explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

61: Stacey's Dad

2014-04-09T17:12:09Z

Charlestolley: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 61
| date = February 8, 2006
| title = Stacey's Dad
| image = staceys_dad.jpg
| titletext = I bet she gets you to mow the lawn, doesn't she?
}}

==Explanation==
This comic refers to the song "{{w|Stacy's Mom}}", by {{w|Fountains of Wayne}}. As the background singers repeatedly say, "Stacy's mom has got it goin' on."

Here are the lyrics for the second verse:
:Stacy, do you remember when I mowed your lawn? (mowed your lawn)
:Your mom came out with just a towel on (towel on)
:I could tell she liked me from the way she stared (the way she stared)
:And the way she said, "You missed a spot over there" (a spot over there)
:And I know that you think it's just a fantasy
:But since your dad walked out, your mom could use a guy like me

(chorus)
:Stacy's mom has got it goin' on
:She's all I want, and I've waited so long
:Stacy, can't you see you're just not the girl for me
:I know it might be wrong,
:but I'm in love with Stacy's mom

The humor in this is that in the song the singer finds Stacy's Mom desirable, but in the comic the dad, who walked out, is saying that she is very undesirable and the singer should run away while he still can. "That woman has a lot going on" alludes directly to the first line of the chorus, but refers to the things that are going on in a negative, rather than a positive, light.

The title text elaborates on this idea, implying that she manipulated the singer to mow her lawn through rewarding the singer by making an appearance with "just a towel on."

==Transcript==
:Man: Look, I know you think that since I walked out she could use a guy like you. But trust me. That woman has got a lot going on, and you want none of it. ''Get out while you still can''.

:[Printed across the bottom of the panel.]
:Stacey's dad.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Your Mom]]

61: Stacey's Dad

2014-04-09T17:11:19Z

Charlestolley: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 61
| date = February 8, 2006
| title = Stacey's Dad
| image = staceys_dad.jpg
| titletext = I bet she gets you to mow the lawn, doesn't she?
}}

==Explanation==
This comic refers to the song "{{w|Stacy's Mom}}", by {{w|Fountains of Wayne}}. As the background singers repeatedly say, "Stacy's mom has got it goin' on."

Here are the lyrics for the second verse:
:Stacy, do you remember when I mowed your lawn? (mowed your lawn)
:Your mom came out with just a towel on (towel on)
:I could tell she liked me from the way she stared (the way she stared)
:And the way she said, "You missed a spot over there" (a spot over there)
:And I know that you think it's just a fantasy
:But since your dad walked out, your mom could use a guy like me

(chorus)
:Stacy's mom has got it goin' on
:She's all I want, and I've waited so long
:Stacy, can't you see you're just not the girl for me
:I know it might be wrong,
:but I'm in love with Stacy's mom

The humor in this is that in the song the singer finds Stacy's Mom desirable, but in the comic the dad, who walked out, is saying that she is very undesirable and the singer should run away while he still can. "That woman has a lot going on" alludes directly to the first line of the chorus, but refers to the things that are going on in a negative, rather than a positive, light.

The title text elaborates on this idea, implying that she manipulated the singer to mow her lawn through rewarding the singer by making an appearance with "just a towel on."

==Transcript==
:Man: Look, I know you think that since I walked out she could use a guy like you. But trust me. That woman has got a lot going on, and you want none of it.

:Get out while you still can.

:[Printed across the bottom of the panel.]
:Stacey's dad.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Your Mom]]

61: Stacey's Dad

2014-04-09T17:11:05Z

Charlestolley: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 61
| date = February 8, 2006
| title = Stacey's Dad
| image = staceys_dad.jpg
| titletext = I bet she gets you to mow the lawn, doesn't she?
}}

==Explanation==
This comic refers to the song "{{w|Stacy's Mom}}", by {{w|Fountains of Wayne}}. As the background singers repeatedly say, "Stacy's mom has got it goin' on."

