explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2417: 1/1,000th Scale World

2021-01-28T21:33:36Z

Bdraff: /* Table */ Cleaning up golden gate bridge weight description

{{comic
| number = 2417
| date = January 27, 2021
| title = 1/1,000th Scale World
| image = 1_1000th_scale_world.png
| titletext = We're worried that a regular whale will get into a 30-foot-deep ocean trench section and filter-feed on all the tiny whales.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a STATUE OF LIBERTY MINIFIG. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is the third comic in the [[:Category:Scale World|Scale World]] series, this time with a smaller scale and thus a larger world than the first. As in the previous comics, [[Randall]] has another seemingly complete copy of Earth, this time at a 1:1000 scale, with various features and warnings labeled. Again, real-world features and phenomena are replicated at scale. As before, the model is very extensive, with several underground neutrino detectors/observatories being replicated.

Several of the warnings point out humorous consequences of the scale, such as non-scale goldfish eating scaled-down blue whales.

===Table===
{| class="wikitable"
!Rule
!Reason
!Notes
|-
| Keep hot objects off the ice sheet over the south pole neutrino observatory
| Hot objects may emit Cherenkov radiation, which would result in the observatory detecting false positives of neutrino observations. They may also melt the ice that shields the detectors from other particles that would trigger false positives
| The fact that people are not supposed to create false positives implies that the neutrino detector is functional.
|-
| Be patient: Niagara falls will take a few minutes to fill your water glass
| The flow rate is scaled down with the size. According to the [[what if]] ''{{what if|147|Niagara Straw}}, the Niagara Falls flow is regulated to 100.000 cubic feet per second on the tourist season and to 50.000 cubic feet per second offseason and at night. Once scaled to 1/1000, that flow would be 2.83 or 1.41ml per second. If a standard glass of water is 250ml, it would take about 90–180 seconds for the waterfall to fill it.

