explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3114: Building a Fire

2025-07-15T01:25:20Z

A certain cueball: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3114
| date = July 11, 2025
| title = Building a Fire
| image = building_a_fire_2x.png
| imagesize = 671x311px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = That was quicker than usual! The cabin's sprinkler system often makes it really hard to keep anything lit.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created recently. Please add sprinklers to the page so that it doesn’t burn down. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

[[Megan]] is demonstrating to [[Cueball]] how to build a campfire. She says she's going to use the "log cabin" method, which is a common [https://www.cabinlife.com/articles/the-5-best-campfire-lays-and-how-to-build-them/ method of laying out fuel for a small fire]. The concept is that sticks of wood are placed in layers, with each layer consisting of two sticks placed parallel to one another, with a gap between them. Each subsequent layer is placed perpendicular to the first, so that the sticks bridge the gap in the layer below. This creates an open space in the center in which the tinder, and usually some kindling, is placed and ignited. This method is so named because the walls of {{w|log cabins}} are also built by placing wooden logs in perpendicular layers to enclose a central space, though on a much larger scale.

At first, Megan's build appears similar to a typical {{w|Campfire#Construction_styles|'log cabin' fire lay}}. It becomes unusually detailed when she adds interior walls and miniature furniture in the tiny dwelling, suggesting that she's not just laying out fuel for a fire, but actually going to the trouble of building a miniature log cabin, with all the details and components of a real living space. Things truly take a twist toward the bizarre, however, when she adds plumbing and electrical components to the house. This is not only a complex model, but a structure that apparently includes all the functionality one would expect in a modern dwelling. A fault in the installed wiring then initiates a fire, leading to the promised campfire. Stripped of the complexity, Megan effectively built a campfire which was ignited by electrical heating. Igniting a fire with electricity (either using {{w|electric spark}}s or {{w|Joule_heating|resistive heating}}) is a real method, but not particularly common for campfires.

The joke appears to be that, rather than a traditional (and relatively simple) fire-building method, she builds an entire house in miniature, then simulates a common cause of accidental {{w|structure_fire|house fires}}. This has the same net result as the simpler method: a small and contained fire, but the path to get there was unnecessarily complex. It's also somewhat morbid, as it brings to mind real-life house fires, which are both dangerous and traumatic (tens of thousands of people are killed in house fires every year), which may be the reason Cueball seems so horrified.

The title text continues the joke in that she usually finds that it needs more time for the fire to ignite, due to also installing a {{w|fire sprinkler system}}. Automatic sprinkler systems in buildings are typically to be triggered by fire and spray the area with water, wetting any potential fuel and dousing the fire before it spreads. The joke is that the level of detail in Megan's cabin was not only wildly unnecessary, it's actually actively counterproductive to her supposed purpose of starting a fire. This campfire was only started rapidly because the sprinkler system didn't work properly.

==Transcript==

:[A tent in a field stands in the background to the left of Cueball, who stands behind Megan, who is kneeling and arranging sticks into the first few layers of a small log cabin.]
:Cueball: Can you show me how to build a campfire?
:Megan: Sure! We'll use the log cabin method.
:Megan: First we build a square cabin out of sticks.

:[Cueball now stands to the right of frame, opposite Megan with the cabin between them. The cabin has gotten taller and is becoming better defined. Megan holds a tiny table in one hand and tiny chair in the other.]
:Megan: Next, we'll add interior walls, doors, and some cabin furniture made from twigs.
:Cueball: This is very elaborate.

:[The cabin now has a gable roof and an electrical wire leads from the base of the cabin to a coil of wire in Megan's hand and then off panel to the left. Lightning symbols above the wire indicate the wire is energized and perhaps shorting out.]
:Megan: Now we'll add some rudimentary plumbing and electrical wiring. 50 amps, nothing fancy.
:Cueball: It kind of seems like you're just building a cabin.
:Megan: I just -
:Megan: ...oops.

:[The tiny log cabin is engulfed in flames. Cueball is leaning away from the cabin and holding his hand to shield his face from the heat.]
:Megan: I think my wiring wasn't up to code.
:Cueball: AAAAA!!
:Megan: ... and that's how you build a fire!

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

3074: Push Notifications/Table of Notifications

2025-04-10T02:47:30Z

A certain cueball: /* Tables of Notifications */

Fill in a table with all the notifications, possible images that go along with it, and explanation. If anybody knows how to name a table, please let me know. Thanks! '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 21:25, 9 April 2025 (UTC)

==Description==
*15 notifications have been found so far for [[3074: Push Notifications]].
*Below is a list of all discovered notifications
*There are different “sources” of notifications and the notifications will be sorted into tables by those sources

==Tables of Notifications==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-family:monospace"
!Source
!Notification

|-
|xkcd notification system notifications
|Success: A notification about the new xkcd comic has been sent!

|-
|xkcd notification system notifications
|Notification: No new xkcd comic has been posted since the last notification

|-
|xkcd notification system notifications
|This is a test notification. If you’re seeing this, the notification system is configured incorrectly.

|-
|community message board
|Have you seen my cat?

|-
|Cat Fact!
|The animal closest to the cat family without actually being in it is the linsang.

|-
|Cat Fact!
|Cat nose prints are distinctive in the same way as human fingerprints.

|-
|Cat Fact!
|The first known cat video was recorded in 1894.

|-
|Cat Fact!
|Cats can detect the active ingredient of catnip, nepetalactone, at less than one part per billion.

|-
|Cat Fact!
|The oldest known cat lived to an age of 38 years old. Her name was Creme Puff.

|-
|Cat Fact!
|Unlike humans, cats are capable of drinking saltwater if necessary for survival.

|-
|Cat Fact!
|Disneyland is home to approximately 200 feral cats.

|-
|Cat Fact!
|Many domestic cats can reach a top speed higher than Usain Bolt's 2009 sprint speed record.

|-
|Cat Fact!
|Estimates place the number of cats on Earth somewhere between 500 million and 1 billion.

|-
|Cat Fact!
|No one knows the breed of Schrödinger's cat because no one ever asked him.

|-
|Cat Fact!
|Cats generally purr at frequencies between 25 and 150 Hz.

|-
|Cat Fact!
|Cats have the same number of vertebrae in their neck as humans - seven.

|-
|Cat Fact!
|Cat nose prints are distinctive in the same way as human fingerprints.

|-
|Cat Fact!
|Cats only require approximately a sixth of the light that humans need to see.

|-
|Cat Fact!
|The first cat video on YouTube was posted in 2005.

|-
|Cat Fact!
|A cat's resting heart rate is more than twice that of humans with similar levels of fitness.

|-
|Cat Fact!
|"Litter" is the collective noun for a group of kittens born together.

|-
|Cat Fact!
|"Clowder" is one of the multiple collective nouns for cats.

|-
|Cat Fact!
|"Clutter" is one of the multiple collective nouns for cats.

|-
|Cat Fact!
|"Pounce" is one of the multiple collective nouns for cats.

|-
|Cat Fact!
|"Glaring" is one of the multiple collective nouns for cats.

|-
|Cat Fact!
|"Kindle" is a collective noun for any group of kittens, even if not all born together.

|-
|Cat Facts
|Meow!

|-
|Cat Facts
|Meow Meow!

|-
|Cat Facts
|Meow Meow Meow!

|-
|Cat Facts
|Meow Meow Meow Meow!

