explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3097: Bridge Types

2026-03-12T10:26:34Z

Alstocras: /* Explanation */ added reference to 3182: Telescope Types

{{comic
| number = 3097
| date = June 2, 2025
| title = Bridge Types
| image = bridge_types_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x581px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Pontoon bridges are just linear open-sided waterbeds.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic shows, in a four-by-four grid of images, a series of bridge types. As with [[1714: Volcano Types]], [[1874: Geologic Faults]], and [[3182: Telescope Types]] the comic starts off with real bridge types, and then swiftly proceeds to make things up for absurdity. That said, real-life examples of some of the joke bridges exist, as shown in the table below. The joke lies in the progression of bridge types from the simple and straightforward to the complex and ridiculous.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Name given
! style="width:7em;"| Status
! Type
! Explanation
|-
! Plank
| {{Yes|Real}}
|{{w|Beam bridge}}
|A straightforward piece of solid material (in this case, made of solid wood, but there are {{w|Clapper bridge|other materials}}) is the most basic form of bridge, and generally the easiest to construct, but also the weakest. Consequently, such bridges are only suitable for small spans and light weights (such as a footbridge over a stream).
|-
! Rope
| {{Yes|Real}}
|{{w|Simple suspension bridge}}
|Rope bridges consist of several lengths of rope anchored on both sides of the span. Typically, one or more ropes will be intended to support the crossing load (possibly with boards or some other walkway between them), and additional ropes will act as handrails, reducing the risk of falling. These are typically only intended for foot traffic, due to their light construction and lack of rigidity. Because of the simple materials and relative ease of construction, they're often used as improvised bridges. However, a ridiculous design for this bridge type was explored in [[3048: Suspension Bridge]], in which the rope functions as a road.
|-
! Truss
| {{Yes|Real}}
|{{w|Truss bridge}}
|A truss is a common type of framework consisting of supports connected in a series of triangles which provide support for a load. This design provides significant strength and rigidity with minimal material and weight. A truss bridge can either have the truss above the bridge platform (as in the drawing) or underneath it (also known as a deck truss). This is the first bridge type on this list which is commonly used for vehicle traffic.
|-
! Trestle
| {{Yes|Real}}
|{{w|Trestle bridge}}
|A trestle bridge is held up by supports reaching all the way to the ground beneath. Typically at least some of the supports will slope outward to give a larger base of support. Once common for railroads, these are less popular nowadays, but are still seen in certain areas and applications.
|-
! Arch
| {{Yes|Real}}
|{{w|Arch bridge}}
|Arches are one of the oldest kinds of bridges for carrying significant loads. They can be made out of rock or metal. Each span consists of an arch resting on supports. Simple arch bridges rest on both sides of a river or other gap, but longer bridges (as in the drawing) will have intermediate pillars to support multiple arches. The arches distribute the load, allowing a relatively small number of pillars to support weight across the entire deck of the bridge.
|-
! Suspended Arch
| {{Yes|Real}}
|{{w|Through-arch bridge}}, possibly {{w|Tied-arch bridge}}
|A through arch bridge uses a similar concept as an arch bridge, but the deck is entirely or partially suspended below the top of the arch (in this case fully suspended, at the bottom of the arch). The tie of a tied arch bridge refers to using the deck as a tension member to restrain the horizontal spreading of the arch; without a tie, the arch's foundation must resist that horizontal loading. From the picture, it is not clear whether the deck is acting as a tie. Such bridges may use a single arch (as in the drawing) or multiple arches in succession.
|-
! Draw
| {{Yes|Real}}
|Drawbridge (more precisely a fixed-trunnion {{w|Bascule_bridge|bascule bridge}})
|Drawbridges are used to allow ships to pass through obstacles like bridges. They use various methods to raise one or multiple sections of the bridge to create enough height clearance for vessels to pass through, in this case using a cable to rotate the bridge about a pivot point (trunnion).
|-
! Suspension
| {{Yes|Real}}
|{{w|Suspension bridge}}
|A suspension bridge suspends its deck with cables or rods from a cable linked to a pillar and a point a certain distance from each pillar
|-
! Filler
|{{Maybe|Real}} method of maintaining {{w|Grade (slope)|grade}}, not really a 'bridge'
|{{w|Embankment (earthworks)|Embankment}}, {{w|Causeway}} or even a {{w|Dam}}
|Serves the purpose of allowing travel across the gap, but by removing (or {{w|Culvert|mostly removing}}) passage through the gap itself. By filling the gap with hard, irregular material (most commonly rocks), support can be provided, while still allowing water to flow through the gaps. Due to the generally small size of the gaps, generally only slow-flowing water can reliably get through.
|-
! Budget Overrun
| {{Yes|Real}} (with an absurd name)
|{{w|Cable-stayed bridge}}
|Specifically, the pictured bridge is a {{w|cantilever spar cable-stayed bridge}}, similar in appearance to the {{w|Samuel Beckett Bridge}} in Dublin or the {{w|Erasmusbrug}} in Rotterdam. Many bridges in this category suffer severe cost overruns. Randall may be drawing upon his local knowledge of the {{w|Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge|Zakim Bridge}} in downtown Boston's {{w|Big Dig}}, also strongly associated with cost overruns. Also, while not a bridge, the budget overrun and diagonally inclined tower supporting cables may be a reference to {{w|Montreal Tower}} and {{w|Olympic Stadium (Montreal)|Olympic Stadium}}, which has suffered infamous budget overruns, costing over 6.7 times the initially planned amount.
|-
! Jump
| {{No|Not real}}
|Similar to a pair of small {{w|cantilever bridge}}s, constructed at an incline.
|A "bridge" that appears to be being used by a skateboarder, though in a manner far more dangerous than any jump in a typical skatepark. While not {{w|London Buses route 78#History|normally}} a feature of the highway, jump ramps can be used for gap-crossing stunts by almost any vehicle with sufficient speed. Partial bridges, which allow ''some'' vehicles using them to safely cross the gap, iconically featured in {{w|The Dukes of Hazzard}} TV show, as well as common in various {{w|The Man with the Golden Gun (film)#Car stunts|action}} {{w|Speed (1994 film)#Filming|films}}, though typically less easy to use correctly than the setting implies.
|-
! Halfhearted
|{{Maybe|Not}} real under this name, but with real analogs
|[https://www.archdaily.com/184921/moses-bridge-road-architecten Moses bridge]
|The diagram shows that there was barely any attempt to bridge the gap in the landscape at all, just take the 'deck' down into it and back up out again. The concept may have been inspired, in part, by [https://www.fastcompany.com/90186315/the-strange-art-of-the-melting-bridges-of-google-earth an artifact in Google Earth software].
Structures exist, at the {{w|Fort de Roovere}} in Halsteren, Netherlands and elsewhere, that resemble this 'solution', though these would have involved much thought and commitment in their building, possibly more 'hearted', even, than any more conventional bridge design, especially in the provision of stairs to allow easier ingress/egress (at least for foot traffic) than in the comic's version.
|-
! Waterbed
| {{No|Not a bridge}}
|{{w|Waterbed}}
|Rather than a bridge, it is more like another version of a causeway (see 'Filler') using trapped water to maintain the upper surface.
Named for a 'mattress' type, which is usually a raised surface ''on top of'' a piece of bedframe, with an unusual approach to padding and comfort.
|-
! L'Engle
| {{No|Not real}}
|[https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2018/03/192728/tesseract-definition-wrinkle-in-time-space-dimension Tesseract AWIT] not {{w|Tesseract|Tesseract (geometry)}} cf. {{w|Einstein–Rosen bridge}}
|References {{w|A Wrinkle In Time}} by Madeleine L'Engle. Characters cross great distances by "tessering", moving via a tesseract through a higher dimension which essentially brings the two ends of the journey together from the perspective of the traveler. The image shows the two ends of the gap being brought together, with the gap apparently crumpled in between them.
|-
! Fun
| {{No|Not real}}
|{{w|Vertical loop}}/{{w|Rollercoaster}}
|It is a loop-de-loop, not normally a practical or necessary way of bridging a gap. Something previously seen, in an arguably even more impractical manner, in [[2935: Ocean Loop]].
|-
! Repurposed Elevator
|{{Maybe|Real}}, but not as displayed
|Horizontal {{w|elevator}}/{{w|People mover}}
|There are various implementations of such designs, but the best-known one is probably the {{w|Schmid Peoplemover|Schmid Peoplemover}}. However, unlike a regular peoplemover, where the door stays upright, the image shows a regular elevator that has been rotated 90 degrees. This not actually its own type of bridge, but just a type of plank bridge where the elevator shaft (or one side of the elevator shaft) is used as a plank - closing the circle to the first image. This could also be a reference to Wellington Station on the Boston Subway, {{w|Wellington_station_(MBTA)#People_mover|where there was a vertical people mover}} over the yard but was later repurposed into a walkway (bridge).
|-
! (Title text)
| {{Yes|Real}}
|{{w|Pontoon bridge}}
|Pontoon bridges are described as a series of fictitious "waterbed bridges", as shown above, but constructed without sides. This would mean that that the 'bed'-supporting water flows in one side and out the other, if there is any passage or tidal flow of water. It may technically mean that you cannot cross {{w|The Same River Twice|the same bridge twice}}.
Pontoons rely upon buoyancy, either of the whole deck or distinct floating elements, whereas an enclosed "waterbed" bridge would rely upon the strength of the membrane to keep the mass of water within it, and thus the deck above that mass.
|}

