explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2895: Treasure Chests

2024-02-17T06:02:07Z

AT-RexEatingAnAirplane: Sorry had to make a few corrections my bad

{{comic
| number = 2895
| date = February 16, 2024
| title = Treasure Chests
| image = treasure_chests_2x.png
| imagesize = 287x488px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = [earlier] "Your vintage-style handmade chest business is struggling. But I have a plan."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic features Black Hat planning, and successfully implementing, a way to create significant business for "our lawn care company" (although who is included remains unclear), albeit in an extremely unethical and likely illegal manner which is very much congruent with Black Hat's character of being a 'classhole'.
The first step of the plan that is laid out is to create the conditions for a large number of lawns all over a certain town to be dug out, via a combination of a large potential reward for digging up a lawn (in this case, a chest with $1000 in the form of small silver and gold coins), the large element of chance when digging up lawns requiring many lawns to be dug up by burying only 3 chests around unidentified lawns around town, and enticing significant participation in Black Hat's scheme by filming the burial of the chests and posting the videos.

Interestingly, in the next paragraph of Black Hat's plan, he stated that he would post said videos next year. This is a particularly interesting caveat given the fact that this comic was only posted on Feb 16, 2024, which is quite early into 2024. The most likely explanation is that this comic takes place at a much different time than the date of publishing, hence making the time Black Hat would need to wait to post the videos much earlier/later (although later would create more questions than answers) than the date of the comic would suggest. Another is that Black Hat, is in fact, intentionally delaying the posting of the videos to create a situation where some of the chests could have been secretly taken by someone before the posting of the videos, resulting in a non-stop search (by digging up lawns, obviously) for unaccounted chests that are no longer there.

The third paragraph reveals how Black Hat plans to create demand for "our lawn care company" via his scheme: With children, of course!
Black Hat intends for children who live in the town where his scheme will take place to see the videos that he posted, be lured by the vast treasures promised (given that Black Hat is targeting children, after all), and proceed to start infiltrating the lawns of homeowners all over the town with the goal of digging up the lawns for the treasure. The many homeowners who later soon find themselves with ruined lawns would then proceed to contact Black Hat's lawn care company in order to fix the broken lawns, thus making Black Hat's business lots of money.
In the comic's last paragraph, the proposal set out by Black Hat turned out to be VERY profitable.

The title text shows how Black Hat, before sharing his proposal in this comic, saw a struggling business that made vintage-style handmade chests and found it to be a very useful addition to his plan and presumably sought out their cooperation, likely with the promise of profits that would be made in Black Hat's scheme.
==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{comic discussion}}

2895: Treasure Chests

2024-02-17T06:00:40Z

AT-RexEatingAnAirplane: Just a short paragraph

{{comic
| number = 2895
| date = February 16, 2024
| title = Treasure Chests
| image = treasure_chests_2x.png
| imagesize = 287x488px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = [earlier] "Your vintage-style handmade chest business is struggling. But I have a plan."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic features Black Hat planning, and successfully implenting, a way to create significant business for "our lawn care company" (although who is included remains unclear), albeit in an extremely unethical and likely illegal manner which is very much congruent with Black Hat's character of being a 'classhole'.
The first step of the plan that is laid out is to create the conditions for a large number of lawns all over a certain town to be dug out, via a combination of a large potential reward for digging up a lawn (in this case, a chest with $1000 in the form of small silver and gold coins), the large element of chance when digging up lawns requiring many lawns to be dug up by burying only 3 chests aroud unindentified lawns around town, and inticing significant participation in Black Hat's scheme by filming the burial of the chests and posting the videos.
Interesting, in the next paragraph of Black Hat's plan, he stated that he would post said videos next year. This is a particularly interesting caveat given the fact that this comic was only posted on Feb 16, 2024, which is quite early into 2024. The most likely explanation is that this comic takes place in a much different time that the date of publishing, hence making the time Black Hat would need to wait to post the videos much earlier/later (although later would create more questions than answers) than the date of the comic would suggest. Another is that Black Hat, is in fact, intentionally delaying the posting of the videos to create a situation where some of the chests could have been secretly taken by someone before the posting of the videos, resulting in a non-stop search (by digging up lawns, obviously) for unaccounted chests that are no longer there.
The third paragraph reveals how Black Hat plans to create demand for "our lawn care company" via his scheme: With children, of course!
Black Hat intends for children that live in the town where his scheme will take place in to see the videos that he posted, be lured by the vast treasures promised (given that Black Hat is targeting children, after all) and proceed to start inflitrating the lawns of homeowners all over the town with the goal of digging up the lawns for the treasure. The many homeowners who later soon find themselves with ruined lawns, would then proceed to contact Black Hat's lawn care company in order to fix the broken lawns, thus making Black Hat's business lots of money.
In the comic's last paragraph, the proposal set out by Black Hat turned out to be VERY profitable.
The title text shows how Black Hat, before sharing his proposal in this comic, saw a struggling business that made vintage-style handmade chests and found it to be very useful addition to his plan and presumably sought out their cooperation, likely with the promise of profits that would be made in Black Hat's scheme.
==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{comic discussion}}

