall Munroe
| Aug. 13, 2019
|-
! GOOD QUESTION
| [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/12/science/randall-munroe-moon.html If I Touched the Moon, What Would It Feel Like?]
| Randall Munroe
| Nov. 12, 2019
|-
! GOOD QUESTION
| [https://nytimes.com/2019/12/10/science/earth-size-mass.html Is Earth Getting Bigger Over Time?]
| Randall Munroe
| Dec. 10, 2019
|-
! GOOD QUESTION
| [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/21/science/human-running-speed-quadruped.html How Fast Can a Human Run?]
| Randall Munroe
| Jan. 21, 2020 / Feb. 7, 2020
|-
! GOOD QUESTION
| [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/17/science/worst-odor-smell-thioacetone.html What’s the World’s Worst Smell?]
| Randall Munroe
| Feb. 17, 2020 / Feb. 26, 2020
|-
! GOOD QUESTION
| [https://nytimes.com/2020/03/10/science/question-randall-munroe-bobsled-gravity.html What if Galileo Had Dropped Bobsleds From the Tower of Pisa?]
| Randall Munroe
| March 10, 2020
|-
! GOOD QUESTION
| [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/07/science/pulsar-xkcd-munroe-stars.html How’s the View From a Spinning Star?]
| Randall Munroe
| April 7, 2020
|-
! GOOD QUESTION
| [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/11/science/traffic-barrier-rice-krispies.html What’s the Sweetest, Crispiest Way to Stay Safe in a Car Crash?]
| Randall Munroe
| May 11, 2020
|-
! GOOD QUESTION
| [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/09/science/randall-munroe-question-eggs.html Can You Boil an Egg Too Long?]
| Randall Munroe
| June 9, 2020
|-
! GOOD QUESTION
| [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/science/neutrinos-snowball-randall-munroe.html Could You Make a Snowball of Neutrinos?]
| Randall Munroe
| July 7, 2020
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ New York Times columns ''about'' Randall Munroe
! Column !! Headline !! Byline !! Date
|-
! LINK BY LINK
| [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/26/business/media/26link.html This Is Funny Only if You Know Unix]
| Noam Cohen
| May 26, 2008
|-
! BITS
| [https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/14/techs-favorite-cartoonist-enters-mainstream-publishing/ Tech’s Favorite Cartoonist Enters Mainstream Publishing]
| Noam Cohen
| March 14, 2014
|-
! SCIENCE
| [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/04/science/randall-munroe-the-creator-of-xkcd-explains-complexity-through-absurdity.html He’s Glad You Asked]
| Kenneth Chang
| Nov. 3, 2014
|-
! BOOKS
| [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/24/books/randall-munroe-explains-it-all-for-us.html Randall Munroe Explains It All for Us]
| Alexandra Alter
| Nov. 23, 2015
|-
! SCIENCE
| [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/22/science/randall-munroe-xkcd-science-textbook.html Randall Munroe, XKCD Creator, Goes Back to High School]
| Kenneth Chang
| March 21, 2016
|-
! SCIENCE
| [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/03/18/science/document-Munroepages.html Randall Munroe of ‘XKCD’ Explains the Human Body, Elevators and the Saturn 5]
| (Actual pages from '''{{w|Thing_Explainer|Thing Explainer}}''')
| March 21, 2016
|}
------

: Looks goods to me, you should probably make that an article of its own, maybe [[New York Times: Good Question]]? --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 22:58, 10 July 2020 (UTC)

: {{notice|I went and added the page, here: [[New York Times: Good Question]] --[[User:JohnB|JohnB]] ([[User talk:JohnB|talk]]) 02:42, 11 July 2020 (UTC)}}

== Bring back the {{rw}} template! please ==

Can someone restore the <nowiki>{{rw}}</nowiki> template? I insist on its existence. I further assure that it will be of much use. It was deleted by an admin. — [[User:Sqrt-1|The 𝗦𝗾𝗿𝘁-𝟭]] [[User talk:Sqrt-1|talk]] [[Special:Contributions/Sqrt-1|stalk]] 06:10, 29 September 2020 (UTC)
:nm, did it myself. — [[User:Sqrt-1|The 𝗦𝗾𝗿𝘁-𝟭]] [[User talk:Sqrt-1|talk]] [[Special:Contributions/Sqrt-1|stalk]] 04:15, 1 October 2020 (UTC)

== Link to high-resolution images? ==

The wiki includes the "standard" resolution images, but would it be worth adding a link to the higher-resolution image on each page? It appears that this could be automated in at least a strong majority of cases: if the standard image is ''xyzzy.png'', the hi-res one is ''xyzzy'''_2x'''.png'' . [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 22:10, 1 October 2020 (UTC)
:Please stop adding this to the explanations. This is not needed. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:56, 6 October 2020 (UTC)
::The high-resolution image was quite useful in parsing the "Amelia's Farm Fresh Cookies" comic. I'm not convinced that the hi-res images are commonly known. I've been reading xkcd for about 7 years and hadn't heard about them until I stumbled across a mention of them in one of the Discussions here. What is the harm in having a one-line ''link'' here? -- not, I emphasize, the actual image, which would take up a great deal of space. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 17:00, 7 October 2020 (UTC)
:::I didn't know about the high-resolution images either. While it might be a bit repetitive to add a full sentence to every comic's explanation, I agree that having ''some'' easy way to link to the hi-res image on xkcd.com could be handy. For example, maybe a "hi-res" or "2x" button before the "Next >" button above the comic in [[Template:comic]]? That's a bit extreme, but I added an example template, derived from the existing [[Template:comic]], to demonstrate how that could work:
:::* Template: [[User:Yfmcpxpj/Template:comic 2x test]]
:::* Demo: [[User:Yfmcpxpj/Sandbox#2x comic template test]]
:::With those changes to the template, for all comics as of [[1084]] the "2x" button would automatically appear. (No need to go back and change all comics.) This assumes the images hosted on explainxkcd generally have the same filename as on xkcd.com, but there are optional parameters to override the filename or omit the "2x" button altogether for specific exceptions. I'm not suggesting we actually go ahead and implement this; but if there was enough interest, an admin would be needed anyway, to make the changes within [[Template:comic]], which is currently protected. – [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 23:25, 11 October 2020 (UTC)
::::FWIW, I like this. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 20:25, 12 October 2020 (UTC)
:::::My proposal is that a bot should add it automatically to the description of each comic image when available so that it does not take up space anywhere and is easily accessible. — [[User:Sqrt-1|The 𝗦𝗾𝗿𝘁-𝟭]] [[User talk:Sqrt-1|talk]] [[Special:Contributions/Sqrt-1|stalk]] 13:49, 8 February 2021 (UTC)

== Proposal to replace the top section with this... ==

I have come up with a new design for the top section of all community portals...
It’s located here... https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=explain_xkcd:Sandbox&oldid=199882 — [[User:Sqrt-1|The 𝗦𝗾𝗿𝘁-𝟭]] [[User talk:Sqrt-1|talk]] [[Special:Contributions/Sqrt-1|stalk]] 14:15, 15 October 2020 (UTC)
<hr/>
{|-
|valign="top" width="80%"|[[File:Crystal Clear app ktip.png|left|120px]] <big><big>Proposals</big></big>

Ideas to improve the wiki's design and organization can be added here. {{AddNewSection|Page=Explain XKCD:Community portal/Proposals|Text=(+post)}}

|valign="top" xalign="right" width="100%"|[[File:Crystal Clear app package settings blue.png|50px|link=https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Technical]][[File:Crystal Clear teamwork.png|50px|link=https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Coordination]][[File:Mop.svg|50px|link=https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Admin_requests]][[File:Internet-group-chat.svg|50px|link=https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Miscellaneous]]
|}

== I made a template for welcoming new users. ==

{{Welcome}}
<hr/>
Any ideas? Suggestions? Objections? — [[User:Sqrt-1|The 𝗦𝗾𝗿𝘁-𝟭]] [[User talk:Sqrt-1|talk]] [[Special:Contributions/Sqrt-1|stalk]] 16:35, 13 December 2020 (UTC)
: this is now in at the top of the Main Page --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 16:38, 5 February 2021 (UTC)
::Why? This looks like a template intended for (newly created) UserPages. And it replaces interesting data from the frontpage with something not useful for casual visitors (or even non-casual lurkers). I'd undo this change in an instant if I had authority to do so. ((The template looks good, to clarify, just obviously not intended to be in that location.)) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.154|141.101.76.154]] 01:36, 6 February 2021 (UTC)
:::[[User: Jeff|Jeff]] is the owner of explainxkcd you dingus. [[User:Beanie|Beanie]] [[User talk:Beanie|talk]] 13:46, 18 June 2021 (UTC)

== comic groups ==

i think we should have a tech problems list of comics ( as there are quite a few)
:We already have a category for it. [[:Category:Cueball_Computer_Problems]]. — [[User:Sqrt-1|The 𝗦𝗾𝗿𝘁-𝟭]] [[User talk:Sqrt-1|talk]] [[Special:Contributions/Sqrt-1|stalk]] 13:44, 8 February 2021 (UTC)

== Archiving interactive comics? ==

Has the possibility of archiving interactive comics been discussed? Of course, users can view them on the original website, but it’d be nice to have a working backup of sorts, especially considering some of the interactive comics haven’t aged too well in terms of compatibility or support (e.g. Umwelt displays a blank page for me.)

It probably wouldn’t be possible to do so directly from mediawiki, but I’d be happy to experiment with cloning a few of them on another server, or as simple PHP pages that could be embedded, if it would help. Most of the interactive comics appear to be implemented mostly in client side JS anyways, so replicating them shouldn’t be too bad.

[[User:Tague|Tague]] ([[User talk:Tague|talk]]) 13:12, 29 April 2021 (UTC)

== Replace head shots of characters in the wiki with these new and high quality head shots! ==

https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/n2u28r/i_took_head_shots_of_the_reccuring_characters_and/

These are not only upscaled, but are all squares and have all the features of the characters. — [[User:Sqrt-1|The 𝗦𝗾𝗿𝘁-𝟭]] [[User talk:Sqrt-1|talk]] [[Special:Contributions/Sqrt-1|stalk]] 03:33, 2 May 2021 (UTC)
:I think you should do it (because higher quality = better) :] [[User:Beanie|Beanie]] [[User talk:Beanie|talk]] 13:42, 18 June 2021 (UTC)
::There seemed to be no objections, so I went ahead and did it. — [[User:Sqrt-1|The 𝗦𝗾𝗿𝘁-𝟭]] [[User talk:Sqrt-1|talk]] [[Special:Contributions/Sqrt-1|stalk]] 12:40, 21 November 2021 (UTC)

== Cleaning up [[Special:WantedTemplates|Special: Wanted Templates]] ==

I decided to take a look at the list of wanted templates. Imagine my surprise when I see that a lot of the templates wanted were mis-capitalizations or misspellings of existing templates. I hereby request permission to create redirect pages for some of the most popular errors.
I intend to do five, wait a week, and do another five as to not spam the wiki. I will not begin for a week, at which point I will only proceed if nobody has said no OR a moderator has said yes. May I proceed? [[User talk:Quillathe Siannodel|{)|(}]][[User:Quillathe_Siannodel|Quill]][[Special:Contributions/Quillathe_Siannodel|{)|(}]] 11:34, 15 May 2021 (UTC)

== Knit Cap ==
Sometimes Knit cap has long hair, sometimes short. Is Knit Cap meant to be a male character that sometimes has long hair, or is Knit Cap sometimes female? I want to clear this up before I finish editing [[1350: Lorenz]]. [[User:Beanie|Beanie]] [[User talk:Beanie|talk]] 13:40, 18 June 2021 (UTC)
:Hm, in the 'Enemy Pikachu used theft' scene in [[1350: Lorenz]], Knit Cap's hair looks merely slightly unkempt. From this, I will assume that Knit Cap just sometimes has long hair and is always male. [[User:Beanie|Beanie]] [[User talk:Beanie|talk]] 13:10, 21 June 2021 (UTC)
::Ok, the official transcripts say that Knit Cap is 'A guy in a knit cap'. I will take that to mean that Knit Cap is definitely male.
:::(Sorry for necroposting) Knit cap is shown to represent Randall's wife in the "X years" series, I assume that they are thusly female. {{unsigned|B for brain|15:07, 29 March 2026}}

== We still need to complete some explanations like this one: ==

I think should change the banner shown at the top of every page to show a comic that is still incomplete, like Hoverboard or something. [[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 21:32, 30 August 2021 (UTC)

== Update MediaWiki ==
explainxkcd is running MediaWiki 1.30.0, which reached end-of-life in June 2019. There are likely security issues because of this, so please update MediaWiki to the latest version (or LTS) using the instructions here https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Upgrading [[User:Cam1170|Cam1170]] ([[User talk:Cam1170|talk]]) 19:41, 26 September 2021 (UTC)
:It seems like the mysql is too outdated for the upgrade [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 17:37, 26 November 2021 (UTC)
::Upgrade MySQL then[[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 03:16, 20 July 2022 (UTC)
Does anybody know how to contact an admin for this? I have no clue. [[User:Cam1170|Cam1170]] ([[User talk:Cam1170|talk]]) 03:25, 13 December 2022 (UTC)

== Allow Users to Edit their own talk page if not auto confimed ==

I can edit this page, but I can't create my own talk page! [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 17:34, 26 November 2021 (UTC)

== Upgrade Icons ==

The icons look quite old fashion (the ones on the sidebar and the ones above the editing text area), could they be replaced? [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 23:07, 26 November 2021 (UTC)
:They probably could be, but changing icons the moment they're not absolutely cutting-edge just means using new icons that are as easily edged-out (as tastes change yet again), meanwhile annoying those who prefered the first set and rather wouldn't see a revolving door of ever-evolving aesthetics.
:If I had a vote, I'd say keep the simple glyphs we're used to. If any are not totally obvious (perhaps some would not be, without the text captions) consider revising, but I think you'll get less agreement on what new images to use than that which would advocate the retention of the current ones.
:Alternately, it would definitely be on-theme to find Randall-drawn illustrations to replace them all. But the constraints of adapting (say) any particular stick-figure-world depiction of randonmess to ''meaningfully'' replace the current Random Page icon (at the same scale!) might be less than optimal.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.57|172.70.162.57]] 01:08, 27 November 2021 (UTC)

== Make searchbar not case-sensitive ==

The way the search bar is currently set, it only suggests comic links when what is being typed is capitalized ("Assigning Numbers" rather than "assigning numbers" for instance). Would be nice if we could make it not case-sensitive :D [[User:Char Latte49|Wielder of the Staple Gun]] ([[User talk:Char Latte49|talk]]) 02:48, 27 April 2022 (UTC)
:Good idea. [[User:Marethyu|⟨Winter is coming⟩ Marethyu]] ([[User talk:Marethyu|talk]]) 17:46, 5 May 2022 (UTC)

== Do not allow ordinary users to edit redirects that are just numbers ==

This overrides the default page you're sent to when you check a comic; e.g. recently a vandal edited the page entitled "2614" so it overrode the actual page, [[2614: 2]] on the main page.
:The problem would be when creating a new page and the overrides are needed... [[User:Marethyu|⟨Winter is coming⟩ Marethyu]] ([[User talk:Marethyu|talk]]) 17:48, 5 May 2022 (UTC)

== ExplainXKCD discord (or other platform)? ==

I'm just saying if we had instant messages, pings etc. there would be a lot faster reaction to vandals.
The community portal is hard to get attention from and comments are all very well and good but conversations on Discord could get very quick response, and people could request edits, organise page re-writing etc.
Idk if we can get "official" backing by anyone high up but we could make one anyways?
:The problem with platforms like Discord or others is that we can't guarantee that everyone has access to them; on the wiki, anyone can edit, while some people may not have access to discord or such. A possible solution would be having a sort of service built into the wiki, but not sure how that might be done. Besides, this is a wiki, not an xkcd chat site. This is a good idea, though. [[User:Marethyu|⟨Winter is coming⟩ Marethyu]] ([[User talk:Marethyu|talk]]) 17:43, 5 May 2022 (UTC)
::Anyone can create a discord account like anyone can create an account on this wiki. You don't even need a dedicated client/app as it can run in browser. Just like the wiki. Just my two cents. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 11:28, 20 May 2022 (UTC)
:::Some user may not wish anyone to be able to contact them outside this wiki. You do not need an acount to edit this wiki... [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:14, 22 July 2022 (UTC)

== So, I got a question about transcripts. ==

A lot of comics show links (e.g.: all the ones with a drawing of wikipedia on it), and the transcripts don't really have a standard. In the transcript, should it be an actual link or just blue text or what? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.52|162.158.79.52]] 15:03, 2 June 2022 (UTC)Bumpf
:I'd say that if the linked thing (presuming it's a real linkable target!) is linked in the Explanation, it doesn't need to be (re)linked in the ostensibly flat-and-descriptive Transcript.
:And I know that some Transcripts are hypertext formatted to emulate the thing they are transcribed from (whether bolded, enbiggened, sub-/superscripted and and/or given the hue) but maybe ''primarily'' the "<code>[:Text that describes the text]</code>" should be explaining the details, in case the screen-reader (or text-searching algorithm grepping the Transcript text for "green text" or "superscript" instances can't quite work it out from the various style-tags that can be applied to that effect in so many an various ways.
:But this is IMO, I don't know if there's a specific policy about it, but it is how I've seen it vaguely applied... Not everywhere quite so consistently, though. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.128|172.70.91.128]] 20:28, 2 June 2022 (UTC)
::We try to keep links and explanations out of the transcript. The link and the explanation goes in the explanation section above. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:12, 22 July 2022 (UTC)

== Use 2X Images ==

Apparently xkcd.com provides double-sized versions of almost every comic if you add '''_2x''' to the end of the image name. For instance,

https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/watches.png

https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/watches_2x.png

Since we are in 2022 and computers can load high-resolution images just fine, and they are easier to read, I propose that this website should use the provided double-sized images. Really, I think Randall ought to be doing this himself as well. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.18.107|172.68.18.107]] 12:22, 17 August 2022 (UTC)

:While I agree with using the higher quality images which are default on xkcd.com for many people, there has been [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Link_to_high-resolution_images.3F discussion] about this issue already. At the moment, the consensus seems to be to continue using the 'standard' size to 'use less space,' and instead link to the higher quality image on the image page. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 14:35, 17 August 2022 (UTC)

::I think I may have mentioned it on that link (or similar), but often when the 2x image is used (or even an unwise too wide image/unbreakable-line-of-content) the explainxkcd site cannot sensibly handle it and it forces the default 'page width' of stuff into a zoomed out narrower column to the left (including the margin-line normally inset a dozen or so pixels in from the right) so that browser-window can display the whole of this wide element.
::While "saving space" does apply to server resources and viewer download bandwidth/quotas (e.g.[https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/unreliable_connection.png 53kb] vs [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/unreliable_connection_2x.png 109kb]) may seem insignificant, screen-space can be badly hit by this.
::The motherlode xkcd site has code behind it to (usually?) serve the right image for the right displays, but explainxkcd isn't currently equipped to do the same choose-and-provide (which would need ''both'' images uploaded to it and a revised {{template|comic}} implementation, once we work out the method it could use). And I've never seen any case where the 'low quality' comic is conversely too small and narrow to appreciate (though occasionally the larger one reveals minor drawing details that have been obscured by the downscaling), just when the _2x one makes everything ''else'' too small.
::...this may not apply to everyone's browser implementation, but it definitely happens, and consistently, on my usual Chrome and/or Firefox on Windows and/or Android platforms (according to which system I happen to be on at the time). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.147|172.70.162.147]] 21:20, 17 August 2022 (UTC)
:::ExplainXKCD actually does have the capability to do this. For example, see [[1079:_United_Shapes]]. It generates multiple images, automatically choosing one based on screen size (similar to how xkcd.com does it). The bot could use the `imagesize` parameter to keep the image within the page's width by using the 'standard' image size. This does add a button labeled "click to enlarge," but if that is annoying, the comic template can be modified to hide that button if specified.
:::Here is what it might look like:
:::{{cot}}
{{User:Theusaf/Template:comic_2x
| number = 2647
| date = July 18, 2022
| title = Capri Suns
| image = capri_suns_2x.png
| titletext = [As security is dragging me away] "Come on, at least I didn't make the mistake in the other direction!"
| imagesize = 315x317px
| noexpand = true
}}
{{cob}}
:::which is clearer than the original comic page and the same size. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 05:20, 18 August 2022 (UTC)
::::As specificaly implemented above, I certainly see no immediate problem (need to check across machines/devices), but I suspect that part of the mechanism here is the "imagesize = 315x317px", which seems like it would need (albeit by the page-create bot, algorithm8cally) to be tailored to the 'input' image, not always in this ratio). I'm not technically conversant with the nature of your back-end scripting and doubtless it's all possible (scripts can do almost anything... once you know that they (may) need to do them and rewritten them to catch all the contingencies ;) ), but I don't know know if that's something you've accounted for (e.g. test with a three/four-panel wide comic, or the Earth Temperature Timeline or whatever, and see if it can facilitate them all nicely). Not to mention that if theusafBOT goes offline, the manual-add instructions (as used prior to your replacing the prior functioning bot, for which I thank you) also need this extra step of user involvement to be done, whereas usually the fallback manual method needed little thought in this direction (or indeed however much carbon or silicon there is in the 'brain' involved) except for exceptional circumstances or those rare prior slip-ups by Randall.
::::I'm just going through the first obvious issue (to me), didn't mean to concentrate so many words on just this before even checking everything else! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.80|172.70.91.80]] 09:15, 18 August 2022 (UTC)
:::::Basically, on the backend, the bot will fetch both the small and the large images, and measure the size of the small image, which is what it will use for the <code>imagesize</code>. I have actually used this system in the past for this bot, but was told to revert it due to the "click comic to enlarge" text. As for if the bot goes offline, there is no problem with falling back to the small image, and if editors want to, I can also provide instructions for using the large image. I'm mostly just waiting to see what others think about this. Are there any other problems to consider? —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 14:44, 18 August 2022 (UTC)

== I'm making an App that collects web comics ==

My original idea was to use the rss feed present on xkcd, and other webcomic websites, but now im starting to wonder if there was a way to make a better service, that allowed users to maybe look at older comics, and explanations and such as well, and thats how i happened to come across explainxkcd.com. The RSS Feed for this website, would be pretty helpful, if it were like reddit's but apparently, the rss feed is only maintained for the home page. I was wondering if you guys provided that data through an API or something? Also are there wikis for other famous comics like this one? Any other suggestions and ideas for the app are welcome 🙌🙌.

== Comics edited after their publication ==

many more comics have been changed than are in Category:Comics edited after their publication ! please add them (i already have done two i remember off the top of my head) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.134.223|172.70.134.223]] 12:56, 7 October 2022 (UTC)Bumpf

== What if 2 book page creation ==
What if 2 has come out, but I don't know which page is to be created. There is already a comic under the same name. [[User:ClassicalGames|ClassicalGames]] ([[User talk:ClassicalGames|talk]]) 08:54, 3 May 2023 (UTC)

== Default to 3 Section Headings for Each Explanation: Non-Obvious Info, Recap, and Background Trivia ==

This is a proposal that all new comic explanations should, by default, have 3 Sections:

'''I. Explanation of the Non-Obvious''' (an actual explanation of the non-obvious elements of the comic for the average reader who might not understand the references/joke/relevant science)

'''II. Full Recap'''

'''III. Background Trivia'''

Most of us can agree that Category I is where the value of this website shines.

But today, all 3 of these categories of explanation are typically merged together, making it hard to find the Category I nuggets of goodness.

If we make these 3 section headings the default on every comic explanation, then this default will helpfully nudge editors to put the juiciest stuff up top, and not to clutter that section up with fluff or trivia.

——

As an example, take the recent comic #2878 about Astronomer Happiness and Supernova distance.

The main thing a lay reader would want to know — the Category I information — is…

..That the shape of the graph is probably a clever reference to a Light Curve, a type of supernova graph

..why astronomers like it when a supernova is close, and what happens when it gets too close

Everything else in the (currently) very wordy explanation gets in the way of the lay reader finding out these two things. It’s a bunch of Category II and Category III info that makes it hard to tease out the Category I info. It’s not BAD information, but it’s sandpaper. It’s friction slowing down the average reader.

Obviously I could go in and edit this particular comic, and I often do this kind of edit, but I think this issue pops up for most explanations, so I think changing the standard default interface will help everyone put their contribution into the right section.

In sum, my proposal would elevate Category I info to the top of each explanation, so instead of full recaps, we get right into the explanation that is going to be most efficiently illuminating for the average, non-expert reader, answering the most common questions.

[[User:Laser813|Laser813]] ([[User talk:Laser813|talk]]) 10:50, 12 January 2024 (UTC)
:In general (if I get dibs on the edit, or think I can legitimately re-edit/rearrange), I do try to go for "hook, line, sinker" format (i.e. establish the basics, relate that to what the comic shows, move on to any relevent speculations/extrapolations), very like your setup. Though it is often ''much'' too complicated (multi-layered, cross-disciplinary, etc, so that maybe it has to be interwoven 'mini explanations' per tabulated item) so I'm not sure how easy it would be to enforce a strict structure. I think there's merit to the principle, though. Assuming we can all agree what each comic needs focus on (apply that problem to the following proposal too!), as I've occasionally inserted a sort of "first you need to know <subject>" into an established cold-start explanation ("you see <foo>" only for a later editor to consider it more an afterthought and shuffle it to later ("you see <foo>" ... "<foo> is part of <subject>"), or variations on such layouts. Especially as different people have different ideas as to what's obvious/can be keyword-wikilinked and what needs more waffle to properly enlighten readers.
:Also, prosaic variation is a good thing. Too formulaic and it could be (whilst accurate) considered too robotic, so some leaway should really always be allowed as we collectively bash together a community interpretation and elaboration. Within communal guidelines, clearly. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.203|172.69.194.203]] 15:53, 12 January 2024 (UTC)

== FAQ Style Editing should be the norm ==

Simply, we should experiment with more FAQ-style explanations.

We think of the top questions that the average reader might have about a comic, and we use those as bolded headers to explain the most curious/confusing/subtle/sciency parts of the comic.

The structure would be this (using a recent comic as an example)…

'''Q: Why did Randall use this shape of graph?'''
A: It’s likely a clever reference to a Light Curve, a similarly shaped graph in the study of supernovae that…

'''Q: Why do astronomers prefer it when supernovae are closer?'''
A: It makes it easier to glean information because…

[[User:Laser813|Laser813]] ([[User talk:Laser813|talk]]) 10:50, 12 January 2024 (UTC)

== sidebar revamp ==
I think that the sidebar looks plain and it should have a new design. It could be voted on by users [[User:Moderator|Moderator]] ([[User talk:Moderator|talk]]) 02:16, 5 February 2024 (UTC)
:In leiu of you telling us what you think would be better, my starting vote is that I'm perfectly happy with that 'plain'. If it has the links I might need, why does it need a reskin? Or, worse, a functional revamp which probably removes the easy to use bits I was using already.
:...could you do a mock-up screenshot (or render equivalents directly in markup) of before/after side by side, at least? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.120|172.69.194.120]] 03:11, 5 February 2024 (UTC)

My biggest problem is it doesn’t scroll down with you which can be a big pain [[User:Moderator|Moderator]] ([[User talk:Moderator|talk]]) 01:43, 6 February 2024 (UTC)
:Don't know about anyone else, but (when not on a desktop) I read this on a tablet, in landscape, with the effective window quite short (ratio of 1:2 with width, approaching 1:3.5 with already narrowed onscreen keyboard popped up) and if I'm scrolled to the top I see nothing beyond Browse Comics.
:If we assume separate scroll-control on the sidebar, setting Main Page at the top of browser pane gives What Links Here at the bottom. Now, I rarely use the next three links (or at least reach those pages using them), and separate scrolling wouldn't stop me even seeing the even lower Ad bit (but it ''would'' defeat the entire purpose of the Ad, in that position, whether or not I bother to notice it these days).
:So whatever missing about you propose, I'm betting it would impact me. Perhaps not negatively, but I've seen enough awful assumptions about my screen-area in the name of scroll-free design. Including the "give us permission (or not) to give you cookies" popovers where it appears the actual buttons to confirm (or deny, or go somewhere to review and customise, if they have that option) are beyond the bottom of my screen. I can temporarily rotate the screen, of course, but often I just back out and don't bother in those cases. I wouldn't be reticent to rotate this site, on occasion, but ''I'd really rather not have to'', if I can be so selfish and stick-in-the-mud, because websites just are not good to use (even temporarily) in narrow-portait mode. (What's worse is the websites that detect I'm on a mobile platform and redesign styles/placements on-the-fly to 'fit portrait view', assuming a vertical smartphone, ''regardless'' of my actual viewport orientation, etc.)
:So, please, a hard no from me. Notwithstanding that just as solidly "always browse in portrait" people might be overjoyed at changes that would give ''them'' a better site design. But that's a tricky circle to square (or letterbox!), and not what you were suggesting anyway (now we know what it is). I just want to plea that any changes be made with a very good idea of all the knock-on effects of 'improving' certain edge-cases, especially when it comes to yet other edge-cases. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.23|172.70.85.23]] 10:29, 6 February 2024 (UTC)
==New Logo and Banner Proposals==
:I have new logo and banner proposals for this site.
:They're made on Scratch, an all-ages block-based programming language, and are in the style of Right Click.
:Here they are!
:Logo proposal: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Logo_proposal_for_explain_xkcd.png
:Banner proposal: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Banner_proposal_for_explain_xkcd.png {{unsigned ip|172.69.71.37|01:54, 19 February 2024 (UTC)}}
::I can't see the xkcdicity of the logo, really. The banner is certainly flavourful in the right way (does it scale down well? ...is that what your use of Scratch is for, as opposed to standard static Photoshop/GIMP image editing?), but not sure it'll work better for the current top-left-of-page xkcd (with three xkcd figurses idling away, sat on the letters).
::Decent concept art for something else related, certainly. I could believe it was a Randall's-own interactive comic front-end of some kind (which would make sense of the "play button" that is the "►"-bit). Given that it's now in a programming system already, have you tried making a drag'n'click game of the idea of linking/looping the blue-trail, and animating the hanging-on characters? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.29|172.70.90.29]] 13:34, 19 February 2024 (UTC)
:::It's an arrow, not a play button. Get it right. {{unsigned ip|172.69.71.72|01:05, 20 February 2024 (UTC)}}
::::Hold your horses... I was just trying to find a good reason for the whatever-it-is triangle to be there (gave the example of a 'play' button in my speculated usefulness of it). And it isn't really obviously any more of an arrow (c.f. "→"), either. I like your(?) banner's use of xkcd-figures, just not sure where the logo exhibits any form of being xkcd-related, except by the literal reading of it.
::::Perhaps if it were "xkcd font" (i.e. artfully composited from actual samples of Randall's ALLCAPS comic-writing) then it wouldn't matter so much, but I just wouldn't say it was any more on-brand than the current logo/etc. This being intended as constructive criticism, I hope you understand. And there's more opinions than mine, so maybe I've indeed just missed some point that ''everyone else'' (especially named-users) have already realised. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.5|172.70.86.5]] 02:33, 20 February 2024 (UTC)

== Regarding precision in the Unexplained popup ==

Would it be possible to add an extra decimal point for the sake of precision? Currently, it shows that 0% of comics are unexplained, which is (as of 13:21 UTC on March 27, 2024) incorrect. It's a small thing, but it's rather annoying. {{unsigned ip|162.158.158.233|13:23, 27 March 2024 (UTC)}}
:With the current 2911 comics (give or take #404), 0.1% would be slightly under 3 comics. You'd need at least three before 0.1% appeared instead of the equally unuseful 0.0%.
:I'm of the "at least give everyone a week before you unilaterally declare it 'done'..." camp, so right now ''just'' the latest M/W/F comic incomplete would hover at a token 0.1%.
:(Actually, from two (0.06...% rounded up) to 4 (0.13...% rounded down. The good news is that it'll be almost seven years until two-rounded-up is insufficient, but also up to six-rounded-down is now "0.1%", if I've not goofed the carries/etc.)
:If going to the trouble of editing it to 1DP, make it 2DP with ''exactly'' the same editing effort..?
<blockquote>
<center>
''Welcome to the '''explain [[xkcd]]''' wiki!'' 
We have an explanation for all [[:Category:All comics|'''{{#expr:{{PAGESINCAT:All comics|R}}-1}}''' xkcd comics]],

and only {{PAGESINCAT:Incomplete explanations|R}}
({{#expr: {{PAGESINCAT:Incomplete explanations|R}} / {{LATESTCOMIC}} * 100 round 2}}%) [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|are incomplete]]. Help us finish them!
</center>
</blockquote>
:(As of time of posting, the above says "only 2 (0.07%)". From 0.0687049...% rounded up to 2DP.)
:Though given that we're only going to go into the future,{{Citation needed}} I suggest we can state the flat-out number. It's not now really going to be as scarily huge as it might have been, as the actual percentage becomes generally less significant.
:And, for niceness, give it a grammatically/factually agreeable form:
<blockquote>
;General form:
:<code><nowiki>... and {{#ifeq:  | 0 | no |  }} comic{{#ifeq:  | 1 | | s }} [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|{{#ifeq:  | 1 | is | are }} incomplete]]. ...</nowiki></code>
;Zero cases (hardcoded):
:... and {{#ifeq: 0 | 0 | no |  }} comic{{#ifeq: 0 | 1 | | s }} [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|{{#ifeq: 0 | 1 | is | are }} incomplete]]. ...
;One case (hardcoded):
:... and {{#ifeq: 1 | 0 | no | 1 }} comic{{#ifeq: 1 | 1 | | s }} [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|{{#ifeq: 1 | 1 | is | are }} incomplete]]. ...
;Multiple cases (hardcoded):
:... and {{#ifeq: 42 | 0 | no | 42 }} comic{{#ifeq: 42 | 1 | | s }} [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|{{#ifeq: 42 | 1 | is | are }} incomplete]]. ...
;Current cases (dynamic):
:... and {{#ifeq: {{PAGESINCAT:Incomplete explanations|R}} | 0 | none | {{PAGESINCAT:Incomplete explanations|R}} }} comic{{#ifeq: {{PAGESINCAT:Incomplete explanations|R}} | 1 | | s }} [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|{{#ifeq: {{PAGESINCAT:Incomplete explanations|R}} | 1 | is | are }} incomplete]]. ...
</blockquote>
:...easy to replicate to get "Help us finish them!" to change (upon a zero-test truth) to "But they all might be improvable!". Or change the :Cat:Link to not even be a link when zero, with alternate phrasing dodged over to in order to avoid "no comics are incomplete" in other ways.
:I wrote the above for minimal nesting of overlapping conditions. You might prefer just to go with <code><nowiki>{{#ifeq: <count> | 0 | <whole "zero cases" version> | {{#ifeq: <count> | 1 | <whole "single case" version> | <whole "plurality of cases" version> }} }}</nowiki></code> - both approaches involve repetitions, but maybe this other one can be given a ''degree'' of wikimarkup-readability within each case, to take pity on future editors. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.160.166|172.70.160.166]] 16:02, 27 March 2024 (UTC)

== Hear me out: What If? discussion page. ==

That's it. That's my idea. Go crazy, everyone. [[User:Psychoticpotato|Psychoticpotato]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 14:05, 4 April 2024 (UTC)
:Yup, I've been thinking the same thing. I would like a page on each What If entry. [[User:Maplestrip|Maplestrip]] ([[User talk:Maplestrip|talk]]) 07:42, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
::I've thought about this, over the years. Having 'a page' (rather than the summary table, in the [[what if? (blog)|overview page]], etc) does sound more completist than what we currently have but I then tend to hit the main ontological problem...
::In the What-Ifs, Randall takes a 'simple' question and then ''explains'' the consequences. At length. A 'comic page' structure (starting with how we'd deal with the multiple midpoint images, so we would stray far from using the {{template|comic}} introduction) that followed the header(image,etc)/explanation/transcript/(trivia)/included-comments format would be silly and have many parts inappropriate. Remove the Transcript, for starters. ''Or'' need a mini-Transcript for each 'illustrative' image. (e.g. ":[Black Hat:] What if we tried more power?", several times.)
::Is there an actual need to ''explain Randall's explanation..''? Because that's the only thing 'we' can do. Which is rather silly, and seems like it would take a small (entertainingly rambling) essay and expand it into a large (pedantically rambling) one.
::Or else we just straight-copy the What-If over here as a 'backup'-blag? Allowable, but not exactly a USP, there'll be Internet Archive and personal copies, should things go bad at Randall's end. Not really a noble-cause.
::My suggestion, as to how to cover the remaining "explanation gap" and provide a useful 'service' that's worthwhile maintaining, is ''maybe'' two What If? (Blag) sub-pages:
::#A place to collate all inter-text images (and hover-/title-texts), and Transcript them, for easy searching.
::#*e.g. when you know you want to refer to the "bomb to the eyeball" one (internally or for something external) but think you might not realise where you need to go to (the supernova neutrinos one!) just by scrolling a bare comic list.
::#*Or you'd like to see, at a glance, how many different places the Black Hat Try More Power running joke occurs.
::#*Even if you don't want to open the page itself (160+ 'comics' with say 5 images each, is an 800ish-image page, less rationalising 'repeats' to a single entry), it should at least give you a search result for "dry waterfall" that points you in the direction of the "Niagra Straw" one (and maybe others?).
::#*I could see these being brief Image/Titletext/Transcript/(optional explanatory context), but not enough material to make them separate comic-style-pages in their own right, right?
::#Something of the same 'collation page mechanism' for all those superscript-popup-'footnote' bits. Though I admit I'm not entirely sure for what purpose except that it just ''seems'' like a good "collection page" to maintain. Perhaps to offer updated onward-links if any of the originals suffer link-rot? (But then, that fate can occur to all non-popupped links, so maybe I've chosen the wrong thing to highlight.)
::...the question is, what do you want from it. Bear in mind that if you can creae pages here then you can set up what ''you'' think you'd like to see (e.g. for What-If#1, for starters) then get the community to assess it. Do it as a sub-page to your Userspace, maybe, as proof-of-concept.
::Just because it's not been seen as necessary so far, doesn't mean it's not necessary. I've thought about it a lot (not thst I'm in a position to inplement anything), but I've only decided that I don't see a need for a straight copy (others' views may differ on that) and not enough reason to pester for ''my'' 'ideas' to be fulfilled. But I aint 'in charge' here, and happily so. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.100|172.69.194.100]] 11:29, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
:::You make a fair point. He did already explain in great detail what would happen if [x] scenario happened. It just seems like it would be nice to have a page exclusively for discussing all the ''What If'' articles. [[User:Psychoticpotato|Psychoticpotato]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 20:49, 15 May 2024 (UTC)
::::People just need to make a draft or two and see what happens. Be sure to link a draft here if one is created, I would like to help on it. "I want to learn more and explore this scenario further" is a valid feeling to have. [[User:Maplestrip|Maplestrip]] ([[User talk:Maplestrip|talk]]) 07:34, 16 May 2024 (UTC)

== Randall-ify the Captcha ==

Let's have some fun: Is it feasible to replace the Captcha with something "xkcd-ish" like "click on Randall's work" with a mix of XKCD stuff and generic pictures. If not, how about a replacing it with a quiz like "which of the following IS [or IS NOT] xkcd character" with one obvious correct answer. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.26.75|172.68.26.75]] 16:11, 9 May 2024 (UTC)
:are YOU able to create a CAPTCHA from scratch? [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 15:59, 13 May 2024 (UTC)
::Choose any images that contain user-made CAPTCHAs from the following selection. [[User:Psychoticpotato|Psychoticpotato]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 21:22, 13 May 2024 (UTC)
::We could also make captchas based on most of [[:Category:CAPTCHA|these]]. [[User:PDesbeginner|PDesbeginner]] ([[User talk:PDesbeginner|talk]]) 02:57, 11 September 2025 (UTC)

== Incomplete Tag Vote ==

I think each comic's discussion page should have a section to vote on whether the explanation is complete or not. How long do you think the voting period should be?[[User:PDesbeginner|PDesbeginner]] ([[User talk:PDesbeginner|talk]]) 03:42, 19 June 2024 (UTC)
:Rather than a voting period, I think it would be ideal if people could "vote" on the completeness of an article at any time. As I go through all the old pages, I come across lots of pages that feel a little bit incomplete. It would be nice if we had a measurement of completion that wasn't binary. [[User:Maplestrip|Maplestrip]] ([[User talk:Maplestrip|talk]]) 10:16, 19 June 2024 (UTC)
::Feel free to add the incomplete tag again. But don't forget to mention WHY (either in the tag or the discussion or both) you think it's incomplete. :) The tag is mainly there so you can have a list of "incomplete" comics. A comic is either on that list or it isn't. This is pretty much binary. As for voting: If I think an explanation is complete and it bothers me that it's flagged as not I generally juts make a comment in the discussion asking if someone has still something to add or actually knows WHY it's still incomplete. If there's no response after a few days I delete the tag. There's no need to make a voting out of this. And if somone strongly disagrees to you there's always the "Undo"-link ;) [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 11:09, 19 June 2024 (UTC)
:::Sometimes I just feel "this could use more detail," without specifically knowing what the detail would look like. This can be a problem when it's about explaining complicated science: the "completion" of a description of quantum mechanics that is readable by a novice, is very subjective. I am realizing the problem with the persistent voting idea tho: many people will vote something as "incomplete" but wouldn't come back to check on it later. [[User:Maplestrip|Maplestrip]] ([[User talk:Maplestrip|talk]]) 12:08, 19 June 2024 (UTC)
::::I'm more in the "less is more" camp. Most of my recent contributions to this wiki were deleting parts of bloated explanations: You don't need to explain quantum mechanics unless it's absolutely crucial for understanding the respective comic. Of course, if you are an expert in any given field, [[2501|it's hard to tell]] whether or not the current explanation is sufficient for a layperson and most contributors tend to write "too much". Which is totally fine. People like me take care of the "too much". ;) So, if you are an expert in quantum mechanics ignore "completed" comics about quantum mechanics. Surely you could contribute a lot to it but chances are high that most of it is unnecessary for the comic. Instead ask yourself if you need more information to understand that comic about biology. And if you do, add an incomplete and ask for that information ;) [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 12:31, 19 June 2024 (UTC)
:I've been here a long time, effectively back to when there were ''missing'' explanations (other than the "too new to have the barebones put in" ones, these days only seen when the current BOT is tardy or offline for some reason), and I've seen the Incomplete template change from the useful 'infill marker' to become a regular joke-tag of a similar nature to the Citation Needed. Yes, I agree that both of these (and the Because You're Dumb" tag) are perhaps a bit confusing for new users (like the one who badly edited out a link, just now, apparently thinking it was spam, because of the way it mentioned viagra), but I have grown to see them as community in-jokes (of various degrees of subtlety) that many people seem to appreciate under their current incarnations.
:We've recently removed the Main Page's more literal "there are # incomplete articles" announcement, which leaves the purpose of ''more accurately'' using the Incomplete tag a little less important. Apart from letting us dive into the (purported) list of Incomplete Explanations, one of the main ''serious'' purposes of the Incomplete tag is removed, leaving the now consistently employed purpose of doing a "Created by a THING OTHER THAN THE BOT" joke much more prominent.
:Really, all articles are potentially incomplete, still. Some more than others. Something big, like Hoverboard or Gravity, might truly have easter-eggs or subtle details as yet not properly commented upon, but there have been edits to ''double-digit'' comics recently which might be considered improvements. As such, there are really only two 'sensible' direct courses of action:
:#Completely remove the Incomplete tag, from use, as all pages are only ever as complete as the eye of any particular beholder, and the more recent pages are ''obviously'' incomplete by their being barely 15 minutes (or a day, or ''maybe'' a week) old. Or being so huge (or Time-like!) that they clearly still haven't been 'completely' documented. Maybe the BOT can add a Created By The Bot tag that gets wiped out by the first serious attempt at human editing, but if we wish to lose this part of our site culture so readily then why ever have it at all? A wikivote system is not really that accurate under these circumstances, for a number of reasons that I needn't explain, so go straight to assuming that any such 'vote' would pass, right from the off...
:#Embrace it for its THING OTHER THAN A BOT usage, alone. Don't be so eager to remove them just because you have no personal changes you'd wish to see. (Votes or not, there could always be another editor along in a minute who has, unlike the rest of you, picked up on an obscure visual pun rendered in what turns out to be hieroglyphs, or similar.) If we have to cull them (not a given!), then let it be an unstated rule (or a stated one?) that if there are more than (e.g.) half a dozen then the 'least amusing' may be removed by the first editor who wishes to express a critical opinion. Just the one at a time. No reinstating, no resurrection, no adding to old articles that never ever had a 'joke Incomplete' before, no entirely new joke (but you can refine what's there, to a degree), just a rolling (and not necessarily consecutive!) set of the "finest natjve explainxkcd wit". Or at least the least objectionable surviving examples of same.
:As a practical guide, the "reason why you think it is Incomplete element" could be entirely served by in-line tags (the "What?" and "Why?" and "Date?" things you might see elsewhere). Perhaps we could even do ''both'' things by instead having a "Complete" tag ''explicitly'' for BOT-REPLACEMENT-type tomfoolery (and tongue-in-cheekness about Completion, as we might currently be about Incometeness) from the off. That might confuse the newbods, of course. At least until it doesn't, and then they're not newbods anymore...
:The companion tag, for Incomplete Transcript, is presumably going to serve as it currently does (as a still serious hint as to actual Incompleteness), albeit that I've noticed a trend for the first editor of a brand new published comic to (possibly ''after'' doing the BOT-replacement joke, or after the editor who did ''only'' that) go straight in and enTranscript it (to varying degrees of accuracy and completion), whether or not they also then remove that specific tag-template at the same time. It seems that some people are more comfortable at providing a ''Transcript''ion-service than they are at establishing even the seed of an Explanation. (Or they only have enough time to do the latter, to the level of detail they wish to achieve in the moment open to them.)
:This is, of course, a cultural issue. All the above (from me) is just my own perception of practical aspects, notwithstanding those opinions already expressed before that (and elsewhere). I don't speak for everyone. And, as a perpetual IP, technically I should say that I don't speak for ''anyone'', either... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.160.140|172.70.160.140]] 14:21, 19 June 2024 (UTC)

::I like the idea of removing the Incomplete tag. What do you think? [[User:PDesbeginner|PDesbeginner]] ([[User talk:PDesbeginner|talk]]) 14:57, 19 June 2024 (UTC)
::I greatly approve of a <nowiki>{{what}}</nowiki> tag, as a Wikipedian that's actually really funny. I would want to keep the Incomplete tag, as I think it has purpose, even if it no longer represents a goal to achieve. I think this website will never reach 100.00% completeness and that is good, actually. [[User:Maplestrip|Maplestrip]] ([[User talk:Maplestrip|talk]]) 14:05, 26 June 2024 (UTC)
::Okay. If someone wants to they can just ignore the incomplete tags. [[User:PDesbeginner|PDesbeginner]] ([[User talk:PDesbeginner|talk]]) 14:37, 28 June 2024 (UTC)

== "As of <now>"... ==

What would be rather useful is an <code><nowiki>{{As of now}}</nowiki></code> template (or similar wording, and perhaps an "as of now"-cased alternative for use mid-sentence). There are many articles that will have words along the lines of "this has not yet happened, as of August 2024" or "this situation is continuing, as of August 2024". Every now and then, someone will come across one of these with an older date (perhaps only just out of date, perhaps years old) and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1858:_4th_of_July&curid=20285&diff=348082&oldid=315524 edit it accordingly]. You could also seek them all out, deliberately, with a bit of effort in the search-bar.