==Transcript==
:Bridge Types

:[A 4x4 matrix of 16 ways to cross the same rectangular hole in the ground]

:Plank [A plank laid over the hole, with Cueball standing on the left side of the plank, just past the edge of the hole.]

:Rope [A rope bridge with rope guardrail. Cueball is standing in the middle, causing the bridge to sag about one Cueball-length down.]

:Truss [A truss bridge with a triangular truss above the bridge deck. Cueball is visible in the center of the third truss from the left.]

:Trestle [A trestle bridge, slightly higher than the edges of the hole, with small ramps at either end. Cueball is standing about a third of the way from the left.]

:Arch [A straight deck, supported by what looks like three stone or brick arches. Cueball is notably absent.]

:Suspended Arch [A single large arch spanning the entire gap, with the bridge deck suspended from the arch by nine support cables. Cueball is standing approximately in the middle, between the fourth and fifth cables from the left.]

:Draw [A truss bridge split into two parts, the right half supported by a single straight pillar in the hole and the left half being pulled upwards by a large winch. One Cueball is standing on the outermost part of the left half and another is standing on the innermost part of the right half, directly over the pillar.]

:Suspension [A bridge deck supported by cables hung from two pillars and going to the edges of the hole, with smaller cables linking those to the deck. Cueball is standing just left of center on the bridge.]

:Filler [The hole is filled with rocks, which are larger than Cueball at the bottom but diminish in size the further up they are. Cueball is standing a third of the way from the left edge of the hole.]

:Budget Overrun [A bridge deck suspended from a single pillar that starts in the bottom left corner of the hole, then angles to the right such that the top of it is above the middle of the deck. Nine support cables are visible, but another one is likely behind the pillar itself. Cueball is standing between the third and fourth cables from the right.]

:Jump [Ramps are present on both sides of the hole. Cueball, riding a skateboard, is in the air approximately a third of the way from the left, indicating that he has jumped off of the left ramp.]

:Halfhearted [A simple bridge deck, sagging so much that the majority of it is on the floor of the hole. Cueball is standing in the hole, about two-fifths of the way from the left.]

:Waterbed [The hole is now full of water, with two fish and an octopus visible in the water. Two Cueballs are crossing, and seem to be struggling to maintain their balance as the bridge warps and undulates under their feet.]

:L'Engle [There is no bridge; instead, the terrain itself is warped such that the top corners appear to be pulled together to join in the center, with arrows illustrating their movement, although there is still a void in the lower center of the hole. Cueball is hopping from the left protrusion to the right.]

:Fun [The bridge does a rollercoaster-style loop in the center. The entirety of the bridge is supported by vertical struts. Cueball, on a skateboard, is halfway to the top of the loop.]

:Repurposed Elevator [Instead of a bridge, there is an elevator tower rotated on its side, with 7 evenly spaced exits. One Cueball is standing to the left of the elevator tower, one Cueball is on top of it and appears to be hugging it, and one Cueball is in the elevator carriage on the "seventh floor," on the right side of the hole.]

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Engineering]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Animals]]

3207: Bad Map Projection: Zero Declination

2026-02-18T07:27:26Z

Alstocras: /* Explanation */ removed factorial; 2000! \approx 3.316275 \cdot 10^5735, even though in reality it is only 2000.

{{comic
| number = 3207
| date = February 13, 2026
| title = Bad Map Projection: Zero Declination
| image = bad_map_projection_zero_declination.png
| imagesize = 740x544px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'The zero line in WMM2025 passes through a lot of population centers; I wonder what year the largest share of the population lived in a zone of less than 5° of declination,' he thought, derailing all other tasks for the rest of the day.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created recently by a misaligned map. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This is the tenth comic in the [[:Category:Bad Map Projections|Bad Map Projections]] series, displaying Bad Map Projection #216: Zero Declination.