|-
|xkcd Weather Notification System
|Click here to get weather notifications!
|-
|Weather Notification Setup Wizard
|Now determining your location! Don't worry, this shouldn't take too long.
|-
|Please choose your location
|Are you in Albany? Click here to set your location to Albany.
|-
|Weather Information
|You are subscribed to weather reports from Albany
|-
|Weather report from Albany
|KALB 092251Z 33010KT 10SM FEW060 FEW120 FEW260 04/M09 A3023 RMK A02 SLP241 ASCL DSNT W T00441094

|-
|xkcd News
|We’ve launched a Youtube channel for What If? videos! Ring the bell, like, and subscribe!

|-
|System Log
|(INFO): A user has paused notifications

|-
|Constant Reminders
|At the tone, Zero will become a Real Number

|-
|Constant reminders
|The Earth is spinning at a rate of 1 rpd

|-
|How many times can you click this?
|You’ve clicked this notification 0 times

|-
|Hey you're pretty good at this...
|You've clicked this notification 10 times

|-
|You're really good at this...
|You've clicked this notification 20 times

|-
|Are you sure you want to keep going?
|You've clicked this notification 30 times

|-
|You're going to break something!
|You've clicked this notification 40 times

|-
|Super special offer!
|You've clicked 50 times. Click here to turn in those clicks to turn your future clicks into double clicks!

|-
|Upgrade!
|Enjoy your doubly good clicking.

|-
|You're breaking something!
|You've clicked this notification 50 times
|-
|You're breaking everything.
|You've clicked this notification 60 times

|-
|Stop! Please!
|You've clicked this notification 70 times

|-
|You're going to crash the system!
|You've clicked this notification 80 times

|-
|You've crashed the system.
|You've clicked this notification 90 times

|-
|Super special offer!
|You've clicked 100 times. Click here to turn in those clicks to turn your future clicks into double clicks!

|-
|Why?
|You've clicked this notification 100 times

|-
|Okay I kind of get it but...
|You've clicked this notification 150 times

|-
|Super special offer!
|You've clicked 200 times. Click here to turn in those clicks to turn your future clicks into double clicks!

|-
|There's no more notifications
|You've clicked this notification 200 times

|-
|You've clicked all the notifications
|You've clicked this notification 250 times

|-
|Okay just one more
|You've clicked this notification 300 times

|-
|Super special offer!
|You've clicked 400 times. Click here to turn in those clicks to turn your future clicks into double clicks!

|-
|You're just doing this to annoy me
|You've clicked this notification 500 times

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(62,12)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(28,15)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(59,7)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|oh look! (14,3)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(51, 25)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(45, 22)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(75, 18)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(59, 8)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|oh look! (12,3)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(25, 24)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(31, 13)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(51, 22)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(52, 26)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(52, 26)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(27, 16)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|oh look! (4,5)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(26,15)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(58,20)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|oh look! (3,1)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(30,23)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(37,6)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(45,21)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(42,21)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|oh look! (15,2)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(63,21)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(13,15)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(29,22)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(71,19)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(16,26)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(25,10)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(33,19)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(32,6)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|oh look! (12,9)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(53,10)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(24,12)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(47,23)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(29,17)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(19,25)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(47,12)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(50,4)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(50,10)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(57,28)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(17,14)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(3,18)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(36,14)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(14,19)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|oh look! (9,8)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(18,27)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(61,16)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(32,7)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(44,1)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(58,12)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(58,15)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(56,25)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|oh look! (14,5)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(21,27)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(17,20)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(39,22)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(52,14)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(27,23)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(21,22)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(15,27)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(74,16)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(19,16)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(53,27)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(60,24)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(11,18)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(73,20)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(23,3)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|oh look! (13,4)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(56,17)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(16,10)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(29,18)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(9,18)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(50,2)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(65,13)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(75,13)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(16,20)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(7,19)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(27,7)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(21,8)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(59,28)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(43,21)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(15,11)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(42,8)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(56,8)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(69,11)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|oh look! (3,6)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(60,17)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(60,20)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(29,2)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(34,17)

|-
|Zoom Notification
|(54,12)

|-
|Erroneous Alert
|⚠️ Error: Too many errors

|-
|Carriage Return Line Feed
|The next station is Putney Bridge. Please mind the gap between the train and the platform.

|-
|Erroneous Alert
|⚠️ Boop.

|-
|Constant Reminders
|At the tone, The Golden Ration will equal half of 1 plus SQRT(5)

|-
|Comment and Subscribe
|Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

|-
|Erroneous Alert
|⚠️ Error: I forgot whether I'm the server r the client

|-
|Erroneous Alert
|⚠️ Kernel Panic: Kernel can't remember what number comes after 38

|-
|An old xkcd comic has been posted
|Comic #3054 was posted on Feb 21 25

|-
|An old xkcd comic has been posted
|Comic #1694 was posted on June 15 16

|-
|Erroneous Alert
|⚠️ Error: Not enough extensions installed

|-
|Constant Reminders
|At the tone, Pi will equal the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter.

|-
|Erroneous Alert
|⚠️ welcome datacomp

|-
|Carriage Return Line Feed
|The next station is Barbican. Please mind the gap between the train and the platform.

|-
|Erroneous Alert
|⚠️ Error 40¾: HTTP error table

|-
|Erroneous Alert
|⚠️ Error 418: I'm a teapot.

|}

3054: Scream Cipher

2025-02-22T03:48:39Z

A certain cueball: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3054
| date = February 21, 2025
| title = Scream Cipher
| image = scream_cipher_2x.png
| imagesize = 287x416px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = AAAAAA A ÃA̧AȂA̦ ǍÅÂÃĀÁȂ AAAAAAA!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A ÃA̧ȂÁAǍẢÂA̋ ȦÅĀ - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A {{w|Cipher}} is a method of encryption, where characters or sometimes words are substituted for other characters in a set pattern, allowing for arbitrary strings to be enciphered using it. The complexity and strength of ciphers varies, from {{w|one-time pads}} and (historically) {{w|enigma machine|Enigma}} as stronger and more complex, to {{w|substitution ciphers}} as some of the weakest and least complex, where each character is simply given a set different symbol to represent it in the cipher.

This comic uses a substitution cipher, where all the letters of the English Alphabet are represented using the letter "A", with different {{w|diacritical marks}} to define the differences. This kind of cipher is often used on a recreational basis by children or casual enthusiasts, the similarity of the letters increasing the obcurity of the content and the skill or technology required for use, but there is also significant impracticality, as not only are substitution ciphers the easiest to break, but also the similarities in the letters do make the cipher hard to read and easy to misread, and the detail in the diacritical marks makes it easy to draw the "A"s incorrectly or ambiguously, potentially leading to [[3003: Sandwich Helix|part of the message being lost]]. This was our experience in the comments section of this very article, where one person implemented translator functions alongside another person crafting a message that failed to translate. However, the logic behind the code is mostly visual similarity, and if attentive to connecting concepts between the American and scream cipher alphabet, it could be quickly learned and translated in a glance.

It's named "Scream Cipher" (as a pun on {{w|stream cipher}}s, commonly used in computing) because the written form of a scream is a long string of As, possibly with some other characters at the end (and often an exclamation point for emphasis), such as "Aaaaaah!" or "Aaaaaaagh!". The name may or may not be a reference to IBM's {{w|Scream_(cipher)|Scream cipher}} published in 2002.