However, a 1/1000th replica of scale Niagra falls would be over a meter wide, so without some kind of system to divert the whole flow into one spot, it would not be possible to fill a glass this quickly. Also, the height of the scaled-down Niagra falls would be 5cm, with another 5cm between the water level and the riverbed, so it might be difficult to fill a glass depending on its height.
| This item is likely to be a reference to the famous Arthur C. Clarke quote: "Getting information from the internet is like getting a glass of water from the Niagara Falls."
|-
| Watch for small planes
| Taking the popular Cessna 172 as an example, 1/1000th scale small planes would be about 8mm in length, and cruise at speeds of about 6cm/s, much slower than comparable flying insects. A Cessna of that size traveling at that speed would probably cause much more damage to itself than a person if it crashed into one, so the warning is probably there to protect the models rather than the guests.
|
|-
| Warning! Choking hazard! Keep small children away from ascending/descending airliners
| Airplanes are apparently small enough for children to fit into their mouths but large enough to potentially make them choke.
| In the US, small parts are defined by [https://www.cpsc.gov/Business--Manufacturing/Business-Education/Business-Guidance/Small-Parts-for-Toys-and-Childrens-Products 16 C.F.R. Part 1501.2] as fitting in a cylindrical test fixture of 1.25 inches diameter that approximates the size of the fully expanded throat of a child under three years old. Once scaled, any object smaller than 31.75 meters would fit in that cylinder. A lot of medium-sized and small airplanes would qualify. Furthermore, since pieces that break off during testing that simulates use or abuse by children could also pose a choking hazard, even large airliners are also a choking hazard because stripped wings and parts of the fuselage would fit in the required size.
|-
| Do not remove safety caps
| This is a reference to the warning, "Be careful not to step on cities with especially pointy towers, like Toronto, Seattle, and Dubai" from [[2411: 1/10,000th Scale World]]. It's possible that many visitors to that scaled world did not heed the warnings and complained to the scaled world's creators, causing them to cover pointy towers with safety caps for this scaled world. However, now there are [[Black Hat|people who apparently want to cause harm to others]], or at least don't care about not causing harm to others, by removing these safety caps.
The tip of the Burj Khalifa - the tallest building in the scale world - appears to be about a meter and a half wide, or 1.5mm at 1/1000th scale.
|
|-
| No open flames in Zeppelin area
| Zeppelins are filled with hydrogen due to its very low density, which allows them to float. However, it is also very flammable and prone to explosions. The most famous of these Zeppelin disasters was when the {{w|Hindenburg disaster|Hindenburg exploded}} in 1937.
|
|-
| Do not bother the meteor crater ducks
| Meteor Crater in Arizona is over a kilometer wide, so at 1/1000 scale it could be a small duck pond of 1.186m diameter, and 17cm deep at its deepest point. This is (barely) enough space for a duck to swim in if filled to the brim with water.
| Meteor Crater is not filled with water, or ducks, in real life. {{Citation needed}}
|-
| Trip hazard: The Gateway Arch
| The {{w|Gateway Arch}} is a monument in Saint Louis, Missouri. Being a 192 m high arch, once scaled it would be 19.2 cm high, ideal for tripping.
|
|-
| Drone altitude limit
| The FAA drone altitude limit is 400ft above the ground, which would be about 12cm in 1/1000th scale. This appears to be the number Randall is using, as the limit in the comic is about the same height as the pyramids, which are also around 400ft tall in the real world.
|
|-
| Do not mix up the USS Enterprises
|
The ship is presumably a model of the USS Enterprise (CVN-65), the longest naval vessel ever built, which would be 34cm long in 1/1000th scale.
The spaceship is the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) from the Star Trek franchise.
It's unclear whether mixing up the models is prohibited because it would damage them, or simply because that's not where they are supposed to be.
The Starship Enterprise might be corroded by seawater, or unable to handle external pressure (spacecraft are designed for the exact opposite pressures in a vacuum). If lifted into the air, the Aircraft Carrier Enterprise would probably fall back down because it can't fly {{Citation needed}} (and be damaged or even destroyed upon hitting the ground or water surface), but then again, it's unclear how the model Enterprise is able to fly or hover.
The Enterprise from the JJ Abrams films has been seen to hide underwater and take off again without significant problems, and the Original Series version has been seen to fly (high) in the Earth's atmosphere on several occasions. However, it is unclear whether other versions of the Enterprise also possess this standard operational ability, nor which version is represented in the comic.
|
|-
| No connecting the Dead Sea to the ocean
| The surface of the Dead Sea is 430.5 metres (1,412 ft) below sea level, so connecting it to the ocean would cause catastrophic flooding of the area. If there are models of Israeli and Jordanian cities next to the Dead Sea, they could get damaged by the water. Also, the model world would be less accurate because the Dead Sea is not connected to the ocean in real life.
|
|-
| Do not let ants into the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory
| The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory was a neutrino observatory located at the 2100-meter depth level of the Creighton Mine in Ontario, Canada. It has since been upgraded into the SNOLAB facility. At 1/1000th scale, its meters-scale tunnels would be millimeters across, and its 3,000-meter maximum depth would reach three meters underground. This would make it ideal for habitation by ants, but as the mine is in rock, and not soil, extracting the ants after they get in would be much more difficult than most pest control operations. Also, some types of ants would eat the insulation around the wires, causing electrical short-circuits and other problems, which would be bad because the model's neutrino detectors are apparently functional. (See the row about the south pole neutrino observatory.)
|
|-
| Only one person on the Golden Gate Tightrope at a time
| The {{w|Golden Gate Bridge}} is a suspension bridge in San Francisco, 2.7 km long and 27 m wide. Scaled-down, it would be 27 m long and 2.7 cm wide, and it would be tempting to use it as a tightrope.
| In 1987, approximately 300,000 people [https://www.sfgate.com/local-donotuse/article/Golden-Gate-bridge-walk-1987-anniversary-disaster-13896571.php walked across the Golden Gate Bridge], which could be the largest weight it has supported: 80kg * 300,000 = 2.4*10^7kg. A visitor to the scaled world would expect to weigh a much as (1000^3) = 1 billion native scaled humans, above the [https://www.vibrationdata.com/golden.htm total mass of the bridge].
|-
| Do not remove Statue of Liberty LEGO minifig
| Whoever has made this model has decided to use a small LEGO minifigure rather than a more accurately sculpted replica of the Statue of Liberty. The person would likely not want it to be removed because it would then have to be replaced.
| LEGO has released a [https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/magnet-statue-of-liberty-2016-853600 Statue of Liberty minifigure] which is 5.3cm tall. The real Statue of Liberty, from head to toe, is 46 meters tall. At 1/1000 scale this would be a 4.6cm figurine, so the LEGO minifigure would indeed be an appropriate representation at that scale.
|-
| Please stop releasing goldfish in the ocean. They keep eating the blue whales.
| Blue whales usually grow to about 20m long in real life, meaning that at 1/1000th scale they would be only 2cm long, meaning that they could easily be consumed by a goldfish. Goldfish are omnivores, so they would eat tiny blue whales. But they are also freshwater fish, so would they survive long enough in seawater to put the whales at risk? This could perhaps be considered carping. And perhaps Randall's customers have access to [https://mashable.com/2017/09/20/saltwater-bearing-goldfish-australia/ Australian goldfish].
| This also raises the question of where one would get such tiny blue whales. In the mouseover text, Randall mentions that if real blue whales were to be released into the 1/1000th scale ocean they would filter-feed on the miniature versions. Blue whales usually eat minuscule krill; however, the tiny whales would provide a similarly-sized substitute.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[At the top of the image, inside the panel, a large title is floating in the air.]
:RULES