While the Earth's magnetic field is broadly aligned North-South, the actual alignment of the magnetic field varies over time and position. The difference between True North (the axis of Earth's rotation) and Magnetic North (the direction a compass will point) will vary depending on your position, and is known as the {{w|Magnetic Declination}} of that point.

The comic shows a map that has been distorted based on the Magnetic Declination so that Magnetic North for every point is pointed toward the top of the map. If this were reality, then Magnetic North would always be aligned with True North, or in other words, there would be Zero Declination at all points.

The red arrows indicate the distortions from the starting map required to make Magnetic North be at the top.

In the title text, "WMM2025" refers to the 2025 version of the {{w|World Magnetic Model}}, a representation of the Earth's magnetic field. You can see it [https://web.archive.org/web/20260212034745/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/inline-images/D.jpg here]. The "zero line" is in green, which shows where in the world magnetic declination is 0°. [[Randall]] has presumably wasted a day trying to figure out what year has had the most population living in an area of less than 5° declination by searching through previous WMM maps. He appears to have not found the answer, but luckily explainxkcd user Ahogue [[356|finished the job]] and made a [https://awhogue.github.io/zero-declination/output/ beautiful interactive map] to let you see that the answer is 2000.

You can see magnetic declination [https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/maps/historical-declination/ historical data here].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics with red annotations]]
[[Category:Bad Map Projections]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

3130: Predicament

2026-01-29T14:56:12Z

Alstocras: /* Explanation */ pedantic capitalization, and linking to the Cueball page.

{{comic
| number = 3130
| date = August 18, 2025
| title = Predicament
| image = predicament_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x272px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I dropped my phone while trying to search, and I tried to unlock it from up here, so can you also search for screen repair places?
}}

==Explanation==

This comic describes a person with stilts asking [[Cueball]] to use his phone. Before he can say what he wants him to do with the phone, Cueball immediately knows that he wants to know how to get off stilts.

For someone who has never worn stilts before, the method to get down from them safely is not obvious. We can't see the stilt user's feet or legs in the pictures, and the way to get off them will vary depending on whether they are the type of stilt that is braced by a strap around the lower leg or the type where the stilt pole extends upwards and is held in the hand. Based on [https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+get+down+from+stilts Googling how to get down from stilts], it seems that one method for the latter is to use the steps that are built into the stilts themselves, commonly called 'pegs'. These act like a very wobbly ladder and allow you to climb up and down the stilts. Other methods include leaning against a wall, bracing the stilts at the bottom of the wall, and carefully stepping (or, as in the case with the image when there appear to be no pegs, sliding) down the stilts. Another technique is to climb onto (and off) the stilts from a platform at roughly the same height as the (top) stilt pegs, such as a balcony or deck.

For someone who has worn stilts before, the method for getting down from stilts is simply finding a place to sit where your stilts can touch the floor. Then, all that is required to do is to take the stilts off and climb down. There are more complex methods that tend to vary based on the type of stilts used and how one is secured into them. However, as long as you have a place to sit, getting stilts off is simple – though leaving you with the possible dilemma of how to get off the place you now sit, instead.

It is somewhat surprising that someone has sufficient mastery to walk and stand still on such high stilts, without also having learnt how to dismount from them, as practicing more than once requires getting off the stilts. One might also expect that someone in this situation might seek rather more direct assistance than looking things up on the internet. [[Randall]] may be lampooning the widespread tendency in today's world to automatically resort to Google for every query that crops up.

The title text explains that this person dropped their phone and tried to unlock it with the stilts, but ended up breaking their phone in the process. ([[530: I'm An Idiot|Presumably]], other unlocking options such as voice, fingerprint, or facial recognition were not enabled or infeasible under the circumstances.) When someone is on stilts, it is actually very hard to stand still because the point of the stilt does not provide the forward-backward length that we are used to our feet having. Beginners generally have a much easier time walking forward, because the momentum helps with balance, and risk falling over if they stop. Unlocking a phone with the stilt would require not only staying still near the phone long enough to do so, but doing so on a single stilt, while lifting the full weight of the other and making those precise motions with an awkward blunt tool that has both considerable {{w|mass}} and considerable {{w|moment of inertia}} on a tiny object a stilt-length away. It is no wonder that instead the person ended up putting too much weight on the stilt while it was above the phone, resulting in considerable force being distributed over a very small area of the phone's fragile screen. All things considered the attempt went much better than it could have, since the person did not fall over.

It is also unlikely that a phone touchscreen could even be operated by a stilt. Most work through {{w|capacitive sensing}}, and are unlikely to work with the stilt-ends unless specifically equipped with a cap of material with electrical properties similar to those of human fingers.

Stilts have been used in other comics, such as [[482: Height]], [[1608: Hoverboard]], [[1663: Garden]], [[2603: Childhood Toys]], [[2669: Things You Should Not Do]], and [[2765: Escape Speed]].

==Transcript==

:[On the left a long stick enters the panel from near the top left. There are "tap tap" sounds where the stick hits the ground. Cueball is on the right, looking left towards the stick.]
:Tap Tap

:[There are now two long sticks closer to the middle of the panel. They cross near the top, and the stick makes three taps near the bottom. Cueball is still looking at them and looking down.]
:Tap Tap Tap

:[The two sticks are almost parallel now, a little further apart at the ground. Cueball is still looking at them, but now not bending his head]
:Voice from above: Do you have your phone?
:Cueball: Yeah.

:[The two sticks are parallel. Cueball is holding a cellphone in his right hand.]
:Voice from above: Can you Google --
:Cueball: -- how to get down from stilts?
:Voice from above: Yes please.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Smartphones]]
[[Category:Stilts]]

3111: Artificial Gravity

2025-07-10T12:49:05Z

Alstocras: added an example

{{comic
| number = 3111
| date = July 4, 2025
| title = Artificial Gravity
| image = artificial_gravity_2x.png
| imagesize = 423x365px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Low gravity can cause bone loss, so we're pleased to report that, since we initiated capsule motion, the number of bones in each crew member has been steadily increasing.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a very unhappy astronaut. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
In a low gravity environment, such as a spaceship taking an interplanetary or interstellar voyage, the human body will experience slow but {{w|Effect_of_spaceflight_on_the_human_body|adverse side effects}}. Many prototype designs have been introduced to combat this, both in science fiction and real life. One of the most common (for non-fictional purposes, or in {{w|hard science fiction}}) is to use a rotating system to subject the crew to [[123: Centrifugal Force|centrifugal force]], simulating the effects of {{w|gravity}}. An example of this is the ''Endurance'' from the movie ''Interstellar'', which mimics gravity using spinning rings.

