explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

290: Fucking Blue Shells

2018-11-09T17:53:06Z

Booyahhayoob: /* Explanation */ You can boost out of a blue shell in MK8 (see https://youtu.be/8V85M2Rfbgo?t=437)

{{comic
| number = 290
| date = July 16, 2007
| title = Fucking Blue Shells
| image = fucking_blue_shells.png
| titletext = You can evade blue shells in Double Dash, but it is deep magic.
}}

==Explanation==

Sometimes, something suddenly goes wrong and you can only shout obscenities at it. For instance, when the dog bites, when the bee stings, something unexpected happens, or a program crashes (e.g. a {{w|Segmentation fault|segfault}}), the victim often reacts by swearing.

For [[Randall]], however, profanities are caused mostly by blue shells in the video game {{w|Mario Kart}}. The blue shells, when fired, target the player currently in first place and stop them cold. In a close game near the end of the race, a player can go from first to an unrecoverable last in one hit.

The title text refers to the "{{w|Mario_Kart:_Double_Dash!!|Double Dash}}" installment of Mario Kart. This includes a technique to avoid being hit by a blue shell, but it requires skillful timing to accomplish. The term "{{w|deep magic}}" comes from computer programmer slang. Interestingly, with a boost mushroom in Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 8 (and the so-called "Super-Horn" in the latter), it is also possible (with accurate timing) to escape blue shells.

==Transcript==
:My Profanity Usage By Cause:
:[A pie chart is shown.]
:[Injury is about 2.5% of pie chart.]
:[Irony is about 2.5% of pie chart.]
:[Misc is about 2.5% of pie chart.]
:[Segfaults is about 10% of pie chart.]
:[Mario Kart is about 82.5% of pie chart.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Pie charts]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Mario Kart]]

826: Guest Week: Zach Weiner (SMBC)

2016-02-15T00:59:56Z

Booyahhayoob: /* Conservatory of Poorly Remembered History */

{{comic
| number = 826
| date = November 26, 2010
| title = Guest Week: Zach Weiner (SMBC)
| before = ''Explainxkcd note: Don't try and click on this image to see the exhibits. Visit [http://www.xkcd.com/826/ the actual comic] instead''
| image = guest week zach weiner smbc.png
| titletext = Guest comic by Zach Weiner of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. When I was stressed out, Zach gave me a talk that was really encouraging and somehow involved nanobots.
}}

__TOC__
==Explanation==
This comic is drawn by a guest webcomic artist, Zach Weiner, following the theme of "Guest Week". Zach is the author of the webcomic [http://www.smbc-comics.com/ Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal]. The [http://www.xkcd.com/826/ original comic] is interactive. It will show images of the exibits (see below) by clicking on them.

The entire comic is a hypothetical "{{w|Smithsonian Museum}} of Dad-Trolling, an entire building dedicated to deceiving children for amusement." It is an common occurrence that curious children will ask simple questions about science to their parents, such as, "Daddy, why is the sky blue?" and a parent could respond, "Well Susie, the sky is blue to match your dress."

''Guest Week'' was a series of five comics written by five other comic authors. They were released over five consecutive days (Monday-Friday); not over the usual Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule.<br>
The five comics are:
*[[822: Guest Week: Jeph Jacques (Questionable Content)]]
*[[823: Guest Week: David Troupes (Buttercup Festival)]]
*[[824: Guest Week: Bill Amend (FoxTrot)]]
*[[825: Guest Week: Jeffrey Rowland (Overcompensating)]]
*[[826: Guest Week: Zach Weiner (SMBC)]]

===Hall of Misunderstood Science===
Each exhibit is a display set up to reinforce the false, sarcastic, or exaggerated answers to typical questions that children may ask their parents about scientific topics. The answers given involve just enough information that the child may be satisfied with the answer and repeat it to others while maintaining the irony for adults that the answers are obviously misleading or false. These explanations may be given because the parent does not know how to explain the topic.

<gallery widths=432px heights=285px>
File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_27.png|In this exhibit the marquee claims that basilisks exist, and that they live under your bed. The basilisk is a mythological reptilian monster that was described as having the ability to turn other living things to stone with its gaze. This story might be believed by children because children often imagine that a monster or a dangerous creature is hiding under the bed at night, and verifying that the basilisk is under the bed might turn the child to stone.