:For visitors to my 1/1,000th scale world

:1 meter = 1 km 1 ft = 1,000 ft

:[Each of the following rules is written near a character or point of interest on the map.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Illustrations of scale]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Science Girl]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Scale World]]

2417: 1/1,000th Scale World

2021-01-27T20:16:37Z

Bdraff: /* Table */ Adding description about whether the Golden Gate bridge could hold a visiting massive person

{{comic
| number = 2417
| date = January 27, 2021
| title = 1/1,000th Scale World
| image = 1_1000th_scale_world.png
| titletext = We're worried that a regular whale will get into a 30-foot-deep ocean trench section and filter-feed on all the tiny whales.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a STATUE OF LIBERTY MINIFIG. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is a follow up to a previous one, [[2411: 1/10,000th Scale World]], with a 10 times smaller scale (thus, a 10 times larger world). As in the previous comic, [[Randall]] has another seemingly complete copy of Earth, this time at a 1:1000 scale, with various features and warnings labeled. Again, real-world features and phenomena are replicated at scale. As before, the model is very extensive, with several underground neutrino detectors/observatories being replicated.

Several of the warnings point out humorous consequences of the scale, such as goldfish eating blue whales.

===Table===
{| class="wikitable"
!Rule
!Reason
!Notes
|-
| Keep hot objects off the the ice sheet over the south pole neutrino observatory
|
|
|-
| Be patient: Niagara falls will take a few minutes to fill your water glass
| The flow rate is scaled down with the size. According to https://what-if.xkcd.com/147/, the Niagara Falls flow is regulated to 100.000 cubic feet per second on the tourist season and to 50.000 cubic feet per second off season and at night. Once scaled to 1/1000, that flow would be 2.83 or 1.41 cm3 per second. If a standard glass of water is 250ml, it would take 1-2 minutes for the waterfall to fill them.

