explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3031: Time Capsule Instructions

2026-06-02T03:09:08Z

82.132.238.174: Undo revision 414145 by 47.141.37.161 (talk) In the world of xkcd, that is neither a certainty nor (even if true) less of an issue

{{comic
| number = 3031
| date = December 30, 2024
| title = Time Capsule Instructions
| image = time_capsule_instructions_2x.png
| imagesize = 692x235px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Inside is a third box, labeled DO NOT OPEN UNLESS YOU ARE IN THE TIME ZONE WHERE YOU OPENED BOTH PREVIOUS BOXES.
}}

==Explanation==

This [[:Category:New Year|New Year comic]] sees a New Year party held at a location where a {{w|time capsule}} has clearly been buried, as evidenced by a sign marking the spot. It is likely that this was buried some years ago with the intention of being unearthed at the start of 2025, after some significant number of years have passed, rather than for an indeterminate amount of time (such as was the case in [[1617: Time Capsule]]), with the intent to allow people of a then-future time see what those of that era found interesting to preserve and "send" into the future.

Some form of New Year Celebration is happening near to the Time Capsule site, as indicated by the off-panel noises, probably especially convened at the capsule's site in eager anticipation. [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]], who have already said cheers with their wine glasses, look eagerly on when [[Ponytail]] opens the time capsule.

Not all such projects are kept conspicuously marked, or may lose their signage due to circumstances unanticipated at the time of the original installation, resulting in a surprise (or accidental) unearthing, while others may still be known for what they are (as with the intended time to stay closed) but need to be relocated/reconcealed due to later redevelopment of the location. (There is generally nothing to prevent premature unearthing and opening, perhaps especially to ensure that the contents are not damaged, but often {{w|Blue Peter#Time capsules|efforts are taken}} to best adhere to the original wishes.) To this end, as might be expected of such a time capsule, the box that Ponytail digs out is itself marked that it must not be opened until the year 2025 and it seems that (for the comic) this is the case, and at least part of the reason for the gathering.

Within the capsule, however, is a second container (a not atypical precaution), but this one has the instruction to not open after 2024, which is a far less obvious element for a time capsule (though various supplies, from [[2178: Expiration Date High Score|packaged food]] to [[2297: Use or Discard By|signal flares]], may have a similar requirement). Obeying the instruction for opening the first box has entirely precluded obeying that given as a prerequisite for opening the second... at least without using some form of time-travel. This could be either be a mundane twist of the circumstances (changing reference calendars or time-zones), or else require actual time-travel, but it is unlikely that they have [[1203: Time Machines|any practical solution]] prepared to use to overcome this twist.

The title text makes the situation more similar to {{w|Matryoshka dolls}}, where boxes are recursively stacked, with a third label having another restriction. This new label alludes to one of the ways one can open the first two boxes without ignoring the instructions: by crossing time zones. When more easterly-referenced locations have become the 1st of January 2025, it will (for a short while) still be the 31st of December 2024 in more westerly ones (the boundaries themselves might be any orientation, not just north-south; the whole concept inverts across the International Date Line, before even considering hour-shift differences), meaning that theoretically someone could open the first box in a time zone where it is 2025 and then quickly travel to one in which it is still 2024 to open the second box. Depending upon where the capsule was located, timely travel opportunities ''may'' be possible, but it seems unlikely to have been something anticipated by the recipients of the task.

However, the title text implies that if you take advantage of this loophole, you will not then be allowed to open a third box inside the second box, as the instructions for ''that'' box requires that you have opened the first two boxes in the same time zone. You must not open the third (and final?) container unless you opened both previous boxes in the same time zone as you are now, which is not compatible with having changed location to get to this point.

===Potential solutions===

Depending on interpretation, you could defeat the third box by placing it inside two time zones at once before opening it, as there is no time limit on the third box. This works if the instruction on the box is read as "unless you are in the time zone where you opened the first box, and you are in the time zone where you opened the second box". However, this new loophole could be patched by interpreting the third box as "unless you are in the ''one'' time zone where...".

How to be considered to be simultaneously covered by two time-zones (in a way that you can [[2846: Daylight Saving Choice|choose which to observe]]) is left up to the reader, although another variation of this solution would be to change the calendar used as point of reference, as {{w|Calendar era|many calendars}} use a lower year than the Gregorian calendar, or is [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crl3grgg9zeo offset by a few days], and you could justify changing the date (if not the hour) that you consider true. Or perhaps mix and match calendar traditions that consider a day (and therefore a calendar date) to start only at dawn, rather than at astronomical/geopolitical midnight.

Perhaps the solution would be for both the box and the person opening it to be on the boundary between two time zones, half in each. Or, depending on how one interprets the nature of Daylight Saving Time, there may be another solution. In Australia, {{w|Northern Territory}} and {{w|South Australia}} are in the same time zone (by the most common interpretation of the word) and border each other, but only the latter uses Daylight Saving Time; similarly, {{w|Queensland}} does not use Daylight Saving Time but is in the same time zone (by the most common interpretation of the word) as multiple Australian territories that do use Daylight Saving Time, including {{w|New South Wales}}, with which Queensland shares a border. This suggests the idea of opening the first box in South Australia or New South Wales then taking it north of the (latitudinal) DST boundary without crossing any (longitudinal) time zone boundaries; one will then have up to an hour to open the second box and then as long as one wants to open the third box. However, Randall [[:Category:Daylight saving time|has historically expressed opposition to Daylight Saving Time]], so he might not count the first opening as occurring in 2025 if that year has already started only by virtue of Daylight Saving Time.

Without any tricksy thinking and assuming we may not have the box nor the person opening the box in two time zones at the same time, a semantic loophole presents itself. The title text refers to "you" and not the box, while the instructions on the first and seconds boxes can be reasonably assumed to apply only to the time zone that the box itself is in. The box could be moved from one time zone to the other by the use of, as an example, a robotic arm, then opened, and then brought to the time zone that the person controlling the robotic arms is in. Alternatively, if two different people opened the first two boxes in the respective time zones, the "you" would then have to be reconsidered as plural, and, since both people could stay in their respective time zones, the third box could be opened.

Some of the above solutions might only be used if you already knew of the instructions on the boxes, unless it was previously dug into one of the relevant locations (and, depending upon the 'author' of the box-puzzle, this may have also been anticipated and be an intended part of the puzzle). Even getting the second box open following instructions would require it was possible to travel fast enough and far enough to reach a second New Year, which is not easily guaranteeable on the spur of the moment. This is definitely possible if you plan for it, but whether this disinterment party was prepared is unlikely.

Having made the initial two openings in different locations, another possibility is to choose either location (it being easiest to remain where you were allowed to open the second box) and having removed all boxes from any prior host containers, close the box that is now out-of-zone. You can now either take the box's mandate as dealt with, and expired, or avoid any quibbles by waiting just long enough for the now-closed 2025 box to once more experience 2025 in the second box's locale, permiting you to re-open it and fulfil the requirements of the third.

In any case it seems more likely that normal people, having taken the initial instruction at its word, would ignore any new [[2841: Sign Combo|contradictory rules]]. The original rule that the Time Capsule should remain closed until 2025 is the one that makes sense. So after opening the first at the right time, one could just disregard the words on the boxes (or at least Randall's interpretation of them); there is probably not some kind of [[242: The Difference|magical enforcement mechanism]]. Also it seems likely this was just a prank so there will be nothing interesting inside, but one might fear some kind of booby trap, or a [[325: A-Minus-Minus|bobcat]]. So there could be some kind of enforcement mechanism.

Considering when the comic was published, however, a full day prior to ''any'' territory having actually celebrated the arrival of 2025, one might imagine that this is ''not'' an upcoming scenario, but one that has happened/is happening already. In this case, it suggests that the party (both diggers-up and associated party-goers) were fully aware of some of the stipulations they were to be subject to and (impatiently, or at even just as cleverly as the initial burier of the boxes) arbitrarily marked the arrival of 2025 ''early'' to 'justify' the opening the outer box. They could then conveniently reconsider their schedule, continuing now on the basis of acting prior to the end of 2024, and have no further trouble with either of the inner instructions (opening the next box before the ''official'' arrival of 2025 would be simplicity, and any antecedent calendar reinterpretations could be considered logically separated from any prohibitive change in location and/or time-zone).

There is also the question of a hypothetical fourth box, which, given that there was a third box, there is no reason that there shouldn't be a fourth, probably with a label designed to better shut down some of these potential solutions. And maybe it's [[1557: Ozymandias|boxes all the way down]]!

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are clinking wine glasses while Ponytail is digging with a shovel under a sign standing on two legs next to Ponytail. From the off-panel to the left several voices are shouting. On the sign are two large words above two lines of unreadable lines of text.]
:Off-panel voices: <big>''Happy New Year!''</big>
:Sign: <big>Time</big> Capsule

:[A dirty box with a hasp closing it. There is a label on the lid:]
:Do not open until 2025

:[Cueball and Megan, holding their wine glasses, look over Ponytail's shoulder as she crouches down in front of the box and opens it with an audible sound. The shovel is standing behind the box, dug into the ground.]
:Click

:[The open box is shown revealing that it contains a second, pristine box with a similar label:]
:Do not open after 2024

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:New Year]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Time]]

1608: Hoverboard

2026-06-02T03:04:15Z

82.132.238.174: /* Trivia */ Removing an unjustifiable assertion.

{{comic
| number = 1608
| date = November 24, 2015
| title = Hoverboard
| image = hoverboard.png

}}

{{TOC}}To experience the interactivity of the game, visit the {{xkcd|1608|original comic}}!

==Explanation==
This is an [[:Category:Interactive comics|interactive comic]] made to celebrate the release of [[Randall]]'s new book, ''[[Thing Explainer]]'', which was released on the same day as this comic. It is a platforming minigame, whose ostensible goal is collecting gold coins. This [[:Category:Interactive comics|interactive comic]] appeared on the same date as the release of [[Randall]]'s book, ''[[Thing Explainer]]''.

The title refers to the skateboard-like {{w|hoverboard}} that was [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1ZdMOMUgXE prominently featured] in the movie {{w|Back to the Future Part II}}. The BTTF movies' hero, {{w|Marty McFly}}, travels to the future in this sequel, to [https://www.facebook.com/October212015BTTF 2015-10-21], to be exact. This comic was released on 2015-11-24, about a month later. Hoverboards are just one of many things predicted in Back to the Future Part II that [https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33785285 had actually] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HI137m7XA4 come] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLwNGBB_Yb0 to] [https://www.wired.com/2016/03/hendo-2-hoverboard/ pass] by this date, along with inventions like [https://www.terrafugia.com/ flying] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-1pXbW5wVg cars] and [https://www.soundandvision.com/content/wear-your-music-thinkgeeks-soundtrack-shirt#jo8J1DassbWxlptj.97 musical clothing]. Randall is known to have had [[:Category:Electric skateboard|electric skateboards]], which which are thematically related, and another type of hoverboard would be mentioned just five weeks later in [[1623: 2016 Conversation Guide]].

Apart from the date of release and the text about the book, there are several scenes in the game that could be seen as [[#Reference to Thing Explainer|references to ''Thing Explainer'']]. Instead, the main part of the game is all the references to several movies and other stuff that has often been featured in xkcd as well as many of the other comics.

{{spoiler|The best way to enjoy this comic is to {{xkcd|1608|play the game}}! If you didn't do that already, reading anything below will spoil you from truly enjoying the comic.}}

===Game features===
Your player in the game is an {{w|animated}} [[Cueball]] riding a hoverboard that assumes [[#Animation|several different positions]] as it travels. You control your player with the left, up and right arrows, as noted on the start screen. Your player can jump repeatedly and thereby reach ever-increasing heights. You can move him left and right both while jumping and descending. (More under [[#Functionality|Functionality]] and Controls.)

Your player begins in a maze (called the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a9/All_play_area_hanging_all_coins.PNG Play Area]). It holds 17 gold coins and contains a "deposit" box. One goal of the game is to collect as many coins as possible and deposit them quickly. Deposits returns [[#Coins|text messages]] describing the result of the round of play. It may seem to some, at this point, that there is nothing more to the game.

However, just out of view, beyond the maze on either side are [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/8b/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Coins_Hoverboard_and_View.png tall walls seemingly designed to contain the player]. But these walls can be scaled by continuous jumping, allowing the player to exit the maze on both sides, despite the flashing red false warning [[#Coins|error message]]: "'''[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/Return_to_the_play_area.PNG Return to the Play Area]'''".

If you disregard this, you can take your player, hoverboard Cueball, to explore far beyond the walls to left and right (and above), where there are many points of interest to be found, as well as 152 more [[#Coins|coins]] to collect, 116 on the right and 36 on the left.

All of the interesting places of the game are noted in the references and maps below and on the Extra Hoverboard Pages that are linked there. As a practical matter, however, you can only visit many of the most interesting places only with the help of the JavaScript Goggles hack. Entering Goggles Mode brings up a new pane to the right of the comic that enables you to see secret entrances in otherwise solid surfaces, and to see in the dark after the player enters black spaces.

To open the JavaScript Console, press F12 on PCs, and Command-Option-i on Mac. In the command line under the Console tab, enter: ze.goggles ( ) , making sure your command includes spaces before, between and after the two parens. This will bring up a window to the right of the comic showing black objects that are right next to the player in red. The red marks the spots where the player can pass objects that are black in the game. Cyan lines in the window mark the limits of how far the player can pass in the dark.

Hoverboard's many {{w|Easter egg (media)|Easter eggs}} recall comic [[1110: Click and Drag]]. Nonetheless, Hoverboard is xkcd's first actual game, one in which you move an object in front of the drawing. In Click and Drag you only move the drawing into the view section. In the two previous [[April Fools' Day comics]], [[1350: Lorenz]] and [[1506: xkcloud]], the user does not move anything, but only supplies choices, text and drawings. The next {{w|April Fools' Day}} comic contains another game, [[1663: Garden]], in which you also moved objects around and make them disappear (as you do with coins in this game.)

===Main themes===
There are many themes and references throughout the game, but the two main ones are '''{{w|Star Wars}}''' and '''{{w|The Lord of the Rings}}'''. Below is a [[#Details and references|list of details and references]] to these movies (19 to SW and 6 to LOTR) as well as much more.

The largest part of the game is located on the '''right side''' of the play area and is dominated by references to ''Star Wars'', notably a recreation of [https://youtu.be/yHfLyMAHrQE?t=112 the opening scene] in the {{w|Star Wars (film)|first film}}, where {{w|Princess Leia|Princess Leia's}} space ship ''{{w|Tantive IV}}'', also known as ''[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/82/1608_1015x1078y_Entire_Rebel_Blockade_Runner_zoom_out.png The Rebel Blockade Runner]'', is flying over [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/33/1608_1015x1073y_Ponytail_in_the_dunes_zoom_out.png the desert] planet {{w|Tatooine}}. Here it is followed by the {{w|Star Destroyer}}, ''[https://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Devastator Devastator]''. The [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/04/1608_1015x1078y_Entire_Rebbel_Blockade_Runner_zoom_out_to_torpedoes_and_ground.png desert ground with these two space ships] above is the first you find to the right. Although in the game they are located inside the atmosphere, not as in the movie out in space, a fact that is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1049x1090y_Atmosphere_worry_and_car_room_at_bottom_of_hull.png commented on] by [[Megan]] who looks out from an opening in the bottom of the Destroyer's hull.
:Megan: Is this ship designed to fly in the atmosphere like this?

Both ships are high above the ground, but there are three [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/76/1608_1014x1076y_Entire_wires_from_ground_to_Runner.png wires from the ground] that connect (and thus guide you) up to ''The Runner'' and from there [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/87/1608_1023x1085y_Entire_torpedoes_rain_from_Runner_to_Destroyer.png 100+ torpedoes], which are fired [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f1/1608_1018x1079y_Top_rear_end_of_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png down on the Runner] coming [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5f/1608_1034x1091y_Torpedo_canon_below_Destroyer.png from the Destroyer] above, gives away the location of the Destroyer itself. The Destroyer is so high up in the air, that you would not be likely to find it by chance without these leads (or at least some of the several other hints from people on the ground [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f2/1608_1010x1073y_Cliff_with_rock_and_cactus.png looking up and reacting] or like [[White Hat]] looking from the tip of the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/21/1608_0995x1079y_Entire_Washington_monument_extra_zoom_out.png Washington Monument] and reacting [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6f/1608_0995x1083y_Tip_of_Washington_monument.png by saying]: "Uh, what the heck is ''that?!''."). There is also a giant island floating very high above the flagpost in the left side of the world, with no indication of its existence.

One of the main points (The Joke) of the entire game is the extreme size of [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cd/1608_Entire_Star_Destroyer.png such a Destroyer]. It takes up more space than the rest of the game (and most of the coins are located there). Inside the Destroyer there are many, many rooms, long corridors and deep shafts, even a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/1608_Entire_Cave.png huge cave] with trees and animals. At [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c7/1608_Vader_twice_and_emperor_on_and_near_bridge.png the bridge] we meet both {{w|Darth Vader}} and the Emperor himself, {{w|Palpatine}}. There are many other jokes related both to Star Wars and other movies and xkcd comics inside the Destroyer. For instance, Darth Vader discusses {{w|Steven Universe}}, bringing up Rose Quartz and Steven himself ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/39/1608_1031x1095y_Steven_Universe_family_and_ice_cream_prediction.png who can be found with the Crystal Gems] in a different part of the Destroyer).
:Darth Vader: But Steven's ''mother'' is a Crystal Gem...
There are also interesting things and references along the ground beneath the Destroyer, some of these are also Star Wars related like [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c9/1608_1038x1073y_Wedding_and_picnic.png the wedding scene] where {{w|Jabba the Hutt}} is mentioned.

To the '''left side''' is an entirely different world, although much smaller (shorter) than the one to the right. Here, the main theme is ''The Lord of the Rings'' mainly with the presence of a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6a/Entire_Volcano_zoom_out.png volcano] where for instance [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/77/1608_0952x1087y_Ring_of_power_and_lave_floor_at_the_right_crater_top.png Megan tries to throw] in {{w|One Ring|''rings'' of power}}, as in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXpF3SUFaDw the scene] from the {{w|The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King|last LOTR film}} where {{w|Frodo Baggins|Frodo}} fails and {{w|Gollum}} attacks inside the volcano {{w|Mount Doom}}, thus making it clear that the volcano in the xkcd game represents Mt. Doom. Frodo, {{w|Sauron}}, and {{w|Gandalf}} are all mentioned in the game. The first two by name in the text. Two {{w|Eagle (Middle-earth)|great eagles}} are [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cb/1608_0956x1088y_Eagles_over_right_crater_top.png talking about Frodo] and {{w|J. R. R. Tolkien|Tolkien}}, Sauron's name is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/66/1608_0964x1078y_Megan_reading_for_children_about_Saurons_ring.png read up by Megan from a book], and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a5/1608_0944x1083y_Rock_with_Gandalf_in_Lava_lake.png Gandalf is drawn as a wizard figure] in the crater and also his name is used in the [[#Coins|message]] you receive if you collect [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f7/169_coins_fastest_way.PNG all possible coins].

The two worlds do conflict though, as an {{w|X-wing fighter}} is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/44/1608_0982x1077y_Gas_station_with_x-wing.png parked at a gas station] to the left in LOTR world, and Gandalf's famous quote ''You shall not pass!'' from his fight against the {{w|Balrog}} is modified by [[Cueball]] who is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ad/1608_1026x1093y_Shall_not_not_pass_room_and_parachutes_at_one_of_two_ledges_at_bottom_of_hull.png ''not'' trying to block your path] to a coin inside a room in the Destroyer. This conflict could very well be a reference to the fact that {{w|Andy Serkis}} who played {{w|Gollum}} in LOTR, now plays the {{w|Supreme Leader Snoke}} in the new Star Wars movie, and [https://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/villains/images/6/64/Supremeleader.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/270?cb=20151223201852 his appearance] as Snoke is not that much different from Gollum's. Snoke also delivers a line in the movie (about "bringing someone to me") that reminds one of Gollum when he talks about "the ring coming to me". Randall would not have known this last part at the time that this comic was released, but he would likely be aware of Andy Serkis' involvement.

Other themes are related to other movies, like a [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/star-wars-the-force-awakens/star-trek-fans-rivalry-george-lucas-roddenberry/ naughty reference] to {{w|Star Trek}} from inside [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png the bridge] of the Rebel Blockade Runner where a long-haired woman (maybe [[Danish]] since she obviously does this to annoy Star Wars fans and [[Hairbun]] behind her, which could represent Princess Leia with her [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1b/Princess_Leia%27s_characteristic_hairstyle.jpg special hair style]) delivers the following line taken from the Star Trek universe:
:Long haired woman: Captain's log, stardate November 24th, 2015...
:Hairbun: ''Augh!'' No!

Also references to video games are seen, best shown with the maze towards the back end of the Destroyer which are an almost [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e2/1608_Comparing_Prince_of_Persia_maze_with_real_level_1.png complete depiction] of ''[https://cdn.wikimg.net/strategywiki/images/a/a2/Princeofpersia_dos_level1.png Level 1]'' of the computer game ''{{w|Prince of Persia}}'' down to the three coins being in the place of three items to take in that game, and at least two of the opposing sword fighters in the correct places as well.

The comic/game and book were released only 3 weeks before the 7th Star Wars movie ''{{w|Star Wars: The Force Awakens}}'' was released on December 14, 2015. And this movie had already been referenced by Randall 7½ weeks earlier in [[1585: Similarities]], when another movie ({{w|The Martian (film)|The Martian}}) were released. It was a reference in the title text to the new robot ''BB-8'' that are featured in the Force Awakens. That the Star Wars section is thus so much larger than the LOTR section could be a hint to the fact that it is now 12 years ago that the last of those films were released, and although {{w|the Hobbit}} has been released as {{w|The Hobbit (film series)|three films}} over the previous three Christmases it was Star Wars that dominated the Christmas a month after this comic's release.

===Extra Hoverboard 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 (which is already of considerable size). These pages are listed here for convenience, but they are also listed in the relevant sections below:

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/Transcript]]''' - The full transcript of the entire comic, as if you played the game can be found here. It is linked from the [[#Transcript|Transcript]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/The whole image]]''' - A collection of different compilations of the whole Image. It is linked from the [[#Environment|Environment]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/Images of secret passages]]''' - Images with an overview of the secret passages in the game. It is linked from the [[#Secret passages and hidden places|Secret passages and hidden places]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/All image links]]''' It is linked from the [[#All images|All images]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/Images coins]]''' It is linked from the [[#Coins|Coins]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/Screen-shots]]''' It can be linked from several sections, but among others from the [[#Coins|Coins]] section.

*'''[[1608: Hoverboard/Images of individual scenes]]''' It will be linked from the [[#Details and references|list of details and references]], which will be using these images in the explanation.

===Characters===
Almost all main [[:Category:Characters|characters]] in the xkcd gallery are used more than once, especially there are three characters that are used several times. Number one is of course [[Cueball]] (with close to 90 appearances) who is already shown at the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6c/1608_1000x1074y_The_Play_Area.png starting point]. He is also the first character seen when walking both [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c0/1608_1004x1074y_Cueball_outside_play_area.png right] and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/dc/1608_0994x1074y_Base_of_Washington_monument.png left] (where he speaks the first line to the left).

Then follows [[Megan]] with at least 40 appearances, she is even shown twice in the same location three times, one of these three even occurs within one of the [https://xkcd.com/1608/1090:-1088+s.png small images]. She is also shown with Cueball in his first appearance to the left, and she is the first to speak a line to the right [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f2/1608_1010x1073y_Cliff_with_rock_and_cactus.png here].

Also [[Ponytail]] is well represented with 26 appearances (for instance [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2d/1608_0947x1073y_Antenna_cave_in_lair.png here)].

[[Hairy]] (with different hair styles) is used 7 times (for instance [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/54/1608_Actual_Bridge_with_Vader_and_Tarkin.png here]) and [[Hairbun]] is used 5 times (for instance [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e4/1608_1054x1099y_Corridor_peristalsis_and_two_coin_rooms_at_top_of_hull.png here)].

Two of the main characters are used twice: [[Beret Guy]] ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4f/1608_0990x1074y_If_loving_you_is_wrong_I_dont_want_to.png here] and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/21/1608_1020x1083y_Torpedoes_two_steps_above_Runner_with_Beret_Guy.png here]) and [[White Hat]] ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6f/1608_0995x1083y_Tip_of_Washington_monument.png here] and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d9/1608_1093x1074y_White_Hat_hiding_in_the_grass.png here]).

The only exception is that the main villain of xkcd [[Black Hat]] who is very hard to find. He is only [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/68/1608_1069x1093y_Deer_and_exit_below_lamp_coin_and_Black_Hat_in_the_bottom_right_side_of_the_cave.png shown once] in the comic where he very uncharacteristically just sits and snores at the right wall in the cave inside the Destroyer (is it really him...?). The only other hint that he is not forgotten is that his hat can be seen [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1073x1074y_Ponytail_and_bird_black_hat_on_a_stick_and_Cueball_whistling.png on a stick] under the Destroyer after the three large T-like structures. And this is not that kind of stick characters Randall usually draws. But at least we now know where Danish has hidden it from him this time (see [[405: Journal 3]]). Given that his hat is stuck there, he could also be any of the Cueballs close by…

Also [[Miss Lenhart]] seems to be only represented once, while in her reporter mode while discovering a bug before the volcano as can be seen [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_0970x1077y_Kite_and_weird_bug.png here].

There are also several characters that are not recognizable as either any of the standard xkcd characters or in any other way (see for instance a few of the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a6/1037x1073y_Wedding.png wedding guests]). But there are possibly some of the minor characters are used like [[Danish]] at the bridge in the Blockade Runner ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png here]) but this cannot be confirmed, she just looks like her and has some similarities teasing the Star Wars fan.

Several places in the comic it is clear from the size and the behavior that some of the characters are kids, see for instance the Miss Lenhart image mentioned above, where two kids looking like Megan and Hairy stand behind her, but they would in principle not be Megan or Hairy despite appearance, as these named characters are adults.

There are also many fictive people from different movies, books, and shows; for instance Darth Vader ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_1077x1109y_Darth_Vaders_talks_about_Steven_Universe_on_the_bridge_Megan_adjust_antenna.png here]), Gandalf ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a5/1608_0944x1083y_Rock_with_Gandalf_in_Lava_lake.png here]) and Steven Universe ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/39/1608_1031x1095y_Steven_Universe_family_and_ice_cream_prediction.png here]) all three mentioned above, and some real life people: you can find [[Elon Musk]], who has a [[#Secret passages and hidden places|hidden lair]] under the Volcano (see [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1608_0945x1074y_Elon_Musks_cave_in_lair.png here]), and Gregor Mendel, hanging out on a Star Destroyer with a pea plant.

Furthermore, there are many animals (like [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b0/1608_1067x1094y_Gazebo_puma_deer_Cueball_with_bow_and_talk_of_Palpatine_in_the_middle_of_the_cave.png the puma and the deer]) in the cave, some even rather big like this [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b5/1608_1038x1094y_Giant_octopus_in_Destroyer.png octopus] or even gigantic like this [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1078x1095y_Ant_Queen_in_Destroyer.png ant queen] (all three from inside the Destroyer). There are also a couple of small Star Wars robots, one in a corridor in each spaceship ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/df/1608_1034x1091y_Photon_canon_Tetris_piece_and_mini_robot_at_bottom_of_hull.png here from the Destroyer]).

==Environment==
This is the whole comic image, without coins. The part visible at the beginning is marked red. See also a collection of different [[1608: Hoverboard/The whole image|the whole image]]!
[[File:1608 full.png|1300px|link=1608: Hoverboard/The whole image]]

===Secret passages and hidden places===
There are many places where you can disappear behind black areas, as not all of these are solid. You might have discovered this yourself if you stayed in the play area, as the platform below the inverted parentheses is only solid at the edges. Some of these places out of the play area even hide secret passages or hidden rooms. You can reveal them by [https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1608:_Hoverboard#Cheats_and_Exploits activating goggles mode].

One notable hidden area is Elon Musk's volcano lair, which is located beneath the lava in the crater of Mount Doom. It can be difficult to find your way in here without using goggles mode even if you know it is there. (For more details, see [[1608: Hoverboard/Images of secret passages|secret passages]].)

Another hidden place is the floating rock island that floats high above the {{w|Washington Monument}}, which is almost the highest point with solid ground. It is located just outside the left edge of the play area. This island is almost impossible to find by chance, as it takes around 30 seconds of repeatedly pressing the Up Arrow key to reach it from the top of the Monument. Even if you go up enough, you will almost miss it, as the Monument is not aligned to the island. (The [[#Viewers|maps]] can help you if you're having trouble finding it.)

As there are two coins on the floating rock island and four coins in the lair below the lava, it is very hard to find all the coins. There are even several coins that are hard to find because they just float in the air nowhere near any drawn things, or at least no things you can see before seeing the coin. They may hang in the air a few jumps above the ground, or in one case more than a seconds drop below the Destroyer. Getting all coins without help from a map would truly make you a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f7/169_coins_fastest_way.PNG Gandalf-like wizard]. (See more regarding [[#Coins|coins]] below.)

===Coins===
There are 169 total coins in the comic. For more details, see the [[1608: Hoverboard/Images coins|coins location]]. The highest-located coin in the game is beside the large rock on Rock Island, while the lowest-located coin is a toss-up between the one in the volcano lair, in the well, and on the rogue wave talking to Cueball. (There's also a coin under the lava but it's not at the bottom of the room.) On top of the eggs in the stork nest, on the far right of the image, there are ten coins. These are the most coins that can be collected in one place outside the play area.

The Coins are not part of the drawing, as they are added later and are superimposed on top of the comic image. This means they are always on top of the black parts of the image, even in secret paggsages. There are no coins located over any part of the solid bedrock or walls in the comic, but sometimes they coins are placed over some of the black parts that you can walk through. See example here [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0b/1608_with_coin_1070_1095.png with coin] vs. [https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1095+s.png without coin]. The coin is here a lamp, and then when it is removed it reveals an exploded lamp and also one more insect. See a picture here of the coin delivery after [[1608: Hoverboard/Screen-shots#Reaching all the boundaries|reaching all coins and all the boundaries]].

Different amounts of coins collected in the play area, will give different messages in yellow on the black part at the bottom of the screen when delivered to the coin collector. The table contains examples of what may be written depending on the number of coins. The time (and the amount when there is a range with similar rating) is just chosen at random (although in a realistic range). To get above 17 you of course have to leave the play area and come back again...
In Chrome and Firefox, there is not message for those above 9 coins, except 17, 42 and 169. But in Internet Explorer there is still a message for those cases: "Undefined". Safari, as noted elsewhere, is not recommended. See [[1608: Hoverboard/Screen-shots#Coin collecting messages|screen-shots]] or click on the links from the number of coins in the table below:

{| class="wikitable"
!# coins
!Text when depositing this number of coins
"X" is the number of coins collected
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e3/0_coins.PNG 0 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got 0 coins in 1 second''' You successfully avoided all the coins.
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/00/1_coin.PNG 1 coin]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got a single coin in 1 second''' It's a start.
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/83/2_coins.PNG 2]-[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/05/4_coins.PNG 4 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 3 seconds''' Not bad!
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fc/5_coins.PNG 5]-[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/30/9_coins.PNG 9 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 12 seconds''' Terrific!
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/74/10_coins.PNG 10]-[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/55/16_coins.PNG 16 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 10 seconds'''
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7e/17_coins.PNG 17 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got 17 coins in 15 seconds''' You found all the coins! Great job!
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bd/18_coins.PNG 18-41 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 430 seconds'''
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1c/42_coins.PNG 42 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got 42 coins in 460 seconds''' No answers here.
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d8/45_coins.PNG 43-168 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 460 seconds'''
|-
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f7/169_coins_fastest_way.PNG All 169 coins]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got 169 coins in 1457 seconds''' Are you Gandalf?
|}

Once you leave the play area, you get a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/Return_to_the_play_area.PNG flashing warning message] in red letters at the bottom of the screen:
{| class="wikitable"
|style="background-color:black;"| '''Return to the play area'''
|}
This message flashes three times over 1.2 seconds (the message only disappears for about 150 ms each time). Then, it pauses for about 1.3 seconds and repeats five times, flashing a total of 15 times in just about 11.3 seconds. The message will stop immediately if you re-enter the play area during this period. If you re-enter later, it will flash once you leave again. The play area is anything within and below the middle part of the walls just outside the starting maze.

===Boundaries===
The whole map is 1920 pixels wide, for a length of 10,656' or 3247.9488m. The larger game world is physically bounded in the left, right, and down directions, with invisible walls to each side and the ground preventing you from going any further down than the deepest depression or hidden caves. In the upward direction there is theoretically also an invisible wall, but while jumping, [[Cueball]] and his hoverboard will appear to continue upwards as long as you jump; in addition, the longer the up arrow is pressed repeatedly, the longer it will take for Cueball to fall down again once the button is released. So, although there are no new things above, you can keep jumping as high as you like and will then fall proportionally longer to get back to where you started out. When the comic was first released, it could have been possible that there were some hidden unexplored parts. Shortly after it was posted, however, a [[#Viewers|map]] was created which covered the entire game.

To the far right is a platform at the top of a high pole. This platform turns out to be a nest (like a stork nest).

To the far left is a blond woman wearing her hair in a bun, looking right. She tells you about the Destroyer, should you have gone this way without finding it yet.
:Woman: In the sky, beyond the mountain, I saw a starship.

The highest straight rise into the air to something other than white is Rock Island, just left of and very high over the Washington monument. Standing on the large rock on top of the Island, you are standing almost as high up as possible (the very top of the bridge on the Destroyer is just a tad higher). There is a coin here one step next to the rock. This is the highest located coin in the game. Going over Rock Island's edge also represents the largest possible drop in the game.

As for the deepest parts of the image, the volcano lair and the deep well (halfway to the volcano on the left) are tied. The deepest part where you can stand, however, is in the ocean below the Destroyer where a rogue wave is talking to Cueball:
:Wave: I know rogue waves seem implausible, but we're a straightforward consequence of the equations of fluid dynamics.
:Cueball: ... But you can talk?
:Wave: The equations are really complicated.

Taking a route through all the extremes mentioned here (the lowest, highest, leftmost, and rightmost solid positions within the game) can be achieved in about 9 minutes and 30 seconds. It takes 1 minute and 52 to get from the starting point to the leftmost edge. While we do not have a definite speed for the hoverboard, we can obtain the dimensions of the map by using the Washington monument. Assuming it reflects the real-life dimension of the monument, it is 100 pixels tall, while the actual monument is 555'. This means that 1 pixel is about 5.55 real-world inches.

===All images===
Coordinates for the images are given in (X, Y) coordinates with the starting point at [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png (1000, 1074)].
In total there are 3440 images on xkcd that can be accessed via links of this format: https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png [This link is for the (1000, 1074) starting point image.] '''Here is a page with a table of all the links to images: [[1608: Hoverboard/All image links|All image links]].''' The individual images are so small and cut off at "random" intervals, so you will often be unable to see both a person what they're sayin in the same image.
See for instance this [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a6/1037x1073y_Wedding.png wedding scene] to the right under the Destroyer, which only makes sense when these four images are put together (as they are in the link): [https://xkcd.com/1608/1037:-1073+s.png (1037, 1073)] — [https://xkcd.com/1608/1037:-1074+s.png (1037, 1074)] — [https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1073+s.png (1038, 1073)] — [https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1074+s.png (1038, 1074)]

The maximum possible number of images in the x-direction is 180. Going left will decrease X down to 928 (so 82 pictures left of the starting point in X-direction). Going right will increase X up to 1107 (so 107 pictures left of the starting point in X-direction). The total possible images in the y-direction are 44. Going down will decrease Y down to 1069 (so 5 pictures down from the starting point in Y-direction) Going up will increase Y up to 1112 (so 38 pictures up from the starting point in Y-direction)

The number of possible active Y-images depends on the X-coordinate, as there are several non-existing images that are not just totally white (i.e. blank images), but which don't even have a number/or active link on [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com]. The top active image over the floating island and over the top of the bridge section of the Destroyer all have Y coordinate 1112. There are only 20 active images at this Y-coordinate. The same also goes for the X coordinate: above X=1076 there are also many non-existing images with not active link. All possible images are thus spread over a 180 x 44 grid, with a possible 7920 images. But 4480 of these images are non-existing on xkcd, but you can travel through them in the game, as they are just shown as completely blank/white empty air in the game. If you try to load one of the completely blank images like [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1077+s.png (1000, 1077)], three images above the starting point, you will get an error message. There are only 76 (vs 180) images at this Y-coordinate.

Note there are several completely empty/white images that are active, but those can be loaded on xkcd like the one below the missing picture mentioned above: [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1076+s.png (1000, 1076)]. There are no blank images in completely black areas, like inside structures or underground. And below Y = 1077 all 180 possible Y-images exist for all X-coordinates, from Y = 1069 to 1076. For instance, the image below the starting point is completely black [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1073+s.png (1000, 1073)], and so are the next three below. The bottom images at Y = 1069 has a white border at the bottom: [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1069+s.png (1000, 1069)]. All the images at Y = 1069 are the same except the one at the very right edge because at this edge there is also a white border to the right [https://xkcd.com/1608/1107:-1069+s.png (1107, 1069)] (this is not the case to the far left at [https://xkcd.com/1608/928:-1069+s.png (928, 1069)]). You will never see the images at Y = 1069 in the game. Actually, you will neither see anything of the images with Y = 1070 or 1071. And there is nothing that is not completely black for Y = 1069 to 1072. First from Y = 1073 are there active images which includes white. This picture with the wave at [https://xkcd.com/1608/1022:-1073+s.png (1022, 1073)] gives the lowest point where the hoverboard Cueball can actually stand. Since you will sink into the water here, you are almost standing on the top of the Y = 1072 image: [https://xkcd.com/1608/1022:-1072+s.png (1022, 1072)], which is of course completely black.

Here is a list of the places where there are most images at a given X coordinate:

*At X = 1078, right under the highest point of the Destroyers bridge [https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1112+s.png (1078, 1112)] there are 36 active images. Thus, even here 8 images are missing between the bottom active image below the Destroyer and the first active near the ground level at Y=1076. (Y = 1077 to 1084 are missing).

*These missing Y coordinates are active in other places, for instance under the torpedo rain at X = 1020 where all Y images are active up until 1100 - 32 images. But since the last twelve images above this are missing it is still four less than under the bridge.

*Under the floating island, where there are active images at the top Y = 1112, like [https://xkcd.com/1608/990:-1112+s.png (990, 1112)], there is also the Washington monument below which goes high up, but still there are only 20 active Y images, as there are no active images between 1084 and 1109 (24 missing in between).

*Over the volcano's edges the highest images directly connecting to solid ground is found at Y = 1087. One image above this is also active making the height here going up to 1088, thus also making it twenty active Y images. The only '''not''' completely white image over the volcano at Y = 1088 is the one with the eagles [https://xkcd.com/1608/956:-1088+s.png (956, 1088)].

==Details and references==
On the page [[1608: Hoverboard/Images of individual scenes]], images covering all individual scenes (in full size and with coins) has been saved and uploaded to be used for reference in the [[#Table with references|table]] below from where they are linked directly. There are also several overviews in smaller resolution. Almost all these images have been made using this [https://1101b.com/xkcd1608/ Fully zoomable map w/ toggleable coins and passages] which includes all of the game, zoom-able and with toggle-able passages and coins. Courtesy of user [https://www.reddit.com/user/lanzaa lanzaa] on this [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/3u4sy1/xkcd_1608_hoverboard/cxbyn86 Reddit thread].

===References to Thing Explainer===
Some of the scenes in this comic reference the pictures in the ''[[Thing Explainer]]'' book. Here are some examples:

*[[1133: Up Goer Five]], the comic that was the impetus for the book. These are both referenced in this game by the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e2/1608_0976x1079y_Space_capsule_with_parachutes.png space capsule] used for re-entry by the astronauts that flew to the moon using the {{w|Saturn V|Saturn Five}} rocket. This capsule is floating down over the plateau before the volcano to the left.

*In ''Sky Toucher'', the last entry explaining a skyscraper, there are several references to the game, one of these being the space capsule just mentioned above. Other references:
**Ponytail throwing a paper plane out, which she also does [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/20/1608_1077x1107y_Tarkin_on_the_bridge_and_Ponytail_with_paper_plane.png below the bridge] of the Destroyer. (This is also a reference to [https://explainxkcd.com/1110 Click and Drag] where [https://imgs.xkcd.com/clickdrag/6n2w.png Cueball does the same], here even from a skyscraper).
**Cueball is setting up a kite and Ponytail is crawling up in the line. In the comic a small girl looking like Megan [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_0970x1077y_Kite_and_weird_bug.png also has a kite]. Being up in a kite is also referenced in both [[235: Kite]] and in the title text of [[1614: Kites]] (from just a few weeks after the release of this comic.)
**There is a floor in the middle of the building with trees, just like there is a cave inside the Destroyer [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_1053x1093y_Lake_with_tree_birds_and_puma_on_rock_at_exit_in_the_bottom_left_side_of_the_cave.png with a tree "inside"].
**Cueball is holding a fishing rod out over the side of the building letting the hook hand in the air. The same [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/1608_1014x1078y_Three_wires_and_reaching_up_to_anchors_in_Runner.png can be seen] under the Rebel Blockage Runner.
**Megan is using a skateboard in a strange ellipsoid-shaped room. This can be a reference both to where Megan is seen on a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/89/1608_1038x1095y_Hamsterball_and_stilts_room.png skateboard inside a hamster ball] and to the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1608_1078x1111y_Globe_of_Death_at_the_top_of_the_Destroyer.png globe of death] at the top of the bridge on the Destroyer.
**There is a car in the top section of the tower (long away from the parking cellar in the basement). There are two [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1049x1090y_Atmosphere_worry_and_car_room_at_bottom_of_hull.png cars inside] the Destroyer, [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d4/1608_1048x1099y_Cueball_on_hood_of_car_room_and_a_giant_step_with_coins_at_top_of_hull.png one of them] deep inside with no easy access to the outside.
**Two people are standing on a cloud, one of them (Megan) jumps out from it. This is similar to the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/92/1608_0993x1112y_Top_of_floating_rock_island_with_base_jumpers.png two base jumpers] on the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5c/1608_0994x1110y_Entire_floating_rock_island_zoom_out.png rock island].
*In the ''Red world space car'' explaining (about the {{w|Curiosity Rover}} on {{w|Mars}}) there are two references to the scenes around the Rebel Blockade Runner:
**Curiosity toasts a marshmallow over a fire as does Megan and Cueball over the exhaust pipe at [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f1/1608_1018x1079y_Top_rear_end_of_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png the rear of the Runner].
**When Curiosity is set down on Mars by the {{w|Mars Science Laboratory}} (MSL), lowered down in wires below the MSL, the wires were released once the rover was down and then it flies away. In the book Megan is hanging from one of these wires when it flies away. This is similar to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/76/1608_1014x1076y_Entire_wires_from_ground_to_Runner.png Megan hanging in one of the anchor lines] going from the ground up to the Runner.