File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_26.png|In this exhibit the marquee claims that "In my day" molecules did not exist, and everything was just atoms. Molecules are chains of atoms, and therefore more complex than atoms. This story might be believed by children because old people often tell unbelievable and questionably credible "In my day" stories about how different, or in this case less complicated, things when they where younger. This story may sound no less credible then these stories to a child. Like most "In my day" stories there is at least a grain of truth. The word atom has changed its meaning over time; at one time all discovered molecules were called {{w|atomism|atoms}}, as when they were modified their properties change. Also, according to the {{w|Big Bang}} theory, there was a period billions of years ago when the universe contained no molecules, yet still contained atoms.

File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_25.png|In this exhibit the marquee claims that magnets are only attracted to each other when they are teenagers. This is a inside joke that the child is not in on about how there is a loss of sexual desire in adults. This story might be believed because magnets are seen as mysterious and possibly magical by children.

File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_24.png|In this exhibit the plaque on the statue of Jesus claims that {{w|snow}} is composed of Jesus' {{w|dandruff}}. This story might be believed because some children take the expression that {{w|rain}} is "God's tears", and this would be a logical extension.

File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_20.png|In this exhibit the marquee claims that the reason that there are only four components of {{w|DNA}} is because there where only four letters back then. The following letters describe the {{w|nucleotides}} that make up DNA chains: "G" {{w|guanine}}, "A" {{w|adenine}}, "T" {{w|thymine}}, and "C" {{w|cytosine}}. This story might be believed by children as DNA can be thought as an instruction set to build life. Instructions contain words, and therefore the letters G, A, T, and C can be thought of as the letters that the words in the instructions are made from.

File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_23.png|In this exhibit the marquee claims that you are more vulnerable to the {{w|Bogeyman|boogie man}} when you are sleeping. "The Boogie Man" is a common legend used to scare young kids; he typically hides in closets and underneath beds, and attacks sleeping children. This story might be believed by children as some believe in the boogie man.

File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_22.png|In this exhibit the marquee claims that water increases its size to frighten {{w|predator|predators}}. {{w|Ice}} is less dense than liquid {{w|water}}. This is an unusual property as most materials are more dense in solid form. This might be believed by a child because many animals appear to increase their size to frighten away other threatening animals. A {{w|rhinoceros}}, although not traditionally a predator, would be a predator of water.

File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_21.png|In this exhibit the marquee claims that {{w|antimatter|anti-matter}} is composed of half ant and half matter. The prefix anti means "the opposite of", but sounds similar to the word ant. This story might be believed by children because a hyphen is often used to combine two words together with different meanings to create a word with the meaning of both. Combining the words ants and matter could produce a word meaning something composed of both ants and matter.
</gallery>

===Regrettable Pranks: An Interactive Experience===
This section holds falsehoods that a dad might use to frighten his children. Fear is often used to discourage children from disobeying their parents. It is an interactive experience, so visitors can try something for themselves, then learn the frightening fact it indicates.

<gallery class=center widths=432px heights=285px>
File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_19.png|In this exhibit the sign claims that helium makes your voice higher because you are about to explode. Helium makes your voice high-pitched, because sound travels faster in helium than in air (79% nitrogen and 21% oxygen), and it does not explode because it is a noble gas; although it could rupture containers in accordance with the {{w|combined gas law}}, which governs the relationship between pressure, temperature and volume: i.e. if a balloon is over-inflated or exposed to heat, it will burst. This story might be used by parents to discourage children from inhaling helium. This story might regrettably convince a child that they are dying after they inhale helium. On the other hand it can be dangerous to inhale helium from a gas container if the pressure is too high. So maybe better scared than dead.

File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_18.png|In this exhibit the sign claims that if your middle finger is longer than all the others, you are an alien half-breed. For almost all people the middle finger is longer than all the others. This story might be used by parents to tease their children. This story might regrettably convince a child that one of their parents is a alien, and therefore not to be trusted.

File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_16.png|In this exhibit the sign claims that one of the cups of {{w|Jell-O|Jello}} had a rabbit brain instead of a cherry. Cherries are a common ingredient in gelatin based deserts. One cup is missing and in the hands of the child, possibly eaten. This story might be used by parents to tease their children, or discourage them from eating more dessert. This story might regrettably convince a child that they ate the brain of a small cute fluffy animal.

File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_17.png|In this exhibit the sign claims that monsters will eat you if you do not make your bed. In some stories monsters specifically prey on children. This story might be used by parents to encourage children to make their beds. This story might regrettably convince a child that there are monsters under their beds and frighten them so they can not sleep.
</gallery>

===Concessions===
This area holds concession stands, which sell food. There are misleading names on each stand. The pop-outs in this section are based on jokes parents tell their children to frighten them about food.