However, a 1/1000th replica of scale Niagra falls would be over a meter wide, so without some kind of system to divert the whole flow into one spot, it would not be possible to fill a glass this quickly. Also, the height of the scaled-down Niagra falls would be 5cm, with another 5cm between the water level and the riverbed, so it might be difficult to fill a glass depending on its height.
| This item is likely to be a reference to the famous Arthur C. Clarke quote: "Getting information from the internet is like getting a glass of water from the Niagara Falls."
|-
| Watch for small planes
| Taking the popular Cessna 172 as an example, 1/1000th scale small planes would be about 8mm in length, and cruise at speeds of about 6cm/s, much slower than comparable flying insects. A Cessna of that size travelling at that speed would probably cause much more damage to itself than a person if it crashed into one, so the warning is probably there to protect the models rather than the guests.
| The directions are likely noted in order to help people avoid them, similarly to how when crossing the street, people only have to watch for cars in the direction that they would come from for each half of the street (or only one direction for the entire street if it's one-way). Dividing the air into lanes is probably done in real life in order to prevent collisions.
|-
| Warning! Choking hazard! Keep small children away from ascending/descending airliners
| Airplanes are apparently small enough for children to fit into their mouths but large enough to potentially make them choke.
| In the US, small parts are defined by [https://www.cpsc.gov/Business--Manufacturing/Business-Education/Business-Guidance/Small-Parts-for-Toys-and-Childrens-Products 16 C.F.R. Part 1501.2] as fitting in a cylindrical test fixture of 1.25 inches diameter that approximates the size of the fully expanded throat of a child under three years old. Once scaled, any object smaller than 31.75 meters would fit in that cylinder. A lot of medium-sized and small aeroplanes would qualify. Furthermore, since pieces that break off during testing that simulates use or abuse by children could also pose a chocking hazard, even large airliners are also a chocking hazard because stripped wings and parts of fuselage would fit in the required size.
|-
| Do not remove safety caps
| This is a reference to the warning, "Be careful not to step on cities with especially pointy towers, like Toronto, Seattle, and Dubai" from [[2411: 1/10,000th Scale World]]. It's possible that many visitors to that scaled world did not heed the warnings and complained to the scaled world's creators, causing them to cover pointy towers with safety caps for this scaled world. However, now there are [[Black Hat|people who apparently want to cause harm to others]], or at least don't care about not causing harm to others, by removing these safety caps.
The tip of the Burj Khalifa - the tallest building in the scale world - appears to be about a meter and a half wide, or 1.5mm at 1/1000th scale.
|
|-
| No open flames in Zeppelin area
| Zeppelins are filled with hydrogen due to its very low density, which allows them to float. However, it is also very flammable and prone to explosions. The most famous of these Zeppelin disasters was when the {{w|Hindenburg disaster|Hindenburg exploded}} in 1937.
|-
| Do not bother the meteor crater ducks
| Meteor Crater in Arizona is over a kilometre wide, so at 1/1000 scale it could be a small duck pond of 1.186m diameter, and 17cm deep at its deepest point. This is (barely) enough space for a duck to swim in if filled to the brim with water.
| Meteor Crater is not filled with water in real life.
|-
| Trip hazard: The Gateway Arch
| The {{w|Gateway Arch}} is a monument in Saint Louis, Missouri. Being a 192 m high arch, once scaled it would be 19.2 cm high, ideal for tripping.
|
|-
| Drone altitude limit
| The FAA drone altitude limit is 400ft above the ground, which would be about 12cm in 1/1000th scale. This appears to be the number Randall is using, as the limit in the comic is about the same height as the pyramids, which are also around 400ft tall in the real world.
|
|-
| Do not mix up the USS Enterprises
|
The ship is presumably a model of the USS Enterprise (CVN-65), the longest naval vessel ever built, which would be 34cm long in 1/1000th scale.
The spaceship is the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) from the Star Trek franchise.
It unclear whether mixing up the models is prohibited because it would damage them, or simply because that's not where they are supposed to be.
The Starship Enterprise might be corroded by seawater, or unable to handle external pressure (spacecraft are designed for the exact opposite pressures in a vacuum). If lifted into the air, the Aircraft Carrier Enterprise would probably fall back down because it can't fly, but then again, it's unclear how the model Enterprise is able to fly or hover.
The Enterprise from the JJ Abrams films has been seen to hide underwater and take off again without significant problems. However, it is unclear whether other versions of the Enterprise also possess this ability, nor which version is represented in the comic.
|
|-
| No connecting the Dead Sea to the ocean
| If there are models of Israeli and Jordanian cities next to the Dead Sea, they could get damaged by the water. Also, the model world would be less accurate because the Dead Sea is not connected to the ocean in real life.
|
|-
| Do not let ants into the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory
| Getting them out of the tunnel network would probably be difficult.
|
|-
| Only one person on the Golden Gate Tightrope at a time
| The {{w|Golden Gate Bridge}} is a suspension bridge in San Francisco, of width 27m. Scaled-down, it would be 2.7cm wide and it would be tempting to use it as a tightrope.
| In 1987, approximately 300,000 people [https://www.sfgate.com/local-donotuse/article/Golden-Gate-bridge-walk-1987-anniversary-disaster-13896571.php walked across the Golden Gate Bridge], which could be the largest weight it has supported: 80kg * 300,000 = 2.4*10^7kg. A visitor to the scaled world would expect to weigh (1000^3) times as much as a standard human: 8*(10^10), above the [https://www.vibrationdata.com/golden.htm total mass of the bridge]: 3.8*(10^8)
|-
| Do not remove Statue of Liberty LEGO minifig
| Whoever has made this model has decided to use a small LEGO minifigure rather than a more accurately sculpted replica of the Statue of Liberty. The person would likely not want it to be removed because it would then have to be replaced.
| LEGO has released a [https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/magnet-statue-of-liberty-2016-853600 Statue of Liberty minifigure] which is 5.3cm tall. The real Statue of Liberty, from head to toe, is 46 meters tall. At 1/1000 scale this would be a 4.6cm figurine, so the LEGO minifigure would indeed be an appropriate representation at that scale.
|-
| Please stop releasing goldfish into the ocean. They eat all of the blue whales.
| Blue whales usually grow to about 20m long in real life, meaning that at 1/1000th scale they would be only 2cm long, meaning that they could easily be consumed by a goldfish.
Goldfish are omnivores, so if they would eat tiny blue whales if they could.
| However, this begs the question of where one would get such tiny blue whales. In the mouseover text, Randall mentions that if real blue whales were to be released into the 1/00th scale ocean they would filter-feed on the miniature versions. Blue whales usually eat minuscule krill, however, the tiny whales would provide a similarly-sized substitute.
|
|}