(Note that "as of" does not ''always'' need updating, there are non-dated examples such as in [[1074: Moon Landing#Trivia]], static transcript versions, like [[1071: Exoplanets#Transcript]] and other instances where the text "as of", with or without a date, really does not need to be changed... but sometimes is anyway by a well-meaning passer-by.)

Sometimes, this can be done along with another useful edit/update/revision that is spotted, or is just one of the revisions that some other need for change conveniently allows. But it seems a bit vague to rely upon occasional attention. Instead the template will implement something like "<code><nowiki>As of {{Monthyear}}</nowiki></code>" (here having to use <code><nowiki>{{#time:F Y}}</nowiki></code>, ..."As of {{#time:F Y}}"...), though there's the possibility that a parameter-mediated switch can let it alternatively become a to-the-day-level format option (at which point you could even implement/calcuate something like {{template|Yesterday}} would be) or just to the year-level. (Or add {{template|As of this year}}, {{template|As of this month}} and {{template|As of this day}} separately.)

This would negate the need to ''just'' poke and prod any article that happened to 'need' updating every month (or year, or possible day). And to deal with the possibility that some of these cases might actually need to be edited because "as of" does ''not'' now apply, include within it a {{:Category:As of}} membership, letting anyone who is interested keep an eye on these aggregated 'As of's, ready to jump in there and change it to some straight up "Up until <fixed date>" equivalent should any one of them actually no longer apply.

...obviously, I can't even begin to create the template page required, but I'd be happy to work on the exact wikimedia code required if anyone thinks it needs anything but the most basic transcluded formatting and doesn't know how. Open to discussion, and I'll tag on more if I happen to see that discussion developing. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.186|172.70.162.186]] 18:04, 4 August 2024 (UTC)
:As an addendum/change to my above suggestion, considering a simpler {{template|as of}} (and {{template|As of}}) which does ''no'' automagical continuous updating (just gives the "as of" literal on its own), but still guarantees "Category:As of" membership, so that it doesn't actively give wrong (new) date+circumstance relationships in the likes of [[1047: Approximations]]. In that, the several mentions of populations can safely stay as old years until someone rewrites the proposed value and assessment as well, but it still could be a task to pursue every new year after checking the Cat for likely comics needing a quick check'n'edit.

== “Grammar Bot” ==
I’m working on a python based bot written with the Pywiki library that aims to use the replace.py scripts to fix simple grammatical mistakes, e.g. correcting Citation needed placements, cleaning up extra spaces, etc. I will be posting the code in a few weeks after I finish it (I’m a bit busy at the moment with school and orchestra) so the entire community can view it. Any thoughts on the idea? Thanks. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 21:05, 5 September 2024 (UTC)
:First thoughts are that there are going to be so many exceptions. I definitely agree with the idea of {{template|Citation needed}}s being made consistent (if only it weren't sometimes complicated{{Citation needed}}), as well as that of mysterious extra spaces. But that's not really grammatical. Punctuation, in the first case. I fear a full (or even fragmentary) grammar-checker is going to be complicated and give many false positives.
:At least at first, perhaps have it ''report'' what it thinks it has found. You may discover definite times that it isn't necessary and it would indeed create new errors.
:At the very least, run it with two checklists: One to do an automatic replace.py and one to just report. Start with the first list empty. Introduce potential ones to the latter, review all the reports carefully, ''then'' move any sensible-looking ones to former.
:And have it not fighting other bots (particularly theusafBOT), perhaps selected users (e.g. the likes of Kynde, and of course yourself) or indeed itself (if it makes a change that might inadvertently trigger another 'check') by excluding such changes for a recheck/rechange. Keep a record of what it changed, so that if anybody reverts/recorrects something that seems to have gone wrong it doesn't force it 'wrong' again. At the simplest, give a whole page a decent time-out and/or number of subsequent limits before it ''considers'' a new change. Implement from the start the option of a 'whitelist' (of pages it can ignore) or 'blacklist' (of rules it shouldn't apply, or at least actively apply, to a given page), so you can quickly manually add a throttle-down by simple config-file rather than have to add in a code-kludge when something obviously (in hindsight!) needs correcting about the way it works. And also maybe throttle it to have no more than one bot-edit per hour (while starting from scratch) to not swamp the system and give the rest of us time to assess any errors it has made (and its successes!) - you can unstick that throttle later, when you consider it tested with all its backlog of microcorrections.
:...there are a few other guidelines I would suggest, but the cautiousness already present in the above approaches might mean that they are left as not so important. Just consider what ''could'' go wrong before unleashing it on our world.
:And all power to your elbow, it is of course something we all might have considered (I know I have... not that I have the login for it, but what really stopped me was knowing how badly I could mess it up by getting just one detail wrong if I tried it).
:Among changes/alerts I would have it make would be cases of {{template|cn}}, {{template|citation needed}}, etc, instead of the 'main' template. Plus []-links to either wikipedia pages (most of them should be {{template|w}}-templated) or explainxkcd.com pages (most of them should be [[]]ed), although there are even then some exceptions. It'd also be nice if it can identify all Talk (and Community Portal) contributions that were not signed (more complex, as some may be after the fact, or have been after several years and further editings). I know how I'd do all this, or think I do (only upon starting to do it can I be sure I've actually theorised it correctly!), but I mention this mostly to point out how ''you'' might want to cautiously implement ''your'' ideas. HTH. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.15|172.70.86.15]] 00:07, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
::you have made plenty of wonderful points that I clearly have not thought about-quite the critical oversight on my part. Is anyone interested in collaborating? I don’t think that my skills are good enough to satisfy all of those points. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 01:06, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
:::hello? Anybody? Please help… [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 17:38, 9 September 2024 (UTC)
::::I believe this would be a great idea and also an incredibly complicated feat. Randall is no stranger to using weird punctuation in comics or misspelled words. I think it would be neat if it weren't automated and just reported errors it found so we could manually fix them, which would make its development much easier, but at that point it's very similar to a series of search queries for misspelled words, which we can already do. I have no coding skills so I'm not going to be of help. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 17:33, 7 November 2024 (UTC)
;Update
I have found a solution to fix most grammatical mistakes, I just need to make sure that it doesn’t correct character names like “Cueball”, not edit war with other bots, come up with a system to log the edits it makes so that it doesn’t revert again, and fix Citation needed templates. I already know how to make sure that it asks me before editing, so I want to create an account to test it out. Does anybody have ideas on what to name the bot? I don’t want to call it 42.book.addictBOT, since the username would be a bit clunky. ToriBOT could work, but I’m also open to any other names. Feel free to reply to this or reply to me on my talk page! '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 20:30, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

== "dark mode" ==
add dark mode [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 09:54, 18 November 2024 (UTC)
:See [[User:Certified nqh/common.css]] or copy/paste my old [[User:42.book.addict/common.css|common.css]] page history into your common.css page: -42.book.addict [[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.208|172.69.134.208]] 16:10, 18 November 2024 (UTC)
::ha, thx tori, nqh's common.css works like a charm :) [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 08:51, 21 November 2024 (UTC)

== reddit ==
Add reddit- Anonymous {{unsigned ip|172.71.214.80|08:31, 21 November 2024 (UTC)}}
:You probably need to explain what you mean by that. Add reddit discussions to here? Add this site to reddit? Add some simple link to one from the other? Something else? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.163|172.70.162.163]] 13:02, 21 November 2024 (UTC)
::>Add some simple link to one from the other?
::I have no idea what they meant either, but I hadn't thought of this! I could see the addition of a simple link to the comic template, like "https://reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/{{PAGETITLE}" or "https://reddit.com/r/xkcd/search/?q={{PAGETITLE}"
::I don't partecipate much in the r/xkcd subreddit, so i'm not sure if they have structured post titles or even if they posted all the comics, or if it's automated, but I think this could be cool! Some people will likely come from Reddit, so it would be a straightforward way for them to go back. Thoughts? {{unsigned|FaviFake|16:55, 11 January 2025 (UTC)}}

== viewer ==
i propose to add random page to comic viewer {{unsigned ip|172.71.150.14|00:17, 25 February 2025 (UTC)}}
:There's already a "Random Page" link.
:If you mean (it's ambiguous!) a "Random Comic Page" link, then I'm not sure it's needed. There are so many "Comic pages" that it's a fairly good chance that you'll land on one of them for any given click, much more chance within two clicks. The likelihood of not getting a comic within ''three'' clicks will be tiny. Another way to do it is to just use the xkcd.com "Random" button, then (whichever comic you land on, which will be any but [[404]]), change the "xkcd.com" bit of the URL to "expxkcd.com" and... you end up here.
:If none of that really does what you want (especially if you mean something completely different from what I read it as), some more explanation would probably be appreciated. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.164|172.69.79.164]] 01:02, 25 February 2025 (UTC)
:If you want to make sure to land on all comics, you can go to "Special pages" on the sidebar, scroll down to "Random page in category", and enter "All comics". As far as I'm aware, there isn't really a way to automate this, so you have to keep inputting it manually. [[User:Firestar233|guess who]] ([[User talk:Firestar233|if you desire conversing]] | [[Special:Contributions/Firestar233|what i have done]]) 06:38, 25 February 2025 (UTC)
::I think they meant a button on the {{tl|comic}} template. Would it be technically possible to make it such that it works exacly like the one on the official site? --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 17:47, 25 February 2025 (UTC)
:::It ''should'' be a matter of using [[Special:RandomInCategory/All Comics]], I think, but doesn't seem to work when I try that exact attempt. Perhaps mediawiki or the mediawiki extension is not updated enough, or else I'm getting my wikisyntax slightly wrong.
:::Functionally, though, where the website has its Random button, we have our "go to the xkcd.com original", so more thought is needed before we just "add a button". If we do, we want it where the 'mothership' website does, but we still ought to have our details-and-link-to-original given, and I like it as a (faux) button.
::: Perhaps the {{template|comic}}, where it currently has header 'buttons':
[|<<] [Prev] [#9876 (Grune 32, 2525)] [Next] [>>|]
::: Needs to be changed to maybe:
[ #9876 (Grune 32, 2525) ]
[|<<] [Prev] [Random] [Next] [>>|]
:::...or equivalent. Haven't checked, but if it's a one-line table, can be easily made into a two-line one with colspan=3 (or 5?) in the right bit. If it's just centred, then it should come out Ok, in a simple way. But I'm not too keen on that change, really, and you'd need to actually have the Random->Comic link working first, ''anyway''. So I'm giving you my opinions and (slightly lacking) knowledge, in case that can at least make for the better outcome than either nothing (though not sure that's bad!) or some half-hearted ideas from elsewhere. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.116|172.70.86.116]] 21:52, 25 February 2025 (UTC)
:::: Unless someone can figure out the requests made by the random in category, a workaround could be to use a (pseudo)random number generator (mediawiki has a [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Template:Random_number template] on their website) to get a random number in the range of 1 - {{template|LATESTCOMIC}} and put in a link to that comic number using <nowiki>[[number]]</nowiki>.
:::: Note: There already is a "Random" template, but it was just using random page and was blanked by the person who made it [[User:Firestar233|guess who]] ([[User talk:Firestar233|if you desire conversing]] | [[Special:Contributions/Firestar233|what i have done]]) 03:50, 26 February 2025 (UTC)

:::::{{Done|Done!!!}}  I tried that wikimedia templaete but couldn't figure out how to make it work. I did it using Special:Random, hoping there aren't too many non-comic pages. Check [[{{LATESTCOMIC}}]] for an example of how it looks and works. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:02, 23 April 2025 (UTC)

::::::thanks! (i hav an account now) [[User:Bb777|me, hi]] ([[User talk:Bb777|talk]]) 22:30, 25 April 2025 (UTC)

:::::::No problem! There's also a special custom-designed navbar for the original comics: try clicking the "|<" button! (It's not complete yet, but i'm slowly finishing it!) --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 22:36, 25 April 2025 (UTC)

== Contentious Topics Template ==

I propose that we create a unified template to slap on contentious and possibly controversial comics, with a warning similar to the one I (and a couple other people added on) wrote in [[3073: Tariffs]]. Now, since I don’t know how to create a template and don’t understand how they work, this is my request for help. If you are available to help write it or have any tips for me, please contact me either in this thread or on my [[User talk:42.book.addict|talk page]]. Thanks! '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 18:01, 16 April 2025 (UTC)
:Hey, I just wanted to ask why you think a new template is needed. {{tl|notice2}} and {{tl|notice}} seem pretty solid. How would a new template differ from them? Btw, I switched the template in [[Talk:3073: Tariffs]] from {{tl|notice}} to {{tl|notice2}} so it's more like a warning, feel free to revert it if you prefer {{tl|notice}}. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:56, 17 April 2025 (UTC)
::I read the idea (which I'm not too enamoured with, but wouldn't argue against either) as being to create a <code><nowiki>{{contentious}}</nowiki></code>-like template in its own right that (perhaps by using {{template|notice2}} within it) had a standard "This comic, and its explanation, covers a particularly contentious subject. Take even more care than usual when adding to or editing this Explanation/Talk Page" (or similar) text with it.
::It would probably also have the ability to add further (or alternate) info, by standard template parameters, in case you want to personalise it to the ''exact''nature of the contention.
::But, my reasons why I didn't volunteer my ideas immediately are:
::*It paints targets. Anybody who wants to can look at all "pages using the Contentious template" and then troll-bomb them ''specifically''
::*Looking at the Tariffs-comic warning, that's ''huge'', and catering for that with a "standard text + additional notes" would be awkward... if you really believe it should be so huge in the first place,
::*Just by being so obviously available, there'd be creep. "Hey, this comic talks disparagingly about Newton's belief in alchemy... Surely that needs a warning too!", or start off with "Well, nobody's warning about our attitude to the US Senate in this comic, so I can be disparaging" which then practically forces another contentious-tagging (''possibly'' useful, but maybe in making a bolt for the barn door only ''after'' the horse has already made its own bolt through it) as it gets toned-down/-back again.
::And, though I also imagined the Tariff comic ''would'' get some push-back (there was some minor bits, but we seem to have kept it mature enough, IMO), it seems to be quiet. Can't say for sure it would have been without the warning it now has, but it survived ok before that was added. Hence why I'm ''meh'' about the very proposal. Hard cases make hard laws, and hard situations may prompt hard solutions. But I'm dubious about the actual case for the need. (As you say, we have 'freeform' notice+notice2, and I haven't seen proof even that was necessary as it was used.)
::But it would be trivial to implement, give or take some fine-tuning. I'll say that as a positive for the idea. Even if we never really use it as much as we could. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.216.83|162.158.216.83]] 20:35, 17 April 2025 (UTC)
:::Agreed. Maybe it's a good thing that we have to craft one for each comic we want to tag; this makes sure only actually contentious comics get tagged. An upside to having a specific template is that we wouldn't need to type <nowiki><noinclude></nowiki> every time, to avoid it displaying on the transcluded talk page.--[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 21:00, 17 April 2025 (UTC)
::::mm. all of these are good points. now that i think about it, copy-pasting old warnings and tweaking them as needed is probably better than creating a new template. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 16:45, 18 April 2025 (UTC)

==Proposal for template page==
I was thinking that making a template page with instructions about what should and should not be included in which sections would make it easier for new editors to help. I have no idea how I would do this, though.[[User:BobcatInABox|BobcatInABox]] ([[User talk:BobcatInABox|talk]]) 11:49, 4 May 2025 (UTC)
:Which particular template? Many templates ''do'' contain instructions (from basic to rather thorough), and some common ones are also gone into in the FAQ page. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.245|172.70.91.245]] 20:25, 4 May 2025 (UTC)

== The newest stuff goes at top ==

I’ve been thinking the newest comments should go at top and replies are under the chose comment with a colon or more. Because every time someone makes a comment but not replying to you, you still get a message. So you only get notifications when someone replies to you. And the always get notifications not related to you is kind of annoying. [[User:Aprilfoolsupdate!|Aprilfoolsupdate!]] ([[User talk:Aprilfoolsupdate!|talk]]) 04:30, 15 May 2025 (UTC)
:(Ah, so you found it, before I even wrote my directions down on how to get here.)
:Not sure this helps.
:Firstly: Top-posting is <s>the work of the Devil... burn it! Burn it all!</s> very hard to read.
::A: Because it's in totally the wrong order.
::Q: Why is Top Posting bad?
:(Yes, I know you want top-posting ''threads'' but retain bottom-posting ''thread replies'', but can you even imagine the chaos involved with people not properly realising what's top- and what's bottom-posted. Or inter-posted into an existing hierarchy? Not with this 'flatfile' structure, anyway.)
:Secondly: Does this count for headers (like <code>== The newest stuff goes at top ==</code>)? For 'no-colon' starter comments under a Discussion header? For both?
:Thirdly: what are we doing with all the past ''pages and pages'' of things that are (more or less..) consistently chronological and bottom-posted? To make new additions work, someone (and probably ''before'' the first commentator who wants to add a brand new one-line witicism to the top of any multi-year-idle page) has to go into every Discussion page (and more?) to reshuffle it all by whatever Top(ish)-Post Criteria are adopted.
:Fourthly: It wouldn't even change how frequently you get notifications. (Actually, it might make it worse, as inveterate bottom-posters have to be 'corrected' by the followers of the 'new rule', as well as for any actually idle pages that get redone as part of the "thirdly" point.) But I don't think Notifications are clever enough to imagine that a new section ''above'' what you previously wrote doesn't possibly interest your registered "watch and notify" intent upon any given page.
:I have a Fifthly and Sixthly, too, but I assume I've made my general opinion quite clear. (And I noted that this is not the only Community Portal edit you made, just before arriving here. Will check the other in a moment.) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.229.142|172.68.229.142]] 06:19, 15 May 2025 (UTC)
::Never mind. I don’t even need to read the whole thing to know it is complicated. To many words {{unsigned|Aprilfoolsupdate|07:54, 15 May 2025 (UTC)}}

:::Short version: It's complicated, confusing and troublesome to change to. And won't even solve your problem. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.160.197|172.70.160.197]] 12:22, 15 May 2025 (UTC)

:::Agree with this message but disagree with the proposal. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 09:28, 18 May 2025 (UTC)

== By the Numbers ==

Greetings all,

So we all know that Randall numbers each XKCD comic with an ordinal number in a simple ascending sequence. I have become exceedingly intrigued by the particular properties of numbers now, especially their factors and primes. The most recent prime-numbered comic is [[3109]] and we'll soon see another one with [[3119]]. Does Randall ascribe any meaning or humor to the numbers that happen to appear as the posts play out? He certainly celebrates special dates! As a math-humor-based comic, there certainly must be jokes or surprises hidden therein. I'm not sure I've noticed any yet, though. [[386]] is certainly notorious, though doesn't seem to have a direct sort of Intel connection. [[42]] is unremarkable.

I once read a novel with an autistic protagonist, and each chapter was assigned a prime number. I will henceforth be on the lookout for interesting numerical happenstance as Randall continues to post! Anyone else? [[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 08:56, 12 July 2025 (UTC)

== Misc pages ==
I would like to propose the creation of an additional category for "miscellaneous pages" that aren't really comics, and which generally have a URL slug that's an English word or phrase instead of a number. This includes xkcd.com/YES and xkcd.com/NO, both of which currently have articles. It also includes these ones:

::''[Note by User:FaviFake: I organised this section and moved the links below]''

...and others as they are found or recovered. If only we could access the forum thread mentioned on the YES and NO pages! I was able to find a link to the thread here, but it's inaccessible. A
It's the one labeled "Hidden pages on xkcd": [https://web.archive.org/web/20170927200737/http://forums.xkcd.com/viewforum.php?f=2&sid=973b8a1dcd0a727a9177aa757108d4f6&start=250]. I was able to find the pages above via Reddit: [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/gixd96/what_are_all_the_hidden_pages_on_xkcd_that_you/] [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/35whzf/what/] --[[User:Rumbling7145|Rumbling7145]] ([[User talk:Rumbling7145|talk]]) 00:16, 11 March 2025 (UTC)

Update: I got into the forum page! [https://web.archive.org/web/20151206001238/http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=110093] We can now add these pages to the list:
[[User:Rumbling7145|Rumbling7145]] ([[User talk:Rumbling7145|talk]]) 23:37, 11 March 2025 (UTC)

===Pages===
* http://xkcd.com/yes {{Done|Created: [[YES]]}}
** http://xkcd.com/no {{Done|Created: [[NO]]}}

* http://xkcd.com/nakedpictures {{Done|Created: [[nakedpictures]]}}

* http://xkcd.com/spiral {{Done|Created: [[spiral]]}}
**Likely a reference to [[1488: Flowcharts]] (Which links to Spiral) and [[2322: ISO Paper Size Golden Spiral]], spirals above images of people and things

* http://xkcd.com/burlap {{Done|Created: [[Burlap]]}}

* http://xkcd.com/simplewriter {{Done|Created: [[Simple Writer]]}}
**Tool to Write Like [[Up Goer Five]] and [[Thing Explainer]]

* http://xkcd.com/tree_prank
**This is so funny

* http://xkcd.com/blue_eyes.html {{Done|Existing: [[Blue Eyes]]}}
** http://xkcd.com/solution.html, the solution to the problem (also found on [[Blue Eyes]]

* http://xkcd.com/morphs ([https://web.archive.org/web/20130313175333/http://xkcd.com:80/morphs/ archive only] — [https://web.archive.org/web/20060219184352/http://www.xkcd.com:80/morphs/ earlier version with more text])
**"Using several pieces of imaging software, including Photoshop and an image morphing program, I make composite photos of people."

* http://xkcd.com/chesscoaster
**"People playing chess on roller coasters, inspired by this comic:" image

* http://xkcd.com/kite
**"These are pictures I took by hanging cameras from kites, a hobby I've played with on and off over the years"

*https://xkcd.com/kite/kite_trick.jpg

* http://xkcd.com/dot {{Done|Created: [[dot]]}}

* http://xkcd.com/election ([https://web.archive.org/web/20141014075718/http://xkcd.com/election/ archive only])
**Used by randall for tracking elections, "it's the fastest analysis of the state of the race minute-by-minute".

* http://xkcd.com/event {{Done|Created: [[event]]}} (I still don't quite get it)
**There's an image on this site that a web browser fails to load, but when downloaded, Windows Photo Viewer can view the image.

* http://xkcd.com/now (redirect to [[1335: Now]])

* http://xkcd.com/plus {{Done|Created: [[plus]]}}

* http://xkcd.com/sub ([https://web.archive.org/web/20130111054027/http://xkcd.com/sub/ archive only]) — "The Sub Project", a long explanation of how Randall and others build submarines?

* http://xkcd.com/temp ([https://web.archive.org/web/20061219193846/http://www.xkcd.com/temp/ archive only])
**This is super interesting! It lists other sub-directories. [https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.xkcd.com/temp/* These are the ones that survived in the archive]:
**http://xkcd.com/temp/email.txt ([https://web.archive.org/web/20100305065807/http://xkcd.com/temp/email.txt archive only]) — Seems to be an email exchange between Randall and someone else?
**http://xkcd.com:80/temp/euphoria.txt ([https://web.archive.org/web/20160401222138id_/http://xkcd.com:80/temp/euphoria.txt archive only]) — This says "<Sphere> Ok, that last Randall who said 'to clarify' was actually Randall, but pretty much none of the others were. Also no Sphere after this gets linked in chat a second time is actually Randall either. Randall is probably not there."
**https://xkcd.com/temp/evidenceofidentity.txt ([https://web.archive.org/web/20201118232320/https://xkcd.com/temp/evidenceofidentity.txt archive only]) — "[Randall] Hello to everyone who waited in line to say hi to me on my How To book tour and specifically mentioned this chat! [Sierra] Hello mr. probably not the real Randall :D [...]"
***The rest are all images:
**http://www.xkcd.com/temp/humor/baby_mop.jpg ([https://web.archive.org/web/20070127045748/http://www.xkcd.com:80/temp/humor/baby_mop.jpg archive only])
**http://www.xkcd.com/temp/humor/darthswingset.jpg ([https://web.archive.org/web/20070127045624/http://www.xkcd.com:80/temp/humor/darthswingset.jpg archive only])
**http://www.xkcd.com/temp/humor/deb6d13b50a581304bac385c463b09c1.jpg ([https://web.archive.org/web/20070225103228/http://www.xkcd.com:80/temp/humor/deb6d13b50a581304bac385c463b09c1.jpg archive only])
**http://www.xkcd.com/temp/humor/Hacker%20Grave.jpg ([https://web.archive.org/web/20070213182708/http://www.xkcd.com:80/temp/humor/Hacker%20Grave.jpg archive only])
**http://www.xkcd.com/temp/humor/hotornot.jpg ([https://web.archive.org/web/20061219194445/http://www.xkcd.com:80/temp/humor/hotornot.jpg archive only])
**http://www.xkcd.com/temp/humor/how_rumors_start_office.jpg ([https://web.archive.org/web/20070111000437/http://www.xkcd.com:80/temp/humor/how_rumors_start_office.jpg archive only])
**http://www.xkcd.com/temp/humor/owned.jpg ([https://web.archive.org/web/20070228031547/http://www.xkcd.com:80/temp/humor/owned.jpg archive only])
**http://www.xkcd.com/temp/humor/shark.jpg ([https://web.archive.org/web/20061214082834/http://www.xkcd.com:80/temp/humor/shark.jpg archive only])
**http://www.xkcd.com/temp/humor/you_cannot_pass.jpg ([https://web.archive.org/web/20070323001005/http://www.xkcd.com:80/temp/humor/you_cannot_pass.jpg archive only])

* http://xkcd.com/test ([https://web.archive.org/web/20170510061033/https://xkcd.com/test/ archive only])
**This appears identical to the regular xkcd.com homepage, it returns a 404 as of today

* http://xkcd.com/time (redirect to comic [[1190: Time]])

* http://xkcd.com/twitter (redirect to https://x.com/xkcd)

* http://xkcd.com/cyborg.txt
**Interesting script. According to [https://blog.xkcd.com/2008/05/20/gps-cyborg-implant/ an old blag article], it is "a short Python script that uses a USB GPS device under Linux to help with navigation. It doesn’t have maps or anything — it just gives distances and, while you’re moving, the direction to the destination (as in 'two o’clock'). It prints this info on the terminal and speaks it using speech synthesis."

* http://xkcd.com/channel.html ([https://web.archive.org/web/20141011002528/https://xkcd.com/channel.html archive only])
**I have no idea what this it. It's full of gibberish and Chinese text.

* http://xkcd.com/channel.txt ([https://web.archive.org/web/20141014083026/http://xkcd.com/channel.txt archive only])
** Same as above, but it downloads the file to the PC.

* http://xkcd.com/me.txt ([https://web.archive.org/web/20141014101900/http://xkcd.com:80/me.txt archive only])
**Only says "I am not in 1110.n01se.net anymore". [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/5tqrew/xkcd_secret_page/ Learn more in this Reddit thread], in this [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvLxOVYeo5w YouTube video of how it used to work], and in the [https://github.com/n01se/1110 GitHub for 1110.n01se.net]. I'm assuming Randall wanted to say that anyone who tries to impersonate him in the future isn't him?

* http://xkcd.com/why.txt ([https://web.archive.org/web/20180729163548/https://xkcd.com/why.txt archive only])
**Contains 33 THOUSAND "why" questions. May be related to [[1256: Questions]]? Very interesting!

* http://xkcd.com/bitcoin {{Done|Existing: [[Bitcoin address]]}}
**There's also this one, which we have dissected on the page [[Bitcoin address]] (very interesting read!)

* http://holistic.xkcd.com ([https://web.archive.org/web/20160304031258/http://holistic.xkcd.com/ archive only])
**"The XKCD Holistic Browser. Because we are all one. Type a web address and you'll be taken to one typed by someone else."

* https://aram.xkcd.com ([https://web.archive.org/web/20110816163403/http://aram.xkcd.com/ archive only])
**"This page is regenerated every day and may be NSFW. It shows a random result from a Google image search for IMG_????.jpg plus a random caption:" Seems it stopped working completely after a few years and got stuck one image&caption. Aram inspired [[Black Hat]], see his page for more.

* https://xkcd.com/verizon/ {{Done|Created: [[verizon]]}}

* http://mail.xkcd.com ([https://web.archive.org/web/20120321204721/http://mail.xkcd.com/ archive only])
**Seems Randall set it up but never used it.

* https://xkcd.com/personal
**There was a /personal folder on xkcd, but it's been entirely wiped https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://xkcd.com/personal/*

*https://xkcd.com/ngram-charts/ {{Done|Created: [[ngram charts]]}}
**Still online, but the images are missing even in [https://web.archive.org/web/20120225171410/http://xkcd.com:80/ngram-charts the archive]. "Some of the interesting charts I've come across while using Google Books ngrams (which analyzes the frequency of word use in their scanned books corpus over time)"

* https://xkcd.com/color/rgb/
** https://xkcd.com/color/rgb.txt

* http://68.57.186.221:8080/ ([https://web.archive.org/web/20041024201125/http://68.57.186.221:8080/ archive only])
** xkcd.com redirected to this at some points during 2004, this capture is from October 24th of 2004 specifically.

* https://throw.xkcd.com (only available [https://web.archive.org/web/20200919232527/throw.xkcd.com/ in the archive])
**This was likely hacked, see [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/iw9jsg/throwxkcdcom/ this Reddit thread]: ''"I emailed the xkcd.com webmaster, it was a testing URL he forgot to shut down. It's fixed now."''

* https://c.xkcd.com
**This is mostly all for comics with dynamic content. There are many subpages, see [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/j54lx3/does_anyone_know_what_cxkcdcom_is/ this reddit thread].
**https://c.xkcd.com/xb/feed
**http://c.xkcd.com/random/comic (redirects to random comic)
**https://c.xkcd.com/graph/1
**[https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/j54lx3/does_anyone_know_what_cxkcdcom_is/ There are others].

* https://static.xkcd.com/ (404, not in archive. [http://web.archive.org/web/*/https://static.xkcd.com/* archived subpages])
** http://static.xkcd.com/bl.png ([http://web.archive.org/web/20070912213845/http://static.xkcd.com/bl.png archive only])
** http://static.xkcd.com/br.png ([http://web.archive.org/web/20070912213841/http://static.xkcd.com/br.png archive only])
** http://static.xkcd.com/favicon.ico ([http://web.archive.org/web/20071208203917/http://static.xkcd.com/favicon.ico archive only])
** http://static.xkcd.com/general.css ([http://web.archive.org/web/20071208203917/http://static.xkcd.com/general.css archive only])
** http://static.xkcd.com/ieonly.css ([http://web.archive.org/web/20070911163429/http://static.xkcd.com/ieonly.css archive only])
** http://static.xkcd.com/ml.png ([http://web.archive.org/web/20070912213838/http://static.xkcd.com/ml.png archive only])
** http://static.xkcd.com/mr.png ([http://web.archive.org/web/20070912213832/http://static.xkcd.com/mr.png archive only])
** http://static.xkcd.com/tl.png ([http://web.archive.org/web/20070912213828/http://static.xkcd.com/tl.png archive only])
** http://static.xkcd.com/tr.png ([http://web.archive.org/web/20070912213835/http://static.xkcd.com/tr.png archive only])
** http://www.static.xkcd.com/robots.txt ([http://web.archive.org/web/20070501000000*/http://www.static.xkcd.com/robots.txt archive only])
** https://almamater.xkcd.com/ ([http://web.archive.org/web/20130402215109/https://almamater.xkcd.com/ archive only])
:: https://almamater.xkcd.com/ ([http://web.archive.org/web/20150209005631/https://almamater.xkcd.com/ archive only])
:: and errors out: https://almamater.xkcd.com/ ([http://web.archive.org/web/20160528035956/https://almamater.xkcd.com/ archive only, errors out])
*** http://almamater.xkcd.com/best.csv ([http://web.archive.org/web/20130511122543/http://almamater.xkcd.com/best.csv archive only])
***See comic [[1193: Externalities]]
{{misc page}}
You can monitor the pages that are using this template (so the brand new webpage explanations) by going to [[Special:WhatLinksHere/Template:misc_page]]

===How should we treat them?===
This is great! I think we should first create an article for each of them, and after we have a few articles then we can start to figure out a good name for the category and answer some questions, like:

*Should we add a new parameter to the template for these non-comics? To do that, we would have to ask an admin to edit the {{tl|comic}} template to allow us to do that. We can ask Kynde, no big deal.

*Some pages, like [[Blue Eyes]] and [[Bitcoin address]] are already in other categories, like [[:Category:Extra comics]] and [[:Category:Design of xkcd.com]]. Should we use the existing categories, or add a new one? How do we distinguish between, for example, [[Blue Eyes]], [[Bitcoin address]], and [[YES]], which are all in theory "misc pages".

*Where should the new category be categorised?

*What title should we give for explanations of pages that don't have a name, like xkcd.com/dot? That one is just titled "xkcd.com/dot", unlike pages like Blue Eyes and [[YES]]. Would it become "dot", "Dot", something else? Should we keep it coherent or base ourselves solely on the rendered title on the official site?

I love the idea! I currently don't have time, but I will create these pages eventually. If anyone else wants to chime in, please do! --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:11, 11 March 2025 (UTC)

:"Unnumbered publications", or similar, could cover ''anything'' that wasn't xkcd.com/<digits>. Wouldn't cover replacements ([[2642: No One Was Hurt]] was originally 2642, for example), but that's a different class from deliberately off-series items. Also, given that often they are entirely non-image (the Yes and No), or straight text and multi-image (as per Blue Eyes, or other articles with a WhatIf-ish feel to them), I think calling them "comic"s is stretching the term.
:Though "miscellaneous pages" sort of covers this, I've a feeling that there's at least one... 'entity'... that is built upon multiple actual 'pages', but the list of candidates above doesn't contain any that look like they're what I'm vaguely thinking of. (Neither was it anything like the xkcd survey, or other interactive (numbered) comics, but maybe I'll bring it back to mind sooner rather than later.)
:As to the use of {{template|comic}}, I think we could spring to a (modified, 'inspired-by') template specifically for all these no-number/off-sequence explanation headers. Either explicit "prev=" and "next=" (per comic, ''could'' get quite mixed up if not kept uncontradictory) or a "position=" which could help maintain a list (and, from that, an auto-generated first/prev/next/last 'page ring') without having to subvert expectations of fitting in with the normal [[Template:LATESTCOMIC]] system.
:With the Comic template already equipped to deal with "no-number 'comics'", there wouldn't (in the first instance) be much work needed to "decomic" the new copy, with the exact method of resequencing (if desired) as a parallel series being the biggest question. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.49|172.70.85.49]] 17:20, 11 March 2025 (UTC)

::I'm not sure what the last sentenc means, but I like the idea of a new template! However, I don't think we should call the category "Unnumbered publications". Isn't that just [[:Category:Extra comics]] but without comics [[Disappearing Sunday Update]] and [[No One Was Hurt]]? We should establish a criterion to add pages to this category and then figure out a name i think. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:42, 12 March 2025 (UTC)

On this subject, is there any reason why it's [[YES]] and [[NO]] (currently the valid links) rather than [[Yes]] and [[No]] / [[yes]] and [[no]] (currently invalid links)? And I don't mean "why aren't there redirects?", which I don't even think is the right way of resolving this, but what was the thinking? (Which then didn't result in [[DOT]], etc, so there's ''definitely'' some inconsistency, one way or another.) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.92|172.68.205.92]] 21:54, 17 March 2025 (UTC)

:I don't see inconsistencies. The name of the browser tab for the yes page is "YES" by Randall, same for NO. Instead, the page for [[dot]] is called "xkcd.com/dot/". We could use that, but that's likely not what Randall intended and might have been a coding oversight. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:01, 18 March 2025 (UTC)

I've created the {{tl|misc page}} template for these pages and removed the incomplete template until we reach consensus on what to do with them. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 14:40, 11 May 2025 (UTC)

Ahem, I'd like to remind everyone that they can feel free to comment on the best way to manage these. Or if they should be included in the wiki at all. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 21:38, 17 August 2025 (UTC)

What if we just create a subcategory for These. It is xkcd so it should belong here. Should not be in the random queue but something like a button to get to these. {{unsigned ip|216.125.50.226|16:51, 18 March 2026 (UTC)}}

=== New page "Spiral" ===

I found a new page at [http://xkcd.com/spiral xkcd/spiral]. what should I do? Thanks!
This is my first post, sorry it's not formatted correctly. -- [[Special:Contributions/73.169.159.188|73.169.159.188]] 00:27, 12 October 2025‎

: Welcome. Good find! Any suggestions? -- [[User:Dtgriscom|Dtgriscom]] ([[User talk:Dtgriscom|talk]]) 01:47, 12 October 2025 (UTC)
::I've moved this over to Coordination and uploaded all images on spiral. I'll be making the page soon. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 05:04, 12 October 2025 (UTC)
:::Moving to correct location where we're discussing these pages. More discussion about how we should treat them is welcome! [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 18:00, 13 October 2025 (UTC)

=== [[:Category:Extra pages]] ===
I've created a category called Extra pages for all of these pages. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 03:14, 5 November 2025 (UTC)
:So, right now we have "Category:Extra pages" ''and'' "Category:Extra comics". Some ''are'' unnumbered comics (plus at least one "was a number, then replaced") and some are 'merely' pages (with possible a fuzzy line between for 'pages' that show images-that-aren't-comics), perhaps we should be consistent between which are which, and how they relate to 'standard' numbered comics.
:For example, being an Extra Comics was (officially, but you could also manually add it) initiated by the "extra=yes" param to {{template|comic}}. This also (theoretically, problems with the randomness backend aside) adds them to the Random Comics link-choice, ''without'' adding them to the Comic List numbers (such that it states "we have #### comics", where #### should not be different from the latest comic number, as recently established).
:Perhaps:
:*Make the comic template accept "extra=comic" or "extra=page", instead of "extra=yes".
:**Perhaps "extra=yes" 'remains' to default to one or the other? ...nah, just make sure all the current "=yes" ones are assigned beforehand.
:**"extra=no" just defaults back to behaviour without any "extra=" at all, of course, pretty much as currently.
:*Each of these new distinctions assigns to the 'Extra' category that fits it, but keeps it out of the All (numbered) Comics list, as being not numbered (and some not being 'comics')
:*Either ''just'' keep Extra Comics feeding to the Random Comic list (All Comics+Extra Comics, as we've painstakingly set it up to do, recently) or ''also'' include Extra Pages (it being AC+EC+EP in the Special:Random target list/whatever). TBD, depends upon whether you like a strictly "non-comic page" potentially popping up as a 'treat' for people.
:...that's all a ''little'' extra work. Some of which I could probably do right now (though maybe some pages are Protected against my input, haven't checked), but I think this needs discussion before doing any actual refining of the current setup.
:Might have been better to have proposed and discussed the Extra Pages details before starting that, too, but I'm happy to use this setup as a stepping stone given that it's been done already. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.89|82.132.244.89]] 14:20, 5 November 2025 (UTC)

=== Update on ngrams ===

The images on the ngrams page appear to be generated dynamically. The original URLs are broken, but can be restored by changing "/chart" to "/graph". This doesn't fix the HTML page, but it does render each of the 58 URLs accessible - see below.

All graphs default to a corpus from 2009. Note that some graphs, such as the one noted "cherry picking" below, look very different using a more recent corpus.

* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=President+Lincoln%2CPresident+Roosevelt%2CPresident+Kennedy%2CPresident+Johnson%2CPresident+Nixon%2CPresident+Reagan%2CPresident+Bush&year_start=1780&year_end=2008&corpus=5&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=fuck&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=the+Great+War%2Cthe+World+War%2CWorld+War+I&year_start=1900&year_end=2000&corpus=0&smoothing=2
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=christian%2Cchristianity&year_start=1700&year_end=2000&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=aliens%2C+predators&year_start=1750&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=explosion+in+popularity&year_start=1900&year_end=2000&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=blue+line&year_start=1960&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=upward+trend&year_start=1960&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=gay%2Clesbian%2Cbisexual&year_start=1940&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Leviticus+18%2Cturn+the+other+cheek&year_start=1960&year_end=2000&corpus=5&smoothing=3 (cherry-picking)
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=vegetarian&year_start=1750&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=drunk&year_start=1750&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=television%2C+tuberculosis&year_start=1750&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=love%2Chope%2Cfaith%2C+sex&year_start=1750&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=hope&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=6&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=entomology%2Cetymology&year_start=1900&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=carriage%2Ccar%2Cautomobile&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=irregardless%2Cregardlessly%2Cunregarding&year_start=1800&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=a+bird+in+the+hand%2Clive+by+the+sword%2Clook+before+you+leap%2Ca+penny+saved&year_start=1780&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=war&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Muslim%2CMoslem%2CMoslim%2CMussulman%2C+Moslam&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Empire%2C+empire&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=6&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=decline%2Cprogress&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=6&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=progress&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=6&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=war&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Rapture&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=history%2Cpast%2Cfuture&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Star+Wars%2C+Star+Trek&year_start=1950&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=0
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Jesus+Christ&year_start=1720&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=President&year_start=1780&year_end=2008&corpus=5&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=tyranny&year_start=1700&year_end=2000&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=power+to+the+people&year_start=1700&year_end=2000&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=flag&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=4&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=end+of+the+world&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Bible+study&year_start=1800&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=God+bless+America&year_start=1800&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=merry+Christmas%2Chappy+holidays&year_start=1960&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Space&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=old+fashioned&year_start=1750&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=sword%2C+gun&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=pirate&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Ayn+Rand&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Marx&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Marx%2C+Marxy%2C+Marxist%2C+Marxiest&year_start=1850&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=0
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=communism%2Ccommunist%2Csocialist&year_start=1830&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Russia%2C+USSR&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=0
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=savior%2CSavior&year_start=1720&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=trend&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=girly&year_start=1900&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=restroom%2C+bathroom%2C+toilet&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=pursuit+of+happiness&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=telechart%2Ctelephone%2Ctelegram%2Ctelevision%2Cradio%2Cinternet&year_start=1840&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=king&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=science&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=decade&year_start=1780&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=thousand&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=hundred%2Cthousand%2Cmillion%2Cbillion%2Ctrillion&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=jillion%2Czillion%2Cbazillion%2Ckazillion&year_start=1900&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3

[[User:Rumbling7145|Rumbling7145]] ([[User talk:Rumbling7145|talk]]) 16:14, 10 March 2026 (UTC)

==Visual Editor?==
I, being a nerd in high school, edit on more than just this wiki. For example, I edit on Wikipedia. On Wikipedia, the default editing mode is a visual editor, which automatically converts your wikitext into the final product in real time. It's useful on many levels, and would save all of us a lot of time (I've spent at least 2 hours total fixing broken wikitext). I feel that using this tool would increase overall productivity in the wiki, and probably lessen the amount of people who are intimidated when attempting to edit, allowing more people to join and contribute to the community. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al |DollarStoreBa'al]][[User talk:DollarStoreBa'al |'''''Converse''''']][[Special:Contributions/DollarStoreBa'al|'''''My life choices''''']] 22:43, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

:Good luck telling that to jeff! --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 12:22, 8 August 2025 (UTC)

::Ugh. Well, he's gotta come back eventually, right? He's paying for the domain, after all. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al |DollarStoreBa'al]][[User talk:DollarStoreBa'al |'''''Converse''''']][[Special:Contributions/DollarStoreBa'al|'''''My life choices''''']] 16:43, 8 August 2025 (UTC)

:::Or maybe he just forgot and we actually don't want him to come back. Who knows! --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:45, 11 August 2025 (UTC)

::::Name one person who wants Jeff to just not come back. Either way, I want him back, and I suggested this just in case. This would also be really cool for me, as I joined after jeff's last known user page edit in 2018. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al |DollarStoreBa'al]][[User talk:DollarStoreBa'al |'''''Converse''''']][[Special:Contributions/DollarStoreBa'al|'''''My life choices''''']] 23:31, 14 August 2025 (UTC)

:::::Jeez that was a joke. Ofc I want him back lol. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 20:09, 15 August 2025 (UTC)

::::::still no response from Jeff or any of his friends on: Reddit, X/Twitter; GitHub; Bluesky; Mastodon; and email. Oh, and I asked some person on YouTube with the username lcarsos (as in the other 'crat on here) but I think that he deleted my comment on his video (multiple times). (just a little fyi) '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 18:17, 19 August 2025 (UTC)

:::::::Does he even remember this? Maybe they all got struck by lightning at the same time while calling someone who just sneezed and saying 'bless you'. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|'''''converse''''']] 16:28, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

==Unicode emoji support==
This suggestion was made in response to the discussion above. I was completely unable to realize that FaviFake was joking. I feel that Unicode emojis would drastically improve the wiki and allow for more detailed conveyance of thoughts and feelings, and prevent catastrophic misunderstandings not unlike the one above. Other people have insulted me due to the fact that I was unable to convey enough emotion. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al |DollarStoreBa'al]][[User talk:DollarStoreBa'al |'''''Converse''''']][[Special:Contributions/DollarStoreBa'al|'''''My life choices''''']] 17:18, 19 August 2025 (UTC)
:Text-only media, like this, always has the issue of not being understood, but if someone forgets (or consciously declines) to put a "/s" or ";)" in there, they'll probably also not add an emoji.
:Of course, one person's very dry humour might go so far over the head of another person that not even a strong hint helps, whereas another's sense of fun might be so obvious that gilding the lilly even sends the ''wrong'' message about it. [[Special:Contributions/92.23.2.228|92.23.2.228]] 20:03, 19 August 2025 (UTC)
: I don't understand your suggestion. 😕 The site appears to allow such emojis to be included; I just copied and pasted. There's also the HTML entity option, e.g. <code>&#128533;</code>. 😕 Or are you asking that the site include code to make it easier to insert emojis? [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 16:57, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

== Custom User-based Signature Template ==

DollarStoreBa'al and I came up with a pretty interesting idea: a template called "sig" that can hold the signatures of other users. This is to allow users to have signatures longer than 255 characters, which is the hard limit set by MediaWiki. To call the template, we can use <nowiki>{{sig|User:XYZ}}</nowiki> and encode the template with wikitext so that each user's signature can be pasted in without confusion. To make things even easier, users can adjust their signatures in Preferences to call this template so that the 4 tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>) can still be employed. If enough positive feedback is received, I would love to work on it with the community. If anybody is interested in helping out, please mention it! The template could also function as a signature museum, where you can view other user's custom signatures and get inspiration. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 16:50, 29 August 2025 (UTC)
:Update. I have found another solution. By creating a sig page, you can call <nowiki>{{User:XYZ/sig}}</nowiki>, which enables you to literally copy-paste whatever's in that page into another page. This was first discovered, I believe, by [[User:Omega/sig|User:Omega]]. I don't believe we need the template anymore, but the signature museum would still be cool! '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 19:10, 29 August 2025 (UTC)
::Not quite sure what it will do. Seems to me that for instance you and [[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|'''''converse''''']] already have very advanced signatures (using Dollar's here as another example). My own preferences would be a normal signature, where it is easy to see who has made the comment and where the links takes me... But since you can already make this complicated signatures anyway, I'm not as such opposed to the idea. Am I correct in assuming I need to do something in order for this to be possible as the only active admin at the moment? As I will not come by here regularly, then let me know when there has been some relevant activity. Not just a reply to these questions here. But once some other than you two has chimed in. Else I might forget to come back to look! (I wrote this and then had an edit conflict with 42. So maybe this is not relevant anymore? But I will post it now none the less. But this was as a reply to the first proposal) [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:16, 29 August 2025 (UTC)
:::Hi Kynde. Yes, I believe that we don't need your assistance anymore. The need for a template is erased by the existence of /sig pages, and we can create a museum by ourselves. Thanks for trying and chiming in, though! '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 19:18, 29 August 2025 (UTC)
::::I do believe the template would work fine... that way it wouldn't show the full wikitext of the signature. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|'''''converse''''']] 19:46, 29 August 2025 (UTC)
bad bad bad bad idea, the sig character limit is 255 for a reason, see {{w|WP:SIGLENGTH}}.

a sig template is an even worse idea, because every instance of it will call #ifexist, an [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:$wgExpensiveParserFunctionLimit expensive parser function]. these make a page take even longer to load, which this wiki definitely does not need. also, expensive fucntions are capped at 500, so you're making a maximum of 500 signatures (not counting other templates). [[user:lett‪herebedarklight|raeb]] 04:50, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:As well as the WP:SIGLENGTH bit, if anybody actually cares about the precedent set by 'mother Wikipedia' then various other dos-and-don'ts from {{w|Wikipedia:Signatures}} might well apply to some extant personal signatures, from the "don't make it look like it's not your signature" through to being inconsiderate of the colour-blind and those otherwise vision-limited.
:It also gives some nice demonstrations of what ''can'' be done (within reason). Though I still say that just because you can do something doesn't mean that you should. "Looks complicated, codes simply" would be my suggestion. Elegance of spirit, not a bloomin' juggernaut, if you're inclined to take my advice at all. You can still use personally distinctive signatures, and probably should. (Though, quite possibly, by the middle of next week, half the latest Talk comments are going to have orange-background. Don't care about that possibility, as much as I's like having vaguely recognisable namepage and timestamp bits to it that don't take effort to discern properly ''either'' when rendered ''or'' in raw code.) I have simple tastes, perhaps more than others... [[Special:Contributions/82.132.247.193|82.132.247.193]] 05:45, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:Fully agree with raeb here, the last thing we need is more server load.
:*If you transclude them, then there's the server load and maximum transclusion problem.
:*If you substitute the template each time, the issue of hard-to-parse editing views gets worse. It's already annoying having to mentally "remove" your html codes when adding a comment, and we also don't have the VE, which would hide the code. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 13:52, 31 August 2025 (UTC)
::I got edit conflicted, dangit. Anyway, both your complaints are either invalid or could easily be solved. The #ifexist limit could easily be bypassed if we simply delete the signatures of people who haven't contributed in, say, 6 months. The wikitext complaint is also invalid. Using the template as a signature would simply show <nowiki>{{User:XYZ/Sig}}</nowiki>, '''not the wikitext required to display the signature.''' Sincerely, --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|'''''converse''''']] 14:14, 3 September 2025 (UTC)
:::Hi
simply delete the signatures of people who haven't contributed in, say, 6 months
:::''What?!''
:::Also, my 1st point wasn't mainly about #ifexist but about server load. It's as if you were adding the amount of code roughly equivalent to {{tl|incomplete}} to every single page you commented on, multiple times on the same page. This absolutely causes a ton of unnecessary server load. Imagine adding {{tl|incomplete}} hundreds of times to dozens and dozens of talk pages across the entire wiki. The software needs to keep all of them up-to-date. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:47, 3 September 2025 (UTC)
::::What's wrong with deleting signatures? They can just make a new one, and 6 months seems like a good cutoff for 'they aren't coming back.' I know Tori was away for more than 6 months, she's an exception. The server load is an issue though. Maybe we need to wait for that until Jeff is able to fix the current server issues. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|'''''converse''''']] 17:26, 3 September 2025 (UTC)
:::::I randomly drop in every 6–12 months, for what it's worth. [[User:Maplestrip|Maplestrip]] ([[User talk:Maplestrip|talk]]) 13:52, 5 September 2025 (UTC)
:::Why penalize people who only occasionally contribute? What does it buy us? -- [[User:Dtgriscom|Dtgriscom]] ([[User talk:Dtgriscom|talk]]) 17:49, 3 September 2025 (UTC)
::::DSB, the Template is a horrible idea, ok? I slept on it and after further reflection, it really doesn't add much. People can always subst in signatures through <nowki>{{_}}</nowki>, and it'll also strain the server way too much. There's also a reason why sigs are capped at 255 characters-it'll become impossible to read talk pages if everyone had hulking 1000+ character sigs (like the one that I created). Please stop fixating so much on this specific idea. Also, it is quite rude to penalize people who only occasionally edit (and I don't want to be a special case or something like that-please stop treating me as some godly figure who is better than everyone else.) '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 19:02, 3 September 2025 (UTC)
:::::Yeah, you're right. The 255 character limit stands. Thread over, back to explaining. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|'''''converse''''']] 14:46, 4 September 2025 (UTC)

== Explain XKCD Discord/Social Media Server? ==

I was experiencing Cloudflare errors in the past 24 hours that had prevented me from accessing this website. It's working now, but I'm worried that something else would happen again. Would anybody be interested in organizing a group chat/server or something of the like outside of Explain XKCD? I would personally love if it was on Discord, as it's easy to use, convenient, is built great, and I use it often. If anybody else has suggestions, I'd be open to hear them! '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 20:24, 12 September 2025 (UTC)
:Me too. It greatly worried me. If you want, I can set up a discord server. Personally, I prefer discord as it's very simple and has a clean interface. Again, only if you're interested. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 15:38, 15 September 2025 (UTC)
::[https://discord.com/invite/zGEVanBBAx Here you go!] '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 00:38, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
:::NICE! I wonder if we should message Kynde and see if he'll add it to the global messages. The more people, the better. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 01:17, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
:::I didn't want to influence your original choice, but it would have been nice if you'd have chosen something less 'commercial', as a platform. Hope it helps, just don't forget about everyone else! [[Special:Contributions/82.132.238.131|82.132.238.131]] 09:07, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
::::Discord is free. I feel it should be easy for everybody to join, even if they didn't already have discord. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 12:53, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
:::::"Freemium" would be a better description, with all the Nitro-mandating stuff. But I already deleted my more specific past observations about all that. And see no point in resurrecting my original Discord presence as you probably can do more chatting about the rest of us without too many random strangers like me turning up, whatever the other IP-onlies decide to do. ;) [[Special:Contributions/82.132.246.82|82.132.246.82]] 17:18, 17 September 2025 (UTC)

===Updating the global message board===
::''Moved from [[User_talk:Kynde#Updating_the_global_message_board]]'' [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 19:40, 16 September 2025 (UTC)

I am excited to announce that explainxkcd now has a discord server! I was wondering if you could add it to the global message board (idk what it's called, actually. The one with the incomplete explanations message.) to include the discord invite link? The more people who join, the better, just in case cloudflare decides to have those issues again. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 13:01, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
:Hi. you did not include the link? Also I would like to know if other frequent editors think this is a great idea? Not all who edit here wish to be contactable on other platforms. I do understand where you wish the message to be though, and if this is a good idea we can put it there. I'm not certain what other people thinks though? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:12, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
::I, for one, think it's a good idea. It's managed by Tori, so it's in very good hands. The only thing I'm afraid of is that discussions may not take place here, but I don't think that's enough of a reason not to promote it.
::The link is at [[User:42.book.addict]], in the second notice. I think we should say something like
In case this site goes down, we have created a Discord server as an emergency form of communication. (link)
::We aren't "excited to announce" a backup form of communication. Discussions must be public, not on external sites. This is merely a backup. I think it can then be removed from the sitenotice after a month or less, and mentioned on another page somewhere else, discretely. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:23, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
:::Thanks for chiming in FaviFake. Can you find a good place for this, because I would like to link to a local page from the sitenotice. I do realize that people will have to go to this discord before problems arises, but I guess that is the way it ism and that wont change no matter how we announce it. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:49, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
::::But 42 does intend for this to be used as "a fun place to connect with each other". Leaving it discrete would make it impossible for this to happen, because people won't see it. Also, for the record, FaviFake, 42 and I were. Multiple people. Me and her. That's how the English language works. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 16:41, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
:::::Yes you two are the ones who wishes for it and FaviFake was the first to chime in. Don't patronize me please! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:44, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
:::::I have no idea what you're saying regarding the "English language", but please refrain from saying... whatever that was.
But 42 does intend for this to be used as "a fun place to connect with each other"
:::::Could you stop talking on behalf of 42? I believe you've been asked many times not to do that. You can either tell us what '''you''' think, or let others speak for themselves. 42 isn't a goddess and is able to engage in this conversation without someone "defending" her opinions.
:::::I'll create [[explain xkcd:Discord]] but need to think more about how this is supposed to be pitched. I do not want people to be incentivised to use a private, inaccessible discord server to, for example, talk about the newest comic. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 19:32, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
:::::I moved this discussions back here because it's relevant to the entire wiki, not just Kynde' talk.
:::::''Moved from [[User_talk:Kynde#Updating_the_global_message_board]]'' [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 19:40, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
::::::Sorry, I was just trying to simultaneously defend both of our opinions and state the facts. Also, thank you to FaviFake for moving this conversation to the proposals. This seems to be happening with Kynde's talk page a lot recently. (that being twice, but I've never seen it happen before, soo...) --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 20:02, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
:Hi, it's me. The "global message board" DSB was referencing to is the [[MediaWiki:Sitenotice|site notice]]. If Kynde could add it in the format that FaviFake said, that would be great! Also, I had thought that the server ''could'' be a fun place for us to bond/talk, but that can obviously be conducted in DMs. FaviFake's reasoning for having all conversations on-site makes perfect sense to me. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 20:35, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
::So THAT'S what it's called! I am one of today's lucky 10,000. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 23:35, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
:::I'm not sure if I'm wrong or not, but I think of the discord as 2 things:
*A backup form of communication
*An informal place to hang out with fellow readers and editors.

Again, please correct me if I'm wrong. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 15:23, 18 September 2025 (UTC)

==Dark theme?==
I saw a post about this in the archives that went unanswered, so I'll ask it here: Why doesn't the wiki have a dark theme? I feel it would be very useful for those who don't want to be blinded by editing. Wikipedia's got one, and it looks great! --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 15:27, 18 September 2025 (UTC)
:Dark mode IS a thing. You need to create a common.css page to use it though. Copy paste in this to get dark mode (make sure to hit "Show preview" to test it out before you save!):

<code><nowiki> /* NQH's totally cool and amazingly radical dark mode */
/* Licensed CC0-1.0, no rights reserved. */

/* Sets everything to dark background. */
body * {background-color: #111 !important; color: #DDD !important;}
div.mw-body, div.mw-body * {background-color: #222 !important;}

/* Vector */

.mw-wiki-logo {background-color: #00000000 !important; filter: invert(100%);}

/* Monobook */

div#column-one > div#p-cactions > div.pBody > ul > li > a {background-color: #222 !important;}

/* Modern */

div#mw_header, div#mw_header h1#firstHeading {background-color: #000 !important;}
div#mw_content {background-color: #222 !important;}

/* Cologne blue */

/* Diff. */
td.diff-context, td.diff-context * {color: #777 !important; border-color: #333 !important;}
td.diff-deletedline {border-color: #F33 !important;}
td.diff-addedline {border-color: #3F3 !important;}
del.diffchange-inline {color: #F55 !important;}
ins.diffchange-inline {color: #5F5 !important;}

/* Numbers in history view. */
span.mw-plusminus-pos {color: #5F5 !important;}
span.mw-plusminus-neg {color: #F55 !important;}
strong.mw-plusminus-pos {color: #0F0 !important; font-size: 1.2em;}
strong.mw-plusminus-pos {color: #0F0 !important; font-size: 1.2em;}

/* Links. */
a[href$="redlink=1"] {color: #F00 !important; text-decoration: line-through !important;}
a:not([href$="redlink=1"]) {color: #88F !important;}
a:visited:not([href$="redlink=1"]) {color: #AAF !important;}
a:hover:not([href$="redlink=1"]) {color: #AAF !important; text-decoration: underline !important; font-weight: bold !important;}
a:active:not([href$="redlink=1"]) {color: #FFF !important; text-decoration: underline !important; font-weight: bold !important;} </nowiki></code>

--'''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 19:01, 18 September 2025 (UTC)

::In response to DSB, in your userpage... The links being white... Which links? See the "/* Links. */" section. The various links are #F00 (red, the invalid ones), #88F (light blue), #AAF (lighter blue), or #FFF (white). If you don't like them, change them.
::The other things can probably be fixed if we know exactly what you're getting and what you actually expect. Also a good idea to check for typos/miscopying, via basic troubleshooting. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.246.204|82.132.246.204]] 22:43, 18 September 2025 (UTC)
:::I got edit-conflicted with... seemingly no change. Anyway, I found a better version which I now use. It's much cleaner and looks like it belongs. Only issue is that the sidebar templates have inverted colors? But very minor. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 01:24, 19 September 2025 (UTC)
:::CODE!!!<code><nowiki>/* WikimediaUI Dark Mode
*
* Wikimedia Design Team 2019-2021
* Original authors:
* - Volker E. – [[User:Volker_E._(WMF)]]
* - Alex Hollender
* - MusikAnimal
* - Carolyn Li-Madeo
* - Jdlrobson
*
* Original at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Volker_E._(WMF)/dark-mode.css
* Version for Gadget CSS skin override usage only.
* Basically removed of all interaction element styles and
* set to `html` instead of JS injected `.client-dark-mode` class.
*
* Last updated: 2021-04-20
*
*/

/** To prevent 'jumping' effect within #p-personal in Vector/Monobook. Overrides [[MediaWiki:Gadget-dark-mode-toggle-pagestyles.css]] **/
body.skin-vector-legacy :not(#pt-darkmode) + #pt-watchlist::before,
body.skin-monobook :not(#pt-darkmode) + #pt-watchlist::before {
content: "Light mode";
}

@media screen {

/* set height for monobook and timeless, because the filter in FF needs dimensions to get it to apply */
html {
height: 100%;
}

/* Filter needs to reside on `html`, see https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T221425#5153917 */
html,
/* All other selectors have `filter` double-applied to turn back to “normal” by inheritance */
html img:not( .mw-invert ),
html video:not( .mw-invert ),
html ogvjs:not( .mw-invert ),
html svg:not( .mw-invert ),
html iframe:not( .mw-invert ),
html .mw-no-invert,
html .cdx-no-invert,
html td .diffchange,
html .wvui-typeahead-suggestion__thumbnail,
html .skin-minerva .mw-notification-visible .mw-notification-content,
html .oo-ui-searchWidget-results .oo-ui-iconElement-icon,
html .list-thumb,
/* Extensions */
html .media-viewer .image img,
html .media-viewer .mw-file-description img {
filter: invert( 1 ) hue-rotate( 180deg );
}

/* Reset overrides, needed where double application above isn't working. */
/* Vector modern */
html .skin-vector .mw-logo-wordmark,
html .skin-vector .mw-logo-tagline,
html .skin-timeless .mw-wiki-title > img,
html .wvui-icon svg,
html .mw-ext-score img,
html .skin-invert img,
html .skin-invert-image img,
html .mw-hiero-table img {
filter: none;
}

/* Backgrounds */
html table,
html table.ambox-content,
html table.toccolours,
html .mw-notification,
html .mwe-popups,
html .infobox,
html .toc,
html .thumbinner,
html figure[typeof~='mw:File/Thumb'],
html figure[typeof~='mw:File/Frame'],
html figure[typeof~='mw:File/Thumb'] > figcaption,
html figure[typeof~='mw:File/Frame'] > figcaption,
html .wikitable,
html .cbnnr-main,
html .cx-callout,
html .overlay.media-viewer,
html #simpleSearch,
html #simpleSearch #searchInput,
html #siteNotice #centralNotice .cnotice {
background-color: #ddd;
}

/* Borders */
html body,
html h1,
html h2,
html h3,
html h4,
html h5,
html h6,
html table.ambox-content,
html table.toccolours,
html .mw-notification,
html .infobox,
html .toc,
html .thumbinner,
html figure[typeof~='mw:File/Thumb'],
html figure[typeof~='mw:File/Frame'],
html figure[typeof~='mw:File/Thumb'] > figcaption,
html figure[typeof~='mw:File/Frame'] > figcaption,
html #mw-head,
html #mw-panel,
/* Vector 2022 uses a transparent border for margin collapsing
(T312822) so don't apply this rule there */
.skin-vector-legacy #content.mw-body,
html #simpleSearch,
html #simpleSearch #searchInput,
html #siteNotice #centralNotice .cnotice {
border-color: #cdcbc8;
}

/* Links */
/* Links: normal */
html a,
html .vector-menu-tabs li a,
/* Backwards compatible VectorTabs, deprecated in MW v1.35. */
html .vectorTabs li a,
html .toctogglelabel,
html .mw-parser-output a.external,
html .mw-parser-output a.extiw,
html .mw-parser-output a.extiw:active,
html #mw-panel .portal .body li a {
/* color: #69f; Proposal below for level AA conformance, see also https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T233266
`#36c` is transformed by :root `filter` to be closer to chosen `#69f`. */
color: #36c;
}

/* Links: visited */
html a:visited,
html .mw-parser-output a.extiw:visited,
html #mw-panel .portal .body li a:visited {
/* color: #709bbd; Proposal below uses to-be-standardized color from https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T213778 */
color: #6b4ba1;
}

/* Links: red */
html a.new,
html .vector-menu-tabs li.new a,
html .vectorTabs li.new a {
color: #ff6e6e;
}

/* ::: Special Element Treatments ::: */
/* Image thumbnails */
html .thumbimage,
html figure[typeof~='mw:File/Thumb'] > :not(figcaption) .mw-file-element,
html figure[typeof~='mw:File/Frame'] > :not(figcaption) .mw-file-element {
border: 0;
}

/* Content image (thumbnail) SVGs */
/* `*not( .mbox-image )` exception doesn't work for unclear reasons */
html .image img[ src*='svg' ],
html .mw-file-description img[ src*='svg' ],
html img[ src*='Wiktionary-logo'] {
background-color: #fff;
border-radius: 1px;
}

/* Dealing with false positives from selector above */
html .mw-echo-ui-notificationItemWidget-icon img[ src*='svg' ],
html .mbox-image .image img[ src*='svg' ],
html .mbox-image .mw-file-description img[ src*='svg' ],
/* Emoji generated by [[Template:Emoji]] */
html .emoji .image img,
html .emoji .mw-file-description img,
/* Vote symbols on Talk pages */
html .image img[ alt^="Symbol" ],
html .mw-file-description img[ alt^="Symbol" ] {
background-color: transparent;
}

/* Page previews */
html .mwe-popups {
box-shadow: 0 30px 90px -20px rgba( 0, 0, 0, 0.3 ), 0 0 1px #000;
}

html .mwe-popups.flipped-y:after,
html .mwe-popups.flipped-x-y:after {
border-top: 11px solid #ddd;
}

html .mwe-popups.mwe-popups-no-image-pointer:after {
border-bottom: 11px solid #ddd;
}

/* Contributions menu */
html .cx-callout-1:after {
border-bottom-color: #ddd;
}

/* Mobile Wikipedia logo mobile header */
html .branding-box img {
filter: brightness( 0 );
}

}

@-moz-document url-prefix() {
body {
background: #000;
}
}

@-moz-document url-prefix() {
@supports (overflow-clip-margin: 1px) {
body {
background: #fff;
}
}
}
</nowiki></code>
--'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 13:27, 19 September 2025 (UTC)

==Page Creation site notice for new accounts==
Many, many, '''''many''''' new people come around and ask other users about how to create their own user pages. Personally, I think we could stop the confusion by coding a different type of 'you do not have permission to create this page' error for new accounts, which would look something like this:

'To create new pages, your account must be at least a week old and have 50 edits. You can search for this page title in other pages, or search the related logs, but you do not have permission to create this page.'

Just a thought, in case admins can do that without Jeff's involvement. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 20:02, 30 September 2025 (UTC)

: I'd {{template|Actual citation needed}} on the "many"s, unless you're aware of off-site discussions about this one. It's actually pretty infrequent, so I feel you must be counting over several years, having found a number of historic examples dotted around on pages such as this. That said, it ''is'' currently as much an FAQ as anything else ([[explain xkcd:Editor FAQ#Why can't I create my user page and upload images?|as actually mentioned there]], for anyone who bothers to read it). And we do sometimes get a new-users, the ones freshly post-validated to create pages merrily 'helping out' all those they think need their help in that regard.
: Can I suggest that we do not have the exact number of edits so prominantly, though. Within the last day, as a matter of fact, we seem to have had someone making many useless edits (mostly of the form of adding extra spaces into seemingly random places within seemingly random articles), possibly in order to have created a new page of their own. And that's ''really'' not to the spirit of things. Inviting, or at least suggestively hinting, the possibility of near-vandalism (hopefully not ''actual'' vandalism) for the impatient who just see it as a 'target' to try to reach. And the truly and genuinely eager to contribute can easily have clocked up that number of edits to existing pages ''with no edit-tallying motive'' by the time the mandatory week has also expired.
: The caveat, I know, is that saying "a week and ''a certain number of edits''", aluded to but unspecified, will have the some of the same uselessly-editing people chasing an arbitrarily high edit-tally in order to be 'ready' for the week finishing. But that kind of person is already of the wrong initial mindset. And people desperate to create new pages with perhaps little more than a week of having, in ''most other respects'', full editing rights (which is only marginally more than IPs like me have, as there only a few key places that I am prevented from editing) tend to find themselves likely to be contributing to the Category: Pages to Delete list (perhaps courtesy of more established editors).
: On balance, perhaps the page you mention should instead briefly contain a link to the existing FAQ section, via link text explaining that there ''are'' reasons, but "see here" for details, or similar non-specific wording. Anyone who hasn't read the FAQ could benefit from being aware that it exists. And if anything ever changes (rise or fall of the time or tally limits, even removal or addition of specific criteria), the FAQ will probably be sooner updated with the new details before anyone thinks to edit the 'error page' again (a particular page that long-established users will have rarely, if ever, seen). Assuming, of course, even that anyone can edit that level of page content right now. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.184.204|82.132.184.204]] 23:08, 30 September 2025 (UTC)
::I don’t have time to read ip's comment but i definitely think the number shouldn't be so public, and i don’t see a need. i would support a small editnoce for letting users know they have to vaguely contribute more. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:17, 1 October 2025 (UTC)

== Some suggestions surrounding the use of the {{template|unsigned}} and {{template|unsigned ip}} templates. ==

;Where I just reference the {{template|unsigned}} template, there should also be an obvious extension of the same principle to the {{template|unsigned ip}} one as well.)

These are some interelated proposals, that could be implemented singly/incrementally (as desired and agreed upon). But might deserve doing in 'one go', at least the agreed upon elements. I'm just putting each bit into different subsections for isolated discussion (or ignoring) of the specific merits/otherwise of each. [[Special:Contributions/2.98.65.8|2.98.65.8]] 21:33, 20 October 2025 (UTC)
;TD;DR;s added, if you don't like the author's original verbosity. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.30|82.132.244.30]] 19:07, 12 November 2025 (UTC)

===Aesthetic/semantic change===
Issue: Not often, but sometimes, comments that are 'unsigned'-tagged (with the words "please sign your comments with <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>") invokes retrospective use of <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> by those who take the words at face value. This ''can'' result in a (previously) 'unsigned' message having a later timestamp than its replies, or later 'top level' messages more immediately signed by their editors.

The more 'proper' way to replace an {{template|unsigned}} tag, for those that want to, would be to copy-paste a valid signature of the same type and replace the username(/IP) and datestamp as already (usually!) given in that initial pester-tag. But this is by no means made obvious in the above message.

Proposal: Wording to be changed to something like "in future, please sign your comments with <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>", or "this comment should have been signed with <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>". Or other wording, to be agreed upon, to make as snappy as the original ("was not signed with <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>"). The aim is to omit the implicit request to anachrnistically sign, however.

Overall effect: Any change to the template(s) will transclude to what would probably be an overwhelming majority of Talk pages (at a guess), plus other 'discussion' pages like these Portal ones. But there's no change in functionality or any individual page-updating, just the slightly different text when viewing in future.
*Note1: the {{template|unsigned}} template already takes a (rarely used) third parameter, which overwrites the "please sign..." message (i.e. <code><nowiki>{{unsigned|<username>|<timestamp>|<alternate message>}}</nowiki></code>, and it'd still be overwritten exactly the same wherever that has been applied.
*Note2: it also would not rewrite the text given of any originally "subst:"ed version of the template, but that's a completely different issue.

Justification: The need may be slight, but it's also a trivial tweak to implement (or even to trial) with a marginal but maybe useful long-term gain. But we'll need a proper discussion of what wording to move to, or else that it's not necessary. [[Special:Contributions/2.98.65.8|2.98.65.8]] 21:33, 20 October 2025 (UTC)

: Case in point {{diff|389535|the few edits that led up to here}}. Didn't really 'spoil' any actual chronology but shows how easily it is obeyed wrongly. [[Special:Contributions/2.98.65.8|2.98.65.8]] 18:04, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

;TL;DR;:Change the text from "please sign your comments with <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>", slightly. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.30|82.132.244.30]] 19:07, 12 November 2025 (UTC)

===Additional templates to complement 'unsigned' ones===
Issue: Retrospective 'honest faking' of previously missing signatures is mildly awkward, as mentioned above. It's easy to get wrong, even easier to just not bother at all with it. (Either leave 'unsigned' or create the issue from the prior item.

Proposal: Complement the template usage <nowiki>{{</nowiki>''un''<nowiki>signed|<username>|<timestamp>}}</nowiki> with one that is <nowiki>{{</nowiki>''retro''<nowiki>signed|<username>|<timestamp>}}</nowiki>. Take the same parameters (except the 'alternate pester text') but return just the effective <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>-style format, now no longer with the 'please sign...'-type appended message.

There are a number of possible uses for this:

#''user1'' forgets to sign; ''user2'' spots this, invokes {{template|unsigned}} to it; ''user1'' '''acknowledges''' their goof, by simply changing the template-invocation of "unsigned" to "retrosigned" and the rendered page is left neater (any "whoops, my bad!" apologies can be given in the edit-comments, as unused third-parameter, etc, if they wish),
#''user1'' forgets to sign; ''user1'', themself, spots this (before anyone else) and applies this as easily as they would apply a {{template|unsigned}}. Slightly easier than 'honest faking' that involves the valid copypaste-method (again, with "whoops!, my bad!" opportunities, should they feel like it),
#''user1'' forgets to sign; ''user2'' spots this; knows that it's an oversight by a regular contributor who just slipped up, and there's no reason to make it a 'pester message'; so ''user2'' just goes straight to using Template:retrosigned, and doesn't bother with the 'pestering' or 'blaming' implications inherent in Template:unsigned),
#''user1'' forgot to sign ''...a decade ago or more!''; We know that (for example) User:Jeff is unlikely to benefit from being reminded/pestered/shamed, so it just seems better to let the more recent editor 'retrosign' any such example that gets discovered,
#or possibly, '''with care, ''and honesty'':''' someone, as ''newusername'', wishes to associate themselves with comments made by ''oldusername'', or even any given ''ip-address'' contrinution they previously used; that's something I wouldn't do myself, but I could see the appeal.
*Note1: my method (and that of others?) to edit in an 'unsigned'-tag is to copy the header info from the appropriate diff page's column, paste that text (containing datestamp and ID of contributor, together with some other textual cruft) as unsigned-tag parameters, rearrange edit ("timestamp" then "userid", with a few extra characters, becomes "|userid|timestamp" parameters), the same method would entirely work with the retrosigned version too.
**This, however, does not contain the "(UTC)" timezone info that <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> would give by default, so a similarly direct retroactive 'fake' will also lack this. Eagle-eyed readers might pick up on this. Which isn't an issue that concerns me. (One could always manually append " (UTC)" to the second-param, or after the template itself, even if I don't think it worth the bother.)
*Note2: It doesn't reproduce the appearance of anyone's custom signature, if they had one that should have been invoked. But also a trivial differemce, having resolved the whole issue of "no longer being unsigned".
**Should anyone ''really'' care to reproduce a custom/non-standard signature, they can still do so (on their behalf or someone else's). This is just the quick and easy

Justification: The idea is to allow for the 'tidying up' of the front-facing pages with less convoluted and more honest back-end edits. I don't expect, or want, anyone to retrospectively convert historic 'unsigned' tags just for the sake of it, but it adds a tool to the kit of anyone who is already prepared to 'correct' these things (their own, or others) in any given page-source.

I'd potentially use it for long-standing editor's lapses (the "Template:retrosigned" version), to feel less guilty about apparently nagging them about it. Or upon myself (the "Template:retrosigned ip" version), if I slipped up, to feel less guilty for going back in and 'honestly faking' what I had forgotten to sign, but (as noted above) there are several other applicable uses. [[Special:Contributions/2.98.65.8|2.98.65.8]] 21:33, 20 October 2025 (UTC)

;TL;DR;:Let there be "retrosigned" and "retrosigned ip" to be used where {{template|unsigned}} and {{template|unsigned ip}} are not (any longer) what is needed somewhere. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.30|82.132.244.30]] 19:07, 12 November 2025 (UTC)

===Tracking parameter underutilisation===
Issue: Early implementation, and sometimes more recent, of the {{template|unsigned}} template may use its most basic <code><nowiki>{{unsigned}}</nowiki></code> form with ''no parameters given''. This gives an 'error', of sorts, due to having no official check-and-fallback upon not being given the username parameter. The error is visual only, and ''may'' have been allowed/forced to happen as a way to force its correction (though, at least until recently, it sees not to have done this as much as it should have).

Other times, perhaps immediately after the first parameter (contributor name) started to be routinely added, <code><nowiki>{{unsigned|username}}</nowiki></code> is used ''without the timestamp parameter'' that we now mostly take for granted.

(While the current third parameter, the 'alternate "pease..." text' is entirely an optional and a mostly unused feature, future changes may require/encourage further elements (perhaps 'named parameters') and leave our default "unsigned|username|timestamp" format lacking.)

I've been known to update any discovered 'bare bones'-unsigned formats, if I find any in pages I edit. Someone else seems to have adopted it as a task of its own, recently. This relies upon spotting the non-standard (or at least non-modern) usages.

Additionally, there ''is'' the in getting the rather ugly <code> -- [[User:{{{1}}}|{{{1}}}]] ([[User talk:{{{1}}}|talk]]) ''(please sign your comments with <nowiki>~~</nowiki>~~)''</code> 'error' for all no-param versions that exist.

Proposal: Firstly, just implement the 'catch' code upon the (lack of) first parameter. Make it 'fail cleanly', or at least less 'errorlike'. This is trivial to implement (i.e. <code><nowiki>{{{1|}}}</nowiki></code> instead of <code><nowiki>{{{1}}}</nowiki></code>). (I'd do that right now, if I could.)

Secondly, within the 'failover' half of the 'non-parameter' parsing, give it a Category: membership.

I have several possible suggestions for the style of Category membership:
# If the 'userID' isn't given, perhaps "Category:Unsigned no-UserID", if the 'timestamp' isn't given, "Category:Unsigned no-timestamp", and any others.
#* Note: the system could be extended to other templates, such as "Category:Incomplete no-reason" or perhaps "Category:Comic no-image", but that's not officially part of this suggestion.
# More simply, just have "Category:Unsigned-error", without specifying. (Or even "Category:Template-error" for far more generalised use.)
# Differently specific, use the category re-indexing (something like <code><nowiki>[[Category:Template-error|blah]]</nowiki></code>) for handy grouping-with-differentiation

Obviously, the appropriate category-page needs to be there to show any (and all) invocations. Similar to the [[:Category:Incomplete explanations]] one, etc, it would invite action to ''remove'' membership as examples are sorted.

Justification: This is a solution for 'meta-problems', really. Which 'category membership' option is used would define how much additional editing(/correcting) this might prompt for historic problems, as well as identifying improperly added new template-invocations. But it might be good to know exactly how wide or narrow a scope people might wish to apply to this, before going ahead and creating many new 'error' categories... one even just the single catch-all one. [[Special:Contributions/2.98.65.8|2.98.65.8]] 21:33, 20 October 2025 (UTC)
;TL;DR;:Make it easier to find 'incompletely implemented' templates (initially the Unsigned ones), so they can be fixed by anyone who would like to. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.30|82.132.244.30]] 19:07, 12 November 2025 (UTC)
----
This looks AI-generated. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 18:36, 12 November 2025 (UTC)
:Really? Unless AIs are doing 'accidentally on purpose' typos, I think it just looks like someone with more ideas trying to burst out onto the page than they can easily (and accurately) summarise. And I'm also that type of person, so I can ''easily'' relate. There, but for the grace of <s>God</s> any-unspecific-generalised-universal-force-of-non-deterministic-fate goes I! [[Special:Contributions/82.132.245.237|82.132.245.237]] 18:50, 12 November 2025 (UTC)
:Added a "''Too Long; Didn't Read;''" summary to each, as I understand the intents. ;) Now I'm wondering if there are any other things I might do that for! [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.30|82.132.244.30]] 19:07, 12 November 2025 (UTC)

==Banning the phrase "WhatsApp"==
I've noticed that lately, much of our vandalism has come out of scamvertisements asking you to contact the scammers on WhatsApp. As I don't believe Randall has ever actually used WhatsApp, and as such it is unneeded, I feel we should just prevent any edits containing the word 'WhatsApp' from going through if the edit removes more than 90% of the page's byte count (let's be honest, nobody is going to delete that much from a page). --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 17:37, 29 October 2025 (UTC)
:The standard protection is to have [[user:theusaf]] to refine/expand what theusafBOT reacts to. Which it seems they occasionally do.
:I don't know whether they're paying attention, but I'd hope they'd pick up on such things. Given that it's the Feedback/etc comics that regularly get spammed like this, I'd hope they'd at least try to see what someone else reverted in leiu, and adapt accordingly, when they get the time.
:I don't know the various sets of exact criteria in use (some seem generally obvious enough, key patterns and keywords involved) and I think something to at least start with "blanked page and replaced with ...", on specific sets of pages, as an edit comment could be a good predictor with minimal false-positives. But I wouldn't want to explicitly suggest that (or your idea), lest the more attentive spammers made a trivial change to their future edit plans to by-pass it.
:...though I frankly think those responsible in this case don't care/think ''too'' much about it, it's more for all the other things I'd rather leave trivially unguessable how to get round. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.138|82.132.244.138]] 18:30, 29 October 2025 (UTC)
::I'll look into this. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 22:34, 6 November 2025 (UTC)
:::Hey look, an admin that isn't Kynde! That's... actually the first time I've seen an admin that isn't Kynde in person. Cool! --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] 17:15, 7 November 2025 (UTC)
::::Yeah, I'm not super active in the discussions, but I occasionally edit and check that by bot is still working and not destroying anything. The whatsapp check has been added. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 05:00, 13 November 2025 (UTC)
:::::*SKIBIDI-POP PA-DOOP TA-DA TAAAA!!!!* --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] 14:48, 13 November 2025 (UTC)

==Adblock popup==
This wiki uses ads as a way to make money and keep the website up, and many people use adblockers (the absolute state of YT ads is insane). So, why don't we add one of those AdBlock popups that they have on some sites? Maybe the message could be:

{{Header text|So, about that AdBlock... 

explain xkcd uses ads to keep our server online. Please consider turning off your AdBlock so we can continue providing quality explanations. Thanks!}}

This would be an optional thing and easily closable, but it could provide at least a bit of extra revenue. Maybe we could also make a 'thank you' screen for people who do actually turn off their adblocker (it would only pop up once, after they turn off the AdBlock):

{{Header text|Thank you for turning off your adblocker!

Sincerely, the explain xkcd community.}}

What do you guys think? --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 15:58, 30 October 2025 (UTC)

Adblockers often also can block anti-adblock popups, but sure, go ahead. I guess you could also ask for donations to run the site. Same caveat applies. - an adblock user. [[User:None|None]] ([[User talk:None|talk]]) 20:47, 14 December 2025 (UTC)

== categories template ==

Hear me out: I've been doing a lot of category adding to mostly files that are uncategorized (BTW, we have a 11,000-12,000 backlog of pages-any help (or maybe a bot!) would be greatly appreciated). I think that we should make a template called Category or "cat" so that we can add categories faster. Of course, HotCat exists, but it only renders when there are already existing categories. For all the uncategorized files/pages, we would have to manually add it in. My strategy currently is moving my mouse to the edit button, clicking it, hit return to make a whitespace (for organization), hitting CTRL-V, moving my mouse to the "Save changes" button, and clicking it. And that's only for the really repetitive ones, like the comic images or Hoverboard or Time. Does anybody have any thoughts/objections to this? Of course, we would still need to edit, but it would be a lot easier than typing out <nowiki>[[Category:___]]</nowiki> IMHO. Additionally, I've studied up a bit of template code (Lua) and I've sort of fleshed out some code. I don't really know if it works, but if there's anybody more experienced feel free to look through it! I've included Pages to delete (ptd) and Helper comic images (hci) as examples. 

<code><nowiki>
{{#ifeq:{{{1}}}|ptd|
[[Category:Pages to delete]]
}}

{{#ifeq:{{{1}}}|hci|
{{#if:{{{2|}}}
| [[Category:Helper comic images ({{{2}}})]]
| [[Category:Helper comic images]]
}}
}}
</nowiki></code>

Thanks, --'''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 10:17, 3 December 2025 (UTC)
:That's actually a good idea! So, it would be: <code><nowiki>{{cat|Helper comic images (1190)}}</nowiki></code>? That would be quite convenient. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] 20:53, 4 December 2025 (UTC)
::As written, I read it as...
::If "ptd" in the first spot, i.e. <code><nowiki>{{cat|ptd}}</nowiki></code>, that would give the Pages To Delete category.
::If "hci" in the first spot, i.e. <code><nowiki>{{cat|hci}}</nowiki></code>, then it would instead Helper Comic Images
::If "hci" in the first spot and a number in the second, i.e. <code><nowiki>{{cat|hci|1234}}</nowiki></code>, then it would instead give you Helper Comic Images (1234).
::There are maybe a few minor issues with it, as written. I'd use <code><nowiki>{{{1|}}}</nowiki></code>, for starters, and nest it so that any non-specified (including blank) param would give out an obvious mis-use error result. And you'd probably end up having <code><nowiki>{{cat|<whatever>}}</nowiki></code> sitting in your paste buffer (or would <code><nowiki>{{subst:cat|<whatever>}}</nowiki></code> be better?) exactly the same as you'd have had the basic Category, anyway.
::But I really wouldn't know where it sits in the [[1205: Is It Worth the Time?]] scale... Almost a "death by supernova neutrinos" issue, I suspect... ;) [[Special:Contributions/78.144.255.82|78.144.255.82]] 21:37, 4 December 2025 (UTC)
: I would use a switch instead of an if, like
:<code><nowiki><includeonly>[[Category:{{subst:#switch:{{{1}}}
| ptd = Pages to delete
| hci = Helper comic images {{subst:#if: {{{2|}}} | ({{{2}}}) }}
| {{{1|}}}
}}]]</includeonly></nowiki></code>
: It should be used with <nowiki>{{subst:</nowiki> because otherwise the category won't be able to be removed normally, but it technically works without it. The substs before the ifs make the resulting wikitext nicer, as otherwise when the overall template is used with <nowiki>{{subst:</nowiki>, it inserts the if statements directly. Consequently, it must be enclosed in includeonly's to prevent the substitution from occurring when the template is saved. It will also default to inserting the category with the name of the first argument, but it is longer to type using the template like this (<nowiki>{{subst:cat|All comics}}</nowiki>) than just typing the category directly (<nowiki>[[Category:All comics]]</nowiki>).
:If having an obvious error message is desired, you could replace the default case (the <code><nowiki>{{{1|}}}</nowiki></code>) with something like <code><nowiki>]] Invalid argument for [[Template:cat</nowiki></code>. [[User:Firestar233|guess who]] ([[User talk:Firestar233|if you desire conversing]] | [[Special:Contributions/Firestar233|what i have done]]) 05:02, 16 December 2025 (UTC)
All fo this sounds good! I don't have the time to look into this but Firestar233 is incredible with templates so i trust their code will work! [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 18:41, 17 December 2025 (UTC)

== New Character Proposal for Kid Cueballs ==

I'm somewhat new to editing, though I've been using this wiki for some time now. And I've noticed that with comics such as 3178, whenever a kid is represented by Cueball the transcript says "a Cueball like kid" which is long and slightly annoying to read. So I propose giving the kid a name that's shorter and easier to use but still let's the reader know that a kid is being represented by Cueball: Kidball.

Thoughts? -- [[User:MikeTheNewGuy|MikeTheNewGuy]] ([[User talk:MikeTheNewGuy|talk]]) 13:25, 17 January 2026‎ (UTC)
: Hi, Mike; welcome to ExplainXKCD. BTW, I added your signature to your comment.
: But, on-topic: this sounds like an interesting idea. But, in your mind, is this "Kidball" always the same kid, rather than a type of kid? Would you expect that if you see "Kidball" in a new comic he'll behave the same way? If not, then I wouldn't add this name. -- [[User:Dtgriscom|Dtgriscom]] ([[User talk:Dtgriscom|talk]]) 13:32, 17 January 2026 (UTC)
::Thanks for adding my signature, I’m gonna have to remember to do that.
::What I had in mind with Kidball was that most of the time he’s the same kid (since most of the time he only appears in Miss Lenhart’s class, at least that’s where he’s been the majority of the times I’ve seen him), but is occasionally used to represent someone else; in the same way that Cueball appears to be the same person most of the time, but Randall occasionally uses him to represent someone else. And using “Kidball” in the explanations/transcripts might be more efficient than “a Cueball like kid”.
::And yes, if I saw him in a new comic, I would expect him to more or less behave the same way, unless it’s clear that he’s representing someone else.[[User:MikeTheNewGuy|MikeTheNewGuy]] ([[User talk:MikeTheNewGuy|talk]]) 18:04, 17 January 2026 (UTC)
::I'm not sure; let's see what others think. -- [[User:Dtgriscom|Dtgriscom]] ([[User talk:Dtgriscom|talk]]) 18:11, 17 January 2026 (UTC)
:::I do think that he can and should be named, as he's very similar to [[Jill]], even if she has more personality than him. And Kidball is an amazing name! [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 18:01, 23 January 2026 (UTC)
::::I concur. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 21:57, 23 January 2026 (UTC)
:::::Me too. I'm not trusting myself with the actual page creation, so somebody else will need to create it. (sorry, just don't want to mess things up) --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]]''''' 22:51, 28 January 2026 (UTC)
::::I've made them. See [[Kidball]] and [[:Category:Comics featuring Kidball]]. I've also changed the header of this thread for more clarity. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 01:40, 1 February 2026 (UTC)
:::::Thanks! Anyone up for populating it? [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 08:14, 1 February 2026 (UTC)
::::::I'll try to see if I can find the time (and motivation) to do so this week. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 03:07, 2 February 2026 (UTC)
::::::I just went through [[:Category:Comics featuring children]] and added about 9 to [[:Category:Comics featuring Kidball]]. We're getting there! [[User:Maxcodes|Maxcodes]] ([[User talk:Maxcodes|talk]]) 14:34, 15 February 2026 (UTC)
:::Should comics with multiple Kidballs be placed in [[:Category:Multiple Cueballs]], or should a new category be created? [[User:Maxcodes|Maxcodes]] ([[User talk:Maxcodes|talk]]) 12:37, 15 February 2026 (UTC)
:::: (First, I made it markup as a "visible category link", as you intended, rather than the invisible category membership that normally happens, hope you don't mind.)
:::: A further question is if a comic was Multiple Cueballs, by dint of having a Cueball ''and'' a now-IDed-as-Kidball, is it still Multiple Cueballs? [[Special:Contributions/82.132.239.239|82.132.239.239]] 13:26, 15 February 2026 (UTC)

:::: We've only just got to the point where we're naming this character Kidball; I'd say don't complicate the situation just yet. Too many categories makes the categories less useful. -- [[User:Dtgriscom|Dtgriscom]] ([[User talk:Dtgriscom|talk]]) 13:52, 15 February 2026 (UTC)
:::: Children are rarely alone, normally being with other children and/or with one or one-or-more adults. So [[:Category:Comics featuring children]] covers Multiple Kidballs.
:::: I'd say that Multiple Cueballs is a notable 'common strangeness' that I think it's useful to continue note, for various reasons, but multiple non-Cueball characters (e.g. how [[1000]] has it, in-extremis) aren't worth all the various different character-specific 'multiple' categories. (And, yes, an adult Cueball and a Kidball should not be "Multiple Cueballs".) [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 18:29, 15 February 2026 (UTC)
:::::Agreed. Multiple Cueballs is usually for unusual cases where there isn't a different main character other than cueball. A bald kid and a bald adult are two different people. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:52, 16 February 2026 (UTC)
== Bring back mboxes! ==

[https://mediawiki.org/wiki/Template:Mbox Mboxes] (do read that link) are message boxes that prompt editors to edit.
They say things such as, "'''Please help expand this page.'''"
However, they aren't on this wiki!