<gallery class=center widths=432px heights=285px>
File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_15.png|In this exhibit the marquee announces the name of the concession stand as KFP. The parent claims that the "P" stands for phoenix, and the operator adds "also ponies". KFP is a parody of Kentucky Fried Chicken ({{w|KFC}}), a popular fast food chain which specializes in fried chicken. A phoenix is a mythical bird that throws it self into a fire and later rises from the ashes. This story might be believed by children because phoenixes are birds and a fried one may look similar to a chicken. It could be even worse for many My Little Pony fans if they believed they just ate a pony.

File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_14.png|In this exhibit the marquee announces that the concession stand sells {{w|ground beef}} and further enplanes that ground beef is beef that is found on the ground. The word "ground" here refers to the floor or dirt, but can also be the past tense of the word "grind". This story might be believed by children because the words are spelled and pronounced the same.

File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_13.png|In this exhibit the marquee announces that the concession stand sells {{w|ice cream}} and claims that ice cream is really spelled eyes cream, and always composed of eyeballs. This story might be believed by children because the words "eyes cream" sounds similar to "ice cream".
</gallery>

===Conservatory of Poorly Remembered History===
Each exhibit is a display set up to reinforce the false, sarcastic, or exaggerated answers to typical questions that children may ask their parents about history. The answers given involve just enough information that the child may be satisfied with the answer and repeat it to others while maintaining the irony for adults that the answers are obviously misleading or false. These explanations may be given because the parent does not know how to explain the topic.

<gallery class=center widths=432px heights=285px>
File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_11.png|In this exhibit the marquee claims that {{w|Genghis Khan}} achieved his victories by using dragons. Genghis Khan was a Mongolian conqueror who conquered almost all of Asia and much of Europe founding the {{w|Mongol Empire}}, and creating the largest continuous land empire in history. This story might be believed by children because some children associate magical and other fantastic elements with the past instead of fantasy.

File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_12.png|In this exhibit the marquee claims that the {{w|Crimean War}} was a war on crime. The Crimean War is an often forgotten Eastern European conflict between Russia and a European coalition with aims to stop Russia's expansion. This story might be believed by children because adding an "a" to a people group sometimes is used to create a country name, making Crimea sounds similar to a nation of criminals. Also worth noting is that the criminal depicted in the mural appears to the {{w|The Hamburgler}}, a McDonalds mascot.

File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_10.png|In this exhibit the marquee claims that wizards where in control during {{w|The Renaissance}}. The Renaissance is a cultural movement in Europe that took place after the Dark ages. This story might be believed by children because some children associate magical and other fantastic elements with the past instead of fantasy.

File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_3.png|In this exhibit the marquee claims that {{w|Star Wars}} is actual history. Star Wars is a fantastical science fiction movie. This story might be believed by children because the movie begins "a long time ago in a galaxy far away", and some children associate magical and other fantastic elements with the past instead of fantasy.

File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_9.png|In this exhibit the poster claims that {{w|France}} does not exist. The adult in the comic continues to attempt to convince the children that France does not exist. This is supposed to be funny because the knowledge of France as a country is common. This may be parodying the global warming debate, a common theme in both XKCD and SMBC. It may also be a reference to the {{w|Bielefeld Conspiracy}}.
</gallery>

===Rotunda of Uncomfortable Topics===
Each exhibit is a display set up to explain uncomfortable topics that children may ask their parents about. The answers given so that the children do not ask further questions.

<gallery class=center widths=432px heights=285px>
File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_8.png|In this exhibit the sign on the box covering up a couple in bed claims that naked wrestling is perfectly normal, but kids should never engage in it. "Naked wrestling" is a euphemism for sex. A parent may give this explanation if a child walks in on their parents having sex and they have to come up with an explanation on the spot, or they feel that the children are too young to know about sex.

File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_7.png|In this exhibit the sign over the stand claims your parents drink alcohol to prevent you from drinking it as alcohol is a poison. This is technically true, as alcohol is a toxin. A parent may give this explanation to a child who asks their parents why they drink alcohol if it is bad for you, and did not want to explain the pleasurable experience of alcohol because it might encourage children to drink.

File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_5.png|In this exhibit the banner claims that mommies have big tummies because storks like chubby girls. According to some childhood stories storks deliver babies. Also, there are men who prefer heavy women; these men are often called chubby chasers. A parent may give this explanation to a child who asks why, if a stork delivers babies, their mother is changing while she is pregnant, and the parent continues to try to avoid the topic of sex.