In the comic, [[Cueball]] texts the ciphered version for the plaintext "HELLO", and [[Megan]] responds with that for "HI".

The title text deciphers to "AAAAAA A SCARY MONSTER AAAAAAA!"

You can translate text to and from Scream Cipher using [https://github.com/matthewpwatkins/scream-cipher/ the Scream Cipher Translator].

Another recent comic featuring all "A"s was [[2957: A Crossword Puzzle]].

==Worked example==



Say we want to encode "Scream" in the Scream Cipher. First we would need to split out word into the letters, so S, C, R, E, A, M.

The first letter is S, so if we go to S in the table S is shown to become to Ã, C similarly becomes A̧, R becomes Ȃ, E corresponds to Á, A is the main letter so A is unchanged to A, and M becomes Ǎ. If we then write them again in order, we find SCREAM becomes ÃA̧ȂÁAǍ.

To turn cipher text back into normal text, the process is repeated in reverse. To translate A̧ẢA̯A̰ÁȂ, we go to A̧ in the table and find A̧ becomes C. Ả similarly becomes I, A̯ becomes P, A̰ becomes H, Á becomes E, and Ȃ becomes R. If we write the letters in order, we see that A̧ẢA̯A̰ÁȂ becomes CIPHER.

==Table==

The {{w|Unicode}} names of the characters in the cipher are as follows:

{|class="wikitable"
! colspan=2 | Input !! colspan=3 | Substitution
|-
! Plain !! Unicode description !! Cipher !! Unicode description(s) !! Usage note
|-
| A || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A || A || '''U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A || Unadorned base character
|-
| B || U+0042 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER B || Ȧ || '''U+0226 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH DOT ABOVE || Phonetic symbol for low central vowel
|-
| C || U+0043 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C || A̧ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, '''U+0327 COMBINING CEDILLA''' || Cedille is often attached to a 'c', as in "français".
|-
| D || U+0044 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER D || A̱ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, '''U+0331 COMBINING MACRON BELOW''' ||
|-
| E || U+0045 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E || Á || '''U+00C1 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH ACUTE || Many words have an acute e, as in "fiancé".
|-
| F || U+0046 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER F || A̮ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, '''U+032E COMBINING BREVE BELOW''' ||
|-
| G || U+0047 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER G || A̋ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, '''U+030B COMBINING DOUBLE ACUTE ACCENT''' ||
|-
| H || U+0048 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER H || A̰ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, '''U+0330 COMBINING TILDE BELOW''' ||
|-
| I || U+0049 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I || Ả || '''U+1EA2 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH HOOK ABOVE ||
|-
| J || U+004A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER J || A̓ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, '''U+0313 COMBINING COMMA ABOVE''' ||
|-
| K || U+004B LATIN CAPITAL LETTER K || Ạ || '''U+1EA0 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH DOT BELOW ||
|-
| L || U+004C LATIN CAPITAL LETTER L || Ă || '''U+0102 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH BREVE ||
|-
| M || U+004D LATIN CAPITAL LETTER M || Ǎ || '''U+01CD LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH CARON ||
|-
| N || U+004E LATIN CAPITAL LETTER N || Â || '''U+00C2 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH CIRCUMFLEX ||
|-
| O || U+004F LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O || Å || '''U+00C5 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH RING ABOVE || The symbol contains the letter 'O'.
|-
| P || U+0050 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER P || A̯ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, '''U+032F COMBINING INVERTED BREVE BELOW''' ||
|-
| Q || U+0051 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Q || A̤ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, '''U+0324 COMBINING DIAERESIS BELOW''' ||
|-
| R || U+0052 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER R || Ȃ || '''U+0202 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH INVERTED BREVE ||
|-
| S || U+0053 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER S || Ã || '''U+00C3 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH TILDE ||
|-
| T || U+0054 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER T || Ā || '''U+0100 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH MACRON ||
|-
| U || U+0055 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U || Ä || '''U+00C4 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH DIAERESIS || Many German words have a 'ü', as in "[[w|Fahrvergnügen]]"
|-
| V || U+0056 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER V || À || '''U+00C0 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH GRAVE ||
|-
| W || U+0057 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER W || Ȁ || '''U+0200 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH DOUBLE GRAVE ||
|-
| X || U+0058 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER X || A̽ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, '''U+033D COMBINING X ABOVE''' || The symbol contains the letter 'X'.
|-
| Y || U+0059 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Y || A̦ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, '''U+0326 COMBINING COMMA BELOW''' ||
|-
| Z || U+005A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z || Ⱥ || '''U+023A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH STROKE ||
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[Top of the panel has 26 letters of the alphabet, each followed by a hyphen and the letter "A" with a unique diacritical mark for each. "A - A" at the top is an exception, where the latter doesn't have a diacritic.]
:{|
|A - A
|-
|B - Ȧ
|G - A̋
|L - Ă
|Q - A̤
|V - À
|-
|C - A̧
|H - A̰
|M - Ǎ
|R - Ȃ
|W - Ȁ
|-
|D - A̱
|I - Ả
|N - Â
|S - Ã
|X - A̽
|-
|E - Á
|J - A̓
|O - Å
|T - Ā
|Y - A̦
|-
|F - A̮
|K - Ạ
|P - A̯
|U - Ä
|Z - Ⱥ
|}
:[Cueball and Megan typing on their phones, Cueball with two hands and Megan with one hand.]
:Cueball's phone: A̰ÁĂĂÅ
:Megan's phone: A̰Ả

:[Caption below the panel:]
:In the ''Scream Cipher'', messages consist of all As, with different letters distinguished using diacritics.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Cryptography]]
[[Category:Unicode]]

3029: Sun Avoidance

2024-12-28T06:14:07Z

A certain cueball: Undo revision 360430 by 172.68.23.136 (talk), chatgpt

{{comic
| number = 3029
| date = December 25, 2024
| title = Sun Avoidance
| image = sun_avoidance_2x.png
| imagesize = 311x403px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = C'mon, ESA Solar Orbiter team, just give the Parker probe a LITTLE nudge at aphelion. Crash it into the sun. Fulfill the dream of Icarus. It is your destiny.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SANTA BOT FLYING TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN (SKILL ISSUE). Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
The comic humorously ranks space missions based on their ability to "avoid" the Sun, presenting it as a "Sun Avoidance Skill Leaderboard." Most space missions remain relatively far from the Sun, with distances in the tens of millions of kilometers. However, the {{w|Parker Solar Probe}} is listed at the bottom of the leaderboard because it has come significantly closer to the Sun than any other spacecraft, at just 6.17 million kilometers. The joke lies in framing this incredible scientific achievement as a "failure" in avoiding the Sun.

The missions listed include notable solar and planetary exploration spacecraft like {{w|Mariner 10}}, {{w|Helios 1}}, {{w|BepiColombo}}, {{w|MESSENGER}}, and {{w|Solar Orbiter}}. These missions, designed to study the Sun or its surroundings, are ranked by their closest approaches to the Sun. The comic highlights the vast difference between the Parker Solar Probe and all other missions, emphasizing its unprecedented proximity to the Sun as part of its mission to study the solar corona and solar wind.

The inclusion of "All Other Expeditions in Human History" at the top of the leaderboard adds to the humor by lumping together all non-Sun-focused missions, which obviously maintain much greater distances from the Sun. The comic concludes with a sarcastic congratulation to the Parker Solar Probe for its "worst job avoiding the Sun," humorously subverting the intention and achievement of the mission.

