explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2792: Summer Solstice

2023-06-23T21:54:04Z

Ansarya: asking for a citation to the claim of the comic that latest sunset is 20203-06-28

Related to [[1878: Earth Orbital Diagram]]? [[User:Purah126|Purah126]] ([[User talk:Purah126|talk]]) 00:32, 22 June 2023 (UTC)
:Great minds think alike*. Hadn't read down here when I leapt in and added that link (and made some other very minor tweaks). Or at least leapt in once I'd found it myself (not rembering its title or enough of its keywords), having had to trawl through [[:Category:Astronomy]] and visit almost all likely titles and several unlikely ones. Which was enjoyable, so not a problem. ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.92|172.70.85.92]] 00:58, 22 June 2023 (UTC) ''* - fools never differ... :P''

I think there's a 3rd option for what the "fix" entails: eliminating Earth's axial tilt so it's always equinox (12 hour days almost everywhere, perpetual dawn at the poles). The title text specifies "on the equator", not "near" the equator. The only way for eclipses always "on" the equator is if the equator is always aligned with the ecliptic. - [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 02:06, 22 June 2023 (UTC)

:Wouldn’t that cause a lot of trouble with stuff like crop growth patterns? —[[User:Purah126|Purah126]] ([[User talk:Purah126|talk]]) 16:58, 22 June 2023 (UTC)

I think that to make the solstices match the earliest sunrise/sunset might require straightening out the Earth's tilt as well. Making it a circular orbit I think actually makes the summer solstice even further from the latest sunset (but the winter solstice closer to latest sunrise). [https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/equation-of-time.html]. Oh but straightening the tilt would mean no more solstices at all, hm. Maybe what's required is an elliptical orbit but with the sun at the center rather than a focus. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.111.153|172.70.111.153]] 14:27, 22 June 2023 (UTC)

:I think elliptical orbit with the Sun at the center is not stable. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:05, 22 June 2023 (UTC)

While we're at it, can we please make the year, lunar phase period, and day neat ratios of one another? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.247.44|172.69.247.44]] 13:52, 22 June 2023 (UTC)

:I'll email someone at NASA about it, don't worry. [[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Miscellaneous#Help_with_Creating_a_User_Page|Trogdor147]] ([[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Miscellaneous#Help_with_Creating_a_User_Page|talk]]) 20:54, 22 June 2023 (UTC)
:Should we make it 360 days/year (360 is a highly composite number) or should we go with 400, for easy multiples? Either then means we have to redefine the length of the week. I'm OK with 50 eight-day weeks. I propose the new day to be called Randallday. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 21:51, 22 June 2023 (UTC)
::Definitely 360, it would nicely match there being 3600 seconds in hour. Also, the bigger change you would do the worse effect would it have on biosphere. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:07, 22 June 2023 (UTC)
:::Why? There would only be a small lengthening of the day (~1.5%), presuming the actual time length of the year is the same. BTW, do flatearthers call it a biodisc? [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 01:00, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

: Will we get a vote on whether the moon orbit is 'fixed' to give us total eclipses, annular, or a mix of both?[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.20|141.101.98.20]] 08:39, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

Anyone have any What If? type insights about any unintended consequences of the proposed changes? Thinking more of the physical and natural rather than societal, but anything might be an interesting addition to the article. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.35.28|172.68.35.28]] 14:58, 22 June 2023 (UTC)
:Tides, possibly ocean currents. Need a physicist for details (I'm a marine biologist; tides are on my radar, tide modeling isn't), but regularization of Earth and Moon orbits would remove many of the gravitational drivers of things like "spring" and "neap" tides, leading (it sez here) to permanent changes to littoral zones and their biotas, and (ditto) impacting coastal zone management strategies, especially if the "new normal" (and consistent) tides were much higher or lower than previous means. Arguably, an ocean biosphere already under stress from global warming would resent having to put up with yet another anthropogenic set of challenges. Hm? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.169|162.158.186.169]] 16:41, 22 June 2023 (UTC)

Great Randal[l]s think alike... I had just posted [https://www.facebook.com/merlyn/posts/pfbid027XNEX93Yud8iU8LYbmvtw6B7QwSBfYJhkmMpaza3DXM6HENxTmuz623FhyzL5aQAl this to Facebook] a day before seeing Randall's work. [[User:RandalSchwartz|RandalSchwartz]] ([[User talk:RandalSchwartz|talk]]) 04:45, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

ALTER EARTH'S ORBIT AND TILT - STOP GLOBAL DISASTERS AND EPIDEMICS<br>
ALTER THE SOLAR SYSTEM. REORBIT VENUS INTO A NEAR EARTH-LIKE ORBIT<br>
TO CREATE A BORN AGAIN EARTH (1990)<br>
-- Alexander Abian<br>
[[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 17:56, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

So, "six days" does that mean June 28th, 2023 is the latest sunset of the year? I'm kind of shocked that there's not already a citation here showing this fact (if that's the actual day). Anyone? [[User:Ansarya|Ansarya]] ([[User talk:Ansarya|talk]]) 21:54, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

Talk:2170: Coordinate Precision

2019-07-02T01:48:47Z

Ansarya: values don't fit in a float

The coordinates seem to show a NASA building, so in the end you're still soing something space related. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.55.196|172.69.55.196]] 19:47, 1 July 2019 (UTC)Some random European.
:The more precise coordinates are actually in the middle of the Rocket Garden at the Visitor's Center of the Kennedy Space Center complex. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 19:58, 1 July 2019 (UTC)

The atom-level coordinates are obtained by appending digits of e and pi to the Rocket Garden coordinates. [[User:Ichoran|Ichoran]] ([[User talk:Ichoran|talk]]) 20:21, 1 July 2019 (UTC)

I always find it very funny to see all those decimals. Regular GPS devices have an uncertainty of 3 meters if there is no interference from trees, buildings or whatever. That puts you at about 4 to 5 decimals I guess. [[User:Palmpje|Palmpje]] ([[User talk:Palmpje|talk]]) 20:26, 1 July 2019 (UTC)
:A Google Maps webpage URL includes coordinates to seven decimal places. [[User:EmuSam|EmuSam]] ([[User talk:EmuSam|talk]]) 20:48, 1 July 2019 (UTC)
::Sure but out there with your handheld GPS or normal consumer device that includes a GPS receiver you won't get more precision than about 3 meters. And when your at the higher latitudes you're probably not getting that. [[User:Palmpje|Palmpje]] ([[User talk:Palmpje|talk]]) 20:52, 1 July 2019 (UTC)

So combining this comic with #2169, is Randal suggesting he'll be at the Rocket Garden on July 28th (much as he did in #240)? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.208|108.162.216.208]] 20:47, 1 July 2019 (UTC)
:It says ''June'' 28th. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.22|162.158.126.22]] 20:52, 1 July 2019 (UTC)
::No, the date of that comic is June 28, but the title text says: [AT THE JULY 28TH MEETING] --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:51, 1 July 2019 (UTC)
:::Ah, that makes sense. For some reason my app only showed the first part of the tirle text --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.94|162.158.126.94]] 23:04, 1 July 2019 (UTC)

Regrettably, there are two dimensions missing, Z and T. Without Z (elevation)+/- you could be in space or in a neutrino detector. T is only relevant for dynamic objects, but there again, the Americas are going West at a measurable rate! [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 21:30, 1 July 2019 (UTC)

The seventh row is likely a reference to comic number 1358 where two stick figures try to find waldo via satellite. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.226.125|172.69.226.125]] 21:44, 1 July 2019 (UTC) kisara, 21:42, 1 July 2019 (utc)

10^-40 degrees on the surface of the earth translates to about 0.7 planck lengths. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.234|162.158.106.234]] 21:50, 1 July 2019 (UTC)

Do the coordinates 28.5234°N, 80.6830°W really correspond to the tip of the Delta rocket? I checked and it was pointing to a small patch of ground next to the rocket, not the tip of the rocket itself. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 00:20, 2 July 2019 (UTC)

I would like to mention that neither number seems to fit into a standard double float value. I made a fiddle showing this. [https://dotnetfiddle.net/k7yK0Y#] [[User:Ansarya|Ansarya]] ([[User talk:Ansarya|talk]]) 01:48, 2 July 2019 (UTC)

Talk:2108: Carbonated Beverage Language Map

2019-02-07T02:13:07Z

Ansarya:

I'm wondering what the joke behind the weird shapes of "softie" and "punch" are about. [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 17:22, 6 February 2019 (UTC)
:The shapes could easily be random. But at first glance the "softie" shape vaguely represents areas where Mormons represent more than 50% of the population. [[User:Syberiyxx|Syberiyxx]] ([[User talk:Syberiyxx|talk]]) 19:07, 6 February 2019 (UTC)
::I fixed the explanation with the correct interpretation of the two shapes. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 21:27, 6 February 2019 (UTC)
::My additions had disappeared, but it looks to have been by accident, and Shamino put them back. Thanks! In case it disappears again for whatever reason, on the map Punch is literally punching Softie. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 22:10, 6 February 2019 (UTC)

"Bubbler" is definitely a reference to people in Rhode Island calling drinking fountains "bubblers".[[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 17:23, 6 February 2019 (UTC)

:::[https://amp.businessinsider.com/images/51af5dc7ecad04c04600000c-750-533.png Bubbler reference, Joshua Katz], and [https://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_103.html its data]

:The “bubbler” term is used in some areas of Wisconsin, too; I wonder how that happened. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.59.108|172.68.59.108]] 17:31, 6 February 2019 (UTC)

::Interesting. I didn't know that. In this case though, the map is pointing directly at RI. [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 17:40, 6 February 2019 (UTC)

:::I was devastated to see that 'bubbler' had not been given to eastern WI. I demand a recount!--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.10|162.158.214.10]] 18:47, 6 February 2019 (UTC)

:I was surprised to see 'bubbler' avoided Boston. Living in the suburbs of Boston, which are in the 'bubbler' area, we always called them 'water fountains', but we talked about how people in downtown Boston would say 'bubblah' instead, which somebody from the city verified once. Later I moved to the Harvard/Cambridge area (is that Randall's area?) and people seemed to say 'water fountain' to me, although I might not have noticed, or maybe they were all college kid types, dunno. Maybe the point is that in the highlighted area, people weirdly _don't_ refer to water fountains as bubblers, and the reason for this is that it is how soda/pop is referred to. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.10|172.69.62.10]] 23:50, 6 February 2019 (UTC)

:Growing up in the New York metropolitan area in the 70's, my family sometimes used the term "bubbler", but only to refer to those drinking fountains where the water is projected straight up. We never used it for the more common kind where the water is projected at an angle. [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 21:37, 6 February 2019 (UTC)

Clearly a parody of this map: http://www.popvssoda.com/countystats/total-county.html
The isolated regions surrounding Atlanta and the Twin Cities are probably a reference to the similar pattern around St. Louis in the real map. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.78.40|172.68.78.40]] 17:17, 6 February 2019 (UTC)

Oh man, this one is gonna have to be a table. Bring in the guy who knows how to make tables. I think it was the user Dgbrt. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.65.168|172.68.65.168]] 18:28, 6 February 2019 (UTC)

I've heard Americans have 50 different words for "soda" [[Special:Contributions/172.68.58.251|172.68.58.251]] 20:26, 6 February 2019 (UTC)

Re: Medicine - People in Detroit and Buffalo often use Ginger Ale, especially Vernor's, medicinally. Whenever I had an upset stomach growing up, it was the preferred beverage. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.136|162.158.75.136]] 20:54, 6 February 2019 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure "crypto" is a joke on cryptocurrency craze, not cryptography or any other crypto-thing. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.242.46|198.41.242.46]] 21:21, 6 February 2019 (UTC)

"True water" could be a reference to the [https://sf.eater.com/2018/1/4/16850592/what-is-raw-water-live-water-san-francisco-rainbow-grocery "raw water"] (aka untreated water) thing that went through the SF Bay Area in 2018.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.218.10|172.69.218.10]] 21:51, 6 February 2019 (UTC)

Re: Medicine - Sodas started out as medicines made by pharmacists. ([https://www.medicalbag.com/grey-matter/the-origins-of-soda/article/472378/| first reference I found]) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.146.10|162.158.146.10]] 22:41, 6 February 2019 (UTC)

On "fluid": the term "fluid" can refer to liquids and gasses both, so perhaps it's a deliberate reference to the fact that carbonated beverages contain both liquid and (rapidly decompressing) gas?

I doubt that "True Water" is a reference to True Blood. Randall doesn't exactly seem like a vampire guy to me. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.241|172.68.189.241]] 00:50, 7 February 2019 (UTC)

When I saw "Glug" I immediately thought it could be a reference to the Squidbillies although it is an alcoholic drink and that section is in Florida instead of Georgia. [[User:Ansarya|Ansarya]] ([[User talk:Ansarya|talk]]) 01:08, 7 February 2019 (UTC)

The Söde section is just south of Seattle and so is probably a reference to the SoDo section of Seattle (which was also parodied on South Park's 19th season as SodoSopa) Should I add these to the explanation? [[User:Ansarya|Ansarya]] ([[User talk:Ansarya|talk]]) 02:13, 7 February 2019 (UTC)

Talk:2108: Carbonated Beverage Language Map

2019-02-07T01:08:46Z

Ansarya:

Talk:1939: 2016 Election Map

2018-01-09T00:48:42Z

Ansarya:

;Why now?