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

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Illustrations of scale]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Science Girl]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Scale World]]

1935: 2018

2017-12-30T15:49:26Z

Bdraff: Removed the "app" from "calendar app". Any type of calendar will work, not just the digital kind!

{{comic
| number = 1935
| date = December 29, 2017
| title = 2018
| image = 2018.png
| titletext = We should really start calculating it earlier, but until the end of December we're always too busy trying to figure out which day Christmas will fall on.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Anything missing? - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In this [[:Category:New Year|New Year comic]], [[Megan]] wonders if 2018 will be a leap year. [[Cueball]] thinks 2018 will not be a leap year, and Megan responds that she "doubts anyone knows at this point." This appears to be a jab at the complexity of the leap year system. As Cueball says, leap years occur every four years (though there are a few exceptions), adding an extra day to account for the fact that Earth takes a bit longer than 365 days to orbit the Sun. Therefore, most years that are a multiple of four are leap years. As Megan says, this is easy for odd-numbered years, since no odd numbers are divisible by four. However, for even-numbered years, it isn't always obvious.

The last panel expresses a misunderstanding of modern {{w|Cryptography|cryptography}}, which relies on the fact that it is difficult to factorize large numbers. Megan is applying this concept to the year, claiming that it is hard to determine whether or not 2018 is a multiple of four and hence is a leap year. In reality, factorization is not needed here, since we already know the factor, which is four. Megan states that if it were possible to factor large numbers with a calculator, modern cryptography would collapse. While true, it is only true for truly large numbers (hundreds of digits), and no factorization is needed in this case.

At the end of the strip, Megan hopes the answer can be {{w|Brute-force attack|brute-forced}} by February. Brute force is a method of breaking cryptography by trying every possible option until one works. This is a misdirection upon misdirection, in that even if we needed to factorize 2018 (which we don't), the simplest brute forcing algorithm would only need to try 43 numbers - from 2 to square root of 2018 (44). In cryptography, the algorithms use numbers much, much bigger than 2018 -- on the order of hundreds (or even thousands) of digits.

The title text refers to calculating which day of the week Christmas will fall on. Given that any calendar will easily tell you, this is not a difficult thing to calculate. Also it always falls on December 25th, and not like, for instance, Easter which date jumps from year to year. But nevertheless December 25th is either the 359th or the 360th (leap years) day of the year and so the day of the week could be different.

==Transcript==

:[Megan is walking.]
:Megan: I wonder if 2018 will be a leap year.

:[Now it turns out that Cueball walks behind Megan.]
:Cueball: ...it won't be, right?
:Megan: I doubt anyone knows at this point.

:[Same scene in a frame-less panel.]
:Cueball: No, it's definitely not. Leap years are divisible by 4.
:Megan: Right, and for odd numbers, that's easy.
:Megan: But 2018 is even.
:Megan: 50/50 chance.

:[Zoomed-out view with both walking in silhouette on a dark slightly curved ground.]
:Cueball: I can settle this with a calculator.
:Megan: No way. If it were easy to factor large numbers like that, modern cryptography would collapse.
:Cueball: I see.
:Megan: I just hope we manage to brute-force it by February.

==Trivia==
*Released on Friday, December 29, this is the last comic of 2017. The next scheduled comic will be on New Year's Day of 2018.

*This is the third year in a row with New Year's comics with only the year used as the title, before that there were two more comics with such titles, but those two (and thus the first three) were only released in the even years: [[998: 2012]] in 2012, [[1311: 2014]] in 2014, [[1624: 2016]] in 2016 and [[1779: 2017]] in 2017.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:New Year]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|2017]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Time]]
[[Category:Cryptography]]

1767: US State Names

2016-12-02T20:50:32Z

Bdraff: Updated Calfornia's description to allude to CAs agricultural /* Table of States */

{{comic
| number = 1767
| date = December 2, 2016
| title = US State Names
| image = us_state_names.png
| titletext = Technically DC isn't a state, but no one is too pedantic about it because they don't want to disturb the snakes.
}}

==Explanation==
This is just a silly map.