Here are the lyrics for the second verse:
:Stacy, do you remember when I mowed your lawn? (mowed your lawn)
:Your mom came out with just a towel on (towel on)
:I could tell she liked me from the way she stared (the way she stared)
:And the way she said, "You missed a spot over there" (a spot over there)
:And I know that you think it's just a fantasy
:But since your dad walked out, your mom could use a guy like me

(chorus)
:Stacy's mom has got it goin' on
:She's all I want, and I've waited so long
:Stacy, can't you see you're just not the girl for me
:I know it might be wrong,
:but I'm in love with Stacy's mom

The humor in this is that in the song the singer finds Stacy's Mom desirable, but in the comic the dad, who walked out, is saying that she is very undesirable and the singer should run away while he still can. "That woman has a lot going on" alludes directly to the first line of the chorus, but refers to the things that are going on in a negative, rather than a positive, light.

The title text elaborates on this idea, implying that she manipulated the singer to mow her lawn through rewarding the singer by making an appearance with "just a towel on."

==Transcript==
:Man: Look, I know you think that since I walked out she could use a guy like you. But trust me. That woman has got a lot going on, and you want none of it.

Get out while you still can.

:[Printed across the bottom of the panel.]
:Stacey's dad.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Your Mom]]

61: Stacey's Dad

2014-04-09T17:10:33Z

Charlestolley: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 61
| date = February 8, 2006
| title = Stacey's Dad
| image = staceys_dad.jpg
| titletext = I bet she gets you to mow the lawn, doesn't she?
}}

==Explanation==
This comic refers to the song "{{w|Stacy's Mom}}", by {{w|Fountains of Wayne}}. As the background singers repeatedly say, "Stacy's mom has got it goin' on."

Here are the lyrics for the second verse:
:Stacy, do you remember when I mowed your lawn? (mowed your lawn)
:Your mom came out with just a towel on (towel on)
:I could tell she liked me from the way she stared (the way she stared)
:And the way she said, "You missed a spot over there" (a spot over there)
:And I know that you think it's just a fantasy
:But since your dad walked out, your mom could use a guy like me

(chorus)
:Stacy's mom has got it goin' on
:She's all I want, and I've waited so long
:Stacy, can't you see you're just not the girl for me
:I know it might be wrong,
:but I'm in love with Stacy's mom

The humor in this is that in the song the singer finds Stacy's Mom desirable, but in the comic the dad, who walked out, is saying that she is very undesirable and the singer should run away while he still can. "That woman has a lot going on" alludes directly to the first line of the chorus, but refers to the things that are going on in a negative, rather than a positive, light.

The title text elaborates on this idea, implying that she manipulated the singer to mow her lawn through rewarding the singer by making an appearance with "just a towel on."

==Transcript==
:Man: Look, I know you think that since I walked out she could use a guy like you. But trust me. That woman has got a lot going on, and you want none of it. Get out while you still can.

:[Printed across the bottom of the panel.]
:Stacey's dad.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Your Mom]]

442: xkcd Loves the Discovery Channel

2014-04-07T20:30:41Z

Charlestolley: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 442
| date = June 27, 2008
| title = xkcd Loves the Discovery Channel
| image = xkcd_loves_the_discovery_channel.png
| titletext = I love the title-text!
}}
==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Entangled sheets is '''not''' ''only'' a sexual position, that's the whole joke. Everything could probably be explained a little more besides just linking.}}
This comic is a parody of the {{w|Discovery Channel}} commercial showing various clips of people singing a song with the chorus line [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at_f98qOGY0 'Boom De Yada']. The comic is divided into a grid of 4 by 6 panels, each depicting a character or situation from a previous xkcd strip. In each panel is written a part of a song similar to the song from the Discovery Channel commercial."

The campaign from the {{w|Discovery Channel}} was not called "Boom De Yada", but {{w|I Love The World}}. The title "xkcd Loves the Discovery Channel" is in reference to this.

Most of the panels are references to previous xkcd strips, but some are not.

