1079: United Shapes

2014-03-04T16:16:15Z

Alexnobody: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1079
| date = July 9, 2012
| title = United Shapes
| image = united_shapes.png
| imagesize = 800px
| titletext = That eggplant is in something of a flaccid state.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Why Georgia and Missouri are represented by the shapes of the other State? What about the Colorado article - there are several parts of this that are not covered yet. See the text below in the transcript}}

Click on the image above to see the large version, which makes every state perfectly clear. Additionally, Randall provides a closeup of the Colorado article. [http://xkcd.com/1079/colorado/] (It is obviously a fake Wikipedia article.)

In the large version, all of the items inside the States make sense once you get your head oriented the correct direction.

The title text makes fun of Florida which is sometimes called “The penis of America”. Obviously, this penis is somewhat flaccid (not erected). The use of the word “state” is a pun, as it means some particular condition (flaccid state) as well as a political entity (The State of Florida).

The following references are made in the Colorado article:

* The pronunciation is not that for Colorado, but for {{w|Eyjafjallajökull}}, a volcano in Iceland that erupted in April 2010.
* The way it has a demilitarized zone towards Wyoming resembles {{W|North Korea}} and {{W|South Korea}}. As the two US states are both almost square and borders each other in a way similar to Korea this makes sense. Although here it is the southern part (Colorado) that sound like North Korea.
* Eleven dimensions refers to {{w|string theory}}.
* A {{w|wormhole}} is a theoretical relative of the {{w|black hole}}. This is a reference to the television series {{w|Stargate SG-1}} where a device capable of creating wormholes is located in the {{w|Cheyenne Mountain nuclear bunker}} in Colorado.
* A {{w|Horcrux}} is a type of magical object in the world of {{W|Harry Potter}}.
* The radiation zones around Longmont are caused by {{w|Radioactive contamination from the Rocky Flats Plant|radioactive contamination from the Rocky Flats Plant}}.

The reason why Georgia and Missouri have the shapes of each other (Georgia has Missouri, and vice versa) may be that their shapes are in a way familiar, and therefore, they can be fitted into each other. Note that the shape does not have to be exact, as the shapes of the other states do not exactly match.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete|Some of the text may be unreadable - maybe someone can guess the text, or actually see it clear enough to correct or enter this below?}}

::The United Shapes: A map of things states are shaped like

:[Each state has some item wedged to stay inside its borders - any text on the item will be written below the description of the item as given here:]