[[Cueball]] instead describes a spacecraft in which the crew quarters are being continuously shaken back and forth across an axis. [[Ponytail]] immediately sees problems with this approach, and asks if the shaking pod can be replaced with a much safer and more stable spinning wheel or cylinder. Cueball concedes this argument, but reveals that the ship has already been built, launched, and is in operation, so the crew is stuck with the shaking pod setup. Apparently, nobody pointed out that there was a much better approach during the mission development.

A shaking spaceship design would create an experience of gravity for the crew — just a very unpleasant one. When the capsule accelerates "up" (from the point of view of the picture), the crew will feel a gravity-like force pulling them "down" against the capsule 'floor'. However when the capsule accelerates "down", the crew will find themselves thrown against what was the 'ceiling' of the capsule, but has now suddenly become the 'floor', in an experience similar to falling several metres. The direction of this artificial "gravity" will keep alternating as long as the capsule keeps shaking. This will result in the crew not only repeatedly falling against one surface or the other, but also at a variable apparent gravity as the capsule's lateral velocity changes. This might make their life onboard ship, which could (otherwise) be expected to last for many years, somewhat unpleasant.{{Citation needed}}

This shaking system would also be wasteful of energy, since there would be losses due to friction at the joints between modules, as well as the energy costs of changing the motion of the crew module relative to the rest of the structure. In contrast, a rotating structure freely floating in a weightless environment tends to retain its motion, with negligible losses due to interactions with other bodies.

The title text discusses a real side effect of low gravity environments — a form of bone density loss known as {{w|Spaceflight osteopenia}}. The speaker claims that "the number of bones in each crew member has been steadily increasing". This is because the shaking, and subsequent multiple impacts, are fragmenting the crew members' bones. The broken pieces of bone are then being counted as bones in their own right and increasing the effective count, without telling if the pod's awkward configuration has done anything to reduce bone ''mass'' loss.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[Cueball and Ponytail are standing near a blueprint of a spacecraft, with Cueball pointing at the blueprint. In place of conventional conical fairing, this spacecraft has a large mechanical arm on the nose. The arm is holding an egg-shaped capsule. Two semi-transparent drawings of the arm and the capsule are depicted on either side of it with speed streaks in between, implying shaking back and forth motion of the arm.]
:Cueball: To produce artificial gravity during the voyage, the crew capsule is kept in constant motion.
:Ponytail: Wouldn't it make more sense to spin it instead of shaking it, so the acceleration is steadier?
:Cueball: ...Listen. You, I, and the crew all wish we'd thought of that before launch.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Space]]

3090: Sail Physics

2025-05-17T03:51:11Z

Alstocras: Fixed the grammmatical errors, added a bit more detail to the transcript.

{{comic
| number = 3090
| date = May 16, 2025
| title = Sail Physics
| image = sail_physics_2x.png
| imagesize = 699x263px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Turning in other directions can be accomplished by using a magnetized centerboard and ocean currents, since a current flowing through a magnetic field induces a Laplace force.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a wind-blown electron. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

This comic shows what initially appears to be an explanation of how boats sail upwind. However, it quickly devolves into wrongness, where, instead of even mentioning {{w|tacking (sailing)|tacking}}, it dives into a totally wrong{{citation needed}} explanation involving electrons and magnetism.

This humour works at another level {{citation needed}} — almost all interaction of physical things with each other at macro scale (humans and boat sized objects) are of electromagnetic in nature (this is considering, that at this scale, among the 4 fundamental interactions, only electromagnetic interactions are of reasonable strength {{citation needed}}). So one unaware of sailing mechanics may start to explain the situation with electromagnetism, and could come to this line of thinking, but it is wrong. If we are to consider this, we find that either no force is appearing in the direction shown, or very little.

{{w|Triboelectric effect|Triboelectric effect}} is the mechanism of acquisition of static charge. Though, it depends on relative frictional forces involved between two objects, which in turn depends on effective interaction surface area. But the charge acquired would be very small, and not be of comparative order of magnitudes with gravity. There is more charge generated due to running of water across the boat in a realistic situation {{citation needed}}. Then the comic assumes motion in the direction of downstream, due to effective normal forces on the sail. Then the comic considers this motion as motion of a charged object in Earth's magnetic field. If we are to consider this magnetic field to be roughly parallel to Earth's surface, which would be true for situations close to the equator (as Earth's magnetic field is effectively that of dipole bar magnet, which is roughly aligned with our planetary rotational axis (as of writing of this explanation, as the magnetic field dipole keeps on moving, and this may change)). The net Lorentz force on the boat would be F = qvB, and since both velocity of both and magnetic field lines are in the same plane (as viewed in the above sketches, in a top-down manner), then the force would be perpendicular to the plane. That is, along the direction of gravity for the boat, which will not cause any motion in plane. If we consider magnetic field lines to be perpendicular to Earth's surface (close to poles), even then the magnitude of the force is very small. If we consider a net charge of 1 coulomb across the boat (which is an extremely high amount of charge, at which point, the charge would try to accumulate on sharp objects, and due to this high charge density, either charge will leave the boat through coronal discharge, or the sharp objects would start to break from the boat (this is due to high self electrostatic energy, which is roughly proportional to square of charge density divided by radius of curvature of object, if the bonding between object is not strong enough, then this electrostatic energy can overcome this bonding energy), assuming that this charge does not cause the ship to break or the charge to leak out to water body, as the charge would like to spread to minimise the electrostatic energy), and if we consider field strength of order 0.0001 Tesla (close to typical values on surface {{citation needed}}), and take wind speeds of 10000 m/s (also very high {{citation needed}}) then the net force on ship would be 1 N, which for a boat of mass 10 kg (less for a typical boat, but is appropriate for a makeshift raft {{citation needed}}) cause a net acceleration of 0.1 m/s^2. Which is not tiny, but due to friction across the boat, would be cancelled out (by 1 or 2 orders of magnitude {{citation needed}}). This is considering the best possible case. For more reasonable charge values, this force would be about a trillion times weaker, and hence this will not cause any practical motion.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

[Panel 1]

How sailboats use physics to sail upwind:

[A schematic boat with a sail is shown (top-down view). Winds shown with directional arrows, pointing in the direction of the sail (going towards 4:30 on a clock face).]

[Panel 2]

1. Wind passing over the sail strips away electrons via the triboelectric effect.

[Schematic similar to panel 1, but with charged ions shown across both sides of the sail, representing the triboelectric effect.]

[Panel 3]

2. The positively charged boat is blown downwind; its movement in Earth's magnetic field produces a Lorentz force.

[The same schematic, except a force vector is shown in the direction of the wind, and a perpendicular force vector (along 1:30 on a clock face) is shown with a dashed arrow.]

[Panel 4]

3. The Lorentz force acts perpendicular to the direction of motion, redirecting the boat upwind.

[A net force vector is shown perpendicular to the downstream vector.]

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

Talk:238: Pet Peeve 114

2025-04-23T10:25:39Z

Alstocras:

Pet peeve# 115: "what are you doing watching TV?!?!? it's Saturday night![[User:Dontknow|Dontknow]] ([[User talk:Dontknow|talk]]) 22:48, 7 March 2017 (UTC)
:Pet peeve no. 116: "What are you doing playing video games?!?!? It's Saturday Night!" "But it's free video game weekend!" [[User:625571b7-aa66-4f98-ac5c-92464cfb4ed8|625571b7-aa66-4f98-ac5c-92464cfb4ed8]] ([[User talk:625571b7-aa66-4f98-ac5c-92464cfb4ed8|talk]]) 22:54, 7 March 2017 (UTC)
::Pet Peeve #117: "What are you doing existing? It's Saturday night!" [[User:Alstocras|Alstocras]] ([[User talk:Alstocras|talk]]) 10:25, 23 April 2025 (UTC)

1212: Interstellar Memes

2025-04-22T13:58:55Z

Alstocras: /* Explanation */ added explanation for 'Internets" meme.

{{comic
| number = 1212
| date = May 15, 2013
| title = Interstellar Memes
| image = interstellar memes.png
| titletext = The strongest incentive we have to develop faster-than-light travel is that it would let us apologize in advance.
}}
A [http://xkcd.com/1212/large/ larger version] of this picture can be found by clicking the comic on xkcd.

==Explanation==
{{incomplete| Need to add the missing explanations for memes.}}

[[Randall]] highlights various memes from popular culture. A {{w|meme}} is a phenomenon, often in this scenario in the form of a movie quote, a musical reference, a catchphrase or other notable saying that spreads quickly by word-of-mouth. Memes become popular because people hear about them and repeat them to others. Randall points out that if the assumed intelligent life from other star systems were listening to the things we said, then they would just now be hearing and popularizing memes started years ago on earth. The delay is due to the time that it takes for expressions of the meme to travel (presumably via radio waves) to distant star systems.

Our solar system, from where the electromagnetic waves are emitted, is located just left of the center of the picture. The other star systems are arranged roughly according to their distance from the sun, while their size corresponds to the size of the star compared with that of the Sun. The meme for Sirius is a pun; it refers to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, in which Bellatrix Lestrange kills Sirius Black. Radio waves travel at the {{w|speed of light}}. The title text jokes that these memes are so annoying that it would give us further incentive to develop the technology to travel {{w|faster than light}}, just simply to be able to outrun the radio waves, reach a distant star system, and apologize in advance to the "residents" about the memes, before the memes arrive.

===Table with memes===
The table below lists all the memes described, and the star at which the comics states those memes should be heard by the time when the comic was released in 2013. The year of the meme plus the number of light years to the star should end up close to 2013.

Most end up within the range 2011-2013 which may indicate the meme became popular one or two years later (on Earth or at the distant star system.) Two memes reach the targets in 2014. Some of those errors may be caused by the inaccuracy of the distances.

The ''The Spanish Inquisition'' from Monty Python would have reached its destination in 2006. Because they're still watching ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' in 2013 it must be very popular or maybe it took seven years to decipher that {{w|British humour}}.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Meme !! Star !! Origin !! Year !! Distance to star !! Sum year !! Explanation
|-
| Yabba dabba doo! || {{w|Castor (star)|Castor}} || ''{{w|The Flintstones}}'' || 1960 || 51 ± 3 ly || 2011 ± 3 ||The catchphrase used by ''{{W|Fred Flintstone}}'' in the series ''{{W|The Flintstones}}'' whenever something good happens (like a work shift ending).
|-
| You've got to ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" || {{w|Lambda Aurigae}} || ''{{w|Dirty Harry}}'' || 1971 || 41.2 ± 0.1 ly || 2012 ||
|-
| {{w|Where's the beef|Where's the beef?}} || {{w|HR 1614}} || Slogan for {{w|Wendy's}} || 1984 || 28 ly || 2012 || Catchy slogan used in many Wendy's commercials that caught on and became a meme in its own right.
|-
| And now for something completely different. || {{w|Capella (star)|Capella}}|| ''{{w|Monty Python's Flying Circus}}'' || 1969 || 42 ly || 2011 ||
|-
| Here's lookin' at you, kid. || {{w|Kappa Reticuli}} || ''{{w|Casablanca (film)|Casablanca}}'' || 1942 || 70 ly || 2012 ||
|-
| My spoon is too big! || {{w|Kapteyn's Star}} || ''{{w|Rejected}}'' || 2000 || 12 ly || 2012 ||
|-
| May the force be with you. || {{w|Delta Trianguli}} || ''{{w|Star Wars}}''|| 1977 || 35 ly || 2012 || This is a phrase used a lot in the Star Wars franchise. It is a benediction used to bid a hopeful farewell, mostly by/to/between those who are aligned to the {{w|Jedi}} creed.
|-
| Peanut butter jelly time! || {{w|Luyten's Star}} || [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/peanut-butter-jelly-time an Internet meme] || 2002 || 12 ly || 2014 ||
|-
| Rosebud. || {{w|Alpha Hydri}} || ''{{w|Citizen Kane}}'' || 1941 || 71 ly || 2012 || In the opening scene of Citizen Kane, the eponymous Mr. Kane dies, saying "Rosebud" as his last words. The rest of the movie focuses on the people in his life trying to determine what the meaning of this word was.
|-
| Oh my god, {{w|They killed Kenny|they killed Kenny!}} – You bastards! || {{w|AD Leonis}} || ''{{w|South Park}}'' || 1997 || 15.9 ± 0.2 ly || 2013 || This is usually said whenever the character Kenny from South Park is killed. This is a recurring reference, as Kenny dies in every episode of South Park. In its most referenced form, another of the child characters then swears at the antagonists, fate and/or {{tvtropes|BreakingTheFourthWall|the writer's of the show}}, whichever party may be responsible, but this may be toned down in later depictions.
|-
| ...God kills a kitten! – A what? || {{w|Procyon}} || {{w|Every time you masturbate... God kills a kitten|an Internet meme}} || 2002 || 11.5 ly || 2013 || The reply for this meme notes that kittens aren't on any other planets{{Citation needed}}, so the other person is confused about what a kitten is.
|-
| I ''still'' can't believe Bellatrix– – Dude, get over it. || {{w|Sirius}} || ''{{w|Harry Potter}}'' ({{w|Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix|book 5}}) || 2003 || 8.6 ly || 2012 || In the Battle of the {{w|Ministry of Magic|Department of Mysteries}}, {{w|Bellatrix Lestrange}} fires a spell at {{w|Sirius Black}}, {{w|Harry Potter (character)|Harry's}} {{w|Godparent|godfather}}. This spell knocks Sirius backward through an archway which is a physical doorway into the {{w|Afterlife|afterlife}} such that, when Sirius fell through it, he left the realm of the living and died. The star Sirius is obviously upset about this, as Sirius Black was named after him.
|-
| Ninjas fight ''all the time!'' || {{w|Epsilon Eridani}} || {{w|The Official Ninja Webpage}} || 2002 || 10 ly || 2012 || {{w|Ninja}} is the Japanese word for {{w|spy}}. In the 16th century, Japanese spycraft was codified into a profession, and spies had a significant influence on feudal intrigue during the {{w|Sengoku period|Japanese warring states period}}. These spies inspired a lot of literature, some fantastical, which over time developed into a popular stock character and a rich array of associated tropes. The Official Ninja Webpage is a satire website written from the perspective of a teenage American boy who is obsessed with the stock character and its associated tropes. One of these tropes, as written on the front page of the website, is that "Ninjas fight ALL the time."
|-
| {{w|D'oh!}} || {{w|HR 753}} || ''{{w|The Simpsons}}'' || 1989 || 23 ly || 2012 || This is what {{w|Homer Simpson| Homer Simpson}}, the father figure of {{w|The Simpsons}}The Simpsons, exclaims whenever he's annoyed.
|-
| {{w|The Spanish Inquisition (Monty Python)|''Nobody'' expects the Spanish Inquisition!}} || {{w|Beta Virginis}} || ''{{w|Monty Python's Flying Circus}}'' || 1970 || 35,6 ly || 2006 || Monty Python was an absurdist sketch show. In a particular episode, a character in a scene (a meeting between a mill-owner and his workers) complained about being asked some questions by saying they "did not expect a {{w|Spanish Inquisition}}", a superlative that was common at the time the sketch aired. At this point, several characters dressed in the uniforms of the Spanish Inquisition burst into the scene declaring that "nobody expects the Spanish inquisition", diverting the original sketch's direction. At the very end of the episode, a different character in a different (courtroom) sketch says that they "didn't expected the Spanish Inquisition" and everyone turns towards the door in expectation. The remainder of the episode follows the Spanish Inquisition rushing to the scene, and barely starting to 'surprise' everyone there before time runs out.
|-
| {{w|All your base are belong to us}}. || {{w|Tau Ceti}} || ''{{w|Zero Wing}}'' || 2001 || 11.9 ly || 2013 || This is a meme resulting from a mistranslated line in the game ''Zero Wing''. The correct translation was "We have taken all of your bases."
|-
| Take me to your leader! – No, Steve. || {{w|Beta Cassiopeiae|Caph}} || {{w|Take me to your leader (phrase)}} || 1957 || 55 ly || 2012 || "Take me to your leader" is a stock phrase attributed to aliens in 1950s science fiction during first contact. The first recorded instance is a New Yorker cartoon where aliens ask this question to a horse, illustrating the weirdness of aliens being able to communicate the phrase but not understanding the structure of society. Later usage was more sincere, with both humans and aliens asking each other to take them to their leaders. Since people near Caph would be aliens, one could ask them to take you to their leader. However, because the aliens on Caph are saying the meme to each other, the second speaker is personally familiar with the one making the request, apparently named Steve, which makes the request pointless. So the second speaker refuses the request because it is not important.
|-
| Chuck Norris doesn't sleep. He ''waits.'' || {{w|Wolf 359}} || {{w|Chuck Norris facts}} || 2005 || 7.8 ly || 2013 || {{w|Chuck Norris}} is an American movie star, typically taking on roles where he would perform implausible feats of physical prowess. People online started making lists of many other implausible or impossible feats that Chuck Norris was supposedly capable of, including this one. Normal humans have a physiological need for {{w|sleep}}, with sleep deprivation having many negative health effects. That Chuck Norris does not sleep but instead waits implies a superhuman resistance to insomnia, while simultaneously explaining his inaction as a form of {{w|theodicy}}.
|-
| ♬ Numa numa ♪ || {{w|Lalande 21185}} || {{w|Dragostea Din Tei|Numa Numa song}} || 2004 || 8.3 ly || 2012 || "Numa numa" is part of the lyrics of the chorus of a Romanian-language europop song {{w|Dragostea Din Tei}}. A webcam recording of {{w|Gary Brolsma}} enthousiastically singing along with the song was uploaded to youtube and widely shared.
|-
| I can haz? || {{w|WISE 1049-5319|Luhman 16}} || {{w|Lolcats}} || 2006 || 6.6 ± 0.5 ly || 2013 || An early image macro meme format was captioning pictures of cats, as alluded to in xkcd [[262]]. One popular image featured an overweight Scottish Fold cat with the caption "I can haz cheezburger?", implying the cat is overweight because it likes eating cheeseburgers.
|-
| ''Internets!'' || {{w|Luyten 726-8|Gliese 65}} || {{w|George W. Bush}} [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/internets Internet meme] || 2004 || 8.7 || 2013|| The word 'Internets' is an incorrect pluralisation of the word 'Internet', popularised by former United States (US) president George W. Bush, in his response to a question asked by an audience member about the moral state of media in the US, during the third round of a Bush-Gore debate at Washington University in St. Louis on October 17th, 2000. His response is as follows: "'''…We can have filters on Internets where public money is spent.''' There ought to be filters in public libraries and filters in public schools so if kids get on the Internet, there is not going to be pornography or violence coming in." This was majorly overlooked until George W. Bush yet again made the mistake, this time during the presidential debate against US Senator John Kerry on October 8th, 2004 at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He repeated this as follows: "'''I hear there's rumors on the, uh, Internets [pause] that we're going to have a draft.''' We're not going to have a draft, period."
|-
| Look at the tiny dancing Earth mammals! || {{w|Gliese 1}} || {{w|Hampster Dance}} and/or {{w|Dancing Baby}} || 1998 || 14 ly || 2012 || Hampster Dance was a website featuring a set of tiled animated {{w|GIF}}s of cartoon hamsters dancing. The Dancing Baby is an animated GIF of a computer generated human baby dancing in a {{w|cha-cha}} style. Gliese 1 is not familiar with hamsters and human species, but since they are both mammals it refers to one or both as "tiny dancing Earth mammals". It is unclear how Gliese 1 knows that they are mammals, or what mammals are.
|-
| ''Wasssuup!?!'' || {{w|Van Maanen's star}} || {{w|Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch)|Budweiser Beer}} advertising campaign || 1999 || 14 ly || 2013 || A compounded way of saying "What's up", a common greeting, with the compounded version being more common in 1990s' African American Vernacular English. In the commercial, two friends are lounging and watching a sports game, calling each other using an analog wired telephone. Using these telephones, multiple people in the same household could pick up phones connected to the same in-home telephone network and all participate in the conversation. Several other friends use this function to join the call and say "Wassuupp!?!" at each other in an escalatingly large group and then hang up to go back to doing their own thing.
|-
| Yippie-ki-yay, motherfucker. || {{w|Beta Hydri}} || ''{{w|Die Hard}}'' || 1988 || 24 ly || 2012 ||
|-
| I pity the fool! || {{w|Groombridge 1830}} || ''{{w|Rocky III}}'' ({{w|Mr. T}}) || 1982 || 30 ly || 2012 || In Rocky III, the main antagonist Clubber Lang expresses pity towards protagonist Rocky Balboa, who is foolish enough to compete with him in a boxing match. The implication being that Lang is obviously going to win and cause Balboa a lot of unnecessary pain. The actor playing Clubber Lang, Mr. T, adopted this as his catchphrase, using it in different media.
|-
| The cake is a lie! || {{w|Alpha Centauri|Alpha Centauri A/B}} || ''{{w|Portal (video game)|Portal}}'' || 2007 || 4.3 ly || 2011 || This is a phrase that appears scrawled on a wall in the video game Portal foreshadowing the ending where, despite being promised cake, the player character is not given it and is almost killed by the antagonist.
|-
| ♪ Never gonna give you up ♫ || {{w|Alpha Centauri|Alpha Centauri A/B}} || {{w|Rickrolling}} || 2007 || 4.3 ly || 2011 || This is a reference to an act of tricking someone to watch/listen to the song "Never Gonna Give You Up" involuntarily.
|-
| I'm on a boat! || {{w|Proxima Centauri}} || ''{{w|I'm on a Boat}}'' || 2009 || 4.243 ± 0.002 ly || 2013 || The hook of a satirical hip-hop single with the same name, by {{w|The Lonely Island}} and {{w|T-Pain}}. The song is about winning a free boat ride and then being ridiculously proud of being on a boat.
|-
| ♫ Chocolate Raaaiiin ♫ || {{w|Barnard's Star}} || {{w|Tay Zonday}}: {{w|Chocolate Rain}} video || 2007 || 6 ly || 2013 || Chocolate Rain is a song uploaded to youtube by Tay Zonday, with video of him recording the voice track. "Chocolate rain" is the {{w|hook (music)|hook}} of the song that recurs every other line, and in the lyrics chocolate rain serves as an analogy for systemic racism.
|-
| Leave Britney alone! || {{w|Barnard's Star}} || {{w|Cara Cunningham}}: [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/leave-britney-alone LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE!] || 2007 || 6 ly || 2013 || {{w|Britney Spears}} is an American singer and pop star, who was ridiculed by the press and popular discourse for drama in her personal life. A highly watched early youtube video featured Cara filming herself in a highly emotional state, begging people to "leave Britney alone" because she had it hard enough.
|-
| You're the man now, dog! || {{w|Epsilon Indi}} || {{w|YTMND}} || 2001 || 11.8 || 2013 ||
|-
| {{w|More cowbell|More cowbell!}} || {{w|Kruger 60}} || ''{{w|Saturday Night Live}}'' || 2000 || 13 ly || 2013 || Saturday Night Live is a famous show that creates comedy sketchs every Saturday night. One of these sketches was the "More cowbell" sketch. This sketch was about the recording of "{{w|(Don't Fear) The Reaper}}", a song by the {{w|Blue Öyster Cult}}. In this skit, Gene Frenkle (a fictional character, played by {{w|Will Ferrell}}) was playing the {{w| Cowbell (instrument)|cowbell}}. However, because the cowbell was so distracting, the band stops playing and tells him to stop. This upsets Frenkel, who starts playing more and more annoyingly as the sketch goes on. {{w|Bruce Dickinson}}, played by {{w|Christopher Walken}}, encourages Frenkel to play the cowbell louder saying the iconic line, "Guess what! I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!".
Christopher Walken later said that the sketch "ruined his life", because of how popular it became.
|-
| Hasta la vista, baby. || {{w|Gliese 892}} || ''{{w|Terminator 2}}'' || 1991 || 21 ly || 2012 ||
|-
| Let's get ready to ruuumble! || {{w|Zeta Tucanae}} || {{w|Michael Buffer}} || 1984 || 28 ly || 2012 || This meme originated from the main catchphrase of ring announcer Michael Buffer, which he has used since 1984. The catchphrase has also made an appearance in the 1996 Disney movie ''{{w|Space Jam}}''.
|-
| You talkin' to ''me?'' || {{w|Arcturus}} || ''{{w|Taxi Driver}}'' || 1976 || 36.7 ± 0.3 ly || 2013 ||
|-
| Did ''I'' do that? || {{w|Xi Boötis|Boötis}} || ''{{w|Family Matters}}'' ({{w|Steve Urkel}}) || 1989 || 21.89 ± 0.07 ly || 2011 ||
|-
| Welcome to Good Burger, home of the good burger. – What's a burger? – I don't know. || {{w|70 Ophiuchi}} || {{w|Good Burger}} slogan || 1997 || 16.58 ± 0.07 ly || 2014 ||
|-
| Badger badger badger badger || {{w|Ross 154}} || {{w|Badger Badger Badger}} || 2003 || 9.7 ly || 2013 ||
|-
| {{w|Vulcan salute|Live long and prosper.}} – OK. || {{w|HD 211415}} || ''{{w|Star Trek}}'' || 1967 || 44 ly || 2011 ||
|-
| Name's Bond. James Bond. || {{w|51 Pegasi}} || ''{{w|Dr. No (film)|Dr. No}}'' ({{w|James Bond}}) || 1962 || 50.9 ± 0.3 ly || 2013 || James Bond is the protagonist of a series of spy fiction, who has a habit of introducing himself with this exact phrase.
|-
| Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn. || {{w|Alpha Serpentis}} || ''{{w|Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind}}'' || 1939 || 74.0 ± 0.3 ly || 2013 ||
|-
| Mr. T ate my balls! || {{w|Altair}} || [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ate-my-balls an Internet meme] || 1996 || 16.7 ly || 2013 ||
|-
| I want the truth. – ''You can't handle the truth!'' || {{w|Delta Pavonis}} || ''{{w|A Few Good Men}}'' || 1992 || 20 ly || 2012 ||
|-
| I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse. || {{w|Beta Trianguli Australis}} || ''{{w|The Godfather}}'' || 1972 || 40 ly || 2012 ||
|-
| {{w|Resistance is futile|Resistance is futile.}} || {{w|Vega}} || ''{{w|Star Trek}}'' ({{w|Borg (Star Trek)|Borg}}) || 1988 || 25 ly || 2013 || The Borg are a fictional hypercollectivist superpower in the Milky Way galaxy depicted in the Star Trek franchise. The Borg expand by violently conquering the hundreds of species that exist in the galaxy, using cyborg implants to force conquered people to work for their collective in body and mind. When a Borg spaceship encounters resistance, it sends out a standard message explaining its intent to add the to-be-conquered people's biological and cultural distinctiveness to their own, and that resistance is futile.
|-
| Oh... My... Gaawd || {{w|Sigma Draconis}} || ''{{w|Friends}}'' ({{w|Janice Goralnik}}) || 1994 || 18.8 ly || 2013 ||
|-
| Ehh, what's up, Doc? || {{w|Epsilon Cygni|Gienah}} || {{w|Bugs Bunny}} || 1940 || 73 ly || 2013 || This is the main catchphrase of Bugs Bunny, the main character of the loony toons.
|-
| ''EXTERMINATE!'' || {{w|Alpha Cephei|Alderamin}} || ''{{w|Doctor Who}}'' ({{w|Dalek|The Daleks}}) || 1963 || 49 ly || 2012 || The main catchphrase of the Daleks of Doctor Who, used when they fire their gunsticks resulting in the extermination of whatever was hit. It wasn't actually used in this context in the TV series until Power of the Daleks, three years after {{w|The Daleks|their debut}}, though some of the very first scenes had them discussing amongst themselves the "extermination" of their newly rediscovered (and, at that time, mostly oblivious) enemies.
|}