;Panel 1 ''I love momentum.''
:A reference to [[162|comic 162]], where Megan spins in a circle to "rob the planet of angular momentum."
;Panel 2 ''I love to engineer.''
:A reference to [[413|comic 413]], where Megan and Cueball turn an EEE PC into a household pet.
;Panel 3 ''I love this bakery!''
:A reference to [[434|comic 434]], where Beret Guy shows his liking for bakeries in first panel.
;Panel 4 ''I love the blogosphere!''
:A reference to [[239|comic 239]], where someone from the far future believes many people blogged from high-altitude balloons whilst wearing red capes and goggles. The flying character may be {{w|Cory Doctorow}}, who is mentioned in the comic as the only blogger to actually do this, and who also appeared in [[345|comic 345: 1337 Part 5]] in this guise.
;Panel 5 ''I love the whole world.'' (Cueball running in large hamster ball.)
:Likely a reference to [[152|comic 152]], though there are multiple comics featuring human-sized hamster balls.
;Panel 6 ''And all its messed-up folks.''
:A reference to the /b/ ("Random") forum on {{w|4chan}}, which is in fact home to plenty of "messed-up folks".
;Panel 7 ''Boom de yada, Boom de yada'' (Cueball and Megan immersed in playpen balls.)
:A reference to [[150|comic 150]], where Megan decides that she has the ability to, and wants to, turn her house into a giant playpen.
;Panel 8 ''Boom de yada, Boom de yada'' (''I put on my robe and wizard hat'')
:A reference to [http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/text/bloodninja this roleplay chat transcript] (NSFW), which became an Internet meme. A user named bloodninja would roleplay as a wizard during {{w|cybersex}} (saying "I put on my robe and wizard hat" to signal this) and invariably infuriate his unwitting partners with demeaning actions. Other incidents involved him roleplaying as a rhinoceros.
;Panel 9 ''I love your suffering.''
:The recurring character [[Black Hat]] is being his usual self and causing suffering for his own amusement, as in [[72: Classhole]]. In this panel he is seen taking a present away from a child, who is upset.
;Panel 10 ''I love cryptography.''
:This is a subject that comes up often in the comic. Notably, in comics [[153]] and [[177]] before this one.
;Panel 11 ''I love entangled sheets.''
:Sexual reference. Also brought up in comic [[230]].
;Panel 12 ''And kite photography.''
:A reference to Randall Munroe's own hobby of [http://xkcd.com/kite/ kite photography] as well as [[235|comic 235]].
;Panel 13 ''I love the whole world'' (Map of the internet.)
:A reference to [[256|comic 256]], featuring online communities of the time visualised as a world map, with geographic area representing their approximate membership size. There is, more directly, a pun on "internet", namely "outernet".
;Panel 14 ''And all its mysteries.''
:A reference to a series of comics on "red spiders:" [[8|8: Red Spiders]], [[43|43: Red Spiders 2]], [[47|47: Counter-Red Spiders]], [[126|126: Red Spiders Cometh]], and [[427|427: Bad Timing]].
;Panel 15 ''Boom de yada, Boom de yada'' (Two people sword-fighting on rolling office chairs.)
:A reference to [[303|comic 303]], where two coders battle with fake swords at work, with the excuse that their code is compiling.
;Panel 16 ''Boom de yada, Boom de yada'' (Classroom with two students and Mrs. Lenhart.)
:Nothing too special, but it does embrace the "everybody joins in" theme behind the commercials. Mrs. Lenhart first properly appeared in [[263|comic 263]] but may have made an appearance in #[[59]].
;Panel 17 ''I love elections'' (''Barack me Obamadeus!'')
:A pun on the song {{w|Rock Me Amadeus}} and US president {{w|Barack Obama}}.
;Panel 18 ''I love transistors.''
:This panel has Cueball's crotch replaced with the (similar-looking) icon used for a {{w|transistor}} in a circuit diagram.
;Panel 19 ''I love weird pillow talk.'' (''There ''must'' be Taft slash fiction.'')
:"[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pillow+talk Pillow talk]" means intimate conversations between lovers, "{{w|slash fiction}}" is fanfiction with characters of the same sex, and "Taft" is {{w|William Howard Taft}}, a US President mostly remembered for his severe obesity. It appears they are invoking {{w|rule 34 of the internet}}. Weird pillow talk is also the subject of comic [[69]], while the Taft reference comes from [[214: The Problem with Wikipedia]].
;Panel 20 ''I love your sister.''
:A reference to xkcd's recurring joke of dating the female character's sister, which spans several comics including [[49|comic 49]], [[279|comic 279]], [[317|comic 317]], and [[408|comic 408]].
;Panel 21 ''I love the whole world'' (Roller coaster with Cueball holding chess board)
:A reference to [[249|comic 249]] which inspired an internet meme.
;Panel 22 ''The future's pretty cool!'' (Beret Guy in a forest.)
:Possible reference to [[167|comic 167]], where Cueball and Beret Guy make observations about the future while climbing a tree. Later, in [[1322|comic 1322]], the two are seen walking through a forest very similar to the one shown here.
;Panel 23 ''Boom de yada, Boom de yada'' (Megan doing the MC Hammer slide towards Cueball.)
:A reference to [[108|comic 108]], where Hairy falls in love with "a girl whose only mode of transportation is the M.C. Hammer Slide."
;Panel 24 ''Boom de yada, Boom de yada'' (Cueball and Megan on an electric skateboard.)
:A reference to [[409|comic 409]], where Megan and Cueball go on an electric skateboard ride.