The title text further expands on the joke by mockingly framing the Parker Solar Probe's proximity to the Sun as a skill-based failure. It suggests that its operators have demonstrated the "worst Sun avoidance skill" ever. This playful jab contrasts with the reality that the Parker Solar Probe's engineers and scientists intentionally designed the spacecraft to approach the Sun closer than ever before, enduring extreme heat and radiation to gather groundbreaking scientific data.

The caption text references the Greek legend of {{w|Icarus}}, whose father crafted artificial wings so the two of them could fly out of the open-topped prison they were in. Icarus, despite his father's warnings, flew too high which, according to the myth, got him appreciably closer to the Sun where it was much hotter, hot enough to destroy Icarus's wings, which caused him to plummet from a very high altitude to his death. (As humanity has learned since then, the upper reaches of Earth's atmosphere are cold, not hot, and the distance from Earth's surface to the upper reaches of its atmosphere is only a tiny fraction of the total distance from the Earth to the Sun.) The caption text urges the operators of another satellite to use their satellite to alter the Parker Solar Probe's orbit to send it into the Sun, which would by definition lower the Parker Solar Probe's distance from the Sun to zero. Unfortunately, the Parker Solar Probe was only designed to get close to the Sun, not into it, and would be destroyed soon after entering the Sun if not before. Being destroyed would prevent the Parker Solar Probe from transmitting any further data, terminating its mission. Its operators would probably object to this.{{cn}}

==Transcript==
:[A table is shown with three columns, all with underlined headers. Above these there is a header for the entire table.]
:Sun Avoidance Skill Leaderboard
:Rank Mission Sun Nearest Miss

:[The top of the table is not filled out regularly. It starts with giving the first number in the first column. But then instead of text in the next two columns there is a pair of large square brackets that covers about four lines with text in between that do not align with the table lines. In the first column beneath the first number along the bracket to the right there are three vertical, three horizontal and three vertical ellipses to indicate that the large bracket covers more than just the 4 first lines. At the bottom of the bracket the first visible digit of a larger number is shown. It is clearly cut of so the first number is partly outside the left frame edge. After the bracket ends, the next seven lines are normal tekst in all three columns. The numbers continues to increase from the first at the bottom of the bracket, but as for that number the first columns number is always cut partly off across the first visible digit to the left. The first digit can be read though, and in one of the middle lines, one more significant digit is partly visible at the front of the number due to non-proportional spacing, this new number itself being cut off instead of the now fully visible digit partly visible in the other rows]
:1.
:⋮
:…     [All other expeditions in human history]
:⋮
:4303857.
:4303858.    Mariner-10    69.0 million km
:4303859.    Helios 1    46.4 million km
:4303860.    BepiColombo    45.8 million km
:24303861.  Messenger    45.3 million km
:4303862.    Solar Orbiter    43.8 million km
:4303863.    Helios 2    43.3 million km
:4303864.    Parker    6.17 million km

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Congratulations to the Parker Solar Probe for setting a new record for "Worst Job Avoiding the Sun."

==Trivia==
*This comic was released on Christmas Day of 2024, but makes no reference to Christmas.
**This year marks the first time in xkcd's 20 year history (of releasing comics around Christmas), that there have been no [[:Category:Christmas|Christmas comics]] released during those days.
**Also all nine times before this year, when a release day fell on Christmas Day, that comic has always been about Christmas.
*If [[Randall]] found the accomplishments of the Parker Solar Probe more interesting than Christmas itself that might explain why this comic was released on Christmas Day instead.
**It is not the first space exploration accomplishment mentioned during Christmas, however, in the previous case [[2559: December 25th Launch]] from 2021, the comic was give seasonal spin. 

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Space probes]]