*In ''The USS Laws of the Land'' about the ship called {{w|USS Constitution}} (named after the {{w|United States Constitution}} which is explained in the entry just before this one), there are two references to this comic:
**There is both a giant octopus' arm (marked as ''not real'') and a very large octopus under the ship. The shape of the octopus is the same as the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b5/1608_1038x1094y_Giant_octopus_in_Destroyer.png silhouette of a giant octopus] inside the Destroyer. Octopuses like this are often used in xkcd, and they are also included in the explanation about ''Writing sticks'' (as the source of ink for the pens), as a motive in ''Picture taker'' and in ''Tree of life''. As an example, from another xkcd comic with octopuses see for instance [[435: Purity]].
**There is also a bowling alley in the hull of the ship - a reference to the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/53/1608_0987x1075y_Hamsterball_bowling.png hamster ball bowling] in the left part of the world. Bowling is also used two other places in the book, namely on the suspension of the longest bridge in ''Tall roads'' and a bowling alley is used for measuring length in ''How to count things''.

*Ants are used three times in the book. A zoom-in on an ant is used to indicate size in ''Earth's past'' about geological ages of the Earth, and under the ''Tree'' in that explanation there is an ant colony where one ant is much bigger than the others; an ant queen, a clear reference to the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1078x1095y_Ant_Queen_in_Destroyer.png ant queen] in the Destroyer. They are of course also in the ''Tree of life''.

*Basketball is shown twice in this comic ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a4/1608_0936x1084y_Basketball_on_the_volcano.png left of volcano] and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1067x1104y_Basket_ball_on_top_of_Destroyer.png on top of Destroyer]). In the book the size of different ''Playing Fields'' is one of the stories, and it included the field for basketball (i.e. ''circle ball'').

*The [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d0/1608_1046x1074y_Huge_foot.png huge foot] before the pyramid look like the foot used in the explanation for ''How to count things'' to describe the wight "one kilo" using a picture labeled ''one foot'' (i.e. not the length one foot, as the length is given in meters). A similar experience to the one in [[526: Converting to Metric]].

*The [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1084x1090y_Giant_light_bulb_room.png giant light bulb] towards the bottom rear end of the Destroyer is a reference to the entry on {{w|tungsten}} in the explanation for ''The pieces everything is made of'' (i.e. the {{w|periodic table}}). In the book a {{w|Incandescent_light_bulb|light bulb}} is shown and then an arrow points to the {{w|Incandescent_light_bulb#Filament|filament}} which is made of tungsten in the typical {{w|Thomas Edison|Edison}} light bulbs.

*In the explanation for ''Box that cleans food holders'' (Dishwasher) Ponytail yells ''Wheee!'' as she slides through a pipe inside the machine on her stomach (bottom left). This is similar to her position and movement in the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c6/1608_Entire_Corridor_peristalsis_and_colon.png colon like structure] inside the Destroyer and Cueball also sliding in this colon yells ''Wheee!''

*In the explanation for ''Bending computer'' Ponytail comes racing on her bike with a laptop on top of the handlebars. She is also seen [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cd/1608_0958x1083y_Ponytail_racing_down_the_steep_slope_on_a_bike.png racing a bike down the slope of the volcano].

===References to other comics===
There are also many references to other xkcd comics, like the room at the front end of the Destroyer [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a7/1608_1004x1095y_Very_front_with_playpen_balls_pit_at_top_of_hull.png ball pit] filled with '''[[:Category:Playpen balls|playpen balls]]''', and two adults playing in it, like in [[150: Grownups]]. Also [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2e/1608_0980x1075y_Entire_well_zoom_out.png the well] in the left part of the world with [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/82/1608_0980x1073y_Well_bottom.png a girl and a coin] at the bottom is likely a reference to the movie ''The Ring'', which has been referenced before in xkcd. Wells have also come up in xkcd in [[561: Well]] and [[568: Well 2]].

There have been many comics with electric skateboards as mentioned, which do not appear in this comic, but there is one example of a normal '''skateboard'''. This is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/89/1608_1038x1095y_Hamsterball_and_stilts_room.png used by Megan] in a room in the Destroyer, while she is inside a {{w|hamster ball}}. There is also [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/53/1608_0987x1075y_Hamsterball_bowling.png another hamster ball], with a kid (looking like Megan) inside. It is used in a more than human sized {{w|ten pin bowling}} game to the left. '''Hamster balls''' is another item that has been [[:Category:Hamster balls|prominently featured]] in xkcd.

In the weeks prior to the publication, and especially the weeks after, there were also other comics that had a subject which could refer back to Hoverboard in some ways. Maybe these comics were either influenced by the game, or the other way around so that relevant items were added to the game because of these other comics:

*[[1600: MarketWatch]] - the {{w|Washington Monument}} (an obelisk) is part of the skyline depicted, and this monument is the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/21/1608_0995x1079y_Entire_Washington_monument_extra_zoom_out.png first that is encountered] in the picture when going left from the play area, plus a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/dc/1608_0994x1074y_Base_of_Washington_monument.png comment at the base] of the monument to make sure we know it is the Washington monument, and another [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6f/1608_0995x1083y_Tip_of_Washington_monument.png comment at the top] of the monument referring to the {{w|Washington_Monument#Aluminum_apex|aluminum apex}} that constitutes the very tip of the monument, which was very expensive at the time it was installed in 1884, when aluminum was a rare metal as valuable as silver. Today it would not make anyone rich from the metal alone, although the tip would be worth a lot for other historical reasons, but this is not what Cueball's comment is about.
::Cueball to Megan at the bottom: Honestly, it doesn't even look that much like Washington.
::Cueball to White Hat at the tip: Look at that- solid aluminum! We're gonna be rich!

*[[1610: Fire Ants]] - in this game there is a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1078x1095y_Ant_Queen_in_Destroyer.png giant ant queen] inside the Destroyer talking with Cueball about laying eggs. See also [[1641: Hot Dogs]] where Cueball has a similar style conversation, with the same ''Eww'' ending as with the ant queen:
::Cueball: What's up?
::Ant queen: The usual. Poopin' out ants.
::Cueball: Eww.

*[[1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar]] - this is about super volcanoes, vs. [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6a/Entire_Volcano_zoom_out.png the Volcano], Mount Doom in the game as indicated by Megan [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/77/1608_0952x1087y_Ring_of_power_and_lave_floor_at_the_right_crater_top.png throwing rings into the lava]:
::Megan at the edge of the volcano crater: One of these is probably a ring of power or whatever.

*[[1614: Kites]] - Megan is seen with a kite, and in this comic a small girl looking like Megan [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_0970x1077y_Kite_and_weird_bug.png also has a kite] to the left towards Mount Doom.

*[[1620: Christmas Settings]] - another Star Wars reference to {{w|lightsaber}} noises in the title text. Lightsabers are featured twice in this comic, with [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png Ponytail practicing] on the Rebel Blockade Runner, and with a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/20/1608_1006x1095y_Pinata_and_Cueball_with_lightsaber_at_top_of_hull.png kid about to hit a Piñata] in the Destroyer.

*[[1623: 2016 Conversation Guide]] - a direct hoverboard reference, and complaint that they are not yet real (only [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/01/1608_1048x1095y_Two_hoverboards_room.png in this game]).

*[[1630: Quadcopter]] - in this comic three quadcopters act together to abduct Cueball. Thus, making them sentient, like the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7c/1608_0950x1084y_Quadcopters_over_lava_lake_right.png quadcopter who is speaking to another] over the lava lake in the Mount Doom crater to the left.
::Right quadcopter: Remember: There's no such thing as good volcano footage taken by a quadcopter that survived.

*[[1632: Palindrome]] - a reference to the famous palindrome about the Panama canal: "''A Man, A Plan, A Canal: Panama''", and thus also to the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0d/1608_1026x1073y_Ruins_with_Cueball_singing_of_Spiders_and_Panama.png song that Cueball sings] at the ruin to the right, where the first four lines is mashup of the palindrome and {{w|Spider-Man_(theme_song)|the Spider-Man theme song}} (see this [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUtziaZlDeE video]):
::Cueball singing:
:::Spider-man
::::Spider-plan
:::Spider-canal
::::Spider-Panama
:::Gates let in
::::Spider boats
:::Flood the locks
::::Spiders float
:::''Look out!''
:::Spiders in both oceans.

*[[735: Floor]] Instead of pretending the floor is lava as in the comic, they stand by the lava pretending that it is the floor.

===All references===
The contents of the comic are documented in the table below. The table first goes through the entire image from left to right along the ground (i.e., going up the volcano and down in the lair, down the well and up to the top of the Washington Monument.) Then, it goes back to the Rebel Runner, and after that follows the torpedoes up to the Star Destroyer. Finally, it goes through the Star Destroyer from tip to rear in four sections, taking everything within each section top to bottom, before moving on to the next section. In the table are the following columns:

*'''Description''' of the scene depicted in the overview links. If the scene is a zoomed-out overview that covers the images below, its explanation is in '''bold'''. This can be used as a guide to where in the image the scenes are located, unless you sort by column.

*'''Transcript'''. Any text has only been transcribed once. If some scenes overlap, the text has only been written in the first or the one where the text is most central. Also, overviews that has been zoomed out aren'ttranscribedd and are listed as (N/A). However, (None) means the scene doesn't contain text. By sorting the transcript, the scenes with text are shown first.

*'''Overview links'''. There can be many, but the first will always be the overview. If there are secret passages or hiddend environment, two versions of the images are included. The second version, ''Hidden passages in red'', marks these passages in red instead of black.

*'''Tiles (X, Y)'''. For the standard images, there is also a link to the defining image tile on [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com].

*'''References'''. Three things are referenced many times, and each has their own column so the table can be sorted on these:
**'''SW''': {{w|Star Wars}}
**'''LOTR''': {{w|The Lord of the Rings}}
**'''TE''': [[Thing Explainer]]
**'''Other'''. There is also a column for "other" types of references so they can also be sorted, without drowning in the three recurring types of references. These can also be sorted, since they start with "Comics:", "Movies:", etc.

{|class="wikitable sortable"
! rowspan="2" | Description
! rowspan="2" | Transcript
! rowspan="2" | Overview links
! colspan="2" | Tiles (X, Y)
! colspan="4" | References
! rowspan="2" | Explanation
|-
! Main
! Second
! {{abbr|S W|References to STAR WARS in this comic}}
! {{abbr|L O T R|References to THE LORD OF THE RINGS in this comic}}
! {{abbr|T E|References to THING EXPLAINER (Randall's book)}}
! Other
|-
|'''Everything Left of play area.'''|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d4/1608_Everything_Left_of_play_area.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e4/1608_Everything_Left_of_play_area_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|Section of the image revealed when going left of the starting point.
|-
|Entire Volcano plateau.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d5/1608_Entire_Volcano_plateau_zoom_out_extra.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3d/1608_Entire_Volcano_plateau_zoom_out_extra_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|About halfway from the Play Area to the volcanos slope, there is a steep plateau. This is the part left of this plateau.
|-
|Woman with white hair bun at the left end of world looking right.
|
:Woman: In the sky,
:Woman: beyond the mountain,
:Woman: I saw a starship.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/63/1608_0928x1082y_At_the_end_of_all_things.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/928:-1082+s.png (928, 1082)]
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|The woman at the left end of the world tells about the Star Destroyer in the right part of the world. There are four coins in front of her to anyone coming this far.
|-
|Coin and boulders.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/63/1608_0933x1083y_Coin_and_boulders.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/933:-1083+s.png (933, 1083)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/935:-1083+s.png (935, 1083)]
|
|
|
|
|A single coin hangs in the air above the rocky ground with giant boulders.
|-
|'''Entire Volcano.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6a/Entire_Volcano_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/01/1608_Entire_Volcano_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|Comic: [[1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar]]
|The comic released a week after this one is about a super volcano made in a science fair experiment. As can be seen there is a lair beneath the lava lake. The entrance is revealed by the other link that turns the hidden passages to red. It is for sure possible to get stuck in the lava lake, as everything becomes black in the game when going beneath the surface.
|-
|'''Left Volcano Top.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4e/1608_0943x1087y_Left_Volcano_Top_zoom_out.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|A zoom out of the left rim of the volcanic crater.
|-
|Basketball on the volcano.
|
:Ponytail: OK, as soon as it erupts, go for the dunk. Our sweet moves will be preserved for all eternity!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a4/1608_0936x1084y_Basketball_on_the_volcano.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/936:-1084+s.png (936, 1084)]
|
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|This is a reference to {{w|Pompeii}} a Roman town-city near modern Naples, which has become famous when it was discovered that it had been preserved in the ash when it was mostly destroyed and buried under 4 to 6 m (13 to 20 ft.) of volcanic ash in the eruption of {{w|Mount Vesuvius}} in AD 79. When it was {{w|Pompeii#Rediscovery|found again}} it turned out that people had been surprised by the ash, and thus buried alive. During the excavation, plaster was used to fill in the voids in the ash layers that once held human bodies. This allowed one to see the exact position the person was in when they died. This is what Ponytail wishes for her and Megan, when the volcano they are standing on erupts, a rather morbid wish. She wants their sweet basketball moves to be preserved for eternity. In ''Playing Fields'' in TE basketball is mentioned. It is also played on top of the Destroyer close to the bridge. In this case the coin is on top of the basket, but too large to go into the hoop.
|-
|Old man walking up the volcano.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5d/1608_0937x1085y_Old_man_walking_up_the_volcano.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/937:-1085+s.png (937, 1085)]
|
|
|
|
|
|Is it an old man who just walks up a mountain, or a young man using a walking stick? It makes quite a difference to how this scene is viewed.
|-
|Duck at the left crater top.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/41/1608_0940x1087y_Duck_at_the_left_crater_top.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/940:-1087+s.png (940, 1087)]
|
|
|
|
|
|A duck is sitting at the top of the crater. There are several birds in this comic. Another duck looking the other way is found on top of the flag pole near the base of the Washington Monument.
|-
|Megan’s treasure hoard.
|
:Megan: Gooooold!
:Megan: Goold!
:Bags: $ $
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/43/1608_0941x1084y_Megans_treassure_hoarde.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/941:-1084+s.png (941, 1084)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/941:-1083+s.png (941, 1083)]
|
|
|
|
|In the side of the crater there is a small cave where Megan has found a treasury hoard and she is celebrating all the gold she has found, including two coins.
|-
|'''Entire Lava lake.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b1/1608_0946x1083y_Entire_Lava_lake_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/09/1608_0946x1083y_Entire_Lava_lake_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f4/1608_0942x1081y_Lava_lake_left.png Zoom in left part] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/82/1608_0942x1081y_Lava_lake_left_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/02/1608_0943x1083y_Left_Lava_lake_zoom_out.png Entire left part] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_0943x1083y_Left_Lava_lake_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d6/1608_0946x1080y_Lava_lake_Upper_shaft_red.png Shaft in lake in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/94/1608_0947x1081y_Lava_lake_center.png Zoom in central part] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/25/1608_0947x1081y_Lava_lake_center_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f7/1608_0949x1083y_Right_Lava_lake_zoom_out.png Entire Right part] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/ba/1608_0949x1083y_Right_Lava_lake_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3f/1608_0944x1076y_Lava_lake_very_bottom_of_shaft_and_shaft_in_lair.png Shaft into lair below] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c0/1608_0944x1076y_Lava_lake_very_bottom_of_shaft_and_shaft_in_lair_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|These images only cover the part beneath the surface where there is actually still lava, as can be seen in the images where ''Hidden passages in red''. Only the top of the lair below is shown here. From the hidden passage it is here possible to see how to enter this lair. In the images that shows the hidden part the two loose boulders that float (or are outcrops) in the right part of the lake can be seen as well as the two other holes in the lava lakes floor, which all explain why it is easy to get stuck in the lake once you go below the surface and move around. Since everything is black, you do not even know if the game still works and many people may have given up, maybe reloading after not being able to get on with the game. There is no place in the lake where you can get really stuck, as long as you just push upwards while changing direction from left to right, you are bound to get out sooner or later.
|-
|Rock with Gandalf in Lava lake.
|
:Megan: If you breathe out through you nose a little as you jump in, it can keep you from getting lava in you nasal passages.
:Cueball: Artex!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a5/1608_0944x1083y_Rock_with_Gandalf_in_Lava_lake.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_0944x1083y_Rock_with_Gandalf_in_Lava_lake_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/944:-1083+s.png (944, 1083)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|Film: {{w|The Neverending Story}}
|The wizard on the rock represents Gandalf from LOTR. What Megan tells Cueball works fine with water, not so much with lava. The horse Artax (pronounced Artex in the film) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y688upqmRXo drowns in the swamp of sadness] while Atreyu tries to save it and yells its name. Drowning in a swamp sucks, but doing so in lava will make death swifter. Both situations, however, indicate that you can actually go into the lava. If playing for the first time and becoming uncertain what would happen if the hoverboard touched the lava, the player might actually not even try to go into the lava, thus for certain would miss finding the lair beneath the lava.
|-
|Quadcopters over lava lake right.
|
:Right quadcopter: Remember: There's no such thing as good volcano footage taken by a quadcopter that survived.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7c/1608_0950x1084y_Quadcopters_over_lava_lake_right.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b2/1608_0950x1084y_Quadcopters_over_lava_lake_right_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/950:-1084+s.png (950, 1084)]
|
|
|
|
|Comics: [[1630: Quadcopter]] and in general those about [[:Category:Robots|Robots]] and [[:Category:Artificial Intelligence|AI]]
|The comic was released shortly after this one, and is about AI quadcopters that abduct Cueball. One of these {{w|quadcopters}} tells the other that no one will think much of their volcano footage if they actually survive. I.e. they have to get too close to the bubbling surface to survive before they actually obtain the footage wished for. It sounds like it tries to instill courage in them to perform this deadly task. There is a coin below the left copter. Drones has become a [[:Category:Drones|recurrent subject]] xkcd.
|-
|'''Entire Lava lair.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/69/1608_0946x1075y_Entire_Lava_lair_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e0/1608_0946x1075y_Entire_Lava_lair_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|The three rooms of the volcanic lair (and the entrance haft in the image with hidden passages in red).
|-
|Trending on twitter cave in lair and Lava lake bottom shaft.
|
:Cueball: What news of the world above? Please, tell me- what's hot and viral? ''What's trending on Twitter?!!''
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6e/1608_0944x1079y_Trending_on_twitter_cave_in_lair_and_Lava_lake_bottom_shaft.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2a/1608_0944x1079y_Trending_on_twitter_cave_in_lair_and_Lava_lake_bottom_shaft_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/944:-1079+s.png (944, 1079)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/945:-1079+s.png (945, 1079)]
|
|
|
|Comics with [[:Category:Social networking|Social networking]]
|Cueball has been stuck below the lava for some times without access to the internet, and he now craves news from the world above. But it is not really news stories he craves but only the hot and viral videos and what is trending on {{w|Twitter}}. To be addicted to social networks and viral videos is probably a real infliction and it is a pain for Cueball to not be able to get on-line. Two coins are behind him.
|-
|Elon Musk’s cave in lair.
|
:Left Cueball: I always assumed Elon Musk's volcano lair would be like... Tropical. And ...Well, ''pleasant''.
:[[Elon Musk]] in the high chair: Back to your desks, swine!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1608_0945x1074y_Elon_Musks_cave_in_lair.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/945:-1074+s.png (945, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/946:-1074+s.png (946, 1074)]
|
|
|
|Comics with [[:Category:Comics featuring Elon Musk|Elon Musk]]
|It turns out that this is [[Elon Musk]]'s lair. Having a secret lair with a hidden entrance is an often uses trope in films. Often it would be the villain (like in a {{w|James Bond}} film) that has such a place, but also heroes, like {{w|Batman}}, uses such hiding places. The joke here is that Cueball has assumed that Elon Musk, an extraordinarily rich and enterprising man, which could be one of these megalomaniacs that might end up being a super villain, would have a bit more class over his secret lair. It also turns out that Elon sits in the cave and shouts at his workers to get back to work, even calling them names. There is also a coin here.
|-
|Ground symbol in lair.
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:Ponytail: So ''this'' is where it is.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2d/1608_0947x1073y_Antenna_cave_in_lair.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/947:-1073+s.png (947, 1073)]
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|The antenna looking item hanging from the ceiling is the embodiment of the {{w|Ground_%28electricity%29#Electronics|Earth ground symbol}} commonly used in circuit diagrams for electronics. So this is where the Earth is grounded in "real life" and finally Ponytail has found it. To protect themselves i their long search for this Ponytail and Megan seem to be wearing {{w|Antistatic_wrist_strap|antistatic wrist straps}}. This may also be a reference to the Circuit Diagram comic in which a ground is labeled as "bury deep, but not too deep"
|-
|'''Right Volcano Top'''
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:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/70/1608_0953x1087y_Right_Volcano_Top_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b8/1608_0953x1087y_Right_Volcano_Top_zoom_out_extra.png Extra zoom out] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_0953x1087y_Right_Volcano_Top_zoom_out_extra_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|A zoom out of the right rim of the volcanic crater. In the extra zoom out the eagles can be seen as well, they are high enough to be missed entirely when moving along the crater surface.
|-
|Ring of power and lave floor at the right crater top.
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:Megan: One of these is probably a ring of power or whatever.
:Girl with hair bun: Let's play a game where the lava is the floor of a house.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/77/1608_0952x1087y_Ring_of_power_and_lave_floor_at_the_right_crater_top.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/952:-1087+s.png (952, 1087)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/953:-1087+s.png (953, 1087)]
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|{{yesno|yy}}
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|Megan tells Cueball that one of the many rings she throws into the crater is probably a {{w|One Ring|''ring'' of power}}, a reference to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXpF3SUFaDw the scene] from the {{w|The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King|last LOTR film}} where {{w|Frodo Baggins|Frodo}} fails and {{w|Gollum}} attacks inside the volcano {{w|Mount Doom}}, thus making it clear that the volcano in the game represents this volcano. From her last comment, ''or whatever'', it seems she doesn't care too much, which make it clear, from the LOTR universe, that neither of these rings in the one ring. It would not have be this easy throwing them into the lava if it had been. There seems to be 16 rings, which is less than the other rings that are ruled by the one ring, the 9 for the humans, the 7 for the dwarfs and the 3 for the elves (19 plus the one ring 20 rings in total).

The two girls are playing a dangerous game, the exact opposite of the normal version of the children’s game {{w|Hot lava (game)|Hot lava}}, where they pretend the floor in the house is made out of lava, and that you die if you touch it. However, in this version of the game they pretend to play that the lava is the floor in a house, and they may then just walk out into the lava pool, where they would die.
|-
|Megan sliding down slope on snow sleigh.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/15/1608_0956x1085y_Megan_sliding_down_slope_on_snow_sleigh.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/956:-1085+s.png (956, 1085)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/956:-1086+s.png (956, 1086)]
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|Megan is sliding fast down the crater side. She will hit a jump near the coin, and would probably fly a considerable distance given the speed she seems to have.
|-
|Eagles over right crater top.
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:Left eagle: Tolkien said Frodo left the cloak somewhere over here.
:Right eagle: Can't ''he'' just fix it?
:Left eagle: He doesn't want to rewrite that chapter.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cb/1608_0956x1088y_Eagles_over_right_crater_top.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/956:-1088+s.png (956, 1088)]
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|{{yesno|yy}}
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|Frodo's mithril cloak was taken from him at Cirith Ungol, which, along with other items, was recovered by Gandalf and returned to him at Minas Tirith. Some readers have been confused by this turn of events however, due to it not being present in some versions of the movie adaptation. Two of the {{w|Eagle (Middle-earth)|great eagles}} from LOTR flies above the right crater top. In this situation the eagles are being used to find {{w|Frodo|Frodo's}} cloak, with one eagle complaining that "he", meaning {{w|J. R. R. Tolkien}} the author of LOTR, should just fix the issue without the eagles. This is a reference to the eagles use in LOTR as a {{w|Deus ex machina|deus ex machina}} and the [https://periannath.com/feature/why-doesnt-frodo-just-ride-an-eagle-to-mount-doom/ supposed plot hole] of the eagles not [https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Eagles#Flying_the_Ring_to_Mount_Doom flying the ring to mordor]. However, this was of course not possible before Sauron and his ringwraiths were defeated.
|-
|Ponytail racing down the steep slope on a bike.
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:Ponytail: 114 mph!
:Ponytail: Suck it, previous downhill volcano record-holder!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cd/1608_0958x1083y_Ponytail_racing_down_the_steep_slope_on_a_bike.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/958:-1083+s.png (958, 1083)]
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|Ponytail is trying to break the world record for downhill race on a bike on a volcano. The {{w|Cycling_records#History_of_downhill_records|record}} at the time of this comic was from 2002 and was 107 mph (172 km/h) easily beaten by the 114 mph (183 km/h) that Ponytail reaches as she mocks the previous record holder. There were two different records, one for prototype bike by {{w|Éric Barone}} (the 107 mph (172 km/h)) and one for serial production bicycle (102.5 mph (164.95 km/h) set in 2011 by {{w|Markus Stöckl}}). She beat them both and it looks like a very ordinary bike she rides. The all-time record for downhill racing is not using the ashy slopes on volcanos but from racing on snow, and here the record is not in danger from Ponytail as it is a staggering 138 mph (222 km/h) again with a lesser record for serial produced bikes of 130 mph (210 km/h). She will soon hit a rock outcrop so hopefully she has very good brakes...
|-
|Tell my wife why you left me there, and Megan and Cueball with a device
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:Right Cueball: If I don't make it back...
:Right Cueball: ...Tell my wife...
:Right Cueball: ...Where I am...
:Right Cueball: ...And why you left me there…
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/ce/1608_0960x1081y_Tell_my_wife_why_you_left_me_there.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/960:-1081+s.png (960, 1081)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/961:-1081+s.png (961, 1081)]
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|''If I don't make it back'' is a common [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IfIDoNotReturn trope] in films and books used when the speaker is about to make a noble sacrifice. The speaker will then usually tell the other to go tell his wife that he died bravely or that his friends should remember him. There is even a [https://vimeo.com/58319575 song] with the same title by {{w|Tracy Lawrence}}. In Cueball's case, both him and his companion are attempting to scale a dangerous mountain and neither are inclined to sacrifice their own lives for the other. Cueball appears to be struggling, climbing on all fours while his friend is standing. Subverting the trope, he attempts to guilt trip his friend into helping him.

Also here are Megan with some kind of device and Cueball on top of a large boulder. Maybe they are investigating the environment on the volcanic slope. Cueball has just discovered the coin hanging above them.
|-
|It becomes a V7 if the volcano erupts and Ponytail and Cueball on the slope
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:Megan: This is currently a V2, but it becomes a V7 if the volcano erupts.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_0962x1080y_It_becomes_a_V7_if_the_volcano_erupts.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/962:-1080+s.png (962, 1080)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/963:-1079+s.png (963, 1079)]
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|Megan and Cueball climb a very steep part of the mountain slope. In {{w|bouldering}}, the relative difficulty of a bouldering problem is graded using the {{w|Grade (bouldering)|V scale}}. She exclaims that at the moment the climb is only a V2, but if the volcano erupts this would increase to V7. The joke is that the shaking ground and the lava resulting from the eruption would obviously make it harder to complete the bouldering problem without getting killed. In reality, passing environmental conditions do not affect the grade that a bouldering problem receives.
|-
|Megan reading for children about Sauron’s ring.
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:Megan: "The time has come" the Walrus said, and put on a Sauron's ring…
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/66/1608_0964x1078y_Megan_reading_for_children_about_Saurons_ring.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/964:-1078+s.png (964, 1078)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/964:-1079+s.png (964, 1079)]
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|{{yesno|yy}}
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|The line ""The time has come" the Walrus said, to talk of many things" is from the poem {{w|The Walrus and the Carpenter}} by {{w|Lewis Carroll}}'s book {{w|Through the Looking-Glass}}, the sequel to {{w|Alice's Adventures in Wonderland}}. {{w|Sauron}} is the main enemy in LOTR, the one who has made the ring, and now needs it to gain his powers back. In this mixed poem the second line is changed but follows the same rhyme scheme. But although ''rings'' would have rhymed with ''things'', it of course have to ''ring'' as the {{w|walrus}} can only put the {{w|One Ring|one ring of power}} on, while uttering the now much more ominous sounding phrase ''The time has come''. Megan is reading this poem/story at the base of the volcano Mount Doom where the ring was created and later destroyed. Like Frodo, Sauron is one of the characters from LOTR who is only mentioned, not shown, in the comic.
|-
|Vaping Earth.
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:Cueball: The Earth is vaping.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bd/1608_0969x1077y_Vaping_Earth.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/969:-1077+s.png (969, 1077)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/968:-1077+s.png (968, 1077)]
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|{{w|Vaping}} is a term used instead of smoking for the use of electronic cigarettes. There is even a game called the {{w|Vaping game}} for blowing extra large clouds of vapor out while using these substitutes for cigarettes. Cueball remarks that here it is the Earth that does so, due to the volcanic activity of the nearby volcano.
|-
|'''Left of play area to Kite.'''
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:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a9/1608_Left_of_play_area_to_Kite.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/80/1608_Left_of_play_area_to_Kite_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|This is the area from below the volcano's slope and towards the play area. There are several hidden places and pools that can be seen in the second image link.
|-
|Kite and weird bug.
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:Mom: Check out this one weird bug, discovered by a local mom.
:Girl: Oh my God, mom, stop saying everything like that.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_0970x1077y_Kite_and_weird_bug.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a4/1608_0970x1077y_Kite_and_weird_bug_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/970:-1077+s.png (970, 1077)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/972:-1077+s.png (972, 1077)]
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|{{yesno|yy}}
|Comic [[1614: Kites]] and in general the [[:Category:Kites|kite category]]. Also the [[:Category:Clickbait|Clickbait category]]
|The comic was released only two weeks after this game, and although it is clearly a girl in this comic, she looks like Megan who sets up the kite in the next comic. There is also a kite in ''Sky Toucher'' in TE and kites is a recurring theme in xkcd.

The mother that discovers the bug is [[Miss Lenhart]]. She talks like she is one of the {{w|clickbait}} headlines used for getting people to click in on the link generally aimed at generating online advertising revenue, which fits nicely with her recurring theme of as a news anchor. Her daughter is tired of this, especially as it seems like the mother speaks like that all the time. This may embarrass the girl, especially if she is with a friend rather than a brother. Maybe the mother has been reading too many clickbait news on-line? As noted in the other references ''clickbait'' is a recurring theme in xkcd. The mother is near a small lake, so it is likely that there is plenty of insects and other bugs. It is possible to sink into the lake as can be seen in the second image with the hidden parts shown in red.
|-
|Space capsule with parachutes.
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:Bird thinking: I don't remember laying these but ''wow'' they're already flying. Gonna be awesome when they hatch.

:Cueball: Yes! My phone has a signal.
:Voice from inside: How many new likes did we get during reentry?
:Cueball: I'm checking!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e2/1608_0976x1079y_Space_capsule_with_parachutes.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/976:-1079+s.png (976, 1079)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/976:-1080+s.png (976, 1080)]
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|{{yesno|yy}}
|Comic : [[1133: Up Goer Five]]
|The book TE was based on the comic ''Up Goer Five'' which was about the rocket that took this space capsule to the moon. When it lands it uses three large parachutes to slow down after the main brake-down during reentry. On top of these sits a bird looking like a hen. It is a hen that can think, but it is still not very clever. It believes that this is three eggs, and is amazed that they are already flying before they hatch, which is of course ridiculous, but they do float in the air...

The astronauts inside (two at least, but there should be three if it was one of the moon landing missions) has just been waiting to get close enough to Earth again that they can get a signal on their smart phones. Cueball is even opening the hatch during descend to increase this chance, which would be highly dangerous. Also normally they would land in water (which will though not be the case this time). The reason he does this is that they wish to know how many more likes they (and their mission) has received during the reentry. This would have been relevant if the moon landings had taken place today. There where no social media or internet back in 1969. This is similar to the Cueball who is trapped in the lava lair without connection to Twitter.
|-
|Girl running to other girl and small forest.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/30/1608_0978x1077y_Girl_running_to_other_girl_and_small_forrest.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/978:-1077+s.png (978, 1077)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/976:-1077+s.png (976, 1077)]
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|Just two young girls playing near a forest of low trees. But with the space capsule above the forest.
|-
|Entire well - zoom out.
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:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2e/1608_0980x1075y_Entire_well_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/06/1608_0980x1075y_Entire_well_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|Comics in the [[561: Well|Well series]].
|There are many similarities in this well to the [[561: Well|Well series]]. Someone is looking into a well that has the same general appearance and there is a person inside which turned out to be the case in [[568: Well 2]]. People throw coins into it and there is a coin at the bottom in the game (although above the water.)
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|Well top.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/70/1608_0980x1077y_Well_top.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/980:-1077+s.png (980, 1077)]
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|Cueball looks into the deep well.
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|Well bottom.
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:Girl: I'm not a ghost. I just like wells.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/82/1608_0980x1073y_Well_bottom.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/aa/1608_0980x1073y_Well_bottom_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/980:-1073+s.png (980, 1073)]
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|At the bottom of the well in the water (see also the hidden passages image) is a girl. Above to the left of her is a coin. Maybe thrown in by Cueball at the top. Ghost living in wells is a common theme, for instance there is a Japanese movie {{w|Banchō Sarayashiki}} whose [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202946/releaseinfo English title] is ''Ghost in the Well''. So, this is why this real girl explains that she is actually not a ghost, she just like wells and thus likes to sit in the cold water at the bottom of wells. This could be very dangerous, and she will probably have a hard time getting up. It is also a very deep well, so falling into this well might very well be lethal. There are also many stories (in this case also real stories like the one about {{w|Jessica McClure}}) about kids that fall into wells, some of them surviving being stuck for several days in the wells. Also, in movies this story is often used, for instance in {{w|Batman Begins}} the young Bruce Wayne falls down a dry well and is attacked by a swarm of bats, subsequently developing a fear of bats.
|-
|Entire gas station with birds above
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:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b3/1608_0982x1079y_Gas_station_with_birds_above_with_coin_on_string.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/83/1608_0982x1079y_Gas_station_with_birds_above_without_coin_on_string.png Without coin]
|Overview
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|The two birds with a coin between them flying above the gas station is way too high up, to be discovered when just moving normally over the gas station, even jumping once up from the highest spot. This is thus one of several coins that are easily missed. There is more explanation this scene where these two individual scenes are described.
|-
|Gas station with x-wing.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/44/1608_0982x1077y_Gas_station_with_x-wing.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/982:-1077+s.png (982, 1077)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/983:-1077+s.png (983, 1077)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
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|Megan has managed to land her {{w|x-wing}} fighter from the rebel fleet in Star Wars right next to a standard gas station. And she has planned to fill her spaceship up. That it could run on petrol for cars seems highly unlikely. The question is if she has already filled it up and is heading back with the handle to the gas stander, or if she has just discovered that the hose is not long enough to reach all the way under the wing to the fighter. It will have taken considerable skills to land this close to the station without hitting the cover over the stander. Ponytail is sitting in the shop with a coin. This is the first coin to be discovered when going left from the play-area. There is a long stretch without coins to begin with. The coins on the rock island in the sky it on this stretch, but so far above that most people would miss them altogether. There is also a coin with two birds straight above the right wing on the X-wing. But about three jumps up, so it is easy to miss. To get into the shop you need to go over the stander and back. Why Cueball have crawled up in the roof is not clear. But maybe he is enjoying the view over the cliff that is to the right of the station. There is a stop sign to the left, but there seems to be no road that way. Maybe that is why you should stop...
|-
|Birds with coin.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7e/1608_0982x1079y_Birds_with_coin.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/9e/1608_0982x1079y_Birds_without_coin.png Without coin]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/982:-1079+s.png (982, 1079)]
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|Film: {{w|Monty Python and the Holy Grail}}
|In the film it is discussed if two swallows could carry a coconut between them on a string as the two birds do with the coin here. First when the coin has been taken, can the string between the birds be seen (see the other image). The birds are three jumps above the X-wing below, and this coin is thus easily missed by the players. In the film the horses are simulated with the sound of two coconuts shells being hit together. Someone asks how they happened to be in England and there is discussion about migratory birds like {{w|swallows}} and the possibility that they have brought the coconuts along with them. But the consensus is that they cannot do this by themselves the coconut being too heavy, but then it is suggested that two swallows could carry it on a string between them. Later in the film someone is seen actually tying two birds together to a coconut. In this comic, we now know how the coins have been transported through the image...
|-
|Our kingdom from a cliff.
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:Cueball: Everything the light touches is our kingdom.
:Girl: What's with the shadowy place over there?
:Cueball: That is beyond our borders.
:Girl: No, I mean what object casts a shadow over a whole region?
:Cueball: Oh, that's god. He lives over there.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a0/1608_0986x1076y_Our_kingdom_from_a_cliff.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/986:-1076+s.png (986, 1076)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/986:-1075+s.png (986, 1075)]
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|Film: {{w|The Lion King}} and comic: [[1504: Opportunity]] as well as [[:Category:The Lion King|The Lion King category]]
|Cueballs lines is from The Lion King and has been used directly before in the comic Opportunity. Randall has made several references to the film in xkcd, and it is obvious that he was very affected by this film that came out when he was just the right age.

Cueball is talking to a child version of Ponytail, whose mother may be the one climbing up the cliff side below. The first three lines of the quote goes as in the film, but then it turns out that the girl is properly referring to the Star Destroyer that would be clearly visible from this cliff as it covers almost the entire right part of this world from just beyond the play-area. (They do not look high enough to see the rock island in the sky, and it would also not cast shadow over an entire region.) As it is not certain players coming here have already been to the right to see the Destroyer it is not necessarily clear that the reply from Cueball should apply to the Destroyer. But if it does then it would be the Emperor Palpatine that he refers to as God. The emperor is on board the Destroyer near the bridge at the very top rear end of the spaceship and has God like powers. It could however also just be a general reference to the {{w|God}} and thus be inferred as if God cast a shadow over an entire region (country). Maybe just in general as if he has a place in the sky that cast a shadow (like sitting on a cloud). Alternatively, it could be the people who believe too much in any God, which can be viewed as living under a shadow, as they will not try to see any reality if it does not fit with their religious beliefs.
|-
|Hamster ball bowling.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/53/1608_0987x1075y_Hamsterball_bowling.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/987:-1075+s.png (987, 1075)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/989:-1074+s.png (989, 1074)]
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|{{yesno|yy}}
|Comics: [[:Category:Hamster balls|Hamster ballscategory]]
|There have been several xkcd comics with human sized hamster balls, and there is even one more in this comic up in the Destroyer. In this scene it is two young girls that use the hamster ball as a bowling ball in a human sized {{w|ten pin bowling}} game. Hopefully, the little girl with the hair bun behind the pins get away in time if it is a strike. It is the first time hamster ball and bowling has been matched, but in TE there are bowling alleys both on the ship ''The USS Laws of the Land'' and on the suspension of the longest bridge in ''Tall roads'' and such an alley is also used for measuring length in ''How to count things''. One of the many large trees that are found in the drawing is standing alone in this scene. Most other places there are more than one tree together.
|-
|If loving you is wrong I don’t want to and Beret Guy following insects
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:Cueball: If loving you is wrong, I don't want to.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4f/1608_0990x1074y_If_loving_you_is_wrong_I_dont_want_to.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/990:-1074+s.png (990, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/991:-1074+s.png (991, 1074)]
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|Song (or quote): {{w|(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right}}
|A reference to either the [https://krexy.com/if-loving-you-is-wrong general love quote] or maybe more likely to the song [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvJj7SN9EWI performed most notably] by {{w|Luther Ingram}}. Recently (2014), there has also been a TV series produced called {{w|If Loving You Is Wrong (TV series)|If Loving You Is Wrong}}.

The quote is very romantic, because the speaker is stating that if it is wrong to love a specific person, the speaker chooses to be in love and does not wish to be right. However, Cueball twist the quote quite a lot, saying instead that if it is wrong to love Ponytail then he does not want to love her at all - taking all romance out of the statement.

Also in this scene is one of only two instances where Beret Guy appears. Typical of his past appearances, he seems to be occupied by following a small flying insect through the tall grass.
|-
|'''Entire Washington monument'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/21/1608_0995x1079y_Entire_Washington_monument_extra_zoom_out.png Overview]
[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_0995x1079y_Entire_Washington_monument_extra_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7a/1608_0995x1078y_Middle_of_Washington_monument_zoom_out.png Central hidden passage] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6d/1608_0995x1078y_Middle_of_Washington_monument_zoom_out_red.png Hidden passages in red]

|Overview
|
|
|
|
|Comic: [[1600: MarketWatch]]
|The tallest manmade structure on the ground in this game is the {{w|Washington Monument}} which recently before the release of this comic was referred to in the mentioned comic. As can be seen in the hidden passages images there are two secret passages, one at the bottom (see this scene for more) and one in the middle of the monument. The one in the central part of the monument is actually quite large, and as can be seen in the images zooming in on the central part there is also a fault line in the monument at the base of this hidden passage. But it doesn't really lead to anywhere interesting. The fault line could be a reference to the {{w|Washington_Monument#2011_earthquake_damage|earthquake damage}} from 2011 where several stones cracked.
|-
|Base of Washington monument with Cueball and Megan
|
:Cueball: Honestly, it doesn't even look that much like Washington.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/dc/1608_0994x1074y_Base_of_Washington_monument.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/16/1608_0994x1074y_Base_of_Washington_monument_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/994:-1074+s.png (994, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/995:-1074+s.png (995, 1074)]
|
|
|
|
|At the base of the Washington Monument Megan and Cueball is looking up at it, and Cueball complains that it doesn't even look like {{w|Washington, D.C.|Washington}}. By "Washington" he could be referring to the city of Washington DC or to the real Washington monument, but he is probably referring to the first US President George Washington, since monuments often depict (look like) the person they are dedicated to, but the real Washington monument is not meant to look like Washington himself. Cueball seems to have expected all presidential monuments to include a statue of the honored president and is confused and disappointed when the monument fails to meet his expectations. Of course, since this is the only Washington based building in the game it is true that the place doesn't look like the city. If he refers to the monument, then it can be questioned if this is because the monument is not an exact replica (in proportions and/or scale). In any case it is clearly meant as an indicator that this is supposed to look like the monument, and with the tip's apex being made of aluminum (see that scene) as on the real monument, there can be no doubt what is referenced. It is possible to get to the left side of the monument without going up to see the tip, if the player immediately understands the sign with the white arrow that points to a hidden passage through the base of the monument, as can be seen in the second image with the hidden passages shown in red.

To the left of the monument there is a flagpole with a blown-out flag. It is all black, but it should be the {{w|Flag of the United States|the Stars and Stripes}} as there are fifty flag poles with the US flag (one for each [[1653: United States Map|state]]) surrounding the monument in a circle. On top of the pole there sits a duck looking left. Towards the end of the world to the left on top of the left volcanic rim there also sits a similar duck looking right.
|-
|Tip of Washington monument with Cueball and White Hat
|
:Cueball: Look at that- Solid aluminum!
:Cueball: We´re gonna be rich!
:White Hat: Uh, what the heck is ''that?!''
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6f/1608_0995x1083y_Tip_of_Washington_monument.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/995:-1083+s.png (995, 1083)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/995:-1084+s.png (995, 1084)]
|
|
|
|
|The tip of the monument is actually {{w|Washington_Monument#Aluminum_apex|made of solid aluminum}} and at the time this {{w|aluminum}} apex was installed it was a rare metal as valuable as {{w|silver}}, but today it is maybe about 1/300 as valuable as silver. So Cueball and White Hat will not become rich based on the metal value. Of course, if they did steal the tip of such a famous monument, they might actually be able to sell it to a scrupulous collector at a value comparable to if was just a lump of silver of that weight.