[[Randall]] has taken a {{w|map}} of {{w|the United States of America}} labeled "Geography Challenge: Name all 50 States" and filled in the states with words that sound similar to the states' names. The joke is that Randall is apparently terrible at remembering states by heart, or else that he interpreted "name" as "give a name to" and is giving each state a name similar to but different from its previous name. Songs such as the [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=fifty+nifty+united+states+song 50 Nifty United States] make these issues seem rarer, thus making it funnier. Below is the table.

This also may be a play on the ambiguity of the phrase "Name all 50 states". When you are asked to "name" something, it can be a request to supply its given name or to come up with a new name for it. Randall has apparently taken the latter interpretation. He also may be playing with the distinction between an object's identity and its label, e.g., "The state of Texas (identity) is named Hexxus (label)", though you can argue that "Texas" is also a label.

This comic is similar to [[1759: British Map]]. Also note that the text at the top of the comic is not in all caps.

===Table of States===
{{incomplete|Some states unfinished. Make wikipedia links.}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Fictional State
! Actual State
! Explanation
|-
| Wilwheaton
| {{w|Washington_State|Washington}}
| {{w|Wil Wheaton}} is an actor and writer.
|-
| Organs
| {{w|Oregon}}
| Could refer to either {{w|Organ (anatomy)|body parts}} that perform vital functions, or large {{w|Organ (music)|musical instruments}} having rows of tuned pipes. Also a reference to {{w|Organ Trail}}, a retro survival video game that parodies {{w|The Oregon Trail (video game)|The Oregon Trail}}.
|-
| Cafeteria
| {{w|California}}
| A cafeteria is both a kind of restaurant and a name for a lunch room that serves food. California is large and diverse, offering a wide variety of choices. California also grows a large proportion of common vegetables available in the US ([http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/explainer/2013/07/california_grows_all_of_our_fruits_and_vegetables_what_would_we_eat_without.html Source]), making it a 'Cafeteria' for the country.
|-
| Fallout New Vegas
| {{w|Nevada}}
| {{w|Fallout New Vegas}} is a video game set in Nevada.
|-
| Idolatry
| {{w|Idaho}}
| Idolatry is the worship of a physical object as a god, forbidden in many religions.
|-
| mount -a
| {{w|Montana}}
| A command to mount all disk volumes.
|-
| Wysiwyg
| {{w|Wyoming}}
| Acronym for "{{w|What You See Is What You Get}}".
|-
| Uhaul
| {{w|Utah}}
| {{w|U-Haul}} is a company where you can rent vans.
|-
| Verizona
| {{w|Arizona}}
| {{w|Verizon}}, a telecommunications company, has the shared text "Rizon" with Arizona (Ve''rizon'', A''rizon''a). Randall presumably enjoys this.
|-
| Namaste
| {{w|New Mexico}}
| {{w|Namaste}} is a Hindu greeting.
|-
| Hexxus
| {{w|Texas}}
| The antagonist of Ferngully. {{w|FernGully:_The_Last_Rainforest|FernGully}} is said to be the model for the later film "Avatar". This is the second time Hexxus was mentioned in xkcd, the first occurrence being in [[1750: Life Goals]].
|-
| Okay
| {{w|Oklahoma}}
| OK is the state's abbreviation. Okay is a spelling of another abbreviation O.K., which originally stood for "Oll Korrect [sic]".
|-
| Candice
| {{w|Kansas}}
| Candice is a girl's name of Latin origin, meaning "clarity, whiteness" ("canditia").
|-
| Colocated
| {{w|Colorado}}
| Refers to computer servers located in a {{w|Colocation Center}}.
|-
| Nebrunswick
| {{w|Nebraska}}
| {{w|New Brunswick}}, a Canadian province. People sometimes write "NB" as the postal abbreviation for Nebraska; in reality, Nebraska is "NE", and while there is no "NB" in the U.S. postal system, New Brunswick is "NB" in the Canadian postal system.
|-
| Dakota
| {{w|South Dakota}}
| Randall seems to have forgotten his directions, so he drops the normal "South" and "North". He may also be teasing that this doesn't matter.
|-
| More Dakota
| {{w|North Dakota}}
| A reference to [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/more-dakka "More Dakka"], a catchphrase by Orks from the Warhammer 40000 universe.
|-
| Minestrone
| {{w|Minnesota}}
| Minestrone is a thick vegetable soup, originating in Italy.
|-
| Wainscot
| {{w|Wisconsin}}
| A type of wood {{w|panelling}} covering only the lower half of a wall.
|-
| Iota
| {{w|Iowa}}
| Iota is the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet. It was derived from the Phoenician letter Yodh. Also colloquially used to mean a very small quantity.
|-
| Sk8rbois
| {{w|Illinois}}
| "Skater Boys" or just "Skater Boy" if the '-ois' is pronounced the same as it is in "Illinois". {{w|Sk8er Boi}} is a song by Avril Lavigne.
|-
| Mossouri
| {{w|Missouri}}
| The single different letter represents probably a typo (O is adjacent to I in a keyboard). This typo has about 22,000 results on Google. Alternatively, this could be an attempt to "correct" the spelling of the state name to match its non-intuitive postal abbreviation, MO, which is sometimes used as a pronounceable acronym. Or it could be a reference to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katie_Moussouris Katie Mossouris].
|-
| Arkanoids
| {{w|Arkansas}}
| An arcade game.
|-
| Louisa
| {{w|Louisiana}}