File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_6.png|In this exhibit the sign claims that grandma did not die, but is going back to Saturn. Some parents tell their children that their loved ones have gone away instead of telling them the truth, that their loved ones are dead. Going to Saturn "for revenge" is added for comic value. A parent may give this explanation to a avoid causing their child pain.
</gallery>

===Miscellaneous===
<gallery class=center widths=432px heights=285px>
File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_4.png|In this exhibit the marquee claims that {{w|dinosaur|dinosaurs}} are made of bones only. The fossil record includes the imprints of the other tissues of dinosaurs including skin, nails, teeth, and feathers. This story might be believed by children because the majority of all displays of dinosaurs in museums only include bones.

File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_2.png|The restrooms have 3 doors. Clicking reveals that there the two standard gendered restrooms found in the majority of public buildings, and another one for "Korgmen & Spangs" which does not correspond to any known human trait. This is most likely a reference to the Marvel alien species {{w|Korg_(comics)|the Korg}}.

File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_1.png|In this exhibit the sign (which the children can not see) explains that the "{{w|Magic Eye}} poster" contains no hidden images. Magic Eye is a company that sells {{w|autostereogram}}s in books. Autostereograms contain a "hidden" three-dimensional image that can only be seen by focusing one's eyes at a point other than the poster itself. This takes time and many people find it difficult or impossible to do.
</gallery>

==Transcript==
:In the spirit of xkcd I present a proposal for a new Smithsonian museum:
:The Smithsonian Museum Of Dad-Trolling
:An entire building dedicated to deceiving children for amusement

:(Click to view exhibits!)

:The top left room is 'The Hall of Misunderstood Science'. It contains six exhibits.

:Exhibit: A giant basilisk looms over children.
:Exhibit label: BASILISKS: Real, deadly, under your bed.

:Exhibit: Four magnets hang from a square arch. A child is touching two of them together.
:Text on the arch: Magnets only leap at each other when they're teenagers. Later, they lose interest.

:Exhibit: A child on his dad's shoulders looks up at a looming statue of Jesus behind a lectern. There are flakes falling from Jesus onto them both.
:Exhibit label: Snow is Jesus' dandruff. His scalp gets dry when it's cold.

:Exhibit: A child lies asleep, while hands and a scary face reach up around the bed toward him.
:Exhibit label: Sleep: Now you're vulnerable to the boogie man!

:Exhibit: An ice block sits on a stand in front of pictures of a wolf and rhinoceros looking frightened.
:Exhibit label: Freezing water: Expands to frighten predators.

:Exhibit: An insect on a stick is orbited by a small sphere.
:Exhibit label: Anti-matter: Matter that is more than 50% ants.

:Exhibit: A DNA strand with the letters T, A, C, and G hanging around it.
:Exhibit label: DNA only has four letters because the alphabet was smaller back then.
:Dad, to child: Told you so.

:Exhibit: A bunch of molecules hang from the ceiling.
:Exhibit label: Molecules? In my day, we only had atoms!

:The top right room is 'Regrettable Pranks: An Interactive Experience'. There are four exhibits.

:Exhibit: Five balloons float tethered to a table. A child is holding a sixth balloon. The Dad looks alarmed.
:Sign on exhibit: If this helium makes your voice go higher, it's because you're ten seconds from exploding.

:Exhibit: An alien face is shown above an outline of several hands next to a ruler. A child holds his hand up to it.
:Sign on exhibit: Measure your middle finger. If it's longer than the others, you're an alien halfbreed.

:Exhibit: Three cups are on a table. A child is walking away with a fourth cup, the dad's arm around the child's shoulder.
:Exhibit label: Has anyone seen my rabbit brain? It looks like a cherry, and I dropped it in a Jello cup.

:Exhibit: A monstrous set of jaws open upward around a bed.
:Sign on exhibit: Make your bed or monsters will know a kid lives there.

:The center right room is 'Concessions'. There are three booths.

:Booth: A concession stand is labeled 'KFP', and displays a KFC-style bucket. A dad and child are eating.
:Dad: The "P" is for "phoenix".

:Booth: A concession stand.
:Sign on stand: Ground beef: Beef we found on the ground.
:Dad, to child: Told you.

:Booth: A stand shaped like a giant eye.
:Booth label: EYES CREAM
:Subtitle: How did you think it was spelled?
:Sign on booth: Now with more of the goo in your eyes. Same as every other creamery.

:The lower left room is 'Conservatory of Poorly Remembered History'. There are five exhibits.