White Hat looking over his shoulder spots the Star Destroyer and thus help guide a player that has started going left towards the Destroyer to the right. How they have managed the climb, getting the ropes over the tip, or how Cueball intends to get down with the tip is left to the readers imagination...
|-
|'''Entire floating rock island.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5c/1608_0994x1110y_Entire_floating_rock_island_zoom_out.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|Film: {{w|Avatar (2009 film)|Avatar}}
|This floating rock island may be a reference to the film Avatar where floating rocks is part of the scenery of the fictive moon {{w|Fictional_universe_of_Avatar#Astronomy_and_geology|Pandora}}. The rock in the game is very hard to find by chance, it is kind of unobtainable, which may be a further reference to the film since the reason the rocks do float is a combination of a weak gravity, a strong magnetic field and a mineral whose {{w|Superconductivity|superconductive properties}} allow it to float in magnetic fields. Of course, the levitating Hallelujah Mountains in the film contain significant quantities of the mineral which is called {{w|Unobtanium}}. Only thing pointing towards it is the Washington Monument and even if you go up from there, pushing the up arrow continuously for more than half a minute you may almost miss it, as only the far-right girl would move through the view. And with two coins around this island, it is important to find it in order to get all coins. Apart from the coins and the surprise there is little of interest here, and not even any spoken text.

To the right just beneath the rear end of the Destroyer there is a small lump of earth that has floated up from the ground, hovering over the corresponding hole in the ground. Maybe this is caused by the same force that have created this floating island.
|-
|Top left of floating rock island with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f5/1608_0989x1112y_Top_of_floating_rock_island_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/990:-1112+s.png (990, 1112)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/990:-1111+s.png (990, 1111)]
|
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|
|The large rock on top of the floating island is one of only two places where there is anything at a coordinate of Y=1112. On top of the globe of Death over the bridge of the destroyer, there are three images at the top of this that enters 1112. And there [https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1112+s.png the very top] is just slightly higher up. But there is no coin there, so the coin that would be in the tile used for main reference here that holds the coin is the highest location for any coin in the game, as the Globe of Death has its coin in its center below the top.
|-
|Top right of floating rock island with base jumpers.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/92/1608_0993x1112y_Top_of_floating_rock_island_with_base_jumpers.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/994:-1111+s.png (994, 1111)]
|
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|In ''Sky Toucher'' in TE two people jump of a cloud, like the base jumpers Megan and Ponytail does here from the floating rock, but at least these two girls do have parachutes on (as opposed to the cloud jumpers in TE). How they got here is a good question, but of course they could have flown here in for instance the X-wing from below at the gas station.
|-
|Bottom of floating rock island with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_0992x1109y_Bottom_middle_of_floating_rock_island_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/992:-1109+s.png (992, 1109)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/993:-1109+s.png (993, 1109)]
|
|
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|At the bottom of the island several small and large boulders can be seen hanging only loosely on to the bottom. At the center the largest rock can be seen, but even this is slipping a little as can be seen by the small white speck high over the very bottom of this boulder. Right of this is the other coin that belongs to this hidden place in the sky.
|-
|'''Entire Play Area - zoom out.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1608_1001x1074y_Entire_Play_Area_Zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/8b/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Coins_Hoverboard_and_View.png With starting view]
|Overview
|
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|The entire play area with the walls and their outer foundation. See also the insert with the starting view shown in red in the second image link and see more about the buildup of scenes from the individual image tiles using the [[#Image coordinates|play area down below]]. It is easy to see how a player of the game, with no knowledge of Randall's way of thinking, may not even think about exploring outside this area, even if they do try to go outside the maze. Because it is possible to jump around in the maze without discovering that you can actually fly rather than just jump. If you only jump once, you cannot see the too op the walls. On top of this there is the large [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/Return_to_the_play_area.PNG red warning letters] telling you to go back if you try to leave the confines of the wall.
|-
|The Play Area.
|
:My new book,
:''Thing Explainer,''
:comes out today!
:To celebrate, here's
:a small game.

:Deposit coins here
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6c/1608_1000x1074y_The_Play_Area.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/30/1608_1000x1074y_The_Play_Area_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png (1000, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1075+s.png (1000, 1075)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|This is the starting area where the game begins. There is even some extra text telling you to ''Use arrow keys to move'' but as soon as you do, this text disappears, just like the [[#Coins|message you can receive]] below in the view depending on your action in this area. The text below the starting point of the hoverboard Cueball that you control, explains that the game is released on this day to celebrate the release of Randall's new book [[Thing Explainer]] and thus directly references the book. And also explains why this comic has been made, and furthermore why it was released on a Tuesday rather than the usual Wednesday release, which was then skipped this week. It also explains that if you collect coins, you can deposit them at the terminal, and when you do it list the score (number of coins and the time used) and rates your achievement. By noting that [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7e/17_coins.PNG you got all the coins] if you collect all seventeen coins in the play area maze, then it is one more trick to try to make you stay inside the walls of the maze. There is only one small feature that can be spotted from within the maze that breaks the symmetry and may give away the clue of the game. And that is the small stone that lies on the ground to the left. Because why should it be there, if this was just a platform/maze game. The walls cannot be seen if you stay in or just around the outer wall of the maze. But if you go to them, you may think this is the end. Another detail about the game to be learned already here is that there can be "solid" black parts of the surroundings which are not solid at all. This can be seen in the image showing the hidden passages in red. Here it can be seen that the ledge beneath the two inverted parenthesis " )( " is not solid, and that you can fall or jump up through this section. This could forewarn you of the hidden passages, especially to the lair beneath the volcano which are the only real hidden place based on hidden passages, but also for those in the Washington Monument and in the cotton trap in the Destroyer and the glitch floor also on the Destroyer.
|-
|'''Everything Right of Washington monument.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/66/1608_Everything_Right_of_washington_monument.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
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|
|
|Most of the details in the image is found to the right of the play-area, mainly in the form of the rooms in the Destroyer. On the ground only a few artifacts are large enough to be seen in this zoomed out version. The three T's and the forest, and then of course the pyramid. Interestingly enough there are almost more to be seen inside the Destroyer with the two large rooms (the cave and the Glitch floor room) both being large enough to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bf/1608_Entire_Cave_With_entire_pyramid_for_scale.png accommodate the entire pyramid].
|-
|Cueball outside play area.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c0/1608_1004x1074y_Cueball_outside_play_area.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1004:-1074+s.png (1004, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1003:-1074+s.png (1003, 1074)]
|
|
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|
|Typically reading direction would lead a player to this location first after escaping the play area. Is this is indeed the case then the grass and after that Cueball is the first hint that something more is going to happen in this game. Apart from the Cueball standing inside the play area, this is the closest person to the play area. He is just standing there doing nothing, so it is still not clear how big this is going to be.
|-
|Megan points at Runner after forest.
|
:Megan: Wow.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/53/1608_1008x1074y_Megan_points_at_Runner_after_forest.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1008:-1074+s.png (1008, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1006:-1074+s.png (1006, 1074)]
|
|
|
|
|The small forest with two large trees and several small ones is the first really interesting to show up if exiting the play area to the right for the first time and finally a person actually speaking shows up (although Cueball at the base of the Washington Monument to the right would be closer). Megan is not saying much, but she is clearly reacting to something. It could be to one or both the space ships above her. Since the Destroyer is already on top of her, as the front end of that ship is just short of being above the right wall of the play area, then it could also be the Rebel Runner she is pointing out. No matter what, following her arm going up and right it is likely that the runner will enter the view, but it is possible to miss it, in which case there would be a long way up to the Destroyer. Megan and Cueball is standing on the edge of a cliff, offering them an excellent view. Stepping down on the plateau below the cliff takes the player close to the lowest possible level to be at in the game. There are no tiles with any white below that level (1073). But the lowest point is first in the Ocean.
|-
|Cliff with rock and cactus.
|
:(None, or rather the text has been written in the previous scene)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f2/1608_1010x1073y_Cliff_with_rock_and_cactus.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c4/1608_1010x1073y_Cliff_with_rock_and_cactus_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1010:-1073+s.png (1010, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1008:-1073+s.png (1008, 1073)]
|
|
|
|
|After the grassy ground and the forest above the cliff to the left this marks the beginning of a long stretch of barren land ending in a dessert before reaching the ocean. Here a cactus and two large boulders display this inhospitable terrain. It seems like something is sitting on top of the smaller boulder, this could be a lizard, but it is too small to be certain. But that it is not part of the rock can be seen in the other image showing the parts of the image that you can walk through in red. And this small "lizard" is obviously sitting on top of the boulder.
|-
|Entire wires from ground to Runner.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/76/1608_1014x1076y_Entire_wires_from_ground_to_Runner.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|Here is the first direct link from the ground to the Destroyer. This specific link takes the player from the ground level up along one of the three wires to the bottom of the hull of the Rebel Runner. If you went straight for the runner without going further right, the first coin you would find to the right would be one of the three at the runner. Else the first coin to the right (along the ground) would be in the dunes before Ponytail to the right.As can be seen the three wires are held by people and are then attached with anchors to the hull. Megan is climbing up the last of the three wires. See more in the specific scenes.
|-
|Three wires and people holding on on the ground
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c9/1608_1013x1073y_Three_wires_and_people_holding_on.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1013:-1073+s.png (1013, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1011:-1073+s.png (1011, 1073)]
|
|
|
|
|Three pairs of people are trying to hold on the three wires going straight up. Cueball and Megan holds on leaning left on the left wire, another Cueball and Hairy hold on to each side of the middle wire and finally yet a Cueball holds on to the last, while a small girl with a hair bun steps on the end of the wire, like she would be able to walk it like a tightrope. This should not be physically possible as the ropes do not seem to be attached to the ground, at least not the one to the left. But there can be no doubt that the drawing shows her standing with both feet on the rope. She is thus not helping Cueball. From here it is not yet known to the player that it is the Rebel Runner they have caught (with anchors) above, but when this becomes clear it will also be clear that they have no chance of holding on to the space ship. But here it seems they are doing a great job. The ground is barren between these wires and a {{w|tumbleweed}} is blowing along to make this even more clear. This part of a plant was also mentioned in a toast in [[1645: Toasts]].
|-
|Three wires Megan hanging on that reaches up to three anchors in the bottom hull of the Runner.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/1608_1014x1078y_Three_wires_and_reaching_up_to_anchors_in_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1015:-1076+s.png (1015, 1076)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1014:-1078+s.png (1014, 1078)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|Megan tries to climb up the last of the wires going from the ground, and it turns out that it leads up to the bottom of the hull of the Rebel Runner. Not to a really good spot in her wires case, as there seems to be nothing to help her get inside the runner from there. The other two wires comes up to a cannon close to an entrance, where Cueball is fishing birds with a crumb of bread or a cracker on the end of the hook. (The bird fishing scene is also depicted when going through the Runner [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png down below]). All three wires ends in anchors that are here used the reverse way of a normal anchor, with the anchor attached to the ship instead of to the bottom of the sea (or at least the ground below an air ship). In ''Red world space car'' in TE, Megan is also seen hanging on to a rope like this.
|-
|Ponytail in the dunes - zoom out.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/33/1608_1015x1073y_Ponytail_in_the_dunes_zoom_out.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|Ponytail is standing in the dunes of the desert that continues after the barren landscape to the left of the desert. Here a zoom out of the entire desert with the first three coins along the ground to the right. The Rebel Runner flying above this dune landscape is a reference to the desert planet {{w|Tatooine}} where the opening scene is taking place.
|-
|Ponytail in the dunes.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c4/1608_1015x1073y_Ponytail_in_the_dunes.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1015:-1073+s.png (1015, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1016:-1073+s.png (1016, 1073)]
|
|
|
|
|Ponytail is standing in the desert on top of a small dune, as these get increasingly higher further right into the desert. The coin to the left of her at the tip of a dune is the first along the ground when going right. It is soon followed by a second one at the base of the largest dune in desert.
|-
|The largest dune.
|
:(None - the text is written in the scene centered on the ocean)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0a/1608_1017x1073y_The_largest_dune.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1017:-1073+s.png (1017, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1018:-1073+s.png (1018, 1073)]
|
|
|
|
|The largest dune in the desert, also shown partly in the scene with Ponytail, also has a coin at the other base. After this there is only one smaller dune and then the desert stops at the shore of a small sea or ocean.
|-
|Entire ocean.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0e/1608_1022x1073y_Entire_ocean.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0c/1608_1022x1073y_Entire_ocean_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|The sea/ocean consist of a rather large body of water with a tall wave in the center. It is quite deep as can be seen in the other image with the water shown in red. Where the sea is deepest, is also the point that is the lowest hoverboard Cueball can get in the entire image. It is the closest that anything other than completely black comes to the level with Y=1072.
|-
|Megan rates the Sea.
|
:Megan: This is an OK sea.
:Megan:★★⯪☆☆
:[a rating of 2.5 stars].
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/99/1608_1019x1073y_Megan_rates_the_Sea.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c8/1608_1019x1073y_Megan_rates_the_Sea_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1019:-1073+s.png (1019, 1073)]
|
|
|
|
|
|It is very unusually to rate a sea, like you would a film or book, or a restaurant or museum. But today it is also common to rate anything you have used on-line like an internet shop or a company you have used. So, this may be a jab at all the people that rate everything in stars. According to [[1098: Star Ratings]] 2½ stars as an online star rating means that the sea is a crab sea, so this indicates that Megan's rating should not be viewed as such, since she also exclaims that it is an OK sea, as in an acceptable. Overall, another joke about online behavior, like the reference to Twitter and likes in the volcanic lair and the space shuttle, respectively.
|-
|Rouge wave.
|
:Wave: I know rogue waves seem implausible, but we're a straightforward consequence of the equations of fluid dynamics.
:Cueball: ...But you can talk?
:Wave: The equations are really complicated.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/11/1608_1022x1073y_Rouge_wave.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bf/1608_1022x1073y_Rouge_wave_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1022:-1073+s.png (1022, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1023:-1073+s.png (1023, 1073)]
|
|
|
|Comic: [[1315: Questions for God]]
|{{w|Fluid dynamics}} is a complex subdiscipline of {{w|fluid mechanics}} that deals with fluid flow. Although it is not their main target they can also be used for {{w|surface waves}} which would be like the {{w|rogue wave}} in this scene. This kind of waves is also known as freak waves, monster waves etc. They are large and spontaneous surface waves that occur far out in open water and can be extremely dangerous. But as the wave describes to Cueball these big waves can be predicted from the equations in fluid dynamics. Of course, Cueball is less afraid of the wave (even though it is {{w|Rogue (vagrant)|rouge}}), than he is fascinated by the fact that it speaks. The wave just replies that the equations are really complicated. That this is the case was for instance part of [[1315: Questions for God]] where a famous quote regarding turbulent motion of fluids is mentioned. {{w|Turbulence}} is also described by fluid dynamics, so they are part of the equations and the {{w|Horace_Lamb#Career| quote}} by {{w|Horace Lamb}} was: "I am an old man now, and when I die and go to heaven there are two matters on which I hope for enlightenment. One is {{w|quantum electrodynamics}}, and the other is the turbulent motion of fluids. And about the former I am rather optimistic." He turned out to be correct as nowadays we have a much clearer understanding of QED, while our understanding of turbulence has improved little. {{w|Richard Feynman}}, who was himself largely responsible for explaining QED, famously {{w|Turbulence|described turbulence}} as "the most important unsolved problem of classical physics". So who knows if these formulas could describe a talking wave? A coin crowns the wave.
|-
|Ruins with Cueball singing of Spiders and Panama.
|
:Cueball singing:
::Spider-man
:::Spider-plan
::Spider-canal
:::Spider-Panama
::Gates let in
:::Spider boats
::Flood the locks
:::Spiders float
::''Look out!''
::Spiders in both oceans.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0d/1608_1026x1073y_Ruins_with_Cueball_singing_of_Spiders_and_Panama.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1026:-1073+s.png (1026, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1027:-1073+s.png (1027, 1073)]
|
|
|
|Comic: [[1632: Palindrome]] and the [[:Category:Spiders|Spiders category]]
|The palindrome comic was released shortly after this and used a palindrome about the {{w|Panama canal}} which is the first four lines with ''Spider-'' changed with "A" the first three times and then with nothing before Panama as in ''"A Man, A Plan, A Canal: Panama''. The song is inspired by the {{w|Spider-Man (theme song)|Spider-Man theme song}} (see this [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUtziaZlDeE video]), but takes it in a rather different direction. Spiders have been a recurring theme and as the rest of the song tells that the spiders have now breached through the Panama Canal using spider-boats and by flooding the gates (in the canal) so now there are spiders in both oceans. If they came from the {{w|Atlantic ocean}} to the {{w|Pacific ocean}} or the other way around is not clear, but there are now spiders on both sides of the {{w|Central America|Central American}} strip of land. If the line ''Spiders float'' refer to actually floating spiders or just because they float on their boat is unclear. But we are forewarned about these spreading spiders with a '''''Look out!''''' (another lyric from the Spider-Man theme song). This threat continues the theme of the [[:Category:Red Spiders|Red Spiders]] especially those from [[126: Red Spiders Cometh]].

There is a coin inside the ruin beneath Cueball who sits on top of the ruin, and both sings the song and plays the guitar. Megan just stands inside the ruin at ground level and listens. It is not difficult to get to the coin, but there is only entrance into the little coin room between the ledge under Cueball and the ceiling of the lower room. But it is possible to walk directly in them from the left. Maybe the ruin is in this state of affair because the spiders have crossed the ocean just to the left, the shore of this can be seen at the edge of the scene. But there is no indication of any spiders anywhere else in the comic, in spite of the many animals throughout the comic.
|-
|Ponytail flying.
|
:Ponytails arms: Flap Flap Flap Flap Flap Flap Flap
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3b/1608_1029x1073y_Ponytail_flying.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1029:-1073+s.png (1029, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1030:-1073+s.png (1030, 1073)]
|
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|Ponytail manages to fly by just flapping her arms violently, a feat that is of course not possible. It keeps he above the coin on the ground, so the player can get to it first... In the Destroyer another Ponytail seems to be [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/76/1608_1053x1091y_Ponytail_flying_up_a_shaft_towards_a_coin.png flying straight up in a shaft] towards a coin this time without using her arms as wings. So, her flying is a small theme in the game. (It is not close to being directly above the Ponytail on the ground as the Ponytail in the Destroyer is just past the pyramid on the ground).
|-
|Entire forest - zoom out.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3a/1608_1032x1074y_Entire_forest_zoom_out.png Overview]
|Overview
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|This is the largest collection of such tall trees, and if all smaller trees are counted probably also the largest collection of trees in general. In the left part of the world there is a scene with lots of trees, but they are all smaller than even the two medium-sized trees besides the five really large. the last tree to the right somehow belongs more to the wedding scene just right of it, but there are smaller trees all the way up to it, making it part of this forest. Drawing trees like this is often used in xkcd and in particularly also allot in ''click and drag''.
|-
|Left part of forest.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/56/1608_1032x1074y_Left_part_of_forest.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1032:-1074+s.png (1032, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1033:-1074+s.png (1033, 1074)]
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|The left part of the forest has the largest trees and also the two coins, one in the fork of the first big trees and another some way above the first substantial tree to the left. It is just high enough that it will be missed by just sliding along the ground, and even when jumping to get the other coin it will still not necessarily enter into the viewing frame, so it can be considered one of the slightly hidden coins in the game.
|-
|Right part of forest.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/37/1608_1034x1073y_Right_part_of_forest.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1034:-1073+s.png (1034, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1035:-1073+s.png (1035, 1073)]
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|The right part of the forest has the last two trees in the clump of four large ones, and then small to tiny trees continue the "forest" until the final tree, just beyond which the wedding takes place, and this tree also seems to be part of that scene.
|-
|Wedding and picnic.
|
:Priest: And if any here can give cause why these two should not be wed,
:Priest: The Great Jabba the Hutt will now listen to your pleas.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c9/1608_1038x1073y_Wedding_and_picnic.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1073+s.png (1038, 1073)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1040:-1074+s.png (1040, 1074)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|Megan, in a black wedding dress, and Cueball, with a tie, is married by a female priest in front of a crowd of five sitting in chairs in front of them. In the crowd there are yet another Cueball, Hairy and Ponytail, but the last two are not the familiar versions in xkcd: one has a cap on backwards and then a person (M/W?) with black. Just before a {{w|wedding}} it is sometimes customary to ask if any in the crowd could give a cause why these two people should not be wed. What is not customary is to threaten those who do have any objections that they would then have to plead these in front of the great gangster boss from Star Wars, {{w|Jabba the Hutt}}. In case he has condoned this wedding, you may end up pleading for him to kill you mercifully if you did object anyway. The normal form of the priest's question goes more [https://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/marriage.pdf like this]: "If any of you can show just cause why they may not lawfully be married, speak now; or else for ever hold your peace." (See the top of page 4 of the pdf file in the link (page 424) and a discussion about this sentences use [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=635317 in real life]).

Beyond the wedding, another Megan is sitting on a large boulder facing the wedding, and behind her a third Cueball is having a picnic with a second Ponytail. The question here is if Megan looks at the wedding or turns her back to the picnic. Depending if the player went right along the ground to begins with and saw the wedding first or went through the Destroyer and came back the other way and saw the picnic first the players preconceptions on these questions may be completely different. In either case it still looks like Megan would have liked to be with Cueball (either the one in the tie or the one at the picnic. Of course, with characters drawn "randomly" in many places she may bot even belong to either scene. Standing on the rock with Megan hoverboard Cueball cannot see either of the scenes, but standing between Megan and either scene, she can be seen together with either of the relevant Cueball and another girl. In the first case with the wedding, she might have wished she had the courage to speak up in spite of the Jabba threat. In the other case she may feel rejected by the happy picnic couple and has turned her back to them. Poor Megan. Ponytail and Cueball seems to enjoy their picnic lunch in the open air though.
|-
|Cemetery.
|
:Megan: They're inscribed with our family motto, "Cur ego committitur dictar latinae," which means "Why did I just start speaking Latin?"
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1608_1042x1074y_Cemetary.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1042:-1074+s.png (1042, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1043:-1074+s.png (1043, 1074)]
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|It is so common to have your motto translated into the dead language {{w|Latin}} that there even is an entire category for {{w|Category:Latin mottos|Latin mottos}} on Wikipedia. Since no one really speaks the language anymore, and only few learn it well enough to just read any sentence, by doing so you actually hide this motto that you probably would like to tell people about. The only Latin that has entered popular usage are generally idioms, like {{w|Carpe diem}} (seize the day), etc. (et cetera, meaning "and the rest"). However, most of the time, like the one Megan is explaining to her friend, it would make much more sense to just write it in your native language (English in this case); but then of course there would be no need for a motto, where you ask yourself why you are speaking Latin. In this way, the joke is quite self-referential. There is also a cemetery in Click and Drag.

The Latin in the motto is not correct, but close, and it could both be Randall's accidental errors or purposeful errors (as there are probably many "private" mottoes out there that are not completely correct. The original sentence:

'''Cur''' - why. '''Ego''' - I. '''Committitur''' - can be translated as "start", but is incorrectly conjugated; in view of the proper translation, a more acceptable word would be "commisi". '''Dictar''' - likely a misspelling of "dictare", an acceptable translation of "to speak". '''Latinae''' - Latin, but in the wrong case; a more correct translation would probably be "Latinam". A possible translation of this sentence is therefore "Why did I start to speak Latin?". The word ''just'' is completely missing and could have been included by using ''modo''. However, Megan could have added it to make it more "natural" in English. In this way, the family motto given here is a slightly misused satirical statement on Latin family mottoes.
|-
|Huge foot.
|
:Cueball: It says "Yo, future dirtbags! Check out my huge foot!"
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d0/1608_1046x1074y_Huge_foot.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1046:-1074+s.png (1046, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1047:-1074+s.png (1047, 1074)]
|
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|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|In ''How to count things'' in TE there is also a drawing of a huge foot, used to count mass, not length... The two Cueballs check out an inscription at the foot ([[559: No Pun Intended|pun intended]]) of a monument. Typically old relics from the past has been demolished, and if only part of a human body is displayed (at least when it is not just a {{w|Bust (sculpture)|bust}} supposed to only have head and shoulders), then it is often assumed that the rest of the statue has been lost. Just like the missing arms of the ancient Greek statue {{w|Venus de Milo}}. These arms were there originally. But as it turns out as Cueball reads the transcription someone in the past just wished to show the future his huge foot. Suggesting that this is either actual size, or just that he was very proud of at least one of his feet. He also mocks anyone reading the inscription by calling them the derogating word [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dirtbag dirtbags]. This is a recent work so if this were an ancient monument it would be highly unlikely that it said that. Of course, it could be Cueballs translation of what is actually written, or as this is not necessarily old, it is not just part of the original monument but the entire unbroken statue of a foot, then it could be a contemporary artist who made it. However, it is just in front of the pyramid to the right, and in front of the real pyramid {{w|Pyramid of Khafre}} the {{w|Great Sphinx of Giza}}, also much larger than life size lies. (It has lost its nose by the way). So, this could be the games version of such a large statue in front of a pyramid.

As from the scene to the left of this giant foot, the inscription that Cueball reads is probably in Latin, in which case it could have read something along the lines of: ''Io, de futuro sacculo terra! Reprehendo sicco meus ingens radices!'' (which could be translated back to ''Io, for the future of the bag, earth Check out my huge foot!'', since there were no words for ''Yo dirtbags'' in Latin.

This is likely to be a reference to Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem ''{{w|Ozymandias}}'', which starts:
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
[..."]
|-
|Entire Pyramid.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1050x1075y_Pyramid_Entire_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bf/1608_Entire_Cave_With_entire_pyramid_for_scale.png Size scale of Destroyer]
|Overview
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|A smooth pyramid with Ponytail in front of the left side and a coin at the tip. It is large but not compared to the Destroyer above it. To illustrate the other image shows that the pyramid could comfortably be placed inside the cave in the Destroyer. There is also a pyramid in Click and Drag.
|-
|Pyramid protip.
|
:Ponytail: Protip:
:Ponytail: Don't stop climbing just because you reach the top.
:Ponytail: ☑ Show tips on startup
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/50/1608_1048x1074y_Pyramid_protip.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1048:-1074+s.png (1048, 1074)]
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|Comics: [[:Category:Protip|Protip category]]
|Ponytail greets the player as (if) they approach the pyramid from the left. She points up the side of the pyramid and gives a protip (a feature often used in xkcd). The tip is yet another indication that the Destroyer is above (the tip) of the pyramid. She tells the player to keep "climbing" after the top (that is not usually possible, but the hoverboard can keep on flying). By doing so the player may reach up to the entrance leading into the spiral corridor (although it will be difficult to keep the same incline as the pyramid on the way up). Ponytails last remark about showing tips on startup makes her sound like she is some kind of program, which can give you interesting hints and tips every time you start the program. If you do not wish this, you can just leave the [https://help.formulatrix.com/rock-maker/3.4/Content/Resources/Images/RM%203.0.3/StartUp%20Tips.png check box unchecked]. This is the last scene with spoken words (or other text) along the right ground, although it is only halfway from the play area to the right end of this world.
|-
|Pyramid tip.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f6/1608_1050x1076y_Pyramid_tip.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1051:-1076+s.png (1051, 1076)]
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|At the very tip of the pyramid there is a coin. This is the highest point in the right part of the world, which is directly connected with the ground through a fixed structure (i.e. not a wire). In most of the left part of the world even the ground level is higher, and the Washington Monument is much taller. The next coins are five scenes longer to the right as nothing much happens on the remaining stretch along the ground towards the end of the right part of the world from here.
|-
|Pyramid Right bottom.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c5/1608_1053x1074y_Pyramid_Right_bottom.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1053:-1074+s.png (1053, 1074)]
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|As opposed to the left side of the pyramid with a protip, there is nothing on the right side of the pyramid, even the ground is completely featureless, and actually continuous to be so for a while as can be seen in the next two scenes. It is the longest stretch along the ground with no features of interest and also almost completely flat ground. Even the third scene from here is still without characters although there at least is some ground features. For certain the entertainment of the right side is up above in the Destroyer.
|-
|Flat and bare ground.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/19/1608_1056x1074y_Flat_and_bare_ground.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1056:-1074+s.png (1056, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1057:-1074+s.png (1057, 1074)]
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|The first of several "boring" scenes without much feature. This though, even without much plant life probably takes the prize as the most featureless scene in the game.
|-
|Flat grassy ground.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1059x1074y_Flat_grassy_ground.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1059:-1074+s.png (1059, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1060:-1074+s.png (1060, 1074)]
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|The second in a row of several "boring" scenes without much feature. This though have a little more grass than the previous scene...
|-
|Small cliff or hill.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/99/1608_1063x1075y_Small_cliff_or_hill.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1063:-1075+s.png (1063, 1075)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1062:-1074+s.png (1062, 1074)]
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|Almost as boring as the previous two scenes, but at least there is a little cliff.
|-
|The three T's.
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:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/15/1608_1066x1075y_The_three_Ts.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1066:-1075+s.png (1066, 1075)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1075+s.png (1067, 1075)]
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|Computer games
|These three Ts with Megan on top of the first, looks similar to scenes from many {{w|Platform game|platform computer games}}, like for instance [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PlatformGame this example] from {{w|Mario Bros.}}.
|-
|Coin over grass hole.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/71/1608_1071x1074y_Coin_over_grass_hole.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b6/1608_1071x1074y_Coin_over_grass_hole_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1071:-1074+s.png (1071, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1072:-1074+s.png (1072, 1074)]
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|The fourth "boring" scene in a row at least have a coin. The grass is rather tall in this location and there are also two small hills to the left, and behind the coin another small bump to the right. The coin is located over a small hole that is filled with grass, so when the player takes the coin hoverboard Cueball will [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/Grasshole_under_coin.PNG sink to his waist].
|-
|Ponytail and bird black hat on a stick and Cueball whistling.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1073x1074y_Ponytail_and_bird_black_hat_on_a_stick_and_Cueball_whistling.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1073:-1074+s.png (1073, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1074:-1074+s.png (1074, 1074)]
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|Ponytail is walking towards a small cliff with a flying bird following behind her. She approaches a black hat on a stick, looking like Black Hats hat. He usually never leaves without it, so it seems a little strange to find i hanging there. It is actually quite hard to find any Black Hat's in the comic, but above in the Destroyer, just slightly to the left of this hat the only instance of Black Hat in the game sits and snores in the Cave. So, he is not only represented by this hat. A kid looking like Cueball stand to the right below the cliff. He seems to be either singing or whistling.
|-
|Small stone pile.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/04/1608_1078x1074y_Small_stone_pile.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1074+s.png (1078, 1074)]
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|After a small step down in the terrain height the only feature of this fifth boring scene is a small stone pile that seems to be made of 5-6 small stones with different size not ordered after size, so it looks like it could easily fall over. The pile is solid, so the player needs to jump to get past it and hoverboard Cueball can stand on top of it.
|-
|Two birds and coin above them.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/33/1608_1081x1074y_Two_birds_and_coin_above_them.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1081:-1074+s.png (1081, 1074)]
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|Once again two birds are seen together, this time they are not (as over the gas station to the left) tied together with string. But also, here there is a coin, and just like there it is hidden. Not so much as over the gas station, as here the birds can be seen from the ground, but the coin can only be seen by jumping once. Walking along the ground would let the birds enter into the view but not the coin right above them.
|-
|Pedestal.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bf/1608_1086x1074y_Pedestal.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1086:-1074+s.png (1086, 1074)]
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|Once again a very boring scene (6th) but at least there is a small pedestal to the right. In itself not very interesting, but if the player drops straight down out of the rear entry of the Destroyer above, hoverboard Cueball will land on this pedestal.
|-
|Medusa and floating earth.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e5/1608_1088x1074y_Medusa_and_floating_earth.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1088:-1074+s.png (1088, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1090:-1075+s.png (1090, 1075)]
|
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|The first character in four scenes is no one else but {{w|Medusa}} coming towards the player (if going right) arms outstretched and what appears to be about 10 snakes jutting out of her head which Medusa is known for. The snakes are venomous and people who gaze upon her face would be turned to stone. So not so nice to come by and it for sure relates to the coming end of the world, at least of this world right end.

The floating earth to the right may be of similar origin as the floating rock island above the Washington Monument, maybe the same forces are at work. Seems like it has just been torn up from the hoke in the ground below it, like it is now floating up. If the player drops straight down from the very end of the Destroyer up above, hoverboard Cueball will land on this floating earth. Anything right of the start of the hole is no longer under the Destroyer, which anything else right of the play area until this hole has been. Could be the Destroyer's influence that creates this hole? (But not just because it passes over, because then the earth should be floating up all the way behind it).
|-
|White Hat hiding in the grass.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d9/1608_1093x1074y_White_Hat_hiding_in_the_grass.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1093:-1074+s.png (1093, 1074)]
|
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|Another flat scenery but at least White Hat is hiding in the grass to the right, only his head showing above the high grass, so her must be either sitting or even lying down propped up on his arms. This is one of only two scenes with White Hat throughout the game.
|-
|Lollipop plant and coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/09/1608_1095x1075y_Lollipop_plant_and_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1095:-1075+s.png (1095, 1075)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1094:-1074+s.png (1094, 1074)]
|
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|The seventh boring scene is lit up by a coin that hangs in the air slightly before the only feature of the scene, which appears to be a plant, with a strange lollipop shape.
|-
|Drifting Cueball.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/9d/1608_1098x1074y_Drifting_Cueball.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1098:-1074+s.png (1098, 1074)]
|
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|Another completely flat grassy landscape but with a strangely elongated Cueball drifting in the wind. Characters flying is depicted in two scenes where Ponytail flies, but she does this of her own will. Here is seems like Cueball is just drifting with the wind towards the end of the world, which is only two scenes away, and he is the last character along the ground towards the end. This is in some way reminiscent of Click and Drag, where the Cueball floating with the balloon to begin with, can also be seen at the very right end of the world. But then again here it more seems like Cueball doesn't have a choice, and he also seems to be out of shape. The shape he is in, and the relation to the end of the world could be a (loose) reference to the sixth and seventh day in [[1245: 10-Day Forecast]].
|-
|Just grass.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/30/1608_1103x1074y_Just_grass.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1103:-1074+s.png (1103, 1074)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1104:-1074+s.png (1104, 1074)]
|
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|The eight boring scene since the pyramid, with a rolling hill of grass, but only the 2nd most boring, as the most boring scene was the first scene after the pyramid because that one did not even have grass.
|-
|Storks nest at right end of the world with 10 coins.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/ce/1608_1107x1075y_Storks_nest_at_right_end_of_the_world_with_10_coins.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1107:-1075+s.png (1107, 1075)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1107:-1074+s.png (1107, 1074)]
|
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|
|This is the right end of the world, marked by a high pole raising up from a foundation, and on the top of the pole there is a large {{w|White stork|stork}} nest with three eggs in it. Maybe it is not a stork nest (though it looks like a {{w|White_stork#Conservation|man-made nest platform}} for storks), but an eagle nest, though they do not usually use mad made structures for their nest as do storks. But if it were an eagle's nest, it could be for those two that are flying over the right tip of the volcano crater in the far of left part of the world.

With ten coins on top of the three eggs in the nest this is the place with the highest coin density in the game, but not most coins over a single image tile as that price goes to the starting tile with eleven coins. There are also seventeen coins in the play area scene, but they are not as closely gathered as here, where all 10 coins are almost as close together as possible, and all of them in the same [https://xkcd.com/1608/1107:-1076+s.png completely white image tile] right above the tile with the nest and eggs.
|-
|'''Entire Rebel Blockade Runner'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/82/1608_1015x1078y_Entire_Rebel_Blockade_Runner_zoom_out.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fd/1608_1015x1078y_Entire_Rebbel_Blockade_Runner_and_wires_zoom_out.png Also with wires] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/04/1608_1015x1078y_Entire_Rebbel_Blockade_Runner_zoom_out_to_torpedoes_and_ground.png Also with torpedoes]
|Overview
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|An overview of the entire Rebel Blockade Runner ''{{w|Tantive IV}}'' from the opening scene of the original Star Wars movie. It has four rooms (one blown open), a small cannon room that cannot be entered by the hoverboard and two corridors. The rear is the large engines. There are three coins. There is a clear symmetry along the center, as the two cannons and the two parabolic antennas are placed symmetrical on the top and bottom hull, and also the curve of the hull is symmetric. In the second image link the way to find the runner from the ground via the wires can be seen (six coins). And in the third the way to find the Destroyer above via the torpedoes can be seen (14 coins). The Destroyer is thus not hidden, like for instance the Floating Rock Island or the Hidden Lair beneath the lava lake, and there are many less direct indications that there is a runner from all the people who comment on them or even directly or indirectly point the way to the Destroyer. The Runner is supposed to be 150 m long.
|-
|Bridge on the Rebel Blockade Runner.
|
:First scene:
:Long haired woman: Captain's log, stardate November 24th, 2015...
:Hairbun: ''Augh!'' No!
:Second scene:
:Megan: Good against remotes is one thing, but a ''true'' Jedi train with a T-shirt cannon.
:Box: Shirts
:Third scene:
:Box: Bullets
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1012:-1078+s.png (1012, 1078)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1013:-1078+s.png (1013, 1078)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|Film: The {{w|Star Trek}} universe
|The bridge of the Rebel Blockade Runner is crammed with interesting scenes. First on the bridge itself a long-haired woman (the captain) is mocking both Star Wars and Star Trek fans alike by using the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcRX0Gw1aaw opening line] from the Star Trek series about stating the {{w|stardate}} for the captain's log on board the first spaceship ever shown in the Star Wars franchise. Hairbun behind her (it could be {{w|Princess Leia}} who also has buns but above each ear) is clearly distressed by this "mistake". This could either be because she is a Star Wars fan that dislike Star Trek or because the stardate used is the real date, November 24, 2015, on which the comic was released (as well as the book ''Thing Explainer'') instead of using the normal convention for stardates with a four or five digit number plus a decimal like 1513.1. Given that the long-haired woman has the appearance of [[Danish]], this may be intentionally rather than a mistake. There is another reference to the Star Trek universe in the scene where the torpedoes are fired from the Destroyer above, so no less than two Trek infiltrations in the opening scene of Star Wars.

Beneath the bridge there is a smaller room where Ponytail and Megan spoofs [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X69NCLxwLEY Luke's Lightsaber Training] from the original Star Wars movie where {{w|Luke Skywalker}} practices under {{w|Ben Kenobi}}'s guidance while {{w|Han Solo}} comes with snide remarks. Ponytail (in Luke's place) holds a {{w|lightsaber}} above which floats a sphere which represents the small remote controlled {{w|Jedi}} training device from that scene. Megan both guides like Ben and comments like Han. She holds some kind of cannon that she obviously loads with T-shirts from the box behind her. As she tells Ponytail, a true Jedi trains with a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgCz7C6jEIk t-shirt cannon]. Han Solo's quote begins like it but ends quite differently: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOuCbDkKIs4 Good against remotes is one thing good against the living it's something else]. He would also prefer a {{w|Blaster (Star Wars)|blaster}} as he explains: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V268Qk6-xsw Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side kid]. There is a coin behind Ponytail.

Above the bridge there is a hatch open where hoverboard Cueball may enter and a Cueball is standing behind the hatch looking down along the hull.

There are cannons both above and below the hull, the one on top has a coin in front of the barrel. There is a similar cannon with a coin in front on top of the Destroyer. Beneath this cannon is a tiny room where another Cueball is pouring several small bullets from a bucket into a black box labeled bullets (for the cannon). From this room there is a small shaft down to the main corridor in the Runner. But this shaft is too slim for hoverboard Cueball to pass up through it, or rather for the board to get in. Cueball can pass into the hole, but the board holds him back from reaching up in the small room. The cannon below has two of the anchors from the wires going to the ground attached around its barrel. The third anchor is stuck in the bottom hull further down the hull. It is unclear how this last has become attached to the hull!

In the corridor that runs away from the bridge a small robot on wheels drive towards left. Similar types of robots are often seen in the Star Wars universe and there is also [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5f/1608_1034x1091y_Torpedo_canon_below_Destroyer.png another robot] looking like two of these on top of each other in the Destroyer above where the torpedoes connecting them ends up. Further down the corridor Ponytail is walking to the right while singing indicated with two notes.

Above the cannon at the bottom of the hull on a ledge with an entry to the ship is a third Cueball holding a fishing rod out over the ledge, so the hook hangs in the air. Maybe he is fishing for either of the two birds that are flying around the line. What appears to be a loaf of bread or [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/1608_1014x1078y_Three_wires_and_reaching_up_to_anchors_in_Runner.png a cracker is attached to the hook] at the end of the line. A similar scene is also found in TE in ''Sky Toucher''.
|-
|Death Star Plans in the Rebel Blockade Runner.
|
:First scene:
:First Cueball: The Death Star plans are ''not'' in the main computer.
:Second Cueball: Darn.
:Second Cueball: See, if we had found them in the main computer, which would be good news, since it would mean no one else had them.
:Second Cueball: But since we didn’t find them, we need to keep searching for anyone with a copy.
:Second Cueball: That all makes sense and I ''definitely'' understand how computers work.
:Second scene:
:Third Cueball: So you just came down and made a hole in our ship without permission?
:Fourth Cueball: Yup
:Third Cueball: Wow, Rude.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_1017x1078y_Death_Star_Plans_in_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1017:-1078+s.png (1017, 1078)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1016:-1079+s.png (1016, 1079)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|The reference to the Death Star plans is from [https://youtu.be/yHfLyMAHrQE?t=340 the opening scene] in the first Star Wars movie. The sentence uttered by First Cueball is said by a Storm Trooper to Darth Vader. The [https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0076759/quotes?qt=qt0440708 rest of the quote] is not quite like in the comic. Rather is goes like this:
:Darth Vader: [addressing the Tantive IV's captain, whom he is interrogating] Where are those transmissions you intercepted? WHAT have you DONE with those plans?
:Captain Antilles: We intercepted no transmissions... This is a consular ship... We're on a diplomatic mission...
:Darth Vader: [shouting] If this is a consular ship, WHERE is the ambassador?
:Darth Vader: Commander, tear this ship apart until you find those plans! And bring me all passengers, I want them ALIVE!
The comic jokes with the way Darth Vader seems to assume that if the plans had been found on the computer, then no one else would have had access to them. The second Cueball, although not Vader, represents a superior that have absolutely no idea about how computers work, in spite of his insistence that he actually do. If the data has once been intercepted, they could have been shared or copied to several other computers or devices or even been printed. By finding them in the main computer they would only make sure that they were indeed intercepted, but not be certain that they have not been delivered to the rebel base.