| Louisa, feminine of Louis, is an Old German name meaning "famous warrior". Louisiana was of named after King Louis XIV when it was founded as a French colony.
|-
| Misstate
| {{w|Mississippi}}
| The word "misstate" means to state improperly. "Mis-" is also a prefix meaning "wrong," "incorrect," or simply negating. "Misstate" could be a non-state. {{w|Mississipi State University|Miss State}} is a university in Mississippi. This may also be a joke on the fact that Mississippi is one of the most commonly misspelled state names.
|-
| Bandana
| {{w|Alabama}}
| A large handkerchief cloth, worn either around the head or neck. Often used in Westerns.
|-
| Thennessy
| {{w|Tennessee}}
| {{w|Hennessy}} is a brand of cognac.
|-
| Kennedy
| {{w|Kentucky}}
| {{w|Kennedy Fried Chicken}} is New York City–based fast food brand that shares its initials with KFC, which was formerly (and still conventionally) Kentucky Fried Chicken.
|-
| That Other One
| {{w|Indiana}}
| 'That Other One' is something someone might say if they were trying to name all the states from memory, and knew where a state was but not what it was called. Appropriate for Indiana, due to being a state with relatively few distinguishing features.
|-
| Mishy
| {{w|Michigan}}
| According to the Urban Dictionary, "mishy" means "[http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Mishy mushy and horny at the same time]". Or it could just be a nickname, the way a lot of people's names, often children, get shortened with a trailing y (Bobby, Becky, Johnny, Missy, Davey, Tony, etc.), with the "ee" sound in the middle of Michigan being the same "ee" sound at the end of the nickname.
|-
| Oh Hi
| {{w|Ohio}}
| Oh (expression of surprise), Hi (greeting). A common utterance upon meeting an acquaintance unexpectedly.
|-
| Pencilmania
| {{w|Pennsylvania}}
| [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0151935/ Pencil Mania] is a 1932 Tom and Jerry cartoon in which they pull out a pencil and proceed to draw figures in the air.
|-
| Newark
| {{w|New York}}
| The city of Newark is a suburb of New York City, and many people who live in Newark commute the 14 miles to work in New York City, however it is actually located in the state of New Jersey rather than New York. Other references: Newark Liberty International Airport is a major flight hub serving the New York metropolitan area, and Newark element14 (or simply "Newark") is the official distributor of Raspberry Pi. Possible reference to William Gibson's works. A mispronunciation of New York.
|-
| Vermouth
| {{w|Vermont}}
| {{w|Vermouth}} is an Italian alcoholic beverage.
|-
| New Hamper
| {{w|New Hampshire}}
| A hamper is a large basket, often with lid, used for laundry. Also another name for a picnic basket.
|-
| Spanish Maine
| {{w|Maine}}
| The {{w|Spanish Main}} was the mainland Spanish colonial possessions around the Gulf of Mexico.
|-
| Masseuses
| {{w|Massachusetts}}
| People who give massages professionally.
|-
| Roald Dahl
| {{w|Rhode Island}}
| A British writer, famous for child novels such as {{w|Charlie and the Chocolate Factory}}.
|-
| Connectfour
| {{w|Connecticut}}
| {{w|Connect Four}} is a two-player game, in which the objective is to connect four of your checkers in a row while preventing your opponent from doing the same. It has already been mentioned in [[1002: Game AIs]].
|-
| Nude Juggalos
| {{w|New Jersey}}
| {{w|Juggalo}} is a name given to fans of the group Insane Clown Posse or any other Psychopathic Records hip hop group.
|-
| Delorean
| {{w|Delaware}}
| A {{w|DeLorean_DMC-12|car}} made famous as the {{w|DeLorean_time_machine|time machine}} in the {{w|Back to the Future}} movies.
|-
| Maybelline
| {{w|Maryland}}
| {{w|Maybelline}} is a make-up brand.
|-
| District of Colubrids
| {{w|District of Columbia}}
| The {{w|Colubridae}} are the biggest family of snakes, accounting for about two thirds of the world's species. As the title text mentions, the {{w|Washington,_D.C.|District of Columbia}}, although not part of any state, is technically not a state itself, but is usually labeled on the maps like the 50 others for practical reasons. Here, Randall humorously explains the reason as people not wanting to upset the aforementioned snakes by dismissing their district for this pedantic reason.
|-
| Wyvern
| {{w|West Virginia}}
| A {{w|Wyvern}} is a mythical creature.
|-
| Virjayjay
| {{w|Virginia}}
| Virginia is similar to vagina. Vajayjay is slang for vagina.
|-
| Sweet Caroline
| {{w|North Carolina}}
| A {{w|Sweet_Caroline|song}} by Neil Diamond.
|-
| South Caroline
| {{w|South Carolina}}
| A further reference to {{w|Sweet_Caroline|song 'Sweet Caroline'}} by Neil Diamond, similar to 'Dakota' and 'More Dakota.' Plays on similarity between the names 'Caroline' and 'Carolina'.
|-
| George
| {{w|Georgia}}
| Georgia was named for {{w|George II of Great Britain}}.
|-
| Fyoridor
| {{w|Florida}}
| Possibly derived from the Russian name Fyodor, as in Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
|-
| Alberta
| {{w|Alaska}}
| A Canadian province.
|-
| Kawaii
| {{w|Hawaii}}
| A Japanese term for cute commonly romanized similar to Hawaii. Possible reference to the 1957 war movie [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050212 The Bridge on the River Kwai]. Not to be confused with {{w|Kauai}}, a Hawaiian island.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
[A map of the United States, with incorrect state names. A title:]