The title text just continues the song.

==Transcript==
:[The comic is in parody of the Discovery Channel commercial showing various clips of people singing a song with the chorus line "Boom De Yada."]
:[The comic is divided into a grid of 4 by 6 panels, each depicting a character or situation from a previous xkcd strip.]
:[In each panel is written a part of a song similar to the song from the Discovery Channel commercial.]

:Panel 1: (Reference Comic 162)
:[Megan spinning around.]
:I love momentum.

:Panel 2: (Reference Comic 413)
:[Megan laying on floor tinkering with EEE PC hamster ball robot.]
:I love to engineer.

:Panel 3: (Reference Comic 434)
:[Beret Guy standing in bakery holding a loaf of bread in each hand, sign with "PIE!" in background.]
:I love this bakery!

:Panel 4: (Reference Comic 239)
:[Cory Doctorow in goggles and red cape flying superman-style.]
:I love the blogosphere!

:Panel 5: (Reference Comic 152)
:[Cueball running in large hamster ball.]
:I love the whole world

:Panel 6:
:[Depiction of internet sludge (4chan b-Random)]
:And all its messed-up folks.

:Panel 7: (Reference Comic 150)
:[Cueball and Megan immersed in playpen balls.]
:Boom De Yada
:Boom De Yada

:Panel 8:
:[Mass of playpen balls with speech "I put on my robe and wizard hat" originating from it.]
:Boom De Yada
:Boom De Yada

:Panel 9: (Reference Comic 72)
:[Black Hat taking gift away from kid with party hat.]
:I love your suffering.

:Panel 10: (Reference Comic 153)
:[Diagram showing RSA fingerprint authentication between two people.]
:I love cryptography.

:Panel 11: (Reference Comic 230)
:[Cueball and Megan in bed covered by red sheet.]
:I love entangled sheets.

:Panel 12: (Blag)
:[Cueball hanging from kite string holding camera.]
:And kite photography.

:Panel 13: (Reference Comic 256)
:[Map of the internet.]
:I love the whole world

:Panel 14: (Reference Comic 8)
:[Cube with red spider on top.]
:And all its mysteries.

:Panel 15: (Reference Comic 303)
:[Two people sword-fighting on rolling office chairs.]
:Boom De Yada
:Boom De Yada

:Panel 16: (Reference Comic 263)
:[Classroom with two students and Mrs. Lenhart.]
:Boom De Yada
:Boom De Yada

:Panel 17:
:[Cueball saying "Barack me Obamadeus!" to another man speaking energetically at a podium.]
:I love elections.