The other two Cueballs on top of the ship stand over a hole in the hull going into a small room above and left of the large room. It seems that the fourth Cueball has made this hole directly from the outside (i.e. it is not caused by an exploding torpedo from the Destroyer above). Because he confirms when the third Cueball asks if he just came down to make the hole without permission. The third Cueball thinks this is rude. This is, of course, hilarious as if a space pirate or any other attacker of a spaceship would ask permission before attacking. And also, the idea that he might get permission for asking is likewise crazy. To call this rude is also a weird way to look at such an attack. {{w|C3PO}} uses [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWoG9tKf1lA this as reply] to a comment made to him by a similar droid in the second movie.
|-
|Top rear end of the Rebel Blockade Runner.
|
:First scene:
:First Cueball: That thing is ''huge. Imperial''-class?
:Second Cueball: Yeah. Maybe a MK-1. Depends on whether this is the expanded universe or not.
:Second scene:
:Third Cueball's bow: Twang
:Torpedo: Boom
:Third scene:
:Fourth Cueball: Why are they still firing?
:Fifth Cueball: Oh, the turret operators pretty much do their own thing.
:Fifth Cueball: It's definitely a pain sometimes.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f1/1608_1018x1079y_Top_rear_end_of_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1018:-1079+s.png (1018, 1079)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1019:-1080+s.png (1019, 1080)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|In this overview of the top rear of the hull of the Runner, there are four scenes with two persons in each, with no less than six Cueballs. Beginning with the scene to the far left the two first Cueballs discuss what type of Star Destroyer is shooting at their ship from above them. They are clearly tilting their head far back to look up. The first Cueball comments on how huge it is and asks if it is an {{w|Star_Destroyer#Imperial_class|''Imperial'' class}} Destroyer. "''Imperial'' class" is the designation of the Destroyer ''[https://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Devastator Devastator]'' that followed the Rebel Runner ''Tantive IV'' in the opening scene. There is also and more than 10 times as large version called a {{w|Star_Destroyer#Super_Star_Destroyer|Super Star Destroyer}}, which were featured in the two sequels in the original trilogy. But even the original Star Destroyers were improved during the movies, so when the improved Destroyers came out, they became known as ([https://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Imperial_II-class_Star_Destroyer Mark II], Mk-II or plainly II, and the original (as Devastator) became known as [https://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Imperial_I-class_Star_Destroyer Mk-1]. The second Cueball agrees with the first and suggest that it is a Mk-1 and thus makes it even more clear that this scene is actually the opening scene of the original Star Wars movie. But then again, he continues, it depends weather this is the {{w|Star Wars expanded universe|expanded universe}} (now known as ''Star Wars Legends'') where all authorized media (books etc.) released based on the Star Wars franchise should be counted in, or if it is only the movies sanctioned directly by George Lucas (and now Disney). What he says is that in all those works there could be so many other types os ships mentioned, that he could mistake for a Mk-1, that in that universe he would not be certain at all. But in the "official" universe he would claim that it was a Mk-1 ''Imperial'' class Star Destroyer.

In the next scene Ponytail and a third Cueball fight with bows and arrows against the Destroyers 100+ torpedoes raining down from above. Ten of these can be seen falling, one hits the ship, and one has just exploded in a big ''boom'', to be compared with the feeble ''twang'' made by Cueballs bow when he fires the arrow. When later discovering how far there is up to the bottom of the Destroyer it only becomes even more silly.

In the third scene two more Cueballs (four and five) look up at the torpedoes falling down in an arch over their heads. The fourth Cueball asks why they still keep firing. And the fifth Cueball tries to explain. A {{w|Gun turret|turret}} is generally a weapon mount that houses the crew and a projectile-firing weapon and lets the weapon be aimed and fired in a given cone of fire. So, it is this crew, that are the turret operators. There is also such [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png an operator] on the Rebel Runner below the top cannon (or turret), in the scene with the bridge. The reason they keep fighting is given that they just do their own thing and that is annoying. This indicates that these two Cueballs do no longer think that the Destroyer needs to fire anymore on the Runner, and thus also indicates that they are part of the crew from the Destroyer send down to take over the Runner. Thus, it is annoying that the shooting has not stopped as it puts them in danger. If they belong to the Runner, then they would not think it weird that the shooting continued. It turns out to be Megan who is the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5f/1608_1034x1091y_Torpedo_canon_below_Destroyer.png turret operator in the Destroyer]! At least they can be happy that it is regular torpedoes. (See the explanation of the scene regarding the Torpedo cannon below Destroyer).

In the final scene at the very end of the hull is the sixth Cueball together with Megan. She holds on to him as he tries to toast a giant marshmallow on a stick by holding it in front of the exhaust pipe of the Runner. This would most likely melt the marshmallow instantaneously... In ''Red world space car'' in TE the Mars rower also toasts a marshmallow on a stick over a small fire.
|-
|Bottom rear end of the Rebel Blockade Runner.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5b/1608_1020x1078y_Bottom_rear_end_of_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1020:-1078+s.png (1020, 1078)]
|
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|
|The rear end of the Rebel Runner with the last part of the big Death Star plan room to visible to the left. Three engines are visible, with the top one being cut of (Cueball is roasting a marshmallow above the cut off - see previous scene). This is consistent with the three rows of engines as [https://cdn-static.denofgeek.com/sites/denofgeek/files/styles/insert_main_wide_image/public/2016/04/tantive_iv_over_tatooine.png?itok=1k3g3pFH can be seen in the film], with four engines in top and bottom row and three in the middle. There is a coin behind the lowest of the engines. There appear to be {{w|truck nuts}} attached to the rear of the ship beneath the hull. These are plastic or metal accessories, typically for cars, which resemble a pair of dangling testicles/balls. They are attached under the rear bumper of the vehicle, so they are visible from behind as a practical joke. Some find it is in so bad a taste that it should be banned or fined.
|-
|'''Entire torpedoes rain from Runner to Destroyer.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/87/1608_1023x1085y_Entire_torpedoes_rain_from_Runner_to_Destroyer.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
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|
|An overview of the entire rain of torpedoes fired down from the Star Destroyer to the Runner. There are one hundred undamaged torpedoes in the air, two that are hitting each other exploding, one that has just contacted the hull and one that has just exploded on the hull of the Runner. A total of 104 torpedoes has thus been fired at this moment in time. The rain is not so much there for jokes but to guide the player up to the Destroyer. Only interesting scene on the way up is Beret Guy riding a torpedo, and apart from that and the two torpedoes hitting each other and exploding, there is nothing else to see. But there are two coins to collect.
|-
|Torpedoes just above Runner with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a7/1608_1019x1081y_Torpedoes_just_above_Runner_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1019:-1081+s.png (1019, 1081)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1020:-1081+s.png (1020, 1081)]
|
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|11 torpedoes just above the Runner with a coin.
|-
|Torpedoes two steps above Runner with Beret Guy.
|
:Beret Guy: Horsey!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/21/1608_1020x1083y_Torpedoes_two_steps_above_Runner_with_Beret_Guy.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1020:-1083+s.png (1020, 1083)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1021:-1083+s.png (1021, 1083)]
|
|
|
|Film: {{w|Dr. Strangelove}}
|Beret Guys only second appearance in this comic. He is flying down from the Destroyer sitting astray a torpedo riding it like it was a horse. In the film Dr. Stangelove a man is also flying down like this riding a bomb like it is a horse (a nuclear bomb in that case though). Beret Guy will likely survive due to his [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|strange powers]]. With his torpedo there are eight torpedoes in this scene
|-
|Torpedoes three steps above Runner.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a7/1608_1023x1085y_Torpedoes_three_steps_above_Runner.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1023:-1086+s.png (1023, 1086)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1024:-1086+s.png (1024, 1086)]
|
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|21 torpedoes are shown. This image is so large that it goes outside the "active" images, and thus the lower right part is in gray. In the game this part will be displayed as white, but there is no image below to save (but many all-white images are active though!)
|-
|Torpedoes two steps below Destroyer with exploding torpedoes.
|
:Torpedoes: Boom
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a8/1608_1025x1087y_Torpedoes_two_steps_below_Destroyer_with_exploding_torpedoes.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1025:-1087+s.png (1025, 1087)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1026:-1087+s.png (1026, 1087)]
|
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|21 torpedoes are shown, but two of them are hitting each other exploding. Where you can stand on the torpedoes, you cannot stand on the "boom", but still on the black part of the exploding torpedoes. If the two exploding torpedoes are the same and if they have no means of self-propelling, then they should not hit each other under normal conditions. Only if a wind gust slowed down the one and not the other (which could of course be the case.) But else they would follow the same parabolic path from cannon to target without getting closer.
|-
|Torpedoes one step below Destroyer with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2b/1608_1029x1089y_Torpedoes_one_step_below_Destroyer_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1029:-1089+s.png (1029, 1089)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1031:-1090+s.png (1031, 1090)]
|
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|19 torpedoes just below the Destroyer with a coin.
|-
|Torpedo cannon below Destroyer.
|
:Megan: We have no photon torpedoes, so I'm firing regular ones
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5f/1608_1034x1091y_Torpedo_canon_below_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1034:-1091+s.png (1034, 1091)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1033:-1091+s.png (1033, 1091)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|Film: The {{w|Star Trek}} universe
|The 12 last torpedoes lead up to the cannon below the Destroyer that has fired them all towards the runner far below. In the control room (or turret room see explanation of scene where the torpedoes hit the Runner) is Megan and Cueball. She explains that she used regular torpedoes rather than the much more powerful {{w|Weapons_in_Star_Trek#Projectile_weapons|'''photon''' torpedoes}}. This may cheat some to think this is a reference to the weapon Luke Skywalker used when destroying the Death Star in the original Star Wars movie. But they were called {{w|List_of_Star_Wars_weapons#Ship-mounted|'''proton''' torpedoes}}. Photon torpedoes are a standard ship-based weapon armed with an {{w|antimatter}} warhead and one of those alone would probably take a ship like the Runner out if it was not shielded... However, they are used by the {{w|Starship Enterprise}} in the Star Trek universe. So, this is the second (but more subtle) mixing of the two competing franchises connected with the torpedoes in the opening scene of Star Wars. The first being on the bridge of the Runner below. Above the control room there is a shaft up to a corridor in which a small robot of the types typically seen on spaceships in Star Wars is seen. There is a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png similar robot] down in the Runner but only half this one's height.
|-
|'''Entire Star Destroyer.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cd/1608_Entire_Star_Destroyer.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|This is the only reference to Star Wars just because of the Destroyer. Anything inside the spaceship will only be listed as SW reference if there is something in relation to SW, or at least to part of the ship itself (like using special outcrops on the ship for a special room, like the Globe of Death at the top of the bridge).
|-
|'''Entire front end.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_Entire_front_end.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/22/1608_Entire_front_end_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
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|
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|This overview is shown to illustrate how far apart the rooms are even in the very front end of the Destroyer where it is slimmest. The image with hidden passages shows how deep the swimming pool is and that the hoverboard can also sink into the playpen pit. Moving just a little further right than this overview, and the Destroyer becomes wider than the zoom scale for these overviews.
|-
|Overview of the very tip of the front end.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/92/1608_Zoom_out_of_the_very_front_end.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
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|The front has both a mouth a nose and an eye with a pupil. It has just eaten a coin and can smell the one above its nose. See more on this interpretation under the ''Colon like structure'' below.
|-
|Very front with Cueball looking out at bottom of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/60/1608_1002x1094y_Very_front_with_Cueball_looking_out_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1002:-1094+s.png (1002, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1003:-1094+s.png (1003, 1094)]
|
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|The closest entrance to the Destroyer from the starting point is guarded by Cueball. Going straight up from the right wall in the play area will take the hoverboard straight up in front of Cueball. There is a coin behind him where this first corridor turns up into a shaft.
|-
|Very front with playpen balls pit at top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a7/1608_1004x1095y_Very_front_with_playpen_balls_pit_at_top_of_hull.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/35/1608_1004x1095y_Very_front_with_playpen_balls_pit_at_top_of_hull_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1004:-1095+s.png (1004, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1005:-1095+s.png (1005, 1095)]
|
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|[[150: Grownups]] and the [[:Category:Playpen balls|Playpen balls Category]].
|The top part of the front of the Star Destroyer also has an entrance as does the bottom section (see above). There is a coin above the hull. This first corridor leads to a playpen pit filled with playpen balls, which is a recurring subject in xkcd. Cueball and Megan is adult sized (i.e. as big as hoverboard Cueball) and it is thus a clear reference to Grownups. There could be water down below the balls as a fish is seen jumping out over the surface. But given that there are no splashes from the balls Cueball throws in the air, it could also just be a gimmick by Randall. To have something like this in a Star Destroyer kind of ruins the mood surrounding these war machines. Something seen several times throughout the spaceship.
|-
|Piñata and Cueball with lightsaber at top of hull.
|
:Cueball: No, I got this.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/20/1608_1006x1095y_Pinata_and_Cueball_with_lightsaber_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1006:-1095+s.png (1006, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1007:-1095+s.png (1007, 1095)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|Comic: [[1620: Christmas Settings]]
|Although the original {{w|piñata}} was star shaped it is now common to use different shapes like the horse or donkey displayed in the comic. Children usually hits the piñata with a club until it breaks and falls down revealing candy or toys inside. The two Cueballs, Megan and Hairy are adults though as big as hoverboard Cueball, just like in the playpen pit. It is common for adults to participate in hitting down a piñata. But to do it with a {{w|lightsaber}} would defeat the purpose of this game as it will go right through the piñata on contact thus spilling the contest out on the floor in the first go. The Cueball with the lightsaber can thus confidently say that he got this. But it seems like the other Cueball is trying to stop him and that Hairy, holding the club they were intended to use, puts a hand protectively on Megan. A lightsaber would be a very dangerous weapon and should not be used lightly in a playful setting. As a side note any candy/toy in the path of the ligtsaber as it passes through the piñata will melt/burn immediately. Lightsaber noises are mentioned in the title text of the Christmas Settings comic coming out shortly after this one.
|-
|Shaft and corridor at bottom of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/eb/1608_1007x1094y_Shaft_and_corridor_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1007:-1094+s.png (1007, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1008:-1094+s.png (1008, 1094)]
|
|
|
|
|Lots of sections inside the Destroyer consist of long corridors with shafts going up and down here and there, but with no interesting features or objects. This is the first example of such a corridor, near the bottom hull of the Destroyer, showing that it is not a featureless outer hull. Apart from the ever-increasing width of the Destroyer there are some steps up and down, to indicate some of the features seen in the Star Wars movie.
|-
|Swimming pool with Ponytail jumping at bottom of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/ba/1608_1010x1094y_Swimming_pool_with_Ponytail_jumping_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e6/1608_1010x1094y_Swimming_pool_with_Ponytail_jumping_at_bottom_of_hull_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1010:-1094+s.png (1010, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1011:-1094+s.png (1011, 1094)]
|
|
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|
|Another enjoyable activity to attend to by adults is located here in the front sections of the Destroyer: A swimming pool. Don't worry about Ponytail jumping head first into the water, as can be seen in the hidden passage image it is rather deep. Cueball and Megan is already in. Supposedly there is a rung ladder up again on the side, but it cannot be seen in this slice through the Destroyer. A coin hangs in the top corner of the room. When standing with the hoverboard on the bottom of the pool it will be possible to see that there is a coin on the outside of the hull in the indentation in the hull below the pool. From the outside, however, it will not be possible to see that there is a pool above as the water is the same black (to the eye) as the solid hull.
|-
|Shaft and corridor with three coins at top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/ba/1608_1011x1096y_Shaft_and_corridor_with_three_coins_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1011:-1096+s.png (1011, 1096)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1009:-1095+s.png (1009, 1095)]
|
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|
|
|After leaving the piñata room going down the corridor there are two coins. One under the shaft going up and one further down the corridor. Going up the shaft there is also a coin on the outside of the top hull at the top of another of the small step where the hulls width increases faster than the steady slope that are always there. This coin is almost on top of the one in the corridor below.
|-
|Dead end shaft with rubbles at bottom of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0c/1608_1015x1093y_Dead_end_shaft_with_rubbles_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1015:-1093+s.png (1015, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1016:-1093+s.png (1016, 1093)]
|
|
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|From the shaft that exits the Destroyers bottom hull there goes a corridor to the left. But only for a short while. Then there is a pile of rubble like there has either been a cave in or as if someone has been digging this tunnel and then has stopped. This is consistent with the mining company seen much further down the Destroyer. There is a coin in front of the rubble.
|-
|Zoom out of shaft and corridors with Hairy looking down a shaft at top of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/34/1608_1019x1095y_Zoom_out_of_shaft_and_corridors_with_Hairy_looking_down_a_shaft_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
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|This zoom-out gives an overview of a large section of the Destroyer with only a long corridor and two shafts going down from it. There are almost no features, but for Hairy standing carefully at the edge of one shaft looking down into it. So again, an example of the larger areas inside the destroyer where nothing happens.
|-
|Hairy looking down a shaft at top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1608_1016x1095y_Hairy_looking_down_a_shaft_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1016:-1095+s.png (1016, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1013:-1096+s.png (1013, 1096)]
|
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|
|This is the shaft that came out of the piñata room. At the end of this image is the first shaft going down where Hairy is standing carefully at the edge looking down. Before that a shaft goes up to the top hull where a coin is situated on top of a small step down. At the other end of this "step" to the left there was also a coin.
|-
|Three coins room and shafts.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e6/1608_1023x1095y_Three_coins_room_and_shafts.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1023:-1095+s.png (1023, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1022:-1095+s.png (1022, 1095)]
|
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|This is the room where the long corridor going from the piñata room ends. Although it is a quite boring room it has three coins, the highest coin density seen so far when entering the Destroyer from the front end. A shaft down outside the room prevents this from being a dead end.
|-
|Triple coins and a single coin on top of a shaft at top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d0/1608_1023x1097y_Triple_coins_and_a_single_coin_on_top_of_a_shaft_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1023:-1097+s.png (1023, 1097)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1025:-1097+s.png (1025, 1097)]
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|There is a very long straight stretch on top of the hull where nothing happens after the step down, but suddenly there are three coins in a row, and then a shaft down, with a ledge out over the shaft opening, with yet a coin, makes it worth the players while to come up there as well.
|-
|Zoom out of shaft and corridors with ledge at bottom of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6f/1608_1025x1092y_Zoom_out_of_shaft_and_corridors_with_ledge_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
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|This overview at the bottom of the hull shows the shaft (to the right) that was covered with a ledge at the top of the hull. Although it takes a small turn left before going down and out at the bottom it thus almost runs straight through the Destroyer and also here at the bottom a thin ledge covers the shafts exit. But here are no coins. There are another shaft and two corridors.
|-
|Shall '''not not''' pass room and parachutes at one of two ledges at bottom of hull.
|
:Cueball: You shall not not pass!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ad/1608_1026x1093y_Shall_not_not_pass_room_and_parachutes_at_one_of_two_ledges_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1026:-1093+s.png (1026, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1028:-1092+s.png (1028, 1092)]
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|The shaft going out at the bottom left is the one mentioned above. Going through the corridor above takes hoverboard Cueball into a room with a Cueball blocking his way holding a handout towards him. He almost uses the last part of a [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120737/quotes?item=qt0445998 famous quote by Gandalf] when facing the {{w|Balrog}} in the mines of {{w|Moria (Middle-earth)|Moria}}, but here with an '''extra not''' added to negate the "not" from the quote. So "You shall ''not'' '''not''' pass" = You '''shall''' pass, and when you do you get a coin. It is easy to miss that there are two times not in the sentence, which is for certain intentionally by Randall, as the spoken sentence thus do not match the appearance of Cueball with a handout.

If hoverboard Cueball jump ship at the ledge to the left, he can fly over to the next ledge where Cueball and a guy with black hair is preparing to jump of the ship using parachutes. Behind them there is a shaft going up into the ship with a coin.
|-
|Two coins room and shafts.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5d/1608_1026x1095y_Two_coins_room_and_shafts.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1026:-1095+s.png (1026, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1027:-1095+s.png (1027, 1095)]
|
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|The shaft going up in the two coins room comes from a corridor below that also connects to the shaft to the left. The corridor is right above the ''you shall not not pass'' room below. The shaft to the left goes up the ledge covered exit to the top hull.
|-
|Steven Universe and Crystal Gems; and ice cream prediction.
|
:Megan: Prediction: Seconds before you die, you will remember these words.
:Box: Ice cream
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/39/1608_1031x1095y_Steven_Universe_family_and_ice_cream_prediction.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1031:-1095+s.png (1031, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1028:-1095+s.png (1029, 1095)]
|
|
|
|TV series: {{w|Steven Universe}}
|In the room to the left, Megan talks to Cueball while they walk towards an ice cream freezer (at the end of the room with a coin on top). Her comment that she can predict that he will remember those words when he dies could be quite sinister. Since they are so boring the only way, she can make this prediction come through is if she now turns around killing him. If she waits a little longer, she will not have to move him so far before she can hide his body in the freezer...

In the room to the right is a group of four stick figures representing {{w|Steven Universe (character)|Steven Universe}} and the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Steven_Universe_characters#/media/File:StevenFinalPoster.jpg Crystal Gems]. From left to right, Steven is next to {{w|Pearl (Steven Universe)|Pearl}} (as a stick figure with shorter hair), {{w|Garnet (Steven Universe)|Garnet}} (as a taller stick figure with sunglasses and an afro), and {{w|List_of_Steven_Universe_characters#Amethyst|Amethyst}} (as a shorter stick figure with long hair). The Crystal Gems are a "superhero" team of alien "Gems" who protect the earth, with their newest member being the half-Gem, half-human Steven. (Elsewhere on the bridge of the Destroyer, Darth Vader references Steven Universe in that Steven is half Gem.) A coin is hovering over Garnet's raised left hand.

Below these two rooms runs a corridor that goes left to the shaft going up to the top hull. The shaft going down goes to the two guys with parachutes. There is a coin next to the shaft. To get from this corridor to the rooms above hoverboard Cueball either have to go out on the top hull or move through the rotary that follows to the right.
|-
|'''Entire Rotary section.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/67/1608_Entire_Rotary_section.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e4/1608_Entire_Rotary_section_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_Entire_Rebel_Blockade_Runner_swallowed_by_Destroyer.png Swallow Runner]
|Overview
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|To the left in this overview is the roundabout like structure that Cueball above it calls a rotary, which has given name to this section of the ship that follows after it up to the section with the cave. The Destroyer becomes much broader here especially due to the two large steps that the top part of the hull takes in the middle and to the right in this image.

In the hidden passage image, the cotton trap is revealed with the two entrances to the room below and to the corridor to the right that leads past different traps into the cave. At the top and bottom middle of the image there are two cars, and as it can be seen in the hidden passage image the hoverboard cannot rest on top of those.

In the composite ''Swallow Runner'' image the Rebel Runner has been placed in the opening in the bottom hull to reveal that this is indeed the opening in the bottom of the Destroyer that swallows the entire Rebel Runner in the opening scene of the first Star Wars movie. This feature is thus a direct reference to the "real" Devastator Destroyer and thus a direct reference to the opening scene and to Star Wars. Below the individual scenes in the Rotary section will be described.
|-
|Empty room and Cueball on corridor going to rotary at top of hull.
|
:Cueball: Ugh, rotaries.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cf/1608_1029x1097y_Empty_room_and_Cueball_on_corridor_going_to_rotary_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1032:-1096+s.png (1032, 1096)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1030:-1097+s.png (1030, 1097)]
|
|
|
|
|A big empty room near the top hull and a coin in a shaft going down from the top hull. The shaft going down will lead to both the room with the ice dream box and the one with Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems. The corridor going right will go down into the rotary, see next scene. Cueball is looking down into this and expressing his dislike of this {{w|Traffic circle|type of structures}}. Maybe he has bad experience with these in real life traffic.
|-
|The rotary.
|
:(none)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3e/1608_1033x1095y_The_rotary.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1033:-1095+s.png (1033, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1035:-1095+s.png (1035, 1095)]
|
|
|
|
|This is the {{w|Traffic circle|Rotary}} that has given its name to the section of the Star Destroyer from the structure itself and right of this until the section where the cave is located. A rotary is also known as a ''traffic circle'' and is a large version of a roundabout with several roads exiting from it. At the top of the upper left passage (see the scene above) Cueball is looking down into this structure and calls it a rotary (hence the name).

The centre contains a small room with a stick figure wearing a tonsure haircut (where only the top of the head is shaved bald), a potted plant, and a coin. The plant resembles a pea plant, and the tonsure is a haircut associated with monks, so this is likely to be Gregor Mendel. Mendel was a 19th century Czech monk who discovered the principles of genetic inheritance by crossing strains of pea plants.

Large rotaries may have more than four roads leading away, but in this case, there are four, and neither of them are leading straight away up/down or left/right. Three of them are almost at a 45-degree angle, but the one going down is only a little of to the right, and soon turns straight down.

Only other feature is the Cueball rushing right on his bike in the corridor leading away from the rightmost exit. There are several bikes throughout the comic, with two more in the Globe of Death above the bridge of the Destroyer and one going down the right slope of the Volcano.

Entering the rotary for the first time there are of course three new directions to move along in, making it a special point in the users' exploration of the Destroyer.
|-
|Photon cannon Tetris piece and mini robot at bottom of hull.
|
:(None - the cannon part has been transcribed in the torpedo section)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/df/1608_1034x1091y_Photon_canon_Tetris_piece_and_mini_robot_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1034:-1093+s.png (1034, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1034:-1092+s.png (1035, 1092)]
|
|
|
|Computer game: {{w|Tetris}}
|The bottom part of the scene has already been described in relation to the torpedo rain. But as can be seen here it is possible to enter the torpedo room almost directly from the bottom exit of the rotary above. Coming down that way is also a T-shaped {{w|Tetris#Colors_of_Tetriminos|tetriminos}} from the Tetris computer game. At the end of the corridor with the small robot there is a shaft, and in the exit from the corridor there is a coin.
|-
|Shaft corridor with coin and room with coin over ledge at bottom of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d3/1608_1038x1092y_Shaft_corridor_with_coin_and_room_with_coin_over_ledge_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1092+s.png (1038, 1092)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1036:-1092+s.png (1036, 1092)]
|
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|Going down from the corridor from the scene above takes the player through a small room with a coin at the bottom of the hull and then out over a thick ledge in the air beneath the Destroyer. There is a large gap starting here that ends in the ''Atmosphere worry and car room at bottom of hull''. This large section is the section in which [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_Entire_Rebel_Blockade_Runner_swallowed_by_Destroyer.png the Destroyer swallows the Rebel Runner] in the opening scene of the first Star Wars movie, as mentioned in the overview above.
|-
|Giant octopus in Destroyer.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b5/1608_1038x1094y_Giant_octopus_in_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1094+s.png (1038, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1093+s.png (1038, 1093)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|A giant octopus with a dome shaped head in a dome shaped room with coins above its tentacles left and right. In TE there are several octopuses, and this animal is also often used in xkcd in general. But particularly in ''The USS Laws of the Land'' there is both a large octopus beneath the ship and one giant tentacle reaching up from the deep. If this is considered a monster, then this section of the ship may be the monster section as there also seem to be some kind of horned monster in the room to the right of this room.
|-
|Hamster ball and stilts room.
|
:Megan: ''AaaaAaaa''
:Guy with hair: I can't leave.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/89/1608_1038x1095y_Hamsterball_and_stilts_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1095+s.png (1038, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1039:-1096+s.png (1039, 1096)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|Comics: [[:Category:Hamster balls|Hamster balls category]]
|This room is the first after exiting the rotary to the upper right. The shaft goes down past the octopus room (see scene above). It is the second instance with a hamster ball in this comic, the first being a small girl (with Megan like hair) in the left part of the world just before the plateau. But in this case, it is the adult Megan that is inside the ball, not only running but actually standing on a skateboard. She is clearly not in control. As the player is on a hoverboard there is some kind of connection with a girl on skateboard. In ''Sky Toucher'' in TE Megan also uses a skateboard, inside a rounded structure.

Megan is not alone though as there is also a guy (with a wee bit of hair) on stilts. The stilts seem to be very high and if the guy wishes to stay on these stilts his assessment, that he can't leave the room, is true. Between his stilts there is a coin. The world highest stilts are shown in [[482: Height]] and in the next "game" comic after this one, [[1663: Garden]], it is possible to "[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0c/1663_garden_One_color_Between_Light_yellow_and_yellow_First_thing_stilts.png grow]" a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d0/Garden_Stilt_walker.png girl on stilts].
|-
|Box with horns and coin room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a2/1608_1043x1093y_Box_with_horns_and_coin_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1043:-1093+s.png (1043, 1093)]
|
|
|
|
|
|In this room across from the giant octopus room there is yet a possible monster hidden in a box. Two large horns jut out of the box, but if they are standing on the box or is sitting on some horned beast inside the box is not clear. But they look rather ominously, and if it is a monster, it would with the giant octopus make this section a monster section. A coin is hovering between the horns. The shaft up is the only way to move further down inside the Destroyer without moving over or under the hull.

Its appearance in the Star Destroyer with the coin makes it superficially similar to a holoprojector, with the coin as the holorgram - it is unclear whether this is the intended meaning, however.
|-
|Zoom out of three empty rooms near bottom of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e6/1608_1046x1094y_Zoom_out_of_three_empty_rooms_near_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|A dead end with three empty room with no coins or any interesting features, thus only this zoomed out version is displayed here. The rooms are just right of the horned box and below is the part of the hull that is the opening where the Destroyer will swallow the Runner. It is not a complete waste to come over this way, as the room to the right with the hoverboard is central to the comic. But no need to go into these rooms if trying to pick up all the coins as fast as possible.
|-
|Corridor with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a2/1608_1046x1097y_Corridor_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1046:-1097+s.png (1046, 1097)]
|
|
|
|
|
|This is one of the longer corridors without any features. It is the only way to move right inside the destroyer in this section. The corridor goes above the three empty rooms in the scene above and also above the hoverboard room in the scene below. At the end of the corridor there is a shaft up. The only reason this segment is shown is because of the coin.
|-
|Two hoverboards room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/01/1608_1048x1095y_Two_hoverboards_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1048:-1095+s.png (1048, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1048:-1094+s.png (1048, 1094)]
|
|
|
|Comic: [[1623: 2016 Conversation Guide]]
|Self-reference to title of this comic, and the conversation guide comic released shortly after this is also referencing this entire comic as it complains that hoverboards are not real yet. There is both another hoverboard Cueball and a hoverboard Megan in this room, but compared to the players hoverboard Cueball these two are somewhat more advanced and managed to swoop around the coin in the middle. The room can only be entered from the right. To the left there is only a dead end with three completely empty rooms, so don't bother going there if you are in a hurry to pick up all the coins...
|-
|Zoom out with dead end corridor car room and shaft at top of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f9/1608_1051x1097y_Zoom_out_with_dead_end_corridor_car_room_and_shaft_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|Overview of the end of the long corridor with the coin mentioned above. It ends here in the dead end at the bottom. The corridor above has Cueball lying on the hood of a car in a small room quite a distance from any exits to the outside.
|-
|Cueball on hood of car room and a giant step with coins at top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d4/1608_1048x1099y_Cueball_on_hood_of_car_room_and_a_giant_step_with_coins_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1048:-1099+s.png (1048, 1099)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1049:-1099+s.png (1049, 1099)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|In this dead-end room Cueball is lying on the hood of a car. Hoverboard Cueball cannot copy this as the car is not a solid segment of the image. The hull is not far away, and the car room is right where one of the large steps in the upper hull appears. Right outside there are two coins at the bottom and top of the step. These cannot be seen from inside the room. There is no fast way to get outside from here, and actually no easy way to get a car into this room either. In ''Sky Toucher'' in TE there is also a car stuck in the middle of the skyscraper a long way from the parking cellar. In this comic there is actually even one more car in the Destroyer, but that is at least close to an exit ledge (see scene below).
|-
|Atmosphere worry and car room at bottom of hull.
|
:Megan: Is this ship designed to fly in the atmosphere like this?
:Blonde woman with hair bun: Whatever. Who cares it’s probably fine.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1049x1090y_Atmosphere_worry_and_car_room_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1049:-1090+s.png (1049, 1090)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1050:-1090+s.png (1050, 1090)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|Megan is referring to the fact that spaceships in Star Wars often fly fast also inside the atmosphere of a planet. Not something you would normally design for. Though in the case with the Destroyer and Runner they did not go inside the atmosphere as depicted here in the comic, in the scene from the original Star Wars movie. The blonde woman comes with a comment typical for b-moves, who cares if this would work in real life, it is just a film.

There is a large gap in the bottom hull ending here and starting in the ''Shaft corridor with coin and room with coin over ledge at bottom of hull''. This large section is the section in which [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_Entire_Rebel_Blockade_Runner_swallowed_by_Destroyer.png the Destroyer swallows the Rebel Runner] in the opening scene of the first Star Wars movie, as mentioned in the overview above.

Behind the two women, who are standing on a thin ledge where the large gap ends, there is another car (see scene above). At least it is clear how this car could get into this room (and out again). Above the car there is a coin. Behind the car there is a corridor going into the Destroyer, but quite high up on the wall for a normal exit. The car cannot be used as a step to jump in there, as it is not part of the solid picture.
|-
|Ponytail flying up a shaft towards a coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/76/1608_1053x1091y_Ponytail_flying_up_a_shaft_towards_a_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1053:-1091+s.png (1053, 1091)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1054:-1091+s.png (1054, 1091)]
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|The corridor from the room with Megan and the car is long. In the middle of it there is a shaft going up (a long way). Just inside this shaft Ponytail is seen flying up, hands in front of her like another Superman. Above her in the shaft there is a coin. This is not the only place in the comic where Ponytail is flying. Although here it seems like an automatic thing (like Superman), whereas down below on the ground below the Destroyer she has to flap her arms violently, but then actually manages to take off from the ground. In a spaceship like this Destroyer there could both be a system to let people float upwards, some gravitational effects or just plain effects of the flying itself, whereas down on the ground flying like that would be magic for sure. But at least there seems to be some correlation since it is Ponytail that flies in both cases.
|-
|Trap covered with leaves and flying Ponytail at bottom of hull.
|
:Cueball: ...And we cover it with leaves so no one sees it.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fd/1608_1055x1090y_Trap_covered_with_leaves_and_flying_Ponytail_at_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1055:-1090+s.png (1055, 1090)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1055:-1091+s.png (1055, 1091)]
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|After the shaft where Ponytail flies up (see more in the scene above) the corridor continues to a pit which Cueball and a kid have been covering with leaves and sticks. It seems like they are making a trap, which is even more likely seeing that the bottom of the pit has six sharp spikes that would likely impale any unlucky victims that fell in. Alternatively (given the words Cueball uses), they have made this hole by mistake, and now tries to cover it so no one sees it. If he meant it to be a trap, he might instead have phrased it, "so they won't see it until it is too late". The kid looks like the kid in the room at the rotary, as they have the same hairdo.
|-
|Corridor and shaft with coin.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/8f/1608_1053x1094y_Corridor_and_shaft_with_coin.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1053:-1094+s.png (1053, 1094)]
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|The shaft going up from Ponytail below goes past the corridor to the left that goes to the hoverboards room. There is a coin in the entrance.
|-
|'''Entire Corridor peristalsis and colon.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c6/1608_Entire_Corridor_peristalsis_and_colon.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/be/1608_Entire_area_around_Corridor_peristalsis_and_colon.png Zoom out to entire area]
|Overview
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|With the comment from Hairbun about peristalsis - the bowel movement getting food etc. through the digestive system, and with the three chambers with coins above a colon like structure, leading into the corridor with these motions, with a coin both going down the colon and through the peristalsis, there can be no doubt that this is the digestive system for this "living" spaceship, and coins is what it lives off. This interpretation can further be extended to the very front end, where there is the appearance of a head that eats coins (see the front-end overview) and at the rear end a coin is bouncing out at the very last shaft before the very end of the ship. Suggesting where this animal gets rid of the waste products afterwards. (The rest of the ship is not part of this interpretation).
|-
|Corridor peristalsis and two-coin rooms at top of hull.
|
:Hairbun: Ah, yes. Corridor peristalsis.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e4/1608_1054x1099y_Corridor_peristalsis_and_two_coin_rooms_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1054:-1099+s.png (1054, 1099)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1057:-1100+s.png (1057, 1100)]
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|Following the corridor from the room with Cueball on the hood of a car leads to a part of that corridor experiencing {{w|peristalsis}}. This is the kind of muscle movements that causes food to move through the {{w|human gastrointestinal tract}}. Hairbun is telling Cueball that this is indeed corridor peristalsis, so a way for the corridor to move stuff along. As there are coins at both end of this section it is quite clear that these coins are moved along by the corridor itself. The indentation of the corridor is so strong that the corridor is not wide enough to allow hoverboard Cueball to pass through. So, to get both coins another route needs to be found. The shortest way is to go up the shaft behind Hairbun, passing the two empty rooms with coins on the way to the top of the Destroyers hull. To get to the other side hoverboard Cueball will then have to pass through the Destroyers colon like structure to the right. See below. As mentioned in the overview above this is a clear reference to the human digestive system, or in this case the Destroyers ditto.
|-
|Corridor peristalsis and colon.
|
:Cueball: Wheee!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0a/1608_1055x1099y_Corridor_peristalsis_and_colon.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1055:-1099+s.png (1055, 1099)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1056:-1099+s.png (1056, 1099)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|Moving a little further down right than the peristalsis scene above the bottom part of the {{w|Large intestine|colon}} like structure can be seen, closely connected to this other intestine like structure (The three coins in the left part of the image are the same as in the scene above). The reason for showing this scene is to show the closeness of these two digestive system structures. In ''Box that cleans food holders'' in TE Ponytail yells "Wheee!" as she slides through a pipe inside the machine on her stomach, a mix of the action performed by Cueball and Ponytail in the colon like structure. Ponytail is sliding towards a coin at the bottom in one of the colon loops. The top part of the colon can be seen in the next scene.
|-
|Colon like structure with Ponytail and Cueball sliding down.
|
:(None - text already transcribed in the scene above ''Corridor peristalsis and colon''.)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b3/1608_1058x1100y_Colon_like_structure_with_Ponytail_and_Cueball_sliding_down.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1058:-1100+s.png (1058, 1100)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1058:-1101+s.png (1058, 1101)]
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|The entrance from the top to the colon like structure have a Cueball looking down into it. The rest of the scene has been described above.
|-
|Huge step and three room with coin and Cueball looking into shaft at top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/14/1608_1058x1102y_Huge_step_and_three_room_with_coin_and_Cueball_looking_into_shaft_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1058:-1102+s.png (1058, 1102)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1056:-1103+s.png (1056, 1103)]
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|This is the upper entrance to the colon like structure into which Cueball is looking. (See scenes above). To the left is the top hull of the Destroyer which takes two huge steps up at this place. Cueball is standing in a corridor with three small rooms, each with a coin in the top of the room. This seems to be a place to hold the coins until they are ready to move down the colon like structure, where another coin is already moving through, going down to the corridor peristalsis in the corridor below, where more coins are moving through the ships digestive system. Going over the hull and down this colon like structure is the fastest/shortest way between the two separated sides of the corridor peristalsis.
|-
|Coin in corridor under Buffer stop room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_1060x1099y_Coin_in_corridor_under_Buffer_stop_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1060:-1099+s.png (1059, 1099)]
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|Moving away to the right from the corridor peristalsis takes hoverboard Cueball past a small shaft up into a room with two coins in front of what looks like a train {{w|buffer stop}}. One coin in front of each of the buffers. Continuing along the corridor there is another coin. The corridor continues and a shaft is going up. This part of the Destroyer is the beginning of the cave section. The cave can be entered from above by continuing along the corridor.
|-
|Cannon with coin on top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a0/1608_1060x1103y_Canon_with_coin_on_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1060:-1103+s.png (1060, 1103)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1062:-1103+s.png (1062, 1103)]
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|There is a similar cannon with a coin in front of the barrel on the top of the Runner below the Destroyer. This cannon is on top of the hull above and right of the three room above the colon like structure. The shaft going down right is over the next cave section.
|-
|Coin in corridor below mining company in dead end corridor.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c8/1608_1062x1101y_Coin_in_corridor_below_mining_company_in_dead_end_corridor.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1062:-1101+s.png (1062, 1101)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1063:-1101+s.png (1063, 1101)]
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|Two Cueballs work as a mining company in this corridor which they are expanding. It could be that they are digging for gold, but if that gold should be represented by coins, it is weird that the coin hangs above the Cueball with the {{w|pickaxe}} in the higher section of this corridor, instead of being in front of him. The other Cueball drives away with a wheelbarrow full of the rubble they have dug free from the ship. This is another indication of how big the ship is. It is easier to just dig a new corridor than to build the corridor into the ship to begin with. Further to the left in the Destroyer there was another dead-end corridor that looked like it had been dug out - see the scene ''Dead end shaft with rubbles at bottom of hull.'' But here the mining company had left (even though there also was a coin there). The shaft to the left goes up to the hull right of the cannon from the scene above. The corridor below goes left (past another coin) to the shaft down to the corridor with peristalsis. To the right it goes above the cave to the dance hall room with piano.
|-
|Mining company in dead end corridor also coin on top of hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/ca/1608_1063x1102y_Mining_company_in_dead_end_corridor_also_coin_on_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1063:-1102+s.png (1063, 1102)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1063:-1103+s.png (1063, 1103)]
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|The same mining company scene as described above but with the view moved to show the top hull, right of the cannon. Right of the shaft going up there is a coin. At the very top right of the hull, the basketball dropped by the Cueball like kid can be seen as it comes bouncing down the length of the hull. This basketball scene is part of the cave section and will be described below.
|-
|'''Entire cotton trap and spark gap room.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/78/1608_Entire_cotton_trap_and_spark_gap_room.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/65/1608_Entire_cotton_trap_and_spark_gap_room_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/36/1608_Entire_area_around_cotton_trap.png Entire area around] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_Entire_area_around_cotton_trap_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|Here are two different zoom out of the cotton trap room with the spark gap room below. In the first overview a zoom out is shown with only these two rooms. There are four coins inside and two on the outside of the hull. The three coins around the cotton trap is almost connected by the cotton, as can be seen in the next overview where the hidden passage through the cotton is clearly marked in red. As can be seen there is a very deep black hole beneath the surface of the cotton (which Ponytail states is cotton). From the bottom of the cotton trap going left will lead to a hidden entrance to the top of the spark gap room. Going right will lead to the hidden entrance to the corridor with traps going to the left entrance to the cave. There are coins on each exit as well as just above the cotton to the right. The third image is a further zoom out to show the entire surroundings of the cotton trap room. (And the last is with the cotton etc. turned red). Here the traps in the corridor leading to the cave can be seen as well as the opening into the cave. Below that the strange spiral corridor can be seen. Both these scenes will be described below in the cave section. To the left the shaft and corridors that connect the two rooms even if not noticing the hidden passage can be seen. It is the corridor with the trap covered by Cueball and the shaft where Ponytail flies up. Three more coins are visible in this wider zoom out for a total of nine coins in this area. The two rooms will be described in further detail below. All of the rooms that can be entered through the cotton trap can also be entered through different entrances from other routes. This means that failing to find out how the cotton trap works, will not prevent the player in reaching either the spark gap from below or the cave to the right.
|-
|Entire Cotton trap room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/be/1608_1058x1094y_Zoom_out_of_Cotton_trap_room.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/11/1608_1058x1094y_Zoom_out_of_Cotton_trap_room_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|Overview with the entire cotton trap with and without the cotton shown in red. See above and below for more details.
|-
|Coins in two corridors towards cotton trap.
|
:(None - transcript is written in the scene below.)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1055x1095y_Coins_in_two_corridors_towards_cotton_trap.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1055:-1095+s.png (1055, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1056:-1095+s.png (1056, 1095)]
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|The corridor going from the shaft with the flying Ponytail to the Ponytail warning about the cotton trap also has a coin. The coin in the exit of the other corridor to the shaft was mentioned previously as it is the exit from the room with two hoverboards. See more about the cotton trap below.
|-
|Cotton trap room with Ponytail.
|
:Ponytail: Watch out for the cotton. It's a trap for someone, I think.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/28/1608_1058x1094y_Cotton_trap_room_with_Ponytail.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/42/1608_1058x1094y_Cotton_trap_room_with_Ponytail_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1057:-1095+s.png (1057, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1059:-1094+s.png (1059, 1094)]
|
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|Entering this room along the top corridor reveals Ponytail standing at the beginning of a steep descend. She clearly warns the player about a trap made of cotton. As can be seen in the hidden passage image most of the black at the bottom of the descend is not solid floor but a hidden passage. Given Ponytails comment it must be assumed to be made of cotton. Given that hoverboard Cueball is not affected by the cotton and can move either up again, or out left or right it is not a trap for him. But other unlucky persons falling into the cotton might not be as lucky. If this is not a trap in itself, there are several traps if moving out to the right (where the coin is below the cotton level). This corridor goes to the cave, but first after passing five traps. See more about the entire surroundings in the overview scenes above.
|-
|Cotton trap room bottom.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/32/1608_1058x1092y_Cotton_trap_room_bottom.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1608_1058x1092y_Cotton_trap_room_bottom_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1058:-1092+s.png (1058, 1092)]
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|The bottom of the cotton trap is a dark place. But as can be seen in the red hidden passage image it is possible to move both left and right to get out. In either case a coin can be obtained at the exit. The left exit leads to a shaft going into the spark gap room below, and the right exit leads through a corridor with traps into the cave. Going up in the spark gap room below will clearly reveal the shaft up. But if the cotton trap has not been discovered at this time, it is likely that the player will not attempt to breech the wall and would thus fail to enter the cotton trap from below. The coin could easily seem enough reason for this dead-end shaft above the room.
|-
|Entire spark gap room to bottom of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1608_1058x1090y_Zoom_out_of_spark_gap_room_to_bottom_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
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|An overview of the entire spark gap room, both showing the two coins beneath the outside hull as well as the coin in the top shaft (leading to the cotton trap to the right of this) and the coin behind the spark gap. See more below.
|-
|Spark gap room
|
:Cueball on wall: Shh.
:Electrode bottom: JS
:Electrode top: JS
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4d/1608_1057x1092y_Spark_gap_room_with_Cueball_on_the_wall.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6a/1608_1058x1090y_Spark_gap_room_only_with_Cueball_on_floor_and_coins_at_bottom_of_hull.png Buttom part to below hull]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1058:-1090+s.png (1058, 1090)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1057:-1092+s.png (1057, 1092)]
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|This room is called the {{w|spark gap}} room, because there seems to be a spark between the two large electrode like structures marked JS. Cueball is watching this, maybe he is the evil inventor that has created this device. At least another Cueball is climbing high above him up on the wall to the left, and when the player passes him on his hoverboard he asks the player no to talk about him (''shh''). It is unclear if he is sneaking away, spying, or sneaking down to attack the other Cueball. A coin is hidden behind the spark gap, but as the spark gap is of the "red" type of black hoverboard Cueball can pass without problems into the coin. As can be seen in the other image displaying the lower part of this scene, the coin outside of the hull is close by, and actually the two coins above each other down there are in the same small image (see the first of the small images).
|-
|Corridor with fire and hammer traps.
|
:Hammers left: Chomp Chomp
:Hammer right: Chomp
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a2/1608_1061x1093y_Corridor_with_fire_and_hammer_traps.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/16/1608_1061x1093y_Corridor_with_fire_and_hammer_traps_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1060:-1094+s.png (1060, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1061:-1093+s.png (1061, 1093)]
|
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|This is the corridor exiting the cotton trap room (with a coin as mentioned previously), see the cotton in the hidden passage in red image. The corridor leads to the cave, but to get there five traps has to be passed. First there are four hammers with jagged edges that opens and closes with much force as perceived by the noises. And then a pit with a fire has to be surpassed. Of course, as can be seen in the "red" image, neither of these traps are any problem for hoverboard Cueball as they are all of the red type of black. But it is a clear indication that the player is about to enter some interesting place, which is true as the cave is one of the most interesting places in the Destroyer. Although there are two other ways to get into the cave, it is by far the most interesting way to enter the cave for the first time!
|-
|Corridor to cave opening.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/32/1608_1062x1094y_Corridor_to_cave_opening.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1062:-1094+s.png (1062, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1063:-1094+s.png (1063, 1094)]
|
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|Same scene as above but only the right part with the fire, to show how the corridor enters the beginning of the cave.
|-
|Zoom out with spiral corridor at bottom of the hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/45/1608_1063x1091y_Zoom_out_with_spiral_corridor_at_bottom_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
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|Below the corridor to the cave is a strange corridor which spirals into nothing in the middle. There are no coins in this section, so this is a zoom out without any further zoom in on this section. The room at the top seems like a starting point to go into the spiral. The corridor to the right goes into the huge glitch floor room below the cave. The shaft down goes out the bottom of the hull.
|-
|'''Entire Cave Bridge and rear end.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/74/1608_Entire_Cave_Bridge_and_rear_end.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e0/1608_Entire_Cave_Bridge_and_rear_end_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
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|-
|'''Entire cave section.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_Entire_cave_section.png Overview]
|Overview
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|-
|Entire Cave and Glitch floor room.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/ea/1608_Entire_Cave_and_Glitch_floor_room.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|From this image it is clear that the two largest rooms in the Destroyer are almost of the same size and positioned almost on top of each other. They only need a little parallel shift to make them into one big circular room. The Glitch floor room is a feature that can be seen in the Star Wars film, as a protrusion beneath the hull of the Destroyer. In an actual Star Destroyer, this protrusion holds the hyper matter reactor that powers the ship as a whole.
|-
|'''Entire Cave.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/1608_Entire_Cave.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/24/1608_Entire_Cave_and_shaft_above.png With shaft and room above] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bf/1608_Entire_Cave_With_entire_pyramid_for_scale.png Size scale of Pyramid]
|Overview
|
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|In ''Sky Toucher'' there is also a floor in the skyscraper with trees inside, just like the tree inside the cave inside the Destroyer.
|-
|Lake with tree birds and puma on rock at exit in the bottom left side of the cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1608_1053x1093y_Lake_with_tree_birds_and_puma_on_rock_at_exit_in_the_bottom_left_side_of_the_cave.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/81/1608_1053x1093y_Lake_with_tree_birds_and_puma_on_rock_at_exit_in_the_bottom_left_side_of_the_cave_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1065:-1093+s.png (1065, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1094+s.png (1067, 1094)]
|
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|{{w|Puma}}, or mountain lions, are important predators in an ecosystem and would help keep the deer population in this cave under control.
|-
|Three birds in the top left side of the cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5a/1608_1065x1095y_Three_birds_in_the_top_left_side_of_the_cave.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1065:-1095+s.png (1065, 1095)]
|
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|The {{w|National Audubon Society}} has its origins in bird conservation, and it is only natural that an Imperial Park such as this (see below) would also contain birds.
|-
|Gazebo puma deer Cueball with bow and talk of Palpatine in the middle of the cave.
|
:Cueball: I know it seems weird, but every Star Destroyer has one of these rooms.
:Cueball: Say what you will about Palpatine's politics, but he's a staunch supporter of the imperial parks and the Coruscant Audubon society.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b0/1608_1067x1094y_Gazebo_puma_deer_Cueball_with_bow_and_talk_of_Palpatine_in_the_middle_of_the_cave.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1068:-1093+s.png (1068, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1068:-1094+s.png (1068, 1094)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|The {{w|National Audubon Society}} is a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation. Palpatine is the evil emperor and the capital "planet" Coruscant is a planet with city all over the solid parts of the surface. So that he is interested in keeping parks both on this planet and on all his Star Destroyers comes as a surprise...
|-