3024: METAR

2024-12-16T13:13:54Z

A certain cueball: /* Transcript */ typo

{{comic
| number = 3024
| date = December 13, 2024
| title = METAR
| image = metar_2x.png
| imagesize = 640x360px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = In the aviation world, they don't use AM/PM times. Instead, all times are assumed to be AM unless they're labeled NOTAM.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT WITH NO SIGNIFICANT OTHER :( (OTHER THAN AN A380). Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In aviation, the {{w|METAR}} (Meteorological Aerodrome Report) is used to give pilots a brief overview of the current meteorological conditions at the airport. The METAR follows a specific structure and makes heavy usage of abbreviations, which makes it hard to read for anyone not familiar with it. The comic makes fun of that by assuming meaning of the words based on what non-aviation people might think the different elements of the METAR report may represent. The METAR in the comic is fairly alarming, describing dangerously fast winds, a possible tornado, freezing volcanic ash (in New York!), lightning, and impossibly high atmospheric pressure.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Code !! Real Meaning !! According to the comic
|-
| METAR
| Type: Meteorological Aerodrome Report
| The comic assumes that this is just a spelling error and it should be "meter"
|-
| KNYC
| Station ID: 4 character identifier; for an airport, this would be the {{w|ICAO airport code|ICAO code}}. In this instance the identifier represents the automated weather station at Belvedere Castle in Central Park, NYC. Airport, weather, and radio station call signs share a common heritage.
| "Station ID", which is actually correct, although people unfamiliar with METAR-reporting stations could presume that this is an AM radio broadcaster's name.
Among AM radio stations, KNYC is not a current call-sign (though {{w|WNYC}} is, and indeed serves New York City), but (among the 'western' subset of US stations) currently {{w|KNCY (AM)|KNCY}} serves the area around Omaha, Nebraska (being based in Nebraska City), and {{w|KYCN}} covers Wheatland, Wyoming.
|-
| 251600Z
| Time of observation: 25th day of the month at 4 PM UTC. Z is not part of the time, but simply global shorthand for {{w|Military time zone|"Zulu" time}}, i.e. {{w|Coordinated Universal Time|UTC}}. Normally most stations would report at a particular time every hour, in this particular case either 15:51 or 16:51 would apply, but more frequent reports are made during unusual and rapidly changing weather events (as may be the situation, in this case).
| Misreading the "Z" as a 2, resulting in a nonsensical time. Hours greater than 24 are sometimes used to indicate a time after midnight, e.g., in Japan 17~25h means from 5 P.M. to 1 A.M. the following day. A normal METAR does not use more than 24 hours, instead incrementing the day, so 25 hours further adds to the nonsensical nature of the interpretation.
|-
| 18035G45KT
| Wind direction and speed: Wind direction 180° (directly from the south, degrees based on 0°=magnetic north), speed 35 knots, gusting to 45 knots. This is quite stormy weather.
| Instead of interpreting the first 5 digits as direction and speed, it is assumed that it is one big number and the G45 stands for the time span in which this was observed with "G" standing for "good". 18,035 knots is an unrealistically high wind speed, faster than orbital velocity; the {{w|jet stream}} typically contains the highest winds on Earth, and may reach about 250 knots.
|-
| 6SM
| In weather reports related to aviation, "6SM" stands for 6 statute miles of visibility, meaning that objects can be seen clearly up to 6 miles away.<ref>https://weather.cod.edu/notes/metar.html#:~:text=6SM%2DVisibility,SM)%20up%20to%2010%20SM.</ref> This indicates clear enough weather to fly without instruments; the value has a max range of 10SM.
| The comic interprets "6SM" to humorously mean a "Size '''6 Sm'''all".
|-
| VCFCFZVA
| In the vicinity (VC): funnel cloud (FC) and freezing (FZ) volcanic ash (VA). This sounds somewhat unusual for New York City.{{Citation needed}}
| A riff on the repeated letters which give off the impression the string is constructed by random keypresses on the keyboard, as exemplified by a [[1689: My Friend Catherine|cat on the keyboard]]. There is a long history of this problem, as well as [http://bitboost.com/pawsense/ attempted solutions].
This string may or may not actually look like the pattern of characters that a walking cat could produce (and be reliably detected). All the letters are in a cluster at the lower left of the (QWERTY) keyboard, with some adjacently paired characters perhaps indicative of stepping on multiple keys and other neighbouring keys having been stepped over, not uncommon of an oblivious feline wandering across your desk. But the repeated cluster of "CFCF", and other implied paw-press events, seem less likely to emerge even from a rapid quadrupedal gait. A more casual stroll would likely also create single-character duplications, unless the keyboard repeat delay was set unnaturally high.
|-
| +BLUP
| Heavy (+) blowing (BL) unknown precipitation (UP)
| Riffing on the fact that it looks like an onomatopoetic word
|-
| NOSIG
| No significant change is expected to the reported conditions within the next 2 hours
| The comic assumes that the transmitter of the METAR report wants the receivers to know that they do not have a significant other, which the comic finds sad. The observer could be trying to abuse the METAR report as a dating platform.
|-
| LTG OHD
| Lightning overhead
| OHD is interpreted as "overheard" instead of "overhead", indicating that they did not observe it themselves and instead just overheard people talking about it.
|-
| A3808
| Altimeter setting: (calculated) air pressure at {{w|Mean_sea_level|mean sea level}} at the airport is 38.08. The value of 38.08 inHg is extremely high. The standard atmospheric pressure used in aviation is 29.92 inHg; the highest recorded surface pressure on Earth was 32.01 {{w|Inch_of_mercury|inches of mercury (inHg)}}<ref>https://learn.weatherstem.com/modules/learn/lessons/125/18.html</ref> ("A" for inHg, used primarily in USA, Canada and Japan; "Q" would indicate a value in hPa). This is used to adjust the altimeter in the aircraft to the local air pressure, instead of using the standard setting used in higher air spaces.
| The comic says that the observer saw an {{w|Airbus_A380|Airbus A380-800}}, a very large passenger plane. Note: The {{w|List_of_ICAO_aircraft_type_designators|ICAO aircraft type code}} for the Airbus A380-800 is A388 and not A3808.
|-
| RMK
| Beginning of the section with remarks
| Remarkable. A comment about the A380.
|-
| AO2
| The weather station is automated (A) and has a precipitation discriminator (O2), which can tell the difference between liquid and frozen precipitation.
| A reference to the {{w|fan fiction|fanfic}} site [https://archiveofourown.org/ Archive of Our Own], often abbreviated as AO3 ('''A'''rchive '''o'''f '''O'''ur '''O'''wn, or AOOO). It's nonsensical to describe this site as having a precipitation discriminator.{{Citation needed}}
|-
| SLP130=
| {{w|Sea_level_pressure|Sea-level pressure}} is 1013.0 hPa (approx. 29.91 inHg). The equal sign signifies the end of the METAR.
| "SLP" interpreted as abbreviation for sleepy, the numbers as a time, and the = sign as "around" (maybe confused with ≈)
|-
|
|
|-
| NOTAM (title text)
| Not part of a METAR report, but instead another aviation abbreviation. It stands for {{w|NOTAM|Notice to Air Missions}} (previously Notice to Airmen).
| Parsed as "not A.M.", indicating that a given time is to be interpreted as P.M. While AM and PM are indeed not used in aviation, as the comic says, they use a 24-hour clock system, not an "A.M.-by-default" 12-hour clock system.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:Decoding a METAR report:

:[A METAR report is shown with annotations. The report is:]

:<code>METAR KNYC 251600Z 18035G45KT 6SM VCFCFZVA +BLUP NOSIG LTG OHD A3808 RMK A02 SLP130=</code>

:[The annotations are:]

:* <code>METAR</code> "METER" (Usually misspelled)
:* <code>KNYC</code> Station ID
:* <code>251600Z</code> Time (25:16:002)
:* <code>18035G45KT</code> Wind speed has been 18,035 knots for a good 45 minutes now
:* <code>6SM</code> Observer is a size 6 small
:* <code>VCFCFZVA</code> Sorry, the station cat walked on the keyboard
:* <code>+BLUP</code> Weird noise the sky made earlier
:* <code>NOSIG</code> Observer has no significant other :(
:* <code>LTG OHD</code> We overheard someone saying there was lightning
:* <code>A3808</code> Hey look, an Airbus A380-800!
:* <code>RMK</code> Remarkable!
:* <code>A02</code> Fanfic Archive equipped with a precipitation sensor
:* <code>SLP130=</code> Observer got sleepy around 1:30

==Trivia==
The actual last three KNYC METAR strings, that were generated at about the actual time of publication, were:
KNYC 131651Z AUTO VRB03KT 10SM CLR M01/M14 A3066 RMK AO2 SLP374 T10061144 $
*''New York, Central Park : 13/Dec/2024, 16:51 UTC (11:51am local time) : Fully Automated Report : Variable wind, no more than 3 knots : 10 (or more) statute miles visibility : No clouds below 12,000 ft (3,700 m) : −1 °C (about 30 °F), dew point at −14 °C (about 7 °F) : Altimeter at 30.66 inHg (1038.3 hPa) : Precipitation discriminator present : Sea-level pressure at 1,037.4 hPa (30.63 inHg) : Temperature -0.6 °C (conversion from exactly 31 °F) , dew point -14.4 °C (from exactly 6 °F) : Maintenance check required (indicated by dollar sign)''
KNYC 131751Z AUTO 10SM CLR 00/M16 A3066 RMK AO2 SLP374 T00001156 10000 21028 56006 $
*''New York, Central Park : 13/Dec/2024, 17:51 UTC (12:51pm local time) : Fully Automated Report : (no wind measured) : 10 (or more) statute miles visibility : No clouds below 12,000 ft (3,700 m) : 0 °C (about 32 °F), dew point at −16 °C (about 3 °F) : Altimeter at 30.66 inHg (1038.3 hPa) : Precipitation discriminator present : Sea-level pressure at 1,037.4 hPa (30.63inHg) : Temperature ±0.00 °C (from exactly 32 °F), dew point -15.6 °C (from exactly 4 °F) : 6 hour maximum 0.00 °C (32 °F) : 6 hour minimum -10.28 °C (from 13.5 °F) : 3 hour pressure tendency, falling by 0.6 millibars (0.018 inHg) : Maintenance check required''
KNYC 131851Z AUTO 10SM CLR 00/M16 A3066 RMK AO2 SLP377 T00001156 $
*''New York, Central Park : 13/Dec/2024, 18:51 UTC (1:51pm local time) : Fully Automated Report : (no wind measured) : 10 (or more) statute miles visibility : No clouds below 12,000 ft (3,700 m) : 0 °C (about 32 °F), dew point at −14 °C (about 7 °F) : Altimeter at 30.66 inHg (1038.3 hPa) : Precipitation discriminator present : Sea-level pressure at 1,037.7 hPa (30.64 inHg) : Temperature -0.6 °C (from exactly 31 °F), dew point -15.6 °C (from exactly 4 °F) : Maintenance check required ''







==References==
{{reflist}}
[https://e6bx.com/metar-decoder/ ''Actual'' Metar Decoder]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Weather]]
[[Category:Aviation]]
[[Category:Emoji]]

1775: Things You Learn

2024-07-31T02:16:38Z

A certain cueball: /* Explanation */ add note to conform with the rest

{{comic
| number = 1775
| date = December 21, 2016
| title = Things You Learn
| image = things_you_learn.png
| titletext = Guess who has two thumbs and spent the night in an ER after trying to rescue a kitten that ran under his car at a stoplight and climbed up into the engine compartment? And, thanks to antibiotics, will continue having two thumbs? THIS GUY. (P.S. kitten is safe!)
}}

==Explanation==
This graph shows various items of information plotted by two criteria: a horizontal "How Bad Is It If You Don't Know [THING]" axis and a vertical "How Easy It Is To Grow Up Without Learning [THING]" axis. Specifically, the vertical axis measures roughly how likely the average person is to remain ignorant of a particular item. The horizontal axis measures the likelihood and severity of bad consequences arising from such ignorance.

The title text describes an encounter Randall had where a cat climbed into the engine compartment of his car. It probably serves as an explanation for the seemingly out of place point on the graph about how serious cat bites are. The "two thumbs" is a reference to a well known type of jokes among English speakers. One of the most frequent forms is one person interrupting another mid-speech and asking "what has two thumbs and doesn't give a f*ck? THIS GUY!", before pointing to themselves with their thumbs. The idea is that you only direct the attention to your thumbs so that they can point back to you, though mentioning the thumbs was not actually required except as a topic change. Randall plays on an inversion of this joke as he (presumably) was bitten on the thumb might have {{w|Amputation|lost a thumb}} or perhaps not have been able to make it at all without the intervention of the ER people. So here the "who has two thumbs", is not a deceiving distraction out of a boring conversation, and the thumbs are actually the focus of the phrase.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Badness of ignorance !! difficulty of ignorance !! Information !! Comments
|-
| not bad (at all) || (very, very) easy || 100 digits of {{w|pi}} || Most people know pi to only a few digits (3.14 or 3.1415), if they know it at all. Most people never need to directly calculate anything involving pi, and those who do generally have access to tools (such as calculators and computers) that regurgitate/use more places of pi automatically. Digits of pi beyond 3.1415 are never relevant in human-scale art or construction. Memorizing many digits of pi is a hobby.
|-
| not bad || (very) easy || Lyrics to "{{w|We Didn't Start the Fire}}" || "We Didn't Start the Fire" is a 1989 hit song by Billy Joel. Its lyrics include brief, rapid-fire allusions to more than 100 headline events between 1949, the year of Joel's birth, and 1989. While the chorus is memorable, the verses of the song are just a list of people, events, and random things from popular culture. The average person is somewhat more likely to know the lyrics to Billy Joel's 1989 hit song than 100 digits of pi, but not knowing them doesn't really have any serious consequences. The lyrics can be used within the context of learning history, and may therefore be considered slightly more valuable to learn than the lyrics of other popular songs. This song was the pun in the title text of [[1794: Fire]], which was a follow up to comic #4 in [[821: Five-Minute Comics: Part 3]].
|-
| (very) bad || (very) easy || That cat bites are really serious and if bitten you need to wash the bite and call a doctor immediately || Most people assume that a cat bite is just a minor injury. However, cat bites carry a fairly high risk of infection, which can be dangerous if not treated (by cleaning the bite to reduce the risk, and having a doctor examine the bite victim and apply additional treatments such as antibiotics if needed). At the same time, cat bites are quite rare, as cats default to their claws rather than their teeth when they need to attack something (not that cat claws are bacteria-free zones either, quite the opposite), so most people simply don't have to deal with many cat bites.{{actual citation needed}}
|-
| (very, very) bad || (very) easy || The red flags for an abusive relationship || It is fairly easy for someone to fall into a pattern of accepting abuse without realizing it, particularly if the abuser is skilled at emotional manipulation. Failing to recognize signs of abuse in the early stages of a relationship, tend to make people more vulnerable to long-term abuse, with devastating consequences. In many cultures, patterns of abuse are not openly discussed or taught about, making it quite common for people to grow up without the ability to quickly identify abusive behavior.
|-
| (very, very) bad || easy || The {{w|Stroke#Signs_and_symptoms|signs of a stroke}} || The symptoms of a {{w|stroke}} are somewhat variable, including facial drooping, arm weakness, and slurred speech, depending on what areas of the brain are affected. Such symptoms can be mistaken for other conditions, or brushed off as being minor and unimportant. Like most medical diagnoses, people who are not medical professionals aren't generally taught how to identify the symptoms. This can be a problem, because identifying a stroke quickly and seeking treatment can make the difference between life and death, or between full recovery and permanent impairment.
|-
| bad || easy || Cough into your elbow, not your hand || Covering a cough with the inside of your elbow helps prevent spreading airborne germs and is generally recommended by medical organizations. Coughing into your hand deposits them onto your hand, where they are much more likely to be spread to another person (via handshake, food preparation, shared objects, etc). The consensus around coughing into your elbow is relatively recent, so it's easy to have grown up without hearing of it. However, people living post-COVID know this fact extremely well.
|-
| not (too) bad || hard || How to ride a bike || Most children, especially in the United States[http://www.peopleforbikes.org/statistics/category/participation-statistics#youth], learn to ride a bike at a fairly young age. While this is a useful skill to know for both entertainment and transportation, most people live in places where riding bicycles for transportation are actively discouraged in favor of motorized transportation. In the US, using bicycles as a principle form of transport can be difficult, as cars don't always appreciate/anticipate sharing road-space with them. In a few counties, bicycles are a primary form of transportation, and not knowing how to ride one would make life significantly more difficult.
|-
| not bad (at all) || hard || How to escape movie {{w|quicksand}} || Quicksand in movies is a common trope, and while its physics often differ from real quicksand, escaping from it is commonly done using similar methods (e.g., not struggling, which increases the quicksand's viscosity). Knowing how to escape from quicksand is important if you sink into it, which is a situation most people will never encounter in real life. It is much more likely for characters in movies and TV shows, especially in the 1960s, to encounter and become mired in quicksand than for a real individual to do so, as real quicksand is a rare occurrence in most climates on Earth.
|-
| not bad (at all) || (very) hard || Lyrics to "{{w|The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)|12 Days of Christmas}}" || The aforementioned song is a traditional holiday standard in the United States, meaning that most Americans grew up hearing it repeatedly played or sung every December, causing the lyrics to be picked up without conscious effort. However, the consequences of not learning them are minimal: at most, your friends might be [[1769|a bit surprised and dismayed]]. The lyrics come across as arbitrary and have little significance to its singers. It should be noted that, while the early lyrics to the song are very well known, the later ones aren't remembered as much and may vary between version. Failing to know ''all'' the lyrics is common.
|-
| not bad (at all) || (very, very) hard || {{w|Theme music|TV theme songs}} || Most children in developed countries grow up watching at least some television. Traditionally, most TV shows (particularly those designed for children) opened with a catchy theme song, often with lyrics. If you regularly watched a given show, you'd hear the theme song repeatedly, and would likely remember it without conscious effort. Every generation and community grows up with different theme songs.
|-
| bad || hard || That you have to empty the dryer lint trap || A {{w|clothes dryer}} uses a stream of heated air to rapidly dry laundry after it's been washed. Dryers are typically equipped with a "{{w|lint (material)|lint}} trap", which is a removable screen designed to prevent loose fibers from entering (and clogging) the exhaust line. Removing the fibers from this screen is a basic part of operating a dryer, most people learn from example, or from reading the dryer manual, making it mildly hard not to know about. Failing to do so will progressively restrict airflow through the dryer, making the drying process less effective and efficient. In theory, this could eventually start a fire, but such is rare enough that it's considered only mildly 'bad'.
|-
| (very) bad || (very) hard || {{w|Stop, drop and roll}} || This is a technique to extinguish a fire on one's own clothing, and is frequently taught to children at an early age, and reinforced enough that most people know it. Not knowing it (or forgetting it in a panic when the situation arises) allows painful and dangerous burns to progress further.
|-
| (very) bad || (very, very) hard || That you have to pay taxes || Most residents of most countries are legally obligated to pay taxes to their government. Penalties for not doing so often include large fines, and possibly prison sentences. While the process for filing taxes can be quite complex (depending on the country), the basic knowledge that taxes are required is commonplace and frequently referenced, making it difficult not to know about. In the US, employers are generally required to deduct taxes from paychecks before employees receive them, so most people will encounter the reality as soon as they start making money. In [[1971: Personal Data]], [[White Hat]] somehow didn't know about taxes.
|-
|}

==Rankings==

100% not bad: not bad at all . . . 100%>not-badness≥50%: not bad . . . 50%>not-badness≥0%: not too bad

100% very bad: very, very bad . . . 100%>very badness≥50%: very bad . . . 50%>very badness>0%: bad

100% hard: very, very hard . . . 100%>hardness≥50%: very hard . . . 50%>hardness>0%: hard

100% easy: very, very easy . . . 100%>easiness≥50%: very easy . . . 50%>easiness≥0%: easy

==Transcript==
:[A simple X and Y graph, with the X labeled "how bad it is if you don't know {thing}" and ranging from "not bad" to "very bad", and Y labeled "how easy it is to grow up without learning {thing}" and ranging from "easy" to "hard" from top to bottom.]

:[Points on graph from top to bottom on the left side of the Y-axis:]

:100 digits of pi
:Lyrics to ''We Didn't Start the Fire''
:How to ride a bike
:How to escape movie quicksand
:Lyrics to ''12 Days of Christmas''
:TV theme songs

:[Points on graph from top to bottom on the right side of the Y-axis:]

:That cat bites are really serious and if bitten you should wash the bite and call a doctor immediately
:Red flags for an abusive relationship
:Signs for a stroke
:Cough into your elbow, not your hand
:That you have to empty the dryer lint trap
:Stop, drop, and roll
:That you have to pay taxes

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Scatter plots]]

2420: Appliances

2024-07-26T03:32:40Z

A certain cueball: /* Explanation */ add the later comic 2963

{{comic
| number = 2420
| date = February 3, 2021
| title = Appliances
| image = appliances.png
| titletext = If you had an oven bag and a dryer that runs unusually hot, I guess you could in theory make tumbled eggs.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic shows a {{w|confusion matrix}} of the applicability of various household appliances to different tasks. Green indicates an excellent performance, yellow not ideal, but usable, and red dismal or destroyed. The diagonal is green as it shows the tasks done by the machines they are supposed to be performed by. See [[#Table|table]] below. The comic is similar to [[1890: What to Bring]], [[2813: What To Do]], and [[2963: House Inputs and Outputs]], but those comics do not use yellow or another intermediate color.

Plain salmon fillets can be easily {{w|Dishwasher salmon|cooked in a dishwasher}}, so it is marked "cooked", and thus "cook a frozen dinner" is only yellow on the dishwasher entry, rather than full red. This might also apply to most other types of fish (trout was a prior subject for this process), as commercially-prepared frozen dinners tend to be breaded white fish such as cod, mackerel, smelt, etc. for price and logistical reasons (retaining their taste and firmness through the cooking, freezing, thawing and reheating processes). That's if it is not a recipe built around fish, as with a tuna casserole, in which case it is probably entirely subject to whether the whole of the pre-cooked and frozen meal can be sufficiently and defrosted and raised to a safe and palatable temperature.

The stove/oven has three green as it can also cook a microwave frozen dinner, although slower, and can toast bread, again slower than the toaster. It is by far the machine that has the fewest red entries, only one, as it cannot wash clothes. It can also not clean dishes, but it might sterilize them, thus that entry is yellow. It may actually dry the clothes, but is liable to burn them and is therefore yellow.

The microwave oven can also cook eggs, thus it has two green, the only other than the stove/oven with more than one green.

The toaster and the washing machines are the only ones without any yellow, and with only one green, for making toast/washing clothes - they are thus the appliances with the fewest other potential uses (zero). The washing machine will at least not destroy the clothes if you try to dry them, but it has the opposite effect, thus still red. The toaster will not destroy the dishes, but will potentially just make the dirt burn harder.

The title text mentions that it would be theoretically possible to cook eggs in a dryer, but it is not a common use for a dryer.{{Citation needed}} The joke is that it is not called {{w|scrambled eggs}} but tumbled eggs. It also mentions that the dryer has to become hotter than usual for a dryer (maybe dangerously hot for the clothes for it to work). And then the eggs should be cracked and put in an oven bag, that really needs to be tight and well zipped.

The table displays a diagonal line of greens from top-left to bottom-right, as is typical with a table where the first row option is deliberately compatible with the first column option, the second row with the second column, etc. What is perhaps more interesting is where the non-diagonal greens appear (and, to some extent, the yellows), indicating appliances or uses that are more flexible and range beyond being of a mere one-trick pony.