Geography challenge:

'''Name all 50 States'''

| Alabama => Bandana |

| Alaska => Alberta |

| Arizona => Verizona |

| Arkansas => Arkanoids |

| California => Cafeteria |

| Colorado => Colocated |

| Connecticut => Connect Four |

| Delaware => Delorean |

| District of Columbia => District of Colubrids |

| Florida => Fyoridor |

| Georgia => George |

| Hawaii => Kawaii |

| Idaho => Idolatry |

| Illinois => SK8RBOIS |

| Indiana => That Other One |

| Iowa => Iota |

| Kansas => Candice |

| Kentucky => Kennedy |

| Louisiana => Loisa |

| Maine => Spanish Maine |

| Maryland => Maybelline |

| Massachusetts => Masseuses |

| Michigan => Mishy |

| Minnesota => Minestrone |

| Mississippi => Misstate |

| Missouri => Mossouri |

| Montana => mount -a |

| Nebraska => Nebrunswick |

| Nevada => Fallout New Vegas |

| New Hampshire => New Hamper |

| New Jersey => Nude Juggalos |

| New Mexico => Namaste |

| New York => Newark |

| North Carolina => Sweet Caroline |

| South Carolina => South Caroline |

| Ohio => Oh Hi |

| Oklahoma => Okay |

| Oregon => Organs |

| Pennsylvania => Pencilmania |

| Rhode Island => Roald Dahl |

| South Dakota => Dakota |

| /North Dakota => More Dakota |

| Tennessee => Thennessy |

| Texas => Hexxus |

| Utah => Uhaul |

| Vermont => Vermouth |

| Virginia => Virjayjay |

| Washington => Willwheaton |

| West Virginia => Wyvern |

| Wisconsin => Wainscot |

| Wyoming => WYSIWYG |

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Maps]]