*Alabama: An Easter Island moai head facing east.
*Alaska: A cartoon bear with a jetpack and a ray gun.
*Arizona: A refrigerated shelf containing milk, bread, and pastries (lying down to the left).
*Arkansas: A measuring cup.
*California: A vacuum cleaner (lying down to the right).
*Colorado: A fake Wikipedia article on Colorado. Below the text as seen in the provided close up:
:[web address:]
::en.wikipedia.org/wiki/colorado
:[Headers]
::Wikipedia
::Article Talk
::Colorado
:[Main article {note that Randall forgot the closing parentheses ')' after the pronunciation}]
::Colorado (Pronounced [ˈeːijaˌfjatlaˌjœːkʏtl̥] is a US State encompassing portions of the Rocky
::Mountains and the Great Plains. The region has been inhabited since at least 11,000 BCE, and
::some archaeological evidence suggest the state – with roughly its current borders – has literally
::always existed. Colorado is separated from Wyoming by a 28-mile demilitarized zone, and
::has at times exercised substantial regional
::power via the installation of puppet governments
::in neighboring states
::Geographically, Colorado is eleven-dimensional,
::though seven of those dimensions are tightly
::compacted and difficult to detect in most areas
::of the state. Colorado is home to the nation's
::oldest continually-operated wormhole and two
::of President Lincoln's horcruxes.
::The wildlife in Colorado is commonly characterized
::as "erratic", particularly in the radiation zones
::around Longmont. The State's timber wolf
::population is largely bipedal; the Park Service
::has expressed "concern" at their attempts to enroll in
:[Fact box with (correct) State flag and emblem:]
::State of Colorado
::Motto:
::"Si parare possis, vivere septem."
::(With preparation, survival is
::possible for over a week.)
*Connecticut: A train conductor's hat.
*Delaware: A meerkat.
*Florida: an eggplant.
*Georgia: A red cut out of the state of Missouri adorned with the Missouri river and the {{W|Gateway Arch}}.
::Missouri
*Hawaii: A thrown snowball loosing snow on its way.
*Idaho: A garden gnome, sitting down.
*Illinois: A gangster with a guitar case (upside down).
*Indiana: The brush of a paintbrush.
*Iowa: A tomato, lettuce, cold cut and cheese sandwich.
*Kansas: A stand-up piano.
*Kentucky: A cloud and a small cloud.
*Louisiana: A boot with some gum stuck to the bottom of it.
*Maine: A hand performing a Vulcan salute from Star Trek.
*Maryland: A wolf howling at the moon (upside down).
*Massachusetts: An elephant, carrying tea, being ridden by a man.
::[On each of the three boxes on the elephant:]
::Tea tea tea
*Michigan: A mitten for the {{W|Lower Peninsula of Michigan|lower}} portion and an eagle for the {{W|The UP|upper portion}} (UP).
*Minnesota: A bundle of eight $20 USD bills with a band around the middle (Standing on the end of the notes with the part with two times 20 at the top).
::20 - Federal [band]ve - Note 20
::MN 225 181.00 2 [band] The
::MN [band] ted states
:: [band] America
::(Undreable) [band] P5347861.00
:: [band] (Undreable)
::20 [band]y dollars
*Mississippi: An Easter Island moai head facing west.
*Missouri: A green cut out of the state of Georgia adorned with a branch with two peaches on (i.e. the Peach State).
::Georgia
*Montana: One half of a muffin (lying down to the left).
*Nebraska: A blue VW type 2 with mattresses sticking out the back.
*Nevada: A clothes iron (lying down to the left).
*New Hampshire: A tall brick factory building.
*New Jersey: A bent-over old person.
*New Mexico: A yellow liquid container labeled in a silly way for something unusual and dangerous (upside down).
::This end up!!
::Property of White Sands Missile Range
::Contains White Sand
:[Written inside a grey rectangle with the ? very large, and the three '4' in the three top part of a diamond shape divided in four these three sections being blue, red, yellow. The lower part has a radioactive sign on the same grey background as the large rectangle.]
::??? 4 4 4
::Flammable
::Warning
::This product contains chemicals known
::Only to the Sate of Nevada.
::Contents under pressure from parents
::If swallowed, induce labor
::56 fluid ounces
::and 14 other ounces
*New York: A hybrid transmission with standard manual-style gears and a torque converter sliced in half (lying down to the left).
*North Carolina: A bouquet of flowers (lying down with the flowers towards east).
*North Dakota: The top half of a guitar amplifier (South Dakota being the bottom half).
*Ohio: Underwear (Briefs).
*Oklahoma: A covered pot, dripping with boil over.
*Oregon: A locomotive.
*Pennsylvania: A very thick book with a bookmark with unreadable text written on it.
*Rhode Island: The bow half of a boat's hull (lying down to the left).
*South Carolina: A slice of pizza.
*South Dakota: The bottom half of a guitar amplifier (North Dakota being the upper half).
*Tennessee: A number of children's books, placed in a slightly askew pile with the following titles:
::Handford - Where's Waldo? or Wally
::The Wreck of the Zephyr - Chris Van Allsburg
::The Way Things Work - David Macualay
::Wiesner - Free Fall
::Paddle-to-the-Sea - Holling
::What it Feels Like to be a Building - Wilson
::Tintin - The Crab with the Golden Claws - Hergé
*Texas: A dog sitting in a bowl (lying down to the left).
*Utah: An oven.
*Vermont: A microscope (upside down).
*Virgina: A stegosaurus.
*Washington: A whale.
*West Virginia: A frog.
*Wisconsin: A skull.
*Wyoming: The backside of an envelope sealed with wax with a signature.
::(Unreadable signature)

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

619: Supported Features

2013-06-29T21:04:31Z

Alexnobody: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 619
| date = August 5, 2009
| title = Supported Features
| image = supported_features.png
| titletext = I hear many of you finally have smooth Flash support, but me and my Intel card are still waiting on a kernel patch somewhere in the pipeline before we can watch Jon Stewart smoothly.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete}}
This comic is a reference to {{w|Linux}} builds adding support and features that will not appeal to the majority of computer and Linux users. This Linux user has created a patch that allows support for processors with 4,096 cores, even though most computers have only 8 cores or less. He considers this to be more worthwhile an endeavor than full-featured {{w|Adobe Flash|Flash}} support, which is much more commonly used.

==Transcript==
:Friend: It took a lot of work, but this latest linux patch
enables support for machines with 4,096 CPUs, up from the
old limit of 1,024.
:Cueball: Do you have support for smooth full-screen Flash video yet?
:Friend: No, but who uses that?
:[Friend is holding a laptop.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Linux]]

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1079: United Shapes

619: Supported Features