explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Header text

2026-04-23T20:13:11Z

Chronotix: /* 2026-04-07 - Reading Modes */

<noinclude>{{xkcd.com}}[[File:xkcd_header.png|thumb|right|250px|The [[Design of xkcd.com#Header section|Header section]] is one of the [[Design of xkcd.com|four main sections]] of the [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com] website.]]The '''header text''' is usually updated when [[Randall]] has news to share or wants to add information about a specific comic. The default header text states:

{{Header text|xkcd updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.}}<noinclude>

Usually, changes to the header text show up in all comics. However, for certain comics, its header text is changed permanently, which means that comic's page won't be affected by changes to the global header text like the rest of the comics. These are known as [[Category:Comics with custom header texts|comic-specific header texts]], and you can see the list of these headers [[#Comic-specific header text|here]].

Usually, the global header text is changed back to the default once the novelty of the news ends. Recently, the default header text has not been used for extended periods of time. The most recent header text change can be found at the top of the [[#Global header text|Global header text section]].

{{incomplete|Someone has created a full list of comic-specific header texts! We have only explained 28 so far, and '''28 are missing'''. [[Talk:Header_text#anc|The full list in on the Talk page!]]. (Also, if you have ''infinite'' spare time, please remove the bullet points on the page and use normal paragraphs.)}}

Use this list to quickly jump to a specific header text, or [[#Comic-specific header text|click here]] to jump to the most recent one.

__TOC__

==Comic-specific header text==
When editing the section, list the changes chronologically with the date of the web archive link and hyperlink each date. Include an internal link to the comic at the time of each change and describe the modifications with relevant information. Place the most recent changes at the top.


===[[2957: A Crossword Puzzle]]===
*This comic's header mentions that it has been inspired by an old comic (by accident, i.e. originally Randall was not aware of his inspiration).
**The comic was released on Wednesday 2024-07-10, but the special header text was first added to the comic and thus on the front page from Thursday [https://web.archive.org/web/20240711100451/https://xkcd.com/ 2024-07-11]. It stayed there until the next comic came out, so it was still there on Friday morning on [https://web.archive.org/web/20240712141422/https://xkcd.com/ 2024-07-12].
***Once [[2958: Hatchery]] came out later that Friday, the front page header text changed back to that which was currently active on [https://web.archive.org/web/20240712224230/https://xkcd.com/ 2024-07-12].
*The extra new text was added below the currently active hader, and the addition was:
**Today's comic accidentally inspired by [https://www.buttersafe.com/2011/02/17/crosswords/ this Buttersafe comic] from 2011!
*It makes it clear that Randall did not wish to take credit for this old idea.
**Although it seems like he did not know where he got the idea from at first, when he posted it.
**Because the addition of this header text was not posted together with the comic, when it was released on Wednesday 2024-07-10 and it was still not there in the early morning of Thursday [https://web.archive.org/web/20240711000851/https://xkcd.com/ 2024-07-11].
**That he is a fan of Buttersafe is made clear at the bottom of the xkcd page where it is on Randall's list of the [[Design_of_xkcd.com#Comics_I_enjoy|Comics I enjoy]].
*As a special situation this special header did not replace the current header text, but was added below the active header text at the time [[#2024-05-15_-_Special_10th_anniversary_edition_of_WHAT_IF.3F_-_preorder|Special 10th anniversary edition of WHAT IF? - preorder]].
**This has not been the normal way to add comic-specific header text, even though it was something added later due to Randall realizing he had borrowed inspiration from another person.
**A similar situation happened with the comic [[1723: Meteorite Identification]], which got a similar change to the header text, as can be seen [[Header_text#1723:_Meteorite_Identification|here]]. But that did not incorporate this text into the current header text.
*Since this header was related only to explain the inspiration for this comic, it was removed from the frontpage header, when the next comic was released.
**But it stayed up as one of the permanent different headers on this comic, as seen here [https://web.archive.org/web/20240714152507/https://xkcd.com/2957/ 2022-07-14], two days after it stopped being on the front page.
**Randall never got around to fixing this, so it would only show the new line, so as of this edit it is still like that as can be seen in the most recent version saved [https://web.archive.org/web/20260408143657/https://xkcd.com/2957/ 2026-04-08].
*So the actual full permanent header text for this comic is now:
** [https://xkcd.com/what-if/ Special 10th anniversary edition of WHAT IF?]—revised and annotated with brand-new illustrations and answers to important questions you never thought to ask—coming from November 2024. Preorder [https://bit.ly/WhatIf10th here]!
**Today's comic accidentally inspired by [https://www.buttersafe.com/2011/02/17/crosswords/ this Buttersafe comic] from 2011!



===[[2916: Machine]]===
*This comic's header mentions the people who helped put it together.
**It was on the front page from Saturday [https://web.archive.org/web/20240406163326/https://xkcd.com/ 2024-04-06] (although it was supposed to have been a Friday release according to the xkcd archives) until the next comic to come out Monday 2024-04-08, but the earliest archived version of the next comic is from Tuesday [http://web.archive.org/web/20240409060444/https://xkcd.com/ 2024-04-09].
***It probably changed late on Monday the 8th, but Machine was still up late on [https://web.archive.org/web/20240408225854/https://xkcd.com/ 2024-04-08].
***It may be like previous years because this was an April fools' Day comic, and Randall wished it to stay on the front page longer?
**When [[2917: Types of Eclipse Photo]] was released the front page returned to normal header.
**The previous comic [[2915: Eclipse Clouds]] was still on the front page Saturday [https://web.archive.org/web/20240406053609/https://xkcd.com/ 2024-04-06]. So a very late Friday release...
*The text:
**Today's comic was created with [https://chromakode.com/ Max Goodhart], [https://github.com/spyhi Ed White], [https://twitter.com/uh_oh_thats_bad Alex Garcia], [https://twitter.com/cotrone Kevin Cotrone], [http://burningcandle.io/ Conor & Ami Stokes], [https://liranuna.com/ Liran Nuna], [https://www.instagram.com/fading_interest/ Patrick], [https://manishearth.github.io/ Manish Goregaokar], [https://github.com/benley Benjamin Staffin], [https://github.com/ayust Amber], and [https://github.com/dyfrgi Michael Leuchtenburg] with physics by [https://rapier.rs/ Rapier].
*It thanks those that helped Randall create that years [[April Fools' Day comics|April Fools' Day comic]].
**All have a link to their name, either to Instagram page or X or their own home pages. Some of them have also helped with the two previous [[April Fools' Day comics|April Fools' Day comic]], see below, but there are many more involved in this one than any of the previous.
**Also the Fast 2D and 3D physics engine for the Rust programming language, Rapier, is mentioned as standing for the physics of the comic.
*Since this header was related only to the Fools' comic, it was removed from the frontpage header, when the next comic was released.
**But it stayed up as one of the permanent different headers on this comic, as seen two days after it stopped being on the front page on [https://web.archive.org/web/20240409010518/https://xkcd.com/2916/ 2022-04-09].


===[[2765: Escape Speed]]===
*This comic's header mentions the people who helped put it together.
**It was on the front page from Thursday [https://web.archive.org/web/20230420203744/https://xkcd.com/ 2023-04-20] (although it was supposed to have been a Wednesday release according to the xkcd archives) until Friday [https://web.archive.org/web/20230421082400/https://xkcd.com/ 2023-04-21], when the next new comic was released (very late, possibly because this was an April fools' Day comic, and Randall wished it to stay on the front page longer?)
***When [[2766: Helium Reserve]] was released the front page returned to normal header. This seems to have not happened until Saturday as the earliest archive is form [https://web.archive.org/web/20230422121650/https://xkcd.com/ 2023-04-22] with the new comic.
*The text:
**Today's comic was put together with help from [https://chromakode.com/ Max Goodhart], [https://www.instagram.com/fading_interest/ Patrick Clapp], [https://amberyu.st/ Amber], [https://twitter.com/cotrone Kevin], [https://twitter.com/bstaffin Benjamin Staffin], and [https://www.aiweirdness.com/ Janelle Shane].
*It thanks those that helped Randall create that years [[April Fools' Day comics|April Fools' Day comic]].
**All have a link to their name, either to Instagram page or Twitter or their own home pages. Most of them have also helped with the two previous April Fools' Day comic, see below.
*Since this header was related only to the Fools' comic, it was removed from the frontpage header, when the next comic was released.
**But it stayed up as one of the permanent different headers on this comic, as seen two days after it stopped being on the front page on [https://web.archive.org/web/20230423150206/https://xkcd.com/2765/ 2022-04-23].


===[[2601: Instructions]]===
*This comic's header mentions the people who helped put it together.
**It was on the front page from Friday [https://web.archive.org/web/20220401210146/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-04-01] until Tuesday [https://web.archive.org/web/20220405031003/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-04-05], when the next new comic was released (very late, possibly because Instructions was an April fools' Day comic, and Randall wished it to stay on the front page longer?)
***When [[2602: Linguistics Degree]] was released the front page returned to normal header This seems to have not happened until Tuesday as the earliest archive is form [https://web.archive.org/web/20220405125644/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-04-05] with the new comic.
*The text:
**Today's comic was created with [https://twitter.com/fadinginterest Patrick], [https://twitter.com/Aiiane Amber], [https://twitter.com/chromakode @chromakode], [https://twitter.com/dyfrgi Michael], [https://twitter.com/wirehead2501 Kat], [https://twitter.com/xDirtyPunkx Conor], [https://twitter.com/zigdon @zigdon], and [https://twitter.com/bstaffin Benjamin Staffin].
*It thanks those that helped Randall create that years [[April Fools' Day comics|April Fools' Day comic]].
**All have a link to their name, the first with an Instagram page, the other seven with a link to their Twitter account. Five of those also helped with the previous April Fools' Day comic, see below.
*Since this header was related only to the Fools' comic, it was removed from the frontpage header, when the next comic was released.
**But it stayed up as one of the permanent different headers on this comic, as seen two days after it stopped being on the front page on [https://web.archive.org/web/20220406021357/https://xkcd.com/2601/ 2022-04-06].


===[[2445: Checkbox]]===
*This comic's header mentions the people who helped put it together.
**It was on the front page from Thursday [https://web.archive.org/web/20210401232108/https://xkcd.com/ 2021-04-01] until Monday [https://web.archive.org/web/20210405130031/http://xkcd.com/ 2021-04-05], until the new comic was released on Monday.
*The text:
**This comic was put together by [https://chromakode.com/ Max Goodhart], [https://twitter.com/fadinginterest Patrick], [https://twitter.com/Aiiane Amber], [https://twitter.com/bstaffin Benjamin Staffin], [https://twitter.com/cotrone Kevin Cotrone], [https://twitter.com/wirehead2501 Kat], and [https://twitter.com/dyfrgi Michael Leuchtenburg].
*It thanks those that helped Randall create that years [[April Fools' Day comics|April Fools' Day comic]].
**All have a link to their name, the first with a personal home page, the other six with a link to their Twitter account. Five of those also helped with the previous April Fools' Day comic, see below.
*Since this header was related only to the Fools' comic, it was removed from the front page header, when the next comic was released, here from the day after that release Tuesday [https://web.archive.org/web/20210406143023/http://xkcd.com/ 2021-04-06].
*But it stayed up as one of the permanent different headers on this comic, as seen two days later on [https://web.archive.org/web/20210407203547/https://xkcd.com/2445/ 2021-04-07].


===[[2288: Collector's Edition]]===
This comic's header mentions the people who helped put it together, and gives links to all of their Twitter profiles, except
Christopher Nights'. It was on the front page only for about a day around April 3rd and
[https://web.archive.org/web/20200404014814/http://xkcd.com/#-370,-277vApril 4th 2020].
The header text says:
<blockquote>
Today's comic was put together by [https://chromakode.com/ Max Goodhart], [https://twitter.com/Aiiane Amber],
[https://twitter.com/bstaffin Benjamin Staffin], [https://twitter.com/cotrone Kevin],
[https://www.instagram.com/fading_interest/ @fading_interest], [https://twitter.com/wirehead2501 Kat],
[https://twitter.com/zigdon @zigdon], and Christopher Night.
</blockquote>
The header text thanks those who helped Randall create the 2020 [[April Fools' Day comics|April Fools' Day comic]], which had taken
two extra days before it was released due to the complex nature of the comic.
Due to the delay, the next comic, [[2289: Scenario 4]], was released the day after the April Fool's comic, [[2289:_Scenario_4#Trivia|on a Saturday]].
Since this header was related only to the April Fools' comic, it was removed from the front page header when the next comic was released,
but it stayed up as a permanent header for this comic.



===[[1928: Seven Years]]===
[http://web.archive.org/web/20171214171157/https://xkcd.com/ 2017-12-14]
It was released as a response to another cancer diagnosis, this is explained in the [[Design_of_xkcd.com#Header_text|Header text]] which has replaced the standard ''xkcd updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.'' The new one is this one, with the active link included:
The text (with link):
* Becky Beaton, sister of fellow cartoonist Kate Beaton, has also been diagnosed with cancer. You can support her treatment [https://www.youcaring.com/beckybeaton-1008390 here].
{{w|Kate Beaton}} is the creator of the web comic [http://www.harkavagrant.com/ Hark! A Vagrant].
* Although this comic is not one on Randall's list of ''[[Design_of_xkcd.com#Comics_I_enjoy|Comics I enjoy]]'', he is clearly much influenced by another cancer diagnosis among someone in his own creative field.below.
On [https://web.archive.org/web/20190817141450/https://www.xkcd.com/1928/ 2019-08-17], close to two years later, the message was still there and also [https://web.archive.org/web/20211226120634/https://xkcd.com/1928/ 2021-12-26] just past four years later.
* There was the possibility that it would be removed, when the support page was discontinued...
* But as that already happened before [http://web.archive.org/web/20181106124430/https://www.youcaring.com/beckybeaton-1008390 2018-11-06] it seems like it will be there to stay.
* Last archived version was from [http://web.archive.org/web/20180305022301/https://www.youcaring.com/beckybeaton-1008390 2018-03-05].
* Randall has previously done something similar for another friend, Emily, but [[#2014-11-27_-_Help_Emily|that header]] was not made permanent.



===[[1830: ISS Solar Transit 2]]===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20170428041338/https://xkcd.com/ 2017-04-28]
This header links back to [[1828: ISS Solar Transit]], a comic with the same joke setup released on the Monday of the same week


===[[1723: Meteorite Identification]]===
Randall realized that his comic was almost a copy of some other person. And he has since then acknowledged this on the comics specific page see more [[1723: Meteorite Identification#Trivia|here]].
At the time of this post, in the newest saved version on the archive from [http://web.archive.org/web/20161010215516/http://xkcd.com/1723/ 2016-10-10] it is still there and says:
* Note: Jolyon, founder of [http://www.mindat.org/ mindat.org], made a similar chart way before me!


===[[1679: Substitutions 3]]===
This comic is the third installment of the [[:Category:Substitution]] series, and as Randall did with [[#Substitutions 2]],
the header text links to the previous comics in the series, and tells the user about Chrome Browser extensions for substitution.
The header text reads:
<blockquote>
(Previously: {{xkcd|1288|Substitutions}} and {{xkcd|1625|Substitutions 2}}) 
Note: There are various [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/replacerator/gaajhenbcclienfnniphiiambbbninnp?hl=en browser extensions] for this.
</blockquote>
This header text was on the main page while the comic was on the main page, for instance on
[https://web.archive.org/web/20160512102325/http://xkcd.com/ 2016-05-12]. It remains on the comic page.



===[[1663: Garden]]===
This comic had a header text to help people use the comic when it came out.
For some time this text was the main header text, but after a while is disappeared from the main header, but remained as the header for Garden.
* See more [[xkcd_Header_text#2016-04-04_-_Protip_on_Garden|below]] or on the Garden page [[Garden#Header_text_after_release|here]]
Today and as of the newest saved version on the archive from [http://web.archive.org/web/20161231231600/http://xkcd.com/1663/ 2016-12-31] it is still there and says:
* Protip: If you don't like how your garden is growing, you can click to prune it.
* You can copy the URL to share your garden. From other browsers, it will be view-only.


===[[1625: Substitutions 2]]===
This was the second installment of Substitutions and Randall links to the first and tells about browser extensions for this:
The text:
* (Previously: {{xkcd|1288|Substitutions}})
* Note: There are various [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/xkcd-substitutions/jkgogmboalmaijfgfhfepckdgjeopfhk?hl=en browser extensions] for this.
** He did the same when [[xkcd_Header_text#Substitutions_3|Substitutions 3]] came out, linking to the two previous.
It was on the main page while the comic was up, for instance here on [https://web.archive.org/web/20160104171722/http://xkcd.com/ 2016-01-04].


===[[1079: United Shapes]]===
The header text was unique for this comic on the day it came out:
[https://web.archive.org/web/20120709045709/http://xkcd.com:80/ 2012-07-09].
It read:
<blockquote>
There's a larger version of this map [http://xkcd.com/1079/large/ here] (Colorado is [http://xkcd.com/1079/colorado/ here]). 
It's also available as a [http://store.xkcd.com/xkcd/#StateMap poster].
</blockquote>
([https://web.archive.org/web/20120709045709/http://store.xkcd.com/xkcd/#StateMap Archived store link, 2012-07-22])

This header text only appeared with the comic, as on [https://web.archive.org/web/20120709004956/http://www.xkcd.com/ 2012-07-09],
at a time before this comic was released, the previous
[[xkcd_Header_text#2012-04-09 -_Standard_text_plus_store_link|promotion of the store]] header text was still on the main page.

As this comic was still on the main page the day after ([https://web.archive.org/web/20120710063424/http://xkcd.com/ 2012-07-10]),
a new [[Header_text#2012-07-10_-_New:_what-if.xkcd.com|header text promoting Randall's new what if? blog]]
was not shown on the main page.
The what if? promotion was added to this comic's header text the next day,
on [https://web.archive.org/web/20120711123734/http://xkcd.com:80/1079/ 2012-07-11].
However, the part about Colorado was lost in this edit. This is the version still shown on {{xkcd|1079}} today, including the
what if? promotion.
<blockquote>
There's a larger version of this map [http://xkcd.com/1079/large/ here]! It's also available as a
[https://store.xkcd.com/collections/posters/products/united-shapes-poster poster]. 
New: [https://what-if.xkcd.com/1/ what-if.xkcd.com]: abusing science to answer hypothetical questions. 
I'll answer a new reader question every Tuesday.
</blockquote>
([https://web.archive.org/web/20121203164246/https://store.xkcd.com/collections/posters/products/united-shapes-poster Archived store link, 2012-12-03])

The what if? promotion links to the very first ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'' article ''{{what if|1|Relativistic Baseball}}'' which was released on 2012-07-10, the day after this comic was released, but before the next comic [[1080: Visual Field]] was released on 2012-07-11.

There is no archived version of comic {{xkcd|1080}} while it was on the front page, so it is not possible to tell what the front page looked like on the 11th and 12th of July 2012. Most likely it was the what if? promotion.
* Maybe there was a time with the final version of the header text the front page, but seems like Randall put the new header text there by hand, and forgot to delete it after, so he probably first changed it when the new comic came out.
* Since the new header was important, promoting his new ''what if'' blog, Randall likely did not wish to have a recent page/the main page without it.
* But this makes it a special unique header, as a relic from the past header text is left together with the text that was supposed to be permanent. It should have been deleted when the link to ''what if'' 1 was removed.



===[[1047: Approximations]]===
It has a permanent text saying that many people emailed Randall about another approximation for one year than the one given in the comic.
* As it was already there from the release day on [https://web.archive.org/web/20120425220409/http://xkcd.com:80/ 2012-04-25] it seems unlikely that he actually received those e-mails before changing the header text for this comic!
The unique text:
* Lots of emails mention the physicist favorite, 1 year = pi x 107 seconds.
* 75^4 is a hair more accurate, but it's hard to top 3,141,592's elegance.
There was a different header on other comics even while this comic was on the front page with the unique text. See [[#2012-04-09_-_Standard_text_plus_store_link|Plus store link]].


===[[1037: Umwelt]]===
It has a permanent promotion of the store already from the release day on [https://web.archive.org/web/20120401151639/http://xkcd.com:80/ 2012-04-01]:
The unique text:
* You can get posters, prints, and t-shirts in the [https://store.xkcd.com/ xkcd store].
It stayed on the front page while this comic was the most recent, so for instance also two days later on [https://web.archive.org/web/20120403223453/http://www.xkcd.com/ 2012-04-03]
* There was a different header on other comics even while this comic was on the front page with the unique text. See [[xkcd_Header_text#2012-03-28_-_Visiting_Newport_News|Visiting Newport News]].


===[[1031: s/keyboard/leopard/]]===
In response to the idea of having you browser replace keyboard with leopard a reader made a script that could do just that.
Randall seem to have gotten this script before release (or at least on the day of release) as it was already the header text on [https://web.archive.org/web/20120319130702/http://xkcd.com/ 2012-03-19] the day the comic was released.
The unique text is:
* A helpful reader has provided an [https://userscripts.org/scripts/show/128626 s/keyboard/leopard/ user script].
** The link does not go anywhere useful any longer, but here is the archived version of the link from two days after the release of the comic on [https://web.archive.org/web/20120321174019/http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/128626 2012-03-21]
It was never changed on the other comics so was only on the front while this comic was up until 2012-03-21
* Here also shown on the second day it was up on its own page on [https://web.archive.org/web/20120320143916/http://xkcd.com:80/1031/ 2012-03-20].
The next comic [[1032: Networking]] came out on [https://web.archive.org/web/20120321205835/http://xkcd.com:80/ 2012-03-21] and here the header text has returned to what it was before the leopard comic: [[xkcd_Header_text#2012-03-12_-_xkcd_Holistic_Browser|xkcd Holistic Browser]].
* Here are examples from dates around this showing it was not used on other pages:
** The last archived version of the front page from before the 19th was this version from [https://web.archive.org/web/20120317121834/http://xkcd.com:80/ 2012-03-17], but here is an example from [https://web.archive.org/web/20120318153256/http://xkcd.com:80/1030/ 2012-03-18] (from comic [[1030: Keyed]]), the day before leopard comic came out.
** Both on [https://web.archive.org/web/20120319174700/http://xkcd.com/1030/ 2012-03-19] (from comic [[1030: Keyed]]) and on [https://web.archive.org/web/20120320191039/http://xkcd.com:80/1012 2012-03-20] (from comic [[1012: Wrong Superhero]]) during the time leopard was up, the header text currently in used was still shown.


===[[996: Making Things Difficult]]===
To give context to the comic about cancer, Randall links to a [[Blag]] post about his family's struggle with cancer.
The header text says:
<blockquote>
Some context for the cancer comics:
[https://blog.xkcd.com/2011/06/30/family-illness/ https://blog.xkcd.com/2011/06/30/family-illness/]
</blockquote>
This header text appears on the oldest stored version of the comic page from [https://web.archive.org/web/20111229043804/http://xkcd.com:80/ 2011-12-29] when it was on the main page.


===[[980: Money]]===
Randall notes his thoughts about making it and makes a promotion of the poster.
The unique text:
* This one was fun (and exhausting) to make.
* There's a poster of it in the [https://store.xkcd.com/products/money-poster store]!
** It is both at the oldest stored version from [https://web.archive.org/web/20120404110059/http://xkcd.com:80/980 2012-04-04] and the newest at time of editing [https://web.archive.org/web/20220108132250/https://xkcd.com/980/ 2022-01-08].


===[[977: Map Projections]]===
Randall notes that a person had birthday on the release of this comic about maps, and this guy has maps on his homepage
The unique text:
* It turns out Monday was Steve Waterman's birthday. His [https://web.archive.org/web/20111118003418/http://www.watermanpolyhedron.com/ site] has posters of his map, plus maybe the world's only Winkel Tripel-critiquing poetry.
** The link goes to [http://www.watermanpolyhedron.com/ Waterman project] home page. Above the link goes to an archived version from around the time of release of the header text.
** It is at the oldest stored version with the comic on the front page on [https://web.archive.org/web/20111115231643/http://xkcd.com:80/ 2011-11-15].


===[[851: Na]]===
After Randall released this comic, he realized he could have "made it better," and did so.
He changed the header text alert people to this, saying:
<blockquote>
I can't ''believe'' I forgot Hey Jude.
I don't get do-overs, but I couldn't resist making [https://xkcd.com/851_make_it_better/ a fixed version].
</blockquote>
See more about it in that comic's [[851:_Na#Trivia|trivia section]].


===[[739: Malamanteau]]===
Randall notes that he has changed this comics license, so it can be used on Wikipedia.
The text:
* At Wikipedia's request, I release this comic under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/ cc-by-sa] license.
** The link is to the page regarding {{w|Creative Commons license}} in the US.
** Specifically for Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States (CC BY-SA 3.0 US)
*** Usually xkcd is [[Design_of_xkcd.com#License_and_copyright|shared under]] [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License]. This does not allow commercial use, But the 3.0 does.
When the comic came out it had the normal header text from that time, as seen here two days after release on [https://web.archive.org/web/20100514072436/http://xkcd.com/ 2010-05-14].
* First archived version with the unique text is from [https://web.archive.org/web/20100913003146/http://xkcd.com/739/ 2010-09-13], but the previous archived version of this comic is from [https://web.archive.org/web/20100713160533/http://xkcd.com:80/739/ 2010-07-13].
* So it happened somewhere in the two months in between. But at least it was not there the first two months after release, but there before four month after release.


===577–580: [[:Category:The Race|The Race]]: Parts 1–4===
[[:Category:The Race|The Race]] was a 5-comic series published daily over the duration of one week, Monday through Friday. On comics
[[577: The Race: Part 1]], [[578: The Race: Part 2]], [[579: The Race: Part 3]], and [[580: The Race: Part 4]], parts 1–4 of the
series, Randall announced to users that xkcd would update once a day over the course of that week.

The header text for 577, published on Monday of that week, reads:
<blockquote>
For this week, xkcd will update once a day.
</blockquote>
The header texts for 578, 579, and 580, published respectively on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, read:
<blockquote>
For this week, xkcd will update once a day (through Friday).
</blockquote>

On comic [[581: The Race: Part 5]], this header text does not appear, likely because it wouldn't be useful to inform people of daily
updates for a week at the end of the week.


===[[563: Fermirotica]]===
The header text for this comic informs the reader of prints of this comic in the [[Store]], and gives an example sex calculation.
It reads:
<blockquote>
There are xkcd prints available in the [https://store.xkcd.com/ store]. 
[https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=sqrt(2%2F(pi*18000%2F(mi^2)*80%2Fyear*30+minutes) Example Google sex calculation].
</blockquote>
The first link is a link to the [[Store|xkcd Store]], which, as of early February 2026, is closed for the time being. The second link is a
Google Search link for an example sex calculation with the formula in the comic, where
''Pd'' = 18000/mi2,
''XF'' = 80/year, and
''Xd'' = 30 minutes.
This calculation results in ''r'' equaling ~142 meters.


===[[488: Steal This Comic]]===
Comic 488 advocates against {{w|Digital rights management}}, or <abbr title="Digital rights management">DRM</abbr>. In the header text, Randall notes that Amazon sells
DRM-free music. It reads:
<blockquote>
Note: the [https://www.amazon.com/MP3-Music-Download/b?ie=UTF8&node=163856011 Amazon.com MP3 store] sells DRM-free music. Kudos.
</blockquote>
The header text links to Amazon MP3 music. Here is an archived version of the store from
[https://web.archive.org/web/20081001083843/http://www.amazon.com/MP3-Music-Download/b?ie=UTF8&node=163856011 2008-10-01],
two weeks prior to the release of the comic.
The header text was on the comic from the release day, here seen the day after on the first archived version from
[https://web.archive.org/web/20081014232952/http://xkcd.com/ 2008-10-14].


===[[472: House of Pancakes|472: House of Pancakes]]===
This comic's header notes its status as a parody:
* (Today's comic is a parody of [https://www.amazon.com/House-Leaves-Mark-Z-Danielewski/dp/0375703764 House of Leaves].)
Only on the days this comic was the newest was this header featured on the front page of xkcd for instance as seen here the day after release on [https://web.archive.org/web/20080906103932/http://www.xkcd.com/ 2008-09-06].
* But it was only on this comic. The commercial for his new t-shirt was on all the other pages, also on [https://web.archive.org/web/20080906103932/http://www.xkcd.com/ 2008-09-06] and presumably returned to the front page with the next comic. But there is a gap in the archive after this comic.

==Global header text==
When editing the section, list the changes chronologically with the date of the web archive link and hyperlink each date. Include an internal link to the newest comic at the time of each change and describe the modifications with relevant information. Position the last comic displaying the header text below the other data and place the most recent change at the top.

===2026-04-16 - Back to standard text===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20260401210255/https://xkcd.com/ 2026-04-16].
*[[3233: Make It Myself]] came out when the header changed.
* The text:
** xkcd updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
* With this, the reading-modes update was removed from all comics, except the one introducing it: [[3227: Creation]]

===2026-04-07 - Reading Modes===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20260401210255/https://xkcd.com/ 2026-04-01].
*[[3227: Creation]] was released as the 2026 [[April Fools' Day comics|April Fools' comic]], but the real April Fools' was a new feature, which was explained in the global header text.
* The text:
** We're pleased to announce a major update to xkcd, with new reading modes to enhance user experience. Select a mode via the menu below the comic.
**Brought to you by our excellent design team: [https://github.com/ayust Amber], [https://github.com/benley Benjamin Staffin], and [https://github.com/cotrone Kevin]
*For some time after the release of the April Fools' comic, both the header and feature were present on every page
**As of 2026-04-16 the feature is only available on [[3227: Creation]], and the header is - presumably mistakenly - shown on [https://web.archive.org/web/20260416120248/https://xkcd.com/3228/ 3228: Day Counter], instead of [https://web.archive.org/web/20260416120115/https://xkcd.com/3227/ 3227: Creation].

===2026-01-07 - Back to standard text===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20260107194433/https://xkcd.com/ 2026-01-07].
* [[3191: Superstition]] came out when the header changed.
* The text returned to the standard xkcd header:
** xkcd updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
* This was the first time since [[#2022-01-08_-_Back_to_standard_text|2022-01-08]] that the text had changed back to that, so exactly four years.
**Last time it only lasted a few days before the [[#2022-01-10_-_Standard_text_with_countdown|countdown]] started.
*It was also the first time since December 5th, 2024 that the header text had changed, a span of more than a year (13 months) making it by far the longest time the header text had been left unchanged.
* It was up until [https://web.archive.org/web/20260331171250/https://xkcd.com/ 2026-03-31] when [[3226: Home Solar]] was on the front page.
**Almost two months, a long stretch with the original title text in use!

===2024-12-05 - Special 10th anniversary edition of WHAT IF? - order===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20241205201038/https://xkcd.com/ 2024-12-05].
* [[3020: Infinite Armada Chess]] came out when the header changed.
* The text:
** [https://xkcd.com/what-if/ Special 10th anniversary edition of WHAT IF?]—revised and
** annotated with brand-new illustrations and answers to important
** questions you never thought to ask—Out now. Order it here! [https://bit.ly/WhatIf10th here]!
* The first link goes to the page for the what if? book on xkcd and the other link is to the HarperCollins page for the 10th anniversary edition of the book.
* Only difference in this header compared to the previous version is the last part after the final hypen.
* This header stayed up for exactly 13 months. See link at the bottom.
* With the [[#2024-05-15_-_Special_10th_anniversary_edition_of_WHAT_IF.3F_-_preorder|preorder]] version coming out in mid May 2024 the 10th anniversary edition ended up been in the header text almost 1 year and 7 month (except the month of [[#2024-10-16 - Promotion of Kamala Harris for president|endorsing Harris]]), thus it was on the header for 1.5 years in total.
* And before that what if? has been part of the header back to [[#2022-01-31 - What if? 2|2022-01-31]], when what if? 2 was announced.
* And three weeks before that the [[#2022-01-10 - Standard text with countdown|countdown]] for what if? 2 began. Of course there was no what if? word on that header as it was a surprise. But it turned out this was also a promotion for what if?
* And up until the day before the countdown (when there was one day with the old standard text) there was promotion for the first what if? book starting on [[#2021-12-20 - What If in stock|2021-12-20]].
** To sum it up, the header has been used to promote what if? continuously from December 2021 until at least the start of January 2026 (except one month with endorsing Harris and three weeks countdown that was for what if?) So more than 4 years in a row, only with a month for something political and the 3 weeks of countdown was also a promotion for what if?
* It was up until [https://web.archive.org/web/20260106150417/https://xkcd.com/3190/ 2026-01-06] when [[3190: Tensegrity]] was on the front page.
**It had then been up for more than 13 months in a row by a day. There had been no change to the header text at all during 2025.