So, there are a few different templates resembling mboxes:
* {{template|notice}},
* {{template|notice2}},
* {{template|incomplete}}, and
* {{template|incomplete transcript}}
are just a few I've seen.

I just don't think this is the way! Also, I checked {{template|ambox}} and it said it was deleted. However, the proposal archive
isn't working and I can't check the reason. So I can't see why we aren't using them!

Here are a few arguments for mboxes:
* Mboxes can be different types, such as a notice or an alert, or even an incomplete notice, with a <code>type</code> attribute.
* Mboxes are <abbr title="Don't Repeat Yourself">DRY</abbr>, they're reusable.
* Mboxes are used on Wikipedia, and other sites I'm sure, so using them here will make it more comfortable for new editors coming from other sites such as Wikipedia.
* Using mboxes will make styling all alerts easier. (OK YES I ADMIT IT I WANT MY USER STYLES)

So why aren't we using them? I'm thinking that if this topic gets enough support, we can bring mboxes back, and
start transitioning old alerts to mbox variants.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. [[User:Maxcodes|Maxcodes]] ([[User talk:Maxcodes|talk]]) 14:38, 16 February 2026 (UTC)
:The discussion, as you said, is in the archive: [[explain_xkcd_talk:Community_portal/Proposals#Notice_templates]]. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:58, 16 February 2026 (UTC)

== Transcripts ==

ATTENTION!

THIS:

Blah blah '''BLAH'''
''BLAH blah blah''
Wordssss…………

(Fill in blahs with your own words! Choose your own adventure fun!)

Is not a transcript!

I’ve had the impression that transcripts were for blind people (well, not ''just'' blind people) and making transcripts like the one above is only making things harder for people who may read aloud for blind people. Use things like [bold text] or [italics] or [comic in red text].

Idk wh6 I wrote this it just been bothering me. {{unsigned ip|2600:4040:52f7:9a00:cdb5:8d4d:4a6c:9917|16:58, 24 February 2026 (UTC)}}
:I've always wondered who the transcripts are even for. Since both the comics and the transcripts are in the same medium, those who are blind wouldn't be able to see the transcript. I guess they could have it read to them, but it's still confusing. As far as I know, it's just a thing that very early editors used to do, and the tradition stuck. What's the reasoning behind the transcripts? --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] (BLM)''''' 14:22, 2 March 2026 (UTC)
::There exists the {{w|screen reader}}, which (at least until you start to trust AI, and there ''are'' undoubtely some good AI ATs out there that do this, these days, but are trained more to help with RL situations, like "what items are on the shop shelf I'm currently standing in front of?", not stick-figures and line-art...) can't do anything useful with the non-meta contents of an image but will happily speak out a transcript.
::It probably also helps, even if you don't need it spoken out for you, if you have a hankering of searching for a particular comic and you know some written words in it that might not ''necessarily'' be quoted verbatim in the Explanation. The text being all there in the Transcript section means you can get this site (or perhaps your caching search-engine of choice) to find it, without even relying on someone having decided to quote it directly elsewhere (which is often not good and/or necessary for an Explanation/Discussion/Trivia section contribution).
::If you're ''really'' lucky, you can even search for [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?search=%22office+chair%22&title=Special%3ASearch&go=Go some random visual thing], as long as it's been mentioned, without relying upon it havng already had a thoroughly populated Category... That relies upon any useful example having the same exact wording in the Transcript (and/or Explanation), but it's better than if you don't have any Transcripts at all.
::There are other useful things, a bit less obvious. Yet perhaps you could argue the presence of the Transcript may not actually be that vital... I don't know if anyone here ''does'' even use a screen-reader (but is still interested in webcomics ...a very visual medium). And there are probably other ways to get the other other advantages of the Transcript. Perhaps we could just make sure ''everything'' currently Transcripted is added to the Explanation (though that seems wasteful, and might make the Explanation far ''less'' useful/readable, having to fight past the obligatory in-depth explanation of whether Cueball's arm is raised in a particular panel or not...). But currently the Transcript exists, for those that need (or like) it, and also anybody who doesn't can just ignore it.
::And unless you're going to fold ''all'' Transcripts into the rest of the Explanation, it seems rather strange to just stop creating them. Honestly, it's probably half the fun for some people. And even another 'First!'-brag for users to bag, without being actually so crass as to edit anything just to say "First!" ;) [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 19:58, 2 March 2026 (UTC)
:::I still do think that the people who need a screen reader would be interested in webcomics, although there probably exists a small population of people who are. Also, screen readers do not necessarily need to use AI in anything except for the voice. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] 20:09, 2 March 2026 (UTC)
::::Not sure if you're agreeing with me or not there. You may have missed a "not" or something in there somewhere. And screen-readers don't need ''any'' AI (as we would currently expect it), although doubtless the last few years development of LLM/GenerativeAIs has probably improved them from 'dumb phonology' (with quirks that users would have to get use to) to actually saying things more eloquently and even correctly voice non-homophonic homographs correctly...
::::But, anyway, there's the other reasons for a Transcript, even if I don't know if anyone does bother to use SRs. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 20:45, 2 March 2026 (UTC)
:::::I did, indeed, accidentally miss a 'not'. I DON'T think that those who need screen readers would be interested in webcomics. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] 20:55, 2 March 2026 (UTC)
::::::You'd be surprised. Just take a look at this discussion: https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Miscellaneous#Sightless_readers_offended_by_the_.22It.27s_.27cause_you.27re_dumb.22_tagline. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 13:00, 9 April 2026 (UTC)
:::::::...I stand corrected. Also, [[2134: Too Much Talking|I have an opinion]] about that discussion after reading it. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] 13:57, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

==New search algorithm?==
I was searching for a specific comic based on some words from the transcript. I was looking for [[2134: Too Much Talking]] and was searching "new opinions". INSTEAD of getting only results which had the phrase "new opinions", I got every comic which had the word 'new' or 'opinion' ANYWHERE in its explanation or transcript. I got over 100 hits and had to go through each preview individually, which was quite annoying and took far too long. I think there should be a function or option that you could turn on which makes it so, when you search "new opinions", it only displays pages with the search term and doesn't display anything which only contains a part of it. This happens every time I try to search. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] 14:04, 9 April 2026 (UTC)
:You probably searched for (quote)<code>new opinions</code>(unquote), but you'll find that you'll get exactly what you wanted from (quote)<code>"new opinions"</code>(unquote) ''with'' the literal quotes.
:Like I did, by ending up on the page https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?search=%22new+opinions%22&title=Special%3ASearch&go=Go just now.
:Note that searches just for (quote)<code>new</code>(unquote) ''or'' just for (quote)<code>opinions</code>(unquote) return many (thousands!) of matches. (quote)<code>new opinions</code>(unquote) 'only' seems to return 42 examples (now including this page?). This would include examples of "opinion new" ordering or even totally separate uses like if any a phrase like "...relying upon old opinions, rather than new facts..." was used. An ''actual'' example, is the following search-result snippet:
::..., with no real bearing on most peoples' lives, a lot of people have strong '''opinions''' on the topic. One on side, people argue that planets should have a consiste ...with such debates, to the point of damaging their relationship, is nothing '''new''' for this couple.
:I don't know how we'd even update/change the search-algorithm.
:And, note, it'd annoy those who are already used to what subtle ways there are to be either more or less finicky in a desired search. Searching for mention of "dog leads"? The (unquoted) search for "dog lead" might be better to find "he has a dog on a lead" without (normally) getting pages that say something like "a heavy element, like lead". A quoted-search, or an assumption that the user would have wanted a quoted-search, would miss the first example.
:There may be various other tricks and tips to search-formatting. The use of "+" before a particular term used to (on Google) force that as a required match, when it might have included "does not include..." on a page that contains every other word, just not that one. But this site doesn't seem to have the full (traditional) Google-Fu behaviour, that also included things like (quote)<code>-dog lead</code>(unquote) that could get you (mostly) the metal or connecting cable references to lead without so.much of the additional pet-restraint homonym, but then the Google algorithm has also changed so much over the years (Natural Language Processing and even more AI-based methods, rather than a more obvious codified 'markup' to one's search terms where it was the user's initial knowledge that more limited the search, intentinally or otherwise). [[Special:Contributions/82.132.238.115|82.132.238.115]] 16:53, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

== Excessive verbosity ==

Should we have a category and community portal link to it for explanations which are considered excessively verbose to the point of deteriorating their usefulness to the readers? [[Special:Contributions/2603:800C:1200:596A:A08E:FCB1:F968:D433|2603:800C:1200:596A:A08E:FCB1:F968:D433]] 20:18, 15 April 2026 (UTC)
:Define excessive. (Also: Define insufficient.) [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 21:09, 15 April 2026 (UTC)
::He never even said "insufficient". He said that making a whole essay as a response (I'll link some examples below) is a waste of time because all the text is overwhelming and it becomes harder to pick out the important parts. By the way, he may be referring to you, as you tend to make very long responses (read: not necessarily a bad thing). 
::Some examples:
::*[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3231:_Lightning&curid=30046&diff=410387&oldid=410386 this edit by 81.179.199.253]
::*[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3232:_Countdown_Standard&curid=30051&diff=410328&oldid=410327 this edit by 81.179.199.253]
::*[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3231:_Lightning&curid=30046&diff=410157&oldid=410141 this edit by 82.132.238.12]
::--'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|'''''converse''''']] 21:18, 15 April 2026 (UTC)
:::Indeed. "Insufficient" was was seaid by me (IPv4), not IPv6. The point being that I'm not sure what amount of paring down would satisfy them, and what amount would be problematic to them.
:::If some information is there but looks superfluous to someone, they might remove it. If the information is not there but seems necessary, some other person might add it. And everyone has different ideas.
:::And in the two editing examples (and the example that wasn't me), they aren't even Explanation additions, which I'm sure (but will happily be corrected on) wasn't what the suggestion was about. Also, I make no apologies for being verbose enough to encopass a complicated issue, when I think it merits it, especially in Talk. There's also occasion to cut down/rationalise things (in Explanations), especially when multiple editors have added a concept here, an example there, a caveat at the end, etc, which might be best rewritten from scratch.
:::Face it, we who seek to "explain xkcd" have many things to say, whether we we're Nerd Sniped or just happen to think of something interesting but unmentioned. And those who wish xkcd to be explained may have many questions (even if they {{diff|410158|don't say what they are}}. Perhaps I personally err more on maintaining a verbosity (that can be skipped over by the impatient reader) rather than risk being too laconic (and leave out something that others would want/need to be said).
:::I consciously ''tried'' to convey all of what I've just said by just five words, you'll notice. Maybe ten words would have been better? [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 00:10, 16 April 2026 (UTC)
::I did actually define it, plain as day! Excessive verbosity is "excessively verbose to the point of deteriorating [an explanation's] usefulness to the readers."
::Please I know this has been something of a pattern for years now, and I don't know who all is involved or how many, of course, but could you please try showing some restraint? For example, when you're typing a long paragraph and you're not 100% sure it would make the explanation clearer or more helpful in some concrete way, would you please consider posting it on the talk page and asking others whether they think it should be added, or at least ask others for help with brevity? [[Special:Contributions/2603:800C:1200:596A:FDFE:A728:80A:5859|2603:800C:1200:596A:FDFE:A728:80A:5859]] 01:00, 17 April 2026 (UTC)
:::They do have a point, IPv4. Many of your comments exceed 1,000 bytes in length, and most go above 500. 
:::1)''"If some information is there but looks superfluous to someone, they might remove it."'' Most people are probably going to be encouraged ''not'' to edit other people's comments (see [[User talk:42.book.addict#Editing other people's words?|here]]) 
:::2)''"In the two editing examples, they aren't even explanation additions..."'' That's precisely the point. Large additions to explanations are fine, if it all relates to the comic in some way. Large talk page replies, however, are much harder to navigate. 
:::3)''"Perhaps I personally err on maintaining a verbosity (that can be skipped over by the impatient reader) rather than risk being too laconic (and leave out something that others would want/need to be said)."'' The issue is that all the important things are sprinkled throughout your explanation and '''can't''' be skipped. 
:::If you do insist on being as verbose as you are, perhaps it would be a good idea to add a TL;DR? Just a thought.--'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|'''''converse''''']] 13:19, 17 April 2026 (UTC)
::::Ahoy there, from IPv4-land, again. I think you're misreading something. You're talking about Talk: comments being overlong. I'm not sure anyone else is.
::::The OP says "...for '''explanations''' which are considered excessively verbose..." (my emphasis added). Only in the more recent "...would you please consider posting it on the talk page and..." suggestion is OP mentioning Talk:, and that's as a suggestion of doing that ''instead'' of being wordy in the Explanation.
::::I also disagree that my two highlighted additions ({{diff|410387|this}} and {{diff|410328|this}}) are overlong. Not as short as they could be, but only significantly so by not saying things I wanted to say. Whether I not I should have, is another matter.
::::Not much more to add, that hasn't already been mentioned. So I won't. Have a nice day! [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 18:41, 17 April 2026 (UTC)
:::((Hi, I'm not the above IPv4, but I am someone you used as an example. And I could respond to DSB's comments (that edit-conflicted with me writing the following), as I think they are arguments directed against me too, but that would add ''another half hour or more of writing, down-editing, reviewing, adding back in things that I should ''not'' have edited out, etc. So, instead, I'm just prepending this little blurb. But it seems like I'm of a like mind/''modus operandi'' as the other protagonist here. Though was reluctant to jump in to comment on this 'suggestion' right from the start. But here I am now. Sorry!))
:::No, sorry. You're still being subjective there, as already said by someone else. If people add more information, it's generally because they think that such information is missing. Or responding to comments (or interpretations) from others who hadn't already 'got it'.
:::I absolutely don't mind if my attempts to explain something are re-edited to be less wordy than I might have left them, though. That's the nature of wiki-editing. And, if someone removes or wrongly paraphrases something (of mine, or anyone else), I reserve the right to go back and make it correct once more.
:::The exception is with Talk comments:
:::#Other than totally removing something that totally violates site policy, you do ''not'' remove or edit someone else's Talk contribution, beyond any peripheral formatting (e.g. adding a missing signature, correcting a clear indentation misalignment or, with very great care, making it more readable as far as newlines, bulletpoints, tabulation, etc, if the OA cocked that up) and ''never'' change the substantive text... even for spelling.
:::#Things written in Talk are not part of the Explanation and should not be assumed to be read by anyone reading the Explanation.
:::#They also need not be as 'perfect' as one might try to write in an Explanation, be they either more jokey, full of spelling/grammar errors. This is not the "voice of the site, for we are legion", but individually attributable (more or less) voices that may display confusion, authoritativeness, malapropriate terminology, the desire to say "FIRST!" and/or complaints about everyone else doing any or all the the other things.
:::#Should someone ''happen'' to make a cogent point in Talk, it almost never is suitable to just copypaste their exact words (less the signature - if there was any!) into the main Explanation (or even within the 'incomplete'-notification. If they thought it was ready for the Explanation, they'd have written it there, and probably used a different phrase (I write from experience, here!)
:::#And there is very little reason to go through the collaborative editing process on Talk, with multiple versions (and critiques) of the 'concept' text being left for everyone to see all the false starts and mis-steps and the like. When the ''very idea'' of the main Wiki page is that it's a collaborative editing place that gets refined to the best result it can be (or, maybe, just one of the 'least worst' ones), without all the messy re-versioning details on show (but still there in the History, for the curious).
:::(And I note that DSB highlit one of ''my'' Talk contributions, above, as an example of overloquaciousness... Strangely, one that {{diff|410161|looked somewhat appreciated}}, unless that was actually intended as sarcasm, but lacked sufficient markup to reveal that as its purpose. Yes, it was significantly longer than the first response (which I think was good, as far as it went), but I thought that *maybe* a few more details wouldn't go amiss. In leiu of possible further questions that might have occured without.)
:::So, no. I reject your request to 'discuss things in Talk, i advance' any time I think I might not be adding a perfectly cromulant smattering of knowledge. I know that I will never write laconicallg enough to please every reader, especially without making it so streamlined that someone else will have to request (or fulfill) further expansion to it.
:::"Should we have a category"? Maybe. What are you thinking? Some template-led thing, used either like the {{template|Actual citation needed}} or {{template|incomplete}} ones, or somewhere betwixt the two, in application/functionality? What if some adds an <code><nowiki>{{Excessive verbosity}}</nowiki></code> tag and someone disagrees enough to remove it again? Are we back to arguing it out in Talk (like we do already), and/or whole paragraphs being pre-emptively removed (like is done already), or are we supposed to stop doing that and instead populate the tag with 'reason=' information?
:::Not entirely sure what the "community portal link to it" is about, though. Adding a way to get to [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals#Excessive verbosity|this section]]? Or adding a link to each tagged example ''from'' this section?
:::The observation, in several ways, needs further explanation and elaboration (totally unintended, but I ''just'' realised how ironic that is!). Can I (and my fellow word-technicians, such as the prior responder) possibly shave off a word or two? Probably. But I personally try (amongst other editing issues) to address inconsistencies and gaps in information that I see have not yet been addressed. If someone wants to improve on what I add, within a comic page, then they can. Better something there, imperfect, than just lacking because of the possibility of some arbitrary word-/paragraph-limit being breached due to my 'interference'. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.236.33|82.132.236.33]] 14:44, 17 April 2026 (UTC)

I created [[[[:Category:Excessive verbosity]]]] and mentioned it at the end of [[explain xkcd:Community portal]]. I have a plan to fill it with initially the 20-30 worst offending explanations using AI, but I need to run some experiments first. [[User:Liv2splain|Liv2splain]] ([[User talk:Liv2splain|talk]]) 08:59, 18 April 2026 (UTC)
:What actual criteria will assess the issue of "worst offending", can I ask? I ask this seriously, but I might as well tell you that I predict that you won't have a cogent answer. Especially if you're going for the same enumeration as that graph that was created. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 20:55, 18 April 2026 (UTC)
::Whether the text is too verbose to serve the readers as a copyedit for brevity could. (By the way, did you know in the year 1600 the typical English written sentence had about 50 words?) [[User:Liv2splain|Liv2splain]] ([[User talk:Liv2splain|talk]]) 04:55, 23 April 2026 (UTC)
:::Poking my nose back in... Is the valuation then based upon something like "we asked 100 readers to rank the readability, and used IRV to produce the community-accepted order of best to worst"? Or "nominate your fifty worst examples, and the ones with most votes get looked at", Either of those would be awkward to organise properly.
:::Or are we asking an AI (multiple times, and/or multiple AIs) to do this ranking, knowing that AIs are ineffably tied to their training data in ways that can be unpredictably spurious. (As an example, it could mark down anything written by an IP, having identified that as a key indicator, if given the option. Like the cases of AIs 'learning' to diagnosing illnesses based upon the presence of a measuring scale in a diagnostic photograph, or a certain type of acute medicine hospital name in the past treatment records.) What would it make of the sentence "Colourless green dreams sleep furiously", and would it know if it is even a contextually apt statement or not, for any given usage?
:::The 50 words thing is interesting, if ''that's'' the key to your suggestion, but hardly a good scale for multiple reasons. Case in point: your first sentence is 16 words. It is brief. It also took me a while to realise it wasn't an accidentally unfinished "Whether <foo> could <bar>" enquiry, and a couple of other garden-path mis-steps, before realising its grammatic intent.
:::Counting words isn't enough. Short sentences more readable? (Or it is non-linear.) Correct horse battery staple! Must be grammatical, naturally. Not comic joke call-back. But what about punctuation? Commas in right places. Semi-colons: good or bad? Is this paragraph readable? All statements, four words. It is fun writing. But not easy, regardless. Fluid reading remains uncertain. Seems stilted to me. Sesquipedalian loquaciousness preponderantly undisallowed. You get the idea..?
:::The truth is that there's no easy (non-subjective) measure of readability, and whatever you do use to measure it may have little connection to understandability, practical meaning or actual accuracy/relevence, and attempts to enhance any or all of the latter may ''require'' some loss of mere 'brevity'. This is not to say that I consider my own contributions unimprovable, just that they (should) say what I intend them to say, and to the extent I intend to say them. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.238.56|82.132.238.56]] 10:16, 23 April 2026 (UTC)

Why not simply use the incomplete tag? My main contribution to this wiki in the last months was to cut down explanations to the point. If I stumble upon an explanation that I feel is too bloated but I don't have the time or energy to do it myself at that moment I add the incomplete tag, mention that the explanation needs to be shortened and done. Oftentimes I do it then myself some time later and remove the tag again. I don't see the point of a new category. Speaking of bloating up stuff... ;) [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:53, 23 April 2026 (UTC)
:I agree, for what it's worth. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.238.56|82.132.238.56]] 10:16, 23 April 2026 (UTC)
:Agreed. It should simply say which part of the explanation needs works, and what exactly it needs. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 12:26, 25 April 2026 (UTC)

== possible new "superheroes" category ==

i don't edit this wiki very often, but i recently decided to make a "superheroes" category since i was surprised we didn't have one already. i've been going thru the archives and adding comics, but today i noticed a bunch of the edits were reverted by one person with the reason "no such category". do i need to do something to get the category approved or were the reversions incorrect? [[Special:Contributions/216.145.71.130|216.145.71.130]] 21:03, 29 April 2026 (UTC)
:As the reverter, I'm suggesting that the way this is normally done is to notice the need and suggest that it is created, listing (at least some of) the cases.
:While anyone with page-creation capabilities (not you, and not me) can "unredlink" the category, it'd be useful to make sure it's not just being created because of one person's vague moment of inspiration.
:Not to say that you're unjustified, in this case, just that you hadn't gone any way to ''try'' to justify it. And it's better to do that. (The old phrase "better to ask forgiveness than permission" isn't really applicable here.) I'll happily help repopulate the new category, if and when it is decided to get created. Just it was being done the wrong way round.
:Someone else {{diff|411372|mentioned}} that its name might need rethinking, and that's one of the aspects. Yes, it can be renamed, but still much better to be right to start with.
:So I think it should be open to discussion... enough to convince someone else to make it a valid category, ''then'' start adding them back in again.
:If I've picked them all up, BTW, I think the following are your candidates:
:*[[273: Electromagnetic Spectrum]] - (just copied from below, not sure without checking... maybe Superman?)
:*[[663: Sagan-Man‎‎]] - "Sagan-Man", as per title
:*[[700: Complexion‎‎]] - Batman
:*[[980: Money‎‎]] - Batman mentioned
:*[[1004: Batman‎‎]] - natch
:*[[1010: Etymology-Man‎‎]] - "Etymology-Man", of course/
:*[[1012: Wrong Superhero‎‎]] - and again
:**[[:Category:Etymology-Man‎‎]] - and his own category (of just two appearances...)
:*[[1384: Krypton‎‎]] - Superman
:*[[1394: Superm*n‎‎]] -sprt-of Superman
:*[[1415: Ballooning]] - Spiderman
:*[[1434: Where Do Birds Go]] - Superman
:*(Feel free to edit in any more, anybody!)
:...so, along with any other finds, if it looks like we need [[:Category:Comics containing superheroes]] (or similar) then your existing work hasn't gone to waste. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 21:42, 29 April 2026 (UTC)
::for archiving's sake, there's also [[273: Electromagnetic Spectrum]], [[1415: Ballooning]], and [[1434: Where Do Birds Go]].
::it would be nice to have character pages for specific superheroes like superman and batman (and, evidently, etymology-man), but "superheroes" in general is a topic, not a character. as for the name, it's in line with categories like [[:Category:Aliens]], [[:Category:Demons]], and [[:Category:Sysadmins]] which are plural and don't start with "comics featuring". we do have [[:Category:Comics featuring children]], but it seems like an oddball to me (maybe because it's more of a meta-category for the characters page than one intended for casual browsing? dunno.)
::should we continue discussing this here, on the character page talk, or somewhere else? i must admit i don't understand the organization. [[Special:Contributions/216.145.71.130|216.145.71.130]] 22:09, 29 April 2026 (UTC)
:::The wiki can be a bit inconsistent, because it's been going for a while and not everyone has gone with the same 'house style' (which may have changed over time, too). We have [[:Category:Comics with babies]], for example, and also [[:Category:Comics with cursed items]]. While there are various "Category:Comics featuring <named characters, both real and fictional>", which would have more suited Etymology Man and could (if we so wish) serve for Batman, Superman, etc, individually.
:::I'm actually fairly ambivalent, but I think that it should at least have other voices agree on which way it all goes. Saves too much after-the-fact 'corrections'. But you don't want to be talking just to me about this, so I'll shut up now, and await some of the 'big hitter' accounts to weigh it all up. It doesn't need to be done right now. A couple more hours, at least... ;)[[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 22:40, 29 April 2026 (UTC)
:no response about where to talk about this yet, so i'm just going to loop the other comment in here. changing the name to be more indicative as well. [[Special:Contributions/64.189.140.8|64.189.140.8]] 07:20, 1 May 2026 (UTC)
:Sounds like a nice category to me. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 09:22, 1 May 2026 (UTC)
:Seems quite relevant to me. Don't really see an issue with using the category name "superheroes" [[User:42.book.addict|tori :3]][[User talk:42.book.addict|talk to me!]] 16:31, 1 May 2026 (UTC)
:here's the remaining ones i picked up:
:*[[1648: Famous Duos]] - batman and robin
:*[[1792: Bird/Plane/Superman]]
:*[[1848: Glacial Erratic]] - superman (title text)
:*[[1904: Research Risks]] - supervillains in general
:*[[1970: Name Dominoes]] - superman and batman (slightly up-right from the center)
:*[[2230: Versus Bracket]] - batman vs. superman and justice league vs. teen titans
:*[[2367: Masks]] - batman, spiderman, and mysterio (possibly scarecrow as well, no idea what his lore is)
:*[[2396: Wonder Woman 1984]]
:*[[3146: Fantastic Four]]
:[[Special:Contributions/151.141.68.154|151.141.68.154]] 19:21, 1 May 2026 (UTC)
::since there's been no further comments i went ahead and remade the category. if anyone with permissions can un-redlink it that'd be nice. [[Special:Contributions/64.189.140.61|64.189.140.61]] 00:49, 6 May 2026 (UTC)

explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals

2026-05-06T00:49:23Z

64.189.140.61: /* possible new "superheroes" category */

3146: Fantastic Four

2026-05-06T00:47:40Z

64.189.140.61:

{{comic
| number = 3146
| date = September 24, 2025
| title = Fantastic Four
| image = fantastic_four_2x.png
| imagesize = 343x388px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = One perk of being born at 0.88c is that your birthday is over two days long.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic makes a pun on the {{w|Oberth effect}}, a phenomenon in orbital mechanics where a spacecraft gains more energy from a propulsion burn when it is moving faster, typically deep within a gravitational well. Essentially, the same amount of fuel produces a larger change in kinetic energy if the burn occurs where the spacecraft’s speed is highest. In spaceflight, the Oberth effect is used to go further with the same amount of fuel, or reduce the fuel requirement to get to a destination.

In the comic, the joke arises from confusing “birth” with “berth”: it suggests that the baby’s birth provides a propulsion boost to the ship, analogous to how the Oberth effect gives extra efficiency to maneuvers near a gravity well. In reality, the effect of a baby being born is negligible; the shift in the ship’s center of mass is far too small to produce any meaningful reaction-based thrust.

The comic references the movie ''{{w|The Fantastic Four: First Steps}}'', which had come out just a few months before the comic's publishing, in July 2025. In the movie, the characters go around a neutron star due to a lack of fuel and a baby is born onboard. While the birth occurs during the journey, it only produces a negligible amount of propulsion boost. The comic frames this as necessary for the crew to return home, since they lack the fuel to make it conventionally.

Additionally, the title text references {{w|time dilation}} to extend the birthday from one day to over two days as seen from Earth, due to traveling at 88% of the speed of light. So one day is 2.1 days seen from Earth. The day of one's birthday has many perks, such as celebrations.

The Oberth effect is also mentioned as a key to escaping Origin in [[2765: Escape Speed]].

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail is facing Cueball with one of her hands out, facing up and towards Cueball.]
:Ponytail: In the new ''Fantastic Four'' movie, their ship doesn't have enough fuel to get home and Sue Storm goes into labor, so they slingshot around a neutron star and fire their engines at periapsis — as Sue has her baby — to get a boost.
:Cueball: Ah yes, the Obirth effect.
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Movies]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Superheroes]]

2396: Wonder Woman 1984

2026-05-06T00:47:20Z

64.189.140.61:

{{comic
| number = 2396
| date = December 9, 2020
| title = Wonder Woman 1984
| image = wonder_woman_1984.png
| titletext = 'Wait, why would you think a movie set in 1984 would do drive-ins as a retro promotion?' 'You know, 80s stuff. Drive-in movies. Britney Spears doing the hustle. Elvis going on Ed Sullivan and showing off his pog collection.' 'What year were you born, again?'
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is another in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}.

Ponytail, who was eager to see ''{{w|Wonder Woman 1984}}'', the 2019 sequel to the acclaimed 2017 ''{{w|Wonder Woman (2017 film)|Wonder Woman}}'' film, decided to block all news media leading up to the film, to avoid {{w|Spoiler (media)|spoilers}}. Avoiding spoilers is a common practice for people who do not wish to be "spoiled" by reading or hearing any plot points of the film, because they want to be immersed in the movie when watching it for the first time, by not being able to predict any plot twists before they occur. Many early reviewers may inadvertently give away key parts of the film, which may ruin the experience for some watchers, and story elements may be leaked by inside sources, either accidentally or deliberately.

However, there have been many delays for release of the film, in part because of the [[:Category:COVID-19|COVID-19 pandemic]] in the spring of 2020. The film was originally delayed from November 1, 2019 to June 5, 2020 to allow more time for production, and then, after the pandemic struck, was pushed to August 14, 2020, then October 2, 2020, before it was finally moved to December 25, 2020. The film studio announced a simultaneous release of the film in theaters and also on streaming platform {{w|HBO Max}}.

Absurdly, Ponytail apparently continued to block news sites after the delays, and so has not read ''any'' news in over a year, even news unrelated to movies. Because of this, she is apparently totally unaware of the entire pandemic, as well as more predictable major news items like the 2020 United States presidential election. This is particularly absurd, because these events were influential enough that it would be difficult or impossible to avoid awareness, even with no media exposure. They have been common topics of conversation, not to mention face-masks and other public health-control measures have now become ubiquitous, and election campaign signs and bumper stickers were common sights in the lead-up to November.

How the release date being postponed (twice) did not convince Ponytail to find out why, therefore becoming aware of the pandemic with its associated lockdown and public health-control, is a question that is left unanswered. Her confusion as to why her movie is now being shown at a {{w|drive-in theater}} is a sign that she's unaware of COVID-19. Drive-in theaters have been seen as a safer option than indoor movie theaters during the pandemic.

Cueball tries to warn her about the ongoing pandemic, but in an effort to avoid spoilers, she silences him. This may imply that in her wildly excessive effort to avoid spoilers, she's avoided leaving her home and talking to people, which could explain her exceptional level of disconnection from current events. Cueball then tells her to wear a mask, but she is still confused. Ponytail says that she will dress up in costume as Wonder Woman, who is traditionally shown wearing a {{w|tiara}} but not a mask (unlike Batman or many other comic characters, although [[2367: Masks|efficiency of their masks]] still varies wildly in regards to COVID-19 protection).

The title text expands on Ponytail's speculation that the use of the drive-in theaters is a "retro promotion," presumably because drive-ins and the '80s setting of the movie are now both considered to be retro in 2020. However, they are not associated with the same period; drive-in theaters in America had their heyday in the 1950s and '60s, and were in rapid decline by the '80s. Ponytail further demonstrates her misunderstanding of history by mentioning several other things which she wrongly believes are from the '80s. {{w|Britney Spears}} is a singer who was popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s. {{w|Hustle (dance)|The Hustle}} was a disco dance popular in the mid-1970s. {{w|Pogs}} under that name peaked in the mid-1990s. {{w|Elvis}}'s appearance on the ''{{w|Ed Sullivan Show}}'' - a pivotal moment in American pop culture - occurred on September 9, 1956. (''The Ed Sullivan Show'' went off the air in 1971, Ed Sullivan died in 1974, and Elvis Presley died in 1977.{{Citation needed}}) This joke concerns the phenomenon of people lumping together all time periods before their birth, which results in "retro" or "period" representations combining elements from widely different time periods. (A similar behavior is seen in [[771: Period Speech]].) Cueball points this out by asking Ponytail when she was born, implying that, if she'd actually lived through any of those time periods, she'd realize that they were distinct. If Ponytail could not remember any of these events in her childhood, an age of about 20 years can be set as an approximate upper bound for this particular character's age.

This comic is similar to [[2280: 2010 and 2020]] and [[2338: Faraday Tour]], which also involve characters who are unaware of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ponytail would once again block all news to avoid spoilers in [[3073: Tariffs]].

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail sitting at a desk, chatting with Cueball (off-screen) on a laptop.]
:Ponytail: Just two weeks until I see ''Wonder Woman 1984'', learn who the Democratic nominee was, and find out how the election went.
:Cueball: Huh?

:[Close-up on Ponytail.]
:Ponytail: To avoid spoilers, I blocked all news sites ahead of the November 2019 release.
:Ponytail: But then they bumped the date on my ticket to June 2020, and now December 25th.
:Ponytail: It also moved to a drive-in theater? Some retro promotion, maybe.

:[Cueball on his laptop, chatting with Ponytail (off-screen) on a laptop.]
:Cueball: Wait, you haven't seen '''''any''''' news?
:Ponytail: Nope!
:Cueball: So you don't know about -
:Ponytail: '''''No spoilers!'''''

:[Back to Ponytail sitting at a desk, chatting with Cueball (off-screen) on a laptop.]
:Cueball: Okay. Just...
:Cueball: Bring a mask, in case you need to get out of the car.
:Ponytail: Oh, I'll have a full '''''costume!''''' But it's a tiara, not a mask.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Movies]]
[[Category:Superheroes]]

2367: Masks

2026-05-06T00:47:05Z

64.189.140.61:

{{comic
| number = 2367
| date = October 2, 2020
| title = Masks
| image = masks.png
| titletext = Haunted Halloween masks from a mysterious costume shop that turn you evil and grow into your skin score a surprisingly high 80% filtration efficiency in R. L. Stine-sponsored NIOSH tests.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is another in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}.

This comic is a line from top to bottom explaining how good different types of masks are at preventing respiratory virus transmission. This comic may have been inspired from [https://www.polygon.com/entertainment/2020/5/15/21259215/how-to-wear-masks-superhero-costumes-coronavirus-effectiveness a Polygon article published on May 15th].

===Types of masks===
*'''{{w|Zorro}}'''/'''{{w|Lone Ranger}}''': A strip of cloth around the eye-level. Since it does not cover the mouth and nose, the main ways the virus leaves the body to infect others, or the mouth, nose and eyes, the main ways it enters the body, it is ineffective and no better than wearing no mask at all.
*'''{{w|Batman}}''': Batman's iconic headgear has gone through many revisions, and consists either of a simple cloth cowl or a helmet and visor. Does not cover the mouth, but may cover the nose. However, the mask only covers the top part of the face, i.e., not the mouth or nostrils. This mask might be slightly more effective than the Lone Ranger style mask due to the intimidation effect keeping other people back, and depending on its length, it might help direct air that the wearer breathes out down instead of towards others' faces, which would reduce the risk of spreading any respiratory diseases that the wearer may be infected with.
*'''Theater masks''' ({{w|Sock and buskin}}): Traditionally used as a symbol of performance theater since ancient Greece. The eye and mouth holes are often open, thus exposing the wearer.
*'''Skincare''' ({{w|facial mask}}): A layer of mud or moisturizer. By nature, it does not cover the mouth or nostrils, but it may keep the wearer from touching their face and is usually worn by someone sitting in a chair or lying back on a bed, not out getting in other people's personal space.
*'''Scarecrow''': A burlap sack. While it provides some cover to the mouth and nose, it is heavily porous. This could also refer to the {{w|Scarecrow (DC Comics)|Scarecrow}}, a DC Comics villain. If so, the mask would probably be much more effective than an ordinary burlap sack, as that character uses airborne drugs as weapons, and would have to have very good filter ability to protect himself.
*'''{{w|Guy Fawkes mask}}''': A plastic mask that is a stylized depiction of {{w|Guy Fawkes}} (designed by David Lloyd for the comic book ''{{w|V for Vendetta}}'' and made popular by {{w|V for Vendetta (film)|its movie adaptation}} and subsequent adoption by the {{w|Anonymous (group)|Anonymous}} movement). Most Guy Fawkes masks provide small holes in the front for comfort, thus facilitating spread of the virus.
*'''{{w|Cloth face mask|Cloth}}''': A cloth mask that blocks most large particles, like virus-laden saliva. To be most effective, it must cover nose as well as the mouth. These are much cheaper than N95 masks, and can be reused by washing. Not all cloth masks are created equal, some designs and materials are more effective than others at holding back contagious particles, but Randall lists them under "Effective" on the whole. They are relatively effective at preventing the wearer from infecting others, but are less effective at protecting the wearer from being infected by others, because droplets leaving the body are large enough to block, but small enough to get through cloth after evaporation. The felt-like nonwoven fabric of surgical masks blocks more droplets and aerosols than the same thickness of knit or woven fabric.
*'''{{w|Spider-Man|Spiderman}}'''''[sic]'': A full face covering of spandex-like material (Spider-Man comics rarely if ever specify what material Spider-Man makes his costume from). Would block most virus particles. (The correct spelling is "Spider-Man", with a hyphen, and "Man" capitalized.)
*'''{{w|N95 mask|N95}}''': A standard air filtration mask, commonly used in industry but also used in healthcare. The name "N95" signals that it is not resistant to oil, but successfully filters 95% of airborne particles. It has proven to be one of the more successful masks during the 2020 pandemic. N95 masks usually include non-woven filtration material, which is more similar to the felt-like fabric of surgical masks than to woven cloth. N95 masks can [https://youtu.be/eAdanPfQdCA filter particles much smaller] than the gaps between layers and strands in the fabric.
*'''{{w|scuba set|SCUBA}}''': A '''S'''elf-'''C'''ontained '''U'''nderwater '''B'''reathing '''A'''pparatus. Most SCUBA equipment used an open-circuit design allowing exhaled air to vent to the atmosphere. Underwater, this would not be a threat to other divers who would also be breathing air from their tanks. However, on land a typical SCUBA regulator would expose others to virus particles. Closed-circuit SCUBA equipment recirculates the user’s gas supply but they still contain a means of venting extra gas into the atmosphere. Neither system contains expiratory HEPA filters making both ineffective at preventing virus transmission. That all said, SCUBA equipment still covers the face and nose, rather than directly exposing others to unshielded breathing and coughing.
*'''{{w|Darth Vader|Vader}}''': Reference to one of the main antagonists in {{w|''Star Wars''}}, in which he wears a suit of armor with a built-in rebreather. Similar to SCUBA gear, it circulates air back to the user, in order to defend against the spread of the virus to the wearer. The question of whether Vader's mask would protect against COVID was implicitly referenced again in [[2441: IMDb Vaccines]].
*'''{{w|Mysterio}}''': Reference to one of the antagonists in ''{{w|Marvel Comics}}''’ {{w|Spider-Man}} as part of the {{w|Sinister Six}}. He wears a glass helmet. In the comics Mysterio often uses mind-altering chemicals, and his suit is designed to shield himself from his own weapons. By the same design, it would shield himself and others from the spread of viral infection. He might also not even be in your presence if, especially as in the film version, the Mysterio you see is himself currently an illusion.
*'''Haunted Halloween Masks''': The title text is a reference to ''{{w|The Haunted Mask}}'' by {{w|R. L. Stine}}, a book in the {{w|Goosebumps (original series)|''Goosebumps'' series}}. The mask transforms the wearer into a monster, with an open (uncovered) nose and mouth. The test results claim that the wearer is still somehow substantially protected against inhaling virus particles, but this may be a fraudulent test result due to pressure from the sponsor of the test, R. L. Stine, to get more people to wear such masks; it is also possible that the supernatural effects somehow include blocking virus particles, as parasites generally benefit from keeping their hosts alive and healthy, at least in the short term; it is further possible that, due to wearers having a stronger immunity in monster-form, they simply defeat the virus even before suffering its symptoms. NIOSH refers to the ''{{w|National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health}}''.

==Position on chart==
*[With 0% at the top position of the top arrow and 100% effective at the position of the bottom arrow the masks effectiveness would be approximately as follows:]
:[2%] Zorro/Lone Ranger
:[3%] Batman
:[7%] Theater
:[10%] Skincare
:[15%] Scarecrow
:[18%] Guy Fawkes
:[48%] Cloth
:[52%] Spider-Man
:[68%] N95
:[71%] Scuba
:[80%] Vader
:[90%] Mysterio

==Transcript==
:[A chart is shown with a title and explanation at the top:]
:<big>'''Masks'''</big>
:By effectiveness at preventing respiratory virus transmission

:[The chart consist of a vertical line going top to bottom with arrows at both ends. There are labels at the top, around the middle and at the bottom:]
:Not effective.
:Effective
:Extremely Effective

:[Along the line there are 12 bullets. From each bullet there goes a line (often with one or two turns) to a depiction of a type of mask. Each mask type is labeled. The first six masks are all close to the top, the last only halfway down to the middle of the line. The next two are right around the middle, then two are halfway towards the bottom from there and the final two are close to the bottom, with the last very close to the botom. From top to bottom:]
:Zorro/Lone Ranger
:Batman
:Theater
:Skincare
:Scarecrow
:Guy Fawkes
:Cloth
:SpiderMan
:N95
:Scuba
:Vader
:Mysterio

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Comics featuring face masks]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Rankings]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:Superheroes]]

2230: Versus Bracket

2026-05-06T00:46:38Z

64.189.140.61:

{{comic
| number = 2230
| date = November 18, 2019
| title = Versus Bracket
| image = versus_bracket.png
| titletext = Some works didn't make the cut; in "Ecks vs. Sever" vs. the passage of time, the latter seems to have won pretty decisively.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic shows a {{w|tournament bracket}} in which the initial matches represent works of fiction or non-fiction with "versus" (represented as ''versus'', ''vs.'', ''v'', etc) in their names (e.g. Batman is initially matched against Superman in reference to ''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice''). The list includes 13 movies, 2 video games, and one television episode. The works referenced are:
{{spoiler|The following descriptions contain spoilers about each work's titular conflict.}}

* ''{{w|Kramer vs. Kramer}}'', a 1979 legal drama about a couple (the Kramers) divorcing. '''Winner: Kramer''' (Joanna Kramer wins custody of her son in court, but chooses not to take custody of him as he has mostly been raised by his father).

* ''{{w|Ford v Ferrari}}'', a 2019 film (released Nov 15, the weekend before this comic strip was released) about the two auto builders competing to win the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans race. '''Winner: Ford'''

* ''{{w|The People vs. Larry Flynt}}'', a 1996 documentary film about the life of Larry Flynt, creator of adult magazine ''Hustler''. Depicted in the film is the Supreme Court case ''Hustler Magazine v. Falwell'', which ''Hustler'' magazine (and Flynt) won. '''Winner: Larry Flynt'''

* ''{{w|Joe Versus the Volcano}}'', a 1990 romantic comedy about a man, Joe, who offers to throw himself into a volcano on behalf of superstitious natives. Joe does not succeed in pacifying the volcano, as it erupts as soon as he jumps in, although he survives and lands safely in the ocean. '''Winner: Volcano'''

* ''{{w|King Kong vs. Godzilla}}'', a 1962 film pitting the two titular monsters against each other. There is a persistent myth that the Japanese and American cuts of the film have different winners but it is false. At the end of the film, only Kong swims away from an underwater battle. '''Winner: King Kong'''

* ''{{w|Freddy vs. Jason}}'', a 2003 slasher film combining the universes of ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' and the ''Friday the 13th'' series. '''Winner: Jason''', although Freddy's severed head winks and laughs at the end of the movie.

* ''{{w|Dracula vs. Frankenstein}}'', a 1971 horror film. '''Winner: none''' (both monsters kill each other)

* ''{{w|Alien vs. Predator (film)|Alien vs. Predator}}'', a 2004 film in the shared universe of ''Alien'' and ''Predator'' series. The tagline for the film was "Whoever wins...we lose." '''Winner: Predator''', although an Alien chestburster does emerge from the Predator's chest at the end of the film.

* ''{{w|Marvel vs. Capcom}}'', a video game {{w|fighting game}} series combining the {{w|Marvel Universe}} and characters from {{w|Capcom}}. '''Winner: none''' (players can choose and achieve victory with characters from either franchise)

* ''{{w|Marge vs. the Monorail}}'', a 1993 episode of ''The Simpsons'', where Marge leads a campaign against a monorail project in Springfield. This is often considered one of the best ''Simpsons'' episodes of all time. '''Winner: Marge'''

* ''{{w|Justice League vs. Teen Titans}}'', a 2016 direct-to-video animated superhero film. The Justice League and Teen Titans are both superhero teams and usually are on the same side, but in this film, the Justice League are possessed by demons and forced to fight the Titans. The Teen Titans defeat Superman to free him from possession and turn the tide against the rest of the League and defeat the demons. '''Winner: Teen Titans'''

* ''{{w|Asterix Versus Caesar}}'', a 1985 animated film and a film adaptation of the {{w|Asterix}} comic book series. '''Winner: Asterix'''

* ''{{w|Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice}}'', a 2016 superhero film in which Lex Luthor manipulates Batman and Superman into fighting each other. Batman is on the verge of killing Superman when he realizes Lex Luthor's manipulation. They decide to end their hostilities toward each other. Lex Luthor releases {{w|Doomsday (DC Comics)|Doomsday}}, and Superman sacrifices himself to defeat him. '''Winner: Batman'''.

* ''{{w|Scott Pilgrim vs. the World}}'', a 2010 film based on the ''Scott Pilgrim'' graphic novel. Scott Pilgrim does not fight against the entire world; rather, he fights Ramona Flowers's Seven Evil Exes so that he can be her boyfriend. '''Winner: Scott Pilgrim'''

* ''{{w|Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus}}'', a 2009 monster film. '''Winner: none''' (both monsters kill each other)

* ''{{w|Plants vs. Zombies}}'', a 2009 tower defense and strategy video game. The player commands an army of plants who defend their home against the zombie apocalypse. '''Winner: Plants''', assuming the player wins.

Assuming the tournament bracket reflects the results of each original work, the second round would result as follows:
{| class="wikitable"
| • '''Kramer''' vs. '''Ford''' - a newly-single mother against an automotive company.
| • '''Marge''' vs. '''___''' - an American housewife against any possible representative from a superhero comics continuity or a company known for its action games.
|-
| • '''Larry Flynt''' vs. '''Volcano''' - the creator of a magazine against a natural rock formation spewing lava.
| • '''Teen Titans''' vs. '''Asterix''' - a young superhero team against a Gaul warrior with a magic potion of super strength.
|-
| • '''King Kong ''' vs. '''Jason''' - a giant gorilla against an ambiguously-human serial killer.
| • '''Batman''' vs. '''Scott Pilgrim''' - a billionaire-turned-vigilante against an ambiguously superpowered Canadian.
|-
| • '''Predator''' vs. '''(bye)''' - the Predator has no opponent, advances to the next round unopposed.
| • '''Plants''' vs. '''(bye)''' - the plants have no opponent, advance to the next round unopposed.
|}

The title text refers to the 2002 action film ''{{w|Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever}}'', which is qualified to be in this tournament by virtue of having the word "vs." in its title, but as the film is regarded as one of the {{w|List of films considered the worst|worst movies ever made}}, it has been defeated in a pre-entry match vs. "the passage of time" - it is thus not considered worthy of entry in the tournament.

Tournament brackets is a [[:Category:Tournament bracket|recurring subject]] on xkcd, most recently used in [[2131: Emojidome]] and [[2037: Supreme Court Bracket]]. The latter is especially similar to this comic, considering that it also extends normal "versus" situations to a second round. The first bracket comic, [[1529: Bracket]], prompted people to create a series of polls to determine the end results, much like [[Randall]] later did himself with Emojidome. Randall even made [[Header text#2015-06-06_-_Other_news|a reference]] to one of those polls in the [[Header text|header text]].

==Transcript==
:[A tournament bracket tree is shown with 16 participants each on the left and right side. From both sides toward the middle the brackets reduce to eight, then four, two, and one line where the latter join to a rectangle in the middle.]

:[Left side:]
:Kramer - Kramer
:Ford - Ferrari
:The People - Larry Flint
:Joe - The Volcano
:King Kong - Godzilla
:Freddy - Jason
:Dracula - Frankenstein
:Alien - Predator

:[Right side:]
:Marvel - Capcom
:Marge - The Monorail
:Justice League - Teen Titans
:Asterix - Caesar
:Batman - Superman
:Scott Pilgrim - The World
:Mega Shark - Giant Octopus
:Plants - Zombies

== Trivia ==
* The same Twitter account that covered a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1529:_Bracket previous XKCD bracket] over three years ago, [https://twitter.com/xkcdbracket @xkcdbracket], was back to determine the winner of this one by public vote. The Volcano defeated Asterix in the final.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Tournament bracket]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Volcanoes]]
[[Category:Superheroes]]

1970: Name Dominoes

2026-05-06T00:45:56Z

64.189.140.61:

{{comic
| number = 1970
| date = March 21, 2018
| title = Name Dominoes
| image = name_dominoes.png
| titletext = In competition, you can only play a name if you know who the person is. No fair saying "Frank ... Johnson. That sounds like a real person! Let me just Google him real quick."
}}

*A large version of the comic picture can be found [https://xkcd.com/1970/large/ here].
*A numbered version can be found [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1970-_Name_Dominoes_-_The_large_image_with_numbers.jpg here].

==Explanation==
{{w|Dominoes}} is a family of boardgames played with rectangular "domino" tiles. A domino tile is divided into two squares, each displaying a number. Under most rules, a domino tile is placed on the table adjacent to another tile, and the adjacent ends must match in some way (usually by the number displayed on the touching ends). Randall's "name dominoes" shows a set of domino tiles with people's names instead of numbers, and adjacent tiles are matched by whether the closest name is the same (such as how Chris Evans' family name matches Evan Taylor Jones' given name). A large board is covered in rectangular "dominoes" (271 pieces), with each domino bearing the name of a "well-known" person or character (fictional). The dominoes are arranged as if a game of dominoes were being played, but instead of the game requiring the number of spots of adjacent dominoes to match up, this game requires adjacent ''names'' to match up. Because most people have two or more names, different matches are made at each end of a domino. Fun fact is that two of the people are "named after" the game: {{w|Fats Domino}} and {{w|Domino Harvey}}.

The match can be exact (e.g., "Kevin" on one domino adjacent to "Kevin" on another), homonymic (e.g., "Klein" adjacent to "Kline"), nickname-based (e.g., "James" adjacent to "Jimmy", which in turn is adjacent to "Jim"), or gender different versions of a name (e.g., "Olivia" adjacent to "Oliver"). Sometimes last names are matched up with first names (e.g., "{{w|Elizabeth Warren}}" adjacent to "{{w|Warren Beatty}}"), and in some cases only a single name is used (e.g., "{{w|Columbo}}", "{{w|Drake_(musician)|Drake}}", "{{w|Garfield_(character)|Garfield}}", "{{w|Prince_(musician)|Prince}}"). Singular names are represented by a half-size square "domino" (or "{{w|Polyomino|monomino}}"), with a few exceptions: "{{w|Garnet_(Steven_Universe)|Garnet}}" has a full-size tile (a complex reference explained below), and "{{w|Batman}}" and "{{w|Superman}}" have full-size tiles and are placed as though they were two-part names: the first square of "Superman" is matched with "Super", and the second square is matched with the second square of "Batman" (as though both characters had the last name "Man"). Some people have three or more names (e.g., "{{w|Frank Lloyd Wright}}") and have a 3-square domino tile (or "straight {{w|Tromino|tromino}}", 50% longer than normal) which permits matching to a middle name (e.g. "Frank Lloyd Wright" is matched to "{{w|Lloyd Alexander}}" and "{{w|Harold Lloyd}}").

The names come from a wide variety of fields: scientists (e.g., {{w|Isaac Newton}}), historical figures ({{w|George Washington}}), musicians ({{w|Drake (musician)|Drake}}), politicians ({{w|John Kerry}}), actors ({{w|Kevin Costner}}), writers ({{w|Washington Irving}}), fashion designers ({{w|Oscar de la Renta}}), and so on. Most of the names are real people but a few are fictional characters, including some non-human characters like {{w|Garfield_(character)|Garfield}} and {{w|Grover#Super_Grover|Super Grover}}. In one case the nick name for a company is used: {{w|Ma Bell}} aka Bell System. Another "play on names" can be seen on [[1529: Bracket]].

One notable reference beyond just the use of a name is in the bottom left, there is the connection [ {{w|William Safire}} ][ Garnet ][ {{w|Jack Ruby|Ruby, Jack}} ]. The connection seems to be based on the fact that {{w|Sapphire}}, {{w|Garnet}} and {{w|Ruby}} are all {{w|gemstones}}, which does not match the implied rules of the game. This tile is a reference to the character {{w|Garnet_(Steven_Universe)|Garnet}} in the cartoon {{w|Steven Universe}}, who is a "fusion" formed by two Gems: Ruby and Sapphire. Thus, the name "Garnet" is treated as though it was two names "Ruby" and "Sapphire", requiring a two-square tile despite having a one-word name. Randall has previously made references to this universe in [[1608: Hoverboard]]. (See [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/39/1608_1031x1095y_Steven_Universe_family_and_ice_cream_prediction.png this] and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_1077x1109y_Darth_Vaders_talks_about_Steven_Universe_on_the_bridge_Megan_adjust_antenna.png this] image from that comic). Additionally, Ayn Rand, Paul Ryan and Rand Paul have been mentioned before, in the title text of [[1277: Ayn Random]]. That idea may have been the prototype for this. Connecting {{w|Marilyn Manson}} with {{w|Marilyn Monroe}} and {{w|Charles Manson}} is likely a tongue-in-cheek reference, as the musician's stage name was ''literally chosen'' in the same way as this. In at least one case it is not entirely clear who is being referred to: "John Kelly" most likely refers to Gen. {{w|John F. Kelly}}, Donald Trump's chief of staff, but the name is extremely common and could equally refer to {{w|John Kelly|any number of people}}.

The title text spells out a rule that a player may only place a tile if they know who that person is. This is a variation of a rule in {{w|Scrabble}}, where a player loses a turn if their chosen word don't survive a dictionary challenge over the validity of the word. This rule implies that players are allowed to create new name dominoes tiles and that it is not a fixed set. In this case the player that is challenged has used the name Frank Johnson of which there are {{w|Frank Johnson|12 exact matches}} on Wikipedia along with six with a middle name and more. (The player was likely trying to place a tile in the upper-left area of the board, in an attempt to connect the "Frank Vincent" and "Lyndon Johnson" dominoes. The move was subsequently made impossible when the "Francis Drake" domino was played.) In a google search as of the day the comic came out the first hit was {{w|Frank Johnson (basketball)|Frank Johnson}} who is a retired American professional basketball player and coach. Randall has made several [[:Category:Basketball|references to basketball]] in his comics.

==Table of names==
The number # refers to the numbers on this [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1970-_Name_Dominoes_-_The_large_image_with_numbers.jpg numbered picture]. Read more on this page: [[1970: Name Dominoes/Numbered images]].

Wiki links have been tested but may not go to the right place.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
!style="width:15%"|Domino
!style="width:45%"|Notability and notes
!style="width:15%"|Connections
!style="width:20%"|Mode
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|{{w|Christian Campbell}}
|Canadian American stage and screen actor, writer, and photographer. Most likely refers to the actor, but there are also a Trinidadian-Bahamian poet called {{w|Christian Campbell (poet)|Christian Campbell}}.
|Neve Campbell Naomi Campbell
|Last-Last Last-Last
|1
|-
|{{w|Neve Campbell}}
|Canadian actress, known for starring in the movie series {{w|Scream (1996 film)|Scream}}.
|Christian Campbell Joseph Campbell
|Last-Last Last-Last
|2
|-
|{{w|Joe McCarthy}}
|Joseph McCarthy, (also called {{w|Joseph_McCarthy#Legacy|Joe McCarthy}}), served as U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. {{w|McCarthyism}} is named after him. It was the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence, especially caused by fear of Communist influence during the beginning of the cold war. McCarthyism has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from 1947 to 1956.
|Eugene McCarthy Joseph Smith
|Last-Last First-First (approximate)
|3
|-
|{{w|Eugene McCarthy}}
|Eugene Joseph McCarthy was an American politician, poet, and a long-time Congressman from Minnesota. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and the United States Senate from 1959 to 1971. (He is not to be confused with the other Senator McCarthy, Joseph McCarthy, see #3)
|Joe McCarthy Gene Vincent
|Last-Last First-First (approximate)
|4
|-
|{{w|Gene Vincent}}
|American musician who pioneered the styles of rock and roll and rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-A-Lula", is considered a significant early example of rockabilly.
|Eugene McCarthy Gene Kelly Frank Vincent
|First-First (approximate) First-First Last-Last
|5
|-
|{{w|Gene Kelly}}
|American actor and dancer known primarily for musicals such as 'Singing in the rain'
|Gene Vincent John Kelly
|First-First Last-Last
|6
|-
|{{w|Kate Hudson}}
|Golden Globe-winning American actress. Won for playing Penny Lane in Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous in 2000.
|Rock Hudson Katherine Johnson
|Last-Last First-First (approximate)
|7
|-
|{{w|Rock Hudson}}
|American actor who was viewed as a prominent 'heartthrob' of the Hollywood Golden Age, staring as the lead man in many movies during the 1950s and 60s, among other {{w|Giant (1956 film)|Giant}}, James Deans last film, for which both where nominated for an Oscar in the best actor category. He later became known for his secret homosexual life. Hudson died from AIDS-related complications in 1985, becoming the first major celebrity to die from an AIDS-related illness.
|Katie Hudson The Rock
|Last-Last First-Last
|8
|-
|{{w|Gordon Brown}}
|British Prime Minister from 2007-2010.
|James Brown
|Last-Last
|9
|-
|{{w|James Brown}}
|American singer, known as the Godfather of Soul
|Gordon Brown John Brown James Newton Howard
|Last-Last Last-Last First-First
|10
|-
|{{w|John Brown (abolitionist)|John Brown}}
|American abolitionist who led an attack on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry. There are several other {{w|John Brown|John Browns}}.
|James Brown John Howard John Wayne
|Last-Last First-First First-First
|11
|-
|{{w|John Howard}}
|Australian politician. Served as 25th Prime Minister of Australia from 1996-2007. There are several other {{w|John Howard (disambiguation)|John Howards}} but this Prime Minister is by far the best known among them.
|John Brown Howard Stern
|First-First Last-First
|12
|-
|{{w|Columbo}}
|Fictional character. Homicide detective from American TV show "Columbo"; portrayed by actor Peter Falk.
|Chris Columbus
|Only-Last (approximate)
|13
|-
|{{w|Chris Columbus (filmmaker)|Chris Columbus}}
|Film director and screenwriter.
|Columbo Christopher Columbus Chris Hughes
|Last-Only (approximate) First-First (approximate) and Last-Last First-First
|14
|-
|{{w|Christopher Columbus}}
|Italian explorer. Credited with "discovering" the Americas in 1492 by leading voyages and establishing continued ties between Europe and the Americas.
|Chris Columbus
|First-First (approximate) and Last-Last
|15
|-
|{{w|Naomi Campbell}}
|British model and actress.
|Christian Campbell Joseph Campbell Naomi Klein
|Last-Last Last-Last First-First
|16
|-
|{{w|Joseph Campbell}}
|American author. Most known for his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces about the hero type found throughout world mythologies.
|Neve Campbell Naomi Campbell Joseph Smith
|Last-Last Last-Last First-First
|17
|-
|{{w|Joseph Smith}}
|American religious leader; founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other churches in the Christian Restorationist movement. Translator of The Book of Mormon.
|Joe McCarthy Joseph Campbell
|First-First (approximate) First-First
|18
|-
|{{w|Frank Vincent}}
|American actor.
|Gene Vincent Francis Drake
|Last-Last First-First (approximate)
|19
|-
|{{w|John Kelly|John Kelly(1)}}
|Many people are named John Kelly, it is unclear which one Randall is referring to.
|Gene Kelly Katherine Johnson
|Last-Last First-Last (approximate)
|20
|-
|{{w|Katherine Johnson}}
|African-American mathematician at NASA. Calculated trajectories, launch windows, and flight paths for NASA moon missions and the Space Shuttle.
|Kate Hudson John Kelly Lyndon Johnson
|First-First (approximate) Last-First (approximate) Last-Last
|21
|-
|{{w|Dwayne Johnson|The Rock}}
|Nickname for Dwayne Johnson, a pro wrestler, and actor.
|Rock Hudson Chris Rock Oscar the Grouch
|Last-First Last-Last First-Middle
|22
|-
|{{w|Chris Rock}}
|American comedian.
|The Rock Chris Isaac
|Last-Last First-First
|23
|-
|{{w|Chris Isaac}}
|Former quarterback in the Canadian Football League. Probable misspelling of {{w|Chris Isaak}}, American musician.
|Chris Rock Isaac Newton
|First-First Last-First
|24
|-
|{{w|James Newton Howard}}
|American composer, conductor, music producer and musician.
|James Brown Isaac Newton Wayne Newton Wayne Howard
|First-First Middle-Last Middle-Last Last-Last
|25
|-
|{{w|John Wayne}}
|American actor, known primarily for roles in Westerns
|John Brown Wayne Newton
|First-First Last-First
|26
|-
|{{w|Howard Stern}}
|Radio talk show host. Known for {{w|The Howard Stern Show}}.
|John Howard Howard Hunt
|First-Last First-First
|27
|-
|{{w|Howard Hunt}}
|Former CIA operative, convicted for Watergate burglary.
|Howard Stern Helen Hunt
|First-First Last-Last
|28
|-
|{{w|Chris Hughes}}
|American entrepreneur who co-founded Facebook with Mark Zuckerberg.
|Chris Columbus Helen Hughes
|First-First Last-Last
|29
|-
|{{w|Naomi Watts}}
| Australian actress, born in Britain
|Naomi Klein James Watt (steam)
|First-First Last-Last (approximate)
|30
|-
|{{w|Naomi Klein}}
|Best known for the book "No Logo"
|Naomi Campbell Naomi Watts Kevin Kline
|First-First First-First Last-Last (approximate)
|31
|-
|{{w|Kevin Kline}}
|American actor
|Naomi Klein Kevin Bacon
|Last-Last (approximate) First-First
|32
|-
|{{w|Francis Bacon}}
|16th century English philosopher. Commonly credited with the phrase "knowledge is power".
|Francis Drake Kevin Bacon
|First-First Last-Last
|33
|-
|{{w|Francis Drake}}
|English privateer
|Frank Vincent Francis Bacon Frank Drake
|First-First (approximate) First-First First-First (approximate)
|34
|-
|{{w|Lyndon Johnson}}
|Former American president (1963-1969)
|Katherine Johnson
|Last-Last
|35
|-
|{{w|Oscar the Grouch}}
|A muppet who lives in a trash can from the children's TV show {{w|Sesame Street}}.
|The Rock Oscar Isaac
|Middle-First First-First
|36
|-
|{{w|Oscar Isaac}}
|Actor.
|Oscar the Grouch Isaac Hayes Oscar de la Hoya
|First-First Last-First First-First
|37
|-
|{{w|Isaac Hayes}}
|American singer-songwriter
|Oscar Isaac Isaac Newton Sean Hayes
|First-Last First-First Last-Last
|38
|-
|{{w|Isaac Newton}}
|Well-known 17th century physicist who discovered the three laws of motion.
|Chris Isaac James Newton Howard Isaac Hayes
|First-Last Last-Middle First-First
|39
|-
|{{w|Wayne Newton}}
|Musician.
|James Newton Howard John Wayne Wayne Knight
|Last-Middle First-Last First-First
|40
|-
|{{w|Wayne Knight}}
|American actor best known for playing Newman in the TV show {{w|Seinfeld}}.
|Wayne Newton Wayne Brady
|First-First First-First
|41
|-
|{{w|Helen Hunt}}
|American actress
|Howard Hunt Helen Hughes Helen Thomas
|Last-Last First-First First-First
|42
|-
|{{w|Helen Hughes (economist)|Helen Hughes}}
|Australian economist
|Chris Hughes Helen Hunt
|Last-Last First-First
|43
|-
|{{w|James Watt|James Watt (Steam)}}
|Scottish inventor who perfected on the earlier Newcomen steam engine with a design that made it practical for widespread use and is credited with helping to usher in the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain. His name became the SI unit for power.
|Naomi Watts James Watt (Interior) Stephen James
|Last-Last (approximate) First-First and Last-Last First-Last
|44
|-
|{{w|James G. Watt|James Watt (Interior)}}
|U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 1981-1983
|James Watt (Steam)
|First-First and Last-Last
|45
|-
|{{w|Kevin Costner}}
|Academy Award-winning American actor.
|Kevin Bacon Kevin Love
|First-First First-First
|46
|-
|{{w|Kevin Bacon}}
|American actor. Known for {{w|Footloose (1984 film)|Footloose}}, and for {{w|Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon}}.
|Kevin Kline Francis Bacon Kevin Costner
|First-First Last-Last First-First
|47
|-
|{{w|Kevin Love}}
|Relatively famous and accomplished professional basketball player who won an NBA championship with the much more famous and accomplished LeBron James in Cleveland.
|Kevin Costner Kevin Smith
|First-First First-First
|48
|-
|{{w|Lisa Frank}}
|American businesswoman who founded {{w|Lisa Frank Incorporated}}.
|Frank Drake
|Last-First
|49
|-
|{{w|Frank Drake}}
|American astronomer and astrophysicist.
|Francis Drake Lisa Frank Drake
|Last-Last First-Last Last-Only
|50
|-
|{{w|Drake (musician)|Drake}}
|Grammy Award-winning Canadian rapper.
|Frank Drake
|Only-Last
|51
|-
|{{w|Oscar de la Renta}}
|Fashion designer.
|Oscar de la Hoya
|First-First
|52
|-
|{{w|Oscar de la Hoya}}
|Professional boxer who won multiple titles in different weight classes as well as an Olympic gold medal before his retirement in 2009.
|Oscar Isaac Oscar de la Renta
|First-First First-First
|53
|-
|{{w|Sean Hayes (actor)|Sean Hayes}}
|Sean Hayes is an American actor, singer, comedian, and producer. He is best known for his role as Jack McFarland on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace.
|Isaac Hayes Wallace Shawn
|Last-Last First-Last (approximate)
|54
|-
|{{w|Wallace Shawn}}
|American actor. Vizzini in The Princess Bride
|George Wallace Charles Wallace Sean Hayes
|First-Last First-Last Last-First (approximate)
|55
|-
|{{w|Wayne Howard}}
|African-American comic book artist. Best known for his work in the 1970s at Charlton Comics.
|James Newton Howard Wayne Brady
|Last-Last First-First
|56
|-
|{{w|Wayne Brady}}
|American comedian, known for {{w|Whose Line Is It Anyway? (U.S. TV series)|Whose Line Is It Anyway?}}
|Wayne Howard Wayne Knight James Brady Tom Brady
|First-First First-First Last-Last Last-Last
|57
|-
|{{w|James Brady}}
|White House Press Secretary for US President Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) who was shot during an assassination attempt against Reagan in 1981. Subsequent gun control legislation known as the "Brady Bill" was named for him.
|Wayne Brady James Monroe
|Last-Last First-First
|58
|-
|{{w|Tom Brady}}
|Quarterback for the {{w|New England Patriots}}. Notable for winning 6 Super Bowls for the Patriots, and 1 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 7 Super Bowls, and NFL record. Regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, if not the greatest.
|James Brady Helen Thomas
|Last-Last First-Last (approximate)
|59
|-
|{{w|Helen Thomas}}
|American reporter and author best known for her longtime membership in the White House press corps—from the start of the Kennedy administration to the second year of the Obama administration.
|Helen Hunt Tom Brady Tom Hanks
|First-First Last-Last (approximate) Last-Last (approximate)
|60
|-
|{{w|Tom Hanks}}
|Academy award winning actor. Known for {{w|Forrest Gump}}, {{w|Saving Private Ryan}}, {{w|Cast Away}}, and several other famous films.
|Helen Thomas Hank Aaron Hank Williams
|First-Last (approximate) Last-First (approximate) Last-First (approximate)
|61
|-
|{{w|Hank Aaron}}
|Former Major League Baseball player. Hit 755 career home runs, a record at the time.
|Tom Hanks Aaron Carter
|First-Last (approximate) Last-First
|62
|-
|{{w|Aaron Carter}}
|American singer.
|Hank Aaron
|First-Last
|63
|-
|{{w|Stephen James (model)|Stephen James}}
|British model and former footballer
|James Watt (Steam) Steve Harvey
|Last-First First-First (approximate)
|64
|-
|{{w|Will Smith}}
|American actor. Known for {{w|The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air}}
|Kevin Smith
|Last-Last
|65
|-
|{{w|Kevin Smith}}
|American writer and director of {{w|Clerks}} and other films who often also plays the character Silent Bob in his films.
|Will Smith Kevin Love Kevin James
|Last-Last First-First First-First
|66
|-
|{{w|Kevin James}}
|American actor. Known for {{w|Paul Blart: Mall Cop}}
|Kevin Smith James Saint James
|First-First Last-Last
|67
|-
|{{w|Garfield (character)|Garfield}}
|A fictional cat and the star of the eponymous ''{{w|Garfield}}'' comic by {{w|Jim Davis (cartoonist)|Jim Davis}}. Previously appeared in [[78: Garfield]].
|James Garfield
|Only-Last
|68
|-
|{{w|James Garfield}}
|20th President of the United States. Notably, he was assassinated after only 6 months.
|Garfield Etta James James Saint James
|Last-Only First-Last First-Last
|69
|-
|{{w|Warren Buffett}}
|Billionaire and CEO of {{w|Berkshire Hathaway}}.
|Jimmy Buffett Warren Beatty
|Last-Last First-First
|70
|-
|{{w|Jimmy Buffett}}
|American country musician.
|Etta James Warren Buffett Jim Jones
|First-Last (approximate) Last-Last First-First (approximate)
|71
|-
|{{w|Warren Beatty}}
|Actor.
|Warren Buffett Elizabeth Warren
|First-First First-Last
|72
|-
|{{w|Elizabeth Warren}}
|Massachusetts Senator since 2013. Known for her work as a consumer rights activist.
|Warren Beatty Earl Warren Elizabeth Kolbert
|Last-First Last-Last First-First
|73
|-
|{{w|Earl Warren}}
|Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1953 to 1969. Presided over several landmark cases including ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'' (ruled segregation of public schools unconstitutional), ''Reynolds v. Sims'' (electoral districts for state legislature must be equal in population), and ''Miranda v. Arizona'' (suspects detained by police must be informed of their rights as an accused).
|Elizabeth Warren James Earl Jones
|Last-Last First-Middle
|74
|-
|{{w|Elizabeth Kolbert}}
|American journalist and author. Best known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History.
|Elizabeth Warren Stephen Colbert
|First-First Last-Last (approximate)
|75
|-
|{{w|Stephen Colbert}}
|American talk show host. Known for {{w|The Colbert Report}} and {{w|The Late Show with Stephen Colbert}}
|Elizabeth Kolbert
|Last-Last (approximate)
|76
|-
|{{w|George Wallace}}
|American politician, who initially supported, but later renounced racial segregation.
|Wallace Shawn
|Last-First
|77
|-
|{{w|Charles William Wallace|Charles Wallace}}
|American scholar and researcher. Famed for his discoveries in the field of English Renaissance theatre.
|Wallace Shawn Charles Manson
|Last-First First-First
|78
|-
|{{w|James Monroe}}
|Founding father and Fifth president of the USA
|James Brady Marilyn Monroe
|First-First Last-Last
|79
|-
|{{w|Marilyn Monroe}}
|American actress and pin-up model from the 50s. She was immensely famous during her time, and unexpectedly committed suicide at age 36.
|James Monroe Marilyn Manson
|Last-Last First-First
|80
|-
|{{w|Hank Williams}}
|Country singer
|Tom Hanks William C. Williams Robin Williams
|First-Last (approximate) Last-Last Last-Last
|81
|-
|{{w|William C. Williams}}
|American poet closely associated with modernism and imagism.
|Hank Williams Billy D. Williams
|Last-Last First-First (approximate) and Last-Last
|82
|-
|{{w|Steve Harvey}}
|Host of {{w|Family Feud}}.
|Stephen James Domino Harvey
|First-First (approximate) Last-Last
|83
|-
|{{w|Domino Harvey}}
|British bounty hunter in the United States. Her fame was increased posthumously by the 2005 release of the film Domino.
|Steve Harvey Harvey Milk Fats Domino
|Last-Last Last-First First-Last
|84
|-
|{{w|Harvey Milk}}
|American politician and gay rights activist.
|Domino Harvey
|First-Last
|85
|-
|{{w|James St. James|James Saint James}}
|television personality, author, celebutante, frequent collaborator with Mathu Andersen.
|Kevin James James Garfield Jimmy John
|Last-Last Last-First First-First (approximate)
|86
|-
|{{w|Etta James|Etta James (1)}}
|American Singer. Used again in 268.
|James Garfield Jimmy Buffett
|Last-First Last-First (approximate)
|87
|-
|{{w|Jim Jones}}
|Cult leader behind the 1978 {{w|Jonestown}} mass suicide in Guyana.
|Jimmy Buffett James Earl Jones Tom Jones
|First-First (approximate) Last-Last Last-Last
|88
|-
|{{w|James Earl Jones}}
|American actor. Voiced {{w|Darth Vader}} in the original Star Wars.
|Earl Warren Jim Jones Quincy Jones James Earl Ray
|Middle-First Last-Last Last-Last First-First
|89
|-
|{{w|Charlie Parker}}
|Jazz musician.
|Ray Parker Jr. Charles Manson
|Last-Last First-First (approximate)
|90
|-
|{{w|Ray Parker Jr.}}
|Singer and songwriter who wrote and performed the theme song to the 1984 film {{w|Ghostbusters}}.
|Charlie Parker Man Ray Rachael Ray
|Last-Last First-Last First-Last
|91
|-
|{{w|Ray Charles}}
|American blues musician. Blind from the age of 7.
|Charles Manson Rachael Ray Ray Allen
|Last-First First-Last First-First
|92
|-
|{{w|Charles Manson}}
|Cult leader of the {{w|Manson Family}}. Convicted of 7 murders; used Beatles songs as bases.
|Charles Wallace Charlie Parker Ray Charles Marilyn Manson
|First-First First-First (approximate) First-Last Last-Last
|93
|-
|{{w|Marilyn Manson}}
|American musician. Known for esoteric performances.
|Marilyn Monroe Charles Manson
|First-First Last-Last
|94
|-
|{{w|Robin Williams}}
|American stand up comedian. Voiced the Genie in {{w|Aladdin (1992 Disney film)|Aladdin}}.
|Hank Williams Billy D. Williams Robin Wright
|Last-Last Last-Last First-First
|95
|-
|{{w|Billy D. Williams}}
|American actor best known for playing {{w|Lando Calrissian}} in ''{{w|The Empire Strikes Back}}'' and ''{{w|Return of the Jedi}}''.
|William C. Williams Robin Williams Will Wright
|First-First (approximate) and Last-Last Last-Last First-First (approximate)
|96
|-
|{{w|Will Wright (game designer)|Will Wright}}
|American video game designer and co-founder of the former game development company Maxis.
|Billy D. Williams Robin Wright Wilber Wright
|First-First (approximate) Last-Last Last-Last
|97
|-
|{{w|Fats Domino}}
|Jazz musician.
|Domino Harvey Fatty Arbuckle
|Last-First First-First (approximate)
|98
|-
|{{w|Bill Clinton}}
|42nd president of the United States. His wife, {{w|Hillary Clinton}}, ran against [[Donald Trump]] in the 2016 presidential election and was Secretary of State.
|George Clinton
|Last-Last
|99
|-
|{{w|Jimmy John}}
|Founder of the sandwich shop chain Jimmy John's.
|James Saint James John Kerry
|First-First (approximate) Last-First
|100
|-
|{{w|Tom Jones}}
|Can refer to the Welsh Singer or to the fictional character from the book of the same name by Henry Fielding
|Jim Jones Tommy John Quincy Jones
|Last-Last First-First (approximate) Last-Last
|101
|-
|{{w|Tommy John}}
|Former baseball pitcher who had a surgical graft done to replace a blown ligament in his pitching elbow in 1974; the procedure is now called Tommy John surgery.
|Tom Jones John Irving John Quincy Adams
|First-First (approximate) Last-First Last-First
|102
|-
|{{w|Quincy Jones}}
|American Jazz musician
|James Earl Jones Tom Jones John Quincy Adams
|Last-Last Last-Last First-Middle
|103
|-
|{{w|James Earl Ray}}
|Killer of Martin Luther King Jr.
|James Earl Jones Man Ray
|First-First Last-Last
|104
|-
|{{w|Man Ray}}
|Photographer (Dada, Surrealism). Possibly referring to the SpongeBob villain.
|Ray Parker Jr. James Earl Ray Batman
|Last-First Last-Last First-Last
|105
|-
|{{w|Rachel Ray}}
|Celebrity chef.
|Ray Parker Jr. Ray Charles
|Last-First Last-First
|106
|-
|{{w|Ray Allen}}
|Professional basketball player who retired in 2013. Won two NBA championships with the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat, making him the second teammate of {{w|LeBron James}} to appear on this list.
|Ray Charles Tim Allen
|First-First Last-Last
|107
|-
|{{w|Tim Allen}}
|American comedic actor. Created and starred in the long running sitcom "Home Improvement". Voiced Buzz Lightyear in {{w|Toy Story}}.
|Ray Allen Tim Cook Lily Allen
|Last-Last First-First Last-Last
|108
|-
|{{w|Tim Cook}}
|Current (as of the time of this comic) Chief Executive Officer of {{w|Apple, Inc.}}
|Tim Allen Tim Howard
|First-First First-First
|109
|-
|{{w|Tim Howard}}
|Former goalkeeper for the United States men's national soccer team. Holds the record for most saves made in a World Cup match (15 against Belgium in 2010).
|Tim Cook Ron Howard
|First-First Last-Last
|110
|-
|{{w|Robin Wright}}
|American actress, aka Robin Wright-Penn
|Robin Williams Will Wright
|First-First Last-Last
|111
|-
|{{w|Wilbur Wright}}
|One of the two Wright Brothers (the other was Orville) who made the world's first powered flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903.
|Will Wright
|Last-Last
|112
|-
|{{w|Fatty Arbuckle}}
|Comedian.
|Fats Domino Fat Joe
|First-First (approximate) First-First (approximate)
|113
|-
|{{w|Fat Joe}}
|Real name Joseph Antonio Cartagena, rapper.
|Fatty Arbuckle Joe Kennedy
|First-First (approximate) Last-First
|114
|-
|{{w|George Clinton}}
|Could be either the {{w|George Clinton (vice president)|19th Century politician}} who served as Governor of New York and later as Vice President under {{w|Thomas Jefferson}} and {{w|James Madison}}, or the {{w|George Clinton (musician)|musician}} who rose to fame in the 1970's as one of the biggest acts in funk music and entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
|Bill Clinton George Washington
|Last-Last First-First
|115
|-
|{{w|John Kerry}}
|Secretary of State under {{w|Barack Obama}}. Ran against {{w|George W. Bush}} in the 2004 presidential election.
|Jimmy John Kerry Washington John Irving
|First-Last Last-First First-First
|116
|-
|{{w|Kerry Washington}}
|Actress in the TV show Scandal.
|John Kerry George Washington Washington Irving
|First-Last Last-Last Last-First
|117
|-
|{{w|John Irving}}
|Author.
|Tommy John John Kerry Washington Irving
|First-Last First-First Last-Last
|118
|-
|{{w|John Quincy Adams}}
|Sixth president of the United States and son of John Adams.
|Tommy John Quincy Jones John Adams
|First-Last Middle-First Last-Last
|119
|-
|{{w|John Adams}}
|Second president of the United States and father of John Quincy Adams.
|John Quincy Adams Amy Adams Jack Ma
|First-First Last-Last First-First (approximate)
|120
|-
|{{w|Amy Adams}}
|American actress.
|John Adams Aimee Mann
|Last-Last First-First (approximate)
|121
|-
|{{w|Aimee Mann}}
|Singer and songwriter.
|Amy Adams Batman
|First-First (approximate) Last-Last (approximate)
|122
|-
|{{w|Superman}}
|Superhero owned by DC comics who can fly and has super strength/invincibility.
|Batman Super Grover
|Last-Last First-First
|123
|-
|{{w|Batman}}
|Superhero owned by DC comics.
|Man Ray Aimee Mann Superman
|Last-First Last-Last Last-Last
|124
|-
|{{w|Ayn Rand}}
|Russian political author, known for {{w|Atlas Shrugged}}. XKCD frequently makes fun of Rand's philosophy.
|Rand Paul
|Last-First
|125
|-
|{{w|Lily Allen}}
|British singer-songwriter, sometime actress.
|Tim Allen Paul Allen
|Last-Last Last-Last
|126
|-
|{{w|Paul Allen}}
|Co-founder of {{w|Microsoft}} along with Bill Gates and current owner of several professional sports teams in the Pacific Northwest (Seattle Seahawks, Portland Trail Blazers, part of Seattle Sounders FC).
|Lily Allen Rand Paul
|Last-Last First-Last
|127
|-
|{{w|Ron Howard}}
|Actor and director. Most famously acted in ''{{w|Happy Days}}''; later directed ''{{w|Apollo 13 (film)|Apollo 13}}''.
|Tim Howard Howard Hughes Ron Paul
|Last-Last Last-First First-First
|128
|-
|{{w|Howard Hughes}}
|American business tycoon
|Ron Howard John Hughes Langston Hughes
|First-Last Last-Last Last-Last
|129
|-
|{{w|Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.|Joe Kennedy}}
|US ambassador to the United Kingdom and father of [[John F. Kennedy]].
|Fat Joe John F. Kennedy
|First-Last Last-Last
|130
|-
|{{w|George Bush}}
|{{w|George H. W. Bush}} and {{w|George W. Bush}} (father and son, respectively), were both presidents of the United States.
|George Washington
|First-First
|131
|-
|{{w|George Washington}}
|First president of the United States, and general during the Revolutionary War.
|George Clinton Kerry Washington George Bush
|First-First Last-Last First-First
|132
|-
|{{w|Washington Irving}}
|Short story author who wrote "{{w|Rip Van Winkle}}" and "{{w|The Legend of Sleepy Hollow}}"
|Kerry Washington John Irving Martha Washington
|First-Last Last-Last First-Last
|133
|-
|{{w|Martha Washington}}
|Wife of George Washington.
|Washington Irving Martha Stewart
|Last-First First-First
|134
|-
|{{w|Ma Rainey}}
|Singer dubbed "Mother of the Blues"
|Jack Ma Yo-Yo Ma
|First-Last First-Last
|135
|-
|{{w|Jack Ma}}
|Prominent Chinese business tycoon. Co-founder and executive chairman of the {{w|Alibaba Group}}
|John Adams Ma Rainey Ma Bell
|First-First (approximate) Last-First Last-First
|136
|-
|{{w|Super Grover}}
|Superhero identity of the character Grover from {{w|Sesame Street}}
|Superman Grover Cleveland
|First-First Last-First
|137
|-
|{{w|Jack Black}}
|Singer and actor.
|Jack Ryan
|First-First
|138
|-
|{{w|Rand Paul}}
|Republican senator from Kentucky; member of the {{w|Tea Party movement}}. Ran in the 2016 Republican presidential primary.
|Ayn Rand Paul Allen Paul Ryan
|First-Last Last-First Last-First
|139
|-
|{{w|Paul Ryan}}
|Republican representative from Wisconsin. Served as Speaker of the House at the time this comic was published.
|Rand Paul Debby Ryan
|First-Last Last-Last
|140
|-
|{{w|Paul Simon}}
|Eponymous member of {{w|Simon & Garfunkel}}.
|Ron Paul Carly Simon
|First-Last Last-Last
|141
|-
|[[Ron Paul]]
|Libertarian politician. Known for running for president in many elections and mentioned often in xkcd.
|Ron Howard Paul Simon
|First-First Last-First
|142
|-
|{{w|John Hughes (filmmaker)|John Hughes}}
|Director famed for a series of 1980s coming of age movies including "Sixteen Candles", "The Breakfast Club", and "Pretty in Pink"
|Howard Hughes Charles Evans Hughes
|Last-Last Last-Last
|143
|-
|{{w|Langston Hughes}}
|American poet prominent during the {{w|Harlem Renaissance}}
|Howard Hughes
|Last-Last
|144
|-
|[[John F. Kennedy]]
|35th president of the United States. Known for his public assassination during a parade, now the subject of many conspiracy theories.
|Joe Kennedy John Williams
|Last-Last First-First
|145
|-
|{{w|Little Richard}}
|Early rock and roll singer known for his energetic and flamboyant style on songs such as "Tutti Frutti" and "Long Tall Sally"
|Rich Little Little John
|First-Last and Last-First (approximate) First-First
|146
|-
|{{w|Rich Little}}
|American comedian known for his impressions of numerous celebrities and public figures
|Little Richard Stuart Little
|First-Last (approximate) and Last-First Last-Last
|147
|-
|{{w|Martha Stewart}}
|American TV personality. Convicted of insider trading in 2004.
|Martha Washington Kristen Stewart
|First-First Last-Last
|148
|-
|{{w|Yo-Yo Ma}}
|Chinese cellist. Known for winning 18 Grammys; considered a child prodigy.
|Ma Rainey Ma Bell
|Last-First Last-First
|149
|-
|{{w|Ma Bell}}
|AKA Bell System, the system of companies, led by the Bell Telephone Company and later by AT&T, which provided telephone services to much of the United States and Canada from 1877 to 1984.
|Jack Ma Yo-Yo Ma
|First-Last First-Last
|150
|-
|{{w|Grover Cleveland Alexander}}
|Pitcher named after the president; co-holds record for most wins by a pitcher in the National League (374).
|Grover Cleveland Alexander Graham Bell Lloyd Alexander
|First-First ''and'' Middle-Last Last-First LAst-Last
|151
|-
|{{w|Grover Cleveland}}
|22nd and 24th president of the United States. Notably the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms.
|Super Grover Grover Cleveland Alexander
|First-Last First-First ''and'' Last-Middle
|152
|-
|{{w|Jack White}}
|American musician. Part of {{w|The White Stripes}}.
|Jack Ryan Meg White
|First-First Last-Last
|153
|-
|{{w|Jack Ryan (character)|Jack Ryan}}
|Fictional character in the novels by Tom Clancy. Portrayed in Movies by Harrison Ford, Alec Baldwin, and Ben Affleck.
|Jack Black Jack White Debby Ryan Meg Ryan
|First-First First-First Last-Last Last-Last
|154
|-
|{{w|Debby Ryan}}
|American actress and singer. She starred as Bailey Pickett on The Suite Life on Deck
|Paul Ryan Jack Ryan Debbie Reynolds
|Last-Last Last-Last First-First (approximate)
|155
|-
|{{w|Carly Simon}}
|Singer. {{w|You're So Vain}} referenced on xkcd in [[1501: Mysteries]].
|Paul Simon Carly Hughes
|Last-Last First-First
|156
|-
|{{w|Carly Hughes}}
|Actress
|Carly Simon Charles Evans Hughes Carly Fiorina
|First-First Last-Last First-First
|157
|-
|{{w|Charles Evans Hughes}}
|Was an American statesman, Republican Party politician, and the 11th Chief Justice of the United States.
|John Hughes Carly Hughes
|Last-Last Last-Last
|158
|-
|{{w|John Williams}}
|American composer. Known for many famous movie soundtracks, including Star Wars and Harry Potter.
|John F. Kennedy Little John William Safire
|First-First First-Last Last-First (approximate)
|159
|-
|{{w|Little John}}
|Fictional character in the Robin Hood Legend. Known for great stature and strength.
|Little Richard John Williams Stuart Little
|First-First Last-First First-Last
|160
|-
|{{w|Stuart Little}}
|Fictional character by E. B. White, a boy with mouse-like appearance and stature.
|Rich Little Little John Potter Stuart Little Prince
|Last-Last Last-First First-Last Last-First
|161
|-
|{{w|Potter Stewart}}
|Was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from 1958 to 1981.
|Stuart Little Kristen Stewart Harry Potter
|Last-First (approximate) Last-Last First-Last
|162
|-
|{{w|Kristen Stewart}}
|American actress. Known for {{w|Twilight (2008 film)|Twilight}}.
|Martha Stewart Potter Stewart Kristen Bell
|Last-Last Last-Last First-First
|163
|-
|{{w|Kristen Bell}}
|American actress, known for various romantic comedies.
|Kristen Stewart Bell Hooks
|First-First Last-First
|164
|-
|{{w|Bell Hooks}}
|American author, professor, feminist, and social activist.
|Kristen Bell Alexander Graham Bell James Hook
|First-Last First-Last Last-Last (approximate)
|165
|-
|{{w|Alexander Graham Bell}}
|Scottish inventor, credited with inventing the telephone.
|Ma Bell Grover Cleveland Alexander Bell Hooks Franklin Graham
|Last-Last First-Last Last-First Middle-Last
|166
|-
|{{w|Franklin Graham}}
| Christian evangelist and missionary. He is currently president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) and of Samaritan's Purse.
|Alexander Graham Bell Aretha Franklin
|Last-Middle First-Last
|167
|-
|{{w|Lloyd Alexander}}
|American author of more than forty books, primarily fantasy novels for children and young adults.
|Grover Cleveland Alexander Frank Lloyd Wright
|Last-Last First-Middle
|168
|-
|{{w|Meg White}}
|Drummer. The other half of The White Stripes.
|Jack White Meg Ryan Barry White
|Last-Last First-First Last-Last
|169
|-
|{{w|Meg Ryan}}
|American actress. Known for 'When Harry met Sally'
|Jack Ryan Meg White
|Last-Last First-First
|170
|-
|{{w|Debbie Reynolds}}
|American singer and actress.
|Debby Ryan John Reynolds
|First-First (approximate) Last-Last
|171
|-
|{{w|John Reynolds}}
|It is unclear which John Reynold Randall is refering to, Like one of the science-oriented ones.
|Debbie Reynolds John Kelly
|Last-Last First-First
|172
|-
|{{w|Carly Fiorina}}
|Former CEO of {{w|Hewlett-Packard}}. Ran for president in the 2016 Republican primaries.
|Carly Hughes
|First-First
|173
|-
|{{w|Grace Lee Boggs}}
|American author, social activist, philosopher and feminist.
|Wade Boggs Grace Lee Nancy Grace
|Last-Last First-First ''and'' Middle-Last First-Last
|174
|-
|{{w|Wade Boggs}}
|American baseball player. Played with the {{w|Boston Red Sox}}.
|Grace Lee Boggs
|Last-Last
|175
|-
|{{w|William Safire}}
|Writer and publicist.
|John Williams Prince William Garnet
|First-Last (approxiamte) First-Last Last-Only (as a Sapphire gem stone and fused together with Ruby to form Garnet.)
|176
|-
|{{w|Prince William}}
|Member of the British Royal Family. Second in line for succession to the throne.
|William Safire Little Prince Prince
|Last-First First-Last First-Only
|177
|-
|{{w|Little Prince}}
|One of the main characters of ''{{w|The Little Prince}}'', a novella by {{w|Antoine de Saint-Exupéry}}. The Little Prince has previously appeared in [[618: Asteroid]], as well as [http://what-if.xkcd.com/68 article 68] of ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]''.
|Stuart Little Prince William Prince Harry
|First-Last First-First First-First
|178
|-
|{{w|Harry Potter (character)|Harry Potter}}
|Fictional main character in the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
|Potter Stewart James Potter Prince Harry
|Last-First Last-Last First-Last
|179
|-
|{{w|James Potter (character)|James Potter}}
|Fictional character, father of Harry Potter.
|Harry Potter James Dean
|Last-Last First-First
|180
|-
|{{w|Captain Hook|James Hook}}
|Fictional character from 'Peter Pan'
|Bell Hooks James Dean
|Last-Last (approximate) First-First
|181
|-
|{{w|James Dean}}
|American actor and teen icon. Starred in the films "Rebel Without a Cause", "East of Eden" and "Giant" before his sudden death in a car accident
|James Potter James Hook John Dean
|First-First First-First Last-Last
|182
|-
|{{w|Aretha Franklin}}
|Soul singer, first woman to be inducted into the hall of fame and performer of Respect.
|Franklin Graham Frank Lloyd Wright Benjamin Franklin
|Last-First Last-First (approximate) Last-Last
|183
|-
|{{w|Frank Lloyd Wright}}
|American architect, known for his unconventional buildings such as Fallingwater and the Guggenheim.
|Lloyd Alexander Aretha Franklin Harold Lloyd
|Middle-First First-Last (approximate) Middle-Last
|184
|-
|{{w|Barry White}}
|American soul singer known for his deep, rich voice on songs such as "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe"
|Meg White Walter White
|Last-Last Last-Last
|185
|-
|{{w|Walter White (Breaking Bad)|Walter White}}
|Main character from the TV show {{w|Breaking Bad}}.
|Barry White Betty White
|Last-Last Last-Last
|186
|-
|{{w|Walt Whitman}}
|American poet. {{w|Walt Whitman Bridge|A bridge in Philadelphia}} was named after him.
|Walter White Meg Whitman
|First-First (approximate) Last-Last
|187
|-
|{{w|John Kelly|John Kelly(2)}}
|Likely a different John Kelly than appears at tile 20
|John Reynolds Megyn Kelly
|First-First Last-Last
|188
|-
|{{w|Grace Lee}}
|Korean television host and radio disc jockey
|Grace Lee Boggs Grace Kelly
|First-First ''and'' Last-Middle First-First
|189
|-
|{{w|Nancy Grace}}
|American legal commentator and television journalist.She was the host of Nancy Grace.
|Grace Lee Boggs
|Last-First
|190
|-
|{{w|Garnet_(Steven_Universe)|Garnet}}
|A {{w|garnet}} is a gem stone and the two names around here are {{w|William Safire}} (almost {{w|Sapphire}}) and {{w|Jack Ruby}} as in {{w|Ruby}}. But it is not just used because they are all {{w|gemstones}}. It is instead a reference to the character {{w|Garnet_(Steven_Universe)|Garnet}} in the cartoon {{w|Steven Universe}}. She is a "fusion" formed by two gems: Ruby and Sapphire, hence the legal connection in the Name Dominoes... Randall has previously made references to this universe in [[1608: Hoverboard]]. (See [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/39/1608_1031x1095y_Steven_Universe_family_and_ice_cream_prediction.png this] and [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_1077x1109y_Darth_Vaders_talks_about_Steven_Universe_on_the_bridge_Megan_adjust_antenna.png this] image from that comic).
|{{w|William Safire}} {{w|Jack Ruby}}
|Last-Only (as a Sapphire gem stone) Last-Only (as a Ruby gem stone) Both used to fuse together to form Garnet.
|191
|-
|{{w|Prince (musician)|Prince}}
|American musician, part of the Rock and Roll hall of fame. He died two years prior to the release of this comic.
|Prince William Prince Harry
|Only-First Only-First
|192
|-
|{{w|Prince Fielder}}
|Professional baseball player who retired in 2016 after playing for the Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers, and Texas Rangers.
|Prince Harry Harry Fielder
|First-First Last-Last
|193
|-
|{{w|Prince Harry}}
|Member of the British royal family. Currently sixth in line for succession to the throne.
|Little Prince Harry Potter Prince Prince Fielder
|First-Last Last-First First-Only First-First
|194
|-
|{{w|Harry Styles}}
|Singer from One Direction.
|Harry Truman Harry Jon Benjamin
|First-First First-First
|195
|-
|{{w|John Dean}}
|former attorney who served as White House Counsel for United States President Richard Nixon from July 1970 until April 1973.
|James Dean Harry Jon Benjamin
|Last-Last First-Middle (approximate)
|196
|-
|{{w|Benjamin Franklin}}
|One of the founding fathers of the United States. Credited with "discovering" electricity by flying a kite in a thunderstorm.
|Aretha Franklin Benjamin Harrison
|Last-Last First-First
|197
|-
|{{w|Harold Lloyd}}
|American actor, comedian, director, producer, screenwriter, and stunt performer who is best known for his silent comedy films.
|Frank Lloyd Wright Harold Ford
|Last-Middle First-First
|198
|-
|{{w|Harold Ford}}
|American financial managing director, pundit, author, and former U.S. congressmen.
|Harold Lloyd Henry Ford
|First-First Last-Last
|199
|-
|{{w|Betty White}}
|American comedian. Known for {{w|The Golden Girls}}.
|Walter White Betty Friedan
|Last-Last First-First
|200
|-
|{{w|Meg Whitman}}
|American business executive, former CEO of eBay and Hewlett Packard, unsuccessful candidate for California governor in 2010
|Walt Whitman Christine Todd Whitman Megyn Kelly
|Last-Last Last-Last First-First (approximate)
|201
|-
|{{w|Christine Todd Whitman}}
|Governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001, then served as Director of the Environmental Protection Agency under {{w|George W. Bush}} from 2001 to 2003.
|Meg Whitman Chris Christie Chris Cooper
|Last-Last First-Last (approximate) First-First (approximate)
|202
|-
|{{w|Megyn Kelly}}
|American TV news anchor. Worked for Fox news until 2017, then switched to NBC.
|John Kelly Meg Whitman Grace Kelly
|Last-Last First-First (approximate) Last-Last
|203
|-
|{{w|Grace Kelly}}
|American actress and Princess of Monaco
|Grace Lee Megyn Kelly Grace Jones
|First-First Last-Last First-First
|204
|-
|{{w|Grace Jones}}
|Singer and actress.
|Grace Kelly Maggie Grace
|First-First First-Last
|205
|-
|{{w|Jack Nicholson}}
|Actor who has appeared in many films from ''{{w|The Shining (film)}}'' (as Jack Torrance) to ''{{w|Batman (1989 film)}}'' (as the Joker) to ''{{w|A Few Good Men}}'' (as Colonel Jessup).
|Jack Ruby
|First-First
|206
|-
|{{w|Jack Ruby}}
|Jack Ruby is known for shooting and killing {{w|Lee Harvey Oswald}} on national television. Oswald was the prime suspect in the {{w|assassination of John F. Kennedy}}. Ruby's involvement is the subject of many conspiracy theories.
|Garnet Jack Nicholson Jack Russell
|Only-Last (as a Ruby gem stone and fused together with Safire to form Garnet.) First-First First-First
|207
|-
|{{w|Jack Russell (musician)|Jack Russell}}
|American rock vocalist. Founding member of the American hard rock band Great White.
|Jack Ruby Russell Crowe Russ Smith
|First-First Last-First Last-First (approximate)
|208
|-
|{{w|Harry Fielder}}
|English actor and supporting artist who has worked extensively in British films and television since the 1960s.
|Prince Fielder Harry Truman
|Last-Last First-First
|209
|-
|{{w|Harry Truman}}
|33rd president of the United States. Known for authorizing the use of atomic weapons against Japan at the end of World War 2.
|Harry Styles Harry Fielder
|First-First First-First
|210
|-
|{{w|Harry Jon Benjamin}}
|American actor, voice actor and comedian best known for voicing characters, such as Sterling Archer in Archer and Carl in Family Guy.
|Harry Styles John Dean John Edward Benjamin Harrison
|First-First Middle-First (approximate) Middle-First (approximate) First-Last (approximate)
|211
|-
|{{w|John Edward}}
|American television personality, author and purported psychic medium.
|Harry Jon Benjamin John Bel Edwards
|First-Middle (approximate) First-First
|212
|-
|{{w|Benjamin Harrison}}
|23rd president of the United States
|Benjamin Franklin Harry Jon Benjamin Harrison Ford
|First-First First-Last ''and'' Last-First (approximate) Last-First
|213
|-
|{{w|Harrison Ford}}
|American actor. Known for playing Han Solo in the ''{{w|Star Wars}}'' films and the titular character in the ''{{w|Indiana Jones}}'' films.
|Benjamin Harrison Henry Ford
|First-Last Last-Last
|214
|-
|{{w|Henry Ford}}
|Founder of the {{w|Ford Motor Company}}. Credited with inventing the assembly line.
|Harold Ford Harrison Ford Betty Ford John Henry
|Last-Last Last-Last Last-Last First-Last
|215
|-
|{{w|Betty Ford}}
|Wife of Gerald Ford, 38th president of the United States.
|Henry Ford Betty Friedan
|Last-Last First-First
|216
|-
|{{w|Betty Friedan}}
|American feminist writer and activist. Her 1963 book The Feminine Mystique is often credited with sparking the second wave of American feminism.
|Betty White Betty Ford
|First-First First-First
|217
|-
|{{w|Chris Christie}}
|Governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Ran for president in the Republican primaries in 2016.
|Christine Todd Whitman Chris Cooper Chris Hemsworth
|Last-First (approximate) First-First First-First
|218
|-
|{{w|Chris Pratt}}
|American actor. Known for {{w|Parks and Recreation}}
|Chris Hemsworth Topher Grace
|First-First First-First (approximate)
|219
|-
|{{w|Maggie Grace}}
|American actress and model. Known for playing Shannon Rutherford on Lost and Kim Mills in the Taken trilogy.
|Grace Jones Grace Hopper
|Last-First Last-First
|220
|-
|{{w|Grace Hopper}}
|American computer scientist. Helped develop the {{w|COBOL}} programming language.
|Maggie Grace Topher Grace
|First-Last First-Last
|221
|-
|{{w|Russell Crowe}}
|Australian actor.
|Jack Russell Sheryl Crow Cameron Crowe
|First-Last Last-Last (approximate) Last-Last
|222
|-
|{{w|Russ Smith (basketball)|Russ Smith}}
|American professional basketball player for Fujian Sturgeons of the Chinese Basketball Associatio.
|Jack Russell John Smith
|First-Last (approximate) Last-Last
|223
|-
|{{w|John Smith}}
|John Smith is the most common name in the United States. {{w|John Smith|See Wikipedia}} for a list of people this may refer to.
|Russ Smith Long John Silver
|Last-Last First-Middle
|224
|-
|{{w|Justin Long}}
|American actor, comedian and humorist known for roles in such films as Alvin and the Chipmunks and Live Free or Die Hard.
|Huey Long
|Last-Last
|225
|-
|{{w|John Bel Edwards}}
|American politician and lawyer serving as the 56th Governor of Louisiana since 2016.
|John Edward John Candy John Edwards
|First-First First-First First-First
|226
|-
|{{w|John Candy}}
|Canadian comedian and actor. Known for {{w|Spaceballs}}.
|John Bel Edwards John Henry Candy Crowley
|First-First First-First Last-First
|227
|-
|{{w|John Henry (folklore)|John Henry}}
|American folk hero
|Henry Ford John Candy Henry James
|Last-First First-First Last-First
|228
|-
|{{w|Henry James}}
|American author known for works including "The Turn of the Screw" and "The Portrait of a Lady"
|John Henry Bill James
|First-Last Last-Last
|229
|-
|{{w|Bill James}}
|American baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential.
|Henry James James Fenimore Cooper
|Last-Last Last-First
|230
|-
|{{w|Chris Cooper}}
|American film actor. Portrayed Sheriff July Johnson in Lonesome Dove and supervillain Norman Osborn in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014).
|Christine Todd Whitman Chris Christie James Fenimore Cooper
|First-First (approximate) First-First Last-Last
|231
|-
|{{w|Chris Hemsworth}}
|Actor.
|Chris Christie Chris Pratt
|First-First First-First
|232
|-
|{{w|Chris Evans (actor)|Chris Evans}}
|American actor. Best known for his role as Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
|Topher Grace Evan Taylor Jones
|First-First (approximate) Last-First (approximate)
|233
|-
|{{w|Topher Grace}}
|American actor. Best known for playing Eric Forman in That '70s Show and Eddie Brock / Venom in Spider-Man 3.
|Chris Pratt Grace Hopper Chris Evans
|First-First (approximate) Last-First First-First (approximate)
|234
|-
|{{w|Van Morrison}}
|Irish singer best known for the song "Brown Eyed Girl"
|Van Jones
|First-First
|235
|-
|{{w|Sheryl Crow}}
|American singer and session musician
|Russell Crowe Sheryl Sandberg
|Last-Last (approximate) First-First
|236
|-
|{{w|Sheryl Sandberg}}
|American technology executive, activist, author, and billionaire. Chief operating officer (COO) of Facebook.
|Sheryl Crow
|First-First
|237
|-
|{{w|Cameron Crowe}}
|American director, producer, screenwriter, journalist, author, and actor. Was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine.
|Russell Crowe James Cameron Cam Newton
|Last-Last First-Last First-First (approximate)
|238
|-
|{{w|Long John Silver}}
|Fictional antagonist from {{w|Treasure Island}}.
|John Smith Olivia Newton John Huey Long
|Middle-First Middle-Last first-Last
|239
|-
|{{w|Olivia Newton John}}
|American actress. Known for ''Grease''
|Long John Silver Cam Newton Huey Newton John Oliver
|Last-Middle Middle-Last Middle-Last First-Last (approximate) ''and'' Last-First
|240
|-
|{{w|Huey Long}}
|Governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932, and US Senator from 1932 until his assassination in 1935. Known for his "Share Our Wealth" proposal to address the hard economic conditions of the Great Depression.
|Justin Long Long John Silver Huey Newton
|Last-Last Last-First First-First
|241
|-
|{{w|John Edwards}}
|American politician. Democratic candidate for presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.
|John Bel Edwards John Lewis
|First-First First-First
|242
|-
|{{w|Candy Crowley}}
|American news anchor. Was employed as CNN's chief political correspondent.
|John Candy Aleister Crowley
|First-Last Last-Last
|243
|-
|{{w|Alesteir Crowley}}
|English occultist and author
|Candy Crowley Alistiar Cooke
|Last-Last First-First (approximate)
|244
|-
|{{w|James Fenimore Cooper}}
|Author of ''{{w|The Last of the Mohicans}}''.
|Bill James Chris Cooper James Cook
|First-Last Last-Last First-First
|245
|-
|{{w|James Cook}}
|18th century British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the Royal Navy.
|Alistair Cooke Cokie Roberts Alistair Cookie James Fenimore Cooper
|Last-Last (approximate) Last-First (approximate) Last-Last (approximate) First-First
|246
|-
|{{w|Robert Frost}}
|19th century American poet, named Poet Laureate of Vermont in 1922 by the Vermont State League of Women's Clubs, and in 1961 by the Vermont State legislature
|Cokie Roberts John Roberts
|First-Last (approximate) First-Last (approximate)
|247
|-
|{{w|Robert Evans|Bob Evans}}
|American film producer and former studio executive, best known for The Godfather.
|Evan Taylor Jones Robert E.Lee
|Last-First (approximate) Last-Middle (approximate)
|248
|-
|{{w|Evan Taylor Jones}}
|Musical artist
|Chris Evans Bob Evans Van Jones Tommy Lee Jones
|First-Last (approximate) First-Last (approximate) Last-Last Last-Last
|249
|-
|{{w|Van Jones}}
|American news commentator, author, and non-practicing attorney.
|Van Morrison Evan Taylor Jones
|First-First Last-Last
|250
|-
|{{w|James Cameron}}
|American director. Known for {{w|Terminator}} and {{w|Titanic (1997 film)|Titanic}}.
|Cameron Crowe Cameron Diaz Etta James
|Last-First Last-First First-Last
|251
|-
|{{w|Cam Newton}}
|Quarterback for the {{w|Carolina Panthers}}.
|Cameron Crowe Olivia Newton John Cameron Diaz
|First-First (approximate) Last-Middle First-First (approximate)
|252
|-
|{{w|Cameron Diaz}}
|American actress. Voiced Fiona in {{w|Shrek}}.
|James Cameron Cam Newton
|First-Last First-First (approximate)
|253
|-
|{{w|Huey Newton}}
|Co-founder of the Black Panthers.
|Olivia Newton John Huey Long
|Last-Middle First-First
|254
|-
|{{w|Huey Lewis}}
|Lead singer for the band Huey Lewis and the News.
|Huey Newton John Lewis
|First-First Last-Last
|255
|-
|{{w|John Lewis}}
|American politician and civil rights leader. U.S. Representative for Georgia's 5th congressional district, serving in his 17th term (since 1987).
|John Edwards Huey Lewis Jenny Lewis
|First-First Last-Last Last-Last
|256
|-
|{{w|Jenny Lewis}}
|American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. Best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the indie rock band Rilo Kiley.
|John Lewis Ryan Lewis
|Last-Last Last-Last
|257
|-
|{{w|Ryan Lewis}}
|American DJ, musician, videographer, photographer, graphic designer, rapper and songwriter.
|Jenny Lewis Ryan Reynolds
|Last-Last First-First
|258
|-
|{{w|Burt Reynolds}}
|American actor. Known for a wide variety of western and/or action films.
|Ryan Reynolds Alastair Reynolds
|Last-Last Last-Last
|259
|-
|{{w|Alistair Cooke}}
|Name misspelled Alistiar Cooke in the comic.
|Alestier Crowley James Cook
|First-First (approximate) Last-Last (approximate)
|260
|-
|{{w|Monsterpiece_Theater#Alistair_Cookie|Alistair Cookie}}
|A parody of Alistair Cooke "played" by Cookie Monster in the Sesame Street sketch "Monsterpiece Theatre" in the 1980s, a parody of the PBS series "Masterpiece Theatre".
|James Cook Alastair Reynolds
|Last-Last (approximate) First-First (approximate)
|261
|-
|{{w|Cokie Roberts}}
|National Public Radio (NPR) political correspondent known for her recurring segment "Ask Cokie" in which she answers listener submitted questions.
|James Cook Robert Frost
|First-Last (approximate) Last-First (approximate)
|262
|-
|{{w|John Roberts}}
|Current Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court at the time of the comic's publication.
|Robert Frost Robert Johnson
|Last-First (approximate) First-Last (approximate) ''and'' Last-First (approximate)
|263
|-
|{{w|Robert Johnson}}
|Delta blues guitar legend.
|John Roberts Robert E.Lee
|First-Last (approximate) ''and'' Last-First (approximate) First-First
|264
|-
|{{w|Robert E. Lee}}
|Confederate general during the {{w|American Civil War}}.
|Bob Evans Robert Johnson Tommy Lee
|Middle-Last (approximate) First-First Last-Last
|265
|-
|{{w|Tommy Lee}}
|Drummer for the rock band Mötley Crüe
|Robert E. Lee Tommy Lee Jones
|Last-Last First-First ''and'' Middle-Middle
|266
|-
|{{w|Tommy Lee Jones}}
|American actor known for 'The Fugitive'
|Evan Taylor Jones Tommy Lee
|Last-Last First-First ''and'' Middle-Middle
|267
|-
|{{w|Etta James|Etta James (2)}}
|Used first time in 87
|James Cameron
|Last-First
|268
|-
|{{w|John Oliver}}
|American talk show host. Known for {{w|Last Week Tonight}}.
|Olivia Newton John
|First-Last ''and'' Last-First (approximate)
|269
|-
|{{w|Ryan Reynolds}}
|Canadian actor. Known for several romantic comedies, and {{w|Deadpool (film)|Deadpool}}.
|Ryan Lewis Burt Reynolds
|First-First Last-Last
|270
|-
|{{w|Alastair Reynolds}}
|SF writer.
|Burt Reynolds Alistair Cookie
|Last-Last First-First (approximate)
|271
|}

==Transcript==
:[This comic a large grid, 27 units wide and 35 units high, with 271 black "domino" tiles. On each tile there is a name written with white text. The grid is arranged so that each touching side corresponds with the first or last name of another person. Some of the domino tiles are rotated 90, 180 or 270 degrees so the text is either to be read down, up-side down or up. The names on the tiles are listed here below in approximate reading order starting at top left.]
:Christian Campbell, Neve Campbell, Joe McCarthy, Eugene McCarthy, Gene Vincent, Gene Kelly, Kate Hudson, Rock Hudson, Gordon Brown, James Brown, Jon Brown, John Howard, Columbo, Chris Columbus, Christopher Columbus, Naomi Campbell, Joseph Campbell, Joseph Smith, Frank Vincent, John Kelly, Katherine Johnson, The Rock, Chris Rock, Chris Isaac, James Newton Howard, John Wayne, Howard Stern, Howard Hunt, Chris Hughes, Naomi Watts, Naomi Klein, Kevin Kline, Francis Bacon, Francis Drake, Lyndon Johnson, Oscar the Grouch, Oscar Isaac, Isaac Hayes, Isaac Newton, Wayne Newton, Wayne Knight, Helen Hunt, Helen Hughes, James Watt (Steam), James Watt (Interior), Kevin Costner, Kevin Bacon, Kevin Love, Lisa Frank, Frank Drake, Drake, Oscar de la Renta, Oscar de la Hoya, Sean Hayes, Wallace Shawn, Wayne Howard, Wayne Brady, James Brady, Tom Brady, Helen Thomas, Tom Hanks, Hank Aaron, Aaron Carter, Stephen James, Will Smith, Kevin Smith, Kein James, Garfield, James Garfield, Warren Buffett, Jimmy Buffett, Warren Beatty, Elizabeth Warren, Earl Warren, Eliabeth Kolbert, Stephen Colbert, George Wallace, Charles Wallace, James Monroe, Marilyn Monroe, Hank Williams, William C. Williams, Steve Harvey, Domino Harvey, Harvey Milk, James Saint James, Etta James, Jim Jones, James Earl Jones, Charlie Parker, Ray Parker Jr., Ray Charles, Charles Manson, Marilyn Manson, Robin Williams, Billy D. Williams, Will Wright, Fats Domino, Bill Clinton, Jimmy John, Tom Jones, Tommy John, Quincy Jones, James Earl Ray, Man Ray, Rachel Ray, Ray Allen, Tim Allen, Tim Cook, Tim Howard, Robin Wright, Wilbur Wright, Fatty Arbuckle, Fat Joe, George Clinton, John Kerry, Kerry Washington, John Irving, John Quincy Adams, John Adams, Amy Adams, Aimee Mann, Superman, Batman, Ayn Rand, Lily Allen, Paul Allen, Ron Howard, Howard Hughes, Joe Kennedy, George Bush, George Washington, Washington Irving, Martha Washington, Ma Rainey, Jack Ma, Super Grover, Jack Black, Rand Paul, Paul Ryan, Paul Simon, Ron Paul, John Hughes, Langston Hughes, John F. Kennedy, Little Richard, Rich Little, Martha Stewart, Yo Yo Ma, Ma Bell, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Grover Cleveland, Jack White, Jack Ryan, Debby Ryan, Carly Simon, Carly Hughes, Charles Evans Hughes, John Williams, Little John, Stuart Little, Potter Stewart, Kristen Stewart, Kristen Bell, Kristen Hooks, Alexander Graham Bell, Franklin Graham, Lloyd Alexander, Meg White, Meg Ryan, Debbie Reynolds, John Reynolds, Carly Fiorina, Grace Lee Boggs, Wade Boggs, William Safire, Prince William, Little Prince, Harry Potter, James Potter, James Hook, James Dean, Aretha Franklin, Frank Lloyd Wright, Barry White, Walter White, Walt Whitman, John Kelly, Grace Lee, Nancy Grace, Garnet, Prince, Prince Fielder, Prince Harry, Harry Styles, John Dean, Benjamin Franklin, Harrold Lloyd, Harrold Ford, Betty White, Meg Whitman, Christine Todd Whitman, Megyn Kelly, Grace Kelly, Grace Jones, Jack Nicholson, Jack Ruby, Jack Russel, Harry Fielder, Harry Trueman, Harry Jon Benjamin, John Edward, Benjamin Harrison, Harrison Ford, Henry Ford, Betty Ford, Betty Friedan, Chris Christie, Chris Pratt, Maggie Grace, Grace Hopper, Russel Crowe, Russ Smith, John Smith, Justin Long, John Bel Edwards, John Candy, John Henry, Henry James, Bill James, Chirs Cooper, Chirs Hemsworth, Chirs Evans, Topher Grace, Van Morrison, Sheryl Crow, Sheryl Sandberg, Cameron Crow, Long John Silver, Olivia Newton John, Huey long, John Edwards, Candy Crowley, Alestier Crowley, James Fenimore Cooper, James Cook, Robert Frost, Bob Evans, Evan Tayler Jones, Van Jones, James Cameron, Cam Newton, Cameron Diaz, Huey Newton, Huey Lewis, John Lewis, Jenny Lewis, Ryan Lewis, Burt Reynolds, Alistiar Cooke, Alistair Cookie, Cokie Roberts, John Roberts, Robert Johnson, Robert E. Lee, Tommy Lee, Tommy Lee Jones, Etta James, John Oliver, Ryan Reynolds, Alastair Reynolds

==Trivia==
The names Etta James and John Kelly are used twice, but the latter likely refers to different {{w|John Kelly}}s.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]
[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:Harry Potter]]
[[Category:Superheroes]]

1904: Research Risks

2026-05-06T00:45:34Z

64.189.140.61:

{{comic
| number = 1904
| date = October 18, 2017
| title = Research Risks
| image = research_risks.png
| titletext = The 1919 Great Boston Molasses Flood remained the deadliest confectionery containment accident until the Canadian Space Agency's 2031 orbital maple syrup delivery disaster.
}}

==Explanation==
This is a comparison of the possibility of the subjects of various sciences being a threat to humanity. It can either be an autonomous threat to the local population (i.e. by escape from a lab), or as part of a supervillain's scheme to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBkT19uH2RQ rule the world].

In general, areas of study that could be used by supervillains, but are unlikely to "break free" refer to technologies that are unlikely to be self-propagating or self-maintaining, but could be used as weapons or for some other form of control. Subjects that could break free, but are unlikely to be used by supervillains are all living organisms (which could presumably breed and multiply without human intervention), but which have little potential as weapons. Areas of study that fall in both categories are either more controllable forms of biology (microbiology, genetic engineering), forms of technology that could become self-propagating (robotics), or a study where a release could be dangerous without being self-propagating (chemistry).

The category of a low risk of either could, of course, contain many fields of study, as most research fields have limited potential for weaponry and little danger of going out of control on a large scale. See the chart below for detailed explanations of each scatter point. There have so far been several similar comics with such [[:Category:Scatter plots|scatter plots]]. See for instance [[1242: Scary Names]], [[1468: Worrying]], [[1501: Mysteries]] and [[1701: Speed and Danger]].

The title text is related to the Molasses Storage entry at the bottom left of the chart, and references the {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, also known as the Great Boston Molasses Flood. It occurred on January 15, 1919 in the North End neighborhood of {{w|Boston}}, {{w|Massachusetts}} (the state in which [[Randall]] lives). A large {{w|molasses}} storage tank burst and a wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated 35 mph (56 km/h), killing 21 and injuring 150. The joke in the title text is that in 2031 (14 years after the release of this comic) the {{w|Canadian Space Agency}} has an even more serious disaster, which will be known as the orbital {{w|maple syrup}} delivery disaster. The title text claims that this disaster then became the deadliest {{w|confectionery}} containment accident, thus killing more than 21 people.

===Table===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Risk of Breaking Free !! Risk of Supervillain !! Research field !! Research Risks !! Explanation
|-
| 6% || 90% || Prosthetics || Cyborgs || A large number of villains in media have had augmentative and non-augmentative prosthetics for various reasons. However, there's very little risk of individual prosthetic limbs getting loose and terrorizing people.
|-
| 21% || 83% || Neuroscience || Mind Control || Neuroscience is the study of the human brain. While the greatest risk in this field is the danger that mad scientists will adapt its findings for nefarious purposes, {{w|Fiend Without a Face|horror movies}} will attest that there is always a chance that brains will break out of their labs and perpetrate violence of their own accord.
|-
| 2% || 76% || Laser Optics || Something like {{w|Laser Weapon System}}. Or a powerful laser could be used to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoQwKe0lggw cut a hero in two] as in {{w|Goldfinger}}. || See {{w|Directed-energy weapon}}. Lasers, like prosthetics, are unlikely to do much damage without people to wield them, though.
|-
| 36% || 77% || Pharmacology || Poisons, drug dealing || Pharmacology studies the effects of medicines and drugs. There are scores of instances where supervillains attempt to use some sort of drug to incapacitate the hero or the general populace, or may use drug trade as a method of generating revenue. It's possible that a laboratory accident may also result in a new or altered creature which can proceed to go on a rampage, or the spilled substance might poison the water supply.
|-
| 19% || 69% || Materials Science || Villains: New materials used for villainous purposes. Escape: new materials turning out to be alive and also evil, or simply dangerous to use || Adamantium, Vibranium, Kryptonite, etc, which could be dangerous both when used by a villain and unintentionally if having detrimental side effects (such as asbestos and lead). Alternatively, {{w|Life (2017 film)|soil samples may contain predatory life form}}.
|-
| 24% || 62% || Sociology || Tyranny, manipulation. || Sociology studies the development and interactive patterns of human societies. While it's unlikely ({{w|American Revolution|though}} {{w|French Revolution|hardly}} {{w|Greek War of Independence|impossible}}) that societies will "escape" and cause problems, this field is very useful to the supervillain that seeks to ingratiate him/herself with people, or otherwise establish their power via Machiavellian means.
|-
| 5% || 57% || History || Supplemental research, {{w|historical negationism}} || History mostly consists of artifacts, data and records, which are unlikely to break free.{{citation needed}} A particular ''subject'' of history, however, can be of use to a supervillain--for example, one might adapt the methods of previous successful dictators and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9aYrURLHh0 learn from the errors of unsuccessful dictators] to fulfill one's goals. Alternatively, after achieving dictatorial rule, a villain might {{w|Ministries of Nineteen Eighty-Four#Ministry of Truth|alter history in order to consolidate their power}}.
|-
| 36% || 53% || Psychology || Manipulation, Hannibal Lecter || Psychology studies human mentality. It contains the topic of "[http://on-memetics.blogspot.com/2013/10/memetic-hazard.html memetic hazards]" (information bytes that do some sort of harm to the viewer--e.g., propaganda) which could "break out" into the local population. The same supervillainous possibilities as sociology apply.
|-
| 73% || 95% || Robotics || Villains: Robot minions. Escape: evil robots, nanobots || Robots are minions of villains in many occasions, and research on it could be used to further power them up. Apart from supervillains, popular tropes include robots gaining sentience and killing everything, or nanobots going rogue and [[865: Nanobots|devouring]] everything in their path.
|-
| 92% || 90% || Genetic Engineering || Villains: Modified, super powered minions. Escape: Modified life forms || See {{w|Gene drive}}. Genetic engineering is generally the source of modern monster movie creatures, and the dangers of GMO food are often debated. Meanwhile, it's become common practice for villains to have an army of genetically altered superhumans at their disposal, or an array of useful monsters created via genetic engineering.
|-
| 61% || 77% || Chemistry || Explosives, corrosives, poison gases, mutagens || Villains could obviously use certain chemicals, like nitroglycerin, or mustard gas, to explode things and wreak general havoc. They could also use unspecified chemicals to modify creatures into monsters to do their bidding, or such monsters could be accidentally produced in a lab, escaping to threaten the locals. A more mundane breakout would be a chemical spill resulting in large-scale contamination of water, air and soil.
|-
| 97% || 81% || Microbiology || Lethal diseases || See for instance {{w|12 Monkeys}}, {{w|Plague Inc.}} or {{w|Shiro Ishii}}. Whether the microbes escape on their own (which Randall implies is all but inevitable) or are employed by a supervillain, the outcome is similarly horrifying.
|-
| 5% || 41% || Geology || Earthquake machines || Geology is the study of rocks. Scores below average on the supervillain scale, since aside from the odd supervillain attempting to [https://ask.metafilter.com/28644/Lex-Luther-vs-the-San-Andreas-faultline cause earthquakes], geology is not highly useful to evildoers. It's also very unlikely that rocks will escape and terrorize the world, since they don't tend to move very much, but a rockslide may be a local threat and obstruct roads.
|-
| 9% || 31% || Linguistics || {{w|Newspeak|1984 Newspeak}}, manipulative rhetoric || Aside from the possibility that people in general or supervillains in particular will create deliberately misleading/manipulative language to achieve their purposes, linguistics doesn't pose too much of a threat.
|-
| 16% || 22% || Paleontology || Reviving dinosaurs and other such prehistoric creatures. || Study of fossils. Reviving dinosaurs {{w|Jurassic Park|isn't exactly good for human survival}}. Aside from this possibility, though, [[1211: Birds and Dinosaurs|the majority]] of dinosaurs aren't terribly dangerous, being very dead.
|-
| 6% || 12% || Astronomy || Asteroid impact || A villain could divert an asteroid towards Earth. Randall also rates them as unlikely to "break free"; this is likely because asteroids are already "free" in space, because the risk of them "threatening the local population" is very real.
|-
| 33% || 12% || Molasses Storage || Flood || Breaking free chance is medium-low as molasses did "escape" at least once in history. See {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, as referenced in the title text.
|-
| 7% || 4% || Dentistry || Biting as an attack method || Teeth are neither likely to escape on their own. They could have some limited usage by villains (especially the undead or animalistic ones) to bite people.
|-
| 70% || 43% || Botany || Man-eating or poisonous plants, invasive species || Plants are [http://littleshop.wikia.com/wiki/Audrey_II commonly used] in [http://triffids.guidesite.co.uk/triffids horror films] where they mutate and eat everything. Or as {{w|Poison_Ivy_(character)|Poison Ivy}} shows, could control plants, especially poisonous ones.
|-
| 93% || 41% || Entomology || Disease, famine, flesh-eating bugs || Entomology is the study of insects. Insects are small and can often escape through even small cracks, and are known for carrying diseases or destroying crops. They could also mutate into terrifying threats - see for example the movie ''{{w|Empire of the Ants (film)|Empire of the Ants}}''. Entomology is also referenced in [[1012: Wrong Superhero]].
|-
| 60% || 33% || Mycology || Disease, famine, mind-control || {{w|Mycology}} is the study of {{w|fungi}}. Fungi cannot move very far on their own, but their spores could easily spread, therefore, escape probability has been deemed medium-high.
|-
| 91% || 26% || Marine Biology || Sharknado, Jaws, {{w|Cthulhu}} || Villains may keep [[1326: Sharks|a tank of sharks]] in order to dispose of opposition; however, as the linked comic implies, it is difficult to control what sharks will do (they might simply swim away). Randall implies that it's more likely that marine creatures will escape on their own and threaten local swimmers.
|-
| 79% || 16% || Ornithology || Escape: predatory birds; pesky invasive species. Villains may sometimes keep a bird of prey as a pet || Ornithology is the study of birds. The ability to fly makes escape easier for birds than, say, rocks, and it's possible that certain escaped species of birds may {{w|The Birds (film)|threaten the local population directly}} (by pecking/diving at them) or indirectly (perhaps they're an invasive species, capable of outcompeting native birds and unbalancing the local ecosystem).
|-
|}

Note: percentages refer to the position of the center of the smallest enclosing rectangle around each name. 0% and 100% correspond to the low and high arrow tips, respectively.

==Transcript==
:[A chart with two crossing lines with double arrows. Each arrow is labeled:]
:Y axis top: High
:Y axis bottom: Low
:X axis left: Low
:X axis right: High

:[Near each of the "high" ends of the two axis there is a label written in gray, with a line pointing to the relevant axis:]
:Y axis: Risk of your research being used by a supervillain for world domination
:X axis: Risk of the thing you're studying breaking free from your facility and threatening the local population

:[The following points are on the charts upper left quadrant (in reading order):]
:Prosthetics
:Neuroscience
:Laser Optics
:Pharmacology
:Materials Science
:Sociology
:History
:Psychology

:[The following points are on the charts upper right quadrant (in reading order):]
:Robotics
:Genetic Engineering
:Chemistry
:Microbiology

:[The following points are on the charts lower left quadrant (in reading order):]
:Geology
:Linguistics
:Paleontology
:Astronomy
:Molasses Storage
:Dentistry

:[The following points are on the charts lower right quadrant (in reading order):]
:Botany
:Entomology
:Mycology
:Marine Biology
:Ornithology

==Trivia==
* In the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/8/82/20171018171705%21research_risks.png original version of the comic], "Ent'''o'''mology" was spelled "Ent'''y'''mology", possibly a mistaken mix-up between etymology and entomology, similar to [[1012: Wrong Superhero]]). This was later changed.
* The SSL-Certificate of xkcd expired while this comic was online, causing a non-reachability of the site.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Scatter plots]]
[[Category:Rankings]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]
[[Category:Robots]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Scientific research]]
[[Category:Mycology]]
[[Category:Comics edited after their publication]]
[[Category:Superheroes]]

1848: Glacial Erratic

2026-05-06T00:45:22Z

64.189.140.61:

{{comic
| number = 1848
| date = June 9, 2017
| title = Glacial Erratic
| image = glacial_erratic.png
| titletext = "This will take a while, which sucks, because I'm already so busy chiseling out igneous intrusions from rock formations and watching Youtube loops of the Superman fault-sealing scene over and over."
}}

==Explanation==
[[Ponytail]] and [[Megan]] are walking along when they come across an {{w|Glacial_erratic|erratic rock}} (which differs from the surrounding geology and is brought there by {{w|Glacier|glacial action}}). Not wishing to bow down to the forces of nature, Megan tries to take it back to its rightful place, obviously in vain.

Megan is annoyed with the glacier for just {{w|Litter|littering}} the place up with rocks. She wishes to put it back in place, just like picking up a piece of litter and putting it in the trash bin where it belongs.

The title text furthers the absurdity by suggesting that Megan is extra annoyed with having to clean up after the glacier, because it will take a long time (and as she put it "Fuck Glaciers"). The problem for Megan is that she is already using her time {{w|Chisel|chiselling}} out {{w|Intrusive_rock|igneous intrusions}} which is another type of rock formation caused by solidification of {{w|magma}}, which Megan also plans to undo. To soothe her mind she keeps watching [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjgsnWtBQm0 the scene] from the {{w|Superman (1978 film)|Superman film}} where {{w|Superman}} turns back time to prevent an earthquake and thus also create a fault-sealing by reversing the creation of the fault in the first place. He also prevents the destruction of the {{w|Hoover Dam}} and the death of {{w|Lois Lane}}, but it seems like this is not important to Megan. She is only interested in undoing what nature has already done, and if the Superman scene could be made real it would solve her problems.

This may be a play on words based on the word "erratic," as Megan's behavior could be described as such.

Megan's actions here are reminiscent of the ones carried out by [[Cueball]] in [[1119: Undoing]].

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail and Megan walks up to a large rock, Ponytail points at it.]
:Ponytail: That rock is a glacial erratic-A glacier broke it off from those hills and placed it here.

:[In a frame-less panel they stand and watch the rock.]
:Megan: What? And just ''left'' it here?
:Megan: And everybody's ''okay'' with this?

:[Megan tries to lift the rock with two hands.]

:[Megan turns her back to the rock and tries to push it with all her might.]
:Megan: Get...
:Megan: ...back...

:[Ponytail looks on as Megan again has turned around and tries to roll the boulder using both hands.]
:Ponytail: Why ... Why are you doing that?
:Megan: ''Because fuck glaciers!''

==Trivia==
*This appears to be the last xkcd comic to feature any level of profanity.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:Fiction]]

1792: Bird/Plane/Superman

2026-05-06T00:44:59Z

64.189.140.61:

{{comic
| number = 1792
| date = January 30, 2017
| title = Bird/Plane/Superman
| image = bird_plane_superman.png
| titletext = You can apply special translucent films to your windows to help keep birds/Superman from accidentally flying into them.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a logical comparison of observations to resolve the [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034247/quotes?item=qt0317455 classic Superman catchphrase] of comic book bystanders: "Look, up in the sky... It's a {{w|Airplane|bird}}!... It's a {{w|Bird|plane}}!... It's {{w|Superman}}!", hence the title. Superman, a character originally created for comic books in the 1930s, is an alien with superpowers, including the power of unaided flight; hence the catchphrase exclaiming peoples' amazement.

At the correct distance both birds, planes and the fictional Superman could be mistaken for each other. So this comic aims to help people identify the airborne object by listing on which properties they are alike and on which they are different. This problem was also mentioned in the title text of [[1633: Possible Undiscovered Planets]], putting Superman near the bird/plane boundary explaining why all this confusion has arisen.

The observations compared range from the mundane to the bizarre and they are listed and explained below in the [[#Table|table]]. Here some highlights are mentioned, but for all these there are much more detail below.

Some of the mundane observations are that birds don't fly around with people, while Superman can do it, and planes are meant for it; and that the latter two are new "inventions", whereas birds have flown around for millions of years.

Interestingly enough there are actually two observations that have check mark for all three; the first being that there are enthusiasts for all three different flying objects. And these will obsess over small color details in otherwise similar looking objects. The other common thing is that they all may have sex in midair. The possibility of that happening for the all three are discussed in the table.

Three observations only counts for birds, where all those that do not count for birds do count for both planes and superman. Two of these relates to the fact that birds are eaten by cats and humans, the last is that birds flap their wings to fly, the others have other means of flight. There are observations that rules out only planes or only superman, but none that rules out only one of them at the same time as birds are ruled out.

There are also three direct jokes towards the bottom. The first is that {{w|David Attenborough}} may also have observed Superman's mating habits just like he has with birds in the documentary series {{w|The Life of Birds}}. The second is that not only birds poop in flight, but that Superman could and would also do so. And the third (and also final observation) is that not only birds chase insects to eat them, but Superman also chases them... though only when he is bored. These last three observations have that in common that the planes are left out of all of them, and the joke is always on Superman. As it has been before in [[1384: Krypton]] and [[1394: Superm*n]] (released just ten comics apart).

The title text refers to black stickers (decals) in the shape of an easily recognizable predatory bird, like {{w|falcons}} to enhance the visibility of clear glass windows or doors and scare smaller birds away before they crash into the window. This may actually not work very well according to this article: [https://www.allaboutbirds.org/why-birds-hit-windows-and-how-you-can-help-prevent-it/ Why Birds Hit Windows], where a falcon decal is also shown. But they are meant to warn birds away and according to this comic they could also prevent Superman from flying through your window (and thus also stop him from possibly just continuing through the building). They are not known to affect the risk of airplanes flying into the building.{{Citation needed}}

===Table===
{| class="wikitable"
!style="width: style="width: 55%;"| !!style="width: style="width: 15%;"| Bird !!style="width: style="width: 15%;"| Plane !! Superman
|-
!colspan=4| Explanation
|-
! Carries people || || ✓ || ✓
|-
|colspan=4| Some birds are capable of flying off while carrying a small human away, but this happens extremely rarely (although hoax stories are often reported). An {{w|Ostrich}} can easily carry a human; and this happens regularly in arranged {{w|Common ostrich#Racing|races}}. The context of the strip implies that it's referring to birds in flight, so flightless birds like ostriches are ignored.

Most planes are specifically designed to carry human passengers, although many are cargo planes with humans only acting as crew, and autonomous drones without humans also exist.

Superman often carries other people with him, such as his {{w|Lois Lane|girlfriend}}, rescued victims or the various villains that people need to be rescued from.
|-
! Often flies in groups || ✓ || ✓ ||
|-
|colspan=4| Many types of birds fly in flocks, particularly during long-range {{w|Bird migration|migrations}}. Some birds often fly in the {{w|V formation}} which has also been {{w|V formation#Military flight missions|copied by planes}}. This formation has been used at least twice in xkcd in [[1440: Geese]] and recently in [[1729: Migrating Geese]] (notice the similarity in number of that bird comic compared to the one for this comic).

Planes sometimes fly in {{w|Formation flying|group formation}}, particularly when engaged in military operations where mutual support is tactically useful (or when conducting practice maneuvers for such operations). There are also many instances where plane need to enter a holding pattern before landing, sometimes with some planes already flying said pattern. This would create a group of planes, each performing the same movements at the same places.

Superman is a unique person, and thus does not fly in groups at all. While Superman occasionally operates alongside other flying superheroes, and in some stories is duplicated or split into multiple beings, Randall apparently considers these circumstances too unusual to meet the "often" qualifier.
|-
! Created in 20th century || || ✓ || ✓
|-
|colspan=4| Birds evolved from dinosaurs, appearing as early as the Late Jurassic period, roughly 150 million years ago. That birds evolved from dinosaur who also had wings with feathers before they evolved on to becoming birds has often been referenced by Randall in comics like [[1104: Feathers]], [[1211: Birds and Dinosaurs]] and the title texts of [[867: Herpetology]] and [[1527: Humans]].

The {{w|Wright Flyer#Flight trials at Kitty Hawk|first successful flight}} of a powered heavier-than-air craft took place on December 17, 1903 and was performed by the {{w|Wright brothers}}. While there are claims for successful powered flight before 1900, the Wright Flyer trials are the first proven instance of this kind of heavier-than-air flight.

Superman first appeared in {{w|Action Comics 1|''Action Comics'' #1}}, published in June 1938.
|-
! Uses magnetic navigation || ✓ || ✓ ||
|-
|colspan=4| Some types of birds use {{w|magnetoreception}} to navigate using the earth's magnetic field as a guide.

Artificial {{w|Compass#Magnetic compass|magnetic compasses}}, along with other navigational equipment, are used by planes.

Superman, while possessing a {{w|Powers and abilities of Superman|plethora of super-senses/powers}}, does not appear to be particularly sensitive to {{w|magnetism}}.
|-
! Enthusiast community obsesses over small coloration details || ✓ || ✓ || ✓
|-
|colspan=4| {{w|Birdwatching|Birdwatchers}} identify bird species by a range of characteristics, including small details in the bird's color pattern which identify one species apart from another.

Similarly, airplane hobbyists and {{w|Aircraft spotting|plane spotters}} take note of the colors of a plane's paint job and insignia.

Comics fans can similarly identify the artist and date of a depiction of Superman by the coloration and configuration of his costume and be obsessed with their favorite coloration being the canon. Some may also search for miscolored areas to identify a rare print error comic, which are worth a lot of money in some cases.
|-
! Preyed on by cats || ✓ || ||
|-
|colspan=4| {{w|Cats}} kill several billion birds a year, often - but not always - eating them.

There has never been a case of a cat successfully catching and eating a plane,{{Citation needed}}although there may be cases where cats have attempted to chase planes. There was a viral video uploaded to YouTube in 2015, in which a couple are climbing after taking off in an ultralight aircraft before discovering a cat, which stowed away in the plane's wing structure.

In the comics, Superman has never been eaten by a cat, although he has been [https://archive.org/details/power-girl-2009-11/Power%20Girl%20%282009-11%29/Power%20Girl%20022%20%282011%29%20/page/n17/mode/1up devoured by a dinosaur]...
|-
! Occasional mid-air sex || ✓ || ✓ || ✓
|-
|colspan=4| Almost no bird species have sex in flight. Hummingbirds, for example, engage in courting behavior which one might falsely identify as sex (explained in this article [http://animals.howstuffworks.com/birds/hummingbird-sex1.htm Do hummingbirds have sex in midair?]). This article [http://www.livescience.com/38379-animal-sex-bird-sex.html Animal Sex: How Birds Do It] explains how birds in general have sex. However, this article [http://www.commonswift.org/Aerial-mating.html Aerial mating] points out that the common swift (Apus apus) engages in mid-air sex, an act presumably caught on video [https://vimeo.com/78453839 here].

{{w|Mile high club|Mid-air sex}} involving planes usually involves passengers (and potentially air crew), not the plane itself. However, this could also be a metaphorical reference to {{w|Aerial refueling|in-flight refueling}} (such as the depiction, set to romantic music, in [https://www.youtu.be/Qs7EikHQGlA the opening scene] of the movie ''{{w|Dr. Strangelove}}'', a movie Randall has referenced before for instance in [[Media:1608 1020x1083y Torpedoes two steps above Runner with Beret Guy.png|this scene]] from [[1608: Hoverboard]]) It could also refer to [http://avstop.com/news/plantcity.html this incident] where one plane landed atop another in mid-air.

As for Superman, there have been occasional moments in the comics which indicate or at least imply that he sometimes engages in mid-air sex.
|-
! Eaten during seasonal feasts || ✓ || ||
|-
|colspan=4| {{w|Turkey (bird)|Turkeys}}, a type of bird, are eaten by Americans during {{w|Thanksgiving}}, a "seasonal feast" held on the fourth Thursday of November of each year. Britons eat Turkey or {{w|Goose}} at {{w|Christmas}}, in other countries it may be {{w|ducks}} instead.

It is unlikely that normal humans would eat a plane, however it has been done by {{w|Michel Lotito}} who has digested an entire {{w|Cessna 150|Cessna}} aircraft. However he used two years to consume the plane, so although he may have eaten some parts during holidays, he did not do it because there was a seasonal feast.

Superman is too strong and "made of steel" for him to let any human eat him. But as also mentioned above he has been [https://archive.org/details/power-girl-2009-11/Power%20Girl%20%282009-11%29/Power%20Girl%20022%20%282011%29%20/page/n17/mode/1up devoured by a dinosaur] although that did not kill him, and wasn't linked to a holiday.
|-
! Propelled by flapping || ✓ || ||
|-
|colspan=4| Birds generate lift by flapping their wings, although there are multiple raptor species which hold their wings out in order to glide at high altitudes.

Planes have fixed wings, and fly by maintaining forward velocity and exploiting the aerodynamic effects of air flowing over the upper and lower wing surfaces, which are shaped and angled to produce lift. However, some experimental designs for some of the earlier planes made such as {{w|Leonardo Da Vinci}}'s Flying Machine that was propelled by flapping.

Superman flies using superpowers which require neither wings nor flapping.
|-
! Sometimes loses ability to fly, needs to sunbathe to regain it || ✓ || || ✓
|-
|colspan=4| Birds can "lose" the ability to fly, if their wings are weighed down by water from swimming. One way for birds to dry out their wings is to [http://birding.about.com/od/birdbehavior/a/Bird-Sunning.htm sunbathe].

An airplane can lose its ability to fly, but no issues occurring in modern aircraft can be fixed by sunbathing, except in some {{w|Solar Impulse|experimental solar-powered aircraft}}.

As for Superman, he is at risk of losing his superpowers, including flight, with prolonged exposure to {{w|Kryptonite}}, which makes him weak. Also the rays from the sun at his home planet {{w|Krypton (comics)|Krypton}} can {{w|Superman II#Plot|remove his super powers}} as it happened in ''{{w|Superman II}}''. Superman's powers, including flight, are caused by "electromagnetic radiation from the rays of a yellow sun" (a fictional classification of stars that includes Earth's {{w|Sun}}), so on the occasion he loses his powers he can usually regain them through "sunbathing" here on Earth.
|-
! Can take a punch || || ✓ || ✓
|-
|colspan=4| Many birds are small and fragile creatures, whose {{w|Bird anatomy#Skeletal system|bone structures}} are meant to be light in order to fly, and thus are not very durable. If a man punched, say, a {{w|pigeon}}, he could probably break/dislocate most of its bones, either killing it immediately or leaving it in a state from which it will probably never ever recover on its own. However, there are definitely some big, {{w|flightless birds}} that could take a punch from a human such as ostriches and {{w|emus}}, but since both are large creatures that would probably react by {{w|Emu War|fighting back}}, it would not be wise to try. Also Randall is (again) plainly ignoring this type of birds as they cannot fly and this comic is about making mistakes regarding things flying through the air (typically far enough away from the observer to mistake a pigeon for a plane).

Planes are usually massive, or at least big enough to carry a human, and their structure is composed of fairly solid metals. However, ultralight aircraft are very light and have delicate structures, which may make it possible to damage the plane in some areas. However, a human punching an airplane is unlikely to result in significant damage (to the plane, at least, the human's hand is a different story.)

One of Superman's (the {{w|Man of Steel (film)|Man of Steel}}) trademark abilities is his near indestructibility; a punch from any regular human would not hurt him, but again hurt the hand.
|-
! Mating behavior often observed by a hidden David Attenborough || ✓ || || Not that we know of
|-
|colspan=4| {{w|David Attenborough}} is an English broadcaster and naturalist, who produced a documentary series ''{{w|The Life of Birds}}''. Included in the series is an episode entitled "Finding Partners", which discussed {{w|Bird#Breeding|mating rituals of birds}}. That these can be very strange has been mentioned in the title text of [[1747: Spider Paleontology]], of course in relation to Dinosaur behavior.

Planes are inanimate objects with no mating behavior.{{Citation needed}} However, referring back to the observations made under the ''Occasional mid-air sex'' explanation it could be discussed if this was mating behavior. Also there are movies like ''{{w|Planes (film)|Planes}}'' and its {{w|Planes: Fire & Rescue|sequel}} has living planes, which could mate. But Randall may know for sure that Attenborough is not interested in those.

The comic states that we don't know for sure if Attenborough has observed Superman's mating behavior. As Superman doesn't exist,{{Citation needed}} Attenborough has not seen Superman in reality (which would lead to a "No" response), but maybe Attenborough has watched all the movies or read all the comics in which Superman courts {{w|Lois Lane}} just to observe Superman's (made up) mating behavior (which would lead to a "Yes" response). Since we do not know Attenborough's habits, this leads to Randall giving the "Not that we know of" response.
|-
! Capable of ''intentionally'' releasing poop mid-flight || ✓ || || ✓
|-
|colspan=4| Birds often poop during flight, often enough that people regularly get hit in the head by the poop, which has caused the unlucky people to come up with the [http://thepetwiki.com/wiki/Pets_and_Superstitions superstition] that it brings good luck. For birds it is just economical to shed excess mass when they are going to fly, and many birds poop just at take off. But on long flights it is the best use of resources to not carry extra weight along, that increases their efficiency. Unlike {{w|mammals}} who pee {{w|urea}}, {{w|Bird#Excretory system|bird poop}} is both pee and feces as birds only have one hole, a {{w|cloaca}}, and the black poop is surrounded by their pee which is the white stuff containing {{w|uric acid}}. Not peeing lots of water out reduces their water loss.

There have long existed urban myths about airplanes regularly discharging their septic tanks, resulting in blocks of blue ice crushing houses and people. This line refers to that myth, and the fact that it's untrue. A leaky septic disposal system can unintentionally discharge liquid waste while in flight, but there is no way for an airplane to intentionally release the sewage.

As Superman's physiology is nearly identical to that of a human, he is in theory capable of voluntarily voiding his bowels at any time, including during flight. There would be little reason for him to do so,{{Citation needed}}, but he presumably has the ability to do so.
|-
! Chases and eats bugs || ✓ || || Only when bored
|-
|colspan=4| Many bird species prey on insects and similar-sized animals.

Planes often fly into and kill insects (as well as birds, and sometimes humans), but this is unintentional, planes never pursue the insects, and don't "eat" them in the traditional sense.

Superman is not known for eating insects, but Randall implies that he may do so, but only when he's bored. This is a humorous suggestion that Superman engages in odd behavior for a lack of anything else to do.
|}

==Transcript==

{| class="wikitable"
! !! Bird !! Plane !! Superman
|-
| Carries people || || ✓ || ✓
|-
| Often flies in groups || ✓ || ✓ ||
|-
| Created in 20th century || || ✓ || ✓
|-
| Uses magnetic navigation || ✓ || ✓ ||
|-
| Enthusiast community obsesses over small coloration details || ✓ || ✓ || ✓
|-
| Preyed on by cats || ✓ || ||
|-
| Occasional mid-air sex || ✓ || ✓ || ✓
|-
| Eaten during seasonal feasts || ✓ || ||
|-
| Propelled by flapping || ✓ || ||
|-
| Sometimes loses ability to fly, needs to sunbathe to regain it || ✓ || || ✓
|-
| Can take a punch || || ✓ || ✓
|-
| Mating behavior often observed by a hidden David Attenborough || ✓ || || Not that we know of
|-
| Capable of intentionally releasing poop mid-flight || ✓ || || ✓
|-
| Chases and eats bugs || ✓ || || Only when bored
|-
|}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Aviation]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Sex]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Superheroes]]

1648: Famous Duos

2026-05-06T00:44:22Z

64.189.140.61:

{{comic
| number = 1648
| date = February 26, 2016
| title = Famous Duos
| image = famous_duos.png
| titletext = The Romeo and Butt-Head film actually got two thumbs up from Siskel and Oates.
}}

==Explanation==
In popular culture (the term is loosely used in this case) there are many '''famous duos''', such as {{w|Calvin & Hobbes}} (six-year-old boy and his toy tiger, from the cartoon strip with the same name) or {{w|David & Goliath}} (famous past King of Israel and giant, {{w|Biblical}} characters from the {{w|Book of Samuel}} in the {{w|Old Testament}}). (See the [[#Trivia|trivia section]] regarding an on-line list of duos).

In this table, [[Randall]] describes a fictional {{w|Many-worlds interpretation|parallel universe}} where the same names are used in different combinations — instead of Calvin, it is now Thelma (from the movie ''{{w|Thelma & Louise}}'') who is paired up with Hobbes, and Calvin is instead paired off with the King, from ''{{w|Anna and the King}}''. In all cases the one mentioned first on the list is also mentioned first in our universe, so it is always of the form Calvin and the King, never Calvin and Anna. There are 24 duos, and all 48 partners are mentioned (they go through four [[#Cycles|cycles]]). (In the title text of [[1644: Stargazing]] from the week before this comic, there is an indirect reference to parallel universes/{{w|multiverse}}).

The humor of this comic comes from the ridiculousness of the pairings, and the reader's imagination of the stories that are created with the pairs. See the whole [[#List of real duos|list of real duos]] as well as the [[#List of alternative duos|list of alternative duos]] below, with more detailed explanations.

In the title text, alternative movie ''Romeo and Butt-Head'' is mentioned, the fifth entry on the list. This is a combination of the famous {{w|Shakespeare}} play ''{{w|Romeo and Juliet}}'' and ''{{w|Beavis and Butt-Head}}''. ''{{w|Romeo and Juliet}}'' has been filmed many times; most recently in ''{{w|Romeo + Juliet}}'' from 1996 with {{w|Leonardo DiCaprio}} and {{w|Claire Danes}} in the leading roles. {{w|Butt-Head}} is the less stupid one (of the very stupid duo) from the animated TV series ''{{w|Beavis and Butt-Head}}'' (and a {{w|Beavis and Butt-Head Do America|film}}). As Romeo and Juliet is one of the best known love stories and Butt-Head is one of the most disgusting teens ever depicted on the big screen (only overtaken by {{w|Beavis}}), the combination could create disturbing pictures in people's heads (especially in the heads of anyone who may identify themselves with Juliet).

In the alternative universe, when this movie was released, it got the best possible review of two thumbs up from the critics ''Siskel and Oates''. {{w|Gene Siskel}} was paired with {{w|Roger Ebert}}, when they reviewed movies as the famous duo {{w|Siskel and Ebert}}. They were widely known for the "thumbs up/thumbs down" review summaries, with their best combined review being ''Two Thumbs Up'', one from each of them. Coincidentally, or perhaps not, they actually gave ''{{w|Beavis & Butthead Do America}}'' ''Two Thumbs Up''.

In the alternative universe Siskel and his partner gives the film a (surprising) two thumbs up, but Ebert has been replaced with Oates. This is a reference to John Oates of {{w|Hall & Oates}}, a famous American musical duo from Philadelphia.

There also exists a comedy duo named {{w|Garfunkel and Oates}}, formed by Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci, who chose the "Garfunkel and Oates" name by combining the second names from both ''Hall & Oates'' and ''{{w|Simon and Garfunkel}}'' (the latter duo is mentioned in the main comic). Although this exact combo would not be possible in the xkcd version, as the "real universe" combo takes the second names from two duos rather than the first name from one and the second name from another (as in this comic), there may definitely be a deliberate reference to this group as well which has taken the parallel universe idea into our universe.

===List of real duos===
*See the list of [[#List of alternative duos|alternative duos]] below.
*In this list the ''partner index'' indicates whom the second from the duo is linked with in the comic
**So in the case with Thelma (index 1) and Louise (partner index 3), this means that Louise is paired up with Batman (index 3).
**Thelma is paired up with the Hobbes who has partner index 1.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
|+ Famous duos in this universe
|-
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | pairing
! scope="col" | Partner
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Explanation
! scope="col" | Name index
! scope="col" | Partner index
|-
| Thelma
| and
| Louise
| ''{{w|Thelma & Louise}}'' is a famous road trip film from 1991.
| 1
| 3
|-
| When Harry
| Met
| Sally
| ''{{w|When Harry Met Sally...}}'' is a romantic comedy film from 1989.
| 2
| 16
|-
| Batman
| and
| Robin
| {{w|Batman}} and {{w|Robin (comic)|Robin}} are comic book characters (first appearance for Batman was in 1939, Robin the year after). There have been several {{w|Batman_in_film#Films|films}} including one called ''{{w|Batman & Robin (film)|Batman & Robin}}'' from 1997. A new Batman film ''{{w|Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice}}'' had its release date three weeks after the release of this comic (2016-02-26).
| 3
| 4
|-
| {{w|Mark Antony|Antony}}
| and
| {{w|Cleopatra}}
| {{w|Mark Antony#Antony and Cleopatra|Antony and Cleopatra}} are historical figures who had an affair and three children together after the death of {{w|Julius Caesar}} up to Anthony's death 30 BC. Their combined names are best known from the play ''{{w|Antony and Cleopatra}}'' by {{w|Shakespeare}}.
| 4
| 12
|-
| Romeo
| and
| Juliet
| {{w|Romeo and Juliet}} are characters from Shakespeare's famous romantic tragedy, from 1597, made into several {{w|Romeo and Juliet on screen#Significant feature releases|major films}}.
| 5
| 24
|-
| {{w|Bonnie and Clyde#Bonnie Parker|Bonnie}}
| and
| {{w|Bonnie and Clyde#Clyde Barrow|Clyde}}
| {{w|Bonnie and Clyde}} were American criminals who traveled the central United States with their gang during the Great Depression until their death on May 23, 1934. They are well known from the film ''{{w|Bonnie and Clyde (film)|Bonnie and Clyde}}''.
| 6
| 7
|-
| {{w|Pinky and the Brain#Pinky|Pinky}}
| and
| {{w|Pinky and the Brain#Characters|the Brain}}
| Two mice from ''{{w|Pinky and the Brain}}'', an American animated TV series from the 1990s.
| 7
| 20
|-
| {{w|Paul Simon|Simon}}
| and
| {{w|Art Garfunkel|Garfunkel}}
| {{w|Simon & Garfunkel}} is a very famous musical duo from the 1960s. (See also explanation for the title text).
| 8
| 22
|-
| Beauty
| and
| the Beast
| {{w|Beauty and the Beast}} are fairy tale characters from a French book from 1740, today best known from the {{w|Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Disney film}} from 1991.
| 9
| 10
|-
| {{w|Beavis}}
| and
| {{w|Butt-head}}
| ''{{w|Beavis and Butt-Head}}'' is an animated TV series from the 1990s shown on {{w|MTV}}.
| 10
| 5
|-
| {{w|Rocky the Flying Squirrel|Rocky}}
| and
| {{w|Bullwinkle J. Moose|Bullwinkle}}
| A flying squirrel and a moose known from the ''{{w|The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show}}'', an American animated TV series from the 1960s.
| 11
| 2
|-
| {{w|Bud Abbott|Abbott}}
| and
| {{w|Lou Costello|Costello}}
| {{w|Abbott and Costello}} is a famous American comedy duo whose work in vaudeville and on stage, radio, film and television made them the most popular comedy team during the 1940s. They are known for their famous {{w|Who's on First}} sketch.
| 12
| 17
|-
| Dr. Jekyll
| and
| Mr. Hyde
| Not really a duo, {{w|Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (character)|Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde}} are the two sides of a well known character from the book ''{{w|Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde}}'' written by the Scottish author {{w|Robert Louis Stevenson}} in 1886. It has been adapted into several {{w|Adaptations_of_Strange_Case_of_Dr._Jekyll_and_Mr._Hyde#Film|films}}.
| 13
| 15
|-
| {{w|Samson}}
| and
| {{w|Delilah}}
| Not really a duo, Samson and Delilah are Biblical characters from the {{w|Book of Judges}} (chapters 13-16). Samson was given supernatural strength by God in order to combat his enemies. However, Samson had two vulnerabilities: his attraction to untrustworthy women, and his hair, without which he was just a normal man. These vulnerabilities ultimately proved fatal for him when Delilah had him reveal the secret of his hair, which she subsequently cut off. Then she handed him over to be captured by the Philistines, who gouged his eyes out and brought him to imprisonment in Gaza. He died while in capture but on his own terms. Delilah had not explained why he was no longer strong, so his hair had been allowed to grow out again. When he got it all back, he used his power to destroy a temple he was led into, taking many enemies with him in death.
| 14
| 11
|-
| {{w|Butch Cassidy}}
| and
| the {{w|Sundance Kid}}
| They are historical criminals who died in 1908. They were notorious American train and bank robbers with the {{w|Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch}} gang in 1899-1901. They were made famous by the film ''{{w|Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid}}'' from 1969.
| 15
| 23
|-
| Bill
| and
| Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Bogus Journey
| {{w|Bill & Ted (franchise)|Bill & Ted}} are characters from the two films ''{{w|Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure}}'' (1989) and ''{{w|Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey}}'' (1991). The two titles are spread out on the two new pairings for Bill and Ted, in recognition that this duo is mainly known for these two films, although there also is a {{w|Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures (1990 TV series)|spin-off animated series}} from 1990-1991.
| 16
| 6
|-
| {{w|David}}
| and
| {{w|Goliath}}
| Not really a duo, David and Goliath were biblical adversaries best known from "small" David's defeat of giant Goliath in the story {{w|David#David_and_Goliath|David and Goliath}}. David later became the second king of Israel, according to the {{w|Books of Samuel}}, and according to the {{w|New Testament}}, an ancestor of {{w|Jesus}}.
| 17
| 8
|-
| {{w|Sherlock Holmes}}
| and
| {{w|Dr. Watson}}
| Characters from {{w|Arthur Conan Doyle}}'s famous books (from 1887-1927) which have been made into numerous {{w|Adaptations of Sherlock Holmes#Film|films}}. In 2009 and 2011, a new {{w|Sherlock Holmes (2009 film)|series of movies}} has been released with {{w|Robert Downey Jr.}} and {{w|Jude Law}} as the two characters. There have also been several TV series.
| 18
| 19
|-
| Jay
| and
| Silent Bob
| {{w|Jay and Silent Bob}} is a strange duo from {{w|View Askew Productions|View Askew's}} film universe, first seen in the film {{w|Clerks}} from 1994. A film called {{w|Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back}} was later released in 2001. The director of these movies, {{w|Kevin Smith}} plays Silent Bob, who of course rarely speaks, but when he finally does it often becomes a long defining monologue. Jay (played by {{w|Jason Mewes}}) talks all the time!
| 19
| 18
|-
| {{w|Anna Leonowens|Anna}}
| and
| the {{w|Mongkut|King}}
| Recently made famous by the 1999 film ''{{w|Anna and the King}}'', based on the 1944 novel ''{{w|Anna and the King of Siam (novel)|Anna and the King of Siam}}'' by {{w|Margaret Landon}}. The Langdon novel was based on two memoirs written by Anna Leonowens in 1870 and 1872, from her experience as royal governess for King Mongkut's children and language secretary for the King from 1862-1867.
| 20
| 21
|-
| {{w|Calvin (Calvin and Hobbes)|Calvin}}
| and
| {{w|Hobbes (Calvin and Hobbes)|Hobbes}}
| ''{{w|Calvin and Hobbes}}'' is a comic series by {{w|Bill Watterson}} that ran from 1985-1995. Calvin is a six-year-old boy and Hobbes is Calvin's stuffed tiger and best friend, who becomes a living anthropomorphic tiger in Calvin's private fantasy world. They have been [[:Category:Calvin and Hobbes|featured regularly]] in xkcd, most prominently in the "duo" comic: [[409: Electric Skateboard (Double Comic)]].
| 21
| 1
|-
| Timon
| and
| Pumbaa
| {{w|Timon and Pumbaa}} are characters from ''{{w|The Lion King}}'' film (1994) and they also have their own {{w|The Lion King 1½|film from 2004}} and a {{w|Timon & Pumbaa (TV series)|TV series}} that ran from 1995-1999. There have been [[:Category:The Lion King|many references]] to ''The Lion King'' in xkcd, for instance the comment in the final panel of [[1504: Opportunity]], is from the original movie.
| 22
| 14
|-
| {{w|Mary Kate Olsen|Mary Kate}}
| and
| {{w|Ashley Olsen}}
| Known as the {{w|Mary-Kate_and_Ashley_Olsen|Olsen twins}}, these {{w|Twin#Dizygotic_.28fraternal.29_twins|fraternal twin}} actresses born in 1986 have been on TV since they were infants (on ''{{w|Full House}}'' from 1987) and began starring together in TV, film, and video projects, which enabled them to join the ranks of the wealthiest women in the entertainment industry at a young age. They have previously been the pun of the joke in [[362: Blade Runner]].
| 23
| 13
|-
| {{w|Mario}}
| and
| {{w|Luigi}}
| In the {{w|Mario (franchise)|''Mario'' series of video games}}, which started with the 1983 game ''{{w|Mario Bros.}}'', Mario and his brother Luigi are the main characters. ''Mario'' games have been referenced in several xkcd comics, such as [[151: Mario]] and the comics in the {{w|''Mario Kart''}} [[:Category:Mario Kart|category]].
| 24
| 9
|}

===List of alternative duos===
*See the list of [[#List of real duos|real duos]] above.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ Famous Duos in a nearby parallel universe
|-
! scope="col" | Duo name
! scope="col" | Explanation
|-
| Thelma and Hobbes
| In this essay [http://www.exampleessays.com/viewpaper/207623.html Political Philosophies in Thelma and Louise] the sentence ''Thelma and Hobbes's Total Sovereign Authority'' can be found. In this case it is a reference to {{w|Thomas Hobbes}} as the essay is an analysis of Thelma and Louise's actions and the decision they make in comparison to the political philosophies of Thomas Hobbes and {{w|Jean Jacques Rousseau}}. Hobbes was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy. He also developed some of the fundamentals of European liberal thought, which could be said to be relevant for the movie.
|-
| When Harry met Bullwinkle
| {{w|Billy Crystal}} who played Harry in When Harry Met Sally... also has an uncredited cameo part as a mattress salesman in the movie {{w|The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle}} (see the list of uncredited actors on [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0131704/combined IMDb]). In this real action movie, Rocky and Bullwinkle ends up in the real world, where it thus becomes likely that Billy who played Harry ends up meeting Bullwinkle "in real life".
|-
| Batman and Louise
| This duo's name comes rather close to the real duo {{w|Clark Kent}} and {{w|Lois Lane}} especially since the film {{w|Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice}} was set for release three weeks after the release of this comic in February 2016.
|-
| Antony and Robin
| There is a book called ''[http://www.amazon.com/Shakespeares-Antony-Cleopatra-English-Literature/dp/0713155884 Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra"] written by a Robin Lee.
|-
| Romeo and Butthead
| It would be quite a different story if either Butt-head should replace Juliet or if Romeo should replace Beavis... (Note Butt-Head is spelled with a hyphen, but has been misspelled in the comic.)
|-
| Bonnie and Ted's excellent adventure
| There was not much excellent about the adventure for Bonnie as {{w|Ted Hinton}} was a Dallas County, Texas, deputy sheriff, the youngest of the posse that ambushed and killed Bonnie and Clyde in 1934. That they could have had an excellent adventure in an alternative universe becomes clear from this segment from his history on Wikipedia: "Ted Hinton was also once acquainted with young Bonnie Parker while she was working in Marco's Cafe in Dallas. Because of her good looks, many of the male customers would flirt with her. Hinton was always gentlemanly and treated Bonnie with respect. Hinton admitted in a later biography that he had a crush on Bonnie, which made it difficult for him as one of the men on the team sent to kill her and her lover, Clyde."

The idea of Bill and Ted seeking out Bonnie and Clyde as part of their time-traveling history project is not too out-there, as they already pick up outlaw Billie the Kid in our universe.
|-
| Pinky and Clyde
| As can be seen in the table above this refers to Pinky the mouse from Pinky and the Brain and Clyde from Bonnie and Clyde. But {{w|Ghosts (Pac-Man)#Pinky|Pinky}} and {{w|Ghosts (Pac-Man)#Clyde|Clyde}} are also the names of the pink and orange {{w|Pacman}} ghosts in this universe. They are, however, not a duo as there are {{w|Ghosts (Pac-Man)|four ghosts}} ({{w|Ghosts (Pac-Man)#Blinky|Blinky}} and {{w|Ghosts (Pac-Man)#Inky|Inky}} being the two others).
|-
| Simon and Goliath
| Goliath begins with G as Garfunkel. Simon was the shorter of the duo thus fitting as David vs. Goliath.
|-
| Beauty and Luigi
| No direct relation to either Mario or the Beast. However, each story has had a less-popular adaptation that takes place in the sewers of New York City: the 1993 {{w|Super Mario Bros. (film)|''Super Mario Bros.'' film}} and the 1987-1990 {{w|Beauty and the Beast (1987 TV series)|"Beauty and the Beast" TV series}}. Of course, Mario and Luigi are beast hunters rather than beasts.{{citation needed}}
|-
| Beavis and the Beast
| Beavis starts with the same three letters as Beauty, just like Beast does.
|-
| Rocky and Delilah
| There is a book called ''[http://www.bensonink.com/delilahsdaughters.html Delilah's Daughters]'', by Angela Benson, where Delilah Monroe's (note the closeness to Munroe) late husband is called Rocky. (See also [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsIvBLuiiRs Rocky and Delilah] on YouTube...)
|-
| Abbot and Cleopatra
| Abbot starts with an A as does Anthony. Cleopatra starts with a C as does Costello.
|-
| Dr. Jekyll and Ashley Olsen
| In the Robert Louis Stevenson story, Dr. Jekyll has a sinister alter-ego in Mr. Hyde just like twins are (almost) the same persons. Though the Olsen twins are not {{w|Twin#IdenticalTwins|identical twins}}, as children the two shared the role of Michelle Tanner on the U.S. sitcom ''Full House''. Jekyll and Hyde are two people in one body, while Mary Kate and Ashley were, in a way, one person in two bodies. There are only three switches in this cycle. Butch Cassidy takes Mr. Hyde and the other Olson twin takes The Sundance Kid. This means that both twins are paired with a man instead of as in real life with a woman. The idea of Dr. Jekyll's secret evil alter-ego being a teenage girl is very silly.
|-
| Samson and Pumbaa
| Samson has several letters in common with Timon but Samson is a huge man where Timon is a very small animal compared to the other main characters in The Lion King film.
|-
| Butch Cassidy and Mr. Hyde
| As per the above explanation for Dr. Jekyll and Ashley Olsen, this outlaw and murderer duo might be considered the Olsen sisters.
|-
| Bill and Sally's Bogus Journey
| In this [http://www.rogerwhitney.com/casestudy/ case study] regarding retirement we ''meet Bill and Sally'' (as Sally met Harry). It could be said to be a ''bogus journey'' as it is just a case study.
|-
| David and Costello
| As Costello was the smaller of Abbot and Costello this does not match up with David vs. a Goliath as it did with Goliath vs small Simon.
|-
| Sherlock Holmes and Silent Bob
| This is the only case of a direct switch between two duos. Dr. Watson usually listen to the musings of Sherlock Holmes and Silent Bob is, as his name indicates, mainly silent. Jay talks all the time.
|-
| Jay and Dr. Watson
| See explanation above for their respective real universe partners (the only case of a direct switch between two duos).
|-
| Anna and the Brain
| The Brain desires to take over the world; the King is ruler of his domain.
|-
| Calvin and the King
| Although it is Calvin's fantasy that decides what happens, it is Hobbes that behaves like the King in their relationship at least when it comes to displaying physical strength to determine who decides.
|-
| Timon and Garfunkel
| Timon is put together with Garfunkel, which makes it a close match to Simon and Garfunkel.
|-
| Mary-Kate and the Sundance Kid
| See above explanation for Dr. Jekyll and Ashley Olsen.
|-
| Mario and Juliet
| Mario would have no issue with balconies. His name has some similarities with Romeo. Also, like Romeo, he is an Italian stereotype.
|}

===Cycles===
*There are four cycles.
*The cycles listed below are sorted like explained this example from the longest cycle:
**It starts with "Thelma" (from Thelma and Louse), who is paired with "Hobbes". Hobbes is then shown diagonally down in the next entry below, Calvin and Hobbes, thus leading from "Hobbes" to "Calvin", who is similarly paired with "the King" leading to Anna and so on, until "Batman" is paired with "Louise", completing the cycle.
* First cycle: length 15
Thelma & Louise
Calvin & Hobbes
Anna & the King
Pinky & the Brain
Bonnie & Clyde
Bill & Ted
Harry & Sally
Rocky & Bullwinkle
Samson & Delilah
Timon & Pumbaa
Simon & Garfunkel
David & Goliath
Abbot & Costello
Antony & Cleopatra
Batman & Robin

* Second cycle: length 4
Romeo & Juliet
Beavis & Butthead
Beauty & the Beast
Mario & Luigi

* Third cycle: length 3
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen
Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid

* Fourth cycle: length 2
Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson
Jay & Silent Bob

* Assigning an index starting with 1 (= Thelma & Louise) to 24 (= Mario & Luigi), they can be written as:

(1, 21, 20, 7, 6, 16, 2, 11, 14, 22, 8, 17, 12, 4, 3)
(5, 10, 9, 24)
(13, 23, 15)
(18, 19)

==Transcript==
:[Caption above the panel:]
:Famous Duos in a nearby parallel universe

:[A list with 24 duos with a gray “and" between the two names (in one case it is a “met") and three times there is a gray word before (once) or after (twice) the names. The list is centered with the “and" in the middle disregarding the length of the names on each side:]
:{|
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Thelma
| and
| Hobbes
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | When Harry
| met
| Bullwinkle
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Batman
| and
| Louise
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Antony
| and
| Robin
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Romeo
| and
| Butthead
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Bonnie
| and
| Ted's excellent adventure
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Pinky
| and
| Clyde
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Simon
| and
| Goliath
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Beauty
| and
| Luigi
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Beavis
| and
| the Beast
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Rocky
| and
| Delilah
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Abbot
| and
| Cleopatra
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Dr. Jekyll
| and
| Ashley Olsen
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Samson
| and
| Pumbaa
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Butch Cassidy
| and
| Mr. Hyde
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Bill
| and
| Sally's Bogus Journey
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | David
| and
| Costello
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Sherlock Holmes
| and
| Silent Bob
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Jay
| and
| Dr. Watson
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Anna
| and
| the Brain
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Calvin
| and
| the King
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Timon
| and
| Garfunkel
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Mary-Kate
| and
| the Sundance Kid
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Mario
| and
| Juliet
|}

==Trivia==
*Here is a ranked list with [http://www.ranker.com/list/best-duos-of-all-time/ariel-kana The Best Duos of All Time].
**When this comic came out there were still less than 300 duos on the list.
**16 of the 24 in the comic, and one of the two mentioned in the title text were on this list.
**Below the ranking refers to where they were on the list Sunday after the release of the comic (on Friday).
**The index refers to the index from the table above with the [[#List of real duos|list of real duos]].
:{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
|+ Ranking (on 2016-02-28) of famous Duos
|-
! scope="col" | Rank
! scope="col" | Duo
! scope="col" | Index
|-
| 2 || Batman and Robin|| 3
|-
| 8 || Holmes and Watson|| 18
|-
| 11 || Simon and Garfunkel|| 8
|-
| 22 || Thelma and Louise|| 1
|-
| 23 || Pinky and The Brain|| 7
|-
| 24 || Hall and Oates|| 26 Title text
|-
| 31 || Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid|| 15
|-
| 35 || Calvin and Hobbes|| 21
|-
| 41 || Jay and Silent Bob|| 19
|-
| 46 || Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde|| 13
|-
| 71 || Abbott and Costello|| 12
|-
| 79 || Beauty and the Beast || 9
|-
| 85 || Antony and Cleopatra|| 4
|-
| 99 || Beavis and Butt-head|| 10
|-
| 106 || Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen|| 23
|-
| 110 || Romeo and Juliet|| 5
|-
| 206 || Rocky and Bullwinkle|| 11
|-
| N/A || When Harry Met Sally...|| 2
|-
| N/A || Samson and Delilah || 14
|-
| N/A || Bill & Ted|| 16
|-
| N/A || David and Goliath || 17
|-
| N/A || Anna and the King || 20
|-
| N/A || Timon and Pumbaa || 22
|-
| N/A || Mario and Luigi || 24
|-
| N/A || Siskel and Ebert || 25 Title text
|}

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Calvin and Hobbes]]
[[Category:The Lion King]]
[[Category:Disney]]
[[Category:Movies]]
[[Category:Superheroes]]

1434: Where Do Birds Go

2026-05-06T00:44:09Z

64.189.140.61:

{{comic
| number = 1434
| date = October 15, 2014
| title = Where Do Birds Go
| image = where_do_birds_go.png
| titletext = Water/ice has a lot of weird phases. Maybe asking 'where do birds go when it rains' is like asking 'where does Clark Kent go whenever Superman shows up?'
}}

==Explanation==
Cueball searches [http://lmgtfy.com/?q=where+do+birds+go+when+it+rains%3F Google] to find out where birds go when it rains. He finds that the question is asked worldwide, across many different languages and websites. A variety of screenshots are shown of different websites and forums where users have asked where birds go when it rains, with at least nine languages shown. The bottom of this panel fades to white, suggesting that the occurrence of these questions stretches on and on. Cueball expresses delight at the idea that this question is the one to which everyone wants to know the answer; worrying about birds getting wet is "the thing that unites us".

Later in the comic, a bird in the rain is also searching on the Internet for where birds go when it rains. This is humorously implying that a significant set of these questions are being typed by birds looking for a dry place after being caught in the rain, and not humans. This would make Cueball wrong; worrying about birds getting wet would not unite us. In reality, as the comic states, birds look for shelter so they can stay dry. On a rainy day you can usually find birds in leafy trees, caves or other kinds of cover. Also, if the rain is light, many birds don’t even care and just continue with their normal birdy lives.

The title text jokingly implies that birds are a phase of water. This would mean that the birds don't go anywhere during the rain. They turn into water, becoming the rain. In reality, this is impossible.{{Citation needed}} In the {{w|Superman}} comics, Clark Kent ''is'' Superman, so you never observe both Clark Kent and Superman simultaneously. By analogy, the title text whimsically suggests that a possible inference from the observation that you never see birds and rain together is that birds ''are'' the rain. Perhaps birds are an unknown {{w|Phase (matter)|phase}} of water. In addition to its familiar phases of {{w|ice}}, {{w|water vapor|vapor}}, and {{w|water|liquid water}}, water has more exotic phases such as {{w|Ice#Phases|low-temperature and high-pressure ices}} and {{w|Supercritical fluid|supercritical gases}}; why not birds?

==Websites shown in comic==

===English===
[https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110223085537AAiOFTk Where do the birds go when it rains?]
([https://web.archive.org/web/20210413012237/https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110223085537AAiOFTk archive])

[http://www.enature.com/expert/expert_show_question.asp?questionID=23847 <nowiki>[...]</nowiki> Where do birds go when it rains or storms?] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20160815053813/http://www.enature.com/expert/expert_show_question.asp?questionID=23847 archive])

[http://activerain.trulia.com/blogsview/1452078/where-do-birds-go-when-it-rains- Where do Birds go When it Rains?] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20150506170139/http://activerain.trulia.com/blogsview/1452078/where-do-birds-go-when-it-rains- archive])

[http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message979308/pg1 Where do birds go when it rains really hard?]

[http://randomthoughtsfrommidlife.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/where-do-the-birds-go-when-it-rains/ Where do the birds go when it rains?]

===French===
[https://fr.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110327100813AAMj2hy Où se cachent les oiseaux quand il pleut?] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20210424175612/https://fr.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110327100813AAMj2hy archive]) (Translation: Where do the birds hide when it rains?)

===German===
[http://www.gutefrage.net/frage/was-passiert-jetzt-eigentlich-mit-den-voegeln-die-bei-dem-wetter-in-den-baeumen-sitzen was passiert jetzt eigentlich mit den vögeln, die bei dem wetter in den bäumen sitzen?]<ref>In proper German, all nouns (and the beginning of the sentence) should be capitalized. The author leaves them uncapitalized, characteristic of lazy/hurried typing.</ref> ([https://web.archive.org/web/20150326142217/http://www.gutefrage.net/frage/was-passiert-jetzt-eigentlich-mit-den-voegeln-die-bei-dem-wetter-in-den-baeumen-sitzen archive]) (Translation: What actually happens with the birds that are sitting in the trees in this weather?)

[http://www.vogel.info/schlechtes_wetter.htm Was machen Vögel bei schlechtem Wetter?] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20171116220559/http://www.vogel.info/schlechtes_wetter.htm archive]) (Translation: What do birds do in bad weather?)

[http://www.gutefrage.net/frage/wohin-gehen-voegel Wohin gehen Vögel?] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20150326142246/http://www.gutefrage.net/frage/wohin-gehen-voegel archive]) (Translation: Where do birds go?)

===Spanish===
[http://noticias.lainformacion.com/ciencia-y-tecnologia/ciencias-meteorologicas/que-pasa-con-las-aves-durante-un-huracan_g1DV8AL9LSG6Bzy7q5G8s7/ ¿Qué pasa con las aves durante un huracán?] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20170908213054/http://www.lainformacion.com/ciencia-y-tecnologia/ciencias-meteorologicas/que-pasa-con-las-aves-durante-un-huracan_g1DV8AL9LSG6Bzy7q5G8s7 archive]) (Translation: What happens to the birds during a hurricane?)

[https://espanol.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120525145152AABvmOq ¿A donde se van los pajaritos cuando llueve?]<ref>In proper Spanish, the word "donde" (meaning "where") in this context should have an accent (dónde). This is a rule that even some newspapers manage to get wrong.</ref> ([https://web.archive.org/web/20210427045421/https://espanol.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120525145152AABvmOq archive]) (Translation: Where do the little birds go when it rains?)

===Dutch===
[http://www.willemwever.nl/vraag_antwoord/dieren-en-planten/waar-blijven-de-vogels-als-het-heel-hard-stormt Waar blijven de vogels als het heel hard stormt?] (Translation: Where do birds stay when it is storming very hard?)

===Finnish===
[http://ihmepuu.vuodatus.net/lue/2014/05/minne-linnut-menevat-sateella? Minne linnut menevät sateella] (Translation: Where do the birds go when it rains?)

===Simplified Chinese===
[http://wenwen.sogou.com/z/q55741469.htm 下雨时鸟儿往哪躲] (Translation: When it rains, where do birds go to hide?)

[http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/270774126.html 下雨的时候小鸟住在哪里] (Translation: When it rains, where do the birds live?)

[http://wenwen.sogou.com/z/q145038794.htm 为什么鸟儿下雨的时候在天上飞不会因为淋湿掉下来?] (Translation: When it rains, why do birds in the sky not fall down from getting soaked?)

===Japanese===
[http://matome.naver.jp/odai/2136533586764388601 【雑学】暴風雨の時、鳥はどこに避難してるの？] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20200922155806/https://matome.naver.jp/odai/2136533586764388601 archive]) (Translation:【Miscellaneous Knowledge】Where do birds take shelter during a rainstorm?)

===Malay (Indonesian)===
[https://id.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101215231444AAAVxSM Burung Dapat Bertahan Terbang Berapa Lama Disaat Hujan ?] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20200809002913/https://id.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101215231444AAAVxSM archive]) (Translation: How Long Can Birds Survive Flying In the Rain ?)

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting at his desk with his computer.]
:Cueball: "Where do birds go when it rains?" is my new favorite Google search.
:Megan (off-screen): Why?

:[Megan enters the frame.]
:Cueball: It gives the answer, but also shows you an endless torrent of other people asking the same question.
:Cueball: Pages and pages of them, across regions and cultures.

:[The panel now only contains a Google search on the computer.]
:Cueball (off-screen): I love the idea that somehow this is the universal question, the thing that unites us.
:Cueball (off-screen): When it rains, we wonder where the birds go,
:Cueball (off-screen): and hope they're staying dry.

:[A collage of screen snippets.]

:[https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110223085537AAiOFTk from Yahoo! Answers]: '''Where do the birds go when it rains?''' I've noticed I rarely see birds flying around or in trees or on power lines when it's raining, So where do they go?

:[http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message979308/pg1 from Godlike Productions]: '''Where do birds go when it rains really hard?'''
Ok, maybe I'm an idiot for asking this, but during the slew of several storms in California the last couple weeks, I began to wonder where the poor birds go to stay dry? The ducks, seagulls, owls, sparrows, hummingbirds, hawks, etc...I see them all the ti[...]

:[http://randomthoughtsfrommidlife.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/where-do-the-birds-go-when-it-rains/ from Random Thoughts From Midlife]: Where do the birds go when it rains?

:[http://www.answers.com/Q/Where_do_birds_go_when_it_rains from Answers.com]: Where do birds go when it rains?

:[https://espanol.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120525145152AABvmOq from Yahoo! Respuestas]: ¿A donde se van los pajaritos cuando llueve?

:[http://activerain.trulia.com/blogsview/1452078/where-do-birds-go-when-it-rains- from Active Rain]: '''Where do Birds go When it Rains?''' I'm no youngster...and I have no answer for this. I've talked to alot of people about the likelihood of where birds go when it rains and everyone has a different perspective.

:[http://ask.metafilter.com/27499/Where-do-the-birds-go-when-it-rains from Ask MetaFilter]: '''Where do the birds go when it rains?''' BirdFeederFilter: When it's gloomy and rainy, I don't see any birds at my birdfeeder for days on end. Then as soon as it's sunny, they're all over the place. What gives? What do they do on rainy days, just forage near their nest?

:[http://snippets.com/where-do-city-birds-go-when-it-rains.htm from Snippets]: Where do city birds go when it rains?

:[http://wenwen.sogou.com/z/q55741469.htm from http://wenwen.sogou.com/]: 下雨时鸟儿往哪躲
没有大树,没有屋檐,怎么办

:[http://www.enature.com/expert/expert_show_question.asp?questionID=23847 from eNature.com]: '''Storm shelter''' ''In Florida, where I live, we get many thunderstorms, but I never see the birds in trees during the storms. We recently had a tropical storm and I did not see any birds in the trees. Where do birds go when it rains or storms?'' Just like at night, birds will seek shelter during storms. I remember watching a flock of American robins dive into[...]

:[https://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110730055427AApJlDb from Yahoo! Answers]: When it is raining heavily, where do the birds go...i don't see them on the trees, where do they take shelter?

:[https://fr.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110327100813AAMj2hy from Yahoo! Questions Réponses]: Où se cachent les oiseaux quand il pleut? De ma fenêtre, je n'en aperçois plus un!!!...Les pies semblent avoir abandonné leurs nids...

:[http://www.gutefrage.net/frage/was-passiert-jetzt-eigentlich-mit-den-voegeln-die-bei-dem-wetter-in-den-baeumen-sitzen from gutefrage.net]: '''was passiert jetzt eigentlich mit den vögeln, die bei dem wetter in den bäumen sitzen?''' bei uns regnet es heftig und der orkanartige wind wechelst ständig richtung und geschwindigkeit. können sich die vögel da in den bäumen halten? retten sie sich instinktiv vorher irgendwohin, wo sie windgeschützt sind?

:[https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20140607171044AAwamou from Yahoo! Answers]: Where do birds go when it rains? I never see any out...?

:[http://noticias.lainformacion.com/ciencia-y-tecnologia/ciencias-meteorologicas/que-pasa-con-las-aves-durante-un-huracan_g1DV8AL9LSG6Bzy7q5G8s7/ from lainformacion.com]: ¿Qué pasa con las aves durante un huracán?

:[http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/270774126.html from Baidu]: '''下雨的时候小鸟住在哪里？''' 下雨的时候小鸟住在哪里？如果是在春天夏天那还好，有树叶遮挡着，但是到了秋天冬天下雨小鸟住在哪里？还住在在树上搭的窝里吗？不怕冻坏自己和小幼崽吗？如果躲雨那就在哪里躲雨呢？怎么没见过它们躲雨？谢谢。

:[http://www.fairfaxunderground.com/forum/read/40/219540.html from Fairfax Underground]: '''What do birds do when it rains?''' Recently I installed a bird feeder outside my bedroom window. It is so wonderful the diversity of our feathered friends that frequent the feeder! I love it. My question that I haven't found an answer to is this: What do the little birdies do when it rains? I mean, do they stay put in the trees that they find themselves in,

:[http://ihmepuu.vuodatus.net/lue/2014/05/minne-linnut-menevat-sateella from a blog on vuodatus.net]: '''Minne linnut menevät sateella?''' Tänään satoi rankasti. Kuljin metsän halki. Kuulin linnun laulavan. Yksinäinen, mutta itsenäinen ja vahva, tulkitseva ääni. Kaunis. Minne linnut menevät sateella? En ole koskaan nähnyt lintuja rankkasateessa. Luulen, että ne yrittävät löytää suojan. Kuusien ja mäntyjen oksistossa on varmaan suojaisaa. Kallioiden koloihin ja pieniin luolastoihin voi ehkä lintukin hiipiä. Rohkeille löytyy pihoilta suojapaikkoja. Ehkä linnulla oli oma pesäkolo. Siellä oli lämmintä ja kuivaa. Sieltä saattoi rauhassa katsella sateen vierailua metsässä. Siellä saattoi jopa iloita sateesta ja laulaa.

:[https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110530163957AAaw1S3 from Yahoo! Answers]: '''What do the birds do when it RAINS like crazy?''' I live in upstate new york and just moved here and there are so many many birds here especially where I live, the other day I saw a broken egg on the ground in the drive way from a [...show more link] '''Update''': I know they get wet btw but was wondering if they did anything extra to [...show more link] '''Best Answer''' Well... it depends on the species of bird, for one. Some are more adapted for rain then others.

:[http://www.willemwever.nl/vraag_antwoord/dieren-en-planten/waar-blijven-de-vogels-als-het-heel-hard-stormt from Willem Wever]: '''Waar blijven de vogels als het heel hard stormt?''' Bij hevige stormen zoekt een vogel de beschutting die bij hem past. Er zijn een aantal vogels die met storm wel vliegen. Maar bij een echte hevige storm schuilen [...]

:[http://wenwen.sogou.com/z/q145038794.htm from http://wenwen.sogou.com/] '''为什么鸟儿下雨的时候在天上飞不会因为淋湿掉下来?''' 刚刚下很大的雨,却还看到有几只鸟一直在天上飞.为什么鸟儿下雨的时候在天上飞不会因为淋湿掉下来? '''补充'''：有照片的加分

:[http://forums.speedguide.net/showthread.php?147357-Where-do-birds-go-when-it-rains from speed guide forums]: '''Where do birds go when it rains?''' Do they just sit in their trees as it rains getting drenched? Or do they seek shelter?

:[http://books.google.com/books?id=c9gTAwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false from Google books]: '''Where Do All The Birds Go When It Rains?''' By Misty Hoopman

:[Screen snippets begin to noticeably fade to white at this point.]

:[http://vimeo.com/54433164 from vimeo]: '''WHERE DO BIRDS GO WHEN IT RAINS?''' One young magpie will give its own story. Barring the thunder and heavy rain, all the sounds on this movie are from this one young maggie. Amazing

:[https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071130121113AA0IjwA from Yahoo! Answers]: '''Where do birds go during wind and rain storms?''' Where do birds go during wind and rain storms?

:[https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080609181529AAid1nN from Yahoo! Answers]: '''Where do birds go when it rains?''' I mean, they can't keep dry in their nests...They have to go somewhere.

:[https://id.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101215231444AAAVxSM from Yahoo! Answers]: Burung Dapat Bertahan Terbang Berapa Lama Disaat Hujan?

:[http://www.vogel.info/schlechtes_wetter.htm from vogel.info]: '''Was machen Vögel bei schlechtem Wetter?''' Zunächst mal, was sie nicht machen: Sie verkriechen sich nicht etwa in ihr Nest, denn das Vogelnest dient der Brutpflege, es ist nicht etwa eine Wohnung. Es stellt sich aber ja auch die Frage, was eigentlich unter schlechtem Wetter zu verstehen ist: Es gibt Vögel, die leiden unter zuviel Sonne und[...]

:[http://www.gutefrage.net/frage/wohin-gehen-voegel from gutefrage.net]: '''Wohin gehen Vögel?''' Hallo zusammen! Heute als es so richtige Gewitter gab, hab ich mir überlegt wohin alle Vögel verschwinden. Haben alle Vögel Nester in die sie sich zurückziehen können? [link to view complete question.]

:[https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080808130433AAE8b3B from Yahoo! Answers]: '''Where do birds go when it rains?''' Well, yesterday it was raining...I was bored so i started staring out the window, and i say a empty birds nest and i was wondering, where do birds go when it rains?

:[http://diolungroup.com/blog/2014/02/19/where-do-birds-go-when-it-rains-or-snows/ from Diolún Designs Blog]: Where do Birds go when it rains or snows?

:[http://www.andalusiastarnews.com/2014/04/05/where-do-birds-go-when-it-rains/ from The Andalusia Star-News]: '''Where do birds go when it rains?''' I haven’t fed birds in my back yard for a long time, but I still enjoy the few I see perching on top of poles, an electric wire, tree branches, or scooting across the [...]

:[http://besgroup.blogspot.com/2006/12/where-do-birds-go-when-it-rains-and.html from Bird Ecology Study Group (blog)]: '''Where do birds go when it rains? And what do they do then?''' It has been raining on and off these few weeks and the birds have not been around. Have you ever wondered what happened to them when it

:[http://matome.naver.jp/odai/2136533586764388601 from Naver Matome]: '''【雑学】暴風雨の時、鳥はどこに避難してるの？''' 人間が歩くのも困難な暴風雨。その時、一番影響を受けるのは空を飛んでいる鳥達ですよね。彼らはどのように風雨を凌いでいるのか？ずーっと気になっていた事を調べてみました！

:[At this point, at the bottom of the section, screen snippets are extremely faded.]

:[http://dailyapple.blogspot.com/2010/01/apple-431-birds-in-rain.html from The Daily Apple]: '''Apple #431: Birds in the Rain'''
:Forgot until late tonight that I meant to make a new post. Since I didn't leave [...]

:[https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20140522193215AAawPNF from Yahoo! answers]: Where does birds go when it rains?

:[A bird sits on a wire fence.]

:[The bird looks around as raindrops fall.]

:[The rain becomes heavier.]

:[The bird flies down to a phone on the ground.]

:[The bird lands on the phone. The rain is getting heavier.]

:[The bird pecks on the phone.]
:W... H... E... R... E...   D... O...   B... I... R... D... S...

==Notes==
<references/>

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Weather]]
[[Category:Google Search]]
[[Category:Superheroes]]

1415: Ballooning

2026-05-06T00:43:55Z

64.189.140.61:

{{comic
| number = 1415
| date = September 1, 2014
| title = Ballooning
| image = ballooning.png
| titletext = Time to dance in front of Mary Jane! If I'm lucky, she'll turn out not to practice pre-copulatory sexual cannibalism!
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Spider-Man}} is a fictional superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics, and has been the star of a number of television shows and film. The {{w|Spider-Man theme song}}, first used for the 1967 cartoon show, includes the words, "Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can". However, at other points, the theme song explains some things Spider-Man can do that a real spider obviously couldn't, such as crime-fighting.{{citation needed}} Randall is pointing out that while the abilities attributed to Spider-Man make a good superhero story, they are not real abilities of a spider.

This comic depicts [[Cueball]] as a far more realistic Spider-Man, behaving and thinking much more closely to a real spider than the Spider-Man from the comics. Cueball is shown {{w|Ballooning (spider)|ballooning}} ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ai3gTAwssxQ example]), a trait used by spiders to move between locations, rather than swinging on web cords as in the comics and films. As he is floating, he sees a good spot to land, eat some bugs and make an egg sac. Again this contrasts the real life of a spider with Spider-Man, who would doubtless be rushing to fight crime or save a pretty girl.

Only female spiders create an egg sac. Male spiders spin a sperm web in order to transfer their sperm from their {{w|epigastric furrow}} into their {{w|pedipalp}}s (reproductive organ located on the front two appendages, in the position where a scorpion would have pincers), which will then be used to transfer the sperm into the female during copulation. Cueball/Spider-Man, being nominally male, should in fact be looking for a place to create a sperm web, not an egg sac. However, thanks to being featured in children's books, the actions of female spiders are much more widely known.

The title text refers to the mating ritual of some spiders, in which the male performs a dance to court the female. {{w|Mary Jane Watson}} is the third love interest and Peter's eventual wife in the Spider-Man stories, and so Cueball is planning to court her by dancing in front of her. In doing so he hopes that he is lucky, and she doesn't eat him before copulating with him, as {{w|sexual cannibalism}} is a trait associated with spiders.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is shown floating on the wind, attached to a large balloon. The balloon is made of spider silk.]
:Cueball: Ooh, that looks like a good spot to land, eat some bugs, and make an egg sac!
:Text under panel: ♫ ''Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can'' ♪
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Spiders]]
[[Category:Superheroes]]

1394: Superm*n

2026-05-06T00:43:40Z

64.189.140.61:

{{comic
| number = 1394
| date = July 14, 2014
| title = Superm*n
| image = superm_n.png
| titletext = See also: Spider-Man reboot in which he can produce several inches of web, doesn't need as much chalk powder on his hands when he goes rock climbing, and occasionally feels vaguely uneasy about situations.
}}

==Explanation==
By depicting how unimpressive the superhero {{w|Superman}} would be if his increase in powers, when compared to humans, were the same as the Moon's increase in apparent size during a {{w|supermoon}}, Randall points that the use of the term supermoon is an exaggeration. This comic was released two days after such a supermoon and there was a hype in 2014 because there were [https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/10jul_supermoons three supermoons in a row] as NASA said.

A supermoon is an informal astronomical event where a full moon occurs when it is closest to Earth, causing the Moon to appear 10% brighter and about 7% larger than the '''average''' full moon appears. This is due to the {{w|apsidal precession}} of the Moon's {{w|elliptic orbit}} which has an {{w|orbital eccentricity}} of about 0.0549. The conditions for a supermoon happen once every 411 days, and the loose definition of the term means that the supermoon lasts for about two or three full moons.

Returning to the not-so-Superman, the average American adult man is 69 inches (175 cm) tall, with a {{w|standard deviation}} of 2.9 inches (7,4 cm). Not-so-Superman, at an assumed 74 inches (188 cm) tall, is within the 94th percentile — certainly a tall man, but by no means phenomenal. Basketball players, by way of example, are often more than 80 inches (203 cm) tall. "7% stronger" (most likely a reference to how the supermoon is 7% larger) is a bit harder to quantify, but it communicates "not actually impressive" to the reader all the same. For example, if an average man can lift 50 kg, the not-so-Superman would lift 53.5 kg.

The comic's title makes use of an asterisk that is being used as a wildcard. When using search queries an asterisk represents one or more characters. Therefore, Superm*n can represent the strings "Superman" and "Supermoon", as well as "Supermen", "Supermoan" and "Supermax prison".

The title text makes this same comparison with {{w|Spider-Man}}. Spider-Man is capable of firing large amounts of webbing, can cling to surfaces with superhuman gripping abilities, and has a sixth sense, "spider sense", that warns him about impending danger. The title text describes trivially minimal versions of these powers, analogous to the trivial size and brightness difference between a "supermoon" and a normal full moon. This also shows a much more accurate depiction of an actual spider's abilities, where they can produce several inches of a thin web, not the unrealistic amounts depicted in use by Spider-Man (usually by technical means, though occasionally [https://screenrant.com/tobey-maguire-spiderman-organic-webshooters/ organically]).

Supermoon is also referenced in [[1052: Every Major's Terrible#Verse 3|panel 25]] of [[1052: Every Major's Terrible]] and shortly thereafter in [[1080: Visual Field]], in both cases displaying the same distaste for the formulation, although not as clearly as here. Since then other comics have referred to the term, see this [[:Category:Supermoon|list]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is reaching for an item on a high shelf. Superman is rushing towards him.]
:Superman: I'll get it! I'm 5 inches taller and 7% stronger than the average man!

:[Caption below the panel:]
:The new supermoon-inspired '''''Superman''''' reboot

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Supermoon]]
[[Category:Superheroes]]

1384: Krypton

2026-05-06T00:43:31Z

64.189.140.61:

{{comic
| number = 1384
| date = June 20, 2014
| title = Krypton
| image = krypton.png
| titletext = Their Sun and gravity will make you, uh, something, I guess. Out of earshot from Earth, mostly.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is an {{tvtropes|InvertedTrope|inverse version}} of the {{w|origin story}} of the {{w|superhero}} character {{w|Superman}}.

In the Superman story, {{w|Jor-El}} and his wife {{w|Lara (comics)|Lara}} notice that their home planet {{w|Krypton (comics)|Krypton}} is about to be destroyed in a giant explosion, so they decide to send their baby {{w|Superman|Kal-El}} to {{w|Earth}} to save him – and there he becomes Superman.

In this comic, [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] also notice that the planet Krypton is about to explode, but instead of attempting to save a baby from Krypton, they decide to send a baby to Krypton from Earth so that it'll stop annoying them with its crying.

In the fourth panel both spaceships can be seen. The rocket containing the Earth baby arrives at planet Krypton, while the crystal star shaped spaceship containing Kal-El leaves Krypton towards Earth – this is a reference to the [https://web.archive.org/web/20151103162314/http://collectingsuperman.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/stmstoryboard1a.jpg version of the spaceship] depicted in the 1978 {{w|Superman_(1978_film)|Superman movie}}, (see [[#Trivia|trivia section]]).

In the fifth and last panel we see Krypton explode into multiple pieces, also emitting a disc-like wave from the assumed equator.

In the Superman movie, Kal-El carries with him a lot of information pre-recorded by his parents. During the very long trip he listens to the recordings, one of which explains that the Sun and gravity of Earth will give him (Kal-El) great powers (this is the way he becomes Superman). The title text is a satirical version of this information, given to the Earth baby during his trip: That Megan and Cueball do not have the faintest idea (or care about) what the sun and gravity of Krypton will do to it – but their best guess at what these ''mostly'' will do to it is to "make you out of earshot from Earth", which was their original reason for shipping the baby off in the first place.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are standing near a telescope.]
:Cueball: The distant planet Krypton is becoming unstable!
:Baby crying (from outside the panel): Waaaaaa
:Megan: That crying baby is really annoying.

:[Cueball and Megan looking at each other.]

:[Spaceship taking off.]

:[Spaceship passing another spaceship on route to distant planet.]

:[Planet exploding.]

==Trivia==
*Whereas the Kal-El rocket clearly looks like the one in the 1978 Superman, a movie which is also the origin of the title text joke, the Earth baby rocket looks like any nondescript rocket. It has some features in common with the one used in [[1350: Lorenz]] as can be seen here under the [[1350: Lorenz#Rocket launch|Rocket launch theme]] - color scheme the same, but different body of the rocket. One could also argue that it resembles some of the [http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_M7D1hE_0cz0/TS88t-Rs2vI/AAAAAAAAEMY/EnIOj3AGFu8/s800/SupermanOrigins.jpg various] [http://thecomicmuseum.com/superman146.jpg versions] of the rocket that brought Superman to Earth as depicted in early {{w|List of Superman comics|comic books}} - Not that big a resemblance though, due to the very different tip and fins.
*As the nearest stars are several light years away, this comic does of course not make any sense if you look at it from a scientific point of view, but can still do if you don't.
**First of all - how would Cueball be able to see that Krypton is unstable in a telescope - as we at the moment can only just detect planets around other stars.
**And even if he did detect this and immediately shipped his baby away in a close to light-speed rocket, then it would take several years to reach Krypton; at best - more likely to be somewhere between a hundred to a thousand years.
***Plus, because light takes time to travel, Cueball was seeing the planet as it was many years ago, meaning it had been unstable for some time already. So even for the closest star (exclusive of the Earth's sun), it would be 4.3 years to see the instability and then over 4.3 more years for the ship to travel, even with close to light speed travel, for a total of over 8.6 years from when the light left the planet until the rocket arrived there.
**As faster than light-speed travel is impossible according to the current model of our universe this option is not really relevant here.
**During all those years, the unstable planet should still keep together - in spite of being so unstable that Cueball can determine this instability with his telescope on Earth.
**And then the rocket arrives just when Kal-El is being shipped the other way a few moments before the planet explodes. Of course if the arrival of the rocket causes the explosion this would explain the last two events. Kal-El is shipped off at the last moment when his parents realizes an incoming rocket will destroy their planet.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics with babies]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Telescopes]]
[[Category:Rockets]]
[[Category:Superheroes]]

Category:Etymology-Man

2026-05-06T00:43:14Z

64.189.140.61:

This series is a take on the traditional appearance of a superhero when a disaster strikes. In this case, Etymology-Man arrives, who apparently has the power of {{w|Etymology}}, the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time. As Etymology-Man is explaining the history of the words "{{w|tsunami}}" and "tidal wave", referencing the {{w|2004 Indian Ocean tsunami}}, the {{w|2011 Tōhoku tsunami}} and the {{w|1755 Lisbon earthquake and tsunami}}, the water starts rising around them. As the waters continue to rise, he continues to only explain the words, rather than attempting to save them as a superhero should. This, intentionally or unintentionally, is a dig at academics who prefer to talk about issues when taking action is more appropriate. In the second comic, the superhero Etymology-Man returns and, just like in his first appearance, explains the origination of words instead of actually helping.
<noinclude>[[Category:Miniseries]]
[[Category:Superheroes]]

1012: Wrong Superhero

2026-05-06T00:43:01Z

64.189.140.61:

{{comic
| number = 1012
| date = February 3, 2012
| title = Wrong Superhero
| image = wrong_superhero.png
| titletext = Hi! Someone call for me? I'm a superhero who specializes in the study of God's creation of Man in the Book of Genesi-- HOLY SHIT A GIANT BUG!
}}
==Explanation==
This is following the comic [[1010: Etymology-Man]]. The superhero Etymology-Man returns and, just like in his first appearance, explains the origination of words instead of actually helping. {{w|Etymology}} is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.

In this comic, a group of scientists is in a lab, fighting off a giant mantis and some smaller mantises (which are nonetheless much larger than a typical praying mantis. Compared to the size of the people in this comic, the smaller mantises appear to be 8-12 inches long). One [[Cueball]] is firing a gun and [[Ponytail]] is brandishing a baseball bat, while the giant mantis grabs one Cueball by the leg, dangling him upside down. Behind the table, another Cueball is listening to Etymology Man speak. The joke here is that the scientists called the wrong hero for help. They instead wanted Entomology-Man. {{w|Entomology}} is the study of insects. Instead of calling Entomology-Man, who could probably help with fighting off the mantises, they have accidentally called Etymology-Man, due to the similarities in their names. Etymology-Man can only explain the origin of words, making him useless in this current situation. He also has flight powers that could be used to evacuate the scientists, but as seen in [[1010: Etymology-Man]], etymology takes full priority for him.

In the title text, we find out the scientists accidentally call another superhero focused on the creation of {{w|Adam}} in the Biblical book of Genesis. This might be {{w|Etiology}}-Man (the study of causation and attribution), {{w|Ontology}}-Man (the study of being and existence), {{w|Ethnology}}-Man (the study of human character, with a focus on its formation and evolution). Or perhaps {{w|Anthropology}}-Man or {{w|Anthropogeny}}-Man. "Adam-ology-Man" would be a more direct pun to the first man, himself, but has less of a basis in an actual "-ology" and leaves the creation part of the 'hint' as superfluous. It is also possible that they asked for another hero fighting the mantis, but who came was "man-theology-man" (not manteology-man).

The title text could also be referring to "Ethnogenesology", the study of {{w|Ethnogenesis}}, since "ethnogenesis" has an "n" as required by Etymology-man. However, this Ethnogenesologist is a bit confused because Ethnogenesis does not specifically refer to the biblical book of genesis, but the beginning or "genesis" of any group of people. Perhaps Randall imbued "Ethnogenesology"-man with this misconception to hint that his title had the word "genesis" in it. (after all, Ethnogenesology-man is no etymologist, and surely Etymology-man would be happy to correct him.) Assuming Randall even knew about this word, he might of also known about it's rarity and lack of wikipedia page, as there is only [https://www.rastko.rs/arheologija/vsedov-slavs.html a single google result that uses the word "Ethnogenesology" before 2012, back when this comic was posted.].

==Transcript==
:[A giant praying mantis attacks a team of scientists, along with its legion of smaller-but-still-unusually-large mantises. Two of the scientists fight back, with a gun and a baseball bat respectively, while a third is in the mantis' clutches, held aloft by his foot, his goggles falling off his face. Bullets whiz by the giant mantis' head and a fourth scientist hides behind a desk, on which rests a microscope and an Erlenmeyer flask. A man in a cape approaches the hiding scientist.]
:Etymology-man: Ah, no—you wanted '''''ENTO'''''mology-Man, spelled with an "N". See, it's from the Greek ''entomon'', meaning "insect," which is itself the neuter form of ''entomos'', meaning "segmented" or...
:'''BLAM BLAM BLAM'''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Etymology-Man]]
[[Category:Superheroes]]

1010: Etymology-Man

2026-05-06T00:42:47Z

64.189.140.61:

{{comic
| number = 1010
| date = January 30, 2012
| title = Etymology-Man
| image = etymology_man.png
| titletext = I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish Aquaman were here instead--HE'D be able to help.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic was followed two comics later by [[1012: Wrong Superhero]]. This comic is a take on the traditional appearance of a superhero when a disaster strikes. In this case, Etymology-Man arrives, who apparently has the power of {{w|Etymology}}, the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time. As Etymology-Man is explaining the history of the words "{{w|tsunami}}" and "tidal wave", referencing the {{w|2004 Indian Ocean tsunami}}, the {{w|2011 Tōhoku tsunami}} and the {{w|1755 Lisbon earthquake}} and tsunami, the water starts rising around them. As the waters continue to rise, he continues to only explain the words, rather than attempting to save them as a superhero should. This, intentionally or unintentionally, is a dig at academics who prefer to talk about issues when taking action is more appropriate.

Etymology-Man's explanation in the comic focuses on the historical and linguistic reasons for the use of the term "tidal wave" instead of "tsunami." While "tidal wave" is often corrected as a misnomer, Etymology-Man argues that its historical usage may not have been entirely misguided. He points out that early accounts of large waves, such as those from the 1755 Lisbon earthquake and tsunami, described their behavior as resembling a rapid and turbulent tide rather than a breaking wave. This distinction aligns with modern understandings of tsunamis as inrushing surges of water rather than surf-like waves. The 1755 Lisbon earthquake and tsunami devastated much of Lisbon and other coastal regions, with eyewitness accounts describing the ocean withdrawing and then rushing back violently, which could have influenced the term "tidal wave" to describe this tidal-like phenomenon. Etymology-Man suggests that instead of being rooted in scientific confusion, "tidal wave" might have been a descriptive term reflecting the wave's observable form. Furthermore, he notes that before the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the 2011 Tōhoku tsunami, clear photographic or video evidence of tsunamis was rare. This lack of visual records likely contributed to misconceptions about their appearance, with some imagining tsunamis as tall, surfable waves. The widespread coverage of these modern events clarified that tsunamis are more like fast-moving, chaotic floods, further validating historical descriptions that likened them to tides. Etymology-Man's argument underlines the importance of understanding linguistic evolution and context, suggesting that the rush to replace "tidal wave" with "tsunami" might have overlooked the historical accuracy of the former term in certain respects. While he acknowledges that "tsunami" is now the accepted term, his lecture encourages a nuanced view of language history, even in the face of imminent danger.

Also, the title text is a play on how useless {{w|Aquaman}} is (perceived to be) compared to other superheroes, as his powers — breathing underwater, speed swimming, and communicating with sea life — are very difficult for writers to make relevant, since most stories do not take place underwater.{{Citation needed}} Indeed, in the case of a flood, Aquaman and his aquatic allies would be able to assist with evacuations. (Some depictions of Aquaman do not have control of water itself. Though when equipped with his mystical trident, or magical prosthetic "water hand", could probably also perform useful hydrokinesis to avert significant damage.)

The irony of the situation comes from the fact that Etymology-Man seemingly has the power of flight and could in fact save Cueball and Ponytail if he was not so busy talking about the origin of the word "tidal wave".

Inexplicable is the fact that Cueball and Ponytail both know exactly who this "superhero" is, and ergo presumably realize that what he is telling them is useless, but they don't even attempt to get to safety. There are few possible explanations for this: perhaps they are simply accepting their fate instead of trying to escape, or even that learning cool word facts takes precedence over saving their own lives, or they have been distracted by Etymology-Man's lecture and were caught by surprise by the fast tidal wave.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Ponytail are facing each other, with wavy lines around them to indicate they are experiencing the shaking of an earthquake.]
:Cueball: Earthquake!
:Ponytail: We should get to a higher ground - There could be a tidal wave.

:[A frame-less panel with Cueball and Ponytail, with Cueball taking a pedantic pose and raising a finger.]
:Cueball: You mean a tsunami. "Tidal wave" means a wave caused by tides.

:[A crash is heard, followed by Etymology-Man flying in while wearing a cape.]
:Etymology-man: You know, that doesn't add up.
:Cueball and Ponytail: Etymology-man!

:[Etymology-man takes a pedantic pose.]
:Etymology-man: What ''does'' "tidal wave" mean? There are waves caused by tides, but they're "tidal bores", and they're not cataclysmic.
:It can refer to the daily tide cycle, but that's obviously not what people mean when they say "a tidal wave hit".
:It's been obvious for centuries that these waves come from quakes. So why "tidal"?

:[Panel zooms in on Etymology-man.]
:Etymology-man: Remember that until 2004, there weren't any clear photos or videos of tsunamis. Some modern writers even described them rearing up and breaking like surfing waves [sic]
:Of course, in 2004 and 2011, it was made clear to everyone that a tsunami is more like a rapid, turbulent, inrushing tide - exactly what historical accounts describe.

:[Water begins to rush in. Etymology-man has dropped his arms by his side.]
:Etymology-man: Maybe those writing about Lisbon in 1755 used "tidal wave" not out of scientific confusion, but because it described the wave's form — a description lost in our rush to expunge "tidal wave" from English.

:[The water is now waist-deep. Etymology-man resumes his pedantic pose and continues to drone on, but the others start to panic.]
:Etymology-man: "Tsunami" is now the standard, and I'm not trying to change that. But let's be a tad less giddy about correcting "tidal wave" - especially when "tsunami" just means "harbor wave", which is hardly...

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Earthquakes]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Pedantic]]
[[Category:Etymology-Man]]
[[Category:Superheroes]]

1004: Batman

2026-05-06T00:42:31Z

64.189.140.61:

{{comic
| number = 1004
| date = January 16, 2012
| title = Batman
| image = batman.png
| titletext = I'm really worried Christopher Nolan will kill a man dressed like a bat in his next movie. (The man will be dressed like a bat, I mean. Christopher Nolan won't be, probably.)
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a reference to the comic book and movie character {{w|Batman}}, who is actually wealthy playboy Bruce Wayne, as we see on the left being referenced as "Master Wayne" by his butler Alfred. Batman, in contrast to {{w|Superman}} and other comic book heroes, has no superpowers. The name "Batman" suggests that he is a man who is part-bat, or has bat-like powers, but his only actual connection to bats is that he wears a bat-themed costume -- hence the description, "a man dressed like a bat." Thus, when Batman's connection to bats is made explicit, he loses a lot of his mystique. In addition, using a generic description can lead to the implication that the speaker could be referring to ''any'' man dressed like a bat, not just one specific one.

The stick figure representations of Batman and his nemesis, the Joker, are shown from three different movie scenes of the Dark Knight Trilogy, the most recent ''Batman'' films at the time of this comic. The middle scene comes from ''{{w|Batman Begins}}'', whilst the two flanking scenes are from its sequel ''{{w|The Dark Knight}}''. In each scene the name "Batman" is substituted with the accurate but embarrassing description "a man dressed like a bat." In this way, [[Randall]] is pointing out that Batman commands a lot of respect and fear considering that all he is is a man in a costume.

Then in the title text, Randall expresses his fear that Christopher Nolan (the director/producer/writer of the latest Batman trilogy) was going to kill Batman off in the then-upcoming movie ''{{w|Dark Knight Rises}}''. Of course, Randall substitutes for "Batman" as in the comic. This causes a grammatical ambiguity which Randall points out where the "dressed like a bat" could apply to the "man" or to Nolan. A similar ambiguity explicitly discussed in the title text of [[1087: Cirith Ungol]].

There have been several [[:Category:Substitutions|comics using substitutions]], but this may have been the first.

==Transcript==
:[One panel, depicting three wavy circles. The one in the center is slightly larger, and the ones on either side are higher up. Their edges are touching.]

:[The left circle has Bruce Wayne in the foreground, with Alfred in the background.]
:Alfred: Know your limits, Master Wayne.
:Bruce: A man dressed like a bat ''has'' no limits.

:[The center circle has a close-up on Batman in his cowl.]
:Off-screen: ''What the hell are you?''
:Batman: I'm a man dressed like a bat.

:[In the right circle is The Joker.]
:Off-screen: ''What do you propose?''
:Joker: It"s simple — we kill a man dressed like a bat.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:My Hobby: Whenever anyone says "Batman," I mentally replace it with "a man dressed like a bat."

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Substitutions]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Superheroes]]

980: Money

2026-05-06T00:42:22Z

64.189.140.61:

{{comic
| number = 980
| date = November 21, 2011
| title = Money
| image = money.png
| titletext = There, I showed you it.
}}
{{TOC}}Clicking on the image on [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com] takes you to an [https://xkcd.com/980/huge/ interactive] and much larger image. On the interactive image there are two links: one takes you to the [https://xkcd.com/980/sources/ sources and downloads] page where a list of sources and the [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/money_huge.png full image] can be downloaded.

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|The US foreign aid section has a typo---it lists economic/humanitarian aid as equaling military aid when in fact (as of publication) it was much greater. Plus, the boxes have sizes not reflecting the numbers shown, further suggesting that this is a typo [[Special:Contributions/35.151.32.161|35.151.32.161]] 03:57, 6 December 2025 (UTC)

this should be added somewhere}}
{{Quote| I had a huge amount of fun putting the money chart together. It was the first time in a long time that my life’s been stable enough that I’ve been able to really disappear into a project—I’d almost forgotten how enjoyable it can be.|[[Randall Munroe]]|[https://blog.xkcd.com/2011/11/24/money-chart/ Source]}}

This is a [[:Category:Charts|chart]] comic - a type of comic that [[Randall]] does from time to time. He has for instance done [[256: Online Communities|maps of the Internet]] ([[802: Online Communities 2|twice]]!) and other huge visualizations like this chart [[Radiation]] with a similar structure as this chart but with Radiation as the subject. The Radiation chart is most likely the inspiration for this much more comprehensive Money chart.

In this money chart there are five boxes with items on different scales of monetary value denoting prices and values of many things, big and small (with the values contemporary to the comic's release in 2011; most are now more expensive due to inflation). Each scale of dollar increments are different colors. One dollar increments are green - naturally, because American paper money is green. Thousands are orange/red. Millions are gray. Billions are yellow. Trillions are blue. This comic uses {{w|Long and short scales|the short scale}} for naming large numbers (so a billion = 1000 millions = 109 rather than a million millions = 1012 as in continental Europe).

Included in one frame is a small man with a red and white striped shirt, blue pants, a cane and a knit cap. He is known as Wally or Waldo (in the US) from the {{w|Where's Wally?|''Where's Waldo?'' books}}. To not give anything away for those who wish to search for him themselves there will be no spoiler here. But if someone needs a little help... Then by clicking this [[980: Money/Transcript#Billions|link]] you will be directed to the relevant section amongst the five sections where Waldo can be found. (The link will take you to that section of the full transcript page). If you still cannot find him (or give up in advance) then just search the transcript page for Wally or Waldo. There is a [[Header text#Money|unique header text]] for this comic.

The title text is a reference to the phrase "Show me the money!" which originates from the film ''{{w|Jerry Maguire}}''.

===Extra Money pages===
Since this comic is so big and complicated, extra pages have been created to include much more information than is wished for on this main page. These pages are listed here for convenience, but they are also listed in the relevant sections below:
* '''[[980: Money/Transcript]]''' - The full transcript of the entire comic can be found here. It is linked from the [[#Transcript|Transcript]] section.
* '''[[980: Money/Prices in tables]]''' The complete list of every item in the comic.

===Tables with explanations===
====Dollars====
{| class="wikitable"
|Top-left
|The price of various common bills and commodities. The One Dollar Menu is a type of menu at various fast food restaurants. The one dollar bill and ten dollar bill are likely used for reference points. A Starbucks coffee actually ranges in price from $1.95 to $2.15 depending on the location.
|-
|Middle-left
|Pet Ownership. The {{w|ASPCA}} is the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The most expensive animal on this list may seem surprising; rabbits cost an average of 35 dollars more than dogs and 70 dollars more than cats.
|-
|Bottom-right
|Four boxes indicate that the CEO pay has skyrocketed from $490.31 (hourly) to $5,419.97 (hourly) in the same time period in which the average worker's salary has grown 10 cents.
|}

====Thousands====
{| class="wikitable"
|Top-right
|Hogwarts degree: a reference to {{w|Hogwarts|Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy}} from the popular book series by {{w|J. K. Rowling|J. K. Rowling}} about {{w|Harry Potter}}.
One box is the estimated yearly tuition for the school and the next is how much seven years at the school would cost. To get a degree at the school, it takes 7 years (starting at age 11, ending at age 18).
|-
|Bottom
|A reference to the song by {{w|Barenaked Ladies}} entitled "{{w|If I Had $1000000}}" and all the things referenced in the song to buy the love of another person.
|-
|Middle-Right
|A few items on the marriage of {{w|Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton|Kate Middleton and Prince William}}, the major royal wedding of 2011, including:
*a {{w|Wedding dress of Kate Middleton|wedding dress with its own Wikipedia page}} of 3 times the annual per capita income of the average UK person,
*an 8-tier [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1381944/Royal-Wedding-cake-Kate-Middleton-requested-8-tiers-decorated-900-flowers.html wedding cake],
*and the flowers for the wedding. These re-appear in the Millions section of the graph, where they also list the costs for the security around the event ($20 million).
|}

====Millions====
{| class="wikitable"
|Left
|Dr. Evil's ransom demands from the film "Austin Powers" corrected for inflation between 1969 and 1997.
|-
|Middle-right
|Another reference to J. K. Rowling, comparing her (actual $1 billion) net worth as an author with her (imagined $82,000) net worth as a rapper.
The magnified 82 orange/red ($1,000) boxes are footnoted "Professional assessment by rapper/geek culture expert MC Frontalot." {{w|MC Front-A-Lot}} is the creator of the subgenre of {{w|hip-hop}} known as {{w|Nerd Core}}.
|-
|Middle
|An {{w|Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor|F-22 Raptor fighter jet}} (valued at $154.5M) is compared to a Velociraptor ($1.9M in production costs for the film Jurassic Park)
|}

====Billions====
{| class="wikitable"
|Top-Left ((Fictional)Billionaires section)
|{{w|Carlisle Cullen}} is from the {{w|Twilight (series)|''Twilight'' series}} of books and movies. He is a vampire and adoptive father of {{w|Edward Cullen|Edward}}, {{w|Emmett Cullen|Emmett}} and {{w|Alice Cullen (Twilight)|Alice Cullen}}, as well as {{w|Rosalie Hale|Rosalie}} and {{w|Jasper Hale}}. He was born in the 1640s and amassed his wealth through many years of compound interest and investments.
|{{w|Scrooge McDuck}} is a cartoon character from many {{w|Disney}} properties including the afternoon cartoon, ''{{w|Duck Tales}}''. Scrooge McDuck has a "money bin" full of coins and other sorts of collectibles that he routinely [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMU2NwaaXEA goes swimming in].
|{{w|Bruce Wayne}} is {{w|Batman}}. {{w|Batman}} is {{w|Bruce Wayne}}. He is portrayed in many comic books, graphic novels, TV shows and movies by many different actors.
|{{w|Artemis Fowl II|Artemis Fowl}} is an Irish child prodigy and a ruthless master criminal from the {{w|Artemis Fowl (series)|eponymous book series}}. He uses his intelligence to build his family fortune through crime.
|}

====Trillions====
{| class="wikitable"
|As Randall already indicated in the transcript, this is the block for world, continent and nation finances. The numbers are really huge. There are no jokes in here (apart from the fact that Randall tried to make the shapes of the GDP look like the continent), likely because financial values this large aren't funny to start with.
|-
|GDP is {{w|gross domestic product}}, the market value of all goods and services produced in a nation.
*The major chart in the center shows the development of the GDP in the world since the 1940s. So far the US GDP has always grown, except for a small reduction in the early 1980s, a flat line around the 1991 global recession and a flat line in the second half of the naughts. The world-wide GDP is growing more rapidly, but is also much more volatile.
|-
|In the middle of the box, it shows the worth of all gold ever mined in 2011 prices. This is important because of the concept of the {{w|gold standard}}, a concept where monetary values are linked to the value of gold. As indicated in the top-right of the box, both the EU and the USA have more debt than the total value of all gold in the world.
|-
|{{w|Derivative (finance)|Derivatives}} are a complex financial instrument where one is not trading in something tangible, but in derived values - like options. Derivatives thus are dangerous as one trades in concepts instead of values. Critics claim that derivatives are at the base of the 'economic bubble'.
*The growth of the derivatives market size is incredible - more than doubling every four years. The derivatives market thus is much larger than the GDP of the entire world.
*We get a reference to [http://landartgenerator.org/blagi/archives/127 a proposed project to power the world] by erecting massive solar farms out in the deserts. The area of Texas alone would be enough to match almost all of our modern power costs (though the people who live in Texas wouldn't enjoy being displaced).
|}

==Transcript==
:'''[This transcript is only reproducing text visible on the [https://www.xkcd.com/980/ front page comic]. For the full transcript of the [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/money_huge.png huge image], see [[980: Money/Transcript]].]'''

:[Title panel at the top left has one large heading, and then it is possible to read the first and third out of five lines (but not for instance the second line which is just the word "almost"):]
:'''Money''' 
:A chart of 
:all of it 
:[Below this there are 5 large panels, each with a series of plots, comparing the values of various things. The only clearly visible text is the title of each panel written in white on black background at the top of each panel] 
:[The first section covers single coffees up to the hourly salaries of CEOs. It is located below the title panel and there are a lot of green groups marked by unreadable text.]
:'''Dollars'''
:[The next section discusses values from around $1000 to $1,000,000, including a dissection of the song If I had $1000000. It is located directly below the Dollars section and has mainly orange groups (but also some green) marked by unreadable text.]
:'''Thousands'''
:[The third section focuses on $1,000,000 to $1,000,000,000, with a large section on campaign contributions of American political presidential campaigns, values of expensive works of art, and J. K. Rowling. It is located to the right of the Thousands section below the Billions section and there are a lot of gray groups (but also some orange) marked by unreadable text.]
:'''Millions'''
:[The fourth section gets into larger scale finances, profits of various sectors, costs of natural disasters, and net worths of the richest people on the planet. Also, Donald Trump. It is located to the right of the Dollars section and above both the Millions and Trillions section and has mainly yellow groups (but also some gray and red) all marked by unreadable text. There are, however, a few large headings that can be read:]
:'''Billions'''
:Education
:The Economic (...?)
:US household income
:Federal budget
:[In the last panel global financial status is described. It discusses derivatives, liquid assets, public debt by nation and GDP by continent, culminating with the total economic production of the human race to date. It is located below the Billions section to the right of the Millions section and has mainly cyan groups (but also one yellow) all marked by unreadable text.]
:'''Trillions'''
:'''[For the full transcript of the [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/money_huge.png huge image], see [[980: Money/Transcript]].]'''

==Trivia==
* Randall usually posts new comics at around midnight Eastern time, but this comic was posted at about noon. The reason is that it was difficult to get it all finished in time, as was explained in the [[Blag]] post titled [https://blog.xkcd.com/2011/11/24/money-chart/ Money chart] released three days later. This post also states that this was the first big project he undertook after his [https://blog.xkcd.com/2011/06/30/family-illness/ fiancée was diagnosed] with breast [[:Category:Cancer|cancer]].

* This comic used to be [https://web.archive.org/web/20211215032232/https://store.xkcd.com/products/money-poster available as a poster] in the xkcd store before it was [[Store|shut down]].

* Randall misspelled "communicat'''i'''on" as "communication" in the section on campaign donations, on the right of the "Millions" quadrant. This hasn't been fixed.

* This is the first xkcd comic featuring [[Donald Trump]].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Playpen balls]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:The Lion King]]
[[Category:Harry Potter]]
[[Category:Ghostbusters]]
[[Category:Twilight]] 
[[Category:Disney]] 
[[Category:Superheroes]] 
[[Category:Climate change]] 
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]
[[Category:Comics with xkcd store products]]
[[Category:Nuclear weapons]]
[[Category:Money]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Donald Trump]]
[[Category:Minecraft]]
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]
[[Category:Comics featuring politicians]]
[[Category:Comics with citations]]
[[Category:Jurassic Park]]
[[Category:Comics with custom header texts]]

700: Complexion

2026-05-06T00:40:59Z

64.189.140.61:

{{comic
| number = 700
| date = February 10, 2010
| title = Complexion
| image = complexion.png
| titletext = Why do all my attempts at science end with me being punched by Batman? (P.S. benzoyl peroxide soap works great.)
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] suffers from {{w|acne}}. Like many others afflicted with the same condition, he uses skin care products designed to treat acne. Unlike most other people, he does his own controlled trial by using them on only one half of his face and measuring the effects; the blemishes on the treated half of his face are noticeably diminished, while the untreated half remains the same, allowing him to isolate the effects of the cream versus the effects of time.

He convinces his friends to try the same experiment with different treatments so they can find out which works the best. In order to properly randomize the trials, he flips a coin. However, because half of his face is "scarred" (with acne blemishes), he's flipping a coin, and appears to be threatening someone with acid, he's mistaken for the Batman villain {{w|Two-Face}}. (Two-Face flips a coin to decide whether his victims will live or die, and was badly burned by acid on exactly one half of his face.) Cueball is subsequently punched by Batman; {{tvtropes|NoodleIncident|the title-text implies that this has happened before}}.

{{w|Salicylic acid}} and {{w|benzoyl peroxide}} are both chemicals known for their skin care effects (salicylic acid in particular is also used to treat {{w|psoriasis}}).

==Trivia==
The version of Batman depicted appears to be Christian Bale's character from the Dark Knight trilogy thanks to the wrist blades and unique cowl shape. Two-Face appeared in the second film, which was released two years prior to this comic.

==Transcript==
:I get frustrated trying to judge whether acne creams are having any effect. In the spirit of a controlled trial, I used one on just half my face for a few weeks.
:[A graph shows pimples vs. time, with two lines: one remains steady, and one is declining.]

:It was cool seeing the effects so clearly, so I got some friends to try different treatments in an impromptu study.
:[Cueball looks in a mirror, sees a half-pimpled face, and applies a treatment.]

:[Cueball is talking to Ponytail and Megan, each with some pimples also.]
:Cueball: Okay, you try the salicylic acid first.
:Ponytail: Wait, we should randomize the trials. Got a coin?

:Cueball: Okay, call it. Heads, she gets the-
:(Off-panel): YOU!

:[Batman runs into frame and punches Cueball. The coin goes flying.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Line graphs]]
[[Category:Superheroes]]

663: Sagan-Man

2026-05-06T00:40:45Z

64.189.140.61:

{{comic
| number = 663
| date = November 16, 2009
| title = Sagan-Man
| image = sagan-man.png
| titletext = They laugh now, but within 10 years the city's entire criminal class will have quit to work on space research.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Carl Sagan}} was an advocate for science, space and {{w|SETI}} (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence). He wrote the book ''Contact'', which was later made into the movie by the same name. While Sagan did not emit anomalous radiation in his lifetime,{{Citation Needed}} he did receive acclaim in the field of radiology, namely for using radiation to synthesize amino acids from simpler chemicals.

This comic is parodying {{w|Spider-Man}}, in which Peter Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider to become Spider-Man. In this comic "a radioactive Carl Sagan" turns the person into "Sagan-Man". Apparently, Sagan-Man is able to stop thieves in their tracks by blowing their minds with inspiring scientific facts.

The title text implies that Sagan-Man's vivid imagery inspires the entire "criminal class" to give up their anti-social ways and turn to space research.

==Transcript==
:[A yellow box extends across the top of the first 3 of 5 panels, introducing Sagan-Man:]
:Bitten by a radioactive Carl Sagan in 1995, Sagan-Man possesses the powers and abilities of Carl Sagan.
:[A Cueball-like character is standing on the left side of the panel, with a victim off-panel to the right.]
:Victim (off-panel): Help! Thief!
:[The Cueball-like character spins around, turning into Sagan-Man with a blue cape appearing on his back.]
:[Sagan-Man runs to the right towards the direction of the victim.]
:[Sagan-Man encounters the thief, who is holding a purse.]
:Sagan-Man: Hey, you!
:Thief: What?
:[Sagan-Man and the thief are now standing facing each other.]
:Sagan-Man: Do you realize just how crazy it is that we've ''BEEN TO THE MOON?''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Comics with a Spanish translation]]
[[Category:Superheroes]]