:Panel 18:
:[Cueball holding schematic diagram of a transistor in front of his crotch.]
:I love transistors.

:Panel 19: (Reference Comic 69)
:[Cueball and Megan in bed, Cueball saying "There ''must'' be taft slash fiction."]
:I love weird pillow talk.

:Panel 20: (Reference Comic 49, 279, 317)
:[Cueball speaking to Megan.]
:I love your sister.

:Panel 21: (Reference Comic 249)
:[Roller coaster with Cueball in front car holding chess board and thinking about a move.]
:I love the whole world.

:Panel 22: (Reference Comic 167)
:[Beret Guy standing in the midst of leafless trees.]
:The future's pretty cool!

:Panel 23: (Reference Comic 108)
:[Megan doing the MC Hammer slide towards Cueball.]
:Boom De Yada
:Boom De Yada

:Panel 24: (Reference Comic 409)
:[Cueball and Megan on an electric skateboard.]
:Boom De Yada
:Boom De Yada

==Trivia==
*This comic was enacted by Olga Nunes and various famous people as [http://www.olganunes.com/xkcd ''We Love xkcd''].

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cory Doctorow]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Playpen balls]]
[[Category:Red Spiders]]
[[Category:Songs]]
[[Category:Electric skateboard]]
[[Category:Cryptography]]
[[Category:Hamster Ball]]

1352: Cosmologist on a Tire Swing

2014-04-07T15:19:07Z

Charlestolley: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1352
| date = April 7, 2014
| title = Cosmologist on a Tire Swing
| image = cosmologist_on_a_tire_swing.png
| titletext = No matter how fast I swing, I can never travel outside this loop! Maybe space outside it doesn't exist! But I bet it does. This tire came from somewhere.
}}

==Explanation==
Simply put, the tire swing is a symbolic representation of our universe. Scientific observation tells us that both space and time (as we understand them so far) began with the {{w|Big Bang}} ~13.8 billion years ago. We don't know (and possibly even ''can't'' know) if there was such a thing as "before" the universe, or what that might be.

The first 6 panels reference ongoing speculation about where the universe came from and why it even exists in the first place. The last 2 panels relate to recent observations of the {{w|accelerating universe}} in which galaxies are now receding from each other at higher and higher speeds, due to {{w|dark energy}}.

The title text references questions about the {{w|shape of the universe}} and what could lie "outside" of it. The setting of trees interspersed with many small pools resembles the {{w|Wood between the Worlds}}, a meta-verse described in C.S. Lewis's ''{{w|The Magician's Nephew}}''; each pool leads into a different universe (one of which is ours and another of which is Narnia).

==Transcript==
:Girl: What was before the big bang?
:Cueball: I think time began with the big bang. So it doesn't make sense to ask what came before it.
:Cosmologist (off panel): ''Look out''

:Cosmologist: ''WHEEEE'' Hi I'm a cosmologist on a tire swing!

:Cosmologist: We don't know whether time

:Cosmologist: started at the big bang.

:Cosmologist: It might have!

:Cosmologist: Or maybe not! We don't know!
:Cueball: Oh. OK!

:Girl: ...Your tire swing looks fun!
:Cosmologist: I can't stop!