===2024-11-16 - Special 10th anniversary edition of WHAT IF? - preorder===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20241116184702/https://xkcd.com/ 2024-11-16].
* [[3012: The Future of Orion]] was on the front page when the text changed.
* It returned to the exact same header text as before: [[#2024-05-15_-_Special_10th_anniversary_edition_of_WHAT_IF.3F_-_preorder|2024-05-15 - Special 10th anniversary edition of WHAT IF? - preorder]].
* It was up until [https://web.archive.org/web/20241204160618/https://xkcd.com/ 2024-12-04] when [[3019: Advent Calendar Advent Calendar]] was on the front page.
** The only change was that the last part after the last hyphen changed from when you had to preorder to now that you could order the book.

===2024-10-16 - Promotion of Kamala Harris for president===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20241017002108/https://xkcd.com/ 2024-10-17]
* For some reason the web archive failed to upload xkcd on the day it changed, but that it did change a day before can be seen in this other archive [https://web.archive.org/web/20241116184702/https://xkcd.com/ 2024-11-16].
* [[2999: Bad Map Projection: The United Stralia]] came out when this header was changed.
* Instead of text, it is a three part comic. In the first panel, [[Cueball]] (probably representing [[Randall]]) is shown walking, carrying a sign. In the second panel, he is seen hitting the sign with a hammer into the ground. In the third, Cueball is gone, and the front of the sign can be seen:
** <big>Harris for president</big>
* This is in reference to the 2024 presidential elections and shows that Randall endorses Harris.
* Randall posted the same image on his [https://x.com/xkcd/status/1853098106667114801 Twitter (formally X)] and [https://bsky.app/profile/xkcd.com/post/3la2jku6ace2f Bluesky] accounts on November 3rd, 2024, two days before the presidential election.
* It was up for a month until [https://web.archive.org/web/20241115181146/https://www.xkcd.com/ 2024-11-15] when [[3012: The Future of Orion]] was on the front page. It changed while that comic was still up back to the one from before.

===2024-05-15 - Special 10th anniversary edition of WHAT IF? - preorder===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20240515200351/https://xkcd.com/ 2024-05-15]
* [[2933: Elementary Physics Paths]] came out when the header changed.
* The text:
** [https://xkcd.com/what-if/ Special 10th anniversary edition of WHAT IF?]—revised and annotated with brand-new illustrations and answers to important questions you never thought to ask—coming from November 2024. Preorder [https://bit.ly/WhatIf10th here]!
* The first link goes to the page for the what if? book on xkcd and the other link is to the HarperCollins page for the 10th anniversary edition of the book.
* It was up until [https://web.archive.org/web/20241015192147/https://xkcd.com/ 2024-10-15] while [[2998: Ravioli-Shaped Objects]] was on the front page.
After a month of endorsing endorses Harris the heder text returned to this again, see [[#2024-11-16_-_Special_10th_anniversary_edition_of_WHAT_IF.3F_-_preorder|2024-110-16 - Special 10th anniversary edition of WHAT IF? -preorder]].

===2024-03-20 - What If? is on YouTube!===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20240320173158/https://xkcd.com/ 2024-03-20]
* [[2909: Moon Landing Mission Profiles]] came out when the header changed.
The only text version from the previous header was trimmed having some words removed taking it down from four to three lines (and solving the bad alignment that happened five days before at the end of the previous header text).
* The text:
** [https://what-if.xkcd.com/ What If?] is on YouTube! The first video answers
** “[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LSyizrk8-0 What if we aimed Hubble at Earth?]” Follow the
** [https://www.youtube.com/@xkcd_whatif What If?] channel to be notified about new videos.
* The first link goes to the what if? page on xkcd and the other two links are to the YouTube channel and to its very first video.
The promotion of the what if? franchise continues for the second year running. A few words were taken off as the YouTube channel was no longer new at this point.
This version ended on [https://web.archive.org/web/20240514034349/https://xkcd.com/ 2024-05-14], while [[2932: Driving PSA]] was on the front page. But the what if? promotion continued

===2023-11-29 - What If? is now on YouTube!===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20231129184009/https://xkcd.com/ 2023-11-29]
* [[2861: X Value]] came out when the header changed.
There was only text this time.
* The text:
** [https://what-if.xkcd.com/ What If?] is now on YouTube!
** Check out the first video for the answer to
** “[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LSyizrk8-0 What if we aimed the Hubble Telescope at Earth?]”
** and follow [https://www.youtube.com/@xkcd_whatif xkcd’s What If? The Video Series channel] to be notified about each new video.
* The links goes to the what if page on xkcd and the other two links is to the new YouTube channel with videos of some of the what if articles and to the very first video.
This is thus not a promotion of the what if? 2 book but still promotion of the what if? franchise.
A small change happened on [https://web.archive.org/web/20240314113602/https://xkcd.com/ 2024-03-14], as the first two lines became one line which made the alignment worse. So it seemed strange to do this. It looked like normal up until [https://web.archive.org/web/20240313113429/https://xkcd.com/ 2024-03-13]. But it only lasted five days before a change was made that made it into a new although very similar header text.
This version ended on [https://web.archive.org/web/20240319134138/https://xkcd.com/ 2024-03-19], while [[2908: Moon Armor Index]] was on the front page, but was replaced by a very similar what if? header.

===2023-08-31 - What if? 2 is now available in paperback in the UK!===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20230831200321/https://xkcd.com/ 2023-08-31]
* [[2822: *@gmail.com]] came out when the header changed.
* The image to the right stayed, but after more than a half year with no text, text was added to the left of the picture because the paper back was available in the UK.
** As opposed to the previous headers this was plain text and not a picture.
** The image is taken from the front cover of the new book, with red background, showing a passenger plane taking off with the wheels still down. On top of it a Tyrannosaurus Rex has begun eating its way into the plane. Below the plane is the book title in white text.
* The text:
** What if? 2 is [https://xkcd.com/what-if-2/#UK now available] in paperback in the UK!
** what if? 2
* The link goes to https://xkcd.com/what-if-2/#UK, the page on xkcd about the What if? 2 book, and directing to the UK order links where there now also it a paper back version.
This version was still up in the middle of November 2023 when this segment was updated.
This version ended on [https://web.archive.org/web/20231128174224/https://xkcd.com/ 2023-11-28], while [[2860: Decay Modes]] was on the front page, but was replaced by another What If? header.
* Although it was not specifically related to the new book. Thus it ended a more than 22 month long constant promotion of the book since the [[#2022-01-10_-_Standard_text_with_countdown|countdown]] began in January 2022.

===2023-02-17 - What if? 2 picture only===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20230217185629/https://xkcd.com/ 2023-02-17]
* [[2739: Data Quality]] came out when the header changed.
* For the first time in a very long time there is no real header text. Only the small red picture with the plane and the title of the what if? 2 book in the right section of the header. As it has been since [[#2022-01-10 - Standard text with countdown|the countdown]] stopped.
** The image is taken from the front cover of the new book, with red background, showing a passenger plane taking off with the wheels still down. On top of it a Tyrannosaurus Rex has begun eating its way into the plane. Below the plane is the book title in white text.
* The text:
** what if? 2
This version ended on [https://web.archive.org/web/20230830064414/https://xkcd.com/ 2023-08-30], while [[2821: Path Minimization]] was on the front page, but was replaced by another What If? 2 header.

===2022-09-23 - What if? 2 Instant New York Times Bestseller===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20220923182825/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-09-23]
* [[2675: Pilot Priority List]] was on the front page when the header changed.
** The header celebrates that the new what if? 2 book has become an instant New York Times bestseller.
* The header kept the same layout as the previous and thus still consist of two parts. With the right picture the window also used in [[#2022-01-10 - Standard text with countdown|the countdown]], but with the image that appeared in it after the count down ended.
** The image is taken from the front cover of the new book, with red background, showing a passenger plane taking off with the wheels still down. On top of it a Tyrannosaurus Rex has begun eating its way into the plane. Below the plane is the book title in white text.
* The new image to the left has a black border. To the left is still the picture of the new what if? 2 book. It has the same image as in the picture to the right, but showing the entire front of the book, with details of those looking up at the plane from the ground. The title and the author name can be read in white on the red book. There are also unreadable white text above the plane and below the author name. The spine of the book can also be seen, as the book is seen a bit from the side. Here are also unreadable white text. To the right of the book there are two lines of text, with the first line in very large bold letters.
* The text:
** what if? 2
** Randall Munroe
** What if? 2
** Instant New York Times bestseller.
** what if? 2
*** Both images are links that goes to a dedicated page on xkcd about [https://xkcd.com/what-if-2/ what if? 2: the book].
This version ended on [https://web.archive.org/web/20230216181705/https://xkcd.com/ 2023-02-16], while [[2738: Omniknot]] was on the front page, but was replaced by another What If? 2 header,

===2022-09-13 - What if? 2 is available now===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20220913142432/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-09-13]
* [[2672: What If? 2 Flowchart]] was released as the header changed, even though it was a Tuesday.
** The header and the comic celebrates the release of the new what if? 2 book, that came out on this day.
* The header kept the same layout as the previous and thus still consist of two parts. With the right picture the window also used in [[#2022-01-10 - Standard text with countdown|the countdown]], but with the image that appeared in it after the count down ended.
** The image is taken from the front cover of the new book, with red background, showing a passenger plane taking off with the wheels still down. On top of it a Tyrannosaurus Rex has begun eating its way into the plane. Below the plane is the book title in white text.
* The new image to the left has a black border. To the left is still the picture of the new what if? 2 book. It has the same image as in the picture to the right, but showing the entire front of the book, with details of those looking up at the plane from the ground. The title and the author name can be read in white on the red book. There are also unreadable white text above the plane and below the author name. The spine of the book can also be seen, as the book is seen a bit from the side. Here are also unreadable white text. To the right of the book there are two lines of text, with the first line in very large bold letters
* The text:
** what if? 2
** Randall Munroe
** What if? 2 is available now!
** what if? 2
*** Both images are links that goes to a dedicated page on xkcd about [https://xkcd.com/what-if-2/ what if? 2: the book].
This thus ended the pre-release promotion of the book, that began on [[#xkcd_Header_text#2022-01-31_-_What_if.3F_2|2022-01-31]], plus of course the three weeks of [[#2022-01-10 - Standard text with countdown|countdown]] before. For a sum total of 8 months and three days.
* It will be interesting to see how long before any reference to what if? 2 will disappear from the header text.
This version ended on [https://web.archive.org/web/20220922150042/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-09-22], but was replaced by another What If? 2 header, while [[2675: Pilot Priority List]] was on the front page.

===2022-09-12 - One day to What if? 2 comes out===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20220912125617/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-09-12]
* This was while [[2670: Interruption]] was still up.
* The header is the same layout as the previous and thus still consist of two parts. With the right picture the window also used in [[#2022-01-10 - Standard text with countdown|the countdown]], but with the image that appeared in it after the count down ended.
** The image is taken from the front cover of the new book, with red background, showing a passenger plane taking off with the wheels still down. On top of it a Tyrannosaurus Rex has begun eating its way into the plane. Below the plane is the book title in white text.
* The new image to the left has a black border. To the left is still the picture of the new what if? 2 book. It has the same image as in the picture to the right, but showing the entire front of the book, with details of those looking up at he plane from the ground. The title and the author name can be read in white on the red book. There are also unreadable white text above the plane and below the author name. The spine of the book can also be seen, as the book is seen a bit from the side. Here are also unreadable white text. To the right of the book there are three lines of text. With the first line written in large bold letters. This also has a footnote star. And the footnote is then written to the right in smaller font over five lines of text.
* The text:
** what if? 2
** Randall Munroe
** One dayuntil what if? 2 comes out!
** <nowiki></nowiki>I'm going to spend the day with that Les Mis song stuck in my head, aren't I.
** what if? 2
*** Both images are links that goes to a dedicated page on xkcd about [https://xkcd.com/what-if-2/ what if? 2: the book].
* The foot note refers to the [[2636: What If? 2 Countdown]]. For the date where the header changed 2022-09-12 it was ''F(99) where F(N) means sing all the verses of N Bottles of Beer On the wall followed by F(N-1)'' to release day.
** It is thus for certain this song Randall mentions will now be stuck in his head.
** Les mis song, referring to a song from the musical les miserables titled "One Day More", he now has stuck in his head.
* The header stayed the same until [https://web.archive.org/web/20220913134002/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-09-13].
** This was while [[2671: Rotation]] was still up, early on the release day of the new book.

===2022-09-12 - Three days to What if? 2 comes out===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20220911102450/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-09-11]
* This was while [[2670: Interruption]] was still up.
* The header is the same layout as the previous and thus still consist of two parts. With the right picture the window also used in [[#2022-01-10 - Standard text with countdown|the countdown]], but with the image that appeared in it after the count down ended.
** The image is taken from the front cover of the new book, with red background, showing a passenger plane taking off with the wheels still down. On top of it a Tyrannosaurus Rex has begun eating its way into the plane. Below the plane is the book title in white text.
* The new image to the left has a black border. To the left is still the picture of the new what if? 2 book. It has the same image as in the picture to the right, but showing the entire front of the book, with details of those looking up at he plane from the ground. The title and the author name can be read in white on the red book. There are also unreadable white text above the plane and below the author name. The spine of the book can also be seen, as the book is seen a bit from the side. Here are also unreadable white text. To the right of the book there are three lines of text. With the first line written in large bold letters. This also has a footnote star. And the footnote is then written to the right in smaller font over five lines of text.
* The text:
** what if? 2
** Randall Munroe
** Three daysuntil what if? 2 comes out!
** <nowiki></nowiki>Assuming it's still Saturday. I'm a static png image and can't perceive time.
** what if? 2
*** Both images are links that goes to a dedicated page on xkcd about [https://xkcd.com/what-if-2/ what if? 2: the book].
* The header only stayed the same for one day and [[2670: Interruption]] was still up when it changed to the next.

===2022-09-07 - Less than one week to What if? 2 comes out===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20220907211736/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-09-07]
* This was while [[2668: Artemis Quote]] was still up.
* The header still consist of two parts. With the right picture the window also used in [[#2022-01-10 - Standard text with countdown|the countdown]], but with the image that appeared in it after the count down ended.
** The image is taken from the front cover of the new book, with red background, showing a passenger plane taking off with the wheels still down. On top of it a Tyrannosaurus Rex has begun eating its way into the plane. Below the plane is the book title in white text.
* The new image to the left has a black border. To the left is still the picture of the new what if? 2 book. It has the same image as in the picture to the right, but showing the entire front of the book, with details of those looking up at he plane from the ground. The title and the author name can be read in white on the red book. There are also unreadable white text above the plane and below the author name. The spine of the book can also be seen, as the book is seen a bit from the side. Here are also unreadable white text. To the right of the book there are four lines of text. With the middle line written in large bold letters. This also has a footnote star. And the footnote is then written to the right in smaller font over four lines of text.
* The text:
** what if? 2
** Randall Munroe
** Less than one weekuntil what if? 2 comes out!
** <nowiki></nowiki>Oh no, now I have that song stuck in my head.
** what if? 2
*** Both images are links that goes to a dedicated page on xkcd about [https://xkcd.com/what-if-2/ what if? 2: the book].
* The foot note refers to the [[2636: What If? 2 Countdown]]. For the date where the header changed 2022-09-07 it was ''one pico-universe-lifetime'' to release day. But the next day 2022-09-08 it was ''The Baby Shark chorus for a family of 50,000 sharks''.
** It is thus for certain this song Randall mentions will now be stuck in his head.
* The header stayed the same until [https://web.archive.org/web/20220910024549/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-09-10].
** This was while [[2670: Interruption]] was up.

===2022-08-27 - Preorder What if? 2 - with image - again===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20220827232205/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-08-27]
* [[2664: Cloud Swirls]] came out when it changed.
* The header [[#2022-08-16 - Preorder What if? 2 - with image|changed back]] to the preorder image from the previous header, when Randall's book tour ended. See the link.
It ended on [https://web.archive.org/web/20220906191403/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-09-06].
* This was while [[2668: Artemis Quote]] was up.

===2022-08-17 - What if? 2 book tour===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20220817161136/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-08-17]
* [[2659: Unreliable Connection]] was out when it changed.
* The header still consist of two parts. With the right picture the window also used in [[#2022-01-10 - Standard text with countdown|the countdown]], but with the image that appeared in it after the count down ended.
** The image is taken from the front cover of the new book, with red background, showing a passenger plane taking off with the wheels still down. On top of it a Tyrannosaurus Rex has begun eating its way into the plane. Below the plane is the book title in white text.
* The new image to the left has a black border. Inside this there is text to the left. Then Cueball is seen flying by holding on to a single balloon (like in [[1110: Click and Drag]]). He flies over five mountain peaks with snow, with three clouds and three distant birds in front of him, as he drifts to the right, as shown with movements lines behind him. In front of him is a dark feature at the bottom of the frame. Above this is a blue square (like a button) with white text.
* The text:
** I'm going on a what if? 2 book tour!
** Click to see where
** what if? 2
*** The image to the left is a link to [https://xkcd.com/events/ randall munroe: events] page on xkcd. Which at the time showed the calendar with the planned stop for his book tour, which covered the US and London.
*** As always the link button in blue is not the only part of the image that is a link, as he just mentioned in the [[#2022-08-11 - Preorder What if? 2 - with image|previous header text]], and several times before...
*** The right image is a link that goes to a dedicated page on xkcd about [https://xkcd.com/what-if-2/ what if? 2: the book].
This header thus continues the promotion of the new book, which was at the time was only 27 days away (or [[2636:_What_If%3F_2_Countdown|6 dog months]]).
* It will be interesting to see how long it takes before promotion for the book disappears from the header. It may still take months.
The header stayed the same until [https://web.archive.org/web/20220826202043/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-08-26].
* This was while [[2663: Tetherball Configurations]] was up.

===2022-08-11 - Preorder What if? 2 - with image===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20220811055445/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-08-11]
* [[2657: Complex Vowels]] came out as it changed.
The message in the header was not really changed, but the meaning of the text from the previous header was now written in an image, although the text did change somewhat.
* The header thus still consist of two parts. To the left the new image with an picture of the book and text. And to the right the window also used in [[#2022-01-10 - Standard text with countdown|the countdown]], but with the image that appeared in it after the count down ended.
** The image is taken from the front cover of the new book, with red background, showing a passenger plane taking off with the wheels still down. On top of it a Tyrannosaurus Rex has begun eating its way into the plane. Below the plane is the book title in white text.
* The new image to the left has a black border. Inside this to the right is the new text. To the left is a picture of the new what if? 2 book. It has the same image as in the picture to the right, but showing the entire front of the book, with details of those looking up at he plane from the ground. The title and the author name can be read in white on the red book. There are also unreadable white text above the plane and below the author name. The spine of the book can also be seen, as the book is seen a bit from the side. Here are also unreadable white text.
* The text:
** what if? 2
** Randall Munroe
** Preorder what if? 2 and enter for a chance to win a comic inspired by your question! Click here to learn more. Or click wherever. This whole image is a link because html is hard.
** what if? 2
*** In the left image there is a blue link font on the word "here" in click here. However the entire left image is a link to the [https://sites.prh.com/whatif2 what if 2 contest]. As explained he did not only make the word a link because html is hard! This is something Randall [[xkcd_Header_text#2014-07-23_-_what_if.3F_book_tour|often comments on]].
**** The link in the text goes to a contest page that starts with the words:
**** [https://web.archive.org/web/20220718171904/https://sites.prh.com/whatif2 Want Randall Munroe to answer you What If? question?]
**** Here above the web archive version of the link, in case the link from the text goes dead in the future.
*** The right image is a link that goes to a dedicated page on xkcd about [https://xkcd.com/what-if-2/ what if? 2: the book].
* The header stayed the same until [https://web.archive.org/web/20220816124823/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-08-16].
** This was while [[2659: Unreliable Connection]] was up.

===2022-07-19 - Preorder What if? 2===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20220719153239/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-07-19]
* [[2647: Capri Suns]] came out as it changed.
The header looked a lot like the previous one, only part of the text changed.
* The header thus still consist of two part. To the left a line of text (split up, most likely over four lines for most users). And to the right the window also used in [[#2022-01-10 - Standard text with countdown|the countdown]], but with the image that appeared in it after the count down ended.
** The image is taken from the front cover of the new book, with red background, showing a passenger plane taking off with the wheels still down. On top of it a Tyrannosaurus Rex has begun eating its way into the plane. Below the plane is the book title in white text.
* The text:
** Preorder What If? 2 (all US preorders eligible) and [https://sites.prh.com/whatif2 enter our contest] for a chance to win a dedicated comic and What If blog post!
** what if? 2
*** The image is a link that goes to a dedicated page on xkcd about [https://xkcd.com/what-if-2/ what if? 2: the book].
** The link in the text goes to a contest page that starts with the words:
*** [https://web.archive.org/web/20220718171904/https://sites.prh.com/whatif2 Want Randall Munroe to answer you What If? question?]
*** Here above the web archive version of the link, in case the link from the text goes dead in the future.
* The header stayed the same until [https://web.archive.org/web/20220810034709/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-08-10].
** This was while [[2656: Scientific Field Prefixes]] was up.

===2022-01-31 - What if? 2===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20220201000434/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-02-01]
* [[2575: What If? 2]] came out as it changed, and then it [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/36/Countdown_in_header_text_page_when_what_if_comic_came_out.png looked like this] already on 2022-01-31. But there is no archived version from that day after the header changed.
** This was what [[#2022-01-10 - Standard text with countdown|the countdown]] had been counting down to.
** An announcement that Randall had written a sequel to the first ''[[What If? (book)|What If?]]'' book, based on his blog.
* The header consist of two part. To the left a line of text (split up, most likely over three lines for most users). And to the right the window also used in the countdown, but with the image that appeared in it after the count down ended.
** The image is taken from the front cover of the new book, with red background, showing a passenger plane taking off with the wheels still down. On top of it a Tyrannosaurus Rex has begun eating its way into the plane. Below the plan ia the book title in white text.
* The text:
** What If? 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions comes out 9/13. Preorder [https://xkcd.com/what-if-2/ here!]
** What If? 2:
*** The link goes to a dedicated page on xkcd about what if? 2: the book. The image is also a link to this page.
*** The entire comic that came out along with the new header text is also a link to that page.
* At the same time the [[Design_of_xkcd.com#xkcd_links|xkcd links]] in the top left section of xkcd also changed to include links to books, and especially this new book.
It will be interesting to see how long this version of the promotion for the new books stays up. But most likely there will be promotion for the book until release, and then more after the release.
* The header stayed the same until [https://web.archive.org/web/20220718145816/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-07-18], for more than 5,5 month. This was while [[2646: Minkowski Space]] was up.
** The change was rather small, but part of the text changed. The promotion continued though.

===2022-01-10 - Standard text with countdown===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20220110183238/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-10].
* [[2565: Latency]] was still up when the [[Countdown in header text]] was added.
* The text was still the standard xkcd header: xkcd updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
* But a countdown was added. This was inserted in a rectangular box, placed at the end of the standard header text.
** In some browsers the box forces the last word "Friday" to jump down to the next line.
* Inside the box the following time was displayed in the version in the link:
** 20d 20h 27m
*** This clock will also count down every minute, although it will return to the time at the time of archive when reloaded!
*** While this was edited into this wiki the time had changed to 20d 19h 12m. So it was a very fresh download in the web archive, only about 1 hour old when it was updated to this wiki.
*** The minutes change without refreshing the page, and follows this editors computers clock exactly, so it will end at 59 minutes, not at a full hour.
** It looks like it started on [https://munvoseli.github.io/xkcd-countdown/ 01-10 17:00 UTC].
*** A calculation shows that this countdown will reach zero on Monday 2022-01-31 at 14:59 (2:59 PM) {{w|UTC}}.
*** This will be at 9:59 (9:59 AM) in [[Randall]]'s home town
**** The last ten minutes it switched to seconds for the last minute so it made the switch 15:00 UTC 10:00 in Boston!
*** From that it can be deduced that the count started at 20d 22h 0m
**** The first image on the archive thus came 1h 33m after the count began.
* At [https://web.archive.org/web/20220111153818/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-11] a diagonal black bar appeared in the lower left-hand corner of the countdown box.
** After that the [[Countdown in header text]] page was created and any further development on the count down will be mentioned on that page.
It was last up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20220131124817/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-31] when [[2574: Autoresponder]] was on the front page.
* This archived version was when the counter was at 0d 2h 11m, and the last normal frame was already up at this time.
** It stayed like this until the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/17/Countdown_in_header_text_page_0_seconds.png counter ran out].
*** Then for a few minutes the final frame, that revealed that all this was a promotion for Randall's new book what if? 2 was up [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/48/Countdown_in_header_text_page_just_after_countdown.png while the Friday comic was still up].
*** Then when the new Monday comic came out with the promotion for what if? 2, the header changed.

===2022-01-08 - Back to standard text===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20220108044654/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-08].
* [[2565: Latency]] came out around the time the new header text appeared, on a Friday!
* The text returned to the standard xkcd header:
** xkcd updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
* This was the first time since [[#2018-11-07 - Back to standard text|2018-11-07]] that the text had changed back to that, and at that time it lasted until 2019-02-05.
** That is 1067 days (less than a month short of three years) without the standard text! (Can it be called standard anymore?)
* It was only left in the complete standard version until [https://web.archive.org/web/20220109030513/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-09] when Latency was still on the front page.
** Then the next day a [[#2022-01-10 - Standard text with countdown|countdown]] was added to it.
*** That was after the weekend on Monday but before the Monday comic came up.
*** So only during the weekend was it normal standard header text.

===2021-12-20 - What If in stock===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20211220211220/https://xkcd.com/ 2021-12-20].
* [[2557: Immunity]] came out around the time the new header text appeared.
* The text:
** For anyone trying to find What If? this year, it's in stock at [https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/what-if-serious-scientific-answers-to-absurd-hypothetical-questions-randall-munroe/1118864093 Barnes & Noble], [https://m.booksamillion.com/p/What-If/Randall-Munroe/9780544272996 Books-a-Million], and [https://bookshop.org/books/what-if-serious-scientific-answers-to-absurd-hypothetical-questions-9781483041827/9780544272996 Bookshop]
* Each store name is a link to the corresponding store's page for ''[[What If? (book)|What If?]]''.
It was last seen on [https://web.archive.org/web/20220106100957/https://xkcd.com/ 2022-01-06] when [[2564: Sunshield]] was up.

===2020-06-03 - Black Lives Matter===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20200604003700/https://xkcd.com/ 2020-06-03].
* [[2315: Eventual Consistency]] came out as a new header text was finally inserted after almost two months without one.
* Cueball is standing to the left and speaks a single line of text: "Black Lives Matter"
* To the right is a gray link button with text: "[https://www.joincampaignzero.org/ How To Help]."
* As always, the entire image (which is only below the xkcd logo) is a link
** The button is thus not needed, but it will also work when clicking the location of the button.
* The link goes to [https://www.joincampaignzero.org/ Join Campaign Zero].
** {{w|Black Lives Matter}} is a loose, grassroots, decentralized confederation of groups and individuals advocating for racial justice. It arose in 2013 after the acquittal of {{w|George Zimmerman}}, who took the life of {{w|Trayvon Martin}}.
** Randall's featuring Black Lives Matter came on the heels of the {{w|Killing of George Floyd}} on May 25th 2020, which had sparked {{w|George Floyd protests|protest in the US}}
** Floyd died while saying "{{w|I can't breathe}}," which was already used due to other Black men's killings, the first was from the {{w|Killing of Eric Garner}}, back in 2014.
It stayed like this until [https://web.archive.org/web/20200616114945/https://xkcd.com/ 2020-06-16] when [[2320: Millennium Problems]] was up.
* Then on [https://web.archive.org/web/20200617131438/https://xkcd.com/ 2020-06-17] the link changed to [https://blacklivesmatter.com/ Black Lives Matter]. [[2320: Millennium Problems]] was still on the front page on that day.
On April 1st 2021 the front page header changed to mention who made the April Fools' Day comic.
* But this was only for this comic [[#Checkbox|Checkbox]].
* The rest of the pages kept the BLM header and it returned to this on the front page once the next comic was released on April 5th. At that time it will have been up for 13 months, making it the longest header different from the standard header.
It was last up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20211219202204/https://xkcd.com/ 2021-12-19] when [[2556: Turing Complete]] was on the front page.
* At that time it had been up for 564 days or 1,5 year plus 16 days! This is most likely a record.

===2020-04-05 - Empty header===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20200405042955/https://xkcd.com/ 2020-04-05].
* [[2289: Scenario 4]] came out and the header belonging to the previous comic was removed.
* But no new header was inserted. Not even the go to [[#Header text|Header text]] about the release days of xkcd.
** Since the previous header was related only to the [[April Fools' Day comics|April Fools' Day comic]] [[2288: Collector's Edition]], and that had stopped the promotion of the [[How To]] book, after first experiencing problems with its release, it seems Randall forgot what he usually put in the header.
It stayed empty like this until [https://web.archive.org/web/20200602213017/https://xkcd.com/ 2020-06-02] when [[2314: Carcinization]] was on the front page.
* So almost two month without a header. This had not happened before.

===2020-04-04 - Put together by===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20200404014814/https://xkcd.com/ 2020-04-04].
* [[2288: Collector's Edition]] came out and the header changed.
* The text:
** Today's comic was put together by [https://chromakode.com/ Max Goodhart], [https://twitter.com/Aiiane Amber], [https://twitter.com/bstaffin Benjamin Staffin], [https://twitter.com/cotrone Kevin], [https://www.instagram.com/fading_interest/ @fading_interest], [https://twitter.com/wirehead2501 Kat], [https://twitter.com/zigdon @zigdon], and Christopher Night.
*** All names have links except the last.
* It thanks those that helped Randall create this years [[April Fools' Day comics|April Fools' Day comic]], which had taken two extra days before it was released due to the complex nature of the comic.
Due to the delay the next comic, [[2289: Scenario 4]], was released already the day after the Fool's comic, even though it was thus [[2289:_Scenario_4#Trivia|on a Saturday]]!
* Since this header was related only to the Fool's comic, it was thus removed from the general header, but it stayed up as [[#Collector.27s_Edition|one of]] the permanent [[#Unique_header_text|unique header texts]].
** However, when it was removed from the general header, the header was left empty.
** Unlike some other headers that stayed on a given comic, this one was on all comics for the duration of the time it stayed on the front page, see for instance the previous comic on [https://web.archive.org/web/20200403232031/https://xkcd.com/2287/ 2020-04-03].

===2020-04-02 - Technical Reasons===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20200402234828/https://xkcd.com/ 2020-04-02].
* [[2287: Pathogen Resistance]] was up when the header changed.
Randall turned out to, again, have problems with his complicated and interactive [[April Fools' Day comics|April Fools' Day comic]] for 2020.
* The text:
** Note: For technical reasons Wednesday's comic will be posted Thursday instead. Apologies for the delay!
This finally stopped the promotion of the [[How To]] book.
* It had then been part of the header for well over a year since [https://web.archive.org/web/20190206060904/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-02-06].
It stayed up a day longer than planed as the fool's comic, [[2288: Collector's Edition]] was first released on Friday, so the note was still up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20200403012612/https://xkcd.com/ 2020-04-03].
* [[2287: Pathogen Resistance]] thus stayed two extra day on the front page, and the third comic of that week, [[2289: Scenario 4]] was released already the day after the Fool's comic, even though it was thus [[2289:_Scenario_4#Trivia|on a Saturday]]!

===2020-01-16 - How To explores - again===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20200116190038/https://xkcd.com/ 2020-01-16].
* [[2255: Tattoo Ideas]] was still up when the header changed.
* The ongoing promotion of the book continued but here more than three weeks after Christmas the reference to Christmas was removed.
* The header then returned to the one from before Christmas:
** [[#2019-11-22 - How To explores|How To explores]] - see that for all other details.
It was last up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20200401221435/https://xkcd.com/ 2020-04-01] when [[2287: Pathogen Resistance]] was on the front page.
* It was the problems with [[April Fools' Day comics|April Fools' Day comic]] of 2020 that finally stopped the promotion of the [[How To]] book.
* It had then been part of the header for well over a year since [https://web.archive.org/web/20190206060904/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-02-06].