2893: Sphere Tastiness

2024-02-13T02:32:55Z

AT-RexEatingAnAirplane: Embracing the spirit of the wiki by including an overly pedantic explanation of baseballs.

{{comic
| number = 2893
| date = February 12, 2024
| title = Sphere Tastiness
| image = sphere_tastiness_2x.png
| imagesize = 388x392px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Baseballs do present a challenge to this theory, but I'm convinced we just haven't found the right seasoning.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a STRANGELY TASTY MOON MADE OF CHEESE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic takes the tastiness of four spheres: {{w|melons}}, {{w|grapes}}, {{w|Earth|Earth}}, and {{w|Moon|the Moon}}. Melons and grapes are very tasty to most people,{{cn}} but the Earth and Moon are [https://news.uchicago.edu/explainer/formation-earth-and-moon-explained made of rocks and metals], which are not very tasty.{{cn}} It is unknown what the line would be like if [[Randall]] included [[Fuck Grapefruit|grapefruits]].

The comic takes these four data points and makes a linear regression with them, which is unlikely to be accurate, given that there are only four points and that they come in very close pairs, making it basically two. Randall interpolates from this line that there must be a medium-sized sphere that "tastes okay". However, since this line is unlikely to be very useful, given the severe lack of data points, this mediumly tasty sphere probably doesn’t exist. Also, it should be noted that edible things are not manufactured in 800-meter (½-mile) spheres, as that may be hard to prepare and consume.{{cn}} The 800 meter wide sphere could also be a small asteroid or other celestial object, but would not be very tasty {{cn}}, as they are made of of rocks and metals, just like the Earth and the Moon.

The title text points out that baseballs seem to refute this theory, since they're not usually depicted as tasty, but they're between the sizes of grapes and melons. However, it suggests that if the right seasoning were found, they would be as tasty. Baseballs are balls used in the sport baseball{{cn}}, usually made out of a combination of a rubber or cork centre wrapped in yarn, and covered either by either horsehide, cowside or a synthetic leather. Although most baseballs may not be immediately lethal to consume, baseballs are not likely to be very delicious to eat by the sheer nature of the taste of the materials that make up it, something that any seasoning is unlikely to be able to mask (at least in reasonable quantities).

More fruit opinions can be found at [[388: Fuck Grapefruit]].

This is the second comic in a row to feature fruit, graphs and predictions, after [[2892: Banana Prices]].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Graph with Y axis using an arrow indicating tastiness from "Not Tasty" to "Tasty" and X axis labeled "Sphere Diameter (meters)" with a logarithmic scale running from 10-5 to around 108 (with 10-3, 100, 103 and 106 labeled).]