:Girl: Won't the swing stop on its own?
:Cosmologist: I thought it would, but it seems to be accelerating.
:Girl: Cosmology sounds pretty confusing.
:Cosmologist: ''WHEEEEE!''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Science]]

1352: Cosmologist on a Tire Swing

2014-04-07T14:02:04Z

Charlestolley: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1352
| date = April 7, 2014
| title = Cosmologist on a Tire Swing
| image = cosmologist_on_a_tire_swing.png
| titletext = No matter how fast I swing, I can never travel outside this loop! Maybe space outside it doesn't exist! But I bet it does. This tire came from somewhere.
}}

==Explanation==
Simply put, the tire swing is a symbolic representation of our universe. Scientific observation tells us that the universe began with the {{w|Big Bang}} ~13.8 billion years ago; we don't, however, know what, if anything, came before that. The first 6 panels reference ongoing speculation about where the universe came from and why it even exists in the first place. The last 2 panels relate to recent observations of the {{w|accelerating universe}} in which galaxies are now receding from each other at higher and higher speeds, due to {{w|dark energy}}. The title text references the question of whether or not the universe is infinite, and if so, what lies outside of our observable universe. The setting of trees interspersed with many small pools resembles the {{w|Wood between the Worlds}}, a meta-verse described in C.S. Lewis's ''{{w|The Magician's Nephew}}''; each pool leads into a different universe (one of which is ours and another of which is Narnia).

==Transcript==
:Girl: What was before the big bang?
:Cueball: I think time began with the big bang. So it doesn't make sense to ask what came before it.
:Cosmologist (off panel): ''Look out''

:Cosmologist: ''WHEEEE'' Hi I'm a cosmologist on a tire swing!

:Cosmologist: We don't know whether time

:Cosmologist: started at the big bang.

:Cosmologist: It might have!

:Cosmologist: Or maybe not! We don't know!
:Cueball: Oh. OK!

:Girl: ...Your tire swing looks fun!
:Cosmologist: I can't stop!

:Girl: Won't the swing stop on its own?
:Cosmologist: I thought it would, but it seems to be accelerating.
:Girl: Cosmology sounds pretty confusing.
:Cosmologist: ''WHEEEEE!''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Science]]

1352: Cosmologist on a Tire Swing

2014-04-07T12:19:05Z

Charlestolley: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1352
| date = April 7, 2014
| title = Cosmologist on a Tire Swing
| image = cosmologist_on_a_tire_swing.png
| titletext = No matter how fast I swing, I can never travel outside this loop! Maybe space outside it doesn't exist! But I bet it does. This tire came from somewhere.
}}

==Explanation==
Simply put, the tire swing is a symbolic representation of our universe. Scientific observation seems to tell us that the universe is ~13.8 billion years old. The first 6 panels reference the fact that no one seems to have any explanation for where the universe came from, or even why it exists in the first place. The last 2 panels are about the inexplicable fact that the universe's rate of expansion appears to be increasing, rather than slowing down, as conventional wisdom tells us it should. The title text references the question of whether or not the universe is infinite, and if so, what lies outside of our observable universe? The setting of trees interspersed with many small pools resembles the meta-verse described in C.S. Lewis's The Magician's Nephew. Each pool leads into a different universe, one of which is ours and another of which is Narnia.

==Transcript==
:Girl: What was before the big bang?
:Cueball: I think time began with the big bang. So it doesn't make sense to ask what came before it.
:Cosmologist (off panel): ''Look out''

:Cosmologist: ''WHEEEE'' Hi I'm a cosmologist on a tire swing!

:Cosmologist: We don't know whether time

:Cosmologist: started at the big bang.

:Cosmologist: It might have!

:Cosmologist: Or maybe not! We don't know!
:Cueball: Oh. OK!

:Girl: ...Your tire swing looks fun!
:Cosmologist: I can't stop!

:Girl: Won't the swing stop on its own?
:Cosmologist: I thought it would, but it seems to be accelerating.
:Girl: Cosmology sounds pretty confusing.
:Cosmologist: ''WHEEEEE!''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Science]]

1352: Cosmologist on a Tire Swing

2014-04-07T06:18:40Z

Charlestolley: /* Explanation */

1352: Cosmologist on a Tire Swing

2014-04-07T06:17:42Z

Charlestolley: /* Explanation */

1352: Cosmologist on a Tire Swing

2014-04-07T06:16:00Z

Charlestolley: /* Explanation */

1352: Cosmologist on a Tire Swing

2014-04-07T06:15:31Z

Charlestolley: