explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:3118: iNaturalist Animals and Plants

2025-07-25T08:28:14Z

82.132.247.115:

we probably need to add something about how bacteria are more common but not observable to the average person [[Special:Contributions/72.203.83.113|72.203.83.113]] 16:36, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:Why? Bacteria are not animals or plants. [[Special:Contributions/2600:387:4:803:0:0:0:2C|2600:387:4:803:0:0:0:2C]] 17:45, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:The lack of fungi is perhaps more noteworthy. --[[Special:Contributions/86.13.226.126|86.13.226.126]] 16:44, 22 July 2025 (UTC)
::Why? Should they have appeared as significantly noted animals? [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.2|82.132.244.2]] 17:13, 22 July 2025 (UTC)
:: >"bacteria ....not observable to the average person" They is. Some special folks have microscopes. Lots of folks have aquaria or pond-scum and some of that is bacterial. My wetland (and brown well-water) is full of iron-bacteria. And then there are tree-galls (big cancer-like lumps) some of which are due to bacteria. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?taxon_id=67333 -- --[[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 17:30, 23 July 2025 (UTC)

Why are some states missing their postal code? IA, FL, AK, HI don't have them. [[User:Nolanmeyer|Nolanmeyer]] ([[User talk:Nolanmeyer|talk]]) 18:27, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:Probably human error. [[Special:Contributions/2001:4C4E:1C00:BF00:658B:2EF0:F9ED:69A|2001:4C4E:1C00:BF00:658B:2EF0:F9ED:69A]] 12:27, 22 July 2025 (UTC)
:Added a trivia section! --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 13:52, 22 July 2025 (UTC)

I am curious which animal and which plant are mentioned for the most states? [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 18:43, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:Common Eastern Bumble Bee with 7 states [CT, IL, MD, MA, MN, VT, WI] and Common Milkweed with 6 states [IL, IA, MI, MN, NE, WI][[User:Nolanmeyer|Nolanmeyer]] ([[User talk:Nolanmeyer|talk]]) 18:53, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:White-tailed Deer also has 7 states [IO, MI, MT, NH, PA, VI, WV] [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 19:16, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:You're right! My python script missed Iowa because of a capitalization error in the transcription. [[User:Nolanmeyer|Nolanmeyer]] ([[User talk:Nolanmeyer|talk]]) 19:32, 21 July 2025 (UTC)

Is there a hidden joke in this one that needs explaining, or is it simply an interesting data map? [[Special:Contributions/37.19.197.233|37.19.197.233]]
: Looks like just an interesting map. Nothing wrong with that. --[[Special:Contributions/81.96.108.67|81.96.108.67]] 20:50, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:: Wrong. What's wrong with it is that there's no joke. It's not "comic" in any way. {{unsigned ip|70.16.143.48|22:03, 21 July 2025 (UTC)}}
::: It may have derived from the earlier use of 'comic' implying a joke or humour, but the modern use of 'comic' for the artform does not. For example, Wikipedia refers to it as "a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information", which is exactly what this is. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 10:41, 22 July 2025 (UTC)
:::: 'Wikipedia' is perhaps the literal least reliable source of information on the planet. [[Special:Contributions/70.16.143.48|70.16.143.48]]
::::: {{Actual citation needed}}
::::: To be precise, if ''anybody'' knows (or thinks) that Wikipedia is wrong, they can make changes. Compared with the current tendency to have an AI try to pre-emptively summarise a search-engine result when there's absolutely no way to correct obvious errors, or any more traditional and static online encyclopedia or 'expert' page which may be replete with errors and outdated information that cannot be easily corrected (if at all).
::::: Not to say that Wikipedia is the ''most'' reliable source (always worth a check elsewhere, if it really matters), but it's potentially far more reliable than many of its alternatives. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.246.160|82.132.246.160]] 20:36, 23 July 2025 (UTC)
:::::: I'm sure you believe that you're honestly being "precise", but I strongly, strongly urge and implore you to go and attempt to make a change on a wikipedia "article" that you believe is wrong. Seriously, go try it.[[Special:Contributions/70.16.143.48|70.16.143.48]]
::::::: If your 'correction' is correct, and you're sticking to clear and objective truths, you won't have a problem. If you're prone to conveying controversial opinions, I imagine that you might have a different experience. To not reasonably trust the current "comic" page, for example, or (if you tried to make any) failed to have any of your suggested changes stand, it probably says more about you.
::::::: And if you can't find ''any'' more badly written resources elsewhere, even for something pointedly marked as a stub, you're either not looking hard enough or you're in thrall to the wrongheaded information sources concerned for a particular subject. Keep an open mind (but not so open that your brain gets replaced). "Trust but verify" is a reasonable mantra, and Wikipedia helps with the latter more than most places. But somehow ''this'' wiki seems to have become the place where this is being discussed (anecdotally), in a way that would rightfully rejected in any actual wiki-type article as being unreferenced. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.85|82.132.244.85]] 22:28, 24 July 2025 (UTC)
:::::::: No, if your "correction" sticks to the sociopolitical agenda of the "editors" in charge, you won't have a problem. The site itself conveys many controversial opinions... but only the ones that align with their echo chamber.[[Special:Contributions/70.16.143.48|70.16.143.48]]
::::::::: I refer you again to the unlikelihood that "what a comic is" even has such biases that you might consider relevent, which is the only reason we're having this conversation. I can't, and won't, tell you that there aren't issues where wikipedia's group consensus is antithetical to your personal opinion, whatever that might be, and vice-versa. But I think you place too much credit to imagine the nebulous 'They' have rendered even the most utterly tangential articles to inaccurately support whatever particular agenda you consider Them wanting to to push. To declare "the literal least reliable source of information on the planet" is laughably wrong. I could point you at North Korean TV, as an easy counterexample, and various other broadcasters (trying here to ''not'' accidentally name one that you personally treat as sacrosanct, with no way to guess which perspective you might lean). Listing social media accounts that you might find eternally ludicrous (again, no names, as maybe there'll be some of these you might consider the fountainhead of true knowledge) or other websites (wiki-like and otherwise) could be trivial.
::::::::: But my apologies. In the last response I had intended to grant you the right of having the last word, before officially bowing out, and that would have saved this whole repetition and restating of opinion. So you may have your final word, below, instead. I think we remain at an impass that I'm sure nobody else wants me to prolong further. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.247.115|82.132.247.115]] 08:27, 25 July 2025 (UTC)
:::How often did Prince Valiant or Spider Man have a joke? Also, so many of the zombine strips on the "funny" pages haven't been humourous for years. [[Special:Contributions/2600:387:4:803:0:0:0:2C|2600:387:4:803:0:0:0:2C]] 20:23, 22 July 2025 (UTC)
:::: Re: spider man; multiple times in every single issue. Re: zombine strips; now we're talking short-form graphic novels, not comics.[[Special:Contributions/70.16.143.48|70.16.143.48]]
::::Ah, so the joke is that a lot of these are invasive species, or just from one person over reporting. That makes more sense. It's difficult to tell whether the silly names for animals and trees are real or parody. [[Special:Contributions/212.56.54.115|212.56.54.115]] 21:16, 22 July 2025 (UTC)
::::: There isn't a joke. There doesn't need to be a joke. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 08:23, 23 July 2025 (UTC)
:::::: Yes there does. [[Special:Contributions/70.16.143.48|70.16.143.48]]
::::::: Sometimes, it's enough to be just informative. But, as it happens, it's informative ''with humour'', as perhaps being unexpected information (and the fact that the information has an overly narrowly focus in the way it explains it) that can at the very least raise a wry grin.
::::::: For example, look at a species (or group of very similar ones) that shows across a range of states. And, further, consider that it might still be a near-top, just not ''actually'' top, in various neighbouring states. You can, in your mind's eye, translate that into a very revealing 'heat map' which I (YMMV) actually find very entertaining. Not as basic as "joke and punchline", but still far from unentertaining, if you let it be. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.246.160|82.132.246.160]] 20:36, 23 July 2025 (UTC)
:::::::: It might not be wrong to have no joke in this one, but it certainly is ''unusual for Randall'' to post such a comic, especially as practically all maps that have ever appeared in xkcd have been obviously wrong in one way or another.[[Special:Contributions/88.85.137.11|88.85.137.11]] 16:17, 24 July 2025 (UTC)
::::::::: Yup. There's clearly a punchline in here somewhere that we're missing.[[Special:Contributions/70.16.143.48|70.16.143.48]]

Big question: what does "most-observed" mean? Most reported? Most likely for a resident to see? Most likely for a resident to pay attention to? -- [[User:Dtgriscom|Dtgriscom]] ([[User talk:Dtgriscom|talk]]) 19:38, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:The comic already answers that question: "Not the most common species in the state, just the one people have reported the most times." [[Special:Contributions/174.53.211.85|174.53.211.85]] 20:06, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:iNaturalist is a phone app used by people to help contribute to citizen science (i.e. help collect data for research), so people scan animals/plants that they see to send to iNaturalist databases to be identified automatically. Most-observed means the species that are most reported to the database (so the species with the most scans). The comic notes most reported ≠ most common since many people just ignore species of animals/plants they don't believe to be notable enough to take the effort to scan such as grass. [[Special:Contributions/97.126.175.170|97.126.175.170]] 20:10, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
::If people were reporting common animals they see, they'd probably be dogs and cats. And even more common would be insects -- a backyard probably has hundreds of ants living in it. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:30, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
::: "''reporting common animals they see,''" iNat members report what they think is worth reporting. I aint got time to figure if I see more cedar or maple-- in fact I reported a maple only cuz I found a spectaculary colorful maple leaf, a great picture. It is casual observations, not a strict census. (Yes, some observers get a bit obsessive, but still.......) Yes, dogs get reported a lot-- it is a great way to learn the process and you may already have good photos of Rover. {{unsigned|PRR|01:04, 22 July 2025 (UTC)}}
:::: Does this app double as an identification tool? In that case it might also be animals/plants that people don't know and are curious about. (I live in Germany and have a similar app for plants, but I admit I mostly use it for stuff that catches my eye, not for stuff I think is scientifically worth reporting.)--[[Special:Contributions/176.199.208.178|176.199.208.178]] 07:36, 22 July 2025 (UTC)
::::: >"''double as an identification tool?''" Yes. It has an expert-computer (pre-"AI") tool and also (human?) commenters, some very expert in a field. I get various 'salamanders' and iNat returns very specific identification. It's totally '''free'''. You don't have to use their 'app'. You should try it. --[[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 15:32, 23 July 2025 (UTC)

For the other {{w|U.S. Territories}} not mentioned (sorted animal, plant):
* Guam: Hawaiian Garden Spider, Coconut Palm
* Northern Marianas: Mariana Kingfisher, Alim
* American Samoa: Striped Surgeonfish, Fish Poison Tree
* US Virgin Islands: Green Iguana, Portia Tree

United States Minor Outlying Islands (collectively): Laysan Albatross, Stalky Grass
* Baker Island: Painted Lady, Rugosa Rose
* Howland Island: (not a valid location in iNat)
* Jarvis Island: Masked Booby, Sooty Tern (tie), (no plant)
* Johnston Atoll: Great Frigatebird, Beach Plant
* Kingman Reef: (no animal or plant)
* Midway Atoll: Laysan Albatross, Beach Naupaka
* Navassa Island: (not a valid location in iNat)
* Palmyra Atoll: Red-Footed Booby, Grand-Devil's Claws
* Wake Island: (not a valid location in iNat)
[[Special:Contributions/122.56.85.105|122.56.85.105]] 21:44, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:You seem to be confusing Baker Island (in the Pacific) with various Baker's Islands in New England. --[[Special:Contributions/2601:19B:4103:97F0:C0A5:13A4:35B3:1B35|2601:19B:4103:97F0:C0A5:13A4:35B3:1B35]] 11:20, 23 July 2025 (UTC)

The surprising part is that palmettos isn't South Carolina's and deer isn't Maine's, and ''Virginia'' Springbeauty is in Ohio. [[User:Strontium|Strontium]] ([[User talk:Strontium|talk]]) 03:21, 22 July 2025 (UTC)
: > "deer isn't Maine's" Deer in Maine ain't what they used to be. Deer love abandoned farmland going back to wilderness. That happened in Maine in the 1930s as cars changed farming and vacationing. Much of Maine is more heavily wooded today than any time since 1800. I saw more deer in New Jersey. {{unsigned|PRR|15:44, 23 July 2025 (UTC)}}

Is there a category for the very rare XKCD strips which don't include any humour, even in the alt text? I can't think of any from recent years, which makes this one extraordinary, but I might be forgetting some obvious examples. [[Special:Contributions/82.42.161.198|82.42.161.198]] 16:29, 22 July 2025 (UTC)
: Now counts I think? Both Money and the Election Challengers map have some humor iirc. [[Special:Contributions/2600:1700:BF20:D10:1C87:359:5132:6A85|2600:1700:BF20:D10:1C87:359:5132:6A85]] 16:46, 22 July 2025 (UTC)
:: You could argue Now doesn't count because "assuming the Earth continues spinning" is likely intended as humor or at least is humorously pedantic. [[User:TheAnvil|TheAnvil]] ([[User talk:TheAnvil|talk]]) 17:19, 23 July 2025 (UTC)
::: A cursory look at the chart-based comics suggests Visual Field, Marriage, and Dominant Players as possible contenders (depending on what you find humorous). Surprisingly many are eliminated by the alt text alone (e.g. Congress). Of course, many of the early sketches fall under this category (e.g. Petit Trees) but there definitely aren’t many recent ones. [[Special:Contributions/2600:1700:BF20:D10:DCFB:7F23:8215:86A5|2600:1700:BF20:D10:DCFB:7F23:8215:86A5]] 19:42, 23 July 2025 (UTC)

@<yourfavouriteAI> please write a python script that replaces each name of a State, Plant, or Animal in this list by a link to en.wikipedia.org. (Or just do it directly.) --[[Special:Contributions/2001:16B8:CC3A:C700:452A:E6C7:F2AE:A2F8|2001:16B8:CC3A:C700:452A:E6C7:F2AE:A2F8]] 18:14, 22 July 2025 (UTC)
:Not as the page currently stands. The only mention, currently, of the ''entire'' list is in the Transcript. Which should ''not'' be linked to anywhere.
:This is actually an ideal article to use a (sortable) table for, in the Explanation itself. Three columns: State, Animal and Plant. In that, you can link each state and the first (and perhaps only) appearance of any wikilinkable fauna/flora. (You could add a symbol/key to each entry that's an invasive species, or use cell hues on a scale of green=natural to red=devestatingly displacing. ''Maybe'' fourth/fifth columns for such notes about the iNaturalist data, including what ''actually'' is officially the most common thing, objectively. But maybe not, if it clutters things up too much.)
:And I also wouldn't trust an AI to write a script to do this. (Why not just ask the AI to give you the result directly, if you're so inclined?) Nor would I think it worthwhile to do such a convoluted way of doing such a simple task that's not even being reliably automated so that you could [[1205: Is It Worth the Time?|repeat it]]. Just think/act for yourself, in cases like these. AI is the new [[2267: Blockchain]], and still not in a good way. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.114|82.132.244.114]] 19:28, 22 July 2025 (UTC)