===2019-12-02 - Into Science===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20191202223745/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-12-02].
* [[2236: Is it Christmas?]] came out when the header changed. Fitting as the change is about Christmas list.
* Still promoting the new [[How To]] book, continuing to make the image a link to the [https://xkcd.com/how-to/ How To book] page on xkcd.
** The links below to order are the same as in the previous header.
** Actually most of the header stays the same with the same four images and the same layout. But the text above has changed completely and the two main text sections between the drawings has changed but only slightly. The description of the images is thus left out, see below. Only new thing is that there are now two red circles connected with a red arrow. The first circle is around the word How To at the end of the first text with the arrow going from that circle to the second circle drawn around the picture of the book.
* The text:
** Is there someone on you Christmas list who's into science? They might like my new book '''''How To'''''
** It explores ridiculous ideas for applying scientific research to everyday problems...
** ...And illustrates what would happen if you tried them.
** ''Boom''
** You can get it here:
** [https://www.amazon.com/How-Absurd-Scientific-Real-World-Problems/dp/0525537090/ Amazon], [https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/2/trackingcode/PRH5522E62429 B&N], [https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/6/trackingcode/penguinrandom IndieBound], [https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/how-to/id1451461524?mt=11 Apple], [https://www.audible.com/search?advsearchKeywords=How+To+Randall+Munroe&source_code=COMA0213WS031709&SID=PRHA9A5E24CFB--9780525635680 Audible], [https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/23/trackingcode/PRH3D17167A3B Target]
It was last up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20200115155040/https://xkcd.com/ 2020-01-15] when [[2255: Tattoo Ideas]] was on the front page.

===2019-11-22 - How To explores===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20191122214439/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-11-22].
* [[2232: Hotel Room Party]] was up when the header changed. It most likely changed when the comic appeared. Earlier on that day it was the previous header over the previous comic.
* Still promoting the new [[How To]] book, here again making the image a link to the [https://xkcd.com/how-to/ How To book] page on xkcd, after it previously was a link to where to listen to the audio book.
** The links below to order returns to the same as in the header before the previous header with links to audio books, except that the link to an exclusive edition has been removed.
** The header consist of an image with text above five small drawings with two text parts in between them. To the left is the closed How To book which is black with a blue readable title, How To, and unreadable white text below this as well as below the unreadable blue author name, which are below the image. The image shows Cueball putting in a light-bulb with drones under each foot while Megan, holding a ladder, and White/Black Hat are looking up at him. To the right of the book is a drawing of Ponytail pole-vaulting with two black helium filled balloons. Next to her is the first text segment. Then after that is the drawing, seen before in the header text, of a truck towing a house up a steep hill. This truck goes above the second text segment, with Cueball somersaulting above the text. Furthest right, above and just right of the text is an explosion with the sound written inside. Below the header image is some black text and then the links to where to get it as regular blue link text.
* The text:
** My new book '''''How To''''' explores the science behind spacecraft heat shields, butterfly metabolisms, and land border surveys...
** ...By imagining ridiculous ideas for applying the research to you everyday life...
** ...And illustrating what would happen if you tried them.
** ''Boom''
** You can get it here:
** [https://www.amazon.com/How-Absurd-Scientific-Real-World-Problems/dp/0525537090/ Amazon], [https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/2/trackingcode/PRH5522E62429 B&N], [https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/6/trackingcode/penguinrandom IndieBound], [https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/how-to/id1451461524?mt=11 Apple], [https://www.audible.com/search?advsearchKeywords=How+To+Randall+Munroe&source_code=COMA0213WS031709&SID=PRHA9A5E24CFB--9780525635680 Audible], [https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/23/trackingcode/PRH3D17167A3B Target]
It was last up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20191201191025/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-12-01] when [[2235: Group Chat Rules]] was on the front page.

===2019-11-06 - Audio clip===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20191106204314/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-11-06].
* [[2224: Software Updates]] was still up when the header changed, but the first archive version was first from after the next comic came out [[2225: Voting Referendum]].
* Still promoting the new [[How To]] book, here making the image a link to the How To book on Penguin Random House's audio book, where an audio clip read by Wil Wheaton can be sampled.
** The links below to order have now changed to those with audio books.
** The header consist of an image with text, with a "blue link", above the How To book that is being folded out from closed; to partially open; to opened up on two full pages; this takes three images. The closed book is the black book with a blue readable title, How To, and unreadable white text below this as well as below the unreadable blue author name, which are below the image. The image shows Cueball putting in a light-bulb with drones under each foot while Megan, holding a ladder, and White/Black Hat are looking up at him. The partly open book still has this cover partly visible, but unreadable, as well as come unreadable text in the open side. The open book shows two pages with lots of unreadable text and three figures (maybe one is a table). Next to the open book there is an arrow to the right pointing at an audio icon with three audio lines in front. Below the header image are the links as regular text.
* The text:
** You can click here to hear a clip from the audio version of '''''How To''''', read by Wil Wheaton.
** [https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/how-to-absurd-scientific-advice-for-common-real-world/id1475319694 Apple], [https://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/how-to-absurd-scientific-advice-for-common-real-world-problems/369279 Audiobooks], [https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/How-To-Audiobook/1473680360?qid=1574679523&sr=1-1&pf_rd_p=c6e316b8-14da-418d-8f91-b3cad83c5183&pf_rd_r=DX3EZ14M14CFQPP9GHJY&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1 Audible], [https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Randall_Munroe_How_To?id=LzSGDwAAQBAJ Google Play], and [https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9780525635680 Libro.fm]
* The entire image is a link to the [https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/576760/how-to/ How To book on Penguin Random House] page, where the audio clip can he played.
** As always it is the entire picture that is a link, and not only the blue underlined text that says click here!
It was last on the archive on [https://web.archive.org/web/20191122044456/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-11-22] when [[2231: the Time Before And After Land]] was on the front page. But it was most likely still up when [[2232: Hotel Room Party]] came out. But then changed during the next day.

===2019-10-02 - Horse vs football team===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20191002005854/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-10-02].
* [[2210: College Athletes]] was up when the header changed.
* Still promoting the new [[How To]] book, but seeing this is no longer close to the release day the focus has changed. This time the image seems to be from one of the How To explanations in the book.
** The links below to order are the same as the previous header.
** But new text is added after the links to promote two events with Randall in New York the two days after this header came up.
*** These links disappeared after a week leaving only the picture and the link to buy the book. See below.
** The header consist of an image with Cueball riding bareback on a horse. He comes from the left holding an American football. Running towards him from the right are eight American football players with helmets with three stars on the back of the helmet. Two of the players at the back are almost hidden by players in front of them. Beneath them is a line of text that belongs to the image, the period at the end of the sentence hangs in height with the center line of the last letter E... Then below the image follows the link and promotion of the NY events, these are written in regular.
* The text:
** My new book ''How To'' is out now! You can get it here.
** [https://www.amazon.com/How-Absurd-Scientific-Real-World-Problems/dp/0525537090/ Amazon], [https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/2/trackingcode/PRH5522E62429 B&N], [https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-randall-munroe/1130494832?ean=9780525686910#/ B&N Exclusive Edition], [https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/6/trackingcode/penguinrandom IndieBound], [https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/how-to/id1451461524?mt=11 Apple], [https://www.audible.com/search?advsearchKeywords=How+To+Randall+Munroe&source_code=COMA0213WS031709&SID=PRHA9A5E24CFB--9780525635680 Audible], [https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/23/trackingcode/PRH3D17167A3B Target] I'll be at New York Comic Con! I'm giving [https://www.newyorkcomiccon.com/Explore/Panels/Panels-And-Screenings/#/event/how-todo-anything-with-randall-munroe-creator-of-xkcd a talk on Thursday], and on
** Friday [https://smbc-comics.com/ Zach Weinersmith] and I will be hosting [https://www.caveat.nyc/event/how-to--absurd-scientific-advice-for-common-real-world-problems-10-4-2019 an event at Caveat NYC].
* The image is a link to the [https://xkcd.com/how-to/ How To book page] on xkcd.
** The link to Target still seems to go the main page rather than to [https://intl.target.com/p/how-to-by-randall-munroe-hardcover/-/A-76508342 their How To book page]... Probably a still undiscovered error on Randall's part?
This header changed, but so slightly that the changes will only be mentioned here rather than in a new section:
* The first link was last active on [https://web.archive.org/web/20191004014438/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-10-04]
* Then the day after only the second link remained from [https://web.archive.org/web/20191005041539/https://www.xkcd.com/ 2019-10-05]. [[2211: Hours Before Departure]] came out when it changed.
** But the text of this link changed as it had been a continues text from one to the other link. Also it was not entirely on it's own line, thus not as with the first link whose text was directly connected to the line with the links to buy the book.
** The new text of that link was:
*** [https://smbc-comics.com/ Zach Weinersmith] and I will be hosting [https://www.caveat.nyc/event/how-to--absurd-scientific-advice-for-common-real-world-problems-10-4-2019 an event] Friday night at Caveat NYC!
*** The last link was the same, but now it only covered two words not the entire end of the sentence.
** This other link was last active on [https://web.archive.org/web/20191007042707/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-10-07].
* And then the last link was gone by [https://web.archive.org/web/20191008053609/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-10-08], when [[2212: Cell Phone Functions]] came out.
It ended on [https://web.archive.org/web/20191105164001/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-11-05] when [[2224: Software Updates]] was up.

===2019-09-30 - Tons of fun===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20190930234245/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-09-30].
* [[2209: Fresh Pears]] was up when the header changed.
* Still promoting the new [[How To]] book, but seeing this is no longer close to the release day the focus has changed to how much fun it was for Randall to write it and how proud he is of the result. Randall, as Cueball, is saying this in the new header image.
** The links below to order are the same, except a new has been added at the end.
** The header consist of an image with Cueball standing to the left of the book, shown as tall as he is. The book is opened up on two pages with lots of unreadable text as well as three drawings, only one of these, with a circle diagram, can clearly be seen. Cueball is speaking, and the text is above him and the book. Two words are blue with a line under as if they where a link. But as always the entire image is a link. Beneath the image is the links on where to order the book.
* The text:
** Writing my new book '''''How To''''' was tons of fun and I'm so proud of the result. It's out now-Click Here to order!
** Order: [https://www.amazon.com/How-Absurd-Scientific-Real-World-Problems/dp/0525537090/ Amazon], [https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/2/trackingcode/PRH5522E62429 B&N], [https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-randall-munroe/1130494832?ean=9780525686910#/ B&N Exclusive Edition], [https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/6/trackingcode/penguinrandom IndieBound], [https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/how-to/id1451461524?mt=11 Apple], [https://www.audible.com/search?advsearchKeywords=How+To+Randall+Munroe&source_code=COMA0213WS031709&SID=PRHA9A5E24CFB--9780525635680 Audible], [https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/23/trackingcode/PRH3D17167A3B Target]
* The image is a link to the [https://xkcd.com/how-to/ How To book page] on xkcd.
** The new link to Target seems to go the main page rather than to [https://intl.target.com/p/how-to-by-randall-munroe-hardcover/-/A-76508342 their How To book page]... Probably an error on Randall's part.
It ended on October 2nd while [[2210: College Athletes]] where up. But there is no archived versions from the 1st of October and the one from the 2nd is with the next version. But the editor of this was making changes to the explanation of College Athletes before the next header change came along.

===2019-09-11 - How To available===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20190911053115/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-09-11].
* [[2200: Unreachable State]] was still up when the header changed.
* The release day part of the promotion was changed to telling that the new [[How To]] book was available. With teasers about what is in the book below the heading. On either side of the text a picture of the book is still shown. Also the links below changed, adding three new and removing one old.
** The header consist of an image with the book shown both left and right of some text. Both books have blue title and author name, and white unreadable title and white drawing of Cueball flying on two quadcopters to put in a light-bulb in a ceiling lamp, while White/Black? Hat is watching together with Megan, who is holding a ladder. Beneath the image is the links on where to order it.
** Between the two books are two sections of text above each other, the lover with smaller font.
* The text:
** How To is available now!
** Learn how to open bottles with nuclear weapons and how to be on time for meetings by altering the Earths rotation. The book also features advice from real-life experts including Chris Hadfield and Serena Williams.
** Order: [https://www.amazon.com/How-Absurd-Scientific-Real-World-Problems/dp/0525537090/ Amazon], [https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/2/trackingcode/PRH5522E62429 B&N], [https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-randall-munroe/1130494832?ean=9780525686910#/ B&N Exclusive Edition], [https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/6/trackingcode/penguinrandom IndieBound],[https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/how-to/id1451461524?mt=11 Apple], [https://www.audible.com/search?advsearchKeywords=How+To+Randall+Munroe&source_code=COMA0213WS031709&SID=PRHA9A5E24CFB--9780525635680 Audible]
* The image is a link to the [https://xkcd.com/how-to/ How To book page] on xkcd.
* {{w|Serena Williams}} is a famous tennis player who was also featured in one of the [[:Category:Book promotion|promotion comics]] for How To: [[2190: Serena Versus the Drones]]
* {{w|Chris Hadfield}} is a Canadian retired astronaut, engineer, and former Royal Canadian Air Force fighter pilot. The first Canadian to walk in space, Hadfield has flown two Space Shuttle missions and served as commander of the International Space Station.
** The new link to audible probably needs the user to be signed up, else it will go to the front page and ask yo to sign up. But from the archive the page can be seen [https://web.archive.org/web/20190923004816/https://www.audible.com/search?advsearchKeywords=How+To+Randall+Munroe&source_code=COMA0213WS031709&SID=PRHA9A5E24CFB--9780525635680 here].
Up till [https://web.archive.org/web/20190922143253/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-09-22] it looked like this.
* Then on [https://web.archive.org/web/20190923145251/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-09-23] and extra link was added after Audible:
** [https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/23/trackingcode/PRH3D17167A3B Target].
* [[2205: Types of Approximation]] was up when this change occurred during a weekend.
It ended on [https://web.archive.org/web/20190929223547/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-09-29] when [[2208: Drone Fishing]] was up.

===2019-09-04 - Happy Release Day - bookstore===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20190904051509/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-09-04].
* [[2198: Throw]] was already up when the header changed slightly, as the text below Happy release day changed.
Most of the header stayed the same as the [[#2019-09-03 - Happy Release Day - calendar|day before]], but the reference to the Gregorian/Julian calendar was changed.
* The header consist of an image with the book shown both left and right of some text.Both books have blue title and author name, and white unreadable title and white drawing of Cueball flowing on two quadcopters to put in a light-bulb in a ceiling lamp, while White/Black? Hat is watching together with Megan comes who is holding a ladder. Beneath the image is the link on where to order it, now the preorder has been changed to order.
** Between the two books are two sections of text above each other, the lover with smaller font and in brackets.
* The text:
** Happy How To release day!
** Available wherever books are sold.
** (Mostly bookstores, I assume but you can always try your luck at Wendy's.)
* See below for any other details.
It ended on [https://web.archive.org/web/20190909211737/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-09-09] when [[2200: Unreachable State]] was up.

===2019-09-03 - Happy Release Day - calendar===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20190903051503/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-09-03]
* [[2197: Game Show]] was still up when the header changed, but it was for sure to coincide with [[2198: Throw]] which came out later on the release day while it still looked like in this version.
* Randall celebrated the release day of [[How To]], coming out the day the header changed.
** The comic is also a reference to a chapter in the book on how to throw things. A very complicated interactive comic where different persons or other living things can be chosen to throw dead or living things. The trow will then be shown below with distance measured in two units, normal and special. That is if the thrower can actually manage to throw the thing.
* The header consist of an image with the book shown both left and right of some text. The two black books have red stars around them, five on the outer side of the image and 6 on the inner, the stars are mirrored around left and right book. Both books have blue title and author name, and white unreadable title and white drawing of Cueball flying on two quadcopters to put in a light-bulb in a ceiling lamp, while White/Black? Hat is watching together with Megan, who is holding a ladder. Beneath the image is the link on where to order it, now the preorder has been changed to order.
** Between the two books are two sections of text above each other, the lover with smaller font and in brackets.
* The text:
** How To Randall Munroe
** Happy How To release day!
** (Gregorian calendar. The Julian edition doesn't come out for 13 more days.)
** How To Randall Munroe
** Order: [https://www.amazon.com/How-Absurd-Scientific-Real-World-Problems/dp/0525537090/ Amazon],[https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/2/trackingcode/PRH5522E62429 Barnes & Noble],[https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/6/trackingcode/penguinrandom IndieBound],[https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/how-to/id1451461524?mt=11 Apple Books]
* The image is a link to the [https://xkcd.com/how-to/ How To book page] on xkcd.
* Most of the world uses the {{w|Gregorian calendar}}, but before it was taken into use, the {{w|Julian calendar}} was in use.
** The Julian calendar does not take into account that every 100 years a leap year should be passed as in the Gregorian calendar, and thus it is at the moment 13 days behind, as it has has this many February 29th too many. Since there should actually be a leap year every 400 year, and the last of those was 2000, then it has been 13 days since 1900, and will stay like this until 2100 when it will become 14 days.
** The image is a link to the [https://xkcd.com/how-to/ How To book page] on xkcd.
* Already the next day the part of the header below happy release day about the Gregorian calendar changed. See [[#2019-09-04 - Happy Release Day - bookstore|above]].

===2019-08-27 - Out in a week===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20190827082224/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-08-27].
* [[2194: How to Send a File]] was up when the header changed.
* Randall continues to promote his new book, [[How To]], coming out a week from this header.
** It is only three lines of text
* The text:
** My new book, How To, comes out next week!
** Read an exclusive excerpt about transmission [https://blog.xkcd.com/2019/08/26/how-to-send-a-file/ here].
** [Four links in gray blue are given with the first words in black:] Preorder ''How To'': [https://www.amazon.com/How-Absurd-Scientific-Real-World-Problems/dp/0525537090/ Amazon],[https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/2/trackingcode/PRH5522E62429 Barnes & Noble],[https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/6/trackingcode/penguinrandom IndieBound],[https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/how-to/id1451461524?mt=11 Apple Books]
* Later [https://web.archive.org/web/20190827184229/https://xkcd.com/2194/ on the same day], (and here for the next day [https://web.archive.org/web/20190828095401/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-08-27] for the front page), more text and links where added, plus the order of the text was changed.
* The later text was:
** My new book, [https://xkcd.com/how-to/ How To], comes out in a week! ([https://blog.xkcd.com/2019/08/23/book-tour-and-contest-winner/ Book tour info])
** You can preorder it now to get a copy when it's released:
** [https://www.amazon.com/How-Absurd-Scientific-Real-World-Problems/dp/0525537090/ Amazon],[https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/2/trackingcode/PRH5522E62429 Barnes & Noble],[https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/6/trackingcode/penguinrandom IndieBound],[https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/how-to/id1451461524?mt=11 Apple Books]
** You can also read an exclusive excerpt about file transfers [https://blog.xkcd.com/2019/08/26/how-to-send-a-file/ here].
* The link to the book tour also include the winner of the [[#2019-06-25 - People with books|contest]] to get Randall to add "your" city to his book tour.
** The winner was {{w|Juneau, Alaska}}.
It ended on the release day 2019-09-03, so this was last on the page on [https://web.archive.org/web/20190902042108/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-09-02].

===2019-08-06 - Win a sketch===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20190806052948/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-08-06].
* [[2185: Cumulonimbus]] was up when the header changed.
** Most likely the header changed when that comic came out on 2019-08-05. But the previous header was also out during that day.
* Randall continues to promote his new book, [[How To]], now making a competition where you can win a stick figure sketch of yourself. (Although only for US residents!)
** The image shows Hairy, with a cat at his feet and Megan (or Danish?) with a samurai sword. They are standing with their backs towards each other, the cat on the left, Megan facing right with the sword towards the words.
** Below the drawing are links to places to preorder the book.
* The text:
** Want to win a sketch of yourself as a stick figure? [https://blog.xkcd.com/2019/08/05/win-an-xkcd-sketch/ Click here] to find out how!
** [Four links in gray blue are given with the first words in black:] Preorder ''How To'': [https://www.amazon.com/How-Absurd-Scientific-Real-World-Problems/dp/0525537090/ Amazon],[https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/2/trackingcode/PRH5522E62429 Barnes & Noble],[https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/6/trackingcode/penguinrandom IndieBound],[https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/how-to/id1451461524?mt=11 Apple Books]
*** The entire picture is a [https://blog.xkcd.com/2019/08/05/win-an-xkcd-sketch/ link] to a [[Blag]] post: ''Win an xkcd sketch''
*** That is even though only the click here part of the text is in blue, like a link.
*** Cause as he often has written: I still haven't figured out HTML imagemaps, most recently in the [[#2019-07-09 - Drawings from How To|2019-07-09]] header.
The header stayed like this until [https://web.archive.org/web/20190826062701/https://www.xkcd.com/ 2019-08-26] when [[2193: Well-Ordering Principle]] was up.

===2019-08-03 - First look inside===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20190803222711/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-08-03].
* [[2184: Unpopular Opinions]] was up when the header changed.
* Randall continues to promote his new book, [[How To]], now stating that it comes out next month.
** Set to be released on September 3rd 2019, this update was made exactly one month before.
** The image shows text to the left of three drawings of the book: First the closed book showing the black front cover with blue and white text and white drawings, then the book is partly opened, and finally it lays opened up showing two pages, with a readable heading on the right page.
** Below the drawing are links to places to preorder the book.
* The text:
** My new book comes out next month. Click here for a first look inside!
** [On the books front cover only two thins can be read:]
*** How To
*** Randal Munroe.
** [These two words can also partly be read on the opening book.]
** [Only the large heading can be read on the right page of the open book:]
*** How to Dig a Hole.
** [These two pages also became part of a special comic relased during the weekend when this header was up: [[Disappearing Sunday Update]].]
** [The [[Disappearing_Sunday_Update#Transcript|transcript of that comic]] describes the images in the open book.]
** [Four links in gray blue are given with the first word in black:] Preorder:[https://www.amazon.com/How-Absurd-Scientific-Real-World-Problems/dp/0525537090/ Amazon],[https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/2/trackingcode/PRH5522E62429 Barnes & Noble],[https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/6/trackingcode/penguinrandom IndieBound],[https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/how-to/id1451461524?mt=11 Apple Books]
*** The entire picture is a [https://blog.xkcd.com/2019/08/02/how-to-chapter-list-and-introduction/ link] to a [[Blag]] post: ''How To: Chapter list and introduction''.
It stayed up like this while the special [[Disappearing Sunday Update]] came out on Sunday 2019-08-04, and was there still on Monday [ https://web.archive.org/web/20190805050812/https://www.xkcd.com/ 2019-08-05], at least during the time that the Sudan Update was still up.
* When the next comic came out late that Monday, it probably disappeared along with the Disappearing comic, but the first update with the next header is from Tuesday [https://web.archive.org/web/20190806052948/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-08-06], but the Monday comic [[2185: Cumulonimbus]] was still on the front page at that time,.

===2019-07-23 - Back to previous header===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20190723205152/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-07-23].
* [[2179: NWS Warnings]] was up when the header changed.
It returned to the previous header from before the ComicCon header, see [[#2019-07-10 - Adding links|2019-07-10]]
It stayed up until [https://web.archive.org/web/20190802192259/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-08-02] while [[2184: Unpopular Opinions]] was up. The day after when it changed that comic was still up.

===2019-07-15 - ComiCon===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20190715181016/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-07-15].
* [[2176: How Hacking Works]] was up when the header changed.
Randall tells that he will be at ComicCon and links to his plans there.
* The text:
** Going to San Diego Comic Con this week? I'll [https://blog.xkcd.com/2019/07/15/san-diego-comic-con/ see you there]!
*** The link is to a [[Blag]] post about his plans for the ComicCon
* Randall appeared in a couple of panels, and gave a talk.
* Finally he also handed out signed copies of his new [[How To]] book more than a month before official release.
** So still promoting the book, also in this header...
It stayed up until [https://web.archive.org/web/20190722192637/https://www.xkcd.com/ 2019-07-22] the day after the ComiCon ended, while [[2178: Expiration Date High Score]] was up.
* Then it returned to the previous header from before the ComicCon announcement when [[2179: NWS Warnings]] came out.

===2019-07-10 - Adding links===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20190710165920/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-07-10].
* [[2173: Trained a Neural Net]] was still up when the header changed slightly from that fro the day before.
* Only change was that beneath the picture, see [[#2019-07-09 - Drawings from How To|2019-07-09]], there is now a list of four links to companies where the book can be preordered.
* The extra text:
** [Four links in gray blue are given with the first word in black:] Preorder:[https://www.amazon.com/How-Absurd-Scientific-Real-World-Problems/dp/0525537090/ Amazon],[https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/2/trackingcode/PRH5522E62429 Barnes & Noble],[https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/6/trackingcode/penguinrandom IndieBound],[https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/how-to/id1451461524?mt=11 Apple Books]
Note that the day after this change, [https://web.archive.org/web/20190711172451/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-07-11], a link to [[How To]] was added to the [[Design_of_xkcd.com#xkcd_links|links]] in the top left corner of xkcd.
The header stayed like this until [https://web.archive.org/web/20190714175710/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-07-14] when [[2175: Flag Interpretation]] was up. When it changed the day after [[2176: How Hacking Works]] was up.

===2019-07-09 - Drawings from How To===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20190709162102/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-07-09].
* [[2173: Trained a Neural Net]] was up when the header changed.
* Randall continues to promote his new book, [[How To]].
** The image shows a small picture of his book with text on either side.
** Below are what appears to be three drawings from the book. [[Ponytail]] pole vaultig with three baloons in one hand, then text, then a truck with a house behind it speeding fast up a hill then text and finally [[Cueball]] somersaulting towards an explosion.
** To the right there is a big blue button to click for preorder, with text below.
* The text:
** New book [Arrow points to book. Title can be read: How To]
** How To: Absurd Scientific Answers to Common Real-world Problems
** It's a guide to bad ways to do things...
** ...And what would happen if you tried them.
** ''Boom''
** Click here to preorder
** Or click anywhere. I still haven't figured out HTML imagemaps.
*** The entire picture is a [https://xkcd.com/how-to/ link] to the official [[How To]] page on xkcd: https://xkcd.com/how-to/
*** See [[1572: xkcd Survey]] where Randall mentions that he cannot make imagemaps.
It stayed up like this only for a day, then an extra line of links was added the day after while the same comic was still up, see [[#2019-07-10 - Adding links|2019-07-10]].
* But the general header stayed up first for five days, and then it returned again for 10 more days after a break to announce a [[#2019-07-15 - ComiCon|ComiCon visit]].
* So a total of 16 days with this drawing.

===2019-06-25 - People with books===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20190625190843/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-06-25].
* [[2167: Motivated Reasoning Olympics]] was up when the header changed.
* Randall continues to promote his new book, [[How To]], and his book tour.
** The image now shows 15 people standing side by side each holding a book up in front of them with unreadable titles.
** From left: [[Megan]], [[Cueball]], a man with blonde hair, [[Jill]], [[Blondie]], [[Hairy]], another Hairy, [[White Hat]], a kid with curly hair, [[Hairbun]], another Cueball, another Megan, a guy with a knit cap, [[Ponytail]], and [[Beret Guy]].
** Above them is a text message.
* The text:
** Want to bring me to your town for my '''''How To''''' book tour? Click to find out how to enter the challenge!
*** The entire picture is a [https://blog.xkcd.com/2019/06/10/book-tour-announcement/ link] to the official book tour announcement posted on the [[Blag]], with all cities and dates listed with details.
*** In the link it is explained how to enter a competition on how to bring Randall to your city.
*** Make a story using only book titles and get the books used to be held up by different individuals.
*** A longer sentence will improve your chances.
**** This is indeed what this header picture shows.
The header stayed like this until [https://web.archive.org/web/20190708155517/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-07-08] when [[2172: Lunar Cycles]] was up. When it changed the day after [[2173: Trained a Neural Net]] was up.

===2019-06-15 - Adding dates===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20190615100645/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-06-15]
* [[2163: Chernobyl]] was up when the header changed.
* Randall only made a small change to the one that had been up for four days at this time.
* The text only changed by adding a line below the first line:
** Announcing the '''''How To''''' book tour:
** [Click here for dates and tickets]
*** The rest of the header is exactly the same as on [[#2019-06-11 - Book tour|2019-06-11]], except everything is a bit smaller to make room in the same place for the extra line.
*** The link is not located on the blue part of the text and it was already there before this update.
*** Best guess is that not many clicked through and Randall then made it obvious that there was a link.
*** The entire picture is a [https://blog.xkcd.com/2019/06/10/book-tour-announcement/ link] to the official book tour announcement posted on the [[Blag]], with all cities and dates listed with details.
*** Randall has previously made it clear, in [[1572: xkcd Survey]], that he knows how to make an image a link, but not how to put the link only where he says to click. But it is easier to make a place for people to click than tell them this...
The header stayed like this until 2019-06-25, when it changed while [[2167: Motivated Reasoning Olympics]] was up. But this one was still up when that comic came out the day before [https://web.archive.org/web/20190624162740/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-06-24].

===2019-06-11 - Book tour===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20190611031920/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-06-11]
* [[2161: An Apple a Day]] was up when the header changed.
** '''Note''' when this change happened two new links was added to the [[Design_of_xkcd.com#xkcd_links|xkcd links]] section of xkcd.
* Randall changed the header text to announce the official book tour for his newest book ''[[How To]]'' to be released 3 months later.
* The text:
** Announcing the '''''How To''''' book tour:
** [Below this header is a map of the mainland USA with 14 labeled black dots indicates the 14 cities that the book tour will take Randall to. One red dot with five red question marks above is located beneath the map to the left, indicating a 15th city to be chosen in a contest. Above the map to the right is a small picture of the book with the blue title on the black cover. Above the book is the release date and with an arrow pointing down to the book.]
** September 3rd
** How to
** Seattle
** Portland
** San Francisco
** Santa Cruz
** Los Angeles
** Salt Lake City
** Kansas City
** Ann Arbor
** Cincinnati
** Louisville
** Cambridge
** New York
** D.C.
** Raleigh
** ????? (Chosen by readers)
** [The entire picture is a [https://blog.xkcd.com/2019/06/10/book-tour-announcement/ link] to the official book tour announcement posted on the [[Blag]], with all cities and dates listed with details.]
*** In the link it is explained how to enter a competition on how to bring Randall to your city.
*** Make a story using only book titles and get the books used to be held up by different individuals.
*** Only US cities can apply.
* The header only stayed exactly like this for three days, and was still up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20190614094729/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-06-14] when [[2162: Literary Opinions]] was on the front page.
** Then it changed slightly to indicate that the picture was a link which was not clear before. See above.

===2019-05-17 - Back to previous header===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20190517103928/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-05-17]:
* [[2150: XKeyboarCD]] was still up when the header changed.
It changed back to the exact same heading as before the one with Google reader here below.
* See [[#2019-02-06 - How to book|2019-02-06]] below for all details.
* It stayed up for more than three weeks and was still up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20190610055519/https://www.xkcd.com/ 2019-06-10], while [[2160: Ken Burns Theory]] was still up on the day the next comic [[2161: An Apple a Day]] was to be released (where the new header could be found at least the next day, but maybe from the release of that comic?). Then it changed to announce the book tour for his new book.

===2019-04-23 - Google Reader===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20190423155458/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-04-23]:
* [[2140: Reinvent the Wheel]] came out when it changed, ending a more than two and half month long [[#2019-02-06 - How to book|promotion]] of Randall's new book [[How To]].
* Randall changed the header text to ask if the reader still mourned the loss of {{w|Google Reader}} which closed on 2013-07-01, almost 6 years before this comic..
** He offers the possibility to sign up to receive the newest comic by e-mail.
* The comic may have relation to this, as some where using Google reader for different purposes when they closed it, without any chance of [https://www.google.com/reader/about/ getting your data out].
** The comic "Reinvent the Wheel" mentions that using external dependencies carry risks, such as Google closing down a feature. given the fact that the comic came out as the header changed it is probably not a coincidence.
* The text:
** Still mourning the demise of Google Reader? You can sign up to get new comics delivered by email [https://xkcd.com/newsletter/ here].
* The link is to https://xkcd.com/newsletter, where it is possible to submit your e-mail address and press a subscribe button.
** the following text is written above it:
** To receive the comic and news postings in your inbox, subscribe here.
* It stayed up for more than three weeks and was still up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20190516100403/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-05-16], when [[2150: XKeyboarCD]] was up. Then it changed back to the promotion of his new book.

===2019-02-06 - How to book===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20190206060904/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-02-06]:
* [[2107: Launch Risk]] was up at the time when it changed, having been up since Monday the 4th of February.
** Here it can be seen being on the front of xkcd on [https://web.archive.org/web/20190205050302/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-02-05], without the new text. This was also the last time the standard header text was used in several months.
** [[2108: Carbonated Beverage Language Map]] came up later on the day the header changed.
* Randall changed the header text to promote his newest book ''[[How To]]'' to be released 7 months later.
** He added an image of the book with large text next to it regarding the release and links on how to preorder it.
** There was no direct relation to the comics released at the time, except of course that he kind of launched his new book with all the risk it involves, while having a comic called launch risk up. It was though a very different and more real type of launch risk (of a human carrying space rocket) in the comic.
* The text:
** [The book is shown to the left as a black rectangle with large blue text and smaller gray text. On the book cover, in white drawings, are seen Megan with a ladder and either Black or White Hat (hard to say on black background). Both are looking up on Cueball who is floating in the air with a quadcopter beneath either leg, trying to plug in an electric light bulb in a naked lamp hanging down near him. It seems he has already removed the broken light bulb, as he has one in both hands. And now he tries to put in the new one. He could have let Megan use the ladder...]
** [The header in blue above it all:] How To.
** [Sub header in gray to the left of Cueball:] Absurd Scientific Answers to Common Real-world Problems
** [Author name in blue below the drawing:] Randall Munroe
** [Sub header to this below in gray:] Creator of xkcd
** [Sub header to this below in gray:] Author of what if? and Thing Explainer
** [Next to this book image are the following text:]
** [Large heading:] HOW TO
** [Normal size sub header:] Absurd Scientific Answers to Common Real-world Problems
** [In smaller gray font below:] Available September 3, 2019.
** [Four links in gray blue are given with the first word still in gray:] Preorder:[https://www.amazon.com/How-Absurd-Scientific-Real-World-Problems/dp/0525537090/ Amazon],[https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/2/trackingcode/PRH5522E62429 Barnes & Noble],[https://links.penguinrandomhouse.com/type/affiliate/isbn/9780525537090/siteID/8001/retailerid/6/trackingcode/penguinrandom IndieBound],[https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/how-to/id1451461524?mt=11 Apple Books]
* It stayed up for more than two and a half month and was still up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20190422030324/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-04-22], when [[2139: Email Settings]] was up. Then it finally changed to a new header without going back to the standard.

===2018-11-07 - Back to standard text===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20181107144453/https://www.xkcd.com/ 2018-11-07]
* The text returned to the standard xkcd header:
** xkcd updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
* It stayed like this until [[2107: Launch Risk]] was up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20190205050302/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-02-05], so two days less than three months.
** After this it did not return to the standard text for almost three years, but just short of a month before the third year without it, it returned on [[#2022-01-08 - Back to standard text|2022-01-08]].

===2018-11-06 - Election Day===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20181106122850/https://xkcd.com/ 2018-11-06]:
* [[2068: Election Night]] (on election day the day after this comic was released).
** It added a larger comic above the two links from the previous header. Those links of the previous header text was still up the day before [https://web.archive.org/web/20181105105855/https://xkcd.com/ 2018-11-05], when [[2067: Challengers]] was still up.
* Randall changed the xkcd header once more to try to make more people vote, and in this case help others to vote.
** Once again directly related to the new comic about election night.
* The text:
** [A line of altering blue and red stars, blue first and last of two rows of nine starts around of the heading:]
** Election Day!
** [Below Black Hat and Ponytail to the left and Megan to the right of Cueball is checking their smart phones. Cueball is addressing the reader:]
** Cueball: The biggest thing you can do th help is to check in with friends and family and make sure they know when and where they're voting.
** [Below these four characters there is the following text with two arrows pointing left and right. Both are turning up to text/links on either side of the four:]
** Use these links to answer questions
** [To the left:] Where and how to vote: [https://www.vote.org/ Vote-org]
** [To the right:] What's on your ballot: [https://www.ballotready.org/ BallotReady.org]
** [Below was the two links from the previous header:]
** Find out where to vote: [https://www.vote.org/ vote.org].
** See what's on your ballot: [https://www.ballotready.org/ BallotReady.org]
* It was only up one day and thus on ended the day after [https://web.archive.org/web/20181107144453/https://www.xkcd.com/ 2018-11-07] when the next comic [[2069: Wishlist]] came out.
** The text then returned to the standard xkcd header: xkcd updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
*** It stayed like this until [[2107: Launch Risk]] was up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20190205050302/https://xkcd.com/ 2019-02-05].

===2018-11-02 - Where to vote===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20181103021059/https://xkcd.com/ 2018-11-02]:
* [[2067: Challengers]] (on the Friday, it was released).
** It added another link to the previous header text. That text was still up the day before on Thursday [https://web.archive.org/web/20181102015102/https://xkcd.com/ 2018-11-01].
** That was while comic [[2066: Ballot Selfies]] was still up.
* Randall changed the xkcd header to let people know who is on their voting ballot, and as before there is also a link on how to register for voting.
** This is also directly related to the new comic that came out that day, about helping people to decide who to vote for, i.e. who is on their ballot.
* The text:
** Find out where to vote: [https://www.vote.org/ vote.org].
** See what's on your ballot: [https://www.ballotready.org/ BallotReady.org]
* This was done at this moment because the {{w|United States midterm election}} was held on {{w|United States elections, 2018|Tuesday, November 6, 2018}}, four days after the release of this comic.
* It was still up the day before the election day, [https://web.archive.org/web/20181105105855/https://xkcd.com/ 2018-11-05], and then it changed with the next comic.

===2018-10-22 - Register for voting===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20181022120935/https://xkcd.com/ 2018-10-22]:
* [[2061: Tectonics Game]] (on a Monday, the 3rd day after release of this Friday comic)
** The standard text was still up Sunday [https://web.archive.org/web/20181021141446/https://xkcd.com/ 2018-10-21].
** The comic [[2062: Barnard's Star]] was released later that day.
* Randall changed the xkcd header to try to get people to register for voting.
* The text:
** Check your registration and find your polling place at [https://www.vote.org/ vote.org].
* This was done at this moment because the {{w|United States midterm election}} was held on {{w|United States elections, 2018|Tuesday, November 6, 2018}}, about two weeks after the release of this comic.
** It is generally believed that many of those not voting would have chosen democrats on election day, and thus Randall has an interest in getting as many as possible to register, see [[1756: I'm With Her]] (apart from the fact that he also most likely thinks that it is important to use the right to vote).
* It ended on [https://web.archive.org/web/20181103021059/https://xkcd.com/ 2018-11-02], when [[2067: Challengers]] came out.
** It was still there while [[2066: Ballot Selfies]] was still up the day before on [https://web.archive.org/web/20181102015102/https://xkcd.com/ 2018-11-01].

===2018-09-13 - NY votes today===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20180913133544/https://xkcd.com/ 2018-09-13]
* [[2045: Social Media Announcement]] (the day after the release of the comic.)
** It was not up when the comic was released on [https://web.archive.org/web/20180912131437/https://xkcd.com/ 2018-09-12].
* It was a short lived reminder that NY votes today below the usual standard text.
* The text:
** xkcd updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
** NY votes today! Find your polling place [https://voterlookup.elections.ny.gov/ here]. (Zephyr Teachout for AG!)
* It ended with [[2046: Trum-]], the very next comic, on [https://web.archive.org/web/20180914175605/https://xkcd.com/ 2018-09-14], returning to the standard text.

===2017-11-26 - Christmas gifts===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20171126130857/https://xkcd.com/ 2017-11-26]
* [[1920: Emoji Sports]] had been up two days [https://web.archive.org/web/20171125125648/https://xkcd.com/ 2017-11-25] before the message changed from the normal version. But it changed the day before the next comic came up.
** It was changed to a commercial for Christmas shopping with a code for getting 5$ of the price with a codes for different online shops.
* The text:
** To anyone looking for Christmas gifts: Until Monday you can get $5 off
** [https://www.amazon.com/What-International-Scientific-Hypothetical-Questions/dp/0544456866 What If?] and [https://www.amazon.com/Thing-Explainer-Complicated-Stuff-Simple/dp/0544668251 Thing Explainer] on Amazon with coupon code GIFTBOOK17.
** At Barnes & Noble, until Sunday you can get 20% off [https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/what-if-serious-scientific-answers-to-absurd-hypothetical-questions-randall-munroe/1118864093 What If?] and [https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/thing-explainer-randall-munroe/1121864432 Thing Explainer] using code GIVETHANKS.
* It was only up a few days and ended with [[1922: Interferometry]] on [https://web.archive.org/web/20171130150053/https://xkcd.com/ 2017-11-30] where it returned to the standard text.
** But it was still up when the comic in between [[1921: The Moon and the Great Wall]] was up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20171129140033/https://xkcd.com/ 2017-11-29].

===2017-09-22 - Visiting the UK===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20170922232616/https://xkcd.com/ 2017-09-22]:
* [[1893: Thread]] (with its release).
** It was not up on the previous comic [[1892: USB Cables]], on the day they changed [https://web.archive.org/web/20170922025204/https://xkcd.com/ 2017-09-22].
* It was an announcement that Randall would visit the UK next week.
* The text:
** I'll be visiting the UK next week! You can join me in London from September 30-October 2 (at [https://live.newscientist.com/speakers/randall-munroe New Scientist Live], [https://www.rigb.org/whats-on/events-2017/october/public-lunchtime-talk--randall-munroe The Royal Institution], and [https://www.intelligencesquared.com/events/randall-munroe-on-making-complicated-stuff-simple/ Intelligence Squared]), then from October 3-6 in [https://www.stpetersyork.org.uk/public_lectures/randall_munroe_thing_explainer York], [https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/thing-explaining-with-randall-munroe-tickets-37832289396 Edinburgh], [https://www.toppingbooks.co.uk/events/ely/randall-murray-thing-explainer/ Cambridge and Ely], [https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/randall-munroe-book-signing-thing-explainer-tickets-38041072873 Oxford], and [https://www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/literature/whats-on/2017/randall-munroe/ Cheltenham].
* Ended with [[1900: Jet Lag]] on [https://web.archive.org/web/20171010045802/https://xkcd.com/ 2017-10-10] when the text returned to normal.
** But it was still up the day before with [[1899: Ears]] on [https://web.archive.org/web/20171009040109/https://xkcd.com/ 2017-10-09].

===2017-07-31 - Thank you===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20170731021227/https://www.xkcd.com/ 2017-07-31]:
* [[1869: Positive and Negative Reviews]] (3rd day after release of this Friday comic)
** The comic [[1870: Emoji Movie Reviews]] was released later that day.
** Megan is holding hand with Cueball and next to them is two words above each other: Thank you.
** The image is also a link.
*** The link goes to [https://web.archive.org/web/20170801042453/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/07/25/us/politics/senate-votes-repeal-obamacare.html How Each Senator Voted on Obamacare Repeal Proposals], an article showing the senate votes. (here in an archived version).
* Ended with [[1872: Backup Batteries]] on [https://web.archive.org/web/20170804152509/https://xkcd.com/ 2017-08-04], but was still up when [[1871: Bun Alert]] was up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20170803124342/https://xkcd.com/ 2017-08-03].

===2017-07-25 - Vote against health care bill===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20170725103104/https://xkcd.com/ 2017-07-25]:
* [[1867: Physics Confession]] (2nd day after release of the comic, it was not up on the first day: [https://web.archive.org/web/20170724095252/https://xkcd.com/ 2017-07-24]).
* Randall modified the xkcd header to ask readers to support voting against Donald Trump's new health care bill.
** The header was replaced with an image which is available in an archived version [https://web.archive.org/web/20170726150959im_/https://imgs.xkcd.com/notes/call-senate.png here].
** The image is also a link (and you can click anywhere on it to go to the link that is mentioned).
*** The link goes to [https://web.archive.org/web/20170729003307/https://www.trumpcareten.org/daily TrumpCare Ten] (here in an archived version).
*** Randall has previously made it clear, in [[1572: xkcd Survey]], that he knows how to make an image a link, but not how to put the link only where he says to click.
** Transcript of the image:
*** [Megan is holding hand with Cueball next to three lines of large text, the same height as they are:]
*** Please tell your senators to vote against this health care bill. It will hurt people.
*** [After these three lines there is a phone number in a very large bold font with a line of text below:]
*** 202-224-3121
*** Or click here for more info
*** [Below the above is a gray line which is split in the middle with gray text, and below that four state names in white text inside black boxes:]
*** Know anyone in these states? Ask them to call, too.
*** Alaska Maine Nevada Ohio West Virginia
* Ended while [[1869: Positive and Negative Reviews]] was up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20170731164828/https://xkcd.com/ 2017-07-31], when it was replaced by a ''Thank you''.
** That comic came out already [https://web.archive.org/web/20170728124230/https://xkcd.com/ three days before] (Friday comic), but was still up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20170730141019/https://www.xkcd.com/ 2017-07-30]) when the message changed sometimes between Sunday 30th and Monday 31st (where [[1870: Emoji Movie Reviews]] was released).

===2017-01-21 - Update on previous===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20170122003124/https://xkcd.com/ 2017-01-21]:
* [[1788: Barge]]
* It came up almost a month after Christmas but did not really change the sales pitch of the previous. It just removed the link image with the large red text, see previous version below.
* The text:
** There are [https://store.xkcd.com/collections/featured four new shirts] in [https://store.xkcd.com/ the xkcd store],
** along with [https://store.xkcd.com/collections/posters posters] and [https://store.xkcd.com/collections/everything lots of other stuff]!
* Ended with [[1867: Physics Confession]] on [https://web.archive.org/web/20170725103104/https://xkcd.com/ 2017-07-25].
** That comic came up [https://web.archive.org/web/20170724095252/https://xkcd.com/ the day before] the above version of the header appeared.
** So the first day after release it was still the T-shirt commercial.
** And it did not return to the standard version in between.

===2016-11-28 - Christmas sale===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20161128153015/https://xkcd.com 2016-11-28]
* [[1765: Baby Post]]
* This came up in time for the Christmas sale of 2016.
* The text was
** There are [https://store.xkcd.com/collections/featured four new shirts] in [https://store.xkcd.com/ the xkcd store],
** along with [https://store.xkcd.com/collections/posters posters] and [https://store.xkcd.com/collections/everything lots of other stuff]!
** Above the text there was an image with two black t-shirts with white print on the chest. They were located at either end of a large red text written in the text type used in the comic. This text said New xkcd shirts.
** The entire image was a link to the [https://store.xkcd.com/ xkcd store].
* Ended with [[1788: Barge]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20170121114423/https://xkcd.com/ 2017-01-21]

===2016-04-23 - Back to standard text===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20160423103108/https://xkcd.com/ 2016-04-23]
* When [[1671: Arcane ]] came out (probably 2016-04-22, but no earlier archived versions exist) the text returned to the standard xkcd header:
** xkcd updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
* It stayed like this for more than 7 months until [[1764: XKCDE]] was up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20161128093459/https://xkcd.com/ 2016-11-28].

===2016-04-04 - Protip on Garden===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20160404185353/https://www.xkcd.com/#5dbfbb82-fc20-11e5-8001-42010a8e000d 2016-04-04]
* Because of the complexity of the [[April Fools' Day comics|April Fools' Day comic]] [[1663: Garden]], Randall needed to give people some advice, hence a [[:Category:Protip|protip]] was added.
** This came in several versions, not all managed to be documented in the archive. See more in the trivia for garden regarding the [[1663:_Garden#Header_text_after_release|Header text after release]].
* The header text became a protip with the following text (the first version not documented only had the first line):
** '''Protip''': If you don't like how your garden is growing, you can click to prune it.
** You can copy the URL to share your garden. From other browsers, it will be view-only.
* When the next comic, [[1664: Mycology]], was released two days later on [https://web.archive.org/web/20160406194653/https://xkcd.com/1664/ 2016-04-06], an extra line of text was added, due to the issues caused by Garden not being on the front page {{xkcd}} but only on the numbered page {{xkcd|1663}}.
** This change was first documented on the front page the day after on [https://web.archive.org/web/20160407010635/https://xkcd.com/ 2016-04-07]
** The change was of course also on and all the other comic and thus also on the Garden comic from [https://web.archive.org/web/20160406192530/https://xkcd.com/1663/ 2016-04-06].
* Text added below the other two lines:
** Note: If you're seeing today's comic in place of your garden, change the URL from xkcd.com/#<your code> to xkcd.com/1663/#<your code>.
*** This extra line was only there until next time the comic change, so last day was [https://web.archive.org/web/20160408145017/https://xkcd.com/ 2016-04-08].
* On [https://web.archive.org/web/20160408195958/https://xkcd.com/ 2016-04-08] when [[1665: City Talk Pages]] was released the extra line was removed leaving the two written first here above.
** This was also the case on the Garden comic (and all other comics) from [https://web.archive.org/web/20160408204740/https://xkcd.com:80/1663/ 2016-04-08].
* The Protip stayed in the main header text until [https://web.archive.org/web/20160422102754/https://xkcd.com/ 2016-04-22] when [[1670: Laws of Physics]] was up.
** But even though it disappeared from main header and thus from all other comic it stayed on the Garden comic, also on [https://web.archive.org/web/20160423182630/https://xkcd.com:80/1663/ 2016-04-23].
** And it has then turned out to become one of the permanent [[xkcd_Header_text#Garden|Unique header texts]].

===2016-04-04 - Back to standard text as Garden came up===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20160404123555/https://xkcd.com/ 2016-04-04]
* For a brief period of time, when [[1663: Garden]] was finally released, the Header text returned to the standard xkcd header:
** xkcd updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
* But this lasted less than 13 hours. (Time between the previous and next archived version is 13 hours and 7 minutes).
** As people needed guidance to the new complicated comic.

===2016-04-01 - April 1st comic - technical difficulties===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20160401204749/https://xkcd.com/ 2016-04-01]
* When Randall had problem releasing [[1663: Garden]] several [[1663:_Garden#April_Fools.27_header_text|April Fools' header text]] arrived in short succession while [[1662: Jack and Jill]] was still up.
* Each of these where simple text.
** The first from the link abve:
*** The xkcd April 1st comic is currently experiencing technical difficulties.
*** Please stand by!
** The next from [https://web.archive.org/web/20160402125723/https://xkcd.com:80/ 2016-04-02] at 12:57:
*** The xkcd April 1st comic is currently experiencing technical difficulties.
*** Status update: Please stand by.
*** Status update: This is fine. Everything is fine.
*** Status update: Everything is on fire.
*** Status update: Searching for calendar systems in which Saturday is April 1st.
** The next from [https://web.archive.org/web/20160402175822/https://www.xkcd.com 2016-04-02] at 17:58:
*** The Friday xkcd comic is currently experiencing technical difficulties
*** [Editor's note: Everything is on fire] and has been delayed until Sunday night.
* It stayed like the third version until [https://web.archive.org/web/20160404054612/https://xkcd.com/ 2016-04-04] three days after the April Fools' Day comic was supposed to come out, so Jack and Jill was up until it changed.
This was what was needed to stop more than 10 months of promotion of the [[Thing Explainer]] book, see below.

===2015-12-13 - Thing Explainer is available===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20151213194534/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-12-13]
* [[1615: Red Car]] was still up when the header changed.
** The change was that the promotion for where Randall was last week where removed and left only the promotion the book [[Thing Explainer]]:
* The text:
** Thing Explainer is available at: [https://www.amazon.com/Thing-Explainer-Complicated-Stuff-Simple/dp/0544668251 Amazon], [https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/thing-explainer-randall-munroe/1121864432?ean=9780544668256#/ Barnes & Noble], [https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780544668256 Indie Bound], [https://www.hudsonbooksellers.com/thingexplainer Hudson]
* It was last up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20160401125621/https://xkcd.com/ 2016-04-01] while [[1662: Jack and Jill]] was on the front page.
** This was the last time that Thing Explainer was [[:Category:Book promotion|promoted]] in the header text.
*** The first time was [[xkcd_Header_text#2015-05-14_-_New_book_Thing_Explainer|2015-05-14]], so it had been part of the header text for almost ten and a half month. That is a record!

===2015-12-05 - Thing Explainer is available and Next week===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20151205070539/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-12-05]
* [[1612: Colds]] was up when the header changed.
** This was also at this time the [[2015-11-24 - Pages from my new book Thing Explainer|previous header texts image] was moved below the comic.
* Randall goes back to a simple promotion of the book [[Thing Explainer]] listing where to boy it.'
** But he adds a line about where he will be next week, first to a book shop on Illinois and then later in Toronto, where the host was {{w|Ryan North}} from [https://qwantz.com/ Dinosaur comics], one of the [[Design_of_xkcd.com#Comics_I_enjoy|comics Randall enjoys]].
* The text:
** Thing Explainer is available at: [https://www.amazon.com/Thing-Explainer-Complicated-Stuff-Simple/dp/0544668251 Amazon], [https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/thing-explainer-randall-munroe/1121864432?ean=9780544668256#/ Barnes & Noble], [https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780544668256 Indie Bound], [https://www.hudsonbooksellers.com/thingexplainer Hudson]
** I'll be in [https://web.archive.org/web/20151211002159/https://www.andersonsbookshop.com/event/naperville-reads-randall-munroe Naperville, IL] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20151205205714/https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/indigo-exclusive-randall-munroe-tickets-18694384407 Toronto, ON] (with [https://qwantz.com/ Ryan North]!) next week.
* It was last up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20151212133400/https://xkcd.com:80/ 2015-12-12] while [[1615: Red Car]] was on the front page.

===2015-11-24 - Pages from my new book Thing Explainer===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20151203234149/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-12-03]
* [[1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar]] was still up when the header changed.
** This was a special one comic header text consisting of a large image with pages and excerpts from the book [[Thing Explainer]].
** The image was larger than most comics, and took away the focus of today's comic.
** So already two days after, when [[1612: Colds]] was released, the image was relegated to the being below the comic, but inside the [[Design_of_xkcd.com#Main_comic|main comic]] segment, thus not a part of the [[Design_of_xkcd.com#Bottom_segment|bottom segment]].
*** But it was displayed in the header for all comics, here [https://web.archive.org/web/20151204030024/https://xkcd.com/1609/ an example] from the comic released two comics before 1611, [[1609: Food Combinations]].
*** See more (and the image) [[Thing_Explainer#Promotion_at_the_xkcd_home_page|here]] on the page for Thing Explainer.
* Description of the image:
** At the top are shown four pages from the book. Two mainly blue, left and right, with white text and large images and between them two mainly white pages with blue text and smaller images. None of the text is readable, but the two blue pages pictures can be understood even in this size.
*** The first page is number 2 about an animal cell: ''Tiny bags of water you’re made of''. It shows a detailed drawing of a human cell, with text at the top, and then several labels with text beneath that have arrows pointing to different parts of the cell.
*** The second page is number 31 about the cockpit of an airplane: ''Stuff you touch to fly a sky boat''. It shows the inside of a cockpit with view out of the four windows, with lots of buttons in the ceiling, and blue screens and instruments at the bottom. Out the windows can be seen clouds and Cueball hanging from a balloon (a reference to [[1110: Click and Drag]]).
**** A zoom in on this page is shown beneath the four pages, see more below.
*** The third page is page 27. What is on this page is a bit difficult to see, as there are no big drawings with clear meaning. It is the second page in a two page section on Data centers, with the second page focusing on the Computer: ''Computer building''. The pictures shows the data racks, to the right, and the individual computer components put into these, to the top left, with the wiring shown below to the left. Lots of text with arrows to different parts.
*** The fourth page is page 23 about Trees: ''Tree''. It clearly shows the silhouette of a white tree on blue background. Several animal live on, in and beneath it. Cueball is standing on the ground. All the text are beneath labels that points to parts of the tree or the tree dwellers.
** In between the two time two pages there is a readable text, split over five lines, with two arrow at the top going from the corners of the text to the near corners of the white pages to either side. And below three arrows, with two pointing similarly as the two top arrows, but starting at the bottom of the text, and one arrow pointing straight down from the middle of the text to the large image below.
** Beneath all this is a large image which shows a zoom in on the left part of the cockpit from the second page above. The zoom is focused on the two front windows, but only the left is entirely in the picture, and the balloon hanging Cueball, cannot be seen in this part of the right window.
*** At this zoom level, most of the text van be read (that is labels written on things or having arrows pointing to them). Clouds can bee seen out of both windows and in the background a rocket launch with smoke plume below the rocket is visible. The horizon line is well defines across both windows. Some of the instruments can be seen below the windows with text written on them. And some blue areas, mainly screens can be seen.
** Beneath this picture is a line with links to where the book can be ordered, like the one from the previous header text.
* The text:
** Pages from my new book, ''Thing Explainer'': Complicated stuff in simple words.
** [Labels in the cockpit]:
*** Sky
*** Ground (This should be below the sky. If it's above the sky, you're either having a big problem or doing something ''really'' fun.)
*** Use this stuff to tell the sky boat to fly itself.
*** Fly
*** How fast it feels IAS 172
*** Direction HDG 240
*** Fall or rise
*** How high 2500
*** Fly
*** Helpful screen
*** Where the ground is
*** You are: Flying
*** Look here if there is a problem
** Below this image is a line of text with the first word in black and the other are four links to where to order the book:
*** Order: [https://www.amazon.com/Thing-Explainer-Complicated-Stuff-Simple/dp/0544668251 Amazon], [https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/thing-explainer-randall-munroe/1121864432?ean=9780544668256#/ Barnes & Noble], [https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780544668256 Indie Bound], [https://www.hudsonbooksellers.com/thingexplainer Hudson]
** The image is a link to [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0544668251/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0544668251&linkCode=as2&tag=thekcs-20&linkId=S4XRZJJKSMHOWEQU Thing Explainer on Amazon].
* It was only part of the header for two days until [https://web.archive.org/web/20151204050419/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-12-04].
** It was then moved below the comics as mentioned above from [https://web.archive.org/web/20151205070539/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-12-05] when the next comic [[1612: Colds]] came out.

===2015-11-24 - Thing Explainer is out today===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20151124201602/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-11-24]
* [[1607: Supreme Court]] was still up, but [[1608: Hoverboard]] most have come out close to the change.
** See both [https://web.archive.org/web/20151125001228/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-11-25 00:12] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20151125230753/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-11-25 23:07].
** Since this new "comic" was actually a {{w|browser game}} made to celebrate the release of Randall's new book, ''[[Thing Explainer]]'', which was released on the same day as this comic: Tuesday, November 24, 2015. The comic thus appeared on a Tuesday, replacing that week's normal Wednesday release to coincide with the release day.
** Hence it is a shame that there is no archived versions on the 24th showing Hoverboard on the front page. Even though the new version of the Header text is shown on the 24th, but on the previous comic.
* Cause all the header text is about is the release day of Thing Explainer!
** The top part is text with a line with large letters and a line below in brackets and using smaller letters. Below that there is a line dividing the text from the next part.
** Below follows the same header that was up as early as [[#2015-05-15 - Thing Explainer details|2015-05-15]] with the open book and three lines of text.
* The text:
** My new book, [https://blog.xkcd.com/2015/05/13/new-book-thing-explainer/ Thing Explainer], is out today!
** (If you're in NYC, you can also [https://web.archive.org/web/20150925015809/https://stores.barnesandnoble.com:80/author/11170358 come see me]!)
** A picture of the open book is shown with diagrams of a human cell on the left page and suspension bridges on the right. All held in blue nuances. And arrow goes from the first word of the text to the right to the book on the left. The text is also blue except the title of the book which is in red:
*** New book: Thing Explainer
*** Up Goer Five-style diagrams of things (explained in the ten-hundred most common words)
** Below this image is a line of text with the first word in black and the other are four links to where to order the book:
*** Order: [https://www.amazon.com/Thing-Explainer-Complicated-Stuff-Simple/dp/0544668251 Amazon], [https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/thing-explainer-randall-munroe/1121864432?ean=9780544668256#/ Barnes & Noble], [https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780544668256 Indie Bound], [https://www.hudsonbooksellers.com/thingexplainer Hudson]
** The image above the order line is a link to the [[Blag]] post [https://blog.xkcd.com/2015/05/13/new-book-thing-explainer/ New book: Thing Explainer].
* Already the day after [https://web.archive.org/web/20151125001228/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-11-25], when [[1608: Hoverboard]] was up, an extra line (a link) was added below the above. A line was separating it from the links above:
** [https://blog.xkcd.com/2015/11/24/a-puzzle-for-the-uk/ A puzzle for UK readers]
*** This was to a blag post with A puzzle for the UK because he could not go to UK in person. So this was a kind of bonus for those who could solve it. (We need an entry on that here on xkcd...)
* On [https://web.archive.org/web/20151127114432/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-11-27] is still looked like this but then when the next comic, [[1609: Food Combinations]], came out on [https://web.archive.org/web/20151128130851/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-11-28] the line about seeing him in New York was removed.
* The version with the puzzle, but without the New York line, was then up until [https://web.archive.org/web/20151201222148/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-12-01] when [[1610: Fire Ants]] was up.
* Then on [https://web.archive.org/web/20151202225254/https://www.xkcd.com/ 2015-12-02] the line with the puzzle at the bottom was changed to:
** I'm doing a [https://www.facebook.com/AndyWeirAuthor/ live Q&A;] at 2:30pm PT with The Martian author Andy Weir.
*** The link is to {{w|Andy Weir}}'s Facebook page. And the Q&A can likely not be seen anymore.
*** Randall has made no less than two comics about the movie {{w|The Martian (film)|The Martian}}, [[1536: The Martian]] and [[1585: Similarities]].
** It only lasted that day, and this became the last day with this header text, so it ended while [[1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar]] was up.

===2015-10-22 - World Polio Day===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20151022200022/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-10-22]
* [[1593: Play-By-Play]] was up when the header changed.
** Randall mentions World Polio Day and the comic he drew for Bill Gates' blog, [[XKCD Marks the Spot]].
** Although he still keeps mentioning the release date for [[Thing Explainer]].
* The text:
** We've [https://slate.com/technology/2015/08/no-new-polio-in-africa-for-one-year-gates-epidemiologist-on-vaccines-and-surveillance.html almost eradicated polio]. For World Polio Day, I drew a comic
** about the eradication efforts. You can see it on [https://www.gatesnotes.com/Health/XKCD-Marks-the-Spot Bill Gates's blog].
** My [https://blog.xkcd.com/2015/05/13/new-book-thing-explainer/ new book] of complex diagrams and simple words comes out Nov 24th.
*** The last line is split from the Polio announcement with a line.
* Was there until [[1607: Supreme Court]] was up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20151124065108/https://xkcd.com:80/ 2015-11-24].
** That was the day that the book was released, and when the next comic [[1608: Hoverboard]] came out, it was a celebration of the book.

===2015-09-23 - Book trip and tool===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20150923044724/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-09-23]:
* [[1580: Travel Ghost]] was up when the header changed.
** Announcing the book trip for the [[Thing Explainer]] book as well as linking to a Thing Explainer word checker tool! Two lines of text with links.
* The text:
** News: Announcing my Thing Explainer [https://blog.xkcd.com/2015/09/22/im-going-on-a-book-trip/ book trip]. Come say hi!
** Other news: Announcing the Thing Explainer [https://blog.xkcd.com/2015/09/22/a-thing-explainer-word-checker/ word checker] tool!
*** Both links are to the [[Blag]], the first a schedule for his book trip, and the second telling about Randall's new [https://xkcd.com/simplewriter/ Simple Writer] that could help you ''Write Like Up Goer Five and Thing Explainer''.
* Was there until [[1593: Play-By-Play]] was up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20151021164208/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-10-21].

===2015-09-06 - New links===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20150906181550/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-09-06]:
* [[1573: Cyberintelligence]] was still up when the header changed.
** The promotion of the book, [[Thing Explainer]], stayed the same with a picture above links to preorder it, but the links was reduced from four to two, the amazon link changed and a new company was added for the second link removing the other three.
** See [[#2015-05-15 - Thing Explainer details|2015-05-15]] below for all details on the image.
* The new link text:
** Preorder: [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thing-Explainer-Randall-Munroe/dp/1473620910 Amazon.co.uk}, [https://www.waterstones.com/book/thing-explainer/9781473620919 Waterstones]
* Was there until [[1579: Tech Loops]] was up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20150919220105/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-09-22].

===2015-08-09 - Back to previous header===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20150809230825/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-08-09]:
* [[1561: Water Phase Diagram]] was still up when the header changed.
** It changed back to the exact same heading as before the one with other news here below.
*** See [[#2015-05-15 - Thing Explainer details|2015-05-15]] below for all details.
* Stayed like this until [[1573: Cyberintelligence]] was out on [https://web.archive.org/web/20150905154014/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-09-05], but the only change was that the links to preorder changed from four to only two.

===2015-06-06 - Other news===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20150606084120/https://www.xkcd.com/ 2015-06-06]
* Changed while [[1534: Beer]] was still up.
** This was just adding some "Other news", but leaving the promotion of [[Thing Explainer]] unchanged as in the [[#2015-05-15 - Thing Explainer details|previous header]], but adding two news stories in text below the link to preorder.
* The new text:
** In other news, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygrdAvmr-MA Space Weird Thing] is delightful, and I feel surprisingly invested in [https://web.archive.org/web/20150720074919/https://twitter.com/xkcdbracket @xkcdbracket's] results.
*** The link to Space Weird Thing is a YouTube video with a simple words version of {{w|David Bowie|David Bowie's}} [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYYRH4apXDo Space Oddity] music video, using only the top then hundred words. The creators contributes the idea to the [[1133: Up Goer Five]] diagram which also inspired the book Thing Explainer, also promoted in this header text.
*** The other link is referring to [[1529: Bracket]] released 12 days before this update, as a twitter user made a survey going through all the brackets all the way to a winner was found. Seems Randall became interested in who won. See more on the comics page.
* Was there until [[1561: Water Phase Diagram]] was up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20150807181044/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-08-07]. Then it returned back to the previous header with only the promotion of the book.

===2015-05-15 - Thing Explainer details===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20150515060322/https://www.xkcd.com/ 2015-05-15]
* [[1525: Emojic 8 Ball]]
* This was a more detailed promotion for Randall's new book: [[Thing Explainer]] to be published in November 2015, more than half a year after the announcement, compared to the previous change which was just a line and a link.
* The text:
** A picture of the open book is shown with diagrams of a human cell on the left page and suspension bridges on the right. All held in blue nuances. And arrow goes from the first word of the text to the right to the book on the left. The text is also blue except the title of the book which is in red:
*** New book: Thing Explainer
*** Up Goer Five-style diagrams of things (explained in the then hundred most common words)
** Below this image is a line of text with the first word in black and the other are four links to where to preorder the book:
*** Preorder: [https://www.amazon.com/Thing-Explainer-Complicated-Stuff-Simple/dp/0544668251 Amazon], [https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/thing-explainer-randall-munroe/1121864432?ean=9780544668256#/ Barnes & Noble], [https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780544668256 Indie Bound], [https://www.hudsonbooksellers.com/thingexplainer Hudson]
** The image above the preorder line is a link to the [[Blag]] post [https://blog.xkcd.com/2015/05/13/new-book-thing-explainer/ New book: Thing Explainer].
* Changed while [[1534: Beer]] was up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20150605082643/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-06-05], but only to add other information. The main promotion of the book stayed the same.

===2015-05-14 - New book Thing Explainer===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20150514053623/https://www.xkcd.com/ 2015-05-14]
* [[1524: Dimensions]] was up.
** A single line announced the new [[Thing Explainer]] book, with link to the [[Blag]] post from the day before.
* The text:
** New book: [https://blog.xkcd.com/2015/05/13/new-book-thing-explainer/ Thing Explainer!]
The [[:Category:Book promotion|promotion of the book]] stayed up with some changes for [[xkcd_Header_text#2015-12-13_-_Thing_Explainer_is_available|more than 10 month]] first stopping when Randall had [[xkcd_Header_text#2016-04-01_-_The_xkcd_April_1st_comic_is_currently_experiencing_technical_difficulties|problems with his April Fools' Day comic]] in 2016... It is a record length.
* The first came already the day after so this short announcement was only up on this day and ended with the next comic. See above.
* See more details on the promotion of the book on the Thing Explainer page [[Thing_Explainer#Promotion_at_the_xkcd_home_page|here]].

===2015-02-11 - Back to standard text===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20150211154103/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-02-11]
* When [[1485: Friendship]] came out the text returned to the standard xkcd header:
** xkcd updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
* It stayed like this until [[1523: Microdrones]] was up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20150512184622/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-05-12], so just a day more than three months.

===2015-02-04 - Valentine cards only===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20150204051152/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-02-04]
* [[1482: NowPlaying]] came out as it changed.
** After the last day of ordering t-shirt had passed it changed back to the picture with the Valentine cards from the previous header, but without the t-shirt picture.
** See that [[#2015-01-29 - Valentine cards and shirt|header change]], but only the first picture described.
* Ended while [[1484: Apollo Speeches]] was up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20150210005540/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-02-10].

===2015-02-02 - Last day shirt===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20150202092804/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-02-02]
* [[1481: API]] came out as it changed.
** Just letting people know it is the last chance to order the binary t-shirt.
** There was just a line of text:
* The text was:
** Today is the last day to order the limited-run [https://web.archive.org/web/20150202092804/https://teespring.com/xkcdbinaryheart binary heart shirt]!
** The last words is link to the shirt in the shop.
* Ended before the next comic was up, but still the day after, when it was too late to order: [https://web.archive.org/web/20150203022036/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-02-03].

===2015-01-29 - Valentine cards and shirt===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20150129183442/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-01-29]
* [[1479: Troubleshooting]] was up when it changed.
** It was to tell about both the two previous updates in the same header- Both about the collaboration to make science themed Valentine's Day cards and his new Valentine t-shirt.
** There where two pictures, with a promotion of the two products and a link to them in the shop.
** On the left was text about the cards with a small drawing to the right of the text showing the four cards.
*** An ant talking to an aphids; Earth rotating about the sun but locked so one side melts; an ant with a fungus growing from it's head with a heart, and a Velociraptor skeleton where the last bit of the tail is put on by a person. The text on the cards are unreadable, but they can be seen via the link.
** The text (in three lines) was:
*** Webcomic science Valentine card collaboration
*** The [https://web.archive.org/web/20150127161237/https://store.xkcd.com/products/webcomic-science-valentines link to the cards] from the picture.
** The picture on the left shows binary numbers 0 and 1 in white on a black background. The middle of the three lines of those have message in red text.
** The text:
*** 0 1 0 1 0 Binary heart 1 1 1
*** 1 1 1 Valentine shirt 0 1
*** 0 0 0 1 [limited run] 0 0 1
*** The [https://web.archive.org/web/20150125080756/https://teespring.com/xkcdbinaryheart link to the shirt] from the picture.
* Ended while [[1480: Super Bowl]] was up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20150201015913/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-02-01].

===2015-01-27 - Valentine's Day cards===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20150127161237/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-01-27]
* [[1478: P-Values]] was up when it changed.
** It was to tell that about a collaboration to make science themed Valentine's Day cards.
** There was just two lines of text:
* The text was:
** I've teamed up with three other webcomic artists
** to make [https://web.archive.org/web/20150127161237/https://store.xkcd.com/products/webcomic-science-valentines a set of science-themed Valentine's Day cards]!
* There was a link to the cards on the store.
* Ended while [[1479: Troubleshooting]] was up [https://web.archive.org/web/20150128172147/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-01-28].

===2015-01-24 - Get shirts in store===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20150124110707/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-01-24]
* [[1477: Star Wars]] came out as it changed.
** It was to tell about a new type of t-shirt for Valentine Day.
** There was just two lines of text:
* The text was:
** For Valentine's Day, you can get a binary heart shirt
** (from {{xkcd|99|comic #99!}}) in [https://web.archive.org/web/20150125080756/https://teespring.com/xkcdbinaryheart a limited run on TeeSpring]
* There was a link to [[99: Binary Heart]] and to the relevant t-shirt on the [https://teespring.com/ Teespring] home page.
* Ended while [[1478: P-Values]] was up [https://web.archive.org/web/20150126133139/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-01-26].

===2014-12-22 - Get shirts in store===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20141222233233/https://xkcd.com/ 2014-12-22]
* [[1463: Altitude]] came out as it changed.
** After the Christmas sale deadline there was still merchandise in the [https://store.xkcd.com/ xkcd store].
** There was just a line of text:
* The text was:
** You can get xkcd shirts, prints, and posters in the [https://shop.xkcd.com/ store]!
* The word store was a link to the shop.
* Ended while [[1476: Ceres]] was up [https://web.archive.org/web/20150123102318/https://xkcd.com/ 2015-01-23].

===2014-12-19 - Back to previous header===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20141219092349/https://www.xkcd.com/ 2014-12-19]:
* [[1462: Blind Trials]] came out as it changed.
It changed back to the exact same heading as before the one with order now here below.
* See [[#2014-12-17 - Christmas deadline|2014-12-17]] below for all details.
* Ended while [[1462: Blind Trials]] was still up [https://web.archive.org/web/20141221172450/https://www.xkcd.com/ 2014-12-21].

===2014-12-18 - Order now===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20141218090650/https://www.xkcd.com/ 2014-12-18]
* [[1461: Payloads]] was still up when it changed.
** It was to alert that the deadline for shipping before Christmas from the [https://store.xkcd.com/ xkcd store] was Friday and that it was rapidly approaching. This was a follow up on the [[#2014-12-17 - Christmas deadline|Wednesdays announcement]] the day before.
** The image was just four lines of text with several red and blue words.
* The text was:
** The xkcd store Christmas shipping deadline is Friday!
** Once it passes, there is no going back. The arrow of time drags us all
** Inexorably forward toward decay and disorder. toward the end of all things.
** Towards the empty silence of the grave. Order now!
* The entire drawing was a link to the [https://store.xkcd.com/ xkcd store], not just the blue text.
* Ended a day later while [[1461: Payloads]] was still up [https://web.archive.org/web/20141216084107/https://xkcd.com/ 2014-12-16].

===2014-12-17 - Christmas deadline===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20141217085320/https://www.xkcd.com/ 2014-12-17]
* [[1461: Payloads]] came out as it changed.
** It was to alert that the deadline for shipping before Christmas from the [https://store.xkcd.com/ xkcd store] was Friday. This was announced Wednesday two days before the deadline.
** The image was just text with the last word in each line in red and the xkcd store blue as a link.
* The text was:
** Looking for a gift?
** xkcd store Christmas shipping deadline is Friday!
* The entire drawing was a link to the [https://store.xkcd.com/ xkcd store], not just the blue text
* Ended a day later while [[1461: Payloads]] was still up!

===2014-12-03 - Christmas shopping===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20141203132024/https://www.xkcd.com/ 2014-12-03]
* [[1455: Trolley Problem]] came out as it changed.
** It was to announce the start of the Christmas shopping on the [https://store.xkcd.com/ xkcd store]
** Four boxes with shipping details are shown. Two green and two red, alternating from green. Between them are three text messages in two, two and three lines.
* The text was:
** xkcd store
** Christmas shopping
** I will probably not ship you a bobcat.
* The entire drawing was a link to the [https://store.xkcd.com/ xkcd store].
* The bobcat is a reference to [[325: A-Minus-Minus]].
* Ended while [[1460: SMFW]] was up [https://web.archive.org/web/20141216084107/https://xkcd.com/ 2014-12-16].

===2014-11-29 - Thanks - Emily===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20141129211604/https://xkcd.com/ 2014-11-29]
* [[1453: fMRI]] was still up when it changed.
** It was to thanks for all the help his friend Emily with cancer got through among other his previous header text [[#2014-11-27 - Help Emily| Help Emily]].
** That only needed to be up two days before the goal was met.
* The text was:
** Thank you for helping my friend Emily.
** It means so much.
* Ended three days later while [[1454: Done]] was up [https://web.archive.org/web/20141202065133/https://xkcd.com/ 2014-12-02].

===2014-11-27 - Help Emily===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20141127005239/https://xkcd.com/ 2014-11-27]
* [[1452: Jurassic World]] came out as it changed.
** It was to help a friend who got cancer by raising money for her.
* The text was:
** Hey all. My friend Emily—the economist who helped
** me with my {{xkcd|980|money chart}}—has been fighting cancer. She's
** having a rough time and could use some [https://web.archive.org/web/20141128183414/https://www.gofundme.com/e07dqk help]. Thank you.
* There are two links, one to the [[980: Money]] comic she helped Randall create, and one for her Go Fund Me page to raise money for her cancer cure.
** The help link above is to the archived version from that time, but the link was still active in August 2019: [https://www.gofundme.com/e07dqk Helping Emily Fight Cancer].
* Ended while [[1453: fMRI]] was up [https://web.archive.org/web/20141128070838/https://www.xkcd.com/ 2014-11-28].
** She did thus not get a permanent header as did Becky on the [[#Seven_Years|Seven Years]] comic.

===2014-10-02 - what if? bestseller===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20141002211139/https://xkcd.com/ 2014-10-02]
* [[1428: Move Fast and Break Things]] was up when it changed from the [[#2014-09-02 - what if? book out|book is out]].
* This was a month after the ''[[What If? (book)|What If?]]'' book came out.
** It added a line of red text beneath the previous header to announce that the book was the #1 New York bestseller.
* The text was:
** My book is out!
** (#1 New York bestseller!)
* The entire image was a link to the [https://whatif.xkcd.com/book/ The Book] page on the [https://whatif.xkcd.com/ what if?] page on xkcd. post.
* Ended while [[1451: Background Screens]] was up [https://web.archive.org/web/20141125234520/https://xkcd.com/ 2014-11-25].

===2014-09-04 - what if? book out===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20140904150600/https://xkcd.com/ 2014-09-04]
* [[1416: Pixels]] was up when it changed from the [[#2014-09-02 - what if? book out today|book is out today]].
* This was two days after the ''[[What If? (book)|What If?]]'' book came out.
** It only removed to today from the previous header, that had only been up two days.
* The text was:
** My book is out!
* The entire image was a link to the [https://whatif.xkcd.com/book/ The Book] page on the [https://whatif.xkcd.com/ what if?] page on xkcd. post.
* Ended while [[1428: Move Fast and Break Things]] was up [https://web.archive.org/web/20141001130827/https://xkcd.com/ 2014-09-01].

===2014-09-02 - what if? book out today===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20140902125802/https://xkcd.com/ 2014-09-02]
* [[1415: Ballooning]] was up when it changed from the [[#2014-07-23 - what if? book tour|book tour header]].
* This was the day the ''[[What If? (book)|What If?]]'' book came out. [[Cueball]] standing to the left of the text with arms raised shouts this out.. The word Book is underlined and blue to indicate a link.
* The text was:
** My book is out today!
* The entire image was a link to the [https://whatif.xkcd.com/book/ The Book] page on the [https://whatif.xkcd.com/ what if?] page on xkcd. post.
* Ended while [[1416: Pixels]] was still [https://web.archive.org/web/20140903134518/https://xkcd.com/ 2014-09-03].

===2014-07-23 - what if? book tour===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20140723180600/https://xkcd.com/ 2014-07-23]
* [[1398: Snake Facts]]
* This was a promotion of his book tour for the ''[[What If? (book)|What If?]]'' book made by [[Cueball]] standing to the left of the text with arms raised. Several parts of the text was underlined and blue to indicate links.
* The text was:
** I'm going on a book tour! click here for a list of stops.
** Or click anywhere-this whole image is one link because I've never gotten the hang of HTML imagemaps.
* The entire image was a link to the [[Blag]] post: [https://blog.xkcd.com/2014/07/22/what-if-book-tour/ What If book tour!].
** Later Randall commented on this lacking ability in the comic: [[1572: xkcd Survey]].
** He also mentions it in one of the [[#xkcd_Header_text#2019-07-09_-_Drawings_from_How_To|promotions]] for his [[How To]] book.
** He much later he again mentions that html is hard, thus explaining why the entire image is a link instead of the actual blue highlighted link in one of the promotions for [[xkcd_Header_text#2022-08-11_-_Preorder_What_if.3F_2_-_with_image|what if? 2]].
* Ended while [[1415: Ballooning]] was still up [https://web.archive.org/web/20140901113916/https://xkcd.com/ 2014-09-01].

===2014-03-13 - what if? announced===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20140313070951/https://xkcd.com/ 2014-03-13]
* [[1341: Types of Editors]] was up.
* This was the first promotion of Randall's new ''[[What If? (book)|What If?]]'' book which is shown next to two lines of text.
* The text was:
** News:
** I'm publishing a ''what if'' book!
* The entire image was a link to the [[Blag]] post: [https://blog.xkcd.com/2014/03/12/what-if-i-wrote-a-book/ What if I wrote a book?]
* Ended while [[1397: Luke]] was up [https://web.archive.org/web/20140722142115/https://xkcd.com/ 2014-07-22].

===2014-01-09 - Back to standard text===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20140109190927/https://www.xkcd.com/ 2014-01-09]
* When [[1314: Photos]] was still up when the text returned to the standard xkcd header:
** xkcd updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
* It stayed until [https://web.archive.org/web/20140312070248/https://xkcd.com/ 2014-03-12] when [[1340: Unique Date]] was up, a bit more than two months.

===2013-12-21 - Deadline for Christmas shipping has passed===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20131221043417/https://www.xkcd.com/ 2013-12-21]
* It changed when [[1306: Sigil Cycle]] came out.
* This came up when it was too close to Christmas in 2013 for shipping to arrive in time for Christmas. And Randall makes a note of this, but lets people know that they could still buy presents...
* The text was
** The deadline for guaranteed Christmas shipping has passed, but if you order something from the [https://store.xkcd.com/ xkcd store], we'll get it to you as fast as possible!
* Ended when [[1314: Photos]] was up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20140108181520/https://www.xkcd.com/ 2014-01-08].

===2013-12-06 - Empty header===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20131206213503/https://xkcd.com/ 2013-12-06]
* It changed when [[1300: Galilean Moons]] came out.
** There was no header text. This happened next on [[Header_text#2020-04-05 - Empty header|2020-04-05]]. It looks really weird.
* Ended when [[1305: Undocumented Feature]] was up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20131220005306/https://xkcd.com/ 2013-12-20].

===Changes not documented yet 3===
More changes will for sure be here between this and the one below.

Just put the link here with a date and maybe a short note:
[https://web.archive.org/web/20131205202730/https://xkcd.com/ 2013-12-05]: Xmas sale before above
[https://web.archive.org/web/20130315162227/https://xkcd.com:80/ 2013-03-15]: Empty follows below

===2013-03-15 - Empty header===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20130315162227/https://xkcd.com:80/ 2013-03-15]
* It changed while [[1186: Bumblebees]] was on the front page.
** After the text saying a comic would be delayed disappeared no text replaced this.
** So the header was left empty!
* This lasted until [https://web.archive.org/web/20130318072820/https://xkcd.com/ 2013-03-18] while [[1187: Aspect Ratio]] was up.

===2013-03-13 - Comic will be delayed===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20130313133631/https://xkcd.com/ 2013-03-13]
* It changed when [[1184: Circumference Formula]] came out, likely because the next comic was delayed.
** But there is a gap of three days before where no archived version exist, so cannot say if there where more than a few hours with this text.
* The text:
** The comic will be delayed until late morning EDT.
* Ended when [[1185: Ineffective Sorts]] was up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20130313175306/https://xkcd.com:80/ 2013-03-13].
** That was later same day as the first archived version. But could have been longer as mentioned above.

===2012-11-26 - xkcd store===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20121126235628/https://xkcd.com/1138/ 2012-11-26]
* It changed while [[1138: Heatmap]] was up.
** Notice that the above link is not from the main page, but from {{xkcd|1138}}.
** There was a gap of five days in the archive of the main page.
** The first day that it was archived from the front page was on [https://web.archive.org/web/20121201111432/https://xkcd.com/ 2012-12-01], while [[1141: Two Years]] was up.
* The standard header text is replaced with an image that makes it seem like a rip is being torn in the white region where the text used to be. Beneath the white material that has now been ripped, some text can partly be seen. It is possible to read it.
* The text:
** xkcd store
*** The image is a link to the [https://store.xkcd.com/ xkcd store] (tadaaa!)
* Ended when [[1183: Rose Petals]] was up on [https://web.archive.org/web/20130311073948/https://xkcd.com:80/1183/ 2013-03-11]
** The above link is from {{xkcd|1183}}.
** Last time the front page was archived with it was though on [https://web.archive.org/web/20130309010403/https://xkcd.com/ 2013-03-09].

===2012-10-24 - Back to standard text===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20121024082017/https://xkcd.com:80/ 2012-10-24]
* While [[1124: Law of Drama]] was on the front the header returned to the standard xkcd header:
** xkcd updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
* It stayed until [https://web.archive.org/web/20121126035129/https://xkcd.com:80/ 2012-11-26] when [[1138: Heatmap]] was up, a few days more than a month.

===2012-10-17 - New What-If - Lightning===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20121017232102/https://xkcd.com/1121/ 2012-10-17]
* Probably while [[1122: Electoral Precedent]] was up.
** But the link above showing it was up on the 2012-10-17 is from the previous comics page {{xkcd|1121}} [[1121: Identity]].
** But the first version archived with this header is saved on [https://web.archive.org/web/20121018082304/https://xkcd.com/ 2012-10-18]
* Randall promotes another New What-If article.
** See the ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'' article ''{{what if|16|Today's topic: Lightning}}''.
* The text
** New What-If article:
** [https://what-if.xkcd.com/16/ What if lightning struck while you were ...]
* This lasted until [https://web.archive.org/web/20121023023404/https://xkcd.com/1121/ 2012-10-23] when [[1124: Law of Drama]] was on the front page
** This link is though from {{xkcd|1121}}.
** The last this version was archived on the front page was the day before on [https://web.archive.org/web/20121022120008/https://xkcd.com:80/ 2012-10-22].

===2012-10-10 - New What-If - Mariana Trench Explosion===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20121010003837/https://xkcd.com/ 2012-10-10]
* [[1118: Microsoft]] was still up at this time.
* Randall promotes another New What-If article.
** See the ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'' article ''{{what if|15|Mariana Trench Explosion}}''.
* The text
** New What-If article:
** [https://what-if.xkcd.com/15/ What if you set off a nuclear bomb in the Mariana Trench?].
* This lasted until [https://web.archive.org/web/20121016055538/https://xkcd.com:80/ 2012-10-16] when [[1121: Identity]] was up.

===2012-10-02 - This week's What-If - Short Answer Section===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20121002231724/https://www.xkcd.com/ 2012-10-02]
* [[1115: Sky]] was still up at this time.
* Randall promotes another New What-If article.
** See the ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'' article ''{{what if|14|Short Answer Section}}''.
* The text
** In this week's What-If article I [https://what-if.xkcd.com/14/ answer multiple reader questions].
* This lasted until [https://web.archive.org/web/20121008112434/https://xkcd.com/ 2012-10-08] when [[1118: Microsoft]] was up.

===2012-09-26 - New What-If - Laser Pointer===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20120926163111/https://xkcd.com/1108/ 2012-09-26]
* [[1113: Killed in Action]] was up at this time.
** The link above showing it happened on the 26th is from {{xkcd|1108}}
** The first day this version was archived on the front page was on [https://web.archive.org/web/20120928003838/https://xkcd.com:80/ 2012-09-28]
* Randall promotes another New What-If article.
** See the ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'' article ''{{what if|13|Laser Pointer}}''.
* The text
** New What-If article:
** [https://what-if.xkcd.com/13/ If everyone aimed a laser pointer at the Moon at once, would it change color?]
* This lasted until [https://web.archive.org/web/20121001080517/https://xkcd.com/ 2012-10-01] when [[1115: Sky]] was up.

===2012-09-18 - what-if.xkcd.com - Raindrop===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20120918143653/https://www.xkcd.com/1108/ 2012-09-18]
* [[1109: Refrigerator]] was still up at this time.
** The link above showing it happened on the 18th is from {{xkcd|1108}}
** The first day this version was archived on the front page was on [https://web.archive.org/web/20120919015232/https://xkcd.com/ 2012-09-19]
* Randall promotes another What-If article on the what-if page.
** See the ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'' article ''{{what if|12|Raindrop}}''.
* The text
** what-if.xkcd.com: [https://what-if.xkcd.com/12/ What if all of a storm's water fell in a single raindrop?].
* This lasted until [https://web.archive.org/web/20120925090123/https://xkcd.com:80/ 2012-09-25] when [[1112: Think Logically]] was up.

===Changes not documented yet 2===
The above is the last documented.
* There will for sure be more changes earlier than this.

Just put the link here with a date and maybe a short note:
[https://web.archive.org/web/20120917052827/https://xkcd.com:80/ 2012-09-17]: What if Droppings ends.
[https://web.archive.org/web/20120718231719/https://www.xkcd.com/ 2012-07-18] Next stores header text

===2012-07-10 - New: what-if.xkcd.com===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20120710114846/https://xkcd.com/1078/ 2012-07-10]
* This was a special change happening over a few days. The above "new" header text from the given date is actually shown on the previous comic [[1078: Knights]].
** Another example from [https://web.archive.org/web/20120710072249/https://xkcd.com:80/1070 2012-07-10] is shown for [[1070: Words for Small Sets]].
* The comic on the main page released on [https://web.archive.org/web/20120709045709/https://xkcd.com:80/ 2012-07-09] was [[1079: United Shapes]], but that comic had a [[xkcd_Header_text#United_Shapes|unique header text]] upon its release.
** So both on the 9th as shown above and on [https://web.archive.org/web/20120710114846/https://xkcd.com/1078/ 2012-07-10] the header text was different on the front than on all other pages.
*** As can be read in the link above, the new header text actually got incorporated into the unique text, so that after the next comic was released on [https://web.archive.org/web/20120711234408/https://xkcd.com/1079/ 2012-07-11] the current new header text and a smaller version of the original unique header text was now shown on the Unites Shapes page.
*** {{xkcd|1079|And it was never changed back}}.
* The first version of the new text from the 10th was only active one day:
** The text:
*** New site: what-if.xkcd.com, where I abuse science to answer hypothetical questions. I'll answer a new question every Tuesday.
**** The link was not an active link. And this was never shown on the front page, but on all other comics.
* Already on [https://web.archive.org/web/20120711223349/https://xkcd.com/1078/ 2012-07-11] when [[1080: Visual Field]] was released the new header changed a bit
** At this time it most have been shown on the front page, but the link above is again from [[1078: Knights]].
*** For some reason the front page was not saved on either the 11th or 12th, so no version of the front page with Visual Field exist
*** The first archived version of the front page with this new header text was from [https://web.archive.org/web/20120713154207/https://xkcd.com/ 2012-07-13] when [[1081: Argument Victory]] was on the front page.
* The final text:
** New: [https://what-if.xkcd.com/1/ what-if.xkcd.com]: abusing science to answer hypothetical questions.
** I'll answer a new reader question every Tuesday.
*** This time the link was active and directs to the new ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'' blog and its first entry {{what if|1|Relativistic Baseball}}
* The whole idea was that Randall released the new what if? blog on the 10th of July 2012. And thus would like to make a promotion of it.
** And then he timed it so poorly that the front page had a different header than the rest of the comics.
** It was so annoying for him that he actually changed the header for Unites Shapes manually so that page also showed the new link. Maybe even before it left the front page, but that has not been documented in the archive.
** And then he forgot about it when the header changed for all the other comics, so it is now a relic of the promotion of his first what if release.
* The what if promotion continued for a long time, but the final version from above only lasted until 17th at the latest. There is again no archived versions of the front page from the 15th, 16th or 17th.
** The last time it was archived on the front page was [https://web.archive.org/web/20120714062857/https://xkcd.com/ 2012-07-14], when [[1081: Argument Victory]] was still up.
** But on [https://web.archive.org/web/20120715070938/https://xkcd.com:80/1081/ 2012-07-15] it was still shown on the page for Argument Victory and same for [https://web.archive.org/web/20120716235458/https://www.xkcd.com/998/ 2012-07-16] on [[998: 2012]]
*** So seemed it stayed up while [[1082: Geology]] was up on the 16-17/7.

===2012-04-09 - Standard text plus store link===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20120409190952/https://xkcd.com/1026/ 2012-04-09]
* It changed when [[1040: Lakes and Oceans]] came up.
** The above link to prove this is though from comic {{xkcd|1026}} [[1026: Compare and Contrast]] the first to be found that where archived on the 9th.
** The first archived version on the main page is from [https://web.archive.org/web/20120411053543/https://xkcd.com/ 2012-04-11] when [[1041: Whites of Their Eyes]] was up.
** There where no archived version of the front page on the 9th or 10th while Lake and Oceans was up. So it was also first on the 11th that this new text could be seen, but only when it had moved to its own page number [https://web.archive.org/web/20120411052948/https://xkcd.com/1040/ 1040].
*** The change probably came because of this special comic, which may became a [https://store.xkcd.com/collections/posters/products/lakes-oceans-poster poster].
* The update was to add a promotion for the store under the standard header text.
* The text
** XKCD updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
** You can get prints, posters, and t-shirts in the [https://store.xkcd.com/ store].
* This lasted until [https://web.archive.org/web/20120709004956/https://www.xkcd.com/ 2012-07-09] when [[1078: Knights]] was up, exactly three months, so although not only the standard text, the standard text was first for three months and three days, see [[#2012-04-05 - Back to standard text|below]].

===2012-04-05 - Back to standard text===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20120405195956/https://www.xkcd.com/1021/ 2012-04-05]
* While [[1038: Fountain]] was on the front the header returned to the standard xkcd header:
** xkcd updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
* The link above to prove the date is seen on [[1021: Business Plan]].
** The first archived version on front page is from [https://web.archive.org/web/20120406111048/https://xkcd.com/ 2012-04-06], when [[1039: RuBisCO]] was up.
** A version showing Fountain with this can be found on it's own page {{xkcd|1038}} on [https://web.archive.org/web/20120406085618/https://xkcd.com:80/1038/ 2012-04-06].
*** When it was archived while on the front page it still had the previous header on [https://web.archive.org/web/20120404210927/https://xkcd.com:80/ 2012-04-05].
* It stayed up, unchanged, until [https://web.archive.org/web/20120408200414/https://xkcd.com:80/ 2012-04-08] when [[1039: RuBisCO]] was up. So only three days.
** But [[#2012-04-09- Standard text plus store link|the change]] did not remove the standard text but just added a link to the store. And this version, still with the standard text at the top stayed for three more months.

===2012-03-28 - Visiting Newport News===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20120328103319/https://xkcd.com/ 2012-03-28]
* [[1035: Cadbury Eggs]] was on the front when it changed.
** From the end of March 2012, there is a problem with the archived versions of xkcd, so they do not load properly and do not include the comic picture.
* It was to announce a talk Randall gave at his old school.
* The text:
** I'm [https://blog.xkcd.com/2012/03/22/im-visiting-cnu-on-april-4th/ visiting] Newport News, VA next week, where I'll be speaking at CNU, my old school. If you want to come, reserve a seat [https://web.archive.org/web/20120329214411/https://www.cnu.edu/pcs/xkcd/index.asp here]!
*** The first link it to a post in the [[Blag]]: [https://blog.xkcd.com/2012/03/22/im-visiting-cnu-on-april-4th/ I’m visiting CNU on April 4th].
*** The other link is no longer working, but the link above goes to an archived version.
* There was a special situation with this header text. For three days it was not on the front page, as the [[April Fools' Day comics|April Fools' Day comic]] [[1037: Umwelt]] came out and stayed from April 1st to April 3rd on the front page.
** This comic had it's own [[#Unique header text|unique header text]] from the start, one that has [[#Umwelt|stayed like this]] since!
*** So from [https://web.archive.org/web/20120401151639/https://xkcd.com:80/ 2012-04-01] to [https://web.archive.org/web/20120403223453/https://www.xkcd.com/ 2012-04-03] the front page had another header:
**** You can get posters, prints, and t-shirts in the [https://store.xkcd.com/ xkcd store].
** But all the other comics kept the Visiting header on all three days as shown here:
*** [https://web.archive.org/web/20120401214214/https://xkcd.com:80/1036/ 2012-04-01] from[[1036: Reviews]].
*** [https://web.archive.org/web/20120402150258/https://xkcd.com/1019 2012-04-02] from [[1019: First Post]].
*** [https://web.archive.org/web/20120403164523/https://xkcd.com:80/1036/ 2012-04-03] from [[1036: Reviews]].
**** The one from the 2nd of April was hardest to find, but the most important, because that was clearly in the time period where Umwelt was up, thus definitely proving that the other pages had a different header than the front page. This is rare.
* It returned to the front page on [https://web.archive.org/web/20120404210927/https://xkcd.com:80/ 2012-04-04] and stayed up until [https://web.archive.org/web/20120405195956/https://www.xkcd.com/1021/ 2012-04-05] when [[1038: Fountain]] was up.
** The link from the 5th though is from {{xkcd|1021}} [[1021: Business Plan]], the only comic archived on the 5ht to be found.
*** The previous link was the last time it was archived while on the front page.

===2012-03-12 - xkcd Holistic Browser===
[https://web.archive.org/web/20120312185125/https://xkcd.com/ 2012-03-12]
* [[1028: Communication]] was up at the time.
** From here the archive doesn't load the page properly so it is really boring to document. This goes for both first and last day of this text.
* The text:
** New: [https://web.archive.org/web/20120318153220/https://holistic.xkcd.com/ holistic.xkcd.com], the least useful web navigation tool ever.
*** The link is now dead, but the link above is to an archived version.
*** On that page there is the following text:
**** The XKCD Holistic Browser
**** Because we are all one.
**** Type a web address
**** and you'll be taken to one
**** typed by someone else.
**** URL:
**** Warning: This allows strangers to direct your browser!
**** They may send you to pages containing
**** porn, viruses, or Justin Bieber fanfiction.
**** At the very least, turn on private browsing.
* During the time this header was active the comic [[1031: s/keyboard/leopard/]] came out.
** It had its own [[xkcd_Header_text#Unique_header_text|unique header text]] which thus replaced this text on the front page for two days.
** But it did not replace it on all the other pages so this was the active header text during the entire period, see more here: [[xkcd_Header_text#s.2Fkeyboard.2Fleopard.2F|s/keyboard/leopard/]]
* This lasted till [https://web.archive.org/web/20120327050311/https://xkcd.com/1033 2012-03-27] while [[1034: Share Buttons]] was up.
* But the last archived version with this on the front page was the day before [https://web.archive.org/web/20120326180811/https://xkcd.com// 2012-03-26].
** The link from 27th is from an archived version of [[1033: Formal Logic]].

===Changes not documented yet 1===
The above is the last documented.
* There will for sure be more changes earlier than this.
[https://web.archive.org/web/20120311135259/https://xkcd.com/ 2012-03-11] Text before. For next entry below...



[[Category:Design of xkcd.com]]{{xkcdmeta}}

225: Open Source

2026-04-12T17:37:40Z

Chronotix: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 225
| date = February 19, 2007
| title = Open Source
| image = open source.png
| titletext = Later we'll dress up like Big Oil thugs and jump Ralph Nader.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Richard Stallman]], or ''rms'', after his handle, is an old-school hacker known for establishing the {{w|Free Software Foundation}} (FSF) and initiating the {{w|GNU Project}} in the early 1980s, which produced major portions of what would later be the {{w|Linux}} (or [https://itsfoss.com/gnu-linux-copypasta/ GNU/Linux]) operating system. In this capacity, he's also known for being one of the most ardent and outspoken proponents of {{w|open source software}}, often referred to by Stallman as {{w|free software}}. In fact, his advocacy is so emphatic and polemical that he has garnered active dislike from traditionalists who believe that software {{w|source code}} should be retained as a trade secret by its developer(s). Stallman has expressed that he did not even wish to be in a comic using the phrase '''Open Source''' (see the [[#Trivia|trivia]] section).

While this dislike may not rise to the level of hiring {{w|ninja}} assassins to remove him from the world though that is historically inaccurate, it is strong. The joke of the comic, as it also turns out, is that the two [[Cueball]]s dressed up as ninjas were just out to have a fun time teasing Stallman, and they seemed to know that Stallman's paranoia about {{w|Microsoft}} makes him sleep with no fewer than two {{w|katana}} swords near his bed. This type of sword was one of the traditionally made Japanese swords that were used by the {{w|samurai}} of feudal Japan mainly as a sidearm. A ninja or more accurately a Shinobi no mono was basically special forces in feudal Japan. They specialized in espionage, sabotage, etc. they were a rough combination of MI6, CIA, and Navy SEAL in feudal japan. Although they did not specialize in assassinations, that is something that they could do. Although samurai could also be shinobi/ninjas if they chose to do that job, samurai is a social class while shinobi no mono/ninjas were a job, not a social class. So this makes sense in this comic with Stallman, the samurai, and the ninjas, the lackeys of the oppressing Microsoft (at least in his mind). It also turns out that they specifically choose targets for their raids who have reason to be paranoid of larger companies that might send someone after them, and thus sleep with weapons near their beds. Stallman has received a katana due to this comic (see the [[#Trivia|trivia]] section).

{{w|GPL}} refers to the 'GNU General Public License', which is a copyright license written by the FSF that covers much GNU software and plenty of other free software besides. It stipulates that software so copyrighted must always be provided along with full source code, and that everyone in possession of such software is free to use, study, modify, and redistribute it for any purpose whatsoever (including sale or resale), provided they give due credit to any other contributing developers and provide access to the complete source code and retain all copyright notices.

Legally, this gives all users of such software exactly the same rights under copyright as the developer(s) and prevents any developers from ever taking away those rights from users, which is the defining feature of '{{w|Free software#Definition|free-as-in-libre}}' software. It also has the effect of making all software ''derived'' from GPL software thereby also GPL, even if 'derived' merely means 'borrowed a few lines of code from'. Some (e.g. Microsoft's {{w|Steve Ballmer}}) have therefore argued that this makes GPL software behave as a kind of {{w|viral license|'license virus'}}, which spreads GPL-guaranteed freedoms to any software used in close conjunction with GPL'd software during development, such that businesses should actively avoid adopting {{w|FOSS|free and open source software}}, so as not to jeopardize software developers' legal standing with regard to {{w|proprietary software|proprietary IP copyright}}s.

During the attack, Richard Stallman begins to speak like he quotes an old play. For instance, the wording "For a GNU dawn!" is pronounced "For a g'new dawn!", following the pronunciation of {{w|GNU}}, so it is a version of ''New Dawn'', a sentence used often in fiction. He even gets annoyed when it turns out that the ninjas just run away. He had clearly waited a long time to, even looking forward to, defending himself with his katanas.

Because the two "ninjas" had so much fun pranking Stallman, they plan to do more of these raids, even mentioning two other possible future targets on their way out of the window:

{{w|Eric S. Raymond}} is a famous {{w|Hacker (programmer subculture)|hacker}} who wrote ''{{w|The Cathedral and the Bazaar}}'' and has been something of an unofficial spokesperson for open source as a {{w|Open-source software development|software development methodology}}. The plan to prank Eric Raymond could be a bad one, since he is an experienced martial artist, swordsman, and firearm enthusiast. However, this seems to be the attraction of these two "ninjas," as can be seen by what they seem to know about their other possible target:

{{w|Linus Torvalds}} is the creator of {{w|Linux kernel|Linux}}, a free/open source operating system kernel inspired by the {{w|Unix}} kernel, which proved to be the final component that, combined with then pre-existing GNU system functions and {{w|userland}} components, produced the first fully free operating system, {{w|Linux|GNU/Linux}}. The plan to prank Torvalds would at first sound more boring as the mild-mannered {{w|Finland|Finn}}, while known to be strongly, abrasively opinionated, is otherwise mostly harmless. However, one of the ninjas seems to know otherwise, since it is rumored that Linus sleeps with {{w|nunchaku|nunchucks}} in the same way that Stallman sleeps with two katana swords. The ''nunchaku'' is a traditional Okinawan martial arts weapon consisting of two sticks connected at one end by a short chain or rope.

A third possible target of this prank is mentioned in the title text. {{w|Ralph Nader}} is a famous consumer rights advocate, most famous for {{w|Ralph Nader presidential campaign, 2000|his controversial 2000 presidential run}}, and the 1965 book ''{{w|Unsafe at Any Speed}}''. Nader is an environmentalist and a member of the Green Party, and he supports clean energy, thus naturally being opposed to "Big Oil" companies.

==Transcript==
:[The first panel has the second panel inside it. It also has a slightly light gray background color. Just above the inlaid second panel is Richard Stallman lying in his bed sleeping, the bottom part at the foot of the bed hidden behind the second panel below. Below his bed under his head lies a katana sword in its sheath, and another one hangs in its sheath behind the end of the bed. Two ninjas with swords and black cloths around their heads jump through the skylight, smashing it so glass scatters around them. Each of them is hanging one-handed from the same rope coming down from the skylight. The rope ends just above the inlaid frame below. The two ninjas shout at Richard Stallman, from four speech bubbles that have pointy ends to indicate how the two alternately speak. (These bubbles are white, not gray.)]
:Richard Stallman: ''Zzzz''
:Top Ninja: Richard Stallman! Your viral open source licenses have grown too powerful.
:Bottom Ninja: The GPL must be stopped.
:Top Ninja: At the source.
:Bottom Ninja: You.

:[In the second inlaid panel (with normal white background), Richard Stallman wakes up immediately, and while sitting up in bed, he pulls out both his katana swords from their sheaths, leaving the sheaths under and behind the bed. One hand is up in the air with the sword from behind the bed, and the other is still pointing down with the swords from below the bed. Lines indicate the fast movement of the swords. His three speech bubbles are like those of the ninjas, the last two even breaking the panel entering into the large first panel.]
:Katana swords: Shing! Shing!
:Richard Stallman: Hah! Microsoft lackeys! So it has come to this!
:Richard Stallman: A night of blood I've long awaited. But be this my death or yours, free software will carry on! For a GNU dawn! For freedom!
:Richard Stallman: ...Hey, where are you going?

:[An outside scene at night with black sky. Richard Stallman's gray house can be seen with the broken white skylight on the roof. The ninjas are jumping out of a window at ground height while taking off their ninja cloth around their heads, holding them in their hand, thus revealing that they both look like Cueball. The first one is already on the grassy ground beneath the window, his sword pointing down and to the left; the other just jumps from the window pane, his sword pointing up and to the right. Again, they have speech bubbles like before. It is not possible to tell which of the two ninjas from before is first out the window.]
:Ninja in window: Man, you're right, that never gets old.
:Ninja on the grass: Let's do Eric S. Raymond next.
:Ninja in window: Or Linus Torvalds. I hear he sleeps with nunchucks.

==Trivia==
*The phrase "So it has come to this" is also the title of comic [[1022: So It Has Come To This]].

*In [[1624: 2016]], [[Cueball]] smashes through the ceiling, also hanging on a rope, to wake a person in a bed. Not as a threat though, but still a very similar situation.

*In the title text of [[163: Donald Knuth]], [[Black Hat]] reveals that he broke into [[Donald Knuth]]'s house through the skylight as well.

*Because of this comic, Stallman has [http://blog.xkcd.com/2007/04/19/life-imitates-xkcd-part-ii-richard-stallman/ been given a katana] by fans of xkcd.

*At his [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHp_Vh9TESU&t=1645 talk at JCCC3] (as well as in a note in ''[[xkcd: volume 0]]''), [[Randall]] mentioned that the comic he originally published had the assassins say "free software," and Richard Stallman says "open source software". He swapped the two terms after complaints that Richard Stallman was [https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html opposed to the phrase "open source"]. Even after this change, he got an e-mail from Stallman himself saying that he didn't even want to be portrayed in the same comic as the words "open source". The full note from the [[xkcd: volume 0]] book is the following:
{{Quote|Originally, I had the phrases "open source" and "free software" reversed here, but a flood of 1:00 AM letters told me Stallman notoriously hates the term "open source" and would never use it. The comic title was "Open Source" and I couldn't change that, so I just switched who said what and went back to sleep. Only one person wrote in post-change to complain about "Open Source" still being used in the title - Stallman himself}}

:Stallman's well-known opposition to the term "open source" stems from the fact that "open source" refers specifically to a methodology for software development involving allowing customers to actively participate in development and testing of software products by giving them access to in-development source code and soliciting feedback; as such, the term was first adopted as a means to promote free software ideas to business interests. In contrast, Stallman and the FSF view free software as a political issue concerning the basic freedoms that should belong to all computer users, and thus 'open source' as an appeal to software businesses misses the point of getting individuals to think about their rights as users.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Richard Stallman]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Comics edited after their publication]]

User:Chronotix

2026-04-10T16:01:02Z

Chronotix: Created page with "SPaG police."

SPaG police.

702: Snow Tracking

2026-04-10T15:57:32Z

Chronotix: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 702
| date = February 15, 2010
| title = Snow Tracking
| image = snow_tracking.png
| titletext = I suppose that's more accurately a hare dryer.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a guide to recognizing various animals by their footprints. However, the comic typically detours into strange, ridiculous or pop-culture-referencing footprints. In order:

*The first panel is a regular cat, which is not unusual and relatively easy to find and recognize the tracks of.{{Citation needed}}
*"Moose and squirrel" is a reference to the cartoon ''{{w|Rocky and Bullwinkle}}''. Rocky and Bullwinkle were a flying squirrel and a moose, respectively, and were frequently referred to as "moose and squirrel" by the show's antagonist Boris Badenov.
*[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/longcat Longcat] is an internet {{w|meme}} from pictures of cats all stretched out that make them look very tall (or long).
*"Mouse riding Bicycle" is a reference to ''{{w|Ralph S. Mouse}}'', a series of novels by {{w|Beverly Cleary}}.
*The hair dryer has melted an irregular region around the rabbit. The title text is a pun on the Rabbit with a hair dryer frame, possibly an homage to {{w|Looney Tunes}}, where shows with {{w|Bugs Bunny}} would often contain a pun on the {{w|Leporidae|closely related term}} of "hare".
*{{w|Legolas}} is a reference to the character in the ''{{w|Lord of the Rings}}'' trilogy of books and movies. Legolas, as an elf, was so light-footed he could walk on top of snow, while the other races in his party were forced to trudge through it.
*The "Bobcat on pogo stick" panel is a possible reference to the character Bonkers D. Bobcat from {{w|Bonkers (American TV series)|Bonkers}}.
*The "Knight" panel is a {{w|chess}} reference, as the tracks move just like the knight piece in chess.
*The "kid with..." panels are a reference to ''{{w|Calvin and Hobbes}}'', a comic strip written by Bill Watterson. In it, Calvin has a pet tiger named Hobbes, and sometimes, a cardboard box that "transmogrifies" him to something else. In this panel we see tiger prints, meaning that Calvin became a tiger like Hobbes.
*The same cardboard box is now tipped on its side instead of upside down in the last panel. Now it functions as a duplicator, making multiple copies of whatever is in it. Calvin goes into it, duplicates himself, and they walk and duplicate again, and the cycle repeats.
*{{w|Prius}} is a reference to current events in which Toyota Prius's pedals have allegedly malfunctioned causing accidents. [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/business/global/04prius.html]
*The {{w|Higgs Boson}} is an {{w|elementary particle}} which, at the time this strip was posted, had not yet been officially discovered (there had been detections at the Tevatron with 4 sigma certainty since the early 2000s). It was tentatively detected in March 2013 in the {{w|Large Hadron Collider}}. The “prints” in the snow in this case humorously resemble the tracks made by elementary particles following a collision of the kind used to search for the Higgs boson in a {{w|particle collider}}.

==Transcript==
:BACKYARD SNOW TRACKING GUIDE

:[Each panel contains an overhead view of tracks through the snow, with a caption indicating the apparent source.]

:[Standard paw prints through the snow.]
:CAT

:[Large split-toe tracks and smaller rodent tracks.]
:MOOSE AND SQUIRREL

:[Cat prints, but with more space between the pairs of prints.]
:LONGCAT

:[Two similar careening tire tracks.]
:MOUSE RIDING BICYCLE

:[Longer tracks, with a large melted ring surrounding a point in the middle of the frame.]
:RABBIT STOPPING TO USE HAIR DRYER

:[No visible tracks.]
:LEGOLAS

:[Single deep holes with cratering.]
:BOBCAT ON POGO STICK

:[Round prints that suddenly turn to the right halfway into frame.]
:KNIGHT

:[Human footprints up to a square melting pattern, turning into animal prints.]
:KID WITH TRANSMOGRIFIER

:[Human footprints up to a rectangular melted area, which are then doubled to another rectangular area, which are then doubled again up to another rectangular area, which are then doubled.]
:KID WITH DUPLICATOR

:[Right curve on a road, with tire tracks careening out of frame.]
:Out of Frame Garden Owner: MY VEGETABLE GARDEN!
:PRIUS

:[A series of spiraling and outwardly traveling lines extend from a point in the middle of the frame.]
:HIGGS BOSON

== Trivia ==
* A section of this comic, along with its title text, is used as the image for {{tvtropes|AltText|Alt Text}} on TV Tropes.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Calvin and Hobbes]]
[[Category:Bobcats]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Comics featuring children]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Chess]]

1137: RTL

2026-04-07T16:40:35Z

Chronotix: /* Trivia */

<noinclude>:''The correct title of this page is '''1137: &#x202E;LTR''' (which is rendered as '''1137: RTL''' in most browsers). It is written incorrectly here because of {{w|mw:Manual:Page title|technical restrictions}}.''</noinclude>
{{comic
| number = 1137
| date = November 21, 2012
| title = ‮LTR‬
| image = rtl.png
| titletext = Collaborative editing can quickly become a textual rap battle fought with increasingly convoluted invocations of U+202a to U+202e
}}

‮‪

==Explanation==

U+202e is a {{w|Unicode control characters|Unicode control character}} that changes all subsequent text to right-to-left (RTL, as the title references). In the comic, [[Black Hat]] tires of [[Cueball]]'s complaining and inserts a U+202e character in the middle of Cueball's speech, turning his complaints into gibberish - sentences that must be read from right-to-left.

The title of the comic builds on this theme, with the title of the webpage it is hosted on being LTR in some browsers (see [[#Trivia|trivia]]), the reverse of the comic name.

What Cueball actually tries to say after Black Hat's change is:
:— They didn't even...
:...What the hell?
:How did you...
:...Asshole.

When multiple writers work on the same text, arguments can often arise with some writers resorting to vandalizing the works of other writers. The title text takes this up a level, suggesting the use of U+202e and other direction control characters in editor wars to disrupt other people's work.

If you ever get involved in such a war, note that U+202a returns text back to its normal direction.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing behind Black Hat who is sitting down with a laptop on his lap.]
:Cueball: And that's not even the worst part! The ''worst'' part is that—
:Black Hat types a command on the PC: U+202e
:Cueball: ‮—they didn't even...‭
:Cueball: ‮...what the hell?‭
:Cueball: ‮How did you...‭
:Cueball: ‮...asshole.‭

==Trivia==
*In the version originally published there was a typo in the reverse text ("ETH" instead of "EHT" for "THE"). This mistake was corrected within a couple of hours.
*The title given in the web browser, (for instance seen on the icon for the browser bar at the bottom of the screen), for the comic on the xkcd website actually has a U+202e character preceding it;
**The page title is "xkcd: [U+202e]LTR", which for instance causes {{w|Firefox}} to write the page title as "xkcd: xoferiF allizoM - RTL" as the window title. So xkcd and the comics title is correct (The LTR turns to RTL). But the browsers name is reversed.
**It is known to also occur in {{w|Internet Explorer}}, {{w|Microsoft Edge}}, {{w|Chromium (web browser)|anything based on Chromium}}, {{w|Opera (web browser)|Opera}} and {{w|Maxthon}}.
**In some browsers (for instance Internet Explorer), this page's title [[Media:Reverse archive.jpg|damages the appearance of all older entries]] in the [http://xkcd.com/archive/ archive page] on xkcd.
*This is the second comic in a row with Cueball and Black Hat discussing. Both with Black Hat with his back turned to Cueball.
**In the previous comic Black Hat broke a mirror, and in this comic he then reverses Cueball's speech (not exactly a mirroring of his speech, but still related).
**In the broken archive mentioned above, [[1136: Broken Mirror]] is the first (or last) entry to be broken!

==Unicode Control Characters==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Unicode number !! Name !! Meaning
|-
| U+202a || LEFT-TO-RIGHT EMBEDDING || The following text will be left-to-right. This will not change directionality of characters, so for example Arabic letters will stay right-to-left. This character alone does nothing in an English text, since the text direction is left-to-right by default.
|-
| U+202b || RIGHT-TO-LEFT EMBEDDING || The following text will be right-to-left. This will not change directionality of characters, so Latin letters will stay left-to-right. Full stops, which don't have a directionality on their own, will be left of the sentence. Use this character for some little misplacings that cause big confusion.
|-
| U+202c || POP DIRECTIONAL FORMATTING || The following text is formatted like the text before the last U+202a, U+202b, U+202d or U+202e character.
|-
| U+202d || LEFT-TO-RIGHT OVERRIDE || The following text will be left-to-right. Additionally, the directionality of characters is changed to left-to-right. Used alone in an English text, this will only affect characters that are right-to-left by default, like Arabic letters.
|-
| U+202e || RIGHT-TO-LEFT OVERRIDE || The following text will be right-to-left. Additionally, the directionality of characters is changed to right-to-left. Use this character to completely screw up an English text.
|}

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Unicode]]

3227: Creation

2026-04-02T11:25:30Z

Chronotix: /* Table of Modes */

{{comic
| number = 3227
| date = April 1, 2026
| title = Creation
| image = creation_2x.png
| imagesize = 567x198px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = This xkcd.com update introduces a variety of new reading modes which can be activated through the menu.
}}
{{series
| series = April
| number = 18
| date = April 1, 2026
| days_late =
| day_category = Wednesday
| prev_title = 3074: Push Notifications
| prev_date = April 9, 2025
| next_title =
| next_date =
}}
To experience the interactivity of the web page, visit the {{xkcd|3227|original comic}}!

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created recently in ROBOTIC MODE. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
In this {{w|April Fool's Day}} comic, several new viewing modes have been added to the xkcd website, accessible through a {{w|drop-down list}} beneath the comic (not visible on Explain xkcd). This allows various different viewing experiences for the entire website, including older comics. Some are "normal" viewing modes, like the typical "light" and "dark" modes, but others take such things further and/or in more esoteric ways. This includes an "airplane mode" (see below) that parodies and subverts the {{w|Airplane mode|normal implementation}}.

The accompanying comic references one of the first lines of the {{w|Bible}} (Genesis 1:3), wherein God creates light. Here, though, before God has a chance to fully appreciate their work, a person on Earth immediately requests an implementation of {{w|dark mode}}. Dark mode is a feature on many websites and devices, which makes for a less intense viewing experience that is easier on the eyes. It is not usually implemented on planets (although one could argue that night-time is effectively Earth's "dark mode", which could have been created by God as a response to the person). This is a common experience for web and app designers, who spend a lot of time creating something that looks beautiful to them, and in their particular use case, only to find when it is put out into the wild that it doesn't suit the needs of many of their actual users, who don't particularly care about the effort they've put in.

The comic deviates somewhat from traditional Judeo-Christian mythology, as in Genesis the day/night cycle was created on the first day, but humans were created on the sixth day - thus, the "dark mode" (night-time) would already have been implemented by the time humans existed. Possibly the person is actually requesting a dark mode that can be toggled at will, rather than one which occurs automatically each day.

Unlike most comics, the title text contains no jokes, but rather explains the update and gives basic instructions.

The comic credits the "Excellent Design Team", consisting of Amber, Benjamin Staffin, and Kevin who helped create the modes.

===Table of Modes===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Mode
! Description
|-
| Light Mode
| The usual site experience. Typically, where sites have light and dark modes, light is the default option.
|-
| Lighter Mode
| The entire web page is filtered to look {{w|Exposure (photography)#Overexposure and underexposure|overexposed}}, making colors wash out and reducing the contrast.
|-
| Dark Mode
| A standard "white content on black background" dark mode. Inverts the comic’s black and white pixels (see umwelt){{Actual citation needed|cannot find a #link in [[1037: Umwelt#...]] that looks relevent, but surely should be linked to whatever this refers to}} which makes the content of this particular comic, with the original transition from a dark pane to "let there be light" panes and the subsequent request for this very feature, particularly nonsensical.
|-
| Darkest Mode
| Everything on the webpage turns completely black (severely 'underexposed', in effect, the opposite to "Lighter mode" but also even more extreme). The exception being the drop down menu widget, which may appear as merely a dark gray — and depending upon the browser itself, the dropped-down menu may be its 'natural' appearance when it becomes fully active — which is of course extremely helpful for navigating back out of this mode/onward onto others.
|-
| Blurry Mode
| {{w|Blur (photographic effect)|Blurs}} the entire webpage.
|-
| Grayscale Mode
| Applies a standard {{w|grayscale}}/{{w|Colorfulness#Saturation|desaturation}} conversion filter to the entire webpage.
|-
| Greyscale Mode
| Operates identically to Grayscale Mode, but also changes the spelling of "math" in the slogan at the top of the page to "maths" (to go along with the respective {{w|American and British English spelling differences|British English}} use of ''{{wiktionary|gray}}/{{wiktionary|grey}}'').
|-
| Dorian Greyscale Mode
| Makes the webpage slowly turn grey, including darkening/fading-to-grey 'white' areas. This refers to {{w|The Picture of Dorian Gray}}, in which the titular character has a portrait that slowly ages and fades out while the character stays young and handsome.
Of note is that the surname of the titular character is "{{w|Grey (disambiguation)#People|Gray}}" (as is still common, if not dominant, in Britain), but the mode itself is named for the primary British/non-American standard English version of the word for such a hueless shade.
|-
| Space Opera Mode
| Turns the entire page into a ''{{w|Star Wars}}''-style opening scroll, which loops round until you change the mode.
|-
| 3D Mode
| Makes the comic render in {{w|Anaglyph_3D|anaglyphic stereoscopy}}. [[Randall]] has used 3D space before for [[848|another joke comic]].
|-
| Origami Mode
| Rotates and folds various pieces of the webpage, as if it were {{w|origami}}-folded.
|-
| Ink Mode
| Recolors the webpage as if drawn in blue ink.
|-
| Spring Mode
| Gives the comic a simple physics simulation, making it slightly rotate around a horizontal axis as the page is scrolled.
|-
| Antipodes Mode
| Turns the entire webpage upside down. An {{w|antipodes|antipode}} is the point on the Earth's surface directly opposite of another, but "The Antipodes" is also a term used to refer to {{w|Australia}} and {{w|New Zealand}} by inhabitants of the northern hemisphere. Note: When the comic was first published this was labeled "Southern Hemisphere Mode".
|-
| Hacker Mode
| Recolors the entire webpage in the stereotypical "green on black" coding environment color scheme often used by {{w|hacker}}s on film and TV.
|-
| Screensaver Mode
| Makes the comic float around on the webpage, bouncing as it hits the edges. Things bouncing like in the comic make a common {{w|screensaver}}, hence the name.
|-
| Modem Mode
| Slowly reveals the comic top to bottom, as if slowly loading in the way images used to in the days of slow dial-up connections. This is accompanied by audio of the sound of a {{w|modem}} communicating over such a connection.
|-
| Stained Glass Mode
| Fills each closed area of the comic with a separate color to mimic the look of {{w|stained glass}} imagery. The colors vary each time this mode is selected or the page is reloaded in this mode, which works by flooding a single pseudorandom hue over all areas of near-white, each flood bounded only by any sufficiently dark or saturated drawn line/border.
|-
| Airplane Mode
| Makes the comic fly around on the page, with a "NYOOM!" written next to it, as if it were an {{w|airplane}}. This is unlike the usual use of "airplane mode" to refer to disabling the cellphone (or all {{w|radio frequency}}) features of a mobile device, as required on most flights.
|-
| Boat Mode
| Makes the entire webpage tilt back and forth, emulating the way a boat rolls on the water. (There is a longstanding reference to Boat Mode in the [[footnote]], which says "Remove your device from Airplane Mode and set it to Boat Mode).
|}

==Transcript==
[Panel 1. Black background with white caption boxes.]

Caption 1: And God said,

Caption 2: "Let there be light,"

[Panel 2. A bright explosion of light from a star in the center.]

Caption: And there was light.

[Panel 3. The star with bright rays of light is shown against the horizon of a planet.]

[Panel 4. The same planet horizon is shown with a clear sky above.]

Caption: God saw that the light was-

Voice from the planet: Can you add support for dark mode?

<noinclude>{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:April Fools' Day comics]]
[[Category:Comics with custom header texts]]
</noinclude>

3227: Creation

2026-04-02T11:05:51Z

Chronotix: /* Table of Modes */

{{comic
| number = 3227
| date = April 1, 2026
| title = Creation
| image = creation_2x.png
| imagesize = 567x198px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = This xkcd.com update introduces a variety of new reading modes which can be activated through the menu.
}}
{{series
| series = April
| number = 18
| date = April 1, 2026
| days_late =
| day_category = Wednesday
| prev_title = 3074: Push Notifications
| prev_date = April 9, 2025
| next_title =
| next_date =
}}
To experience the interactivity of the web page, visit the {{xkcd|3227|original comic}}!

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created recently in ROBOTIC MODE. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
In this {{w|April Fool's Day}} comic, several new viewing modes have been added to the xkcd website, accessible through a {{w|drop-down list}} beneath the comic (not visible on Explain xkcd). This allows various different viewing experiences for the entire website, including older comics. Some are "normal" viewing modes, like the typical "light" and "dark" modes, but others take such things further and/or in more esoteric ways. This includes an "airplane mode" (see below) that parodies and subverts the {{w|Airplane mode|normal implementation}}.

The accompanying comic references one of the first lines of the {{w|Bible}} (Genesis 1:3), wherein God creates light. Here, though, before God has a chance to fully appreciate their work, a person on Earth immediately requests an implementation of {{w|dark mode}}. Dark mode is a feature on many websites and devices, which makes for a less intense viewing experience that is easier on the eyes. It is not usually implemented on planets (although one could argue that night-time is effectively Earth's "dark mode", which could have been created by God as a response to the person). This is a common experience for web and app designers, who spend a lot of time creating something that looks beautiful to them, and in their particular use case, only to find when it is put out into the wild that it doesn't suit the needs of many of their actual users, who don't particularly care about the effort they've put in.

The comic deviates somewhat from traditional Judeo-Christian mythology, as in Genesis the day/night cycle was created on the first day, but humans were created on the sixth day - thus, the "dark mode" (night-time) would already have been implemented by the time humans existed. Possibly the person is actually requesting a dark mode that can be toggled at will, rather than one which occurs automatically each day.

Unlike most comics, the title text contains no jokes, but rather explains the update and gives basic instructions.

The comic credits the "Excellent Design Team", consisting of Amber, Benjamin Staffin, and Kevin who helped create the modes.

===Table of Modes===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Mode
! Description
|-
| Light Mode
| The entire web page is filtered to look {{w|Exposure (photography)#Overexposure and underexposure|overexposed}}, making colors wash out and reducing the contrast.
|-
| Lighter Mode
| The entire web page is filtered to look {{w|Exposure (photography)#Overexposure and underexposure|overexposed}}, making colors wash out and reducing the contrast.
|-
| Dark Mode
| A standard "white content on black background" dark mode. Inverts the comic’s black and white pixels (see umwelt){{Actual citation needed|cannot find a #link in [[1037: Umwelt#...]] that looks relevent, but surely should be linked to whatever this refers to}} which makes the content of this particular comic, with the original transition from a dark pane to "let there be light" panes and the subsequent request for this very feature, particularly nonsensical.
|-
| Darkest Mode
| Everything on the webpage turns completely black (severely 'underexposed', in effect, the opposite to "Lighter mode" but also even more extreme). The exception being the drop down menu widget, which may appear as merely a dark gray — and depending upon the browser itself, the dropped-down menu may be its 'natural' appearance when it becomes fully active — which is of course extremely helpful for navigating back out of this mode/onward onto others.
|-
| Blurry Mode
| {{w|Blur (photographic effect)|Blurs}} the entire webpage.
|-
| Grayscale Mode
| Applies a standard {{w|grayscale}}/{{w|Colorfulness#Saturation|desaturation}} conversion filter to the entire webpage.
|-
| Greyscale Mode
| Operates identically to Grayscale Mode, but also changes the spelling of "math" in the slogan at the top of the page to "maths" (to go along with the respective {{w|American and British English spelling differences|British English}} use of ''{{wiktionary|gray}}/{{wiktionary|grey}}'').
|-
| Dorian Greyscale Mode
| Makes the webpage slowly turn grey, including darkening/fading-to-grey 'white' areas. This refers to {{w|The Picture of Dorian Gray}}, in which the titular character has a portrait that slowly ages and fades out while the character stays young and handsome.
Of note is that the surname of the titular character is "{{w|Grey (disambiguation)#People|Gray}}" (as is still common, if not dominant, in Britain), but the Mode itself is named for the primary British/non-American standard English version of the word for such a hueless shade.
|-
| Space Opera Mode
| Turns the entire page into a ''{{w|Star Wars}}''-style opening scroll, which loops round until you change the mode.
|-
| 3D Mode
| Makes the comic render in {{w|Anaglyph_3D|anaglyphic stereoscopy}}. [[Randall]] has used 3D space before for [[848|another joke comic]].
|-
| Origami Mode
| Rotates and folds various pieces of the webpage, as if it were {{w|origami}}-folded.
|-
| Ink Mode
| Recolors the webpage as if drawn in blue ink.
|-
| Spring Mode
| Gives the comic a simple physics simulation, making it slightly rotate around a horizontal axis as the page is scrolled.
|-
| Antipodes Mode
| Turns the entire webpage upside down. An {{w|antipodes|antipode}} is the point on the Earth's surface directly opposite of another, but "The Antipodes" is also a term used to refer to {{w|Australia}} and {{w|New Zealand}} by inhabitants of the northern hemisphere. Note: When the comic was first published this was labeled "Southern Hemisphere Mode".
|-
| Hacker Mode
| Recolors the entire webpage in the stereotypical "green on black" coding environment color scheme often used by {{w|hacker}}s on film and TV.
|-
| Screensaver Mode
| Makes the comic float around on the webpage, bouncing as it hits the edges. Things bouncing like in the comic make a common {{w|screensaver}}, hence the name.
|-
| Modem Mode
| Slowly reveals the comic top to bottom, as if slowly loading in the way images used to in the days of slow dial-up connections. This is accompanied by audio of the sound of a {{w|modem}} communicating over such a connection.
|-
| Stained Glass Mode
| Fills each closed area of the comic with a separate color to mimic the look of {{w|stained glass}} imagery. The colors vary each time this mode is selected or the page is reloaded in this mode.
|-
| Airplane Mode
| Makes the comic fly around on the page, with a "NYOOM!" written next to it, as if it were an {{w|airplane}}. This is unlike the usual use of "airplane mode" to refer to disabling the cellphone (or all {{w|radio frequency}}) features of a mobile device, as required on most flights.
|-
| Boat Mode
| Makes the entire webpage tilt back and forth, emulating the way a boat rolls on the water. (There is a longstanding reference to Boat Mode in the [[footnote]], which says "Remove your device from Airplane Mode and set it to Boat Mode).
|}

==Transcript==
[Panel 1. Black background with white caption boxes.]