:[The graph contains two points points for "Grapes" and "Melons" at the "Tasty" end of the Y axis, between 10-2 and 10-1 meters, and two points for "The Earth" and "The Moon" at the "Not Tasty" end, both around 107 meters. A straight dashed line shows a linear interpolation between the points. There's a circle with a question mark about halfway between them.]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:My research suggests the existence of an 800-meter sphere that tastes okay.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Baseball]]

2879: Like This One

2024-01-11T15:17:38Z

AT-RexEatingAnAirplane: Did the explanation for the first point, have no idea whether or not the first paragraph of the explanation is even a valid one (please help to resolve)

{{comic
| number = 2879
| date = January 10, 2024
| title = Like This One
| image = like_this_one_2x.png
| imagesize = 273x464px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = A lot of sentences undergo startling shifts in mood if you add 'like this one' to the end, but high on the list is 'I'm a neurologist studying dreams.'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a bot like this one- Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this comic, [[Megan]] is asking [[Ponytail]] what she researches. Ponytail responds with "I'm a researcher studying gas molecules like this one" and then she indicates the air above her outstretched hand, which, indeed, does contain gas molecules.

The caption under the comic goes further by listing out things that researchers study and are, by necessity, around them either all the time, or at any time they are talking to another person, making the researchers able to respond "...like this one" when asked about their research.
* Gas molecules: Gas molecules are, like their name suggests, in a gaseous state, and thus generally share a few basic physical characteristics. A researcher would thus be able to make reference to their study of (any particular kinds of) gas molecules as, unless they happen to be researching something incredibly exotic, the gas molecules they were studying would probably share at least something with the gas molecules found in the atmosphere.
A more restrictive interpretation would be that the researcher is, in fact, studying particular kinds of gas molecules that are currently found in the atmosphere, for better or for worse.
* Gravitational fields:
* Planetary magnetospheres:
* Sound waves:
* Habitable worlds:
* Languages:
* Social interactions:
* Skin microbes:

The title text adds that it would be startling for a neurologist to say "I'm a neurologist studying dreams like this one", which implies that your conversation with them is itself a dream.

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Cueball are facing Ponytail, who holds her hand out palm up.]
:Megan: So what do you do?
:Ponytail: I'm a researcher studying gas molecules like this one.

:[Below the panel there is an explanation of the comics idea, followed by a list of related studies.]
:Fields of research where you can add "...like this one" after you say what you study:
:* Gas molecules
:* Gravitational fields
:* Planetary magnetospheres
:* Sound waves
:* Habitable worlds
:* Languages
:* Social interactions
:* Skin microbes

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Social interactions]]
[[Category:Dreams]]

2874: Iceland

2024-01-01T09:49:35Z

AT-RexEatingAnAirplane: Added an alternative viewpoint

{{comic
| number = 2874
| date = December 29, 2023
| title = Iceland
| image = iceland_2x.png
| imagesize = 325x454px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The HVAC bill for installing the Gulf Stream was enormous.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by THE ONE PERSON WHOSE IDEA DIDN'T GET ADDED TO ICELAND - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is a reference to the strange geography of Iceland, owing to the sheer number of notable geographical features in such a small area, leading to the conclusion by Randall that Iceland had to have been created by a committee of various planetary scientists all vying to have their ideas implemented into their 'project', that being Iceland.

The comic depicts a scene of a Cueball giving a presentation to a bunch of members sitting around a table, that being White Hat, Blondie, another Cueball, Megan and Hairbun, in the order left to right. It may have been inspired by Iceland being recently in the news for its {{w|2023 Sundhnúkur eruption|notable volcanic activity}}, although at least this one isn't one of the ones {{w|Eyjafjallajökull|under a glacier}}, so only (currently) causing fairly localised inconvenience.

Noting that being nearer the magnetic pole might more frequently provide you with an aurora, but the more severe (on the {{w|K-index#The Kp-index and estimated Kp-index|Kp index}}) geomagnetic storms invoke their auroral displays at lower latitudes. Once you get a Kp of 5 (out of a theoretical 9), Iceland may be far ''too'' close to the pole to fully appreciate the sight.