So why are we getting this map now instead of a year ago? Has something significant to this area just happened in the U.S.A.? (I am a Canadian so might well have missed something.)
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.154|108.162.216.154]] 16:42, 8 January 2018 (UTC)

I'm from the midwest in the US and I'm really confused as well... I also don't find anything particularly funny or poignant in this. So yeah, color me confused in the US. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.76|162.158.75.76]] 16:52, 8 January 2018 (UTC) Sam

: At a guess, because we're coming up on the anniversary of Trump's inauguration. [[User:Wwoods|Wwoods]] ([[User talk:Wwoods|talk]]) 23:26, 8 January 2018 (UTC)

I think the idea is that this map, while interesting as an object, still sort of fails as a map - it doesn't provide the sort of easily digestible information that a map of this variety is supposed to show. Conceptually, I don't think it's that different than #1138 (Heatmap) - the map more or less shows population density and fails to easily communicate party alignment. As to why it's showing up in the first year of 2018, my best guess is that mid-term elections are this year...? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.69.238|172.69.69.238]]

My friend I showed the comic to thinks it could be a general political commentary on the uselessness of these kinds of maps. 1. the map is a year old: useless. 2. there are no numbers: useless. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.76|162.158.75.76]] 17:04, 8 January 2018 (UTC) Sam.

I'm wondering if it has to do with the fact that [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/03/us/politics/trump-voter-fraud-commission.html Trump just disbanded the commission on voter fraud]. I think I heard somewhere that this commission was to "prove why Trump should have won the popular vote". I think the map relates to the whole popular vote versus electoral college discussion.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.172|108.162.216.172]] 17:17, 8 January 2018 (UTC)

I think it might be claiming Trump only won because very many people failed to vote? Either that, or as already mentioned, it's about how useless these maps can be. [[User:Jacky720|That's right, Jacky720 just signed this]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|talk]] | [[Special:Contributions/Jacky720|contribs]]) 17:20, 8 January 2018 (UTC)

The point of the map is that the standard choropleth map for the 2016 election shows the vast majority of us area voting for Donald Trump. (shown on this link http://brilliantmaps.com/2016-county-election-map/) The comic is criticizing the visual accuracy of chloropleth maps in giving a strong understanding of election results (as the majority of voters voted for Hillary). ---- {{unsigned| Widea}}

If this map is really so correct (as stated in the caption) then it has been a huge job to collect the data so precisely and calculate how to split voters across borders when not fitting. This says to me that this is a very big issue for Randall. Of course he has made it clear many times that he is [[1756: I'm With Her|against Trumps election]] and more or less [[1756:_I'm_With_Her#Sad_comics|anything he does]]... I believe there is a lot to learn from this map as opposed to those he mentions in the title text --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:33, 8 January 2018 (UTC)

If this map is correct, then there are 252 Trump guys on it and 263 Clinton guys on it, a difference of 11 guys. I don't know how many "other" guys are on it. Just in case someone would like to know. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.230.4|198.41.230.4]] 20:13, 8 January 2018 (UTC)

One thing that the map does clearly show is that voters of Clinton were clustered in heavily urbanized regions (New England to Delmarva, Miami region, Chicago region, Houston and Austin, and coastal California in particular). Those same Clinton clusters are also home to the most third-party voters. Meanwhile, Trump voters were spread out more evenly and in isolated pockets, and there are very few third-party voters living out in the boonies.
I think the takeaway is that Democratic voters are underrepresented because they are grouped so closely together, and those same populations are also prone to giving rise to anti-two-party sentiment. These two factors combined work against liberalist movements in the United States. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.225|162.158.74.225]] 20:23, 8 January 2018 (UTC)

I never realized until now just how few people live in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.46|108.162.241.46]] 20:25, 8 January 2018 (UTC)

I also think Randal needs a lesson in rural/urban voting, as the placement of many of the red figures on this map are, well, a bit off.[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 22:46, 8 January 2018 (UTC)

The claim about Trump being "obsessed" with how red the map appears seems to just be added to be inflammatory. As far as I know, he just gloated about the map a bit on Twitter on the days following his election. He definitely hasn't kept sharing red maps one year later like Randall, and I think we don't consider Randall obsessed. I'm removing it, and I'd rather this not be added back without a source that clearly shows such an obsession. [01000101] [[Special:Contributions/172.68.25.112|172.68.25.112]] 21:13, 8 January 2018 (UTC)

I count 31 "Green" folks, in addition to whoever counted the red and blues. That means our total is 546 little stick figures. I'm not sure why he picked that number, but it could be the correct number of folks to stick one on the small states of Alaska, Hawiaii, Wyoming, and the Dakotas. He also took the unusual step of counting VOTES instead of population. It'd be fun to have a version with non-voters on it.

I think Randall has always been a map enthusiast. I read this as an alternative map. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.28|108.162.237.28]] 21:54, 8 January 2018 (UTC)

;136,669,237 votes in 2016
To all the guys who are counting the Cueballs in the map: 546 Cueballs multiplied by 250,000 is 136,500,000 votes.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:07, 8 January 2018 (UTC)

My count agrees. Red = 252, Blue = 263, Green = 31 [[User:Ansarya|Ansarya]] ([[User talk:Ansarya|talk]]) 00:48, 9 January 2018 (UTC)