Caption 1: And God said,

Caption 2: "Let there be light,"

[Panel 2. A bright explosion of light from a star in the center.]

Caption: And there was light.

[Panel 3. The star with bright rays of light is shown against the horizon of a planet.]

[Panel 4. The same planet horizon is shown with a clear sky above.]

Caption: God saw that the light was-

Voice from the planet: Can you add support for dark mode?

<noinclude>{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:April Fools' Day comics]]
[[Category:Comics with custom header texts]]
</noinclude>

3227: Creation

2026-04-02T10:55:52Z

Chronotix: /* Table of Modes */

{{comic
| number = 3227
| date = April 1, 2026
| title = Creation
| image = creation_2x.png
| imagesize = 567x198px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = This xkcd.com update introduces a variety of new reading modes which can be activated through the menu.
}}
{{series
| series = April
| number = 18
| date = April 1, 2026
| days_late =
| day_category = Wednesday
| prev_title = 3074: Push Notifications
| prev_date = April 9, 2025
| next_title =
| next_date =
}}
To experience the interactivity of the web page, visit the {{xkcd|3227|original comic}}!

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created recently in ROBOTIC MODE. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
In this {{w|April Fool's Day}} comic, several new viewing modes have been added to the xkcd website, accessible through a drop-down list beneath the comic. This allows various different viewing experiences for the entire website, including older comics. Some are "normal" viewing modes, like the typical "light" and "dark" modes, but others take such things further and/or in more esoteric ways. This includes an "airplane mode" (see below) that parodies and subverts the {{w|Airplane mode|normal implementation}}.

The accompanying comic references one of the first lines of the {{w|Bible}} (Genesis 1:3), wherein God creates light, only for a person on Earth to immediately request an implementation of {{w|dark mode}}. Dark mode is a feature on many websites and devices, which makes for a less intense viewing experience that is easier on the eyes. It is not usually implemented on planets (although one could argue that night-time is effectively Earth's "dark mode", which could have been created by God as a response to the person). This is a common experience for web and app designers, who spend a lot of time creating something that looks beautiful to them, and in their particular use case, only to find when it is put out into the wild that it doesn't suit the needs of many of their actual users, who don't particularly care about the effort they've put in.

The comic deviates somewhat from traditional Judeo-Christian mythology, as in Genesis the day/night cycle was created on the first day, but humans were created on the sixth day - thus, the "dark mode" (night-time) would already have been implemented by the time humans existed. Possibly the person is actually requesting a dark mode that can be toggled at will, rather than one which occurs automatically each day.

Unlike most comics, the title text contains no jokes, but rather explains the update and gives basic instructions.

The comic credits the "Excellent Design Team", consisting of Amber, Benjamin Staffin, and Kevin who helped create the modes.

===Table of Modes===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Mode
! Description
|-
| Light Mode
| The entire web page is filtered to look {{w|Exposure (photography)#Overexposure and underexposure|overexposed}}, making colors wash out and reducing the contrast.
|-
| Lighter Mode
| The entire web page is filtered to look {{w|Exposure (photography)#Overexposure and underexposure|overexposed}}, making colors wash out and reducing the contrast.
|-
| Dark Mode
| A standard "white content on black background" dark mode. Inverts the comic’s black and white pixels (see umwelt){{Actual citation needed|cannot find a #link in [[1037: Umwelt#...]] that looks relevent, but surely should be linked to whatever this refers to}} which makes the content of this particular comic, with the original transition from a dark pane to "let there be light" panes and the subsequent request for this very feature, particularly nonsensical.
|-
| Darkest Mode
| Everything on the webpage turns completely black (severely 'underexposed', in effect, the opposite to "Lighter mode" but also even more extreme). The exception being the drop down menu widget, which may appear as merely a dark gray — and depending upon the browser itself, the dropped-down menu may be its 'natural' appearance when it becomes fully active — which is of course extremely helpful for navigating back out of this mode/onward onto others.
|-
| Blurry Mode
| {{w|Blur (photographic effect)|Blurs}} the entire webpage.
|-
| Grayscale Mode
| Applies a standard {{w|grayscale}}/{{w|Colorfulness#Saturation|desaturation}} conversion filter to the entire webpage.
|-
| Greyscale Mode
| Operates identically to Grayscale Mode, but also changes the spelling of "math" in the slogan at the top of the page to "maths" (to go along with the respective {{w|American and British English spelling differences|British English}} use of ''{{wiktionary|gray}}/{{wiktionary|grey}}'').
|-
| Dorian Greyscale Mode
| Makes the webpage slowly turn grey, including darkening/fading-to-grey 'white' areas. This refers to {{w|The Picture of Dorian Gray}}, in which the titular character has a portrait that slowly ages and fades out while the character stays young and handsome.
Of note is that the surname of the titular character is "{{w|Grey (disambiguation)#People|Gray}}" (as is still common, if not dominant, in Britain), but the Mode itself is named for the primary British/non-American standard English version of the word for such a hueless shade.
|-
| Space Opera Mode
| Turns the entire page into a ''{{w|Star Wars}}''-style opening scroll, which loops round until you change the mode.
|-
| 3D Mode
| Makes the comic render in {{w|Anaglyph_3D|anaglyphic stereoscopy}}. [[Randall]] has used 3D space before for [[848|another joke comic]].
|-
| Origami Mode
| Rotates and folds various pieces of the webpage, as if it were {{w|origami}}-folded.
|-
| Ink Mode
| Recolors the webpage as if drawn in blue ink.
|-
| Spring Mode
| Gives the comic a simple physics simulation, making it slightly rotate around a horizontal axis as the page is scrolled.
|-
| Antipodes Mode
| Turns the entire webpage upside down. An {{w|antipodes|antipode}} is the point on the Earth's surface directly opposite of another, but "The Antipodes" is also term used for {{w|Australia}} and {{w|New Zealand}} by inhabitants of the northern hemisphere. Note: When the comic was first published this was labeled "Southern Hemisphere Mode".
|-
| Hacker Mode
| Recolors the entire webpage in the stereotypical "green on black" coding environment color scheme often used by {{w|hacker}}s on film and TV.
|-
| Screensaver Mode
| Makes the comic float around on the webpage, bouncing as it hits the edges. Things bouncing like in the comic make a common {{w|screensaver}}, hence the name.
|-
| Modem Mode
| Slowly reveals the comic top to bottom, as if slowly loading in the way images used to in the days of slow dial-up connections. This is accompanied by audio of the sound of a {{w|modem}} communicating over such a connection.
|-
| Stained Glass Mode
| Colors each closed area of the comic in a separate color to mimic the look of {{w|stained glass}} imagery. The colors vary each time this mode is selected or the page is reloaded in this mode.
|-
| Airplane Mode
| Makes the comic fly around on the page, with a "NYOOM!" written next to it. This is unlike the usual use of "airplane mode" to refer to disabling the cellphone (or all RF) features of a mobile device.
|-
| Boat Mode
| Makes the entire webpage tilt back and forth, emulating the way a boat rolls on the water. (There is a longstanding reference to Boat Mode in the [[Footnote]], which says "Remove your device from Airplane Mode and set it to Boat Mode).
|}

==Transcript==
[Panel 1. Black background with white caption boxes.]

Caption 1: And God said,

Caption 2: "Let there be light,"

[Panel 2. A bright explosion of light from a star in the center.]

Caption: And there was light.

[Panel 3. The star with bright rays of light is shown against the horizon of a planet.]

[Panel 4. The same planet horizon is shown with a clear sky above.]

Caption: God saw that the light was-

Voice from the planet: Can you add support for dark mode?

<noinclude>{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:April Fools' Day comics]]
[[Category:Comics with custom header texts]]
</noinclude>

3227: Creation

2026-04-02T10:51:49Z

Chronotix: /* Table of Modes */

{{comic
| number = 3227
| date = April 1, 2026
| title = Creation
| image = creation_2x.png
| imagesize = 567x198px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = This xkcd.com update introduces a variety of new reading modes which can be activated through the menu.
}}
{{series
| series = April
| number = 18
| date = April 1, 2026
| days_late =
| day_category = Wednesday
| prev_title = 3074: Push Notifications
| prev_date = April 9, 2025
| next_title =
| next_date =
}}
To experience the interactivity of the web page, visit the {{xkcd|3227|original comic}}!

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created recently in ROBOTIC MODE. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
In this {{w|April Fool's Day}} comic, several new viewing modes have been added to the xkcd website, accessible through a drop-down list beneath the comic. This allows various different viewing experiences for the entire website, including older comics. Some are "normal" viewing modes, like the typical "light" and "dark" modes, but others take such things further and/or in more esoteric ways. This includes an "airplane mode" (see below) that parodies and subverts the {{w|Airplane mode|normal implementation}}.

The accompanying comic references one of the first lines of the {{w|Bible}} (Genesis 1:3), wherein God creates light, only for a person on Earth to immediately request an implementation of {{w|dark mode}}. Dark mode is a feature on many websites and devices, which makes for a less intense viewing experience that is easier on the eyes. It is not usually implemented on planets (although one could argue that night-time is effectively Earth's "dark mode", which could have been created by God as a response to the person). This is a common experience for web and app designers, who spend a lot of time creating something that looks beautiful to them, and in their particular use case, only to find when it is put out into the wild that it doesn't suit the needs of many of their actual users, who don't particularly care about the effort they've put in.

The comic deviates somewhat from traditional Judeo-Christian mythology, as in Genesis the day/night cycle was created on the first day, but humans were created on the sixth day - thus, the "dark mode" (night-time) would already have been implemented by the time humans existed. Possibly the person is actually requesting a dark mode that can be toggled at will, rather than one which occurs automatically each day.

Unlike most comics, the title text contains no jokes, but rather explains the update and gives basic instructions.

The comic credits the "Excellent Design Team", consisting of Amber, Benjamin Staffin, and Kevin who helped create the modes.

===Table of Modes===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Mode
! Description
|-
| Light Mode
| The classic site appearance, with no actual changes applied to the normal 'light'-themed appearance.
|-
| Lighter Mode
| The entire web page is overexposed, making colors wash out and reducing the contrast.
|-
| Dark Mode
| A standard "white content on black background" dark mode. Inverts the comic’s black and white pixels (see umwelt) which makes the content of this particular comic nonsensical.
|-
| Darkest Mode
| Everything on the webpage turns completely black, sans the drop down menu which is merely a dark gray.
|-
| Blurry Mode
| Blurs the entire webpage.
|-
| Grayscale Mode
| Applies a standard {{w|grayscale}} conversion filter to the entire webpage.
|-
| Greyscale Mode
| Like Grayscale Mode, but also changes the spelling of "math" in the slogan at the top of the page to "maths" (as in British English).
|-
| Dorian Greyscale Mode
| Makes the webpage slowly turn grey. This refers to {{w|The Picture of Dorian Gray}}, in which the titular character has a portrait that slowly ages and fades out while the character stays young and handsome. Could also be an indirect pun on a Dorian scale / Dorian mode in music.
|-
| Space Opera Mode
| Turns the entire page into a ''{{w|Star Wars}}''-style opening scroll, which loops round until you change the mode.
|-
| 3D Mode
| Makes the comic render in {{w|Anaglyph_3D|anaglyphic stereoscopy}}. [[Randall]] has used 3D space before for [[848|another joke comic]].
|-
| Origami Mode
| Rotates and folds various pieces of the webpage, as if it were {{w|origami}}-folded.
|-
| Ink Mode
| Recolors the webpage as if drawn in blue ink.
|-
| Spring Mode
| Gives the comic a simple physics simulation, making it slightly rotate around a horizontal axis as the page is scrolled.
|-
| Antipodes Mode
| Turns the entire webpage upside down. An {{w|antipodes|antipode}} is the point on the Earth's surface directly opposite of another, but "The Antipodes" is also term used for {{w|Australia}} and {{w|New Zealand}} by inhabitants of the northern hemisphere. Note: When the comic was first published this was labeled "Southern Hemisphere Mode".
|-
| Hacker Mode
| Recolors the entire webpage in the stereotypical "green on black" coding environment color scheme often used by {{w|hacker}}s on film and TV.
|-
| Screensaver Mode
| Makes the comic float around on the webpage, bouncing as it hits the edges. Things bouncing like in the comic make a common {{w|screensaver}}, hence the name.
|-
| Modem Mode
| Slowly reveals the comic top to bottom, as if slowly loading in the way images used to in the days of slow dial-up connections. This is accompanied by audio of the sound of a {{w|modem}} communicating over such a connection.
|-
| Stained Glass Mode
| Colors each closed area of the comic in a separate color to mimic the look of {{w|stained glass}} imagery. The colors vary each time this mode is selected.
|-
| Airplane Mode
| Makes the comic fly around on the page, with a "NYOOM!" written next to it. This is unlike the usual use of "airplane mode" to refer to disabling the cellphone (or all RF) features of a mobile device.
|-
| Boat Mode
| Makes the entire webpage tilt back and forth, emulating the way a boat rolls on the water. (There is a longstanding reference to Boat Mode in the [[Footnote]], which says "Remove your device from Airplane Mode and set it to Boat Mode).
|}

==Transcript==
[Panel 1. Black background with white caption boxes.]

Caption 1: And God said,

Caption 2: "Let there be light,"

[Panel 2. A bright explosion of light from a star in the center.]

Caption: And there was light.

[Panel 3. The star with bright rays of light is shown against the horizon of a planet.]

[Panel 4. The same planet horizon is shown with a clear sky above.]

Caption: God saw that the light was-

Voice from the planet: Can you add support for dark mode?

<noinclude>{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:April Fools' Day comics]]
[[Category:Comics with custom header texts]]
</noinclude>

2649: Physics Cost-Saving Tips

2026-04-01T09:28:25Z

Chronotix: /* Table of tips */

{{comic
| number = 2649
| date = July 22, 2022
| title = Physics Cost-Saving Tips
| image = physics_cost_saving_tips.png
| titletext = I got banned from the county fair for handing out Helium-2 balloons. Apparently the instant massive plasma explosions violated some local ordinance or something.
}}

==Explanation==
This is another one of [[Randall|Randall's]] [[:Category:Tips|Tips]], this time with a series of Physics Cost-Saving Tips. It also continues the previous [[2648: Chemicals]] comic's jocular theme of tricks to supposedly save money based on misinterpretations of science.

It suggests four ways to reduce costs or provide something for free for physicists to save money on their research. For instance getting free electrons from a conductor or replacing regular {{w|helium}} with {{w|Isotopes_of_helium#Helium-2_(diproton)|helium 2}}. None of these would provide any real advantages even when possible to implement, and could even be very dangerous, see below in the [[#Table of tips|table]]. Obtaining money from physics experiments was also described in [[2007: Brookhaven RHIC]].

In the title text, Randall claims to have been banned from the county fair for handing out helium-2 balloons because of the instant massive explosions caused by its radioactive decay (that helium-2 decays fast is mentioned in the comic, with a joke suggestion to use it quickly). He jokes that the balloons violated a local ordinance. {{w|Gas balloon|Helium balloons}} are often given out at county fairs and similar events, but they are filled with {{w|helium-4}} and therefore inert (a very small part will be {{w|helium-3}}, 2 ppm). A balloon filled with helium-2 is a practical impossibility because of its nanosecond half-life. Assuming a 12-inch diameter balloon at 1 atmosphere of pressure, the balloon-bomb would have a yield of roughly 17 {{w|TNT equivalent|tons of TNT equivalent}}.
{{cot|[[User:SqueakSquawk4|Calculations]]}}
{{User:SqueakSquawk4}} 
{{cob}}
The smallest nuclear bomb, the {{w|W54}}, had a yield of between 10 and 1,000 tons of TNT. The largest conventional bomb, the {{w|GBU-43/B MOAB}}, has a yield of roughly 11 tons. The {{w|2020 Beirut explosion}} was roughly equivalent to 500 tons. So, while the helium-2 balloon bomb would be larger than all conventional bombs, it would still be smaller than most nukes. Handing out what are effectively small atomic bombs at a county fair would not go down well with any surviving local authorities,{{Citation needed}} so merely being banned is a very mild punishment. Criminal charges such as mass murder and terrorism would be more likely if it weren't for the absurd impossibility of the scenario.

The title text is likely also a pun, as the word "{{w|Local ordinance|ordinance}}" means a local law, and the very similar sounding word "[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ordnance ordnance]" means artillery and other explosive weapons, which the balloon would qualify as.

===Table of tips===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col" |Cost-Saving Tip
! scope="col" |Explanation
|-
|Try replacing regular vectors with pseudovectors whenever possible
|[[File:Torque animation.gif|frame|right|Relationship of pseudovectors {{w|torque}} ('''τ''') and {{w|angular momentum}} ('''L''') to "regular" Euclidean vectors {{w|Position (vector)|position}} ('''r'''), {{w|force}} ('''F'''), and linear {{w|momentum}} ('''p''') in an oscillatory rotating system. Not shown is the {{w|centripetal force}} of the spoke's {{w|Tension (physics)|tension}}, a Euclidean vector towards the axle proportional to linear momentum, converting it to angular momentum.]]

The prefix "pseudo-" refers to an inauthentic variation of something. Fakes are usually cheaper than their original brand-name product, while often working just as well, so the comic implies a {{w|pseudovector}} could be a less expensive substitute for a regular vector. On the contrary, pseudovectors, or axial vectors, are distinct from regular {{w|Euclidean vector}}s, which have a magnitude and direction (velocity, for example). Pseudovectors are usually being involved with rotation or physical effects that share properties with rotation, similar to the relationship between angles and lengths. Pseudovectors are formed from the {{w|cross product}}s of Euclidean vectors, in three dimensions, and while similar to Euclidean vectors, there is no physical meaning to their specific direction, only their magnitude and portions of their position. For example, {{w|angular momentum}} is described by a pseudovector, labeled '''L''' in the comic, {{w|Normal (geometry)|normal}} to the {{w|plane of rotation}}, originating from the center of rotation, with magnitude equal to the angular velocity of rotation '''ω''' multiplied by the {{w|moment of inertia}} '''I'''. (The comic's diagram is drawn according to very uncommon {{w|Right-hand rule#Coordinates|left-handed coordinates}} instead of the standard {{w|right-hand rule}}. Randall is right-handed.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1tcyEo2tQk&t=28s])
|-
|A square wave can be broken down into an infinite supply of valuable sine waves
|{{w|Fourier analysis}} can decompose any periodic function into a series of {{w|sine wave}}s. A {{w|square wave}} is equal to the sum of an infinite series of sine waves. However, the sine waves are not removed or separated individually, so such a {{w|Fourier transform}} does not produce a "supply" of sine waves for practical use in any tasks other than analysis, and as abstract mathematical objects are exempt from the laws of supply and demand ({{w|File:Munitions_T-shirt_(front).jpg|most of the time}}), this process would not be profitable in a monetary context.
|-
|Cut waste by buying lighter isotopes that don't have any dead-weight neutrons
|Chemical elements are identified by the number of protons in each atomic nucleus, equal to the number of electrons in their shell (unless the atom is ionized), which dictates most of their chemical behavior. {{w|Isotopes}} are variants of the element with different numbers of neutrons in the nucleus, among which chemical behavior is usually nearly identical. The comic suggests that the neutrons don't serve any useful purpose, so, in theory, if purchasing an element by weight, and its isotopes have the same price per unit weight, then you can save money by buying isotopes with no neutrons at all. In reality, the cost per unit weight for material containing a larger concentration of normally rare isotopes, such as {{w|heavy water}} or {{w|enriched uranium}}, is much higher than the cost of material containing isotopes in their ordinary proportions. (An exception is {{w|depleted uranium}}, which costs less than regular uranium because it is a byproduct of the production of enriched uranium.) In addition, a certain range of neutron quantity is needed to keep atoms stable, as atoms with too many or too few neutrons will decay more quickly than the common isotopes. The image shown is helium-2, an {{w|Isotopes of helium|isotope of helium}} which has a half-life of less than a nanosecond. It decays into two ionized hydrogen atoms, releasing a large amount of energy—hence the explosions mentioned in the title text.
|-
|Conductors are a great source of free electrons (may carry charges)
|{{w|Charge carrier|Free}} {{w|electron}}s are electrons that are not tightly bound to specific atoms so [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGUteH93xNo they can move freely,] such as in {{w|conduction band}}s of the {{w|metallic bond}}s throughout the iron ingot depicted in the comic. Randall interprets "free" in a different sense, meaning no cost. The charges free electrons carry are electric, not monetary as implied by the pun. Ordinary matter usually contains electrons, but although the {{w|dielectric}} layer of a {{w|capacitor}} can collect electrons, it is not easy to store pure electrons, as they repel each other. When a {{w|Solution (chemistry)|solution}} has free electrons, it becomes {{w|alkaline}} ({{w|Base (chemistry)|basic}}) and corrosive. Randall has [https://what-if.xkcd.com/140/ explained the problems] with collecting a large number of electrons before.
|}

==Transcript==
:[The comic shows four rows each with a drawing and an explanation text belonging to each drawing. They alternate between having the drawing on the left and the right side. Above the first row is a large header:]
:<big>Physics Cost-Saving Tips</big>

:[The first row has a drawing of a diagramatical spinning disc, at an angle. It is identified with an 'I', with a dotted axial arrow labelled 'L' and a rotational movement labelled 'ω' (small omega).
:I
:L
:ω

:[To the right of the diagram is this text:]
:Try replacing regular vectors with pseudovectors whenever possible

:[The second row shows a square wave with three maxima between four minima. Below the central maxima and the two nearby minima are five arrows pointing down (two bending left two right one straight down). Each arrow points to one of five sine waves below the square wave, in three rows, with different wavelengths. The one with the shortest wavelength is the top left, then the wavelength becomes longer for the one to the right and even longer for each of the next two, in the next row with the final very long wave with longest wavelength at the bottom, with the straight down arrow pointing to that. The long waves at the bottom has the same frequency as the square wave.]

:[To the left of the waves is this text:]
:A square wave can be broken down into an infinite supply of valuable sine waves

:[The third row shows two atomic models. The left containing two protons (white with a "+" sign), two neutrons (black) and orbited by two electrons (white with a "-" sign, small outlines, dotted orbits/movement lines). The right model is drawn similarly but without the black neutrons.]
:+ +
:- -
:+ +
:- -

:[The atoms have labels below and there is an extra message for the second model:]
:4He
:2He
:(Decays fast- use quickly)

:[To the right of the models is this text:]
:Cut waste by buying lighter isotopes that don't have any dead-weight neutrons

:[The fourth row shows a flat rectangular bar, drawn in perspective with a scattering of four small circles with "-" sign inside them and ten lines looking like parts of circles, all on the top face towards the far end.]
:- - - -

:[A bending arrow goes from a label above the bar and points to one of the circles. And on the forward-facing side of the bar there is a label.]
:Arrow: Free electrons
:Label: Iron

:[To the left of the bar is this text:]
:Conductors are a great source of free electrons
:(May carry charges)

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Tips]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]

3222: Star Formation

2026-03-23T12:51:35Z

Chronotix: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 3222
| date = March 20, 2026
| title = Star Formation
| image = star_formation_2x.png
| imagesize = 676x272px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It's ok, I still have some nice, cool gas clouds that aren't collapsing. As long as nothing ionizes them, I can continue to enjoy their ... HEY! NO!!!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a DIRECT COLLAPSE BLACK HOLE. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

This comic depicts a simplified model of how structure forms in the universe, then pushes it to an absurd extreme. In cosmology, small density variations in the early universe grow over time: regions with slightly higher density attract more matter via {{w|gravity}}, eventually forming {{w|gas cloud}}s, stars, and galaxies. Pressure, driven by temperature, resists collapse, so the evolution of a cloud depends on the balance between gravitational attraction and internal pressure; this is often described by the {{w|Jeans instability}} criterion.

In the first panel, the on-screen narrator (with a passing resemblance to the [[:Category:Time-Traveling Sphere|time-travelling sphere]] and other speaking dots used in xkcd), an apparent creator of the universe, describes pressure waves moving through gas and causing it to clump. In the second, the clouds begin to collapse under gravity as more gas falls in. The third panel sees the outcome: as collapse proceeds, the gas heats up (via compression and radiation processes), increasing pressure and eventually sparking fusion. The comic depicts the formation of stars, something that we know this universe has done,{{cn}} with the implication that this was a totally unforeseen outcome for the {{w|Demiurge|manipulator}} or {{w|Creator deity|creator}} of this universe.

The final panel frames this as the narrator lamenting the destruction of their "beautiful clouds", as the process has gone out of their control and produced a star instead of the desired (and perhaps, to their mind, more aesthetically pleasing) gently pulsating clouds. This might be at odds with most human experience, as stars are often thought of as being beautiful, but that's only from our own perspective, without the same opportunity to directly appreciate the same early-universe phenomena they disrupted. Likewise, we don't know if the entity ever learnt to admire the stars, once {{w|star formation}} has became more the norm than a single anomalymous 'spoiling' of the cloudy universe.

The title text continues this joke by referencing the importance of ionization. "Cool" gas clouds (low temperature, neutral gas) can remain stable or collapse slowly. If they are ionized (for example, by nearby stars emitting {{w|ultraviolet}} radiation), the gas heats up, increasing pressure and preventing or disrupting collapse. The narrator hopes to preserve some of their own calm, neutral clouds but then reacts in horror as something ionizes them, ruining the delicate balance and ending their ability to "enjoy" stable gas clouds. But this is a natural result of star formation within and around a {{w|nebula}}, again unforeseen by the being who apparently set up the circumstances that led to all the cosmic evolution we see.

==Transcript==
:[A black dot with star burst all around it is speaking, as indicated with a line from one of the burst lines to the text above it. Around the dot there are four larger and three small clouds. The one to the top right is somewhat larger than the other bigger ones.]
:Dot: I think I did a good job with this universe.
:Dot: Pressure waves dance through gas clouds.
:Dot: They clump together and then pressure pushes them apart.

:[In a frame-less panel the dot comments on the development as the largest cloud from seems to be gathering several other smaller clouds together. The other three larger clouds are still there, but there now seems to be some larger clouds stuck together in the upper right part, with more than ten smaller cloud either on top of these or moving in from all angles.]
:Dot: Oh weird, that big clump of clouds is staying together.
:Dot: Their gravity is overcoming the pressure and more gas is falling in.

:[The dot keeps commenting as the increasingly fragmentary clouds start to fall in streaks towards the original large cloud, which has now been compressed so it is smaller than before, but obviously are many more clouds stuck together. The larger clouds from before have begun to be drawn out and moving towards the larger.]
:Dot: It's not stopping!
:Dot: The heat is rising but the collapse is only accelerating!
:Dot: I messed up. I messed up '''''bad.'''''

:[The dot comments on the final result. There is now a shining star in place of the dense field of clouds, radiating strongly in all directions, blowing the few remaining smaller clouds around it, eight in total, away from it.]
:Dot: <big>'''''Noooooooo!!!'''''</big>
:Dot: My beautiful clouds!
:Dot: Ruined! It's all ruined!

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Cosmology]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]

2599: Spacecraft Debris Odds Ratio

2026-03-16T20:40:39Z

Chronotix: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2599
| date = March 28, 2022
| title = Spacecraft Debris Odds Ratio
| image = spacecraft_debris_odds_ratio.png
| titletext = You say this daily walk will reduce my risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 30%, but also increase my risk of death by bear attack by 300%? That's a 280% increased! I'm not a sucker; I'm staying inside.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a misunderstanding of statistics very similar to that of [[1252: Increased Risk]]. It suggests that going outside for more than 5 hours per day significantly increases your risk of head injury from falling spacecraft, and advises to limit outside activity to avoid this risk.

The data are apparently based on a {{w|Monte Carlo Method|Monte Carlo simulation}}, a computational method that uses input values randomly drawn from a given distribution and which repeats that calculation many times; the distribution of the outputs is then analyzed. This method is used to determine the possible outcomes (and their respective probabilities) for a given scenario. Basically, instead of doing hard math to calculate the outcomes you let a computer repeat the scenario for a huge number of different input values and watch what happens.
In this case, the study might have consisted of defining the baseline probability of spacecraft debris falling from the sky in a given time frame (say, 1% every minute) as well as the probability that it is heavy enough to break through the roof (say, also 1%), translating this to the output of a random number generator (e.g. "1" means "space debris falls in direction of head and can break through the roof", 2-100 means "space debris falls in direction of head but can't go through a roof" and values 101-10000 mean "no danger from space debris"), adding another random number generator to simulate the distributions for "person is outside X hours of the day", then drawing numbers repeatedly from both distributions and calculating the outcome for each instance.

Doing a Monte Carlo simulation for a hypothetical and rare scenario like this can make sense: it is so rare for humans to be struck by spacecraft debris that an absurdly large sample size, involving tens of millions of participants over several decades, would be necessary to obtain significant experimental data.
However, the statistical analysis and presentation of the data is horribly misleading and sensationalizing. The comic essentially pokes fun at the way that data can be misrepresented and exaggerated using an example that people would realize is absurdly unlikely.

The results are presented not as an overall probability but rather as an {{w|Odds_ratio|odds ratio}} of the probabilities. The odds ratio is defined as p(A happens in presence of B)/p(A happens in absence of B), which here would be p(space debris head injury after Xh spent outside and 24-Xh inside)/p(space debris head injury after 24h spent inside). The resulting value tells you how much more likely an outcome becomes if you do (or have) A. E.g. the bottom line of the graph in the comic means that spending 11+ hours outside will make it 3 times as likely to get a head injury from space debris compared to not being outside at all.
However, while odds ratios can be useful they tend to hide the scale of a probability - e.g. 0.00000000002%/0.00000000001% = 2, the outcome became twice as likely but the probability only rose by 0.00000000001%. And since the odds of being hit in the head by (any part of) a falling spacecraft are [https://www.livescience.com/33511-falling-nasa-satellite-uars-risk.html astronomically ([[559: No Pun Intended |no pun intended]]) low to begin with], even quadrupling it still results in a negligible probability.

The choice of hour brackets instead of a linear time scale is suspicious. Monte Carlo simulations involve a huge number of computations; the scientists should have more than enough data to plot the odds ratio for every additional hour spent outside. Moreover, each hour bracket has a different size - why didn't they use a regular binning like e.g. 1-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12? One might suspect that they wanted to conceal inconsistencies and that the underlying data points by themselves don't look nearly as convincing.
Moreover, range-based groups of any kind should never be analyzed as if they were independent categories. Spending 5 hours outside is not intrinsically different from spending 1 hour outside - the 5-hour-mark (presumably) doesn't suddenly turn humans into space-debris magnets. The likelihood of space debris falling down at any given moment stays the same and the cumulative (i.e. summed-up) probability should increase at a constant rate. Instead of comparing every hour bracket to the same baseline reference, each should each be compared to the next-lowest value.

The error bars (the lines extending from the points in the graph) are HUGE compared to the effect they measured. Error bars define the range in which the true value might be - here, for 2-4 hours the true value could be an increase by 2, or a small DEcrease of the probability.

[[1429: Data|The data]] are shown on a [[1162: Log Scale|log scale]]. Logarithmic scales are used when you have both very small and very large values and want to depict their relative differences in a single plot without making the small values look like zero or cutting off the large values. The data shown here do not have huge differences - there is no good reason for using a log scale. However, the log scale is conveniently chosen to make the error bars look like they have the same length. They do not. The error bar for the last data point is actually twice as large as that for the first data point.