==Transcript==
:[On a black background yellow circles and white bubbles are shown. Caption above the picture:]
:If other star systems are listening in on our pop culture, given the speed-of-light delay, these are the jokes and catchphrases they just learned about and are currently repeating way too much:

:[On a black background a map of star systems in relation to the Sun, which is roughly in the center, sending out radio waves is shown. Each star is a yellow circle of differing sizes, with a speech bubble (or more). The list is ordered from closest to furthest.]
:Proxima Centauri: I'm on a boat!
:Alpha Centauri A B: The cake is a lie! – ♪ Never gonna give you up ♫
:Luhman 16: I can haz?
:Barnard's star: Leave Britney alone! – ♫ Chocolate Raaaiiin ♫
:Wolf 359: Chuck Norris doesn't sleep. He waits.
:Lalande 21185: ♬ Numa numa ♪
:Sirius: I still can't believe Bellatrix– – Dude, get over it.
:Gliese 65: INTERNETS!
:Epsilon Eridani: Ninjas fight all the time!
:Procyon: ...God kills a kitten! – A what?
:Epsilon Indi: You're the man now, dog!
:Tau Ceti: All your base are belong to us.
:Luyten's Star: Peanut Butter Jelly Time!
:Kapteyn's star: My spoon is too big!
:Kruger 60: MORE COWBELL!
:Gliese 1: Look at the tiny dancing Earth mammals!
:Van Maanen's star: WASSSUUP!?!
:Ad Leonis: Oh my God, they killed Kenny! – You bastards!
:70 Ophiuchi: Welcome to Good Burger, home of the Good Burger. – What's a burger? – I don't know.
:Altair: Mr. T ate my balls!
:Sigma Draconis: Oh ... my ... gaawd.
:Delta Pavonis: I want the truth. – You can't handle the truth!
:Gliese 892: Hasta la vista, baby.
:Xi Boötis: Did I do that?
:HR 753: D'oh!
:Beta Hydri: Yippie-ki-yay, motherfucker.
:Vega: Resistance is futile.
:Zeta Tucanae: Let's get ready to ruuumble!
:HR 1614: Where's the beef?
:Groombridge 1830: I pity the fool!
:Delta Trianguli: May the Force be with you.
:Beta Virginis: Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!
:Arcturus: You talkin' to me ?
:Beta Trianguli Australis: I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse.
:Lamda Aurigae: You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?'
:Capella: And now for something completely different.
:HD 211415: Live long and prosper. – Ok.
:Alderamin: EXTERMINATE!
:51 Pegasi: Name's bond. James Bond.
:Caph: Take me to your leader! – No, Steve.
:Kappa Reticuli: Here's lookin' at you, kid.
:Alpha Hydri: Rosebud.
:Gienah: Ehh, what's up doc?
:Alpha Serpentis: Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Puns]]
[[Category:Songs]]
[[Category:Rickrolling]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Doctor Who]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:Star Trek]]
[[Category:Harry Potter]]
[[Category:Terminator]]
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]

189: Exercise

2025-04-22T12:44:20Z

Alstocras: /* Explanation */ fixed the wording of the last line in the explanation, was a bit confusing.

{{comic
| number = 189
| date = November 27, 2006
| title = Exercise
| image = exercise.png
| titletext = I haven't had the patience for RPGs in a long time.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Role-playing_game|Role-playing games}} (RPGs) are a pastime commonly associated with {{w|Geek|geeks}} in which players assume the role of a fictional character in a fantasy world. In many RPGs, character evolution and advancement is represented by "leveling up." Through winning battles and, less frequently, completing tasks or missions, characters are awarded experience points (XP), which can be spent on increasing their ratings in attributes (such as strength or speed) or skills (such as bow-hunting or computer hacking). The number of XP awarded is generally proportional to the difficulty of the task completed.

[[Cueball]] is doing {{w|Pull-up (exercise)|pull-ups}}, a strength-training exercise that mainly targets the latissimus dorsi. Repeating this exercise over time will improve his ability to do more pull-ups in one go - in other words, he will become stronger. In doing so, he is effectively leveling up his STR (strength) attribute in real life. While doing his pull-ups, he comments that he will soon switch to running - an aerobic exercise that improves endurance - in order to build up his CON (constitution) attribute. Cueball is treating his gym session like an RPG, and observes that, as a self-confessed geek, he would not be as interested in exercising without that link.

The title text implies that ever since, [[Randall]] has lost his patience and ability to play RPG games, likely due to the connection to exercise.

==Transcript==
:Like many geeks, I got a lot more interested in exercise once I made the connection to leveling up.
:[Cueball is doing pull-ups on a bar in a doorframe.]
:Cueball: One more point to STR, then I'll run to work on CON.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Video games]]