I noticed that if you go to Randall's Bluesky account [https://bsky.app/profile/xkcd.com here] and check the alt-text for the comics, there's a basic transcript available. Here's the one for today:
The Most-Observed Animal and Plant in Each State on iNaturalist. (Not the most common species in the state, just the one people have reported the most times.) [labeled map of the US] WA: Mallard/Western Sword Fern. OR: Mule Deer/Western Ponderosa Pine. CA: Western Fence Lizard/California Poppy. HI: Green Sea Turtle/‘Ōhi’a Lehua. ID: Mallard/Big Sagebrush. NV: Common Side-Blotched Lizard/Creosote Bush. MT: White-Tailed Deer/Common Yarrow. WY: American Bison/Sticky Geranium. UT: Mule Deer/Utah Juniper. AZ: Ornate Tree Lizard/Saguaro. CO: Mule Deer/Great Mullein. NM: Mule Deer/Creosote Bush. AK: Moose/Fireweed. ND: American Bison/Prairie Rose. SD: American Bison/Hoary Vervain. NE: American Robin/Common Milkweed. KS: Ornate Box Turtle/Amur Honeysuckle. OK: Pond Slider/Eastern Redcedar. TX: Northern Cardinal/Pinladies. MN, WI, IL: Common Eastern Bumble Bee/Common Milkweed. IA, MI: White-Tailed Deer/Common Milkweed. MO: Brown-Belted Bumble Bee/Amur Honeysuckle. AR: Three-toed Box Turtle/Chinese Privet. LA: Green Anole/Baldcypress. IN: American Robin/Amur Honeysuckle. OH: Eastern Pondhawk/Virginia Springbeauty. KY: Common Box Turtle/Amur Honeysuckle. TN: American Robin/Christmas Fern. MS: Northern Cardinal/Pale Pitcher Plant. AL: Gulf Fritillary/American Sweetgum. GA: Green Anole/American Sweetgum. FL: Brown Anole/White Beggarticks. NY: Eastern Gray Squirrel/White Snakeroot. PA: White-Tailed Deer/Garlic Mustard. WV: White-Tailed Deer/Great Rhododendron. VA: White-Tailed Deer/Eastern Poison Ivy. MD: White-Tailed Deer/Wineberry. DE: Fowler’s Toad/American Pokeweed. NC: Eastern Gray Squirrel/Christmas Fern. SC: Northern Cardinal/American Sweetgum. NJ: Spotted Lanternfly/Common Mugwort. VT: Common Eastern Bumble Bee/Eastern White Pine. NH: White-Tailed Deer/Eastern White Pine. MA: Common Eastern Bumble Bee/Eastern White Pine. CT: Common Eastern Bumble Bee/Striped Wintergreen. RI: American Herring Gull. ME: American Herring Gull/Canadian Bunchberry.
Maybe the bot could add this. [[Special:Contributions/50.190.39.57|50.190.39.57]] 17:51, 23 July 2025 (UTC)
:Did some more research, the endpoint is [https://public.api.bsky.app/xrpc/app.bsky.feed.getAuthorFeed?actor=did%3Aplc%3Acz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk&filter=posts_and_author_threads&limit=30 here] and the object is (response).feed[0].record.embed.images[0].alt. Unfortunately, there's no line breaks, but overall, should be good! I am kinda busy so can't do a PR on the github repo but it should be fairly easy to implement. [[Special:Contributions/50.190.39.57|50.190.39.57]] 18:07, 23 July 2025 (UTC)

This would be an interesting map to color code by group. Like that "largest employer by state" map that has different colors for employment classification: government, education, medical, retail, manufacturing, and Denver International Airport. [[User:RegularSizedGuy|RegularSizedGuy]] ([[User talk:RegularSizedGuy|talk]]) 17:58, 23 July 2025 (UTC)

Talk:3118: iNaturalist Animals and Plants

2025-07-25T08:27:24Z

82.132.247.115:

we probably need to add something about how bacteria are more common but not observable to the average person [[Special:Contributions/72.203.83.113|72.203.83.113]] 16:36, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:Why? Bacteria are not animals or plants. [[Special:Contributions/2600:387:4:803:0:0:0:2C|2600:387:4:803:0:0:0:2C]] 17:45, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:The lack of fungi is perhaps more noteworthy. --[[Special:Contributions/86.13.226.126|86.13.226.126]] 16:44, 22 July 2025 (UTC)
::Why? Should they have appeared as significantly noted animals? [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.2|82.132.244.2]] 17:13, 22 July 2025 (UTC)
:: >"bacteria ....not observable to the average person" They is. Some special folks have microscopes. Lots of folks have aquaria or pond-scum and some of that is bacterial. My wetland (and brown well-water) is full of iron-bacteria. And then there are tree-galls (big cancer-like lumps) some of which are due to bacteria. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?taxon_id=67333 -- --[[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 17:30, 23 July 2025 (UTC)

Why are some states missing their postal code? IA, FL, AK, HI don't have them. [[User:Nolanmeyer|Nolanmeyer]] ([[User talk:Nolanmeyer|talk]]) 18:27, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:Probably human error. [[Special:Contributions/2001:4C4E:1C00:BF00:658B:2EF0:F9ED:69A|2001:4C4E:1C00:BF00:658B:2EF0:F9ED:69A]] 12:27, 22 July 2025 (UTC)
:Added a trivia section! --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 13:52, 22 July 2025 (UTC)

I am curious which animal and which plant are mentioned for the most states? [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 18:43, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:Common Eastern Bumble Bee with 7 states [CT, IL, MD, MA, MN, VT, WI] and Common Milkweed with 6 states [IL, IA, MI, MN, NE, WI][[User:Nolanmeyer|Nolanmeyer]] ([[User talk:Nolanmeyer|talk]]) 18:53, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:White-tailed Deer also has 7 states [IO, MI, MT, NH, PA, VI, WV] [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 19:16, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:You're right! My python script missed Iowa because of a capitalization error in the transcription. [[User:Nolanmeyer|Nolanmeyer]] ([[User talk:Nolanmeyer|talk]]) 19:32, 21 July 2025 (UTC)