|The broad shaft going into the top of the cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a5/1608_1067x1097y_The_broad_shaft_going_into_the_top_of_the_cave.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1097+s.png (1067, 1097)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1068:-1096+s.png (1068, 1096)]
|
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|-
|Deer and exit below lamp coin and Black Hat in the bottom right side of the cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/68/1608_1069x1093y_Deer_and_exit_below_lamp_coin_and_Black_Hat_in_the_bottom_right_side_of_the_cave.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/69/1608_1069x1093y_Deer_and_exit_below_lamp_coin_and_Black_Hat_in_the_bottom_right_side_of_the_cave_no_coin.png Without coin]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1069:-1093+s.png (1069, 1093)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1071:-1093+s.png (1071, 1093)]
|
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|
|Black Hat is sitting in a cubby high above the ground and looks to be asleep.
|-
|Lamp coin and Black Hat in the top right side of the cave.
|
:Insects: ''Bzzzzz''

:Black Hat: Zzz
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0d/1608_1070x1095y_Lamp_coin_and_Black_Hat_in_the_top_right_side_of_the_cave.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/aa/1608_1070x1095y_Lamp_coin_and_Black_Hat_in_the_top_right_side_of_the_cave_no_coin.png Without coin]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1095+s.png (1070, 1095)]
|
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|
|In this image the coin is part of the scenery as it is the lamp the buzzing insects fly around. When it is gone it reveals a broken lamp, and an insect that had been hidden behind the coin.
|-
|Corridor from shaft to the two coins in corridors.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e1/1608_1063x1099y_Corridor_from_shaft_to_the_two_coins_in_corridors.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1065:-1099+s.png (1065, 1099)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1064:-1098+s.png (1064, 1098)]
|
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|-
|Two coins in corridors and four-coin room above shaft to cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0b/1608_1067x1104y_Two_coins_in_corridors_and_four_coin_room_above_shaft_to_cave.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1100+s.png (1067, 1100)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1098+s.png (1067, 1098)]
|
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|-
|Chandelier room with two coins above cave.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d6/1608_1070x1098y_Chandelier_room_with_two_coins_above_cave.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1098+s.png (1070, 1098)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1071:-1098+s.png (1071, 1098)]
|
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|
|The coins here look like lightbulbs, although it is unclear what a chandelier is doing in a room like this.
|-
|Zoom out with dance room and basketball and slinky stair at top of hull.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f3/1608_1068x1101y_Zoom_out_with_dance_room_and_basketball_and_slinky_stair_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|Overview
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|-
|Basketball on top of Destroyer - zoom out.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5a/1608_1065x1104y_Basket_ball_on_top_of_Destroyer_zoom_out.png Overview]
|Overview
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|-
|Coin close to basketball on top of Destroyer.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4e/1608_1063x1104y_Coin_close_to_basket_ball_on_top_of_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1065:-1104+s.png (1065, 1104)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1064:-1104+s.png (1064, 1104)]
|
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|This coin could also be something that's bouncing down the slope of the Star Destroyer hull - see below.
|-
|Basketball on top of Destroyer.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1067x1104y_Basket_ball_on_top_of_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1067:-1104+s.png (1067, 1104)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1066:-1104+s.png (1066, 1104)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|2 Cueballs, Megan and Ponytail are playing basketball on top of the sloped hull of the Star Destroyer. This has proven to be a bad idea, as the slope of the hull has caused the basketball to bounce and roll down the slope, while Cueball runs behind it to catch it.
|-
|Dancing room with piano.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a7/1608_1069x1101y_Dancing_room_with_piano.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1069:-1101+s.png (1069, 1101)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1101+s.png (1070, 1101)]
|
|
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|
|Possibly a reference to Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, and Oscar Levant in "An American in Paris."
|-
|Slinky staircase at top of hull.
|
:Slinky: Slink slink slink
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1c/1608_1069x1104y_Slinky_stair_case_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1069:-1104+s.png (1069, 1104)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1103+s.png (1070, 1103)]
|
|
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|
|While it is unclear why the slinky is on the star destroyer at all, the stairs are a reference to the slinky {{w|jingle}} which says "walks downstairs..." The noise is also a reference to the creation of the name "slinky" which was based on the word slink in the dictionary.
|-
|Upside down room and Giddyayup cowboy riding the ship at top of hull.
|
:Cowboy: Giddyayup!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/79/1608_1073x1104y_Upside_down_room_and_Giddyayup_cowboy_riding_the_ship_at_top_of_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1072:-1104+s.png (1072, 1104)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1074:-1103+s.png (1074, 1103)]
|
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|
|The man on top of the hull is a reference to riding a horse and specifically an American cowboy riding a horse. The (Cueball?) is using reins to "steer" the star destroyer much the same as one would steer a horse. In addition, "Giddyayup" is the command for a horse move. The upside-down room is most likely just a simple visual gag, but could also be a reference to the fact that star destroyers have artificial gravity in SW and thus any direction could be "up" depending on where you are.
|-
|'''Entire Glitch floor room.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/52/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6b/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/63/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room_and_two_close_rooms.png Including two rooms] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/dd/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room_and_two_close_rooms_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/49/1608_Entire_area_around_Glitch_floor_room.png Entire area around the room] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/00/1608_Entire_area_around_Glitch_floor_room_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/63/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room_and_two_close_rooms.png Also including two close rooms] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/dd/1608_Entire_Glitch_floor_room_and_two_close_rooms_red.png Hidden passages in red] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/49/1608_Entire_area_around_Glitch_floor_room.png Entire area around the room] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/00/1608_Entire_area_around_Glitch_floor_room_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|In the zoom outs the coin below the hidden glitch in the floor can be seen at the very bottom of the pictures. It is quite a drop to catch it, but if you did not expect it, it is likely you would reach it before going up again.
|-
|Bottom center of Glitch floor room with coin sign and Cueball.
|
:Large sign:
::!
::Caution:
::Glitchfloor.

:Floor signs:
::!
::!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_1070x1089y_Bottom_center_of_Glitch_floor_room_with_coin_sign_and_Cueball.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/71/1608_1070x1089y_Bottom_center_of_Glitch_floor_room_with_coin_sign_and_Cueball_red.png Hidden passages in red]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1069:-1088+s.png (1069, 1088)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1070:-1088+s.png (1070, 1088)]
|
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|You are warned not to step onto this glitch floor! But if you do you can drop down to yet another coin far below the Destroyer, but even farther up above the ground.
|-
|Two rooms with coins right of Glitch floor room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2e/1608_1074x1090y_Two_rooms_with_coins_right_of_Glitch_floor_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1073:-1092+s.png (1073, 1092)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1074:-1091+s.png (1074, 1091)]
|
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|-
|Cannon protruding below the hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f4/1608_1075x1088y_Canon_protruding_below_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1075:-1088+s.png (1075, 1088)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1076:-1088+s.png (1076, 1088)]
|
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|
|This cannon is a standard cannon seen on a star destroyer in Star Wars and is not out of place here. It is somewhat unusual that this is on the bottom, since these cannons are generally on top though they are all over the ship, and there are turrets on the bottom of the First Order star destroyer in Force Awakens. Also, the shape is more reminiscent of a real tank gun than the squarer turrets in Star Wars, though this is probably just an effect of Randall's drawing style, rather than anything significant.
|-
|Entire area around the bridge.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bd/1608_Entire_area_around_the_bridge.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4b/1608_Entire_Bridge_and_rear_section.png Entire bridge area] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f1/1608_Entire_Bridge_and_emperor.png Brdige and emperor] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c2/1608_Entire_Bridge_and_globe_of_death.png Bridge and globe of death] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/54/1608_Actual_Bridge_with_Vader_and_Tarkin.png Actual bridge] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c7/1608_Vader_twice_and_emperor_on_and_near_bridge.png Vader twice and emperor]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|This is the main bridge of the Star Destroyer, including the command deck. It hosts both Darth Vader and Emperor Palpantine aboard. The Globe of Death is a part of the Star Destroyer's deflector shield generators.
|-
|Ponytail with paper plane and coin below her on top hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/11/1608_1077x1107y_Ponytail_with_paper_plane_and_coin_below_her_on_top_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1106+s.png (1078, 1006)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1105+s.png (1077, 1105)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|Cueball also throws out a plane in Click and Drag from the skyscraper. This also happens in the ''Sky Toucher'' in TE where it is Ponytail again.
|-
|Tarkin on the bridge and Ponytail with paper plane.
|
:Cueball: The fault, dear Tarkin, is not in our star destroyers, but in ourselves.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/20/1608_1077x1107y_Tarkin_on_the_bridge_and_Ponytail_with_paper_plane.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1107+s.png (1077, 1107)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1108+s.png (1077, 1108)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|| This is most likely a reference to the book (then made into a movie) titled "{{w|The Fault in Our Stars}}". The title of which is a reference to a line in {{w|William Shakespeare |Shakespeare's}} play {{W|Julius Caesar (play) |Julius Ceasar}}; "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in ourselves". Grand Moff Tarkin is the commander of the Death Star in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
|-
|Darth Vader talks about Steven Universe on the bridge Megan adjust antenna.
|
:Megan: Such a pain adjusting this thing every time we move

:Darth Vader: ''Breathe''
:Darth Vader: But Steven's ''mother'' is a crystal gem,
:Darth Vader: ''Breathe'')
:Darth Vader: so he's half- Are you getting all this?
:Hairy: Yes, my Lord!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_1077x1109y_Darth_Vaders_talks_about_Steven_Universe_on_the_bridge_Megan_adjust_antenna.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1109+s.png (1077, 1109)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1110+s.png (1077, 1110)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|TV series: {{w|Steven Universe}}
|Darth Vader refers to Steven Universe from the TV series. His mother is a Crystal Gem, so since his father is human, he is only a half gem, which is a joke in itself. Steven and his family are located inside a room in the middle of the Destroyer. Maybe as prisoners or it could be Vader is just a big fan since he talks about them on the bridge.
|-
|Globe of Death at the top of the Destroyer.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1608_1078x1111y_Globe_of_Death_at_the_top_of_the_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1110+s.png (1078, 1110)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1112+s.png (1077, 1112)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|This structure of the Globe of death is a part of the Star Destroyer's deflector shield generator globes as can be seen in the films.
|-
|Fire system with pure oxygen and two coins room.
|
:Hairbun: In the event of a fire on one of the decks, this system will seal it off and pump in pure oxygen.
:Ponytail: Wait, ''Oxygen?'' Not a fire suppressant like-
:Hairbun: Ugh, ''boring''.

|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d0/1608_1080x1105y_Fire_system_with_pure_oxygen_and_two_coins_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1080:-1105+s.png (1080, 1105)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1081:-1105+s.png (1081, 1105)]
|
|
|
|
|This is a reference to a {{w|Gaseous fire suppression}} in which tanks similar to those shown are filled with an inert gas, usually nitrogen. Similar systems are referenced in [[1737: Datacenter Scale]]. This system is generally used in large server rooms, where a room with fire will be sealed off from the rest of the servers, and the inert gas will flow into the room, extinguishing the fire, at the cost of whatever was in the room. Since this could be deadly these systems are only legal in rooms with little or no human interaction. The character on the left (Possibly Megan with hair buns) starts off by describing this system, though the system on the star destroyer has the key difference of piping in oxygen, instead of nitrogen, which Ponytail questions. Megan responds "Uhh, ''Boring''." which is technically true. An Inert gas will have a little visible effect, and the fire will slowly die. Piping in oxygen, however, is not a valid way to extinguish flames, as it would feed the fire instead of extinguishing it, though, if you have an adequate seal, this might not be as much of a problem as it sounds. The fire will eventually consume all of the oxygen and die. Unfortunately, there are 3 problems with this. The first is simple: there are people on a star destroyer, and this system will kill them if they happen to be near the fire. The second is that in addition to simply feeding the fire the oxygen is explosive, which could potentially blow the doors that seal the decks, allowing the fire to spread. The third is in the wording of (Megan?); who says that it will seal off the affected ''deck'' which is SW generally refers to an entire level. While this may just be a wording error by Randall, given the humor of the rest of the system, it would not be a great leap to imagine a system that seals off a whole floor regardless of the size of the fire, killing everyone on that floor. In addition, given that the Empire is evil, it is also not a stretch to believe that they would kill an entire deck for a small fire just because the alternative is boring. This kind of scenario was in fact explored in the novel {{w|Star Wars: Lost Stars}} where it is described that entire decks were destroyed during the scene in {{w|The Empire Strikes Back}} where a star destroyer chases the Millennium Falcon through an asteroid field. This destruction is pointed out in the novel and dismissed, as it is in this comic.
|-
|Darth Vader’s gold bullion and Cueball and Ponytail in small room at the top of the hull.
|
:Cueball: Aha! Darth Vader's secret gold bullion reserves! We'll be rich!
:Megan: I'm not sure this is canon.
:Bags: $ $ $
:Boxes: $ $ $ $ $
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7e/1608_1080x1108y_Darth_Vaders_gold_bullion_and_Cueball_and_Ponytail_in_small_room_at_the_top_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1080:-1108+s.png (1080, 1108)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1079:-1109+s.png (1079, 1109)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|Despots are generally known for having vast reserves of wealth hidden away secretly, often in the form of gold. Here, Megan remarks on finding Darth Vader's secret stash. This is obviously not canon, as Cueball remarks - Darth Vader's palaces in both canon and legacy storylines have been largely devoid of treasures and wealth, being mostly a place of meditation on the Dark Side.
|-
|Large crocodile near globe of death at the top of the hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e8/1608_1081x1110y_Large_crocodile_near_globe_of_death_at_the_top_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1081:-1110+s.png (1081, 1110)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1079:-1111+s.png (1079, 1111)]
|
|
|
|
|Crocodiles are cold-blooded creatures, and a flat, open, sunlit space such as the top of the Star Destroyer Bridge would be a great place for a crocodile to bask in the sun to warm itself.
|-
|The Emperor Palpatine and his birds at the top of the hull.
|
:Guy: My emperor...
:Guy: We all share in your newfound enthusiasm for birdwatching.
:Guy: But normally one watches them in the wild, rather than drugging and imprisoning them in a house of stairs.
:Emperor: ''Silence.''
:Bird: Chirp
:Bird: Chirp
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6b/1608_1083x1109y_The_Emperor_Palpatine_and_his_birds_at_the_top_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1083:-1109+s.png (1083, 1109)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1084:-1109+s.png (1084, 1109)]
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|
|
|House of Stairs may refer to the M. C. Escher {{w|House Of Stairs|lithograph}} with that title, but this is more likely to be a reference to the William Sleator novel {{w|House of Stairs (Sleator novel)|House Of Stairs}} (named for the Escher work) which features five teenage orphans who wake up inside an environment with similarities to that in the Escher print (but with normal gravity).
|-
|Coin behind the rear end at the top of the hull.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/01/1608_1087x1108y_Coin_behind_the_rear_end_at_the_top_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1087:-1108+s.png (1087, 1108)]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''Entire Prince of Persia maze.'''
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b0/1608_Entire_Prince_of_Persia_maze.png Overview] [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_Entire_Prince_of_Persia_maze_with_both_exits.png Including both exits]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|Computer game: {{w|Prince of Persia}}
|Compare to this [https://cdn.wikimg.net/strategywiki/images/a/a2/Princeofpersia_dos_level1.png picture of level 1] taken from the game.
|-
|Corridor left of Prince of Persia maze.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5b/1608_1073x1101y_Corridor_left_of_Prince_of_Persia_maze.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1073:-1101+s.png (1073, 1101)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1072:-1101+s.png (1072, 1101)]
|
|
|
|
|See above.
|-
|Left entrance to Prince of Persia maze.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6c/1608_1076x1101y_Left_entrance_to_Prince_of_Persia_maze.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1076:-1101+s.png (1076, 1101)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1101+s.png (1077, 1101)]
|
|
|
|
|See above.
|-
|Left part of Prince of Persia maze.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/03/1608_1079x1102y_Left_part_of_Prince_of_Persia_maze.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1102+s.png (1077, 1102)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1080:-1102+s.png (1080, 1102)]
|
|
|
|
|See above.
|-
|Right part and exit of Prince of Persia maze.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1608_1082x1101y_Right_part_and_exit_of_Prince_of_Persia_maze.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1082:-1101+s.png (1082, 1101)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1081:-1102+s.png (1081, 1102)]
|
|
|
|
|See above.
|-
|Right exit of Prince of Persia maze and shafts.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/42/1608_1084x1103y_Right_exit_of_Prince_of_Persia_maze_and_shafts.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1083:-1102+s.png (1083, 1102)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1083:-1103+s.png (1083, 1103)]
|
|
|
|
|See above.
|-
|Ant Queen and alarm ante room.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/10/1608_Ant_Queen_and_alarm_ante_room.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|In this section all rooms have the same dome shaped ceiling that goes a little below the walls of the corridors.
|-
|Corridor with alarm and trapped Cueball.
|
:Alarm: …Beep…
:Alarm: …Beep…
:Alarm: …Beep…
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/01/1608_1075x1094y_Corridor_with_alarm_and_trapped_Cueball.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1075:-1094+s.png (1075, 1094)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1074:-1094+s.png (1074, 1094)]
|
|
|
|
|Cueball appears to be trapped beneath a platform and is looking up, presumably wondering how to escape this situation. This has been made more ominous by the alarm going off nearby, which adds to the seriousness of the situation. A coin has been stored alongside some boxes nearby as well.
|-
|Ant Queen in Destroyer.
|
:Cueball: What's up?
:Ant queen: The usual. Poopin' out ants.
:Cueball: Eww.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1078x1095y_Ant_Queen_in_Destroyer.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1095+s.png (1078, 1095)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1077:-1094+s.png (1077, 1094)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|Comic: [[1610: Fire Ants]] and [[1641: Hot Dogs]]
|The ant comic was released only a week after this comic and refers how cool ants are. Ants are also used twice in TE A zoom in on an ant is used to indicate size in ''Earth's past'' and under the ''Tree'' in that explanation there is an ant colony where one ant is much bigger than the others: an ant queen, a clear reference to the ant queen in the Destroyer. The other comic is a discussion running along exactly the same template ending in ''Eww''.

This is probably a reference to a part of Orson Scott Card's "Xenocide" in his Ender series. In it, the main character, Ender, visits a hive queen "bugger" he saved on his travels and became friends with, at a time after the queen has settled in on a new planet. At one point, Ender brings other humans to meet the queen at a time when she was giving birth to some of her drones. This is most likely meant to represent a parody of that conversation or else represent a comedic idea of his first conversation with her when she had been birthing, where Ender is alone and is speaking to the Hive Queen. In this version, when he finds out that she is in the process of birthing more ants, rather than being compassionate and understanding with the Queen (as he is in the book), Ender is weirded out like the other humans he brings along with him later.
|-
|Entire shafts from top to bottom towards the rear end.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/ce/1608_Entire_shafts_from_top_to_bottom_towards_the_rear_end.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|This is the longest shaft in the Destroyer, and with the other shaft going out at the rear end, it is possible to go from the top room at the emperor and out beneath in a very short time.
|-
|Coin in the longest shaft.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5a/1608_1084x1099y_Coin_in_the_longest_shaft.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1084:-1099+s.png (1084, 1099)]
|
|
|
|
|
|Might be a reference to how the emperor fell to his first death by being thrown down a shaft in the throne room by Darth Vader onboard the 2nd Death Star in Return of the Jedi.
|-
|Cueball and Megan hanging on to each other in a shaft figuring this out.
|
:Cueball: Okay
:Cueball: We can figure this out.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c4/1608_1084x1095y_Cueball_and_Megan_hanging_on_to_each_other_in_a_shaft_figuring_this_out.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1084:-1095+s.png (1084, 1095)]
|
|
|
|
|
|Possibly a reference to a similar scene in "The Emperor's New Groove", although neither character here is obviously a llama.
|-
|Zoom out on light bulb with corridor and other room.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5b/1608_1084x1092y_Zoom_out_on_light_bulb_with_corridor_and_other_room.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|Giant light bulb room.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d2/1608_1084x1090y_Giant_light_bulb_room.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1084:-1090+s.png (1084, 1090)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1085:-1090+s.png (1085, 1090)]
|
|
|{{yesno|yy}}
|
|In ''The pieces everything is made of'' in TE a light bulb is used as reference for the entry on tungsten as the filament in such bulbs is made from this element.
|-
|Hairbun proposition room and Cueball losing his sandwich at the rear end.
|
:Hairbun: Use a proposition instead of a preposition if you need something to end a sentence with, baby.

:Cueball: My sandwich!
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/63/1608_1086x1091y_Hair_Bun_Girl_proposition_room_and_Cueball_losing_his_sandwich_at_the_rear_end.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1086:-1091+s.png (1086, 1091)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1089:-1091+s.png (1089, 1091)]
|
|
|
|
|One comment is inside the other on the outside of the Destroyer. Cueballs sandwich will fall to the ground.
|-
|Coin bouncing out from a shaft below the hull.
|
:Coin: Bounce
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/44/1608_1086x1088y_Coin_bouncing_out_from_a_shaft_below_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1086:-1088+s.png (1086, 1088)]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1086:-1090+s.png (1086, 1090)]
|
|
|
|
|In relation to the colon interpretation (see above) then this would literally be the rear of this living spaceship, and the coin is the waste going out the rear entry!
|-
|Megan hanging on below the bottom of the hull.
|
:Megan Hmm.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/ee/1608_1082x1088y_Megan_hanging_on_below_the_bottom_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1082:-1088+s.png (1082, 1088)]
|
|
|
|
|
|Megan has found herself in a precarious situation and is humorously underreacting by going 'Hmm'.
|-
|Zoom out on shaft and small dead-end room at the rear end.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/11/1608_1088x1098y_Zoom_out_on_shaft_and_small_dead_end_room_at_the_rear_end.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|Zoom out on shafts and part of the rear end.
|
:(N/A)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/45/1608_1088x1105y_Zoom_out_on_shafts_and_part_of_the_rear_end.png Overview]
|Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|Coin in a small indentation corridor at the rear end.
|
:(None)
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/35/1608_1090x1102y_Coin_in_a_small_indentation_corridor_at_the_rear_end.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1090:-1102+s.png (1090, 1102)]
|
|
|
|
|
|It is unknown what part of the Star Destroyer it could explicitly be hidden in. However, a Star Destroyer would have more than enough surface features for such an indent to exist and have a coin inside it.
|-
|Megan wants synesthesia at the rear end at bottom of the hull.
|
:Megan: I want synesthesia so bad I can ''taste'' it.
|[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/9d/1608_1090x1088y_Megan_want_synesthesia_at_the_rear_end_at_bottom_of_the_hull.png Overview]
|[https://xkcd.com/1608/1090:-1088+s.png (1090, 1088)]
|
|
|
|
|Comic: [[1213: Combination Vision Test]]
|{{w|Synesthesia}} is a neurological phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. One typical version is where numbers are perceived as having colors. This was used in the comic referenced. In this comic a wish for something makes Megan almost taste it. If she did indeed have this dysfunction, she might already have what she wished for... This is one of the rare incidences where there are two almost identically Megans in one scene.
|}
</div>

==Technical aspects==
The game was made by [https://chromakode.com Max Goodman] who has previously worked on [[1416: Pixels]]. The source code for the game can be found [https://xkcd.com/1608/tigl.js here].

===Functionality===
By observing page code while playing, the game grabs and displays images based on location, and subsequently clears all non-visible images. The game uses what seems to be a position syntax to retrieve the intended images live and returns an error if such an image does not exist, such as a blank area. This technically means things could be added to the world and updated live. If the player is moving sufficiently fast or if the internet connection is slow, this means that the player can get stuck in a black area that does not load in time.

This also means that the game does not have coded top or bottom limits, so any attempt to find the ''ceiling'' of the game will be futile unless the game is tweaked. The game does however have side limits, and it is not possible to go down further than image with Y coordinate 1073 (and it goes down to 1069 in the full image), so there is a bottom limit in the game. If using a [[#Cheats|cheat mode]] this may be different.

There are a couple of issues in the game. On a slow connection, it's possible to move into an 'open' area before the black image loads and permanently traps you immobile (unless you [[#Cheats|cheat]]). Sometimes, the timing of the game is completely off, which can make Cueball move extremely slowly or quickly, which makes the images jump and makes the graphic look worse. The latter error was actually used to discover something about how you move when pressing the arrows - see under [[#Functionality|Functionality]]. If the focus switches from the game to the page, the Cueball can freeze in midair. The same thing can happen if the window border overlaps the play area.

The keyboard controls are as follows:

*'''Go Left''' - Left arrow key, a or h
*'''Go Right''' - Right arrow key, d or l
*'''Go Up (jump or hover)''' - Up arrow key, w, or k
*'''Go Down (if gravity disabled)''' - Down arrow key, s, or j

This control scheme covers the three commonly used directional key sets: WASD a set of keys commonly used by modern games; HJKL a set of movement keys used by vi and applications which attempt to mimic vi key controls (vim); and the arrow keys, the most generic set of keys which is usually accepted by most applications which take movement as input, these were commonly used in older games.

On devices which have a touch screen and tilt sensor (portable devices like mobile phones and tablets) the controls are as follows:
*'''Go Left''' - Roll the device anticlockwise
*'''Go Right''' - Roll the device clockwise
*'''Go Up (jump or hover)''' - Tap the screen

After inspecting the source code, there appears to be no way to move down on a portable device, this is only relevant if gravity is disabled (see [[#Cheats|Cheats]]).

If you keep down the left/right control, you will keep moving along in that direction as long as no object blocks you.
A jump will only take you a certain height. The jump is initially very quick, then gravity stops you and reverts the direction. When descending, you accelerate quickly but reach a terminal velocity after a few seconds. If you jump repeatedly while keeping a left/right control down, you will jump in that direction. If you only jump once while holding down the direction control, then you will stop moving forward after about 2.8s. From then on, you will just keep falling straight down or stop where you reached if on the ground. This makes quite a difference when you jump into an opening from a high structure. If the background is completely white, you cannot see that you do not continue to move forward and will thus not be aware that you are now falling straight down, instead of going left/right.

It can actually be quite difficult to notice as you will leave any structures that can indicate this issue very quickly. Of course, if you notice that you land much too close to some high structure from where you base jumped, you will begin to understand. For instance, falling off the floating rock, and not moving away from under neath it during that long fall. The timing was discovered because of one of the bugs in the program that sometimes [[#Functionality|makes Cueball move extremely slow]], so one jump takes more than 3s. The solution to keep moving to either side while descending is that, after the jump, you release and repress the left/right control. You will then continue moving in that direction as long as you do not jump again. If you keep holding one of these buttons, you will also keep moving laterally. When you jump up over a long distance or continue to jump hover over the landscape, you will not have this issue, since every jump reactivates the lateral movement.

===Animation===
There have before been several interactive comics and also a few with animations. But these animations have typically been lines of flashing text or changing lights. This comic is the first with a character that is specifically changing position in animation style. Apart from this, there are also flashing text when leaving the play-area and text that appears and disappears as described in [[#Coins|Messages in Play Area]]. This also happens with the text written to begin with explaining how to play the game: ''Use the arrow keys to move'', which disappears upon touching the keys. Below are two images showing two kinds of animation of the hoverboard Cueball. The first image shows the eight standard animation that can easily be seen. They are
*Standing still facing right (starting position)
*Standing still facing left
*Moving left along flat ground (lifting arms)
*Moving right along flat ground (lifting arms)
*Jumping while facing left looking up with hoverboard pointing down
*Jumping while facing right looking up with hoverboard pointing down
*Falling while facing left looking down with hoverboard pointing up
*Falling while facing right looking down with hoverboard pointing up
[[File:1608 Hoverboard Cueball standard animation.png]]

There are several in-between frames of Cueball turning from left to right and even more from right to left. The second image shows eight in between animations (together with four from above). Not all the positions are necessarily caught in this collage here, but there is only a limited amount of them and all last less than a split second. They have been sorted so it could look like Cueball has just turned to the right standing still, then jumping while turning right, then turning right while in jump, to finish the turn while falling.
[[File:1608 Hoverboard Cueball turning animation.png]]

===Image coordinates===
As previously noted, the comic bears considerable resemblance to [[1110: Click and Drag]]. The comic is made in much the same way, with 'drawn' images "glued" together to form a large "map", with the illusion of infinite bounds made possible through space saving techniques where blank tiles are not stored and are instead painted white. The boundary between blank squares and 'drawn' squares is made clear as any white space in the normal images has a very slight grey tint. Thus, seams between images and blank spaces can be discerned.

The tiles for the map are stored as simple PNG files in the naming scheme: X:-Y+s.png. An example from the starting tile can be seen here: https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png, with the coordinate (X, Y) coordinate (1000, 1074).

Each file is 513x513 pixels in size, one pixel is reserved as overlap to ensure seamless joining of images. The image tiles names are listed as coordinates in an X - Y grid with X in the range from 928 to 1108 and Y in the range from 928 to 1112.

Internally in the game, the position of the player is given for instance as (X: 512187, -Y: -549668) for the starting position. Then these numbers are divided by 512 and rounded down. This gives the coordinate of the tile that the hoverboard is currently in.
:(X: 512187, -Y: -549668)/512 => (X, Y) = (1000.37, -[-1073,6]) => (1000, 1074) when the numbers are rounded down.
The bottom left corner of the first tile, would thus be (1000, 1073), and the top left corner (1000, 1074) => (512000, -549888).

The collision map is encoded in the darkness of the black. Using an image manipulation program, one can easily find the secret pathways even in the zoomed-out maps provided below by enhancing the contrast of the dark areas. Here is an example which uses the initial Play Area:

{{cot|Play Area used as example}}
Using the Play Area as an example some of the features mentioned in this section will be explained.
The images used below can be seen together [[1608: Hoverboard/Screen-shots#All of Play Area|here]].
The hoverboard begins in (X, Y) = [https://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png (1000, 1074)].
But even while staying within the Play Area, defined as the area where you will not be told to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/Return_to_the_play_area.PNG Return to the Play Area], you can see all or part of twenty images.
You can move one image left and right of the starting point before reaching the walls, and one image up without getting too high. But from there you can see part of the images one step further left, right and up, and from the starting level you can see part of the black images below as well.
This makes it a five times four images rectangle.
This first example shows a full-size image combined from these twenty images that make up the play area starting in the top left corner with image [https://xkcd.com/1608/998:-1076+s.png (998, 1076)] and finishing down the right corner with image [https://xkcd.com/1608/1002:-1073+s.png (1002, 1073)].
Here are only the images themselves, nothing with the game parts, i.e. coins and hoverboard Cueball: [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/eb/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Images_Only.png Play Area Full Size Images Only].

The next example shows both where the tiles are and what you see to begin with, i.e. the starting view when loading the comic to begin with. Still without any in game details.
Here the tiles are lines out with green and the view frame is in red. From this it can be seen that the view is somewhat larger than a single image.
More precisely the view is 1.43 times longer and 1.34 higher than a tile giving an area almost twice as big (1.93 times), but only going about one-third of a tile length in each direction: [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Tiles_and_View.png Play Area Full Size Tiles and View].
This third example shows the game version, with coins and hoverboard, but still the hole Play Area and hence also the read viewing square.

This is included to indicate which coins can be seen to begin with and also how the view is centered around Cueball and the hoverboard.
Cueballs center is also the center of the view. His center is defined as the line of his body in the X direction and just above his hands in the Y direction.
The view is twelve times as high and thirty times as wide as the Cueball on hoverboard (and compared to a tile these numbers are 9.4 and 20.8 times).[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/8b/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Coins_Hoverboard_and_View.png Play Area Full Size Coins Hoverboard and View].

The last and fourth example is the same as above, but again with the green tiles.
This to indicate the size of a tile compared to Cueball
It also shows that although there are twelve coins in the starting view, the one at the top left is clearly in the image above, and the three others at the top are grazing the top edge of the image: [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a3/1680_Play_Area_Full_Size_Coins_Hoverboard_Tiles_and_View.png Play Area Full Size Coins Hoverboard Tiles and View].
{{cob}}

===Cheats===
[[File:1608_MetroidXK.png|500px|thumb|right]]
A standalone cross-platform [https://github.com/AMDmi3/hoverboard-sdl open-source] remake of this comic is available. It has extra features, such as offline play, arbitrary game window size, persistent games state on exit, save up to ten locations and teleport to them at will, and an explorable world map. It is available to dowload [https://github.com/AMDmi3/hoverboard-sdl/releases here].

There's also a satirical crossover with the classic game {{w|Super Metroid}}, allowing the user to explore the world as Samus in search of powerups and secrets, while encountering danger at every turn. You can find more information [https://web.archive.org/web/20170223172620/http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=113083&start=120#p3913102 here] and download it [https://www.xeloh.com/Releases#MetroidXK here].

Aside from the obvious ability to move out of bounds in the game, there are some more obscure hidden features which can't be enabled through normal gameplay:

'''Modes''' are activated by opening the Javascript Console (F12 [Or Command-Alt-I in most browsers under Mac OS X] to open Developer Tools, then Console tab) and writing corresponding commands. 
'''Click to expand:'''

*'''Gandalf Mode:''' ''i.am.gandalf = true'' - jumps and runs further. displays a white Gandalf hat that works well in places where the avatar can't be seen.

*'''Speedhack:''' ''explorer.opts.speed= *Value*'' - Speed hacking, with 1 = normal speed

*'''Jump Hack:''' '' explorer.opts.jumpForce= -*Value*'' - Jump hacking, with -10 = normal jump (positive values cause the hoverboard guy to move down when jumping)

*'''Mewtwo mode:''' ''mewtwo = true'' - disables gravity

*'''Noclip mode:''' ''noclip = true'' - player is able to move around the map without collision. Combine with Gandalf and Mewtwo modes for free easy map traversal.

*'''Goggles mode:''' ''ze.goggles()'' - displays a small window showing area around the player in a pixelated manner. The goggles indicate collision boundaries (where the player touches the world) in cyan lines. Black pixels that are passable (such as other characters or text) will be highlighted red (allowing secret passages to be discovered).

*'''Position Tracking:''' ''explorer.pos'' - Returns the player location to the console. Can be used to track position and test to ensure you are still moving. Must be re-entered to compare positioning.

*'''Position Setting:''' ''explorer.pos.x = *Value* or explorer.pos.y = *Value*'' - Can be used to manually set a position within the world. The start is at x: 512106, y: -549612. The left terrain bound is at x: 475210, y: -553711. The right terrain bound is at x: 567281, y: -549712. Mewtwo and Noclip modes are necessary for exploring in this way.

* '''All the above:''' ''explorer.opts'' - Contains all the game's parameters. You can directly mess with ''gravity'', collision (''disableCollision''), jump force (''jumpForce'') and speed (''maxSpeed''), among others. Run ''Object.keys(explorer.opts)'' to list all available parameters you can tweak.

* '''List all coins:''' ''explorer.objects'' - Array containing the position of the 169 coins of the game.

* '''Disable tilt input:''' ''getEventListeners(window)['deviceorientation'][0].remove()'' - on Macs with motion sensor, disables tilt input which causes problems controlling the avatar

* '''Getting All Coins:''' To instantly get all coins, input the code below into the console window. Does not use standard formatting of [i] to avoid conflicts with i.am.gandalf
{{cot|View hacks}}
for (var T = 0; T < explorer.objects.length; T++) {
explorer.objects[T].got = true;
}

To teleport to the next coin every time you press the left or right arrow:

var T = 0;
document.onkeydown = function(event){
if (event.keyCode == 37) { T = T-1 }
else if (event.keyCode == 39) { T = T+1 }
else { return }
T = T % explorer.objects.length;
var coin = explorer.objects[T];
explorer.pos.x = coin.x1; explorer.pos.y = coin.y1;
}

For a quick tour of all the coins:

var delayInMilliseconds = 1000; // 1 second delay between each teleport. feel free to change this.
var index = 0;
explorer.objects.forEach(function(x){
setTimeout(function(){
explorer.pos.x = x.x1;
explorer.pos.y = x.y1;
x.got = true;
explorer.frame(); // forces a redraw
},
(index + 1) * delayInMilliseconds);
index++;
});

To see a list of coin coordinates you have not yet collected:

<pre>
var coinsnotfound = [];
for (var T = 0; T < explorer.objects.length; T++) {
if (explorer.objects[T].got == false) {
coinsnotfound.push([
explorer.objects[T].x1,
explorer.objects[T].y1
])
}
}
console.log(coinsnotfound);
</pre>
To display the distance and direction to the closest coin (with inverted colors once you have all the coins):

<pre>
function distance(x1, y1, x2, y2) {
var dx = x2 - x1;
var dy = y2 - y1;
return Math.sqrt(dx * dx + dy * dy);
}

function angle(x1, y1, x2, y2) {
var dx = x2 - x1;
var dy = y2 - y1;
return Math.atan2(dy, dx) * 180 / Math.PI;
}

function renderRadar() {
var mindist = 10000000000;
var closest = {
x1:512278.0, y1:-549613.0
};
var linecolor = "blue";
for (var S = 0; S < explorer.objects.length; S++) {
var I = explorer.objects[S];
if (!I.got) {
var dist = distance(explorer.pos.x, explorer.pos.y, I.x1, I.y1);
if (dist < mindist) {
mindist = dist;
closest = I;
}
}
}
if (mindist == 10000000000) {
mindist = distance(explorer.pos.x, explorer.pos.y, closest.x1, closest.y1);
if (document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor != "blue") {
document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor = "blue";
}
linecolor = "deepskyblue";
} else {
if (document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor != "deepskyblue") {
document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor = "deepskyblue";
}
}
var ang = angle(explorer.pos.x, explorer.pos.y, closest.x1, closest.y1);
var indicator = "";
if (ang > 112.5 || ang < -112.5) {
indicator += "left";
}
if (ang < 67.5 && ang > -67.5) {
indicator += "right";
}
if (ang > -157.5 && ang < -22.5) {
indicator += " up";
}
if (ang > 22.5 && ang < 157.5) {
indicator += " down";
}
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML = "Distance: " + mindist.toFixed(1).toString() + " ";
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML += indicator + " (" + (((ang+270+180)%360+180)%360-180).toFixed(1).toString() + "°)";
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML += "<div id='circle' style='border: 1px solid black; border-radius: 50px; width: 100px; height: 100px; position:absolute; top:50px; left:25px'/>";
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML += "<div id='line' style='width: 50px; height: 1px; background-color: " + linecolor + "; position:absolute; top:100px; left:75px; transform:rotate(" + ang + "deg); transform-origin:0% 0%'/>";
}

var d = document.createElement("div");
d.id = "radar";
d.style.position = "fixed";
d.style.left = "0px";
d.style.top = "0px";
d.style.width = "150px";
d.style.height = "160px";
d.style.border = "1px solid blue";
d.style.zIndex = "2";
d.style.backgroundColor = "deepskyblue";
d.style.color = "#8f8";
document.body.appendChild(d);

setInterval(renderRadar, 50);
</pre>

To see how many coins you've collected:

var coinsfound = 0;
for (var T = 0; T < explorer.objects.length; T++) {
if (explorer.objects[T].got == true) {coinsfound++}
}

console.log(coinsfound);

To display your current coordinates:

function renderRadar2() {
document.getElementById("radar2").innerHTML = "x: " + explorer.pos.x.toFixed(1).toString() + " y: " + explorer.pos.y.toFixed(1).toString()
}

var d = document.createElement("div")
d.id = "radar2"
d.style.position = "fixed"
d.style.left = "150px"
d.style.top = "0px"
d.style.width = "150px"
d.style.height = "35px"
d.style.border = "1px solid red"
d.style.zIndex = "2"
d.style.backgroundColor = "green"
d.style.color = "#8f8"
document.body.appendChild(d)

setInterval(renderRadar2, 1000)
{{cob}}

==Trivia==
This is an [[:Category:Interactive comics|interactive comic]] made to celebrate the release of [[Randall]]'s new book, ''[[Thing Explainer]]'', which was released on the same day as this comic: Tuesday, November 24, 2015. The comic thus appeared on a Tuesday, replacing that week's normal Wednesday release to coincide with the release day. The [[Header text|header text]] also [[Header text#2015-11-24_-_Thing_Explainer_is_out_today|changed that day]] to shout out that the book was released on that day. This is a platforming minigame, in which you collect coins while riding on a hoverboard.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:No title text]] 
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics with animation]] 
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]] 
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Danish]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]] 
[[Category:Comics featuring Elon Musk]] 
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]] 
[[Category:Philosophy]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Star Trek]]
[[Category:The Lion King]] 
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Spiders]] 
[[Category:Songs]] 
[[Category:Protip]] 
[[Category:Hamster balls]]
[[Category:Playpen balls]]
[[Category:Kites]]
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[[Category:Robots]] 
[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]] 
[[Category:Food]] 
[[Category:Social networking]] 
[[Category:Clickbait]] 
[[Category:Drones]] 
[[Category:Book promotion]]
[[Category:Volcanoes]]
[[Category:Ants]]
[[Category:Stilts]]

1350: Lorenz

2026-06-02T03:02:25Z

82.132.238.174: /* Record length */ Removing an unjustifiable assertion.

__NOTOC__
{{comic
| number = 1350
| date = April 1, 2014
| title = Lorenz
| image = lorenz - alternative options.png
| titletext = Every choice, no matter how small, begins a new story
}}
{{series
| series = April
| number = 7
| date = April 1, 2014
| days_late =
| day_category = Tuesday
| prev_title = 1193: Externalities
| prev_date = April 1, 2013
| next_title = 1506: xkcloud
| next_date = April 1, 2015
| extra_text =
}}
<div class="toclimit-3">{{TOC}}</div>To experience the interactivity of the game, visit the {{xkcd|1350|original comic}}.

==Explanation==
This is an interactive and dynamic comic similar to the {{w|Choose Your Own Adventure series}}, where players flip to different pages based on the option they chose. The first picture shown on top of this page is the start of this comic, with a possible combination of text options to choose from (see above). The picture is always the same but the order of the four sentences (and the sentences themselves) is chosen randomly (and there can be more than four). The result of all the interactions by the readers led to the generation of {{w|Crowdsourcing|crowd-sourced content}}.

The title 'Lorenz' is referring to {{w|Edward Norton Lorenz}} who, among other subjects, was famous for {{w|Chaos theory}} and the {{w|Butterfly effect}} (mentioned later in the title text of [[1519: Venus]]). This comic is an example of a {{w|Choose Your Own Adventure}} story, as mentioned in the title text.

The title text is also a reference to how the storyline of this comic will be chaotic by nature, since it includes all of the user submitted dialogue and updates over time based on statistics of user clicks. In this manner, it is a reference to the butterfly effect: a phrase coined by Edward Lorenz to describe how a small initial change can lead to wide variations in outcome in a chaotic system.

Every time a story comes to a point where the user can either choose something or contribute when asked to ''Suggest a line'', a link will appear by hovering the mouse over the bottom right corner of the last image. This is named a ''{{w|permalink}}'', as it is a link that will recreate this particular story up to the point, making it permanent. It will not save the options listed below that image (i.e. the order of these will change, new options may appear, either because more than four are already present or new options will be added and some options may even disappear). An option is thus only saved by choosing it and then saving the next permalink — see [[#Permalink|more below]].
{{spoiler|The best way to enjoy this comic is to {{xkcd|1350|try playing it yourself}}! If you didn't do that already, reading anything below will spoil you from truly enjoying the comic and possibly making some interesting discoveries!}}
Any particular storyline will typically only have one or two of the many [[#Themes|themes]] possible in the comic, but some very long stories may have several: see the [[#Record length|Record section]] below. Several of the themes refer to previous comics or generally recurring themes in xkcd. (Most obviously is the [[#Blowtorch|blowtorch theme]] which is a reference to the previous comic [[1349: Shouldn't Be Hard]], where the last comment is ''I'll find a blowtorch'' as a response to Cueball's frustration over his problems.)

Because it is not always ending as "well" as with a burnt PC, they might instead end up in a shark infested ocean — see the [[#Ocean|Ocean theme]], which is a reference to [[349: Success]]: a comic that came exactly 1000 comics before the other one referenced in the same computer problem theme. In that comic, the sharks had not appeared yet; but here there may be several (and sharks are also a [[:Category:Sharks|recurring topic]] in xkcd).

These issues with computers is generally a reference to the [[#Computer problems|computer problem themes]] that precedes both the burning of the laptop and the ocean storylines, as [[Knit Cap]] tries to install [[:Category:BSD|BSD]]; and when it fails, she takes her friend [[Hairy]] with her in the fall, the water, space or into a Pokémon fight (as they are the two main character of this comic). Also [[Cueball]] (as a politician vs. another politician with hair) and [[White Hat]] have small appearances, but only in a small section of particular storyline. Only few others interact directly with the main characters in the rest of the possible stories. [[Black Hat]] is mentioned several times, but never physically appears in the comic.

Other themes that are recurring in xkcd are [[:Category:Politics|Politics]], [[:Category:Pokémon|Pokémon]], [[:Category:Boomerangs|Boomerangs]] and [[:Category:Dinosaurs|Dinosaurs]]. Dinosaurs enter the comic in the form of the green talking T-rex from {{w|Dinosaur Comics}}: a clip-art-based webcomic that uses the same artwork with different captions for every strip. This particular [https://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=2420 ''Dinosaur Comics''] has a title text that actually refer to [[Randall]] and xkcd, and the comic has previously appeared on xkcd in [[145: Parody Week: Dinosaur Comics]].

A way to combine more than one storyline is to let characters wake up from a dream or a nightmare, as can be seen in the [[#Dreams|Dreams theme]] (and dreams are also a [[:Category:Dreams|recurring topic]]). Here, it can even get recursive, so there can be dreams within dreams. One of the ways to wake from a dream is, of course, by encountering a dinosaur that tries to step on your house (with you inside). Another is in reference to the possible rocket trip that may take the characters into space: see the [[#Space|Space theme]] (another [[:Category:Space|recurring topic]]).

There are a few other topics that are covered by Randall himself, but many others are referenced in the text in the comic. However, since most of the options the users have is in itself created by user input (including naming the characters different names), any reference made by the text is not considered part of Randall's work and thus only sporadically be mentioned below under the [[#Themes|themes section]] and not be included as a category. Here is an example with a [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:d8856ae6-bafb-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd permalink] where the last comment, in the ocean with a shark, references {{w|Malaysia Airlines Flight 370}} that disappeared less than a month before this comic was released [and has yet to be found years later]. But this is a user input, not Randall's.

Some of the idea of this comic was used again in the next year's April Fools' Day comic [[1506: xkcloud]], where user input also generated a very complex comic, and the concept of permalink was used again. This comic was the first time that [[Knit Cap]] has a main part to play.

==Transcript==
:[This transcript only transcribes what can be seen in the picture shown at the top of the explanation here.]

:[The comic starts with two panels. In the top panel we see Knit Cap sitting at a desk in front of her laptop typing. There is a speech line up to a gray but empty speech bubble.]
:[The second panel below has the same gray background as the empty speech bubble above. Here is presented four options to what Knit Cap could be saying. They are marked a, b, c and d written in small white rectangles next to the text. There is a small arrow at the top pointing to the first panel:]

:a Hurry! We're in talks with Facebook.
:b These stupid tiles... I'll just play one more game.
:c Refresh... No new email... Refresh... No new tweets... Refresh...
:d Oh. Hey. There's some kind of political thing going on.

:[Once the reader chooses one of the options, the text will appear in the speech bubble where the gray area is replaced with the usual white background. The lower gray panel disappears. Now the comic really begins.]
:[A new panel is shown after the selection, again with one to four options to choose from in the new gray panel below. This will continue until it comes to an end where the reader finally only has the choice to suggest the next line.]

:[The order of the up to four options are random and changes every time you begin again (or even go back to a previous frame). This means that the a–d in the transcript is not the same next time. In some few panels there are even more than four options. To see the fifth you have to reload, then you may find this fifth option next time. The first panel is one of those with five options.]
:[The fifth not shown above is: '''Let's see if BSD is any easier to install nowadays.''' (see image with this option in the [[#Trivia|trivia section]]).]

:[In the first days of the comic, when it developed quickly, new options appeared only to later disappear. '''Gravity. Lots of it.''' is one of those lost options from the first panel. At one time there was also, by mistake, two versions of one of the other five mentioned above. This was later deleted. Below in the [[#Trivia|trivia section]] there are permalinks to all the different starting options, including the now lost gravity story.]

:[Although it may be impossible to finish (?), there has been an attempt to make a complete '''[[1350: Lorenz/Transcript|interactive transcript]]'''.]

==Functionality and bugs==
The reader is initially presented with only one panel, where [[Knit Cap]] is sitting in front of her computer. The reader is given multiple choices concerning what exactly Knit Cap is thinking. Upon choosing any option, the chosen text will appear where her gray speech bubble was (which will disappear), and then a second panel appears to the right to give continuity to the story. Each new panel may have a new set of options, or just the button "Continue", to see the next panel without making any choice in particular. Eventually, one reaches a dead end in which the story is interrupted, and the reader is presented with a text box to suggest how it should continue. Some of the suggestions given should eventually become available as new options.

===Number of options===
Normally, there are a total of 4 options to make: a/b/c/d. Their order changes constantly. Sometimes, there are 3 or fewer options, with the text box to suggest an alternative option. Sometimes, a given panel actually has 5 or more available options, although even in this case only 4 options appear at a time. Refreshing the comic changes randomly which of the available options are visible and which are hidden. The existence of 5 options seems to occur only in a few rare cases, including the first panel itself. There seem to be no longer any panels that have six options.

===Easy navigation===
Instead of clicking with the mouse, you can move more quickly through the panels using the keyboard:
*Up/Down — navigate options
*Enter/Right/Spacebar — choose option after navigating with Up/Down
*Left — go back one panel
*a/b/c/d — choose any option directly

===New panels===
It appeared that Randall created new panels in near real time, as user suggestions to dialog were submitted around the release of the comic. This is now redundant.

This text can (now) be found under the [https://xkcd.com/1350/info.0.json official transcript] at xkcd:.
This April Fools' Day comic has a dynamic panel structure along the lines of a choose-your-own-adventure format - the viewer is presented with up to 4 options for each bit of dialogue, with each choice opening up a new subtree of potential options for the next bit of dialog, and new panel images are chosen semi-randomly based on a graph of potential panel transitions. Readers were also invited to submit dialog options for trees where there were not yet 4 fixed options, thus growing the potential story space. As such there is no fixed transcript for this comic.

The dialog options could be based on click-through rates, and hence will change over time based on which choices are clicked most using {{w|A/B testing|A/B measurement techniques}}. This will mean that the most popular choices for dialog lines will prevail as the statistics build up. In some cases, dialog line options do not depend on the continuity of the storyline followed, suggesting that some parts of the story are planned. For example, several of the story lines involve one of the two main characters waking up and, for instance, telling the other character, "I had the strangest dream..." or even reliving the dream. This may be due to common submissions across story lines. Of course, there is the other option that Randall has used the first week of April to look though some input and choose himself. These possibilities are not mutually exclusive. Some of the options that were there very early were in quite poor English. Later, the same idea was still there, but in a more refined sentence. However, after the first week or two, no new panels seemed to appear, which suggests that some were drawn to match the story's progression.

===Permalink===
A "{{w|permalink}}" is a portmanteau of "permanent-link". Each panel has a "permalink" button which generates a unique URL for all the choices made by the reader — so a reader can save the chosen choices to compare them to other ways going through the selections. The permalinks do only save the chosen options, not the order or the visible options in the image where the permalink is recorded, so it is not possible to save a copy where the options are only in the same order as they are in the 1/120 version shown at the top. Also, if you go back in the story from a permalink, you can risk that when passing back through a panel with five options, the option you just got back from is no longer available as it is the option randomly not shown this time.

===Suggest a line===
Sometimes it is possible to add your own suggestions in a panel where there are still other choices, but, if not before, the story will always reach a "final" panel (dead-end) where the reader only has the option left to "suggest a line..." By doing so, and pressing enter, this text is then shown in the speech bubble — but these suggestions can't be saved, as there are no permalink buttons after this. The reader has to do a screenshot in order to save their own remark. After a few weeks had progressed, there were probably so few new suggestions that Randall stopped changing the comic. A few images have been found months (or even more than a year) after the release, but there has been little to no reason to believe that Randall continued to make new panels after the first few weeks of April. Maybe he returned occasionally to do one once in a while; but it seems that he has now stopped, with no new updates being added.

===Bugs===
Since this interactive comic relies on many servers in the background to provide the response to the reader's actions, there are some problems reported here:
*{{w|HTTP cookie|Cookies}} and {{w|Javascript}} are required to see this page properly. Without cookies, the next panel will not render; attempting to load the page in the UNIXKCD terminal or loading the page without Javascript will just get you the [[1349|previous comic]].
*In the first week after the comic was released, if a response led to a panel where two characters speak at the same time, it was impossible to proceed past the first speech bubble. This was subsequently fixed.
As a consequence of these bugs, many readers had trouble understanding how this interactive comic worked.

==Themes==
{{Notice|Preferably there should be [[#Permalink|permalinks]] that shows all the possible images below, but sadly this can not the case, as many images are no longer accessible by "playing" the comic game. Only if someone saved a permalink in the beginning of the comic's "life" will it be possible to see examples of all images in a story line. If you do have some of these old permalinks saved, please fill in for any missing images here below. There are also notices in the relevant sections which have not all been streamlined, so they are built up in the same way and with as many permalinks as are available at the moment.}}
The 17 themes below have been split up after what type of images appear in the comic. There are 149 different images, which are all described here below. To see all images, go to [[1350: Lorenz/Images]]. Below, several images have been used in more than one theme, and there will thus be more than 149 images displayed in the tables below. To avoid this section becoming extremely long, all the tables under each section have been collapsed, and can be opened by clicking the link [show].
Permalinks have been provided (where possible) to storylines that includes all the images shown in a given section.

===The beginning===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
|-
! The beginning [[Image:lorenz - computer.png]]
|
*This is the opening image shown at the top of the explanation.
*Knit Cap sits at her laptop saying something either to himself or (maybe) to Hairy.
*You choose what she says from four options written below the panel: and thus, starts this interactive and dynamic comic.
**Originally, on April 1st, there were only four choices; this quickly increased to six, but eventually ended up on five options.
**You always only have four options to choose from when you begin.
**By reloading the page, you will eventually get the fifth also.
*There are only three different images that can follow this first image (see below):
|-
! Possible follow up images [[Image:lorenz_-_laptop_1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - visit.png]] [[Image:lorenz - debate laptop.png]]
|
*These images are the only three that can follow after the first image:
**[https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:9b96fda0-bb48-11e3-804b-002590d77bdd Knit Caps with question marks].
**[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:2ed958de-badf-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd Hairy walks in].
**[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:718ad9a6-bc6e-11e3-800f-002590d77bdd Live debate].
|}

===Computer problems===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
|-
! Computer problems [[Image:lorenz - laptop 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - laptop 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - laptop 3.png]] [[Image:lorenz - laptop 4.png]] [[Image:lorenz - laptop 5.png]] [[Image:lorenz - laptop 6.png]]
|
*Knit Cap's laptop has an unspecified problem.
*Hairy walks in and they attempt to fix it by connecting his laptop with his.
*It doesn't work, so now Knit Cap tries to write something on Hairy's laptop from a paper (a manual?) she holds in her hand.
**See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:2ed958de-badf-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd example] with all the images shown in this section, including the blow torch option mentioned below).
*There are two outcomes possible:
**When Knit Cap's manual fails, the story continues with the blowtorch scene: see [[#Blowtorch|below]].
**Knit Cap's manual fails so badly that they both end up randomly floating in the ocean (with or without circling sharks — reference to [[349: Success]]): see [[#Ocean|below]].
|}

===Blowtorch===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
|-
! Manual failing [[image:lorenz - laptop 6.png]]
|
*Knit Cap tries to write something on Hairy's laptop from a note (manual?) she has in her hand while Hairy watches.
*In this storyline, it doesn't work and Knit Cap takes revenge on her laptop:
**This image is the last in the [[#Computer problems|computer problem theme]] above and can also lead to the [[#Ocean|Ocean scene]] below.
|-
! Blowtorch [[Image:lorenz - laptop 7.png]] [[Image:lorenz - laptop 8.png]] [[Image:lorenz - laptop 9.png]] [[Image:lorenz - laptop 10.png]] [[Image:lorenz - laptop 11.png]]
|
*Knit Cap becomes so upset with her laptop that she decides to melt it using a blowtorch
**A reference to the comic from the day before this one: [[1349: Shouldn't Be Hard]].
*After this, they walk out of the building.
**See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:2ed958de-badf-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd example] with all images shown here, the one also used above for the [[#Computer problems|Computer problems]].
**See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:bd44a816-bae5-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd example], where the burning first takes place after a dream after a rocket launch.
|}

===Ocean===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
|-
! Wrong move [[image:lorenz - laptop 6.png]]
|
*Knit Cap tries to write something on Hairy's laptop from a note (manual?) she has in her hand while Hairy watches.
*In this storyline, it goes really wrong, and the Ocean scene appears right after this:
**This image is the last in the [[#Computer problems|computer problem theme]] above and can also lead to the [[#Blowtorch|Blowtorch scene]] above.
*Usually, they get to this point directly from the starting point, but the story can also return here after a dream.
**See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:3df213b4-ba4f-11e3-8037-002590d77bdd example].
|-
! Sharks [[image:lorenz - shark zero.png]] [[image:lorenz - shark one.png]] [[image:lorenz - sharks.png]] [[image:lorenz - squids.png]] [[image:lorenz - blood.png]]
|
*Knit Cap and Hairy are floating in the ocean, with or without sharks.
**A reference to [[349: Success]].
*{{w|Sharks}} have also been the subject of [[:Category:Sharks|several other comics]].
**Three giant squids appear, and a loan shark seems disturbed.
**The squids must have killed the sharks, leaving the blood in the last of these images. [https://theoakdalepost.com/feature/animal-kingdom-smackdown-giant-squid-v-great-white-shark]
*Here are three examples than together uses all the images shown in this section
**[https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:9b96fda0-bb48-11e3-804b-002590d77bdd Zero and one shark]
**[https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:9b6e3082-bb48-11e3-804b-002590d77bdd Three sharks]
**[https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:310127b6-bbb3-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd Squids and blood].
|-
! Beach [[image:lorenz - hairy swims away.png]] [[image:lorenz - beach.png]]
|
*Knit Cap and Hairy start to swim out of the shark free ocean.
*Finally reaches a beach — see [[349: Success]] again.
**Here is an [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:30f53d98-bbb3-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd example] where they reach the beach and walk on.
|}

===Political debate===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
|-
! Let's go live [[image:lorenz - debate laptop.png]]
|
*Knit Cap uses her laptop to watch a debate online.
**The images that follows are what she sees on her screen.
*Usually, they get to this point directly from the starting point, but the story can also return here after a dream.
**See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:31c6e414-bab0-11e3-8029-002590d77bdd example], where they even leave the laptop afterwards.
|-
! The debate [[image:lorenz - debate 1.png]] [[image:lorenz - debate 2.png]] [[image:lorenz - debate 5.png]] [[image:lorenz - debate 4.png]] [[image:lorenz - debate 3.png]]
|
*NOTE: Permalinks in this section don't work anymore, unfortunately. It has been suggested that the links that don't work are those that needed invalid options now (for instance, if the starting point of the permalink is "Oh, hey, There's some kind of political thing going on" or "Gravity. Lots of it" in the starting panel, then it's not going to work because those options are presumably unavailable now, so those Permalinks now start with invalid options.
*An online debate between two politicians; one has hair and is on the left, and the other ([[Cueball]]) is on the right. This debate is shown on Knit Cap's laptop screen.
**The subject and the actual conversation of which varies according to the storyline, but it always begins with the hairy politician speaking and then Cueball replying.
**This may be the end of the conversation, but sometimes there is a picture where each politician speaks in the same image
**There may even be two (or more?) images in a row where both politicians speak in the same image
***See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:f6b4b374-bd25-11e3-802c-002590d77bdd example].
*Eventually one of two things can happen:
**They fight each other: Cueball using a {{w|lightsaber}} (or something that looks like a {{w|Magic sword|holy sword}}) and the hairy politician using his bare fists
***A reference to {{w|Star Wars}} which has been [[:Category:Star Wars|referenced often]] in xkcd.
***See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:ba7794b6-bafb-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd example].
**The hairy politician is goes down on one knee — either to pray or as in a suggestion to ask the other to marry him...
***See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:ea25460c-baf3-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd example].
**All images used in this section are shown in the above examples.
*Subjects debated are the most likely user suggestions, and so any references made are not from Randall (even though they would have been used in xkcd before).
**Here below are some of the subjects already up on April the 1st:
**The hairy politician accuses Cueball of having never liked {{w|Firefly}} see [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:bf86fba8-baed-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd this example]).
**The hairy politician vows to end the "war on Christmas" if elected (see [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:ea25460c-baf3-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd this example]).
**The hairy politician praises his adversary and supports his economic plan (see [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:ba7794b6-bafb-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd this example]).
**The hairy politician questions Cueball's project of tying multiple birds to a car as fuel replacement, which would require some method to make the birds take off in unison.
***This is possibly a reference to {{w|Monty Python and the Holy Grail}}, where two swallows tied together to a coconut with a string try to lift it, but unlikely.
***The solutions mentioned for this topic are given here as an example:
***Opening and closing an umbrella near them (a reference to {{w|Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade}}). (see [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:df6d1952-bc0f-11e3-8037-002590d77bdd this example]).
***Using a predatory bird to the car to scare them (see [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:ef2c870e-baea-11e3-8002-002590d77bdd this example]).
***Putting resources in the hands of bird educators for the purpose of training them (see [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:bfaccbe4-ba98-11e3-8008-002590d77bdd this example]).
***Employing {{w|Alan_Seabaugh#Fiscal_Hawk|fiscal hawks}}. (see [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:4996daf6-baf4-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd this example].)
**If the hairy politician points out some problem with the reasoning, often the solution proposed by Cueball would be doing the same in a larger scale or saying he completely agrees with everything the other says. (see some of the above examples).
|-
! After the debate [[image:lorenz - visit.png]] [[image:lorenz - wake up 1.png]]
|
*In the end, either:
**Hairy walks in to Knit Cap and points out something happening near which may or may not involve birds (or whatever was the subject).
***This could be a direct result of Cueball's project. But all this is most likely based on user input!
***See [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:4996daf6-baf4-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd this example].
**Knit Cap wakes up, as it turns out it was just a bad dream (see [[#Dreams|Dreams]] below).
***See [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:ea25460c-baf3-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd this example].
*Both of these last two images have also been used in other storylines.
|}

===Dinosaur===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
|-
! Dinosaur Comics [[Image:lorenz - dinosaur 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - dinosaur 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - dinosaur 3.png]]
|
*The green T-rex from {{w|Dinosaur Comics}}, (a clip-art-based webcomic that uses the same artwork with different captions for every strip), interrupts the story and proceeds to talk about his tiny arms or other subjects.
**The first three pictures are taken directly from the webcomic, except that the third picture is larger in the real comic
***See this particular [https://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=2420 ''Dinosaur Comics''] where the title text actually refers to Randall and xkcd.
***See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:4e66ab6e-bae1-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd example] with only these three T-rex images.
**The entire ''Dinosaur Comics'' was parodied in [[145: Parody Week: Dinosaur Comics]], where Randall copied the drawings himself, and T-Rex has appeared in [[1452: Jurassic World]], where it was the last image from the actual comic that was used, as opposed to the three first here.
|-
! Stepping on the house [[Image:lorenz - dinosaur 4.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 5.png]]
|
*In the end, the dinosaur stamps on the house where the main characters are inside; Knit Cap covering and Hairy escaping.
**This is thus Randall's own picture but with the foot, seemingly taken from the T-rex, scaled up to fit the size.
**Usually, the dinosaur story gets to this point before the characters [[#Leaving the building|leaves the building]].
***But when they do so, in other storylines, it is a completely different building they walk out of
***The explanation for this (apart from that it looks like this in ''Dinosaur Comics'') is that whenever the story gets this far one of the characters will wake up from a dream. See more under the [[#Dreams|dream theme]].
**When the building gets stepped on either Hairy or Knit Cap wakes up:
***See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:f2b12f1e-bbae-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd example] where Hairy wakes up.
***Here are two examples where when Knit Cap wakes up, the dinosaur dream is the second dream from which she awakens:
****After the [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:5e94d028-bb7d-11e3-8012-002590d77bdd hole dream]
****After the [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 rocket dream].
****The characters have thus left the other building first, but then again both buildings turned out to be part of a dream.
|}

===Leaving the building===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
|-
! Leaving [[Image:lorenz - going.png]] [[Image:lorenz - laptop 11.png]]
|
*In some storylines the two characters leaves the building.
**Either with the laptop intact:
***Either directly after the first image
***Or after the [[#Political debate|politic debate]].
**Or with a melted laptop (see the [[# Blowtorch|Blowtorch theme]]).
***See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:bd44a816-bae5-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd example] where they leave the house twice, once first with the laptop intact and secondly after burning it.
*In either case they encounter one of the following scenarios when they come out the door:
|-
! Empty lawn [[Image:lorenz - away.png]]
|
*Sometimes nothing is outside the building except the pavement they walk upon; there is just an empty lawn.
**See [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:b69f6096-b9f0-11e3-8009-002590d77bdd this example] where the laptop is burned.
*From this point they will continue walking past different landscapes: see the [[#Walking|Walking theme]].
|-
! Rocket on the lawn [[Image:lorenz - rocket 1.png]]
|
*Sometimes there is a rocket on the lawn outside the building: see the [[#Rocket launch|rocket launch]] theme.
**See [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 this example] with the computer intact and no political debate.
|-
! Huge hole on the lawn [[image:lorenz - hole.png]]
|
*Sometimes there is a huge hole in the ground just outside of the building.
**The two characters always end up falling into it and one of them awakes from a nightmare: see more below about [[#Dreams|dreams]].
**See [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:8440e346-bb16-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd this example] with the computer intact and no political debate.
**See [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:718ad9a6-bc6e-11e3-800f-002590d77bdd this example] with the computer intact after political debate.
|}

===Walking===
{{Notice |Does anyone have [[#Permalink|permalinks]] for the image where Hairy is walking alone in silhouette, and maybe a situation where he walks alone without the ''meanwhile'' image first (maybe because of arguing, see below)? Please help by posting them in the table below:}}
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
|-
! Starting the walk [[Image:lorenz - away.png]] [[Image:lorenz_-_pikachu_dead_5.png]] [[Image:lorenz - beach.png]] [[Image:lorenz - run.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang accident 2.png]] l[[Image:lorenz - meanwhile.png]]
|
*A walk can begin in more than one way.
**The most direct way to start the walk is when the two characters are [[#Leaving the building|leaving the building]] and finding nothing out on the lawn.
**A walk can also start when they leave the Pikachu from the [[#Pokémon|Pokémon theme]].
***See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:8737f5b4-ba92-11e3-8008-002590d77bdd example], where the first ''walking together'' image appears after the house and a new walk begins after Pikachu with both the ''passing'' images.
**A walk can also start when they leave the beach after the [[#Ocean|ocean theme]].
***See [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:30f53d98-bbb3-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd this] and this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:310127b6-bbb3-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd example], where a ''walking together'' and a ''passing'' image appear respectively after they come out of the ocean.
**In the examples above Knit Cap and Hairy are in principle always walking together.
***But such a walk can start directly with a zoom-in on one of the characters thinking.
***See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:81c9e8c8-ba1d-11e3-8018-002590d77bdd example], where leaving the house is replaced with Knit Cap thinking and then finding Pikachu.
***As it turns out, she was still with Hairy and they continue the walk together after, but if the story stops before the last Pikachu picture, it would not be clear that Hairy was still there.
**But one of them sometimes ends up walking alone even though they started walking together.
***This happens after they have an [[#Arguing|argument]]. '''Example of this is missing!'''
**Walks can also start from different starting point where only one of them are walking.
***After Knit Cap runs away from hitting something with the [[#Boomerang|boomerang]] or is hit herself by the boomerang.
****See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:b94d8be4-bb47-11e3-804b-002590d77bdd example] where she runs away.
****See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ee6b910c-bae5-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd example] where she hits herself.
***After the ''meanwhile'' image (where Hairy's walk alone can begin).
****See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:aee5abf0-bb29-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd example].
*So, the walking images from below can also appear or reappear in other ways — taking longer however — into a complicated story, as with the Pokémon example above with two walks: one earlier, one later.
*There are also two images which zoom in on one of the characters thinking.
**This mainly happens for Knit Cap when they are together (?).
***See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:55a9e1ae-baa3-11e3-8017-002590d77bdd example].
***But this can also happen when she is alone, as seen in this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:b9575048-bb47-11e3-804b-002590d77bdd example].
**This only seems to happen for Hairy when he walks alone (?).
***See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:aee5abf0-bb29-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd example].
|-
!Passing something [[Image:lorenz - tree.png]] [[Image:lorenz - gap.png]]
|
*Knit Cap and Hairy walks together past the following items:
*A tree where the two are walking past, and only Hairy speaks.
**See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:a012d55a-bf3c-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd example] where they get past.
*A gap/pit in the ground which Knit Cap jumps over — much like in a pit from Mario brothers — while Hairy looks down speaking.
**See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:97c42da2-bb01-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd example].
**Also see this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:8737f5b4-ba92-11e3-8008-002590d77bdd example], that has both images at the end.
|-
!Walking together [[Image:lorenz - walking.png]] [[Image:lorenz - walking 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - dark.png]] [[Image:lorenz - thinking.png]]
|
*The two characters are seen walking together from different perspectives.
**See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:52e63998-bb3b-11e3-8002-002590d77bdd example], with all three walking together.
***See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:8737f5b4-ba92-11e3-8008-002590d77bdd example], with the image that has Hairy in front.
***See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:81c9e8c8-ba1d-11e3-8018-002590d77bdd example], with Hairy behind.
***See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:30f53d98-bbb3-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd example], with the silhouette image.
*At one point, while they are walking together, a zoom-in of Knit Cap's head shows she is thinking
**See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:8737f5b4-ba92-11e3-8008-002590d77bdd example].
**As it turns out, she was still with Hairy and they continue the walk together after, but if the story stops before the last Pikachu picture it would not be clear that Hairy was still there.
***See also this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:55a9e1ae-baa3-11e3-8017-002590d77bdd example], where she thinks twice on the same walk.
***See also this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:bf610654-bb43-11e3-804b-002590d77bdd example], where she thinks two images in a row.
***This image can also appear while Knit Cap walks alone: see below.
|-
!Alone - Knit Cap [[Image:lorenz - walk 3.png]] [[Image:lorenz - walk 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - walk 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - walk 4.png]] [[Image:lorenz - walk 9.png]] [[Image:lorenz - bird gift.png]] [[Image:lorenz - bird money.png]] [[Image:lorenz - thinking.png]] [[Image:lorenz - walk 5.png]] [[Image:lorenz - walk 8.png]]
|
*Knit Cap walks alone.
**She is seen walking alone in many different poses and perspectives.
***There also an image with a zoom-in of her head showing she is thinking.
***See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:b9575048-bb47-11e3-804b-002590d77bdd example], where she is walking alone with the "thinking" image coming at the very end.
***This image has mainly been used while she is walking with Hairy, see above.
***In this example, seven of the images from this section are used; only the last normal walking image above the ones that contain birds and the two with birds are missing.
**At some point a bird passes over him carrying a parcel. It then returns, now with a money note in its beak.
***See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:d09d6e40-bbd3-11e3-802e-002590d77bdd example].
****The remaining three images are shown here.
****The birds could be a reference to Amazon's plans for using drones to deliver packages. (Something referred to later, for instance in [[1523: Microdrones]].)
****In that example, the text is most likely a reference to {{w|Monty Python and the Holy Grail}}, where it is discussed if two swallows could carry a coconut to explain their presence in England.
***In most other cases, only one of the bird pictures are shown like in these examples:
****The picture of the bird with a parcel can be seen in this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:b94af780-bb47-11e3-804b-002590d77bdd example] and this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:79bfc3d8-baa3-11e3-8017-002590d77bdd example] at the end.
****The picture of the bird with money can be seen in this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:b94d8be4-bb47-11e3-804b-002590d77bdd example] and this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:7b3383ae-baa2-11e3-8012-002590d77bdd example] at the end.
****In this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:50d05aa2-baa1-11e3-800d-002590d77bdd example], the story continues after the bird with the parcel.
****In this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:7448daea-ba97-11e3-8007-002590d77bdd example], the bird with the parcel comes twice.
****In this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:4e6dc4d8-bb01-11e3-8003-002590d77bdd example], the bird with the parcel is shown twice in a row.
****In this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:7fc6e57a-baeb-11e3-8002-002590d77bdd example], the bird with money is shown twice in a row.
**The image where she is standing without saying anything may only be seen in the [[#Boomerang|boomerang theme]] (?). That image will thus (so far at least) not be shown here.
|-
!Alone - Hairy [[Image:lorenz - meanwhile.png]] [[Image:lorenz - walk 7.png]] [[Image:lorenz - walk 10.png]] [[Image:lorenz - thinking 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - walk 6.png]]
|
*Hairy is seen walking alone.
**He is seen walking alone in two poses.
**At one point a zoom in of her head shows she is thinking — this does not have to be while alone!
**In one story line the ''meanwhile'' image appears before this walk.
***See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:aee5abf0-bb29-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd example], with the first four images from this section.
***It seems that this image only appears before Hairy's alone walk (?).
**There are '''still-missing examples''' of him walking alone without this image first.
***An [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:0cec96b0-bb15-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd example] with the silhouette images of Hairy alone.
|}

===Arguing===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
|-
!Arguing [[Image:lorenz - discuss.png]] [[Image:lorenz - knit cap leaves.png]] [[Image:lorenz - hairy leaves.png]]
|
*Knit Cap and Hairy begins an argument.
**The fight can either commence during a walk:
***See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:2a2d5f80-badd-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd example] with only the start of the fight.
**Or after they come out of the rocket when it failed to launch:
***See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:b8c820a2-bb61-11e3-800e-002590d77bdd example] with only the start of the fight.
*Then one of them leaves the other by walking back the way they came.
**See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:b65f48a8-bbc1-11e3-802c-002590d77bdd example], where Knit Cap is walking away.
**See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:588c9fd6-bbdb-11e3-8033-002590d77bdd example], where Hairy is walking away.
*After this either of them can continue the walk alone.
**Examples are missing for both walking along — i.e. a storyline that actually shows that at least one of them continue to walk alone afterwards.
|-
!Leading to the argument [[Image:lorenz - tree.png]] [[Image:lorenz - gap.png]] [[Image:lorenz - thinking.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 6.png]]
|
*The following examples show where these images lead to the first argument image.
**[https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:bf610654-bb43-11e3-804b-002590d77bdd Tree].
**[https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:4b2b6f7e-ba92-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd Jumping over pit].
**[https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:75c1569a-bae7-11e3-8002-002590d77bdd Thinking].
**[https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:b8c820a2-bb61-11e3-800e-002590d77bdd Failed rocket launch].
***'''There are likely more''' from the walking range of images.
|}

===Pokémon===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
|-
! A wild Pikachu appeared [[Image:lorenz - pikachu appeared.png]]
|
*Some of the storylines involve Pokémon battles featuring {{w|Pikachu}}; a very popular {{w|Pokémon}}.
**Pokémon have often been [[:Category:Pokémon|featured in xkcd]].
*The battles are drawn in the style of the video games.
**A trainer in the bottom-left corner faces the foe in the top-right corner, with a narration box below the scene and the trainer's {{w|Pokéballs}} visible.
***Some elements are missing here, such as the level, gender and HP bar.
*In this first image, Pikachu the wild pokémon appears. The fight then begins.
|-
! As part of the walk [[Image:lorenz - walking.png]] [[Image:lorenz - dark.png]] [[Image:lorenz - tree.png]] [[Image:lorenz - thinking.png]]
|
*The Pokémon storyline always begins during a walk where the two characters are together.
**It can definitely happen after those images, so typically shortly after they [[#Leaving the building|leave the building]].
***It can occur after a [[#Dreams|dream]]:
****See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:97c42da2-bb01-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd example] that begins with a hole dream and then reaching the Pikachu after the thinking image.
***The thinking image can occur without them being together, but mainly it has been used as part of their walks together, and this will always be the case in the Pokémon story as they both are there if the moves are effective.
****See more detail in the [[#Walking|Walking section]].
***They can meet more than one Pikachu, but the story then returns to one of these images before it happens again:
****See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:9a86363c-bb53-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd example] that begins after walking past a "three" first and then later where Knit Cap thinks before the next attack.
***Other images are listed here:
****See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:feaa5d4e-bbd2-11e3-802c-002590d77bdd example], which has the silhouette image.
****See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:0f6483ac-baee-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd example], which has the walking together image with Hairy in front.
|-
! Pikachu's moves [[Image:lorenz - pikachu abandonment.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu anguish.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu ant.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu ethylene.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu extrude.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu faceless.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu friendship.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu granite.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu graph.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu ink cloud.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu radicality.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu theft.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu uplift.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu blank.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu not very effective.png]]
|
*Pikachu uses a number of different moves, although these are mostly made up.
**It is written as "Enemy Pikachu used "''move''", with the possible ''moves'' listed here below.
**Pikachu's moves are almost invariably remarked by the narrator as "It's not very effective...",
***This is included as the last image in this section, as it comes in between all these non-effective moves.
***It can lead on, as seen below.
**But "It's super effective!" appears occasionally.
***This will always lead on from "It's not very effective...", as can be seen at the bottom.
**In Pokémon, a move is:
***"Not very effective" when the opponent's type resists the attacking move's type
***"Super effective" when the opponent's type is weak to the attacking move's type.