:Exhibit: A man is riding a dragon.
:Exhibit label: Genghis Khan: victory through dragons.

:Exhibit: A criminal in front of some windows.
:Exhibit label: The Crimean War: The first war against crime.

:Exhibit: A castle with flags hanging on it.
:Exhibit label: The Renaissance
:Subtitle: Long story short, the wizards were in control.

:Exhibit:A man in Jedi-style robes with a fake beard.
:Exhibit label: Star Wars is a documentary. No, seriously.
:Dad, to children: Kids, this man is a veteran.

:The lower right room is 'Rotunda of Uncomfortable Topics'. There are five exhibits.

:Exhibit: A wrestling ring, with a man and woman mostly obscured by the exhibit label.
:Exhibit label: Naked wrestling: perfectly normal. NEVER DO IT.

:Exhibit: a figure sits at a booth in front of a bowl of food. The dad is holding a bottle.
:Exhibit label: Alcohol is poison. I drink to save you from it.
:Dad: You're welcome.

:Exhibit: A large bird.
:Exhibit label: Mommies get big tummies before babies come because the stork likes chubby girls.

:Exhibit: A rocket ship.
:Sign on exhibit: Grandma's not dead. She just returned to Saturn. For REVENGE.

:In the areas outside the rooms, there are two more exhibits and restrooms, all clickable.

:Exhibit: A dinosaur skeleton.
:Exhibit label: That's right. Dinosaurs were made entirely of BONES.
:Dad, to kid: If you think about it, it makes sense.

:Exhibit: A large image hangs on the wall. It is a dense squiggly jumble of lines.
:Dad, to kids: You gotta squint juuust right.
:Sign on exhibit: Magic eye trick that doesn't actually work.

:Restrooms: There are three doors, each with a sign.
:First door (male logo): Men & Boys
:Second door (female logo): Women & Girls
:Third door (unrecognizable logo): Korgmen & Spangs

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cory Doctorow]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
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[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]

Talk:375: Pod Bay Doors

2015-05-21T00:06:09Z

Booyahhayoob:

Made the "WHAT?" text italic, Because that's the way it is in the comic :3 [[Special:Contributions/121.54.48.38|121.54.48.38]] 01:34, 14 May 2013 (UTC)

Fantastic cartoon featuring two of my favourite characters... and with both the pod and the Discovery's hull being spherical they could even stand-in for 'cores'... quite literally "in spaaaaaace".[[User:Squirreltape|Squirreltape]] ([[User talk:Squirreltape|talk]]) 19:42, 14 February 2014 (UTC)

[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) said: OK, how is it possible that when I search YouTube AND Google, I don't get any direct matches for ' "daisy bell" "still alive" '? Where's our duet?

So, what is the small thing? I thought maybe it was an LED coming to replace the lightbulb. Is it something like that, or is it just a spaceship?? --Selah
:It's an EVA pod from the film, I believe. [[User:Booyahhayoob|Booyahhayoob]] ([[User talk:Booyahhayoob|talk]]) 00:06, 21 May 2015 (UTC)

1127: Congress

2015-04-16T06:25:08Z

Booyahhayoob: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1127
| date = October 29, 2012
| title = Congress
| image = congress.png
| titletext = It'd be great if some news network started featuring partisan hack talking heads who were all Federalists and Jacksonians, just to see how long it took us to catch on.
}}

Click the date above the comic to go to the xkcd page, and there is a link to the [http://xkcd.com/1127/large/ much larger version].

==Explanation==
It appears that the (at the time) {{w|United States presidential election, 2012|upcoming 2012 election}} has put [[Randall]] into a political state of mind, as this is the second comic in a few weeks that has dealt with political history ([[1122: Electoral Precedent]]). As with that comic, this comic goes through the entire history of the {{w|Federal government of the United States|U.S. Federal Government}}. Also notably, Randall makes a number of observations that are akin to the type of observations Randall denounces in 1122 (e.g. for 1928, Randall notes that no Republican has since won the presidency without a Nixon or a Bush on the ticket). Just around the election he posted two more comics related to this: [[1130: Poll Watching]] and [[1131: Math]].

===U.S. Federal Government===
In the {{w|Federal government of the United States|U.S. Federal Government}}, one of the {{w|Separation of powers|checks and balances}} is a {{w|bicameralism|bicameral}} {{w|United States Congress}}, which consists of two "houses": the {{w|United States Senate|Senate}}, its "upper" house; and the {{w|United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives}} ("the House"), its "lower house". The Senate consists of 2 senators elected from each state (thus 100 total), while the House consists of 435 voting representatives (a number decided upon in {{w|Apportionment Act of 1911|1911}} by law) whose {{w|United States congressional apportionment|apportionment}} is split between the states proportional to their population; although each state gets at least one (the House also has non-voting representatives from unincorporated territories like {{w|Puerto Rico}} and the {{w|District of Columbia}}). Every ten years, the House is reapportioned based on the latest census. The most populous state as of 2012 is California which has 53 seats in the House. Senators serve 6-year terms with elections held every 2 years for one-third of the seats. Members of the House (called Representatives or Congressmen/women) serve 2-year terms with all of the seats contested every 2 years.

In order for a bill to become a law, it must be passed by both the House and the Senate. In a way, this theoretically ensures that the bill is supported both by the majority of states (the Senate), and the majority of the population (the House). The President may then sign the bill into law, he may "veto" the bill, or he may do nothing, in which case it becomes a law if and only if Congress is in session after a waiting period of 10 days (not including Sundays).

===Political ideologies===
In politics, there is a {{w|political spectrum|scale}} that represents the political beliefs of a politician. The scale goes from "{{w|Left-wing politics|left}}" to "{{w|Right-wing politics|right}}" of "center" — which generally describes a balancing point of beliefs (sometimes called "left-wing" or "right-wing").

The "left" is a general belief in social justice, and is sometimes associated with {{w|socialism}}. Modern left-wingers generally prioritize equality, and support policies like welfare and government-subsidized healthcare. This trends toward having a larger federal government. In the U.S., "liberal" is a term often used to denote left-leaning tendencies.

The "right" generally believe in conserving the social and economic status quo, which is often termed {{w|conservatism|conservative}}. This trends towards having less regulation and thereby a smaller federal government. The goal is to keep the nation stable, and reducing the interference by the government with a person's wealth. This ostensibly means lower taxes, because the government does not provide as much.

Politicians typically align themselves into groups of similar beliefs and positions called "parties". In the U.S., there have generally been two dominant parties, although there have been times where three or more parties have shared roughly equal influence and support. In today's politics (which is apparently known as the fifth era of political parties, or {{w|Fifth Party System}}, as noted on the outside edges of the comic) of the two current primary U.S. political parties, the {{w|Democrats}} are the left-leaning party, and the {{w|Republicans}} are the right-leaning party. The dominant parties are generally considered "moderate" in their left- or right-wing leanings, as either party appears to requires the support of a majority (or a few percent under) of voters to win In actuality a process called gerrymandering where election boundaries are redrawn to allow a political advantage to the party currently in power. Thus a popular majority state wide or any ratio of votes to representatives will not nescisarily be reflected in delegates awarded. An example being the republicans REDMAP 2012 report ([http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/01/21/16630863-virginia-republicans-move-for-permanent-majority]). Smaller parties often run candidates with more extreme views, but such candidates rarely win, due to a more limited number of possible supporters ensuring that even a relatively large minority would have zero chance of representation. (see {{w|Duverger's law}}).

===The comic===
The comic effectively consists of three separate charts: The left- and right-hand charts are the main charts; they represent the Senate and House respectively, and purport to show the left- and right-wing leanings of each legislature through U.S. history. There is a legend on the right that sets out fairly clearly how the charts work, but basically Randall has split each wing into three levels including the very moderate or "Center" right or left, and the more extreme or "Far" right or left, as well as the average left and right, without prefix. A dotted yellow line represented the balance of power in each legislature, and white lines represent the leanings of certain notable people including presidents.

Some presidents are not indicated, because they were never senators or congressmen (most of these were state Governors, such as {{w|Bill Clinton|Clinton}}, {{w|George W. Bush|Bush}} and 2012 candidate {{w|Mitt Romney}}). As may be noted from the chart, {{w|Barack Obama}} is considered "left" while {{w|Paul Ryan}} is considered "far right". It's also notable that the "center right" ideology appears to be completely eradicated from the House and is waning in the Senate (although a similar trend is shown around 1900 with the centrists making a comeback thereafter).

On either side of these charts, there are descriptions or explanations for expansions and contractions of each ideological group.

The center chart appears to primarily act as a timeline. Each president is listed with their leanings indicated by a left or right arrow. Wars are shaded in grey. Other notable events are also indicated. On either side of the center chart (although somewhat mixed in with the aforementioned Senate/House explanations), there are also references to the primary parties of each era showing how they evolved (left-leaning parties on the left, and right-leaning parties on the right).

Finally, there's a little extra commentary on the right side, below the legend.

===The title text===
The title text refers to two political parties in American history: the Federalists and the Jacksonians.
The Federalists are one of the oldest political parties in American History, the other being the Democratic-Republican Party, which later dropped the Republican to become simple Democrats.
The Jacksonion party is one of the four branches of the Democratic Party that developed during the political chaos after the death of the Federalists in the War of 1812.
Note that this means the two parties are not strictly contemporaries. They do, however, make a nice dichotomy, with the Jacksonians being very liberal (one man, one vote, regardless of standing; bureaucratic turnover with every election - their mascot was also the donkey AND they're the ancestor of the modern Democratic Party!) and the Federalists were very conservative (Senate elected by a college, just like the presidency; and, most importantly - NO TAXES! (except tariffs on imported goods))

Network news channels regularly feature {{w|Pundit|talking heads}}, supposed 'experts' who offer their opinion on the topical political stories. Where these talking heads are strongly aligned with a particular party, and are unconcerned with anything other than winning they could be described as a {{w|Partisan|partisan}} {{w|Political hack| hacks}}.

The joke, of course, is to replace the Democrat "hack talking head" with a Jacksonian one and the Republican "hack talking head" with a Federalist one, and see how long it takes the average American to notice the two-hundred-odd-year-old politics.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
*This transcript is neither only a representation the visible text in the small image or all of the text in the full image.
*Since there is text visible all over even the small image it would be most relevant to have a full transcript.
**Or at least make a separate transcript page like for [[980: Money\Transcript]].
**In the latter case this transcript below should then be reduced to only visible text in small image!

:A history of
:'''The United States Congress'''
:Partisan and ideological makeup

:[The comic is divided into three massive sections, SENATE, PRESIDENCIES, and HOUSE. Timelines run backwards down the page between each section. In the HOUSE and SENATE sections, shifting, curving red and blue areas of different brightness illustrate the shifting balance of power between "Members of Left-Leaning Parties" and "Members of Right-Leaning Parties". Under PRESIDENCIES, different administrations are labeled and wars are shaded in gray. There are notes throughout all sections.]

:[There are additional notes on the right.]

:LEGEND
::''[Square containing ribbons of color merging upwards with larger areas]'': Branches join in when new members enter Congress and cause an ideological bloc to grow. (Note: If the new member is elected as another retires from the same ideological bloc, no change is shown.)
::''[Square containing ribbons of color splitting off from larger areas]'': Branches split off when members leave Congress, causing their ideological bloc to shrink. (Note: If the new member is elected as another retires from the same ideological bloc, no change is shown.)
::''[Square showing yellow dotted line crossing from red to blue area]'': The yellow line marks the midpoint, which indicates which side has control of the chamber.
::''[Square in which curve briefly separates from blue area]'': If a bloc loses members in one election and gains them in the next, the exiting stream may rejoin. This does not necessarily mean the same people returned.
::''[Square showing white dashed line labeled Lyndon Johnson on top of ribbon merging with main area]'': Future (and past) US Presidents who served in Congress are shown with white dashed lines. Other noteworthy members are shown with thin solid lines.
::''[Square in which tinted area marked "Whig" sits over mix of red and blue areas]'': Tinted white outlines mark the approximate membership of some of the smaller political parties.

:HOW IDEOLOGY IS CALCULATED
::Each member of Congress is assigned to an ideological category using DW-NOMINATE, a statistical system created by political scientists Keith Poole and Howard Rosenthal. This system rates each member of Congress's ideological position position [sic] based on their votes.
::DW-NOMINATE is purely mathematical and involves no judgement on the content of bills. Instead, members of Congress are placed on a spectrum based on how consistently they vote together.
::While people argue that ideology is many-dimensional, Poole and Rosenthal found that nearly all Congressional voting behavior - especially in the modern era - can be accurately predicted by using just one ideological variable.
::This variable turns out to roughly correspond to position on the classic economic liberal/conservative spectrum.
::Because members of Congress have served in overlapping terms with past members in a chain back to the first Congress, the system allows comparison of ideology across time - even accounting for individual members' ideological drift. (Note: Scores are comparable across time but not between chambers.)
::For more detail, see Poole and Rosenthal's website, voteview.com.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Incomplete explanations]]

695: Spirit

2014-08-18T07:43:42Z

Booyahhayoob:

{{comic
| number =695
| date =January 29, 2010
| title =Spirit
| image =spirit.png
| titletext =On January 26th, 2274 Mars days into the mission, NASA declared Spirit a 'stationary research station' expected to stay operational for several more months until the dust buildup on its solar panels forces a final shutdown.
}}
==Explanation==
{{w|Anthropomorphism}} is attribution of distinctly human characteristics to animals or non-living things. We make parallels between ourselves and objects, to the point where some people even jocularly worry about hurting the feelings of, say, an automobile. We call ships "she". We see human faces in objects like the arrangement of lights on the front of a car.

The {{w|Spirit rover|''Spirit'' Mars rover}}, like many high-functioning robots in real-life and fiction, shares many physical similarities with a human being or animal. It has a head, eyes, neck, body, legs, feet, arms and a hand. And it strikingly resembles sentient robots from fiction, such as Johnny 5 from ''{{w|Short Circuit (film)|Short Circuit}}'', or {{w|WALL-E}} from the film with the same name.

Thus, this comic explores what the ''Spirit'' rover's life would be like if it were sentient like those robots. The rover was never intended to return to Earth, and lasted 5 1/4 active years on the Martian surface, far exceeding its mission duration of 90 Martian days. A sentient robot might assume that after his initially planned 90 {{w|Timekeeping on Mars|Martian day}} mission was over, he'd get to return home. So, heartbreakingly this did not happen, ''Spirit'', possibly in a pun on his name, keeps his hopes alive as he continues analyzing rock after rock for ''years.''

It would be cruelty of the absolute worst kind to create an intelligence with such feelings, and then abandon it on an uninhabited planet with no intention of ''ever'' bringing it home. So one is rather heartened that the ''Spirit'' rover ''is,'' in fact, just a programmed machine.

The title text has an apparent miscount: January 26, 2010, is more like sol (Martian day) 2156 by JPL's [http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status_spiritAll_2010.html#sol2151 mission status site], not 2274.

==Transcript==
:[The ''Spirit'' rover is on the surface of Mars.]
:''Spirit'' (thinking): 89 days to go!

:Day 88 of 90
:''Spirit'' (thinking): Two days until I go home!

:Day 91 of 90
:''Spirit'' (thinking): ?

:Day 103 of 90
:''Spirit'' (thinking): Maybe I didn't do a good enough job.

:Day 127 of 90
:''Spirit'' (thinking): Maybe if I do a good enough job, they'll let me come home.

:Day 857 of 90
:''Spirit'' (thinking): I thought I analyzed that rock really well.
:''Spirit'' (thinking): It's okay, I'll do the next one better.

:Day 1293 of 90
:''Spirit'' (thinking): Sandstorm. Power dying.
:''Spirit'' (thinking): But a good rover would keep going. A good rover like they wanted.

:Day 1944 of 90
:''Spirit'' (thinking): Oh no.
:''whirrrr''
:''Spirit'' (thinking): I'm stuck.
:''whirrrr''

:''Spirit'' (thinking): Did I do a good job?
:''Spirit'' (thinking): Do I get to come home?
:''Spirit'' (thinking): Guys?

:[''Spirit'' rests in the middle of a vast Martian landscape.]

==Trivia==
*''Spirit'' continued to operate for nearly two months after this comic aired, but eventually stopped transmitting; its last communication was on March 22, 2010 (day 2210 of 90, [http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status_spiritAll.html#sol2533 by JPL's reckoning]). However, ''Spirit'''s sister rover {{w|Opportunity rover|''Opportunity''}} remains active (as of August 2014) and continues to investigate the Martian surface. In August 2012, a much larger, more modern rover named {{w|Curiosity (rover)|''Curiosity''}} successfully landed in a different area on Mars, bringing with it a whole new pack of research tools. ''Curiosity'', too, is busily researching and sending back data and pictures. Due to the engineering difficulties involved, none of these probes are intended to ever return to their planet of origin.

*Pat Rawlings, who has done many "artist's conception" images of missions to Mars, created an evocative image of this anthro-''Spirit'''s dream: a [http://www.patrawlings.com/detail.cfm?id=1173 spacesuited human bending over a long-lost probe] (actually {{w|Sojourner (rover)|''Sojourner''}}) and gently brushing away dust from it, as if welcoming back a pet.

*The "never come back home" stories may become reality for humans joining projects such as {{w|Mars One}} or {{w|Mars to Stay}}. However, the one-way nature of the trip to Mars would be made clear to travelers at the outset.

*In a blog post Randall mentioned an [http://blog.xkcd.com/2010/02/08/android-bug-reports-songs-rovers/ Blog post mentioning alternative version of this comic].

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Robots]]
[[Category:Science]]