Is there a hidden joke in this one that needs explaining, or is it simply an interesting data map? [[Special:Contributions/37.19.197.233|37.19.197.233]]
: Looks like just an interesting map. Nothing wrong with that. --[[Special:Contributions/81.96.108.67|81.96.108.67]] 20:50, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:: Wrong. What's wrong with it is that there's no joke. It's not "comic" in any way. {{unsigned ip|70.16.143.48|22:03, 21 July 2025 (UTC)}}
::: It may have derived from the earlier use of 'comic' implying a joke or humour, but the modern use of 'comic' for the artform does not. For example, Wikipedia refers to it as "a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information", which is exactly what this is. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 10:41, 22 July 2025 (UTC)
:::: 'Wikipedia' is perhaps the literal least reliable source of information on the planet. [[Special:Contributions/70.16.143.48|70.16.143.48]]
::::: {{Actual citation needed}}
::::: To be precise, if ''anybody'' knows (or thinks) that Wikipedia is wrong, they can make changes. Compared with the current tendency to have an AI try to pre-emptively summarise a search-engine result when there's absolutely no way to correct obvious errors, or any more traditional and static online encyclopedia or 'expert' page which may be replete with errors and outdated information that cannot be easily corrected (if at all).
::::: Not to say that Wikipedia is the ''most'' reliable source (always worth a check elsewhere, if it really matters), but it's potentially far more reliable than many of its alternatives. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.246.160|82.132.246.160]] 20:36, 23 July 2025 (UTC)
:::::: I'm sure you believe that you're honestly being "precise", but I strongly, strongly urge and implore you to go and attempt to make a change on a wikipedia "article" that you believe is wrong. Seriously, go try it.[[Special:Contributions/70.16.143.48|70.16.143.48]]
::::::: If your 'correction' is correct, and you're sticking to clear and objective truths, you won't have a problem. If you're prone to conveying controversial opinions, I imagine that you might have a different experience. To not reasonably trust the current "comic" page, for example, or (if you tried to make any) failed to have any of your suggested changes stand, it probably says more about you.
::::::: And if you can't find ''any'' more badly written resources elsewhere, even for something pointedly marked as a stub, you're either not looking hard enough or you're in thrall to the wrongheaded information sources concerned for a particular subject. Keep an open mind (but not so open that your brain gets replaced). "Trust but verify" is a reasonable mantra, and Wikipedia helps with the latter more than most places. But somehow ''this'' wiki seems to have become the place where this is being discussed (anecdotally), in a way that would rightfully rejected in any actual wiki-type article as being unreferenced. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.85|82.132.244.85]] 22:28, 24 July 2025 (UTC)
:::::::: No, if your "correction" sticks to the sociopolitical agenda of the "editors" in charge, you won't have a problem. The site itself conveys many controversial opinions... but only the ones that align with their echo chamber.[[Special:Contributions/70.16.143.48|70.16.143.48]]
::::::::: I refer you again to the unlikelihood that "what a comic is" even has such biases that you might consider relevent, which is the only reason we're having this conversation. I can't, and won't, tell you that there aren't issues where wikipedia's group consensus is antithetical to your personal opinion, whatever that might be, and vice-versa. But I think you place too much credit to imagine the nebulous 'They' have rendered even the most utterly tangential articles to inaccurately support whatever particular agenda you consider Them wanting to to push. To declare "the literal least reliable source of information on the planet" is laughably wrong. I could point you at North Korean TV, as an easy counterexample, and various other broadcasters (trying here to ''not'' accidentally name one that you personally treat as sacrosanct, with no way to guess which perspective you might lean). Listing social media accounts that you might find eternally ludicrous (again, no names, as maybe there'll be some of these you might consider the fountainhead of true knowledge) or other websites (wiki-like and otherwise) could be trivial.
:::::::::: But my apologies. In the last response I had intended to grant you the right of having the last word, before officially bowing out, and that would have saved this whole repetition and restating of opinion. So you may have your final word, below, instead. I think we remain at an impass that I'm sure nobody else wants me to prolong further. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.247.115|82.132.247.115]] 08:27, 25 July 2025 (UTC)
:::How often did Prince Valiant or Spider Man have a joke? Also, so many of the zombine strips on the "funny" pages haven't been humourous for years. [[Special:Contributions/2600:387:4:803:0:0:0:2C|2600:387:4:803:0:0:0:2C]] 20:23, 22 July 2025 (UTC)
:::: Re: spider man; multiple times in every single issue. Re: zombine strips; now we're talking short-form graphic novels, not comics.[[Special:Contributions/70.16.143.48|70.16.143.48]]
::::Ah, so the joke is that a lot of these are invasive species, or just from one person over reporting. That makes more sense. It's difficult to tell whether the silly names for animals and trees are real or parody. [[Special:Contributions/212.56.54.115|212.56.54.115]] 21:16, 22 July 2025 (UTC)
::::: There isn't a joke. There doesn't need to be a joke. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 08:23, 23 July 2025 (UTC)
:::::: Yes there does. [[Special:Contributions/70.16.143.48|70.16.143.48]]
::::::: Sometimes, it's enough to be just informative. But, as it happens, it's informative ''with humour'', as perhaps being unexpected information (and the fact that the information has an overly narrowly focus in the way it explains it) that can at the very least raise a wry grin.
::::::: For example, look at a species (or group of very similar ones) that shows across a range of states. And, further, consider that it might still be a near-top, just not ''actually'' top, in various neighbouring states. You can, in your mind's eye, translate that into a very revealing 'heat map' which I (YMMV) actually find very entertaining. Not as basic as "joke and punchline", but still far from unentertaining, if you let it be. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.246.160|82.132.246.160]] 20:36, 23 July 2025 (UTC)
:::::::: It might not be wrong to have no joke in this one, but it certainly is ''unusual for Randall'' to post such a comic, especially as practically all maps that have ever appeared in xkcd have been obviously wrong in one way or another.[[Special:Contributions/88.85.137.11|88.85.137.11]] 16:17, 24 July 2025 (UTC)
::::::::: Yup. There's clearly a punchline in here somewhere that we're missing.[[Special:Contributions/70.16.143.48|70.16.143.48]]

Big question: what does "most-observed" mean? Most reported? Most likely for a resident to see? Most likely for a resident to pay attention to? -- [[User:Dtgriscom|Dtgriscom]] ([[User talk:Dtgriscom|talk]]) 19:38, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:The comic already answers that question: "Not the most common species in the state, just the one people have reported the most times." [[Special:Contributions/174.53.211.85|174.53.211.85]] 20:06, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:iNaturalist is a phone app used by people to help contribute to citizen science (i.e. help collect data for research), so people scan animals/plants that they see to send to iNaturalist databases to be identified automatically. Most-observed means the species that are most reported to the database (so the species with the most scans). The comic notes most reported ≠ most common since many people just ignore species of animals/plants they don't believe to be notable enough to take the effort to scan such as grass. [[Special:Contributions/97.126.175.170|97.126.175.170]] 20:10, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
::If people were reporting common animals they see, they'd probably be dogs and cats. And even more common would be insects -- a backyard probably has hundreds of ants living in it. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:30, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
::: "''reporting common animals they see,''" iNat members report what they think is worth reporting. I aint got time to figure if I see more cedar or maple-- in fact I reported a maple only cuz I found a spectaculary colorful maple leaf, a great picture. It is casual observations, not a strict census. (Yes, some observers get a bit obsessive, but still.......) Yes, dogs get reported a lot-- it is a great way to learn the process and you may already have good photos of Rover. {{unsigned|PRR|01:04, 22 July 2025 (UTC)}}
:::: Does this app double as an identification tool? In that case it might also be animals/plants that people don't know and are curious about. (I live in Germany and have a similar app for plants, but I admit I mostly use it for stuff that catches my eye, not for stuff I think is scientifically worth reporting.)--[[Special:Contributions/176.199.208.178|176.199.208.178]] 07:36, 22 July 2025 (UTC)
::::: >"''double as an identification tool?''" Yes. It has an expert-computer (pre-"AI") tool and also (human?) commenters, some very expert in a field. I get various 'salamanders' and iNat returns very specific identification. It's totally '''free'''. You don't have to use their 'app'. You should try it. --[[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 15:32, 23 July 2025 (UTC)

For the other {{w|U.S. Territories}} not mentioned (sorted animal, plant):
* Guam: Hawaiian Garden Spider, Coconut Palm
* Northern Marianas: Mariana Kingfisher, Alim
* American Samoa: Striped Surgeonfish, Fish Poison Tree
* US Virgin Islands: Green Iguana, Portia Tree

United States Minor Outlying Islands (collectively): Laysan Albatross, Stalky Grass
* Baker Island: Painted Lady, Rugosa Rose
* Howland Island: (not a valid location in iNat)
* Jarvis Island: Masked Booby, Sooty Tern (tie), (no plant)
* Johnston Atoll: Great Frigatebird, Beach Plant
* Kingman Reef: (no animal or plant)
* Midway Atoll: Laysan Albatross, Beach Naupaka
* Navassa Island: (not a valid location in iNat)
* Palmyra Atoll: Red-Footed Booby, Grand-Devil's Claws
* Wake Island: (not a valid location in iNat)
[[Special:Contributions/122.56.85.105|122.56.85.105]] 21:44, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:You seem to be confusing Baker Island (in the Pacific) with various Baker's Islands in New England. --[[Special:Contributions/2601:19B:4103:97F0:C0A5:13A4:35B3:1B35|2601:19B:4103:97F0:C0A5:13A4:35B3:1B35]] 11:20, 23 July 2025 (UTC)

The surprising part is that palmettos isn't South Carolina's and deer isn't Maine's, and ''Virginia'' Springbeauty is in Ohio. [[User:Strontium|Strontium]] ([[User talk:Strontium|talk]]) 03:21, 22 July 2025 (UTC)
: > "deer isn't Maine's" Deer in Maine ain't what they used to be. Deer love abandoned farmland going back to wilderness. That happened in Maine in the 1930s as cars changed farming and vacationing. Much of Maine is more heavily wooded today than any time since 1800. I saw more deer in New Jersey. {{unsigned|PRR|15:44, 23 July 2025 (UTC)}}

Is there a category for the very rare XKCD strips which don't include any humour, even in the alt text? I can't think of any from recent years, which makes this one extraordinary, but I might be forgetting some obvious examples. [[Special:Contributions/82.42.161.198|82.42.161.198]] 16:29, 22 July 2025 (UTC)
: Now counts I think? Both Money and the Election Challengers map have some humor iirc. [[Special:Contributions/2600:1700:BF20:D10:1C87:359:5132:6A85|2600:1700:BF20:D10:1C87:359:5132:6A85]] 16:46, 22 July 2025 (UTC)
:: You could argue Now doesn't count because "assuming the Earth continues spinning" is likely intended as humor or at least is humorously pedantic. [[User:TheAnvil|TheAnvil]] ([[User talk:TheAnvil|talk]]) 17:19, 23 July 2025 (UTC)
::: A cursory look at the chart-based comics suggests Visual Field, Marriage, and Dominant Players as possible contenders (depending on what you find humorous). Surprisingly many are eliminated by the alt text alone (e.g. Congress). Of course, many of the early sketches fall under this category (e.g. Petit Trees) but there definitely aren’t many recent ones. [[Special:Contributions/2600:1700:BF20:D10:DCFB:7F23:8215:86A5|2600:1700:BF20:D10:DCFB:7F23:8215:86A5]] 19:42, 23 July 2025 (UTC)

@<yourfavouriteAI> please write a python script that replaces each name of a State, Plant, or Animal in this list by a link to en.wikipedia.org. (Or just do it directly.) --[[Special:Contributions/2001:16B8:CC3A:C700:452A:E6C7:F2AE:A2F8|2001:16B8:CC3A:C700:452A:E6C7:F2AE:A2F8]] 18:14, 22 July 2025 (UTC)
:Not as the page currently stands. The only mention, currently, of the ''entire'' list is in the Transcript. Which should ''not'' be linked to anywhere.
:This is actually an ideal article to use a (sortable) table for, in the Explanation itself. Three columns: State, Animal and Plant. In that, you can link each state and the first (and perhaps only) appearance of any wikilinkable fauna/flora. (You could add a symbol/key to each entry that's an invasive species, or use cell hues on a scale of green=natural to red=devestatingly displacing. ''Maybe'' fourth/fifth columns for such notes about the iNaturalist data, including what ''actually'' is officially the most common thing, objectively. But maybe not, if it clutters things up too much.)
:And I also wouldn't trust an AI to write a script to do this. (Why not just ask the AI to give you the result directly, if you're so inclined?) Nor would I think it worthwhile to do such a convoluted way of doing such a simple task that's not even being reliably automated so that you could [[1205: Is It Worth the Time?|repeat it]]. Just think/act for yourself, in cases like these. AI is the new [[2267: Blockchain]], and still not in a good way. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.114|82.132.244.114]] 19:28, 22 July 2025 (UTC)

I noticed that if you go to Randall's Bluesky account [https://bsky.app/profile/xkcd.com here] and check the alt-text for the comics, there's a basic transcript available. Here's the one for today:
The Most-Observed Animal and Plant in Each State on iNaturalist. (Not the most common species in the state, just the one people have reported the most times.) [labeled map of the US] WA: Mallard/Western Sword Fern. OR: Mule Deer/Western Ponderosa Pine. CA: Western Fence Lizard/California Poppy. HI: Green Sea Turtle/‘Ōhi’a Lehua. ID: Mallard/Big Sagebrush. NV: Common Side-Blotched Lizard/Creosote Bush. MT: White-Tailed Deer/Common Yarrow. WY: American Bison/Sticky Geranium. UT: Mule Deer/Utah Juniper. AZ: Ornate Tree Lizard/Saguaro. CO: Mule Deer/Great Mullein. NM: Mule Deer/Creosote Bush. AK: Moose/Fireweed. ND: American Bison/Prairie Rose. SD: American Bison/Hoary Vervain. NE: American Robin/Common Milkweed. KS: Ornate Box Turtle/Amur Honeysuckle. OK: Pond Slider/Eastern Redcedar. TX: Northern Cardinal/Pinladies. MN, WI, IL: Common Eastern Bumble Bee/Common Milkweed. IA, MI: White-Tailed Deer/Common Milkweed. MO: Brown-Belted Bumble Bee/Amur Honeysuckle. AR: Three-toed Box Turtle/Chinese Privet. LA: Green Anole/Baldcypress. IN: American Robin/Amur Honeysuckle. OH: Eastern Pondhawk/Virginia Springbeauty. KY: Common Box Turtle/Amur Honeysuckle. TN: American Robin/Christmas Fern. MS: Northern Cardinal/Pale Pitcher Plant. AL: Gulf Fritillary/American Sweetgum. GA: Green Anole/American Sweetgum. FL: Brown Anole/White Beggarticks. NY: Eastern Gray Squirrel/White Snakeroot. PA: White-Tailed Deer/Garlic Mustard. WV: White-Tailed Deer/Great Rhododendron. VA: White-Tailed Deer/Eastern Poison Ivy. MD: White-Tailed Deer/Wineberry. DE: Fowler’s Toad/American Pokeweed. NC: Eastern Gray Squirrel/Christmas Fern. SC: Northern Cardinal/American Sweetgum. NJ: Spotted Lanternfly/Common Mugwort. VT: Common Eastern Bumble Bee/Eastern White Pine. NH: White-Tailed Deer/Eastern White Pine. MA: Common Eastern Bumble Bee/Eastern White Pine. CT: Common Eastern Bumble Bee/Striped Wintergreen. RI: American Herring Gull. ME: American Herring Gull/Canadian Bunchberry.
Maybe the bot could add this. [[Special:Contributions/50.190.39.57|50.190.39.57]] 17:51, 23 July 2025 (UTC)
:Did some more research, the endpoint is [https://public.api.bsky.app/xrpc/app.bsky.feed.getAuthorFeed?actor=did%3Aplc%3Acz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk&filter=posts_and_author_threads&limit=30 here] and the object is (response).feed[0].record.embed.images[0].alt. Unfortunately, there's no line breaks, but overall, should be good! I am kinda busy so can't do a PR on the github repo but it should be fairly easy to implement. [[Special:Contributions/50.190.39.57|50.190.39.57]] 18:07, 23 July 2025 (UTC)

This would be an interesting map to color code by group. Like that "largest employer by state" map that has different colors for employment classification: government, education, medical, retail, manufacturing, and Denver International Airport. [[User:RegularSizedGuy|RegularSizedGuy]] ([[User talk:RegularSizedGuy|talk]]) 17:58, 23 July 2025 (UTC)

Talk:1012: Wrong Superhero

2025-07-25T07:21:24Z

82.132.247.115:

Maybe they wanted to know what the plural form of mantis is, if more were to show up? Looks like a job for etymology man. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 14:30, 30 October 2012 (UTC)

So what is the title text referring too? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.98|108.162.221.98]] 14:54, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

The title text is referring to Genesis 2:20: "And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field." In Biblical terms, this verse explains how all names of creatures (including praying mantises) came to be. Apparently Etymology-Man has studied this. {{unsigned|Npsych}}

adam-ology make more sense than the other guesses[[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.65|173.245.56.65]] 07:48, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

Didn't Portal 2 make a reference to giant mantises in one of cave johnson's prerecorded messages? maybe the comic is a bit of a reference to that. --[[User:Flamewolf|Flamewolf]] ([[User talk:Flamewolf|talk]]) 19:50, 19 February 2016 (UTC)

Maybe the title text is a pun on arthropodology[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthropodology] and (theological) anthropology[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_anthropology]? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.69.184|162.158.69.184]] 18:20, 27 October 2016 (UTC)

I suggest they asked for another hero fighting the mantis, but who came was "man-theology-man" (not manteology-man).

Perhaps the alt-text references Ethnology-Man? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnology

Ok, I'm making etymology man a minor character. [[User:Beanie|Beanie]] ([[User talk:Beanie|talk]]) 11:12, 13 May 2021 (UTC)

They should have called Eschatology Man, student of the book of Revelation. Eschatology is the study of stories about the end of the world. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 01:57, 23 September 2021 (UTC)

I removed the reference to "Adam-ology" man, as that makes no sense, and someone who takes Etymology as seriously as Randall clearly had one of the other options in mind. [[User:PotatoGod|PotatoGod]] ([[User talk:PotatoGod|talk]]) 07:34, 7 February 2025 (UTC)

If it's obviously one of the other ones, which one is it? [[Special:Contributions/2605:B100:E01F:D973:65FD:BCDD:B719:9599|2605:B100:E01F:D973:65FD:BCDD:B719:9599]] 22:39, 24 July 2025 (UTC)
:I'd probably suggest Etiology, as a front runner.
:Note that "specializes in the study of God's creation of Man in the Book of Genesis" is qn overcomplicated clue for "Adamology" (not a real thing, except as a neologism largely unrelated to the specific Adam of Genesis). To "specialise in the first man of the Book Of Genesis" would be an easier/sharper pointer straight to "Adamology", losing the "creation of" bit. And "Man" (humanity) to "man" (that male human).
:Plus the pronunciation differences to reach something like "etiol-" from "entymol-" take less 'effort' (dropping two very similar soft consonants, as I would say each) than getting to "adamol-" (two completely different vowel-shifts, unless perhaps you're speaking with something like a strong stereotypicals New Zealand accent for some reason, ''and'' a recharacterised hard-consonant). And even closer from "etymol-" (just losing the "m").
:So more complicated than it needs to be, IMO, either if you're trying to back-form the non-dictionary specialism of "Adam"'s ''or'' go looking for something else to have as an error and land on "Adam". Seems to me, Randall'd use one of the established words, part of the fun being to educate us about it. YMMV, but I think I can justify that it tips the balance. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.247.115|82.132.247.115]] 07:19, 25 July 2025 (UTC)

Talk:1012: Wrong Superhero

2025-07-25T07:19:23Z

82.132.247.115:

Maybe they wanted to know what the plural form of mantis is, if more were to show up? Looks like a job for etymology man. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 14:30, 30 October 2012 (UTC)

So what is the title text referring too? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.98|108.162.221.98]] 14:54, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

The title text is referring to Genesis 2:20: "And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field." In Biblical terms, this verse explains how all names of creatures (including praying mantises) came to be. Apparently Etymology-Man has studied this. {{unsigned|Npsych}}

adam-ology make more sense than the other guesses[[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.65|173.245.56.65]] 07:48, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

Didn't Portal 2 make a reference to giant mantises in one of cave johnson's prerecorded messages? maybe the comic is a bit of a reference to that. --[[User:Flamewolf|Flamewolf]] ([[User talk:Flamewolf|talk]]) 19:50, 19 February 2016 (UTC)

Maybe the title text is a pun on arthropodology[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthropodology] and (theological) anthropology[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_anthropology]? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.69.184|162.158.69.184]] 18:20, 27 October 2016 (UTC)

I suggest they asked for another hero fighting the mantis, but who came was "man-theology-man" (not manteology-man).

Perhaps the alt-text references Ethnology-Man? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnology

Ok, I'm making etymology man a minor character. [[User:Beanie|Beanie]] ([[User talk:Beanie|talk]]) 11:12, 13 May 2021 (UTC)

They should have called Eschatology Man, student of the book of Revelation. Eschatology is the study of stories about the end of the world. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 01:57, 23 September 2021 (UTC)

I removed the reference to "Adam-ology" man, as that makes no sense, and someone who takes Etymology as seriously as Randall clearly had one of the other options in mind. [[User:PotatoGod|PotatoGod]] ([[User talk:PotatoGod|talk]]) 07:34, 7 February 2025 (UTC)

If it's obviously one of the other ones, which one is it? [[Special:Contributions/2605:B100:E01F:D973:65FD:BCDD:B719:9599|2605:B100:E01F:D973:65FD:BCDD:B719:9599]] 22:39, 24 July 2025 (UTC)
:I'd probably suggest Etiology, as a front runner.
:Note that "specializes in the study of God's creation of Man in the Book of Genesis" is qn overcomplicated clue for "Adamology" (not a real thing, except as a neologism largely unrelated to the specific Adam of Genesis). To "specialise in the first man of the Book Of Genesis" would be an easier/sharper pointer straight to "Adamology", losing the "creation of" bit. And "Man" (humanity) to "man" (that male human).
:Plus the pronunciation differences to reach something like "etiol-" from "entymol-" take less 'effort' (dropping two very similar soft consonants, as I would say each) than getting to "adamol-" (two completely different vowel-shifts, unless perhaps you're speaking with something like a strong stereotypicals New Zealand accent for some reason, ''and'' a recharacterised hard-consonant). And even closer from "etymol-" (just losing the "m").
:So more complicated than it needs to be, IMO, either if you're trying to back-form the non-dictionary specialism of "Adam"'s ''or'' go looking for something else to have as an error. Seems to me, Randall'd use one of the established words, part of the fun being to educate us about it. YMMV, but I think I can justify that it tips the balance. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.247.115|82.132.247.115]] 07:19, 25 July 2025 (UTC)

1012: Wrong Superhero

2025-07-25T06:39:24Z

82.132.247.115: /* Explanation */

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

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

In the title text, we find out the scientists accidentally call another superhero focused on the creation of {{w|Adam}} in the Biblical book of Genesis. This might be {{w|Etiology}}-Man (the study of causation and attribution), {{w|Ontology}}-Man (the study of being and existence), {{w|Ethnology}}-Man (the study of human character, with a focus on its formation and evolution). Or perhaps {{w|Anthropology}}-Man or {{w|Anthropogeny}}-Man.
"Adam-ology-Man" would be a more direct pun to the first man, himself, but has less of a basis in an actual "-ology" and leaves the creation part of the 'hint' as superfluous.

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

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]