*'''Pikachu's moves'''
**See below for examples.
***The examples below are marked with "¤", "$", "£" etc., and the moves are similarly marked to indicate in which examples they appear.
****Those that can be ''not very effective'' in a way that takes the characters past Pikachu are written in ''italics'' below.
****Those that can be '''super effective''' are written in '''bold''' below.
*****A move that sometimes can result in a move past Pikachu will, in another storyline, not give the same result.
*****None of the moves have yet been shown to be able to get past Pikachu in both possible ways though!
*****For instance, the examples marked with "¤" and "&" below both use ''graph theory'', and only in the first example is it super effective. But in the other it is not the last move.
*Here are the moves in alphabetical order:
**{{w|Abandonment (emotional)|Abandonment}} ^~@ — Pikachu disappears completely.
**{{w|Anguish}} ¤%~ — Pikachu is sad.
**''{{w|Ant Colony}}'' ~ — Pikachu is covered in ants.
**''{{w|1,2-Dichloroethane|Ethylene Dichloride}}'' ¤= — Pikachu holds a glass with Ethylene Dichloride
***Nothing seems to happen, although Ethylene Dichloride is a toxic chemical, so there may be future consequences for the characters. The next panel does say "was it diluted?" however.
**''{{w|Extrude}}'' + — Pikachu's head moves away from his body as his neck becomes long and malleable.
**'''[https://www.dictionary.com/browse/faceless Faceless]''' $@ — Pikachu's face disappears.
**{{w|Friendship}} £= — Pikachu is on Knit Cap's head, signifying they are now friends.
***Friendship, though not a move, is a game mechanic in the video games.
**{{w|Granite}} % — Pikachu is atop a block of granite.
**'''{{w|Graph Theory}}''' ¤& — The theory can be seen behind Pikachu
**{{w|Ink|Ink Cloud}} %+@ — Pikachu is covered in ink.
***In the storyline Pikachu uses it, there is the option to "gather" the ink.
**'''[https://da.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=radicality Radicality]''' £ — Pikachu is on a skateboard.
**''{{w|Theft}}'' &@ — Pikachu wears Knit Cap's hat.
***Pikachu seems to be using "Thief", a similarly named actual move from the games, which is used to steal the foe's item and use it as their own.
**[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/uplift Uplift] §@ — Pikachu's head goes upward, separated from its body, with a long, thick cable still connecting the head and the body.
*Finally, there is a blank text box for '''user input''' ¤£%@&~+
**The below items are using the blank text box picture with that text coming from users input to appear in the blank picture at the bottom of this section:
***Google Maps did not warn me of this @
***In Google Maps it was easy to capture Pokemons @
****The two above are referencing the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YMD6xELI_k Google Maps: Pokémon Challenge].
***Where's Twitch when I need help? @
****A reference to {{w|Twitch Plays Pokémon}} which was also covered by comic [[1333: First Date]].
***Cute face @ (Written out correctly as ''Enemy Pikachu used "cute face"'').
***Cuteness % (Written out correctly as ''Enemy Pikachu used cuteness'').
***Yet %
***Go charizard! £
***Pikachu, find a Hamiltonian cycle in this graph! &
***Player wonders why Pikachu is working day labour at the home depot these days? ~
***Player used twitch crowdsource ~
***Enemy Pikachu used "the discrete metric" +
***I'm carrying so many Pokémon!! ¤
***Was is diluted? ¤
****(i.e. was the Ethylene Dichloride diluted?)

*Here are some '''examples of battle''' that together includes all the moves images.
**The examples below are marked with "¤", "$", "£", etc.
***Above the moves are similarly marked to indicate in which examples they appear.
**These moves are '''not very effective''':
:::@ [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:d5bba698-badf-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 9 different moves] — including four user inputs and ending on '''theft''' (28 panels, '''record length''' although not passing all the way by Pikachu).
:::= [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:9a86363c-bb53-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 2 different moves] — ending both on '''Ethylene Dichloride''' and later on '''Friendship''' (26 panels, '''moving past''' Pikachu and then '''returning for another fight'''; ending with the empty image for the user to fill in).
:::+ [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:47fe85d0-bbbd-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd 3 different moves] — including a user input and ending on '''extrude''' (20 panels, '''moving past''' Pikachu).
:::§ [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:97c42da2-bb01-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd 1 move only] — ending on '''uplift''', and then followed by an empty image for the user to fill in (21 panels, not getting to the end, but only one here coming to Pikachu '''through a dream''').
:::~ [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:0f6483ac-baee-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 5 different moves] — including two user inputs and ending on '''ant colony''' (19 panels, not passing all the way by Pikachu).
:::% [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:f203d1c6-ba22-11e3-801a-002590d77bdd 5 different moves] — including two user inputs and ending on '''granite''', and then followed by an empty image for the user to fill in (17 panels, not getting to the end).
:::^ [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:2f0612e0-bbd7-11e3-8030-002590d77bdd 1 move only] — ending on '''abandonment''', and then followed by an empty image for the user to fill in (9 panels, not getting to the end).
:::& [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:b8fe0a3c-bb52-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 3 different moves] — including a user input and ending on '''theft''' (15 panels, not passing all the way by Pikachu, and ineffective despite graph theory being included before the end, which is effective in another example see below).
:*These moves are '''super effective''':
:::¤ [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:81c9e8c8-ba1d-11e3-8018-002590d77bdd 5 different moves] — including two user inputs and ending on '''graph theory''' (24 panels, but no new text after poking the Pokémon).
:::£ [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:8737f5b4-ba92-11e3-8008-002590d77bdd 3 different moves] — including a user input and ending on '''radicality''' (22 panels, with '''one line of text after poking''' the Pokémon).
:::$ [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:feaa5d4e-bbd2-11e3-802c-002590d77bdd 1 move only] — ending on '''faceless''' (17 panels, but no new text after poking the Pokémon).
|-
! Not very effective [[Image:lorenz - pikachu not very effective.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu um.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu end 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu end 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu dead 5.png]]
|
*Normally after a few failed attempts — where the result is given as ''It's not very effective'' — there is an uncomfortable silence as the Pikachu says "Um..."
**Then it talks to Knit Cap and Hairy from the tall grass.
**They ignore the remark and walk away past the Pokémon. The Pikachu is left in the tall grass looking after them and has time to make a final remark which they also seem to ignore.
**After that they come out of the tall grass (without an image where they walk in the tall grass without Pikachu as seen below in the very effective version).
*See these examples that are not very effective:
**In these they do not even get all the way out of the grass:
***[https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:81c9e8c8-ba1d-11e3-8018-002590d77bdd Theft], on the ninth move!
***[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:0f6483ac-baee-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd Ant colony], on the fifth move.
***[https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:b8fe0a3c-bb52-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd Theft], on the third move.
**In these they do get all the way out of the grass:
***[https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:47fe85d0-bbbd-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd Extrude], on the third move.
***[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:9a86363c-bb53-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd Ethylene Dichloride], on the first move! But first after burning the laptop. After this move they walk away only to meet another (or the same) wild Pikachu for another unfinished fight.
****In this particular example on the way past it says:
****"I used to be better at chemistry".
****"Wait. I can install you BSD".
*****This last line could have been different:
*****"Come back! I don't like it here in the tall grass!", see this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:33d9e268-baa3-11e3-8017-002590d77bdd example].
*****"Wait, you can't flee from a trainer battle!", see this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:372bbc40-ba97-11e3-8006-002590d77bdd example].
*****"No really guys, I can still remember most of it", see this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:6a2b3ca0-baa7-11e3-801e-002590d77bdd example].
****In another line out, it says: "This is still better than all the lightning crap."
*****See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:62d0439e-baaf-11e3-801f-002590d77bdd example], where there are no follow-up lines.
****There are several endings to this particular storyline, and in another storyline, they do not meet the second Pikachu, but lines are still spoken.
*****See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:93aeb59c-bce2-11e3-801e-002590d77bdd example].
*Below are some other transcripts of lines from user input and their references:
**Other remarks from Pikachu or about Pikachu can be seen in these examples from the same storyline:
***Pikachu: "Aren't you going to catch me? It's not difficult, I promise... Please?" Knit Cap and Hairy ignore him and go away and may get the following responses.
****"Please! Jigglypuff keeps on drawing on my face!"
*****See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:e8dc6866-bbd4-11e3-8030-002590d77bdd example].
****"You were walking in tall grass! You asked for it!"
*****See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:e90d70be-bbd4-11e3-8030-002590d77bdd example].
****"Please... Tame me! I want to party on days other than Thursday".
*****Hairy remarks while walking away: "Y'know, if we catch a Pikachu, we would never to pay our electric bills again". (Note the missing "have".)
*****See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:93b5fbea-bce2-11e3-801e-002590d77bdd example].
*Pokémon mentioned other than Pikachu in user input:
**Charizard (In one storyline, "Go Charizard" is one usable move in battle).
***See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:8737f5b4-ba92-11e3-8008-002590d77bdd example].
**Jigglypuff.
***See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:e8dc6866-bbd4-11e3-8030-002590d77bdd example].
**Magikarp.
***See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:99703da4-bae7-11e3-8002-002590d77bdd example].
|-
! Super effective [[Image:lorenz - pikachu not very effective.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu super effective.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu fainted.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu dead 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu dead 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu dead 3.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu dead 4.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu dead 5.png]]
|
*Rarely, a suggested move knocks Pikachu out.
**This is stated as ''It's super effective''
***This always comes immediately the one with ''It's not very effective'' (which doesn't make sense).
**The result is that Pikachu faints.
***Knit Cap and Hairy looks at the fainted (not dead) Pikachu who is lying face-down in the grass.
***Knit Cap then ''pokes'' the Pokémon and they walk past it.
***Then they continue through and out from the tall grass
*See these examples that are super effective:
**[https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:81c9e8c8-ba1d-11e3-8018-002590d77bdd Graph theory], on the fifth move.
**[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:8737f5b4-ba92-11e3-8008-002590d77bdd Radicality], on the third move; with one line of text after poking the Pokémon.
***Hairy looking down the pit: "Now what?"
**[https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:feaa5d4e-bbd2-11e3-802c-002590d77bdd Faceless], on the first move!
|}

===Rocket launch===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
|-
!Rocket on the lawn [[Image:lorenz - rocket 1.png]]
|
*When they [[#Leaving the building|leave the building]], they may find a rocket on the lawn.
|-
!Into the rocket [[Image:lorenz - rocket 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 3.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 4.png]]
|
*The characters climb into the rocket.
**See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:f0ff797c-badd-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd example].
**Note that Hairy can be seen climbing up the ladder in the second image, and the door is slammed shut in the third (indicated with small lines).
|-
!Out of the rocket [[Image:lorenz - rocket 4.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 5.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 6.png]]
|
*In some storylines, the rocket does not launch.
**Either it fails or they don't wish to go into space that day.
**So the two characters climb out again.
***See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:4b2b6f7e-ba92-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd example], where they walk on and then have an argument.
***Note that after the door has been slammed shut, there is an image without the lines indicating the door is now shut (before they climb out again).
|-
!Rocket launch [[Image:lorenz - rocket 4.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 7.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 8.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 9.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 11.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 5.png]]
|
*If they do not climb out again, the rocket will launch towards space right after the door has slammed (without waiting for the image with the closed door).
**Sometimes an image from the flight simulator program {{W|Kerbal Space Program}} (KSP) will appear (see [[#Kerbal Space Program|KSP theme]]) instead of the black image.
***See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:8440e346-bb16-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd example], where the launch wakes up Knit Cap from a (second) dream. (See the [[#Dreams|dream theme]]).
***See alto this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:c9cfde56-bae6-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd example], where the launch wakes up Hairy.
**If the characters don't wake up here, the rocket will go into space (see [[#Space|space theme]]).
***Before reaching space, a dark image will turn up.
***See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 example], where the space trip turns out to be a dream.
****Here another KSP image is also used to end the dream.
***The black picture is also used in the dream sequence with the hole just before they wake up.
****This never seems to happen from the launch sequence.
|}

===Space===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
|-
!Successful launch [[Image:lorenz - rocket 9.png]]
|
*When the [[#Rocket launch|rocket launch]] is successful, the rocket will go into space and a black image will turn up as evidence of this .
**See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 example].
**The black picture is also used in the dream sequence with the hole.
|-
!Flying over Earth [[Image:lorenz - rocket 10.png]]
|
*After entering space, the rocket is always shown in an orbit over Earth.
|-
!In space [[Image:lorenz - rocket 13.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 14.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 19.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 20.png]]
|
*From Earth, the rocket flies into deep space.
**These images will appear and reappear (sometimes several times) intermixed with those below.
***Exceptions are with those of The Little Prince and those after the attacking spaceship which will always end the space journey.
***See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:cccdb9ea-baf3-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd example], which contains all the images from this section, the two from above, and most of those from below (several of them at the same time). The first image is only used once right after Earth's orbit.
***See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:6322a5a2-ba97-11e3-8007-002590d77bdd example], where the first image is not included.
***See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:6490cc4a-b9f0-11e3-8009-002590d77bdd example], where the first image is used twice, but not to begin with.
|-
!Asteroids [[Image:lorenz - rocket 24.png]]
|
*Passing the {{W|Asteroid belt}}.
**See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:cccdb9ea-baf3-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd example], where the image is used twice in a row.
|-
!Saturn [[Image:lorenz - rocket 12.png]]
|
*Passing {{W|Saturn}}, which has majestic rings.
**See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:cccdb9ea-baf3-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd example], where the image is used eight times.
|-
!Spaceship [[Image:lorenz - rocket 15.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 16.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 17.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 18.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 22.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 23.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 5.png]]
|
*The rocket encounters another spaceship, which asks a question about relativity.
**It is the same question that appeared in [[265: Choices: Part 2]].
*If the question is answered satisfactory, the two rockets will just fly past each other.
**See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:ccd0b334-baf3-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd example], where the ship passes the spaceship twice.
*If the answer to the spaceship is not acceptable, it will turn around after passing and shoot down the rocket.
**The next image will be from the {{w|Kerbal Space Program}} (KSP) simulator, see the [[#Kerbal Space Program|KSP theme]].
***But in this case, it is an image where the rockets are turned off. (In the first KSP image, the rockets are turned on).
**The KSP image is followed by Hairy waking up from a dream (it seems that it can only be him): see the [[#Dreams|dream theme]].
***Most of the images above, as well as this attack, are included in this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 example]
***In this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:6322a5a2-ba97-11e3-8007-002590d77bdd example], Hairy wakes up and starts to sing.
|-
!Little Prince [[Image:lorenz - rocket 21.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 25.png]]
|
*Eventually, the rocket meets a guy on a very round asteroid.
**This is a reference to {{w|The Little Prince}}, which has been referenced before in xkcd in both [[2: Petit Trees (sketch)]] and [[618: Asteroid]], to be seen again in the planer "roads" of [[2712: Gravity]].
**The story originally never seemed to move past this first image with the prince and the rocket, but finally there appeared one more without the rocket.
***See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:25743f70-baee-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd example].
|}

===Kerbal Space Program===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
|-
!Kerbal space program [[Image:lorenz - rocket 11.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 23.png]]
|
*These pictures are from the flight simulator program {{W|Kerbal Space Program}} (KSP).
**The first shows a rocket with the engines on from [[#Rocket launch|rocket launch]].
**The second shows a rocket with the engines off after the attack in the [[#Space|space theme]].
*They both appear in a sequence leading to a [[#Dreams|dream]], see below:
|-
!Engines on [[Image:lorenz - rocket 8.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 11.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 5.png]]
|
*The rocket launch turns out to be just a dream.
**One of the two characters wake up in their bed.
***See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:8440e346-bb16-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd example], where Knit Cap awakens.
***See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:c9cfde56-bae6-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd example], where Hairy awakens.
***It seems that this image cannot precede a journey into space.
|-
!Engines off [[Image:lorenz - rocket 22.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 23.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 5.png]]
|
*After the other rocket shoots the original rocket, we see a KSP image with the engines off.
**See this [https://i.imgur.com/UofvQ.png image] from KSP, where the engines are off.
**After that image, it turns out it was just a dream. Only Hairy is seen to awake from this dream.
***See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 example].
|}

===Dreams===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
|-
! Waking up [[Image:lorenz - wake up 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 5.png]]
|
*Sometimes, Knit Cap or Hairy find themselves waking from a dream, suggesting that all prior events were just dreams.
**Some situations will always result in a character waking up.
**Other situations will, in some storylines, only lead to a character waking up.
***In those storylines, there will always be another way to continue the story.
**Below are several situations where a dream will or may occur, described (and shown with the full sequence leading up to the dream displayed).
*Often a dream loops upon itself, as a character wakes up multiple times in the same storyline.
**Either from the [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:20698602-bbb1-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd same dream] or from [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:5e94d028-bb7d-11e3-8012-002590d77bdd different dreams].
**Sometimes, [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 each character] has different dreams in the same storyline.
***This means that the last to wake up has dreamt that they were the other character waking up before.
*The dream scenarios (together with the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/80/lorenz_-_meanwhile.png ''meanwhile'' image]) would theoretically make it possible to connect all images into one long sequence.
**This has not been seen yet.
|-
! Falling [[Image:lorenz - hole.png]] [[Image:lorenz - falling.png]] [[Image:lorenz - aaa.png]] [[Image:lorenz - aaa 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 9.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 5.png]]
|
*One of the most obvious dreams is the one about falling, as in this case, where both characters fall into a big hole outside the [[#Leaving the building|building they are leaving]].
**Here is an [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:20698602-bbb1-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd example] of that, where one, then the other, character wakes up from the same falling dream.
*The hole situation will always turn out to be a dream from which one (or both, as shown above) of the characters wake up from the nightmare after falling into the hole.
**They can wake up after any of the three black pictures shown here.
**The other two pictures (which were not included in the first example) can be seen in [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ba285dea-baa3-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd this example], where only Knit Cap wakes up.
**A situation with only Hairy waking can be seen in [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:2c6df10a-bb15-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd this example].
*The totally black picture is also sometimes used at the end of the [[#Rocket launch|rocket launch]].
|-
! Dinosaur [[Image:lorenz - dinosaur 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - dinosaur 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - dinosaur 3.png]] [[Image:lorenz - dinosaur 4.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 5.png]]
|
*A Dinosaur enters the comic (see more about these same images under the [[#Dinosaur|Dinosaur theme]]).
**If the comic goes on for long enough, all four images with the green dinosaur will appear.
**When reaching the fourth image, where the dinosaur steps on the building, the story will always turn out to be a nightmare from which either of the characters may wake up from.
***See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:f2b12f1e-bbae-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd example], where Hairy wakes up.
***Here are two examples in which Knit Cap wakes up, where the dinosaur dream is the second dream from which she woke up from:
****After the [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:5e94d028-bb7d-11e3-8012-002590d77bdd hole dream]
****After the [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 rocket dream].
|-
! Rocket launch [[Image:lorenz - rocket 7.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 8.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 11.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 5.png]]
|
*The [[#Rocket launch|rocket launch]] will not always turn into a dream.
**This dream is not really a nightmare, as opposed to the three above, where the characters always wake up.
**During the take-off, after the rocket ignites, there are two possible images.
***If the last image is black, the take-off succeeds.
***If the last image during take-off is from KSP (with the rockets on), the story always results in one of the two characters waking up waking up during the launch.
****See [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:8440e346-bb16-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd this example], where Knit Cap wakes after she has already awoken from the hole dream.
****See [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:c9cfde56-bae6-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd this] and [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:4e6cbc5a-bb01-11e3-8003-002590d77bdd this] example, where Hairy wakes up from the launch.
|-
! Evil spaceship [[Image:lorenz - rocket 15.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 16.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 17.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 18.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 22.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 23.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 5.png]]
|
*During space travel, the rocket passes another spaceship.
**If a failed communication occurs, the evil spaceship turns around and shoots down the rocket.
**At this point, it turns out it was just a nightmare and one of the characters wake up. (Maybe only Hairy?)
***See [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 this example], where that continues to a dinosaur dream from where Knit Cap wakes up.
**In the last picture before waking up, we see an image from the KSP with the rockets off.
***This situation will always turn out to be a dream.
|-
! Politic debate [[Image:lorenz - debate 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - debate 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - debate 4.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 1.png]]
|
*In this dream (which isn't a nightmare), Knit Cap wakes up after a "political debate".
**See [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:ea25460c-baf3-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd this example].
*It is probably impossible that Hairy wakes up from this because he is not present when the debate starts.
|}

===Waking up===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
|-
! Waking up [[Image:lorenz - wake up 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 5.png]]
|
*Sometimes, Knit Cap or Hairy find themselves waking from a dream, suggesting that all prior events were just them dreaming. (See the [[#Dreams|dream theme]].)
**After they wake, they stay in bed for a while and then go out into the world.
*When they wake up:
**Knit Cap wakes up with her head to the left and the knit cap lying on the end of her bed.
**Hairy wakes up with his head to the right.
|-
! In bed - Girl [[Image:lorenz - wake up 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 10.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 3.png]]
|
*Knit Cap wakes up with a ''Gasp''.
**She sits for a while.
***Maybe she even starts to sing; see below.
***After this, she may either lie down or leave bed.
****See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:f894ceb2-bae7-11e3-8002-002590d77bdd example], where she lies back down again and goes to sleep (and then finds a boomerang, see below).
****See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:8440e346-bb16-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd example] (where the bed is shown as empty before moving on), the first time yawning and the second singing.
**When she does get out of bed, she may either:
***Walk yawning into her office if the bed was empty (see below).
***Go out and find a [[#Boomerang|boomerang]] if she lies down again.
|-
! In bed - Guy [[Image:lorenz - wake up 5.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 6.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 7.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 12.png]]
|
*Hairy wakes up with a ''Gasp''.
**He sits for a while.
***Maybe he even starts to sing (see below).
***After this, he may either lie down or leave the bed empty.
****See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 example], where he leaves the bed empty and yawns (and then Knit Cap has another dream later).
****See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:f2b12f1e-bbae-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd example], where he lies back down again (and goes to meet the salesman: see below).
****Notice that Randall forgot to draw Hairy's hair as he lay down again.
****Randall also forgot Hairy's hair in [[1028: Communication]] — see this [[1028: Communication#Trivia|trivia]].
**When he does get out of bed, he may either:
***Walk into Knit Cap at her laptop while yawning (if the bed was empty): see below.
***Go outside to meet [[White Hat]] the [[#Salesman|salesman]] if he lay back down again.
|-
! Singing in bed [[Image:lorenz - wake up 11.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 13.png]]
|
*After having sat up in bed with a gasp, either character may then begin to sing ''I woke up like this''.
**See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:8440e346-bb16-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd example] with Knit Cap (walking twice, singing the second time), where the bed is empty before moving on (both times).
**See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:6322a5a2-ba97-11e3-8007-002590d77bdd example] with Hairy where the bed is empty before moving on.
*This is likely a reference to {{W|Beyoncé|Beyoncé's}} song ''{{W|Flawless (Beyoncé song)|Flawless}}''.
**See the [https://lyricsmusic.name/beyonce-knowles-lyrics/beyonca/flaweless.html lyrics here].
**The line ''I woke up like this'' is repeated eight times in the song, four time in each of the last to verses.
|-
!Yawning - Girl [[Image:lorenz - wake up 4.png]] [[Image:lorenz - computer.png]]
|
*Yawning Knit Cap gets back to her laptop and we are back to the first image.
**See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:20698602-bbb1-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd example], where both characters' yawning pictures appear after the same dream.
|-
!Yawning - Guy [[Image:lorenz - wake up 8.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 9.png]]
|
*Yawning Hairy walks in where Knit Cap is sitting at her laptop and tells her about his dream (?).
**See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:0bfb9832-baa7-11e3-801e-002590d77bdd example], where both pictures from this section appears and they continue to walk out after.
**See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:20698602-bbb1-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd example], where both characters' yawning pictures appear after the same dream.
|}

===Salesman===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
|-
! Salesman [[Image:lorenz - wake up 7.png]] [[Image:lorenz - sale 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - sale 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - sale 3.png]] [[Image:lorenz - sale 4.png]]
|
*After waking up with a gasp from a nightmare and then lying down again, he has chosen not to go to Knit Cap.
**Which is why the "lying down" image is included here.
*Hairy takes an alternative route where he meets [[White Hat]], a salesman with a small stand.
**White Hat tries to sell something to Hairy.
*The last picture with the graph did not appear until much later than the rest (or was at least not found).
**Here is an [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:f2b12f1e-bbae-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd example] where Hairy meets White Hat, but not reaching the graph picture.
**Here is an [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:2c6df10a-bb15-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd example] that reaches the graph picture.
**Here is another [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:39dfd484-bb01-11e3-8003-002590d77bdd example] that reaches the graph picture.
***These two may be the only two pathways.
|}

===Boomerang===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
|-
! Finding Boomerang [[Image:lorenz - wake up 10.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang 2.png]]
|
*After Knit Cap wakes up from a [[#Dreams|dream]] and then lies down in bed, she may (always?) go outside to find a {{w|Boomerang}} on the ground.
**She picks it up and then expresses her feelings about it in a thought bubble.
***She may also pick it up following another image where she is just walking.
****See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ee6b910c-bae5-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd example].
**The other throwing images, listed below, may come (more or less) in any order and any number of times.
***The aforementioned first two boomerang images may also reappear; therefore more than one accident can happen.
**She may comment on it again after catching it.
***She may also put it down and leave but may then also find it or another boomerang again later.
****This is the cause for the longest storylines almost always including the boomerang.
****Since this storyline only occurs after a dream, gives some of the longest storylines, and never usually gets on to any other stories (except a short story where Hairy walks alone), this has been placed last in this list.
*Boomerangs have been [[:Category:Boomerangs|featured in xkcd before]]. See in particular these that clearly reference them:
**[[445: I Am Not Good with Boomerangs]].
**[[475: Further Boomerang Difficulties]].
|-
! Throwing Boomerang [[Image:lorenz - boomerang 3.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang 4.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang 8.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang 6.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang 9.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang 10.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang 5.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang 7.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang 11.png]]
|
*Knit Cap throws the boomerang, and it flies back to her, so she catches it.
**This can go on for a while, and she may even lay it down and walk away:
***See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:08896f1c-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 example].
**It may also fly back and forth above him.
***See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:84eb4738-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 example].
*However, more often than not, she will end up with an accident:
|-
! Accidents [[Image:lorenz - boomerang accident.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang accident 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang accident 5.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang accident 6.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang rocket 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang rocket 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang boom.png]] [[Image:lorenz - surprise.png]] [[Image:lorenz - run.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang accident 3.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang accident 4.png]] [[Image:lorenz - meanwhile.png]]
|
*These accidents are:
**Either character gets hit in the face.
***See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ee6b910c-bae5-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd example], where both are hit.
***Knit Cap get hit in the face first, when the boomerang rebounds, then puts it down (only to pick up a new one later).
****See [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ee6b910c-bae5-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd this example].
***Knit Cap then fails to catch the boomerang, the rebound hits Hairy in the face (off-screen), and she then enters the frame next image.
**Hitting a rocket taking off.
***See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:ea25460c-baf3-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd example].
**The boomerang crashes into something off-panel, someone may shout back, and Knit Cap runs away.
***See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:fc34f46a-ba98-11e3-8008-002590d77bdd example].
***In some cases, this last accident is followed by the ''meanwhile'' image to make the story move on with Hairy walking along (which is mentioned in more detail at the bottom of the [[#Walking|Walking section]]).
****See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:aee5abf0-bb29-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd example].
|-
! Leaving the boomerang [[Image:lorenz - boomerang 11.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang accident 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - run.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang accident 4.png]] [[Image:lorenz - meanwhile.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang accident 6.png]]
|
*The following images are the one where the boomerang story may stop (although some of them may lead back to the boomerang again):
**Leaving the boomerang on the ground without accident.
***But there seem to be no way she actually leaves the boomerang this way:
****The story stops before she completely leaves the image (with the boomerang on the ground).
****Or she finds another and picks that up instead proceeding from there.
****See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:08896f1c-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 example], which has both situations.
**Leaving the boomerang after hitting himself in the face.
***Maybe this is similar to the one above, as can at least be seen in the example given:
***See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ee6b910c-bae5-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd example].
**Running away after having destroyed the rocket
***See this [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:ea25460c-baf3-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd example].
**Running away after having hit someone off panel.
***This image seems to belong with the ''meanwhile'' image, and the storyline goes on using that route, so, for sure, she is getting away from the boomerang.
****See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:aee5abf0-bb29-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd example].
**Hitting Hairy off panel, who then walks into the panel.
***There seems to be no story continuing from there.
***I.e., this storyline never leaves the boomerang behind, but just stops.
****See this [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ee6b910c-bae5-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd example].
|}

==Trivia==
*Here is a picture with the fifth option that could not be included in the top image
**''Let's see if BSD is any easier to install nowadays.'':
::[[Image:lorenz.png]]
::*There used to be a sixth option: "Gravity. Lots of it." However, it no longer appears.
*In one [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/File:lorenz_-_wake_up_7.png panel], Hairy is drawn in bed ''without'' his hair — see the [[#Waking up|Waking up]] pictures.
*Some pictures are used often and some very rarely:
**The most common pictures are [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/a1-2014/vS9UO5cGsw1hoDrrNLMSRg.png "Not very effective"], [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/a1-2014/VegCGBEOFJCsFxJpbmvziQ.png Throwing], [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/a1-2014/zHPHozjDXmCUy66bYVSRoQ.png Waiting] and [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/a1-2014/ZNBJOG1e-vCfzdqKFHQ21A.png Leaving the House].
**The rarest pictures that can be found via permalink are [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/a1-2014/VgSdMz8OAHQ8w5Ee432f5Q.png The Little Prince], [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/a1-2014/0RW46RaD8RJDfTyBOTqlpw.png The beach] and [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/a1-2014/OZZtCeXrnU0UskVTCUQf1Q.png An exponential chart].
***As of late July 2021, there are several pictures from the complete list that no longer seem to be available — so not only are they rare, but they are also extinct in the comic if no one has a permalink to a comic where they appear.
****2 pictures are listed as missing two years later, on April 1, 2016, and they can be seen under themes where notices have made it clear where they are.
****They are the one with Hairy walking alone seen in silhouette, and the one "after arguing" where Hairy is leaving.
*****The other 147 images are all accounted for.
*[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:0cd52ed0-bb15-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd This one] has (simplified) Chinese characters in it. It would roughly translate to: "These sentences have no meaning. With no meanings, there is nothing to say. How do I arrange it into a haiku format then?" It is arranged in haiku: 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables. In traditional Chinese characters, it would be "句子没有意。意也没有話不話。怎麼來俳句？"
*[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:585ff20c-baf4-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd This one] also has Chinese characters in it. It would translate to "No" or "Not good"
*And [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:fb62f406-baa2-11e3-8015-002590d77bdd this one has French].
*[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:461b8e7a-baeb-11e3-8002-002590d77bdd This example]] has two commas in a row, which is obviously wrong.

===Record length===
{{cot|Longest comics by panel}}
These have clearly different storylines:
# [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 77 panels] — Tiles, space/dinosaur double dream, boomerang, exploding rocket.
# [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:84eb4738-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 73 panels] — Tiles, space/dinosaur double dream, boomerang.
# [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:b9575048-bb47-11e3-804b-002590d77bdd 50 panels] — Tiles, double hole dream, boomerang, and exploding rocket
{{cob}}

{{cot|Longest by themes}}
Include only more than one if the story is clearly different from from the record.
#Dreams (most often multiple):
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 77 panels] — Tiles; two dreams, one by each character; space; dinosaur attack.
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:b9575048-bb47-11e3-804b-002590d77bdd 50 panels] — Tiles; hole dream; boomerang; exploding rocket.
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:718ad9a6-bc6e-11e3-800f-002590d77bdd 41 panels] — Political debate; hole dream; boomerang.
##[https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:ea25460c-baf3-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 39 panels] — Political debate; politics dream; boomerang; exploding rocket.
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:2ed958de-badf-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 36 panels] — Tiles; hole dream; blowtorch laptop; rocket take-off dream.
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:67605e86-bb1c-11e3-8004-002590d77bddd 36 panels] — Political debate; hole dream; Hairy gets hit in the face by boomerang.
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:452c03fc-bb16-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd 35 panels] — Tiles; the hole dream; the shovel/blowtorch and then hole agan dream; boomerang.
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ba285dea-baa3-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd 28 panels] — BSD; hole dream that goes back to starting point.
##[https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:8440e346-bb16-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd 26 panels] — Tiles; two different dreams by the same character after hole and rocket.
##[https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:5e94d028-bb7d-11e3-8012-002590d77bdd 22 panels] — Tiles; two different dreams by the same character after hole and dinosaur attack.
##[https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:20698602-bbb1-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd 21 panels] — Tiles; the hole dream twice, once by each character.
###More than two dreams in one storyline have yet to be seen.
#Boomerang:
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 77 panels] — Tiles; two dreams, one by each character; space; dinosaur attack.
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:b9575048-bb47-11e3-804b-002590d77bdd 50 panels] — Tiles; double hole dream; boomerang; exploding rocket
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:718ad9a6-bc6e-11e3-800f-002590d77bdd 41 panels] — Political debate; hole dream; boomerang.
##[https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:ea25460c-baf3-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 39 panels] — Political debate (in a dream); boomerang; exploding rocket.
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:defe5742-bb15-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd 35 panels] — Political debate (in a dream); Hairy gets smacked in the face by the boomerang.
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ee6b910c-bae5-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 34 panels] — Political debate (in a dream); Knit Cap and then Hairy get smacked in the face by the boomerang.
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:a1776988-ba41-11e3-8035-002590d77bdd 30 panels] — Tiles; rocket dream; boomerang hits Knit Cap in the face so she puts it down. She then picks up another one.
#Space:
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 77 panels] — Tiles; two dreams, one by each character; space; dinosaur attack.
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ccd0b334-baf3-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 42 panels] — Tiles; spaaaace.
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:bbb2f148-bb66-11e3-800e-002590d77bdd 33 panels] — Political debate, rocket, pass by spaceship twice.
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:6490cc4a-b9f0-11e3-8009-002590d77bdd 30 panels] — Tiles; rocket, which leads on to The Little Prince.
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:25743f70-baee-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 24 panels] — Tiles; zoom-in on The Little Prince.
#Dinosaur:
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 77 panels] — Tiles, two dreams one by each character, after space and dinosaur attack.
##[https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:5e94d028-bb7d-11e3-8012-002590d77bdd 22 panels] — Tiles; hole dream; dinosaur dream.
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:a3298c92-baa1-11e3-800e-002590d77bdd 15 panels] — Tiles; dinosaur dream; boomerang hits him in the face.
#Political debate:
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:718ad9a6-bc6e-11e3-800f-002590d77bdd 41 panels] — Political debate; hole dream; boomerang.
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:defe5742-bb15-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd 35 panels] — Political debate within a dream; Hairy gets smacked in the face by the boomerang.
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:aee5abf0-bb29-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd 31 panels] — Political debate; explosive bananas. This includes the ''meanwhile'' image.
#Blowtorch:
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:2ed958de-badf-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 36 panels] — Tiles; hole dream; blowtorch; rocket take-off dream.
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:9a86363c-bb53-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 26 panels] — BSD; blowtorch; moving past Pokémon twice
##[https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:97cbd552-bb01-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd 25 panels] — Tiles; hole dream; blowtorch.
#Pokémon:
##[https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:d5bba698-badf-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 28 panels] — Tiles; Pikachu; a very long fight with 9 moves (none of which are effective).
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:9a86363c-bb53-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 26 panels] — BSD; blowtorch; moving past the Pokémon after an ineffective move; Pikachu talks; they move on only to meet a second Pikachu/
##[https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:81c9e8c8-ba1d-11e3-8018-002590d77bdd 24 panels] — Refreshing after no new email; long fight and an eventual 'Super Effective'; Megan pokes it.
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:8737f5b4-ba92-11e3-8008-002590d77bdd 22 panels] — Tiles; moving past Pokémon; a 'Super Effective'; Megan pokes it.
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:7546a2c8-bcdc-11e3-801e-002590d77bdd 22 panels] — BSD; short fight; an eventual 'not very effective'; Pikachu talks; they move on
#Sharks
##[https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:3df213b4-ba4f-11e3-8037-002590d77bdd 22 panels] — Tiles; dream, indirectly after launch; only one picture in the ocean at the end.
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:30f53d98-bbb3-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd 13 panels] — BSD; longest going straight to the ocean sequence (four images); reaching beach and walking on (i.e. directly without dream).
#Salesman
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:6ce3b122-ba3c-11e3-8035-002590d77bdd 28 panels] — Space dream; Hairy meets White Hat.
##[https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:129f19d8-badf-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 15 panels] — Political debate; dinosaur dream; Hairy meets White Hat.
##[https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:39dfd484-bb01-11e3-8003-002590d77bdd 13 panels] — Tiles; hole dream; Hairy meets White Hat; they reach the chart scene (last picture that way).
{{cob}}

{{cot|Longest by starting point}}
Only the longest:
#'These stupid tiles... I'll just play one more game.': [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 77 panels].
#'Oh, hey, There's some kind of political thing going on': [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:718ad9a6-bc6e-11e3-800f-002590d77bdd 41 panels]. (This is no longer among the starting options, so it cannot grow [meaning that this is the longest possible now].)
#'Let's see if BSD is any easier to install nowadays': [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:aad0a152-bae6-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 29 panels].
#'Refresh ... No new email ... Refresh ... No new tweets ... Refresh ...': [https://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:81c9e8c8-ba1d-11e3-8018-002590d77bdd 24 panels].
#'Hurry! We're in talks with Facebook.': [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:441ba2fe-bc03-11e3-8034-002590d77bdd 13 panels] and also [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ea9342a0-bc02-11e3-8034-002590d77bdd 13 panels] but two different dreams.
#'Gravity. Lots of it.': [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:a069f950-bb01-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd 12 panels]. (This is also no longer among the starting options, so it cannot grow [meaning that this is the longest possible now].)
{{cob}}

{{cot|Most unique images}}
In the longest sequences, many images repeat several times. This record could be more interesting than those that use most images, although it could have turned out much the same, there is a repeated panel in one of the first two sequences. Sadly, this is rather tedious to check out.

Here are the longest for only clearly different images:
# [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 48 unique images] - 77 panels.
# [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:2ed958de-badf-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 35 unique images] - 36 panels (only the very first image repeated twice).
# [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:b9575048-bb47-11e3-804b-002590d77bdd 33 unique images] - 50 panels.
# [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:452c03fc-bb16-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd 29 unique images] - 35 panels.
# [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:718ad9a6-bc6e-11e3-800f-002590d77bdd 26 unique images] - 41 panels.
{{cob}}

{{cot|Most actual choices}}
In the longest sequences, many images have no choice but just a ''Continue''. Other images have two choices in one.

Here are only the longest for only clearly different routes:
# [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 13 choices] — 77 panels.
# [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:b9575048-bb47-11e3-804b-002590d77bdd 11 choices] — 50 panels.
# [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:2ed958de-badf-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 9 choices] — 36 panels and [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:88870608-bae7-11e3-8002-002590d77bdd 9 choices] - 28 panels.
# [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:452c03fc-bb16-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd 8 choices] — 35 panels.
# [https://xkcd.com/1350/#p:718ad9a6-bc6e-11e3-800f-002590d77bdd 7 choices] — 41 panels.
{{cob}}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Knit Cap]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
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[[Category:Rockets]]

1193: Externalities

2026-06-02T03:00:51Z

82.132.238.174: /* Trivia */ Removing an unjustifiable assertion.

{{comic
| number = 1193
| date = April 1, 2013
| title = Externalities
| image = externalities.png
| titletext = Mouse over words and things to see where they come from. ''[[:Category:Multiple title texts|Different title text]]:'' This comic went up on April 1st, and the panels changed throughout the day in response to readers doing things like breaking hashes, editing a rapidly-shuffling set of target Wikipedia articles, and donating to Wikimedia Foundation. (The vandalism is over now and CMU won the hashing contest.) ''Different title text:'' Happy April 1st, Everyone! ''Different title text:'' uic has the third best hash. See the full standings at http://almamater.xkcd.com/best.csv ''Different title text:'' The dog gains a pound for every $10 donated to the Wikimedia Foundation via this link. Currently at $51135.33
}}
{{series
| series = April
| number = 6
| date = April 1, 2013
| days_late =
| day_category = Monday
| prev_title = 1037: Umwelt
| prev_date = April 1, 2012
| next_title = 1350: Lorenz
| next_date = April 1, 2014
| extra_text =
}}
{{TOC}}This was the sixth [[April Fools' Day comics|April Fools' Day comic]] released by [[Randall]].

==Explanation==
This comic isn't a static image - even the title text changes depending on which part of the image you're hovering over. It presented a competition for students to see who could come closest to breaking a {{w|Skein (hash function)|Skein hash}} but also an aid appeal for the Wikimedia Foundation. The comic references multiple times {{w|Baidu}}, a large Chinese Internet services company. Baidu controls the predominant Internet search provider of China and is sometimes called the "Google of China" for the similar services it provides. Baidu Search results follow the censorship dictates of the Chinese authorities, causing it to return censored responses to searches for politically sensitive terms when executed by web browsers in China. Thus, Megan replies "But nothing about Tiananmen Square." in the first panel is a reference to the {{w|1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre}} that killed hundreds of civilians. "It takes great minds to stifle other great minds." and "Let's block Canada" in the second panel are also references to the arbitrary government censorship of Baidu and other Chinese companies.

The blank regions in the above image are dynamically generated from various sources.
*The university that is being recruited changes depending on which university is winning the hash finding competition in the fifth panel.
*The company doing the recruiting is randomly selected from a pool of companies. It was formerly the first NASDAQ-100 company mentioned on a varying Wikipedia page.
*The text in the second panel may vary: See [[1193: Externalities#Second Panel|this section]].
*The text in the third panel may vary: See [[1193: Externalities#Third Panel|this section]].
*The text in the fourth panel may vary: See [[1193: Externalities#Fourth Panel|this section]].
*The text in the fifth panel [[1193: Externalities#Fifth Panel|changes]], depending on which university is currently in third place in a hash finding competition. Clicking on the panel takes you to [http://almamater.xkcd.com/ a webpage] where people can enter their school's domain name and hash data, and ranks schools on how close their students can come to matching a Skein 1024 1024 hash value.
*The text in the top half of the sixth panel may vary. See [[1193: Externalities#Sixth Panel|this section]]. The second half of the panel is always the same.
*The last panel varies with the amount donated to the Wikimedia Foundation via [https://donate.wikimedia.org/?utm_medium=socialmedia&utm_campaign=xkcd_april1 this link]. For past images, see [[1193: Externalities#Seventh Panel|this section]].

===Hashing Competition===
For the two days until comic 1194 appeared, a competition was underway to see who could come closest to breaking a {{w|Skein (hash function)|Skein hash}}. The first text line of the first panel contains a link to http://almamater.xkcd.com. This page contained the text:

:Currently looking for Skein 1024 1024 input matching
<pre>5b4da95f5fa08280fc9879df44f418c8f9f12ba424b7757de02bbdfbae0d4c4fdf9317c80cc5fe04c6429073466cf29706b8c25999ddd2f6540d4475cc977b87f4757be023f19b8f4035d7722886b78869826de916a79cf9c94cc79cd4347d24b567aa3e2390a573a373a48a5e676640c79cc70197e1c5e7f902fb53ca1858b6</pre>

On this page, users were invited to enter "Your school's domain name" — presumably intended to be their college alma mater. (At least in the beginning, only a few top-level domains were accepted.) If the user entered an acceptable domain (by xkcd's rules, which apparently changed during the 48 hours of the competition), they could then enter data values one at a time. For each data value entered, xkcd returned a hash value and the number of bits by which it differed from the target value. The object was to achieve the lowest possible number of differing bits, ideally zero.

A ranking page showed the lowest value achieved for each domain name entered, but not the data that achieved it. The first name on the list was substituted in various panels, and the third-place school showed in panel five. No data values were reported by xkcd, but various results were posted by users of the xkcd forums and on other websites, leading to copycat submissions, so that occasionally large numbers of institutions would show the same moderately low value.

After the end of the contest, the data submission page vanished, replaced by the final list of rankings, which shows that Carnegie Mellon University achieved the best score with 384 bits incorrect out of 1024. The rankings only show a few hundred out of the several thousand domains submitted—presumably Randall chose to chop the copycat submissions off the end of the list, retaining only honestly obtained results.