==Table==
{| class="wikitable"
!
! scope="col"| {{w|Toaster}}
! scope="col"| {{w|Dishwasher}}
! scope="col"| {{w|Microwave oven|Microwave}}
! scope="col"| {{w|Washing machine}}
! scope="col"| {{w|Kitchen stove|Stove/oven}}
! scope="col"| {{w|Clothes dryer|Dryer}}
|-
! scope="row"| Make toast
| Yes, a toaster's function is to make toast from bread.{{citation needed}}
| No. A dishwasher would likely turn bread into mush, and the result is unlikely to be edible.
| No. A microwave could heat up bread, but would not brown the bread and make it crunchy. In this image, it appears that the bread is getting unevenly burnt.
| No. A washing machine would break the bread into several pieces and is unlikely to be edible.
| Yes, toast can be made using a stove or an oven.
| No. A dryer would burn the bread due to its heat and would break it up into crumbs due to its tumbling.
|-
! scope="row"| Wash dishes
| No. A toaster would not be able to wash dishes and is likely to do nothing to make them clean (again, other than sterilization by heat).
| Yes, a dishwasher's function is to wash dishes.
| No. A microwave cannot clean dishes, or even sterilize them through exposure to adequate heat, as glass/ceramic or plastic dishes cannot absorb microwave radiation in sufficient quantities to generate heat. Metal cutlery can, but only specially-designed varieties are supposed to be placed into a microwave because metal usually winds up reflecting the microwaves and causing damage to the oven's interior through electrical discharge.
| No. A washing machine would break the dishes. The pieces would be clean, but unusable as dishes unless more robust than regular crockery.
| Maybe, a stove or an oven could theoretically sterilize dishes with high heat (but this would not clean off any stains or stuck food particles).
| No. Worse than the washing machine, the tumbling of a dryer would thoroughly pulverize porcelain dishes.
|-
! scope="row"| Cook a {{w|TV dinner|frozen dinner}}
| No. A traditional toaster would not be able to cook a frozen dinner. A {{w|toaster oven}} combination would be able to do so (see stove/oven).
| Maybe. The fish could be cooked in a dishwasher, however, the rest might not, but this is not a typical use of a dishwasher.
| Yes, a microwave is normally used to cook a frozen dinner.
| No. A washing machine would make the dinner soggy and inedible.
| Yes, a stove or an oven could also be used to cook a frozen dinner. The image shows the dinner being removed from its packaging and placed in a baking pan.
| No. A dryer would make the frozen dinner inedible due to its tumbling action.
|-
! scope="row"| Wash clothes
| No. A toaster would not be able to wash clothes and would instead leave burn marks.
| Maybe. A dishwasher would be able to get the clothes wet but the washing may be uneven.
| No. A microwave would just burn the clothes and not do any washing.
| Yes, a washing machine's function is to wash clothes.
| No, a stove or an oven would burn the clothes and not do any cleaning.
| Maybe. A dryer would heat the clothes and kill germs, but not get any stains out.
|-
! scope="row"| Cook eggs
| No. A toaster would not be able to cook eggs. This image seems to show that eggs were cracked directly into the toaster, which causes a large plume of smoke.
| No. A dishwasher generally cannot cook eggs. However, it does seem that [https://spoonuniversity.com/how-to/5-foods-cook-dishwasher this is plausible to do].
| Yes. A microwave could be used to cook eggs, {{w|poached egg|poached style}} as shown in the image, or also {{w|scrambled eggs|scrambled}}.
| No, a washing machine would destroy the eggs.
| Yes, a stove or an oven is typically used to cook eggs (and other foods).
| No. A dryer would overheat the eggs and tumble them to shreds.
|-
! scope="row"| Dry clothes
| No. A toaster would not be able to dry clothes and would instead leave burn marks.
| No. A dishwasher would be able to get the clothes wet but would not do any drying.
| Maybe. A microwave could (unevenly) get clothes dry.
| No, a washing machine's function is to wash clothes and would just get the clothes wet. A washing machine's spin cycle could dry clothes to some extent but is not intended to fully wring all the water out of clothes.
| Maybe, a stove or an oven could be used to get clothes dry but runs a high risk of burning them, especially on parts that are in contact with metal.
| Yes, a dryer's function is to dry clothes after they are washed.
|}

==Transcript==

:[The comic is laid out like a grid, with usages for common household appliances the left-hand side (Make toast / Wash dishes / Cook a frozen dinner / Wash clothes / Cook eggs / Dry clothes) and appliances for these activities across the top (Toaster / Dishwasher / Microwave / Washing machine / Stove/oven / Dryer). The grid illustrates the "match-ups", with a green square denoting a "correct" match-up, a yellow square denoting something that may work somewhat, and a red square denoting something that most certainly won't work.]

:[From the top left corner, going from left to right, top to bottom, with each first item being on its own line in the grid, the images in the squares are as follows:]

*'''Make toast''' with a '''Toaster''': Green square, toasted toast with stripe pattern.
*'''Make toast''' with a '''Dishwasher''': Red square, slightly broken soggy toast in a puddle of water.
*'''Make toast''' with a '''Microwave''': Red square, non-toasted and unevenly burnt toast.
*'''Make toast''' with a '''Washing machine''': Red square, a few small soggy pieces of toast in a puddle of water.
*'''Make toast''' with a '''Stove/oven''': Green square, toasted toast with somewhat irregular pattern.
*'''Make toast''' with a '''Dryer''': Red square, large pile of breadcrumbs.
*'''Wash dishes''' with a '''Toaster''': Red square, intact glass, somewhat bent fork, and slightly cracked and sooty plate.
*'''Wash dishes''' with a '''Dishwasher''': Green square, clean glass, fork, and plate.
*'''Wash dishes''' with a '''Microwave''': Red square, slightly broken glass, intact fork, and sooty plate.
*'''Wash dishes''' with a '''Washing machine''': Red square, broken glass, intact fork, broken plate.
*'''Wash dishes''' with a '''Stove/oven''': Yellow square, Text reading "Sterilized, at least" with an arrow beneath it pointing at a slightly cracked glass, intact fork, and sooty and cracked plate.
*'''Wash dishes''' with a '''Dryer''': Red square, a large pile of broken porcelain and glass with part of a fork sticking out of it.
*'''Cook a frozen dinner''' with a '''Toaster''': Red square, badly burnt food box emitting smoke.
*'''Cook a frozen dinner''' with a '''Dishwasher''': Yellow square, Text reading "Fish might be cooked" with an arrow beneath it pointing at a food box two-thirds filled with water.
*'''Cook a frozen dinner''' with a '''Microwave''': Green square, cooked food box.
*'''Cook a frozen dinner''' with a '''Washing machine''': Red square, crumpled food box two-thirds filled with water.
*'''Cook a frozen dinner''' with a '''Stove/oven''': Green square, sideways view of steaming cooked food box with lid removed.
*'''Cook a frozen dinner''' with a '''Dryer''': Red square, open crumpled food box with burnt edges. Burnt food stuck to the panel's borders.
*'''Wash clothes''' with a '''Toaster''': Red square, smoking T-shirt with large stripe-shaped burns and flames rising from the top.
*'''Wash clothes''' with a '''Dishwasher''': Yellow square, unevenly wet/washed shirt.
*'''Wash clothes''' with a '''Microwave''': Red square, slightly smoking shirt with spread-out burns and some flame on one sleeve.
*'''Wash clothes''' with a '''Washing machine''': Green square, clean wet shirt.
*'''Wash clothes''' with a '''Stove/oven''': Red square, shirt with a large semi-burned area.
*'''Wash clothes''' with a '''Dryer''': Yellow square, slightly dirty-looking shirt.
*'''Cook eggs''' with a '''Toaster''': Red square, toaster emitting a huge cloud of dense smoke.
*'''Cook eggs''' with a '''Dishwasher''': Red square, slightly cracked eggs in a puddle of some kind.
*'''Cook eggs''' with a '''Microwave''': Green square, egg in egg cup with text "(Poached)" beneath.
*'''Cook eggs''' with a '''Washing machine''': Red square, eggshell fragments in a puddle, presumably the egg.
*'''Cook eggs''' with a '''Stove/oven''': Green square, fried egg with beans on a plate.
*'''Cook eggs''' with a '''Dryer''': Red square, a pile of eggshell dust, and possibly scrambled eggs.
*'''Dry clothes''' with a '''Toaster''': Red square, mostly wet shirt, with parts in the middle being somewhat dry. Smaller stripe-shaped burns.
*'''Dry clothes''' with a '''Dishwasher''': Red square, entirely wet shirt.
*'''Dry clothes''' with a '''Microwave''': Yellow square, dry shirt with smaller burns.
*'''Dry clothes''' with a '''Washing machine''': Red square, wet shirt.
*'''Dry clothes''' with a '''Stove/oven''': Yellow square, dry shirt with small burn-like patches.
*'''Dry clothes''' with a '''Dryer''': Green square, dry shirt.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Confusion matrices]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Food]]