A possible alternative viewpoint that can be taken in this comic is about projects that have unrealistic targets (and often fail as a result). The bottom text has already set itself a very unrealistic target by attempting to satisfy 'everyone', even though such a task would be rendered impossible should a single instance of conflicting desires ever occur. In addition, the various ideas that the characters are each vying for to be implemented into the project (that being Iceland) in this comic would each likely require significant resources to accomplish, causing the project requirements to balloon so drastically that meeting its targets would become impossible.

{{w|HVAC}} in the title text is jargon for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. The {{w|Gulf Stream}} is a warm and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida and up the eastern coastline of the United States, then veers east near 36 degrees latitude and moves toward Northwest Europe as the North Atlantic Current, providing Iceland with a milder and more liveable climate than would be otherwise expected for its latitude. The electrical costs associated with providing airflow at a certain temperature, over such a vast area would prove incredibly expensive, not to mention the fact that the Gulf Stream is not in fact an artificial phenomenon powered by electricity, but rather a natural one.{{cn}}

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing in front of a board and pointing to it with a stick. In front of him is a long table with White Hat, Blondie, another Cueball and Megan sitting on the long side of the table (the same side, the one away from the reader) with Hairbun sitting at the end of the table furthest from Cueball. All are sitting on office chairs and looking at Cueball. On the board there are two figures and some unreadable text. The top figure is an skewed ellipse with some dots inside. There is a label text beneath it. The next large figure depicts and island with a rift going down its middle. The rift extends on either side of the island. There is a label above it. Beneath this there is a box with four lines of unreadable text and above it a heading. Cueball's stick points to the island.]
:Cueball: Okay, we'll make it an island on a mid-ocean ridge to satisfy the mantle people and the oceanographers.
:Cueball-like man: But what about my glaciers?
:Cueball : We can just pile them on the volcanoes.
:Hairbun: Don't forget that it has to be near a pole - I was promised aurora!

:[Caption below the comic:]
:Iceland was designed by a committee of planetary scientists that was trying to satisfy everyone.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Volcanoes]]
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Engineering]]

2874: Iceland

2024-01-01T09:34:55Z

AT-RexEatingAnAirplane: Added the most important thing

{{comic
| number = 2874
| date = December 29, 2023
| title = Iceland
| image = iceland_2x.png
| imagesize = 325x454px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The HVAC bill for installing the Gulf Stream was enormous.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by THE ONE PERSON WHOSE IDEA DIDN'T GET ADDED TO ICELAND - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is a reference to the strange geography of Iceland, owing to the sheer number of notable geographical features in such a small area, leading to the conclusion by Randall that Iceland had to have been created by a committee of various planetary scientists all vying to have their ideas implemented into their 'project', that being Iceland.

The comic depicts a scene of a Cueball giving a presentation to a bunch of members sitting around a table, that being White Hat, Blondie, another Cueball, Megan and Hairbun, in the order left to right. It may have been inspired by Iceland being recently in the news for its {{w|2023 Sundhnúkur eruption|notable volcanic activity}}, although at least this one isn't one of the ones {{w|Eyjafjallajökull|under a glacier}}, so only (currently) causing fairly localised inconvenience.

Noting that being nearer the magnetic pole might more frequently provide you with an aurora, but the more severe (on the {{w|K-index#The Kp-index and estimated Kp-index|Kp index}}) geomagnetic storms invoke their auroral displays at lower latitudes. Once you get a Kp of 5 (out of a theoretical 9), Iceland may be far ''too'' close to the pole to fully appreciate the sight.

{{w|HVAC}} in the title text is jargon for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. The {{w|Gulf Stream}} is a warm and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida and up the eastern coastline of the United States, then veers east near 36 degrees latitude and moves toward Northwest Europe as the North Atlantic Current, providing Iceland with a milder and more liveable climate than would be otherwise expected for its latitude. The electrical costs associated with providing airflow at a certain temperature, over such a vast area would prove incredibly expensive, not to mention the fact that the Gulf Stream is not in fact an artificial phenomenon powered by electricity, but rather a natural one.{{cn}}

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing in front of a board and pointing to it with a stick. In front of him is a long table with White Hat, Blondie, another Cueball and Megan sitting on the long side of the table (the same side, the one away from the reader) with Hairbun sitting at the end of the table furthest from Cueball. All are sitting on office chairs and looking at Cueball. On the board there are two figures and some unreadable text. The top figure is an skewed ellipse with some dots inside. There is a label text beneath it. The next large figure depicts and island with a rift going down its middle. The rift extends on either side of the island. There is a label above it. Beneath this there is a box with four lines of unreadable text and above it a heading. Cueball's stick points to the island.]
:Cueball: Okay, we'll make it an island on a mid-ocean ridge to satisfy the mantle people and the oceanographers.
:Cueball-like man: But what about my glaciers?
:Cueball : We can just pile them on the volcanoes.
:Hairbun: Don't forget that it has to be near a pole - I was promised aurora!

:[Caption below the comic:]
:Iceland was designed by a committee of planetary scientists that was trying to satisfy everyone.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Volcanoes]]
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Engineering]]

2874: Iceland

2023-12-30T07:25:57Z

AT-RexEatingAnAirplane: Created a sort-of explanation for the title text. (Requesting help for providing links in the comic, and cleaning up the explanation into a more cohesive form)

Talk:2874: Iceland

2023-12-30T06:22:57Z

AT-RexEatingAnAirplane:

As someone with friends in Iceland, I can confirm that Iceland is actually not a real island, and was actually created by a team of 8000 workers that happened to be carrying bags of sand, ice, and grass. [[User:SomeoneIGuess|someone, i guess]]([[User talk:SomeoneIGuess|talk i guess]]|[[Special:Contributions/SomeoneIGuess|le edit list]]) 00:33, 30 December 2023 (UTC)

With all due respect to the first editor contributing to the Explanation ... my take was that the comic has little to do with mission creep within projects but has to do with the fact that Iceland contains such a confluence of strange geographic features that it defies logic that they should all be collectively present in a single location. For example, you don't find islands on top of a mid-ocean ridge, or a glacier on top of a volcano, or a mild climate (because of the Gulf Stream) in the polar regions where the Aurora Borealis could be seen. The only logical explanation for such a bizarre jumble of features was that it must have been created by a committee of diverse scientists who wanted their pet feature to be included in the formation of Iceland. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 02:42, 30 December 2023 (UTC)
:Agreed. Also "More fjords!"-Slartibartfast [[User:L-Space Traveler|L-Space Traveler]] ([[User talk:L-Space Traveler|talk]]) 03:55, 30 December 2023 (UTC)
:That's how I took it, too. Get your editing shoes on and fix it. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 04:09, 30 December 2023 (UTC)
: I just changed the explanation on the first paragraph based on your comment, much thanks! [[User:AT-RexEatingAnAirplane|AT-RexEatingAnAirplane]] ([[User talk:AT-RexEatingAnAirplane|talk]]) 06:22, 30 December 2023 (UTC)

By the way, Iceland and Greenland have names that are contrary to their actual geography. Iceland is actually much more habitable suitable for cultivation because of the geothermal warmth and Gulf Stream effects. While Greenland is suitable for agriculture on only 1% of its territory. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 02:42, 30 December 2023 (UTC)
:I don't know if it's apocryphal or not, but I heard that this happened because the inhabitants of iceland didn't want to encourage immigrants who would gentrify the place. So they gave it a name that didn't sound appealing, and gave Greenland an attractive name. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 04:08, 30 December 2023 (UTC)

2874: Iceland

2023-12-30T06:16:14Z

AT-RexEatingAnAirplane: Changed the first paragraph explanation to one suggested by Rtanenbaum (I did in fact interpret the comic in the way I explained it earlier, but the suggested one made more sense in retrospect)

2874: Iceland

2023-12-30T00:18:33Z

AT-RexEatingAnAirplane: Added an additional paragraph due to unexpected extra time, please help me confirm if that is Blondie sitting around the table there thanks!

2874: Iceland

2023-12-30T00:08:21Z

AT-RexEatingAnAirplane: Extremely bad comic explanation, just wanted to get the ball rolling :'(