===First Panel===
In some cases, Megan's reply seems to correspond to the company.
{| class="wikitable table-padding"
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Have you applied to [company] yet?
:Megan: The recruiter hasn't emailed me back in over three minutes.
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Have you applied to [company] yet?
:Megan: The recruiter hasn't emailed me back in over an hour!
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Have you thought of a career at [company]?
:Megan: I'm not that good at math.
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Have you thought of a career at [company]?
:Megan: What do they even do?
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Have you thought of a career at [company]?
:Megan: I don't like monopolies.
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Have you thought of a career at [company]?
:Megan: Only in my darkest moments.
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Be part of the Apple experience!
:Megan: I'm not really a fan of turtlenecks.
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Come work at Microsoft!
:Megan: I only came to this tech talk for the xbox giveaway.
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Y U No Work Yahoo?
:Megan: I like working from home!
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Become a partner at Starbucks!
:Megan: But green's not my colour.
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Come work in the Amazon!
:Megan: I don't have to actually move to South America, do I?
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Have you thought of a career at [company]?
:Megan: Not after that presentation.
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Thought about working for Intel?
:Megan: I'm not that great at division.
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Dude, you should work at Dell!
:Megan: That catchphrase is so old.
|-
|
:Ahoy, carnegie melonites!
:Have you thought of a career at [company]?
:Megan: Not after that presentation.
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Have you looked for a job at Kraft Foods?
:Megan: I'm allergic to sugar
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:How about working for Whole Foods?
:Megan: Could I afford the food if I did?
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Come work at EBay!
:Megan: Maybe if they made a good bid.
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students!
:Come work for Activision... er... Blizzard... er...
:Megan: Activision Blizzard?
|-
|
:Hey, [university] students! <nowiki>|</nowiki> Ahoy. Carnegie Melonites!
:Come find your future at Baidu!
:Megan: But nothing about Tiananmen Square.
|}

===Second Panel===
The text in the second panel is based on the company in the first panel:
{| class="wikitable table-padding"
|-
|
:When the Singularity happens, it will happen here.
:Ponytail: [Company] has outgrown us.
:Men: It is time.
|-
|
:Think of ways to make things smaller and smaller!
:Ponytail: I'm worried mine is too big.
:Men: Yeahhh
|-
|
:Think of ways to make things smaller and smaller!
:Ponytail: But will it blend?
:Men: Yeahhh
|-
|
:You'll be part of a dynamic research team envisioning the future.
:Ponytail: It probably looks cool.
:Men: Yeahhh
|-
|
:You'll be creating the future of commerce platforms!
:Ponytail: More recommendations.
:Men: Yep.
|-
|
:You'll be an insignificant cog in our giant machine
:Ponytail: We should improve Notepad
:Men: Nah
|-
|
:We can't tell you what you'll be working on.
:Ponytail: [Confidential]
:Men: [Redacted]
|-
|
:You'll be an insignificant cog in our giant machine
:Ponytail: Needs more Bob.
:Men: Nah
|-
|
:You'll help set the future of the company
:Ponytail: Wait. You hired a college grad as the CFO?
:Men: Yeahhh
|-
|
:At Qualcomm, we know you're born mobile.
:Ponytail: Born mobile!
:Men: Texting!
|-
|
:Short or tall, we've got a grande job for you!
:Ponytail: How many job openings are there?
:Men: Ele-venti or so.
|-
|
:You'll help direct the future of nutrition
:Ponytail: Microwaveable toast
:Men: Delicious
|-
|
:Help us find and provide the best healthy, local, and sustainable products.
:Ponytail: Hey guys, how about kale cookies?
:Men: Sounds great!
|-
|
:We're the Classmates.com to Facebook's Craigslist.
:Ponytail: Maybe we should use game theory.
:Men: Why Bother?
|-
|
:Whatever. Come create the future of gaming!
:Ponytail: Call of Duty 14.
:Men: That's genius!
|-
|
:It takes great minds to stifle other great minds.
:Ponytail: Let's block Canada
:Men: Sounds good.
|}

===Third Panel===
{| class="wikitable table-padding"
|-
|
:We're a convenient four hour drive from New York City (15,000 hours by Roomba)
|-
|
:Only a short commuter flight away!
|-
|
:Travel to us by Roomba, we're *that* close!
|-
|
:We're so close you can get to us by Roomba.
|-
|
:Free Roomba rides every morning while you have coffee.
|-
|
:Your Roomba comes in black & slate, or white & silver
|-
|
:Just a short Roomba ride up the coast, try not to fall off.
|-
|
:We know what everyday life is like for your generation:
|}

===Fourth Panel===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainlinks table-padding"
|-
|
:Our recruiting team is on the lookup for promising young [university] graduates.
|-
|
:We hired a new recruiting startup to help us hire [university] students.
|-
|
:We borrowed the botanical gardens' net to catch promising recruits.
|-
|
:We prefer to recruit from [university] students, of course.
|-
|
:Our recruiters are on the hunt for unaware [university] graduates.
|}

===Fifth Panel===

{| class="wikitable table-padding"
|-
|
:Or students from [university], if they're clever with their applications
|-
|
:Possibly [university] grads, if their form-filling startup works out.
|-
|
:Or [university] graduates, provided any of them manage to fill out the application correctly.
|-
|
:Or [university] graduates, if they manage to fill out the application correctly.
|}

The text in the form varies independently of the text at the top, sometimes related to the organization in 3rd place:

{| class="wikitable table-padding"
|-
!Organization
!Name
!Email
!Education
!(Explanation)
|-
|MIT
|Oliver Smoot
|pgp encrypted
|have you ever really looked at the fourier
|As an undergrad at MIT in 1948, Smoot was used to measure the Harvard Bridge during a fraternity prank. This led to the introduction of "{{w|smoot}}" as an unusual unit of length.
|-
|
|Wheeeee
|ford.com
|stealing lunches from startups
|-
|CMU
|leeroy jenkins
|me@car
|I can cut up melons
| Le(e)roy Jenkins is an internet meme originating from a 2006 'Let's Play' video of World of Warcraft
|-
|CMU
|pittsburgh
|me@car
|I can cut up melons
|-
|
|SEGMENTATION FAULT
|save trees
|Contra dancing.
|-
|Cambridge
|I'm applying
|cam.gov
|on going problems with birds
|-
|
|certainly
|elephant
|An excellent year in the Sahara
|-
|Stanford
|Stanford
|ford.com
|Stealing lunches from startups
|-
|Stanford
|Yes Please
|@twitter
|Are you Stanford?
|-
|
|Applying
|For a job
|I would like to work at you
|-
|St.Olaf
|Me olaf
|You Helga
|Hunting wooly mammoths
|-
|Ohio State
|Oh!
|IO
|O HAI O
| A joke on the pronunciation of Ohio.
|-
|
|FOLLOWBACK
|TOTALLY.EDU.US
|CONVENIENT US DOMAIN REDIRECTS
| .edu is a website suffix mostly used for (American) university websites.
|-
|
|Mancher
|Outlook
|Made a collage out of macaroni
|-
|Stanford
|Yes Please
|ford.com
|Are you Stanford?
|-
|Michigan
|ANN
|SOUTH DETROIT
|HUNT LIKE A WOLVERINE
|University of Michigan is in Ann Arbor; the mascot is the Wolverine. "South Detroit" is referenced in the song {{w|Don't Stop Believin'}}, which is notable because there is actually no such city or neighborhood; rather, Detroit is one of the only places in the contiguous United States where you can drive south and wind up in Canada, namely in the city of {{w|Windsor, Ontario}}. Michiganders therefore often object to the bad geography in the song.
|-
|
|christopher
|POBox 12532
|p.s. ill find my frog
|PO Box 12532 is located at Pyramid Lake in Nevada.
|-
|Oxford
|Bond, James
|Righto
|We're better than Cambridge
|-
|
|Which one
|Forget it
|Riding the L all night long
|-
|Kit
|Kat
|Oh dear
|Something something sleep
|-
|Google
|My G+ handle?
|Any
|I'm feeling lucky
|G+ stands for Google+, Google's defunct social network. "I'm feeling lucky" is the second option under the searchbar on Google.
|-
|UIC
|Which one
|Forget it
|Riding the L all night long
|Presumably University of Illinois at Chicago. "Which one" could be a reference to other institutions with the same initials, or people who confuse "UIC" with "U of C" (University of Chicago, a different institution altogether). The rapid transit system in Chicago is called the 'L'.
|-
|
|MY JOB NOW
|@
|SAVE DOCUMENT AND SEND
| Could be Randall saying most jobs are just sending e-mails (@).
|}

===Sixth Panel===
{| class="wikitable table-padding"
|-
|
:At [company], you'll work at a scale you won't find anywhere else
|-
|
:Explore the depths of expensive and undocumented tools!
|-
|
:At Apple, we believe in pushing the boundary of perfection.
|-
|
:At Microsoft, you just need to relax and embrace the machine
|-
|
:Yahoo management aren't just suits. We code too!
|-
|
:At [company], you'll have the opportunity to work on cutting-edge projects.
|-
|
:At Amazon, you'll be shaving the most cutting-edge of yaks.
|-
|
:You get to bid first on any auction, and use other experimental tools!
|-
|
:At QUALCOMM, Device driver code quality is job #1
|-
|
:Make use of our powerful in-house game creation tools.
|-
|
:We're even working on some experimental biotechnology
|}

===Seventh Panel===
{| class="wikitable table-padding"
|-
|[[File:externality-dog1.png]]
|-
|[[File:externality-dog2.png]]
|-
|[[File:externality-dog2A.png]]
|-
|[[File:externality-dog3.png]]
|-
|[[File:externality-dog4.png]]
|-
|[[File:externality-dog5.png]]
|-
|[[File:externality-dog6.png]]
|-
|[[File:externality-dog7.png]]
|-
|[[File:externality-dog8.png]]
|-
|[[File:externality-dog9.png]]
|-
|[[File:externality-dog10.png]]
|-
|[[File:externality-dog12.png]]
|-
|[[File:externality-dog13.png]]
|-
|[[File:externality-dog14.png]]
|}

===Title Text===
{{incomplete|Need to explain the title texts.}}

The title text documents the different sources of data in the comic. The different title texts are:

{| class="wikitable table-padding"
|-
!Comic region
!Title text
! Explanation
|-
|Most of the comic, during the competition.||Mouse over words and things to see where they come from.||
|-
|Most of the comic, after the competition ended||This comic went up on April 1st, and the panels changed throughout the day in response to readers doing things like breaking hashes, edited a rapidly-shuffling set of target Wikipedia articles, and donating to Wikimedia Foundation. (The vandalism is over now and CMU won the hashing contest.)||
|-
|The part of the first panel (text and drawing) which is not a link. There is no title text at all over the part where the link is active||Happy April 1st, Everyone!||
|-
|Fifth panel.||[University] has the third best hash. See the full standings at http://almamater.xkcd.com/best.csv (University = uic after competition)||
|-
|Last three panels (only within a frame that would just fit around all three of them).||The dog gains a pound for every $10 donated to the wikimedia foundation via this link. Currently at [amount donated] (Amount = $51135.33 after competition).||
|}

==Transcript==
:[This was a dynamic image where the text changed during April 1st. The main title text also changed after the dynamic part was finished, and there are even different title text for different part of the comic. This transcript is of the final version of the comic, (no longer dynamic or changing), as displayed at present on xkcd, there are still four different title texts for specific panels. These four title text are for that reason included here in the transcript.]

:[The basic title text for the entire comic is: "This comic went up on April 1st, and the panels changed throughout the day in response to readers doing things like breaking hashes, edited a rapidly-shuffling set of target Wikipedia articles, and donating to Wikimedia Foundation. (The vandalism is over now and CMU won the hashing contest.)" The other three title text are only active over certain panels.]

:[The first panel with the caption and Megan below has its own title text. A part of that panel is a link, and in the section where this link is active there is no title text at all. The title text for the rest of the first panel is: "Happy April 1st, everyone!"]

:[A panel with only text is above the first drawing. There is a link on the top part of the text to <nowiki>http://almamater.xkcd.com/</nowiki> (the link is now broken).]
:Ahoy, carnegie melonites!
:
:Come find your future at Baidu.

:[Below, not in a frame, is Megan.]
:Megan: But nothing about Tiananmen Square.

:[Caption floating above the frame of the next panel:]
:It takes great minds to stifle other great minds.
:[Ponytail sits at a desk, hand to her chin, with two Cueball-like guys with their hands on the table.]
:Ponytail: Let's block Canada
:Cueball-like guys: Sounds good.

:[Ponytail crouches on a moving Roomba (labeled) with a steaming mug of coffee in one hand and a smartphone in the other. Above her is a caption. The Roomba makes a noice]
:We're a convenient four hour drive from New York City (15,000 hours by Roomba.)
:''Whirrrrrrr''
:Roomba

:[Ponytail and Hairy corners Cueball as he walks out of a door, and a black haired ponytailed girl is moving towards him wielding a giant butterfly net. There is a caption above them:]
:Our recruiters are on the hunt for unaware CMU graduates

:[The fifth panel has its own title text only active within (or very close to) the frame. It is: "uic has the third best hash. See the full standings at <nowiki>http://almamater.xkcd.com/best.csv</nowiki>" (The link is now broken)]

:[There is a caption above a website application. There is three fields to be filled, with each their caption and text:]
:or uic graduates, provied any of them manage to fill out the application correctly.
::Name which one
::Email forget it
::Education Riding the L all night long

:[Caption floating above the frame of the next panel:]
:At Baidu, Inc., you'll have the opportunity to work on cutting-edge projects.
:[Cueball sits at a computer.]
:Cueball: What does "make dog" do?
:Off-screen voice: Experimental dog generator. Don't click on it; the default size isn't set, so-
:'''*click*'''

:[The last three panels has their own title text, only active within a frame that could contain all three panel. Outside that "frame" (all the way around) is the other title text. Within the title text is: "The dog gains a pound for every $10 donated to the Wikimedia Foundation via this link. Currently at $51135.33."]

:[Small insert panel, going in above the next larger panel: Cueball stares at the screen.]
:''Kzzzt''
:''*bip*''
:Off-screen voice: Uh oh.

:[A giant dog looks down at the desk where the computer once was, now only the wires are left. Cueball, leaning way back in his office chair, holding his hand to his mouth, stares up at it.]

:[Again a smaller insert panel above the large one with the dog. A graphic showing two sliders and a dog (similar to the one in the previous panel). Next to the dog with arrows pointing to it are a thermometer graphic and an equation. Below is an e-mail type text and finally a caption. There are arrows over and under "God" and "dogs" between the g and d's.]
:d(x)=R
:careers@baidu, Inc.
:'''Play God with dogs.'''TM

==Trivia==
{{incomplete|Please see Talk page.}}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Dogs]]
[[Category:Roomba]]
[[Category:Butterfly net]]
[[Category:Singularity]]
[[Category:Multiple title texts]]

Category:Excessive verbosity

2026-06-02T02:57:52Z

82.132.238.174:

[[File:Explanation length.png|right|thumb|Overall, the problem has been trending down since around 2015.]]
This is an intrinsically problematic and subjective category, that is ill-defined. Relying upon word-/character-counts alone (see the 'problem trend' image) cannot be an objective solution, as some pages necessarily explain very complicated comics in very many words because many (if not very many) words are necessary. Use of this Category implies that there is no clear pathway to streamlining this, or else it would just have been better to actually streamline the article instead of blindly adding this category to it.

It seems to have been set up as the direct antithesis to the {{template|Incomplete}} tag, for raising an issue that the editor cannot currently/at all address themselves. Even though it also would be far more instructive to use that established template with something like "The sections about <foo> are too long and need rewriting" as the embedded statement/reason for its 'incompleteness'. Especially if an article is considered by someone (or seperate people) to be ''both'' missing information and yet also badly over-written.

[[Category:Pages to delete]]

Category:Excessive verbosity

2026-06-02T02:56:15Z

82.132.238.174: In leiu of a Talk area I can use, I am presenting my reasoning here. ''And'' my assertion that this page is a prime candidate for deletion

[[File:Explanation length.png|right|thumb|Overall, the problem has been trending down since around 2015.]]
This is an intrinsically problematic and subjective category, that is ill-defined. Relying upon word-/character-counts alone (see the 'problem trend' image) cannot be an obiective solution, as some pages necessarily explain very complicated comics in very many words because many (if not very many) words are nevessary. Use of this Category implies that there is no clear pathway to streamlining this, or else it would just have been better to actually streamline the article instead of adding this category to it.

It seems to have been set up as the direct antithesis to the {{template|Incomplete}} tag, for raising an issue that the editor cannot currently/at all address themselves. Even though it also would be far more instructive to use that established template with something like "The sections about <foo> are too long and need rewriting" as the embedded statement/reason for its 'incompleteness'. Especially if an article is considered by someone (or seperate people) to be ''both'' missing information and yet also badly over-written.

[[Category:Pages to delete]]

3120: Geologic Periods

2026-06-01T14:01:11Z

82.132.238.174: /* Transcript */ Smartquotes (66-and-99 type, both //-like in slope, barring squiggle bit) aren't any better than the normal quote (||-type), if you're trying to depict //-and-\\ slopequotes. And is unimportant+confusing for screenreaders/text-searches.

{{comic
| number = 3120
| date = July 25, 2025
| title = Geologic Periods
| image = geologic_periods_2x.png
| imagesize = 611x557px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Geologists claim it's because the earlier Cenozoic used to be called the Tertiary, but that's just a ruse to hide the secret third geologic period, between the Neogene and the Quaternary, that they won't tell us about.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic depicts a table representing planet Earth's geological time scale. For each period, [[Randall]] highlights his rather idiosyncratic likes and dislikes among their characteristics, instead of accompanying each geological name with facts pertinent to it, such as the duration of the period represented, the state of the Earth (e.g., glaciated), or the flora and fauna most common.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Period and date ({{abbr|{{w|Million years ago|MYA}}|Millions of years ago}})
!Randall's comments
!Explanation
|-
! rowspan="2" | {{w|Precambrian}} (4500⁠–⁠539)
|{{Yes|Life develops}}
|The {{w|Precambrian}} (italicized in the comic since it's not a {{w|Period (geology)|geologic period}}) is the first 88% of Earth's history, including the time 4.1 to 3.4 billion years ago when life on Earth began.
|-
|{{No|Snowball Earth episodes}}
|According to the {{w|Snowball Earth}} hypothesis, during some time spans in the past Earth became nearly or entirely frozen, with no liquid water on the surface. This is similar to the {{w|Greenhouse and icehouse Earth#Icehouse Earth|Icehouse Earth}}, including now, when the planet fluctuates between glacial and interglacial periods.
|-
! rowspan="2" | {{w|Cambrian}} (539⁠–⁠487)
|{{Yes|Trilobites!}}
|{{w|Trilobite|Trilobites}} are related to present-day insects, crabs, and other arthropods, and appeared during the Cambrian.
|-
|{{No|Evolution could stand to calm down a little}}
|The {{w|Cambrian explosion}} was a sudden radiation of complex life forms when nearly all important animal phyla, or precursors to them, appeared. Randall apparently thinks it all happened a little too fast.
|-
! rowspan="2" | {{w|Ordovician}} (487⁠–⁠443)
|{{Yes|Earth might have had rings}}
|Due to the location of impact of one type of meteorite, they may have been part of a {{w|Rings of Earth|planetary ring system around Earth}}, formed by the destruction of a parent body that entered Earth's Roche limit, before colliding with it.
|-
|{{No|Scary volcanic eruption in North America}}
|The volcanic eruptions that deposited {{w|Deicke and Millbrig bentonite layers|layers of ash}} during the Late Ordovician were incredibly large. The volcanoes involved may have been formed during the mountain-building event in {{w|Taconic orogeny|what is now north-eastern North America}}.
|-
! rowspan="2" | {{w|Silurian}} (443⁠–⁠420)
|{{Yes|First land animals}}
|Green plants first became established on land during the Ordovician period, after having evolved ways to protect themselves from desiccation and ultraviolet light. During the Silurian, land animals (mostly arthropods resembling {{w|Kampecaris|millipedes}}) followed the plants.
|-
|{{No|Earth's newfound mold problem}}
| Mold soon evolved to attack them and decompose their remains. A "{{w|Indoor mold|mold problem}}" often refers to mold growing in damp places in a building, causing unpleasant odors and various {{w|Indoor_mold#Health_effects|negative health effects}}.
|-
! rowspan="2" | {{w|Devonian}} (420⁠–⁠359)
|{{Yes|Big mountains in Boston}}
|A section of the present-day Appalachian Range from the Canadian Maritimes to the Carolinas, including what is now the Boston area of Massachusetts, was created during this period. (At the time, Boston was in the tropics, just south of the equator.)
|-
|{{No|Yeah, sure, what those giant killer fish needed was ''armor''}}
|{{w|Placoderm}} fishes, which were common in the Devonian, had plates of {{w|dermal bone}} in the head and thoracic portions of the body. Not all placoderms were giants, or apex predators. These fishes likely had these bony plates because they helped protect them from predators.
|-
! rowspan="2" | {{w|Carboniferous}} (359⁠–⁠299)
|{{Yes|Cool forests}}
|Forests in the Carboniferous lacked the flowering plants and conifers that are common in present-day forests. Instead, forests were dominated by giant versions of today's {{w|Lycopodiaceae|club mosses}}, {{w|Equisetidae|horsetails}}, and {{w|Marattiaceae|ferns}}, as well as by several plant lineages that are now extinct. {{w|File:Meyers b15 s0272b.jpg|Artists' depictions}} of such forests are exotic-looking and considered "cool" by Randall.
|-
|{{No|Bugs too big}}
|Carboniferous '{{w|Carboniferous#Terrestrial invertebrates|bugs}}' included the largest-ever known land invertebrate, a {{w|Arthropleura|2.6 m millipede-like animal}}; the largest-ever known flying insect, resembling a {{w|Meganeura|dragonfly with a wingspan of 75 cm}}; and a {{w|Pulmonoscorpius|70 cm scorpion}}.
|-
! rowspan="2" | {{w|Permian}} (299⁠–⁠252)
|{{Yes|Pangea}}
|{{w|Pangaea}} was the most recent {{w|supercontinent}} containing nearly all of Earth's landmass.
|-
|{{No|Google "The Great Dying"}}
|{{w|Permian-Triassic extinction event|The Great Dying}} occurred at the end of the Permian and is the most severe of Earth's {{w|Extinction event#The "Big Five" mass extinctions|'Big Five' mass extinction events}}. In it, 80% of marine species and 70% of terrestrial vertebrate species were wiped out.
|-)
! rowspan="2" | {{w|Triassic}} (252⁠–⁠201)
|{{Yes|Tanystropheus}}
|The ''{{w|Tanystropheus}}'' was an {{w|Archosauromorpha|Archosauromorph}} with a proportionally unusually long neck (as depicted in the comic).
|-
|{{No|Damage to Canada still visible from space at Manicouagan}}
|{{w|Manicouagan Reservoir}} is a ring-shaped lake, the remains of the crater caused by a 5 km (3 mi) asteroid hitting {{w|Quebec}}.
|-
! rowspan="2" | {{w|Jurassic}} (201⁠–⁠143)
|{{Yes|Birds}}
|The {{w|Avialae|ancestors of modern birds}} emerged during the Jurassic. A common 'fun fact' about birds is that they are modern-day dinosaurs, as the ancestors of today's birds were some of the few dinosaurs to survive the {{w|Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event}}. Randall has repeatedly expressed interest in this fact, and has repeatedly mentioned it in his comics.
|-
|{{No|Parasitoid wasps}}
|{{w|Parasitoid wasp}}s reproduce by implanting their eggs into still-living animals, whose bodies are then eaten from the inside out by the wasp's larva. It is such a grisly process that it caused a {{w|Parasitoid wasp#In culture|crisis of faith}} among 19th-century European scholars.
|-
! rowspan="2" | {{w|Cretaceous}} (143⁠–⁠66)
|{{Yes|Raptors}}
| rowspan="2" |{{w|Dromaeosauridae|Raptors}}, especially {{w|Velociraptors}}, are a [[:Category:Velociraptors|trope]] within xkcd, especially in its early years. They were popularized by their appearance in the ''[[:Category:Jurassic Park|Jurassic Park]]'' film series. In the films, velociraptors are depicted as small (shorter than adult humans) bipedal scaled dinosaurs which frequently attacked and killed humans. Velociraptors and the irrational fear of being attacked by them in the modern world are a subject of several [[xkcd]] strips. Thus, "raptors" appears in both the "Favorites" and "Complaints" columns of the table.
|-
|{{No|Raptors}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | {{w|Paleogene}} (66⁠–⁠23)
|{{Yes|Pretty horseys!!!}}
|Fossils of members of the {{w|Equidae|horse family}} first appear during this period. Horses, fossil and extant, are prime examples of {{w|charismatic megafauna}} ("Pretty horseys!"). The rapid diversification of horses from a presumed single common ancestor is an oft-cited example of mammalian adaptive radiation.
|-
|{{No|Paleocene-eocene thermal maximum}}
|The {{w|Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum}} was a time when the global average temperature rose by 5-8 °C in a relatively short period of time. It can be viewed as a slower version of [[:Category:Climate change|climate change, which Randall has repeatedly complained about]].
|-
! rowspan="2" | {{w|Neogene}} (23⁠–⁠2.6)
|{{Yes|Forests of ''Dracaena'' dragonblood trees}}
|''{{w|Dracaena draco}}'' and ''{{w|Dracaena cinnabari}}'' trees are a source of {{w|dragon's blood}}, a naturally occurring bright red resin used as a varnish and a dye.
|-
|{{No|Zanclean flood}}
|The {{w|Zanclean flood}} is theorized to be the flood that refilled the Mediterranean Sea. It is possible that Randall included this as a reference to [[1190: Time]], which centers around a flood around the Mediterranean sea similar to the Zanclean flood theory.
|-
! rowspan="2" | {{w|Quaternary}} (2.6⁠–⁠present)
|{{Yes|Burrito invented}}
|Randall jokes that, in the last 2.6 million years, his favorite moment was the invention of the {{w|burrito}}, rather than many other, much more significant discoveries. The precise origin of the burrito is not known, but the {{w|Maya civilization}} made food resembling burritos as early as 1500 BC.
|-
|{{No|Whoever picked this name for the third period of the Cenozoic}}
|The third period of the {{w|Cenozoic Era}} is the Quaternary ("Fourth"), named by Jules Desnoyers in 1829. Randall is riffing on the cognitive disconnect between "third" and "fourth", for which the current geological naming conventions offer no justification.
|}

The title text expands on the complaint about the "third" v "fourth" discrepancy in regard to the Quaternary Period by claiming the existence of an unnamed geologic period within the Cenozoic Era "that geologists won't tell us about". As the idea of Earth being billions of years old gained acceptance and we invented tools for dating rocks, "primary" and "secondary" fell away as descriptors for both rock types and rock ages, replaced by terms that convey information about the rocks more accurately. "Tertiary" was applied to "Cenozoic minus Quaternary", and survived in formal nomenclature into the 21st century. No alternative for "Quaternary" has yet been accepted, so the name persists as fodder for cartoonists who wonder, not without cause, how a "third" element in Earth history could be labeled a "fourth" element. The phrase '''x'' that ''y'' won't tell us about' is a common trope in {{w|Conspiracy theory|Conspiracy theories}} in which something is claimed to be hidden from the populace.

==Transcript==

:[A table with 3 columns, labelled: "Period", "My favorite part" and "My biggest complaint". There are 13 rows below the labels]

:[Row 1: Period, italicized:] ''Precambrian''
:[My favorite part:] Life develops
:[My biggest complaint:] Snowball Earth episodes

:[Row 2: Period:] Cambrian
:[My favorite part:] Trilobites!
:[My biggest complaint:] Evolution could stand to calm down a little

:[Row 3: Period:] Ordovician
:[My favorite part:] Earth might have had rings
:[My biggest complaint:] Scary volcanic eruption in North America

:[Row 4: Period:] Silurian
:[My favorite part:] First land animals
:[My biggest complaint:] Earth's newfound mold problem

:[Row 5: Period:] Devonian
:[My favorite part:] Big mountains in Boston
:[My biggest complaint:] Yeah, sure, what those giant killer fish needed was '''''armor'''''

:[Row 6: Period:] Carboniferous
:[My favorite part:] Cool forests
:[My biggest complaint:] Bugs too big

:[Row 7: Period:] Permian
:[My favorite part:] Pangea
:[My biggest complaint:] Google "The Great Dying"

:[Row 8: Period:] Triassic
:[My favorite part:] Tanystropheus [accompanying the text in this cell is an image of a ''Tanystropheus'' and its characteristic elongated neck, with Cueball standing next to it for scale]
:[My biggest complaint:] Damage to Canada still visible from space at Manicouagan

:[Row 9: Period:] Jurassic
:[My favorite part:] Birds
:[My biggest complaint:] Parasitoid wasps

:[Row 10: Period:] Cretaceous
:[My favorite part:] Raptors
:[My biggest complaint:] Raptors

:[Row 11: Period:] Paleogene
:[My favorite part:] Pretty horseys!!!
:[My biggest complaint:] Paleocene-eocene thermal maximum

:[Row 12: Period:] Neogene
:[My favorite part:] Forests of ''Dracaena'' dragonblood trees
:[My biggest complaint:] Zanclean flood

:[Row 13: Period:] Quaternary
:[My favorite part:] Burrito invented
:[My biggest complaint:] Whoever picked this name for the third period of the Cenozoic

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

Talk:3252: Ancestral Genomes

2026-06-01T13:37:03Z

82.132.238.174:

I'm expecting some reference to the revelation of Neandthalic/etc genes in various branches of our own population, along the way, but shall leave the actual writing to others. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 18:15, 29 May 2026 (UTC)
Sexis canon again! [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 18:31, 29 May 2026 (UTC)

This comic is an interesting contribution to discussion about how science and the public handle privacy issues. For instance a museums finds it okay to display a dead body [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ötzi] just because he died a very long time ago. --[[Special:Contributions/2001:4091:A241:81DC:350B:874D:E1AA:9FEE|2001:4091:A241:81DC:350B:874D:E1AA:9FEE]] 13:46, 30 May 2026 (UTC)
: We need more details about Ötzi to better understand how he is related to us. For example, did he play the Steirische Ziehharmonika, and if not, how did he fail to learn it? Was he killed because of Harmonikamusikhass--someone hated accordions and did not want them to perpetuate? His display in a museum would be much more exciting and appropriate with those details. [[Special:Contributions/173.188.194.118|173.188.194.118]] 15:18, 30 May 2026 (UTC)
:: Ötzi probably predates the Steirische Ziehharmonika, unless someone used their time machine to fix the temporal ordering requirements. --[[Special:Contributions/2A10:D586:3E93:0:907B:6DDD:C33E:4855|2A10:D586:3E93:0:907B:6DDD:C33E:4855]] 07:52, 31 May 2026 (UTC)

see also [[2268]] [[User:Treeplate|Treeplate]] ([[User talk:Treeplate|talk]]) 15:19, 30 May 2026 (UTC)

*This strip reminds me of [[830: Genetic Analysis]], where counselor Megan tells Cueball, "... we've analyzed genes on several of your chromosomes, and it's hard to avoid the conclusion: at some point, your parents had sex." --[[Special:Contributions/208.59.176.206|208.59.176.206]] 19:16, 30 May 2026 (UTC)

Think about how uncomfortable it is to think about your grandparents having sex. It's exponentially worse with your great-great-great-great-great-great-etc-grandparents. [[User:RegularSizedGuy|RegularSizedGuy]] ([[User talk:RegularSizedGuy|talk]]) 14:34, 31 May 2026 (UTC)
*I disagree. I never met my great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents, and I don't even know what their names were or what they looked like. So I have no specific image of them with which to be discomforted by the idea of them having sex. It may be ''somewhat'' uncomfortable to think about them having sex, but considerably ''less'' uncomfortable than thinking about my grandparents having sex. --[[Special:Contributions/208.59.176.206|208.59.176.206]] 05:53, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

While I agree that, in general, the public doesn’t respect the privacy of people who died a long time ago, I think it should be pointed out that this is a real ethical discussion in history and in social sciences more generally. Ethnic studies has really broached the subject of what sources should be available to us, the importance of respecting the people/cultures behind those sources, etc. and historians have been taking note. Ari Kelman’s book Misplaced Massacre is a good example. I think saying that at a certain point privacy is just left to history is a bit reductive.
[[User:Salsmachev|Salsmachev]] ([[User talk:Salsmachev|talk]]) 15:30, 31 May 2026 (UTC)

I'd just like to note that the diagram as shown could either be one of descendency or ancestry.
*Descendency: from a single common ancestor at the top, it tracks known descendents chronologically downwards until the modern day extended family whose genomes may have been sampled to back-derive the separate paths down which various genetic variations from the original presumed common heritage found their way (presumably mostly added in by partners of the intermediate descendents). Dotted lines may indicate tentative 'non-maritable' genetic links across branches ("uncle Bob was always nearby, ready to help mother out while my father was away"). There's quite a few modern-day descendents. But, realistically, any ancestor far enough back who ''has'' extant descendents is likely to have many (i.e. the "X% of the world's population is directly descended from Genghis Kahn”, or whoever, but the same could probably be said of various anonymous others from that time, if only we knew who they were), so long as all their branches haven't all died out.
*Ancestry: Top node is the single present target individual, each layer down is the parents of the layer above, with some (but limited) information about the most immediate layers. The clumped lines at the bottom is where it turns into more generalist assumptions starting to be more based upon official records and even regionality/ethnicity assumptions. (Again, dotted lines indicate possible 'unofficial gene-sharing'.)
...I would lean towards the latter, given that most nodes that have decinite and distinct 'feeder lines' from below have exactly two of them. Everyone{{Citation needed}} has two parents, one way or another. For the other, you'd have to assume a lot of consistent two-child families as the overwhelming norm, in a part of the diagram leading back in a time where Family Planning was (at best) more like making good practical use around the home/farm/factory of as many of the numerous children you had that hadn't already succumbed to one of the copious childhood illnesses/accidents. (Or, if a more priveleged family tree, some rather deliberate sticking to the "an heir, and a spare" philosophy, though even that would have been hit-and-miss and you'd still expect to see intergenerational and intragenerational variations.)
 The more Doylist explanation is that it's just a scribbled diagram by Randall, and whichever archetype of figure he might have taken inspiration from, in an actual Ancestry/Descendency study, he just went for the general look. But it doesn't stop me pondering the in-universe/Watsonian facts deep behind the festuted scenario, however unnecesary it might be to try to understand (and then explain) in order to appreciate the comic's more deliberate punchline(s). But I still wished to share my ponderings on the matter. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.238.174|82.132.238.174]] 13:37, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

3252: Ancestral Genomes

2026-06-01T12:53:39Z

82.132.238.174: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 3252
| date = May 29, 2026
| title = Ancestral Genomes
| image = ancestral_genomes_2x.png
| imagesize = 299x416px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH: No further research is needed as it is frankly none of our business.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was DELETED TO RESPECT THE COMIC’S PRIVACY. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

A {{w|genotype}} is the complete genetic makeup of an individual, i.e. all of its genes. In humans, genotypes are almost always inherited from an individual’s parents; the two parents’ genotypes combine during sexual reproduction to form the genotype of the child. {{w|mutation|Mutations}} do occur, where parts of the DNA change randomly in a way that gives rise to a new genotype, and [https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/october-21-2017-1.4363723/how-many-mutant-genes-does-a-person-have-1.4363741 each human has about 60 such mutations, on average,] out of about 20,000 genes. However, most mutations are "silent", i.e. not causing any visible changes. Depending on the behavior of the mutation, and if it even occurs to any gamete cells or those that produce them, it may spread throughout a population, or disappear again, or end up only being present in a certain fraction of the population. Either way, when studying a genotype, it is ''exceedingly rare'' to not arise through sexual intercourse, and impossible to spread throughout the population without it. As modern-day genetics researchers, [[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] should definitely know this fact.

Currently in the United States, topics around sex are at least partially considered taboo. This taboo most strictly covers depictions of sex and nudity in media, which are usually the domain of pornography and less mainstream art forms (e.g. nude photography). Megan defending themselves as not being “weirdos” suggests that she in fact does not want to break the taboo. In academic science however, such topics are generally part of regular scientific discussion, including depictions and descriptions that would be considered offensive in other circumstances. For example, Wikimedia Commons contains [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Human_sexual_activity many depictions of sexual intercourse] for scientific and educational purposes. While some researchers, like the ones depicted in the comic, might be offended by such “lewd” contents, most would regard them well as long as they further the research on the topic at hand. Real-world biologists or geneticists would most likely not be offended by these issues, as sexual reproduction is a common or even predominant topic in both fields. Furthermore, the obscenity of the topic (genetic distributions affected by sexual reproduction) is very low in comparison to fields that deal with intercourse directly. This view seems to be shared by the off-screen commenter in the comic.

What is more problematic, and also addressed by the researcher’s comments, is the privacy of the individuals in the population under examination. Namely, using such data, it might be possible to figure out who had intercourse with whom, possibly reducing the timeframe to within less than a year based on the offspring’s age. However, since the analysis depicted likely takes place over many generations within a population, and is done on historical data, it is likely that the vast majority of the people whose genomes were analyzed are no longer alive. This is supported by the description of the population as “ancestral”. Beyond a certain point, even private data pertaining to deceased people is no longer considered sensitive, as it becomes the subject of history. The only problematic part is the ancestral information for living individuals, which is indeed worthy of protection—but not for the reasons given.

The title text is a reference to [[2268: Further Research is Needed]]. This one is based on the fact that most scientific papers contain a section suggesting future research avenues. This is done in the hope that other researchers will pick up where the authors have left off, or to announce the author’s own intentions for follow-up work. However, in this case, Megan and Cueball are both averse to the idea of future research, since as established they don’t think it’s appropriate to do so, which is ironic given the reason for the section.

Genetics and sex have also appeared in [[830: Genetic Analysis]]. Presenting outlandish or plain bad/incorrect research has been a common topic, such as in [[3129: Archaeology Research]] and [[3000: Experimental Astrophysics]].

If the researcher had access to the time machine from [[3251: Time Machine Conversation|the previous comic]], they would not need to rely on techniques such as admixture. Though personally using the time-travel ability to manifest oneself at the time and place of ''every'' birth and/or conception event to obtain the data necessary to accumulaate the same (or better) ancestral information ''would'' probably mean a series of very intrusive invasions of privacy that might well be considered as the actions of a weirdo.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are shown, with Megan using a pointer stick to point at a diagram on a poster. The diagram features tree/root structure with a single node at the top end, branching solid lines leading to more nodes across several levels in most cases, but with at least one node that does not propogate this way and some dotted lines linking down from some branches into other ones. The increasingly branching lower tracks becoming so dense that it almost looks like dark triangles at the bottom of the diagram's last obvious bifurcations. Small and unreadable labels/symbols feature next to most linking lines, and more extensive (but still totally unreadable) information is placed below each of the lowermost 'triangular' terminating clumps.]
:Megan: Our admixture analysis showed that these genotypes arose in the ancestral population almost entirely through sexual intercourse.
:Megan: Upon realizing this, we of course promptly deleted all our data.
:Off-screen voice: What? Why??
:Megan: We're not '''''weirdos!'''''
:Megan: Jeez, give these people some privacy!

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Sex]]

3252: Ancestral Genomes

2026-06-01T12:40:54Z

82.132.238.174: /* Transcript */ Correcting the "dark triangles" description to be more like what is supposed to be.

{{comic
| number = 3252
| date = May 29, 2026
| title = Ancestral Genomes
| image = ancestral_genomes_2x.png
| imagesize = 299x416px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH: No further research is needed as it is frankly none of our business.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was DELETED TO RESPECT THE COMIC’S PRIVACY. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

A {{w|genotype}} is the complete genetic makeup of an individual, i.e. all of its genes. In humans, genotypes are almost always inherited from an individual’s parents; the two parents’ genotypes combine during sexual reproduction to form the genotype of the child. {{w|mutation|Mutations}} do occur, where parts of the DNA change randomly in a way that gives rise to a new genotype, and [https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/october-21-2017-1.4363723/how-many-mutant-genes-does-a-person-have-1.4363741 each human has about 60 such mutations, on average,] out of about 20,000 genes. However, most mutations are "silent", i.e. not causing any visible changes. Depending on the behavior of the mutation, and if it even occurs to any gamete cells or those that produce them, it may spread throughout a population, or disappear again, or end up only being present in a certain fraction of the population. Either way, when studying a genotype, it is ''exceedingly rare'' to not arise through sexual intercourse, and impossible to spread throughout the population without it. As modern-day genetics researchers, [[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] should definitely know this fact.

Currently in the United States, topics around sex are at least partially considered taboo. This taboo most strictly covers depictions of sex and nudity in media, which are usually the domain of pornography and less mainstream art forms (e.g. nude photography). Megan defending themselves as not being “weirdos” suggests that she in fact does not want to break the taboo. In academic science however, such topics are generally part of regular scientific discussion, including depictions and descriptions that would be considered offensive in other circumstances. For example, Wikimedia Commons contains [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Human_sexual_activity many depictions of sexual intercourse] for scientific and educational purposes. While some researchers, like the ones depicted in the comic, might be offended by such “lewd” contents, most would regard them well as long as they further the research on the topic at hand. Real-world biologists or geneticists would most likely not be offended by these issues, as sexual reproduction is a common or even predominant topic in both fields. Furthermore, the obscenity of the topic (genetic distributions affected by sexual reproduction) is very low in comparison to fields that deal with intercourse directly. This view seems to be shared by the off-screen commenter in the comic.

What is more problematic, and also addressed by the researcher’s comments, is the privacy of the individuals in the population under examination. Namely, using such data, it might be possible to figure out who had intercourse with whom, possibly reducing the timeframe to within less than a year based on the offspring’s age. However, since the analysis depicted likely takes place over many generations within a population, and is done on historical data, it is likely that the vast majority of the people whose genomes were analyzed are no longer alive. This is supported by the description of the population as “ancestral”. Beyond a certain point, even private data pertaining to deceased people is no longer considered sensitive, as it becomes the subject of history. The only problematic part is the ancestral information for living individuals, which is indeed worthy of protection—but not for the reasons given.

The title text is a reference to [[2268: Further Research is Needed]]. This one is based on the fact that most scientific papers contain a section suggesting future research avenues. This is done in the hope that other researchers will pick up where the authors have left off, or to announce the author’s own intentions for follow-up work. However, in this case, Megan and Cueball are both averse to the idea of future research, since as established they don’t think it’s appropriate to do so, which is ironic given the reason for the section.

Genetics and sex have also appeared in [[830: Genetic Analysis]]. Presenting outlandish or plain bad/incorrect research has been a common topic, such as in [[3129: Archaeology Research]] and [[3000: Experimental Astrophysics]].

If the researcher had access to the time machine from [[3251: Time Machine Conversation|the previous comic]], they would not need to rely on techniques such as admixture. Though personally using the time-travel ability to manifest oneself at the time and place of ''every'' birth and/or conception event to obtain the data necessary to accumulaate the same (or better) ancestral information ''would'' probably mean a series of very intrusive invasions of privacy that might well be considered as the actions of a weirdo.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are shown, with Megan using a pointer stick to point at a diagram on a poster. The diagram features a top-down tree structure, with the increasingly branching lower tracks becoming so dense that it almost looks like dark triangles at the bottom of the diagram's last obvious bifurcations.]
:Megan: Our admixture analysis showed that these genotypes arose in the ancestral population almost entirely through sexual intercourse.
:Megan: Upon realizing this, we of course promptly deleted all our data.
:Off-screen voice: What? Why??
:Megan: We're not '''''weirdos!'''''
:Megan: Jeez, give these people some privacy!

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Sex]]