The title text continues the misuse of statistics by insinuating that a 30% decrease of cardiovascular disease resulting from going outside (and exercising) is outweighed by a simultaneous 300% increase of risk of being killed by a bear. As shown in [[1102: Fastest-Growing]], the percentage increase/decrease alone of something has little meaning; the context of the original size is needed to evaluate how impressive the change really is. And in this case, the probability of dying from a cardiovascular disease is much, MUCH higher than the probability of being attacked and killed by a bear, so the moderate decrease of the former has much more impact on one's overall life expectancy than even a huge increase of the latter (unless you live in an area that has many bears, in which case your best bet is to take appropriate precautions rather than to never go outside at all).

The "280% increase" of the title text is also an error, though perhaps not for reasons you might assume at first glance (the correct calculation is not "300% − 30% = 270%"). To "increase by 300%" means to add 300% on top of the original 100% (=400%, so multiplied by 4), while to "decrease by 30%" means to remove 30% from the original 100% (=70%, so multiplied by 0.7). Combining these (which is very very wrong!) would mean multiplying by both, for an overall change of 4.0 × 0.7 = 2.8, or 280%. However, this should be read as an increase ''to'' 280% of its old value, not ''by'' 280% (you started at 100% and added 180%). But this is a very, very wrong way of doing the math because these are probabilities of very different things with very different scales (if you threw out 30% of your dishware but in that same period also acquired 3 toothpicks on top of your original 1 toothpick, would you say that your kitchen stuff increased by 180%?). The correct way of combining the two probabilities would be to translate them onto the same scale - the overall chance of death - which would be done by multiplying each value with its probability of happening at all. For example, if the chance of dying from cardiovascular disease was 50% and the chance of being killed by a bear was 0.1%, the overall chance of dying from either would be the sum, 50.1%. Both probabilities are affected by going outside; the new chances are now 50%*0.7=35% and 0.1%*4=0.4% and the combined chance of dying from either is now 35.4% - a significant DEcrease from the original 50.1%.

The specific reference to falling spacecraft is likely inspired by events happening around the time of this comic's release (March 2022). Around a month before this was posted, the head of the Russian space agency, {{w|Roscosmos}}, warned that sanctions against Russia (mostly those over the {{w|2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine}}) could result in the {{w|International Space Station}} crashing. Since the Russian section of the space station is the one that provides propulsion (although it is built to rely on the power generated by the other sections), this was taken seriously and as of when this was posted, {{w|NASA}} was trying to come up with alternative stabilization strategies in case the situation worsened. There was also a recent [https://www-uol-com-br.translate.goog/tilt/noticias/redacao/2022/03/17/parte-do-foguete-spacex-e-encontrada-por-morador-do-pr.htm?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=pt-BR&_x_tr_pto=wapp report] of some 600 kg space rocket debris found in Brazil.

==Transcript==
:[A chart is shown. Above the chart there is a heading, with a subheading below it:]
:Odds ratio for head injuries from falling spacecraft debris
:(Monte Carlo Simulation)

:[The chart is rectangular with the X-axis labels above the chart with numbers from 1 to 5. These are places over vertical lines. The first at 1 is black, the other four are light gray. There are three smaller light gray ticks between each set of lines, and one on either side of the first and last. The distance between lines gets smaller and smaller towards the right, probably logarithmic.]
:X-axis: 1 2 3 4 5

:[The Y-axis is not scaled; there are no ticks or lines. Instead it just gives five labels from top to bottom. Above those labels there is an arrow pointing to the top one with a label above explaining the axis.]
:Hours spent outdoors per day
:Y-axis:
::0 (ref)
::1
::2-4
::5-10
::11+

:[Aligned with each of these five divisions of the Y-axis there is a dot. The top one is placed on the solid line under 1 as a reference point. The other four dots all have long error bars, with the dots at the center of these. The second dot is a bit to the left of the solid line, with the error bar going almost to the left edge of the graph and halfway to the first light gray line to the right. The third dot is located halfway between the solid and the first light gray line with the error bar just crossing the solid line, and almost reaching the gray line. The fourth dot is about a third way between the first and second of the gray lines, with the error bar crossing both these lines. The fifth and last dot is just past the second gray line, with the error bar crossing both that, going more than half toward the first gray line, and also just past the third gray line. On the same height as the two bottom dots, there are asterisks just right of the edge of the graph.]
:<nowiki>*</nowiki>
:<nowiki>*</nowiki>

:[Below the panel there is a caption:]
:Our new study suggests that spending more than 5 hours outside significantly increases your risk of head injury from spacecraft debris, so try to limit outdoor activities to 4 hours or less.

==Trivia==
*In the [[:File:2599- Spacecraft Debris Odds Ratio Image scaling off.png|original version of the comic]], the Y-axis was labelled "Hours spent outdoors", but it was later changed to specify "Hours spent outdoors ''per day''", which makes more sense. However, when the updated image was uploaded, it had a much larger size than normal, because Randall used the same file for both the normal "double-sized" image and the "regular" size. This resulted in [https://web.archive.org/web/20220329014721/http://xkcd.com/ the comic breaking the boundaries of the website], before it was fixed. This had happened before with [[2576: Control Group]]: see that comic's [[2576: Control Group#Trivia|trivia section]].

*This comic's title text has a typo: it says "That's a 280% increase'''d'''!". Randall's intention might have been to say "That's a 280% increase!" (without the "d") or "That's 280% increased!" (without the {{w|Article (grammar)#Indefinite article|indefinite article}} "a"). Either way, a fragment of the original intention was left in when the phrase's tense was updated with the other. This typo has never been fixed and is included in the current title text.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Statistics]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Animals]] 
[[Category:Comics edited after their publication]]

3218: Subduction Retrieval

2026-03-13T16:24:44Z

Chronotix: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3218
| date = March 11, 2026
| title = Subduction Retrieval
| image = subduction_retrieval_2x.png
| imagesize = 502x347px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Aww, the oceanic crust and the continental crust are getting married!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created recently by a SUBDUCTION LICENSE. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

This comic is a {{w|public service announcement}} (PSA) telling the reader to stay out of the {{w|Pacific Ocean}} on the current day. The reason for this is explained to be that someone has lost their wedding ring in a {{w|subduction zone}}. This is a boundary where two {{w|tectonic plates}} in the Earth's crust collide, and one plate dives beneath the other into the {{w|Earth's mantle}}. The ring can be seen glimmering on the upper surface of the subducted oceanic plate, in the {{w|accretionary wedge}} below the continental plate. Given that the rate at which this occurs is of a few centimetres per year at most, and assuming that the characters shown are drawn to scale and are of average human stature, it can be estimated that the ring has been in the subduction zone for about 200 years. Possibly this time has been needed to localise it and then deploy the heavy engineering displayed.

As a result, the {{w|United States Geological Survey}} (USGS) is "pulling the plate back up" to retrieve the ring. This would be a ridiculous idea, since no man-made machine is capable of moving entire tectonic plates.{{cn}} Even if it were possible, it is unlikely that the USGS, a national organization, would invest the time and effort required for such an operation for the relatively trivial purpose of retrieving a wedding ring, particularly for people who are presumably long since dead. If they did, though, staying out of the ocean would be a good idea, as it would be liable to cause tsunami over a wide area, as well as other dangers.

The title text jokes that since the wedding ring lies on the lower (oceanic) plate, the oceanic crust and continental crust are "getting married". Of course, [[Beret Guy|most]] humans wouldn't be able to see the wedding ring itself, due to it being underground, and in the {{w|mantle}}, where no human could reach anyway — assuming that it hadn't already been mechanically deformed (crushed, mangled and/or broken apart) by the process of being sandwiched between two continental masses, and eventually melted.

==Transcript==

:[A large {{w|gantry}} has been positioned over the intersection of two tectonic plates, one under the ocean and one forming a jagged, mountainous coast, with one "foot" on each plate. A winch is hanging from the center of the bridge, connected to a chain which is hooked into the oceanic crust. The winch is pulling up the crust, causing it to fold and wrinkle. Cueball and Ponytail are standing on one large fold next to where the chain is hooked to the crust, and another Cueball is standing on the continental crust. Oceanic Cueball has his arms up. On a portion of subducted oceanic crust, far below the ground, a small shining lump is visible.]

:Winch: click click click

:[Caption below panel:]
:PSA: Please stay out of the Pacific Ocean today. Someone lost their wedding ring in a subduction zone and USGS is pulling the plate back up to retrieve it.

==Trivia==
[[1388: Subduction License]] is about [[Beret Guy]]'s mysterious power to subduct like an oceanic plate.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Subduction]]

2722: Etymonline

2026-03-03T17:13:47Z

Chronotix: /* Trivia */

{{comic
| number = 2722
| date = January 9, 2023
| title = Etymonline
| image = etymonline_2x.png
| imagesize = 458x280px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = NOTE TO FUTURE ETYMONLINGUISTS: Our best guess is that 'blimp' is onomatopoeia. The 'B-Limp' thing is a folk etymology.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic depicts an entry from a dictionary written in the far future (at least the year 2384 based on the textual reference). The entry gives the definition of the word "etymonline" and makes it clear that this word has simply supplanted the word "{{w|etymology}}" in the intervening centuries.

It references the internet service known as [https://www.etymonline.com/ Etymonline], or the Online Etymology Dictionary, and implies that Etymonline as a source became synonymous with the concept of etymology.

The caption to the comic states that it is ironic that the popularity of Etymonline eventually caused the loss of the word "etymology" from English. Perhaps Etymonline grew into such a comprehensive and reputable source that it deserved the all-encompassing identification with the concept of etymology (through {{w|metonymy}}); or it simply gained such ubiquity and market dominance that it became, to all intents and purposes, the only service people used to meet their etymological needs and popular usage abandoned the original term in favor of the name for the tool associated with learning a word's origin. All we know is that the brief etymology given in the entry cites "modification" of a more archaic English form (the one we are familiar with), without any mention of the digital resource. This is a mild failure on the part of the dictionary entry, since the suffix "online" should at least have been noted as the modifier resulting in the current form. Perhaps a discussion of the specific internet service was not relevant in the entry, or the very concept of "online" has been so superseded by whatever its successors or usurpers might have become that it was lost to common, or indeed academic, knowledge.

The entry about etymonline uses, as an example of the use of the word, a quote regarding the etymology (etymonline) for the word {{w|Blimp}}. This example is a quote from a book from the year 2384 called ''Jovian Blimps: a History'', dating the definition entry as being from some time after that work was published. It also states that, by that year, the word blimp no longer refers to a kind of airship still used on Earth (at the actual time of this comic's release) but instead to "Sky-cities" floating in the atmosphere of {{w|Jupiter}}. Although it is still known that Blimp was ''once'' used for Earth airships, while presuming that the reader is overwhelmingly aware of the Jovian examples.

The title text plays with this (replacing "etymologist" with the derived term "etymonlinguist"). Following on from the fictional citation's assertion that the origin for those historic airships being called Blimps is unknown, we get a comment from some present-day scholar (directed to the author of the futuristic entry) clarifying what they know about the etymology of the word "blimp". It references two theories of the etymology: that it is simply onomatopoeia; or that it was constructed from the phrase "Type B - Limp". It rejects the latter as a folk etymology, i.e. a back-formation, consistent with {{wiktionary|blimp|the explanation}} on Wiktionary and the {{w|Blimp#Etymology|Etymology section}} on the Blimp article upon Wikipedia. It is interesting to note that the current [https://www.etymonline.com/word/blimp Etymonline entry] only lists the B-Limp origin and does not mention onomatopoeia at all, though it does at least acknowledge that the origin is "obscure".

Already, a day after the release of this comic, the words mentioned in here trended on Etymonline, see more in the [[#Trivia|trivia section]] below.

==Transcript==

:[A picture of a dictionary definition that is askew in the frame to imply that it is printed or written on physical paper rather than a digital resource.]

:'''etymonline''' (n) et・y・mon・line /,ɛt.əmɒn'lain/ The history and derivation of a word. Altered form of English ''etymology'', from Old French ''ethimologie'', from Latin ''etymologia''. Quotation: "Before it came to refer to Jupiter's sky-cities, the term 'blimp' was used for 20th century Earth airships, but its etymonline before that is unknown." –''Jovian Blimps: A History'' (2384)

:[Caption below comic:]
:Ironically, the popularity of Etymonline eventually caused the loss of the word "etymology" from English.

==Trivia==
*The day after this comic was released, the words Blimp and Etymology were already among the top trending words of Etymonline.
**By 2023-01-11, two days after the release of the comic, Blimp was the top trending word with Etymology in third place.
**Neither of these words was in the top six of trending words on the day the comic was released [https://web.archive.org/web/20230109202315/https://www.etymonline.com/ 2023-01-09].
**Here an example screenshot of the Etymonline page 2023-01-11:
[[File:2722 Etymonline - trending word.png|808px]]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Airships]]

2722: Etymonline

2026-03-03T17:11:41Z

Chronotix: /* Trivia */

{{comic
| number = 2722
| date = January 9, 2023
| title = Etymonline
| image = etymonline_2x.png
| imagesize = 458x280px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = NOTE TO FUTURE ETYMONLINGUISTS: Our best guess is that 'blimp' is onomatopoeia. The 'B-Limp' thing is a folk etymology.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic depicts an entry from a dictionary written in the far future (at least the year 2384 based on the textual reference). The entry gives the definition of the word "etymonline" and makes it clear that this word has simply supplanted the word "{{w|etymology}}" in the intervening centuries.

It references the internet service known as [https://www.etymonline.com/ Etymonline], or the Online Etymology Dictionary, and implies that Etymonline as a source became synonymous with the concept of etymology.

The caption to the comic states that it is ironic that the popularity of Etymonline eventually caused the loss of the word "etymology" from English. Perhaps Etymonline grew into such a comprehensive and reputable source that it deserved the all-encompassing identification with the concept of etymology (through {{w|metonymy}}); or it simply gained such ubiquity and market dominance that it became, to all intents and purposes, the only service people used to meet their etymological needs and popular usage abandoned the original term in favor of the name for the tool associated with learning a word's origin. All we know is that the brief etymology given in the entry cites "modification" of a more archaic English form (the one we are familiar with), without any mention of the digital resource. This is a mild failure on the part of the dictionary entry, since the suffix "online" should at least have been noted as the modifier resulting in the current form. Perhaps a discussion of the specific internet service was not relevant in the entry, or the very concept of "online" has been so superseded by whatever its successors or usurpers might have become that it was lost to common, or indeed academic, knowledge.

The entry about etymonline uses, as an example of the use of the word, a quote regarding the etymology (etymonline) for the word {{w|Blimp}}. This example is a quote from a book from the year 2384 called ''Jovian Blimps: a History'', dating the definition entry as being from some time after that work was published. It also states that, by that year, the word blimp no longer refers to a kind of airship still used on Earth (at the actual time of this comic's release) but instead to "Sky-cities" floating in the atmosphere of {{w|Jupiter}}. Although it is still known that Blimp was ''once'' used for Earth airships, while presuming that the reader is overwhelmingly aware of the Jovian examples.

The title text plays with this (replacing "etymologist" with the derived term "etymonlinguist"). Following on from the fictional citation's assertion that the origin for those historic airships being called Blimps is unknown, we get a comment from some present-day scholar (directed to the author of the futuristic entry) clarifying what they know about the etymology of the word "blimp". It references two theories of the etymology: that it is simply onomatopoeia; or that it was constructed from the phrase "Type B - Limp". It rejects the latter as a folk etymology, i.e. a back-formation, consistent with {{wiktionary|blimp|the explanation}} on Wiktionary and the {{w|Blimp#Etymology|Etymology section}} on the Blimp article upon Wikipedia. It is interesting to note that the current [https://www.etymonline.com/word/blimp Etymonline entry] only lists the B-Limp origin and does not mention onomatopoeia at all, though it does at least acknowledge that the origin is "obscure".

Already, a day after the release of this comic, the words mentioned in here trended on Etymonline, see more in the [[#Trivia|trivia section]] below.

==Transcript==

:[A picture of a dictionary definition that is askew in the frame to imply that it is printed or written on physical paper rather than a digital resource.]

:'''etymonline''' (n) et・y・mon・line /,ɛt.əmɒn'lain/ The history and derivation of a word. Altered form of English ''etymology'', from Old French ''ethimologie'', from Latin ''etymologia''. Quotation: "Before it came to refer to Jupiter's sky-cities, the term 'blimp' was used for 20th century Earth airships, but its etymonline before that is unknown." –''Jovian Blimps: A History'' (2384)

:[Caption below comic:]
:Ironically, the popularity of Etymonline eventually caused the loss of the word "etymology" from English.

==Trivia==
*The day after this comic was released, the words Blimp and Etymology were already among the top trending words of Etymonline.
**On day two, 2023-01-11, Blimp was the top trending word with Etymology in third place.
**Neither of these words was in the top six of trending words on the day the comic was released [https://web.archive.org/web/20230109202315/https://www.etymonline.com/ 2023-01-09].
**Here an example screenshot of the Etymonline page 2023-01-11:
[[File:2722 Etymonline - trending word.png|808px]]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Airships]]

2407: Depth and Breadth

2026-03-03T12:54:40Z

Chronotix: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2407
| date = January 4, 2021
| title = Depth and Breadth
| image = depth_and_breadth_2x.png
| imagesize = 375px
| titletext = A death-first search is when you lose your keys and travel to the depths of hell to find them, and then if they're not there you start checking your coat pockets.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Tree (data structure)|Tree structure}}s are one of the most common data structures used in computer science. The common ways of enumerating items arranged in a tree is either {{w|Depth-first search|depth-first}}, or {{w|Breadth-first search|breadth-first}}, which are depicted accurately in the comic. Randall humorously combines the words, to produce "brepth-first", "deadth-first", "bread-first", and "death-first" search algorithms.

Depth-first search explores down a full branch of the tree before working back to a higher level. This type of tree structure was already discussed as inefficient for human needs in [[761: DFS]]. The "opposite" of this is breadth-first search, which explores each level of the tree at a time.

In the "brepth-first" algorithm, a depth-first and a breadth-first search are hybridized where the left-most node is visited more frequently than the right node, but the right node is still visited. This might be good for exploring data that is loosely but not strictly weighted to the left, or where data in deeper nodes needs some time to be loaded before it can be used. As implied by [[761: DFS]], this might be the best algorithm for a human to employ, where one can explore several topics briefly before deciding which one to explore more deeply, rather than blindly following the first rabbit hole to an absurd conclusion. Informed search algorithms like {{w|A* search algorithm|A* search}}, {{w|Beam search}}, and other {{w|Best-first search}} algorithms show this type of behavior by expanding the most ''promising'' node in the current set (under some appropriate metrics).

The nature of the "deadth-first" algorithm is unclear and inefficient, since it searches the same nodes multiple times before moving to an entirely different region of the tree. It might be useful in a context where examining nodes has some probability of returning a noisy or incorrect result, such as searching for small objects that may be overlooked.

It may also be how people with OCD search, but this would be very stereotypical.

The bread-first search is taken literally. Bread is searched for first. Since the computer user (probably [[Beret Guy]]) now has already met their want to find bread, the computer has no reason to explore the tree at all.

The title text introduces a "death-first" search, in which the user explores what it is like to be dead, before considering anything else. Specifically, the title text refers to hell, which calls to mind the adventures of Dante Alighieri in {{w|Inferno (Dante)| his ''Inferno''}}, and is a less likely place for keys to be left than one's coat pockets.{{Citation needed}} In 2021 (the year this comic was published) there were commemorations for the 700th anniversary of Dante's death. These are expected to take place among the living only, and not in hell. A much more pleasant death-first algorithm might be to skip hell and purgatory and search heaven first, perhaps multiple times (which in itself would be a use of the deadth-first approach).

==Transcript==
:[Five panels, each containing identical copies of a rooted tree graph, grayed out in the background. The tree has a height of 3 and 15 nodes.]
:[In all five panels, a black twisty arrow in the foreground indicates the order in which nodes are traversed. The arrow does not complete the entire traversal but cuts off at some point. Backtracking is indicated with a dotted line.]
:[In the descriptions below, node 1 is the root, nodes 2 and 3 are its child nodes, nodes 4 and 5 are 2's child nodes, nodes 6 and 7 are 3's child nodes, nodes 8 and 9 are 4's child nodes, and so on up to node 15.]
:[Backtracking is omitted from the descriptions below, as they increased confusion when read.]

:Depth-first search
:[The arrow visits nodes 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, 5, 10, 11.]

:Breadth-first search
:[The arrow visits nodes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7{{asic}}, 6, 8.]

:Brepth-first search
:[The arrow visits nodes 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 3, 6, 10, 11.]

:Deadth-first search
:[The arrow visits nodes 1, 2, 4, 4, 2, 4, 3, 6, 12, 13, 12.]

:Bread-first search
:[The arrow starts at node 1, then immediately leaves the tree off to the right to point to a small loaf labeled "Bread".]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Portmanteau]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Food]]

2407: Depth and Breadth

2026-03-03T12:53:56Z

Chronotix: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2407
| date = January 4, 2021
| title = Depth and Breadth
| image = depth_and_breadth_2x.png
| imagesize = 375px
| titletext = A death-first search is when you lose your keys and travel to the depths of hell to find them, and then if they're not there you start checking your coat pockets.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Tree (data structure)|Tree structure}}s are one of the most common data structures used in computer science. The common ways of enumerating items arranged in a tree is either {{w|Depth-first search|depth-first}}, or {{w|Breadth-first search|breadth-first}}, which are depicted accurately in the comic. Randall humorously combines the words, to produce "brepth-first", "deadth-first", "bread-first", and "death-first" search algorithms.

Depth-first search explores down a full branch of the tree before working back to a higher level. This type of tree structure was already discussed as inefficient for human needs in [[761: DFS]]. The "opposite" of this is breadth-first search, which explores each level of the tree at a time.

In the "brepth-first" algorithm, a depth-first and a breadth-first search are hybridized where the left-most node is visited more frequently than the right node, but the right node is still visited. This might be good for exploring data that is loosely but not strictly weighted to the left, or where data in deeper nodes needs some time to be loaded before it can be used. As implied by [[761: DFS]], this might be the best algorithm for a human to employ, where one can explore several topics briefly before deciding which one to explore more deeply, rather than blindly following the first rabbit hole to an absurd conclusion. Informed search algorithms like {{w|A* search algorithm|A* search}}, {{w|Beam search}}, and other {{w|Best-first search}} algorithms show this type of behavior by expanding the most ''promising'' node in the current set (under some appropriate metrics).

The nature of the "deadth-first" algorithm is unclear and inefficient, since it searches the same nodes multiple times before moving to an entirely different region of the tree. It might be useful in a context where examining nodes has some probability of returning a noisy or incorrect result, such as searching for small objects that may be overlooked.

It may also be how people with OCD search, but this would be very stereotypical.

The bread-first search is taken literally. Bread is searched for first. Since the computer user (probably [[Beret Guy]]) now has already met their want to find bread, the computer has no reason to explore the tree at all.

The title text introduces a "death-first" search, in which the user explores what it is like to be dead, before considering anything else. Specifically, the title text refers to hell, which calls to mind the adventures of Dante Alighieri in {{w|Inferno (Dante)| his ''Inferno''}}, and is a less likely place for keys to be left than one's coat pockets.{{Citation needed}} In 2021 (the year this comic was published) there were commemorations for the 700th anniversary of Dante's Death. These are expected to take place among the living only, and not in hell. A much more pleasant death-first algorithm might be to skip hell and purgatory and search heaven first, perhaps multiple times (which in itself would be a use of the deadth-first approach).

==Transcript==
:[Five panels, each containing identical copies of a rooted tree graph, grayed out in the background. The tree has a height of 3 and 15 nodes.]
:[In all five panels, a black twisty arrow in the foreground indicates the order in which nodes are traversed. The arrow does not complete the entire traversal but cuts off at some point. Backtracking is indicated with a dotted line.]
:[In the descriptions below, node 1 is the root, nodes 2 and 3 are its child nodes, nodes 4 and 5 are 2's child nodes, nodes 6 and 7 are 3's child nodes, nodes 8 and 9 are 4's child nodes, and so on up to node 15.]
:[Backtracking is omitted from the descriptions below, as they increased confusion when read.]

:Depth-first search
:[The arrow visits nodes 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, 5, 10, 11.]

:Breadth-first search
:[The arrow visits nodes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7{{asic}}, 6, 8.]

:Brepth-first search
:[The arrow visits nodes 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 3, 6, 10, 11.]

:Deadth-first search
:[The arrow visits nodes 1, 2, 4, 4, 2, 4, 3, 6, 12, 13, 12.]

:Bread-first search
:[The arrow starts at node 1, then immediately leaves the tree off to the right to point to a small loaf labeled "Bread".]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Portmanteau]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Food]]

2246: Christmas Presents

2026-02-24T18:16:34Z

Chronotix: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2246
| date = December 25, 2019
| title = Christmas Presents
| image = christmas_presents.png
| titletext = "The parasitism might be mediated by a fungus!" exclaimed the biologist who was trying to ruin Christmas again.
}}

==Explanation==
This is the second [[:Category:Christmas|Christmas comic]] in a row after [[2245: Edible Arrangements]]. It is also the second comic in a row about presents, this one in particular calls them {{w|Christmas gift|Christmas presents}}, and this comic was released on {{w|Christmas}} Day.

A {{w|Christmas tree}} cut down from the woods will typically be placed in a living-room soon after being cut down, and left standing there through the holiday season. On {{w|Christmas Eve}} or {{w|Christmas Day}}, or even earlier, presents are typically put beneath the tree under the lower branches. Once the tree is cut down, it will eventually start turning brown and/or losing its needles as it no longer receives any nutrients from its roots.{{Citation needed}}

Based on this observation (on Christmas Day) some biologist (or [[Randall]]) concludes that the presents are a type of {{w|parasitic plant}}—that is, a plant that derives some or all of its nutritional requirement from another living plant. Since such a plant can use the sugars produced by the parasitized tree it does not necessarily have to perform photosynthesis by itself (although some parasitic plants such as mistletoe are photosynthetically active). If the parasitic plant is not doing photosynthesis it can live in the shade beneath a tree that it parasitizes as it has no need for light, and since it does not need chlorophyll either, it may not be green (e.g. {{w|Orobanche}}).

With presents often being wrapped in bright white and red colored paper, Randall concludes that this indicates a lack of chlorophyll, thus fitting with the idea of a parasitic plant. With the presents being in the shade of the tree and the tree's health suffering, the evidence can only lead to the conclusion that Christmas presents are parasitic plants.

In the title text a biologist says that "The parasitism might be mediated by a fungus!" While many parasitic plants attach themselves directly to the plant they are parasitizing (e.g. {{w|mistletoe}}, a parasitic plant which is often used to symbolize romance at Christmas) this is obviously not the case with the Christmas presents which are not growing out of the Christmas tree - which appears to rule out a parasitic relationship. However, the biologist has an answer for that: Some parasitic plants (such as {{w|sarcodes|snow flowers}}) do not attack the tree directly but instead form a connection to mycorhizal {{w|Fungus|fungi}}. These fungi are receiving sugars from the trees and in turn provide it with mineral nutrients. By parasitizing these fungi, the snow flower can steal the sugars of the tree indirectly. One says that the fungus is mediating the parasitism.

Randall dismisses these words as coming from a biologist who is "trying to ruin Christmas again", which could have several meanings. It could be that the biologist really is just trying to ruin Christmas, and is trying to be more successful than in previous years by tying Christmas presents to fungus in people's minds. One might say that the biologist is not a "fun guy" for doing this.{{Citation needed}}

It could instead be the case that the biologist is quite earnest in his belief that Christmas presents are harmful plant parasites and is attempting to spray the presents with a {{w|fungicide}}, which would probably be toxic and potentially contaminate not only the wrapping paper but also the presents inside their boxes.

Finally, it could be that the biologist is right, and Christmas presents are hosts to or otherwise associated with a parasitic fungus (and Randall's dismissal is a sign of his infection). There are some parasitic fungi that hijack the brains of host animals and alter their behavior. The most famous of these is probably ''{{w|Ophiocordyceps unilateralis}}'', the so-called "zombie ant fungus", which causes its hosts to perch on a high plant to maximize the distance traveled by the fungus's spores. Ants have in turn developed strategies for detecting and removing infected members from the colony's territory. None of these fungi are known to infect humans, but they did inspire the zombie fungus in ''{{w|The Last of Us}}''.

==Transcript==
:[A Christmas tree decorated with 16 balls and a star at the top with a high trunk with space for several presents beneath. About 13 presents with different patterns of paper and some with strings around. Three arrows with text at the blunt end points towards different areas. To the left one points to a present, beneath this one points to the area beneath the tree (the bottom of one present) and to the right one points to the tree.]
:Bright white and red colors indicate a lack of Chlorophyll
:Flourishing in the shade
:Tree health suffering

:[Caption beneath the panel:]
:The evidence is clear: Christmas presents are parasitic plants.

{{comic discussion}}



[[Category:Christmas]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Mycology]]

1490: Atoms

2026-02-23T22:51:33Z

Chronotix: /* Explanation */

{{distinguish|3050: Atom}}
{{comic
| number = 1490
| date = February 23, 2015
| title = Atoms
| image = atoms.png
| titletext = When I was little I had trouble telling my dad apart from the dog. I always recognized my mom because she had a bunch of extra plutoniums in her middle. I never did ask her why...
}}

==Explanation==
This comic shows another quirky and fantastical ability of [[Beret Guy]]. In the comic, [[Megan]] is preparing a sample of what appears to be some mineral for {{w|elemental analysis}}. It seems to be some kind of {{w|silicate}} containing a small amount of {{w|iron}} (a common example of this would be {{w|red sandstone}}), and she is running a test to see if it contains {{w|beryllium}} (a rarer element whose best-known natural form is as a component of {{w|emerald}}). Such analyses typically involve many instruments and steps to prepare the sample. However, Beret Guy seems to be able to identify all the elements the substance is composed of just by eyeballing it, making him perhaps the perfect elemental analysis instrument.

To confirm this, Megan asks Beret Guy what he sees when he looks at her face, expecting that a normal person would describe the arrangement of colors and features that they see. Since Beret Guy sees the atoms Megan is composed of (mostly {{w|Composition_of_the_human_body|oxygen, carbon and hydrogen}}) he only notices the unusual atoms. In this case he sees the metal atoms her {{w|Dental_restoration#Materials_used|dental fillings}} are composed of. This shows his "atomic vision" extends beyond the surface of the substances. Megan finds this bizarre and asks Beret Guy what is wrong with him. He states that he has always suspected he contains too much {{w|zinc}}, which he believes makes people think he is weird, thus missing Megan's point: what is weird is not Beret Guy's elemental content, but his ability to apparently see everything as atoms sorted by element. He even describes himself as having "too ''many zincs''" rather than "too ''much zinc''", i.e. he's thinking of it in terms of discrete atoms.

High zinc intake ({{w|Zinc toxicity|zinc toxicity}}) can cause nausea, vomiting, pain, cramps and diarrhea. It also reduces copper absorption, which affects the immune system. However, it does not grant superhuman sensory abilities.{{Citation needed}} That is solely a function of [https://coppermind.net/wiki/Tin tin].

The comic continues the theme of Beret Guy's naive misunderstandings of scientific terminology turning to be literally true. In a previous [[1486: Vacuum|comic]] his misinterpretation of the notion of energy in the vacuum resulted in him gaining significant superpowers.

In the title text, the concept is taken even further: Beret Guy found his dad indistinguishable from a dog. This is likely because all mammals are essentially made of the same basic elements. Absent a distinguishing element from either his dad or the dog, they would appear to be the same. He could, however, apparently distinguish his mother because she contained {{w|plutonium}}. This is a very unusual occurrence; a human body should not contain more than a few atoms of plutonium, based on its natural synthesis, and those should be roughly the same in all bodies. Some possible explanations are:
#She had an {{w|Radioisotope thermoelectric generator|RTG}}-powered pacemaker (a few hundred were made in the 1970s).
#She lived near Los Alamos during the second world war and was a member of the [https://web.archive.org/web/20241211130823/https://warisboring.com/the-scientists-who-pee-plutonium/ UPPU club (translated as “You pee Pu!”)]. Alternatively, she could have been exposed to another source such as {{w|radioactive contamination from the Rocky Flats Plant}}.
#She was one of {{w|The Stepford Wives}} robots.
#She was the victim of some unidentified, unethical medical experimentation. Such as {{w|Albert Stevens}}.
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20060218071859/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archimedes_Plutonium#Biographical_notes Archimedes Plutonium] was right all along, and she has some connection with him.
#She actually eats plutonium. Why would we expect anything else from Beret Guy's mother?
It is also possible that Beret Guy's mother containing plutonium is probably intended as a whimsical explanation of his powers. The presence of plutonium in his mother may be the source of his own differences: radioactive exposure (in this case, potentially in utero) is a {{tvtropes|ILoveNuclearPower|common source of superpowers}} in comic books and other fiction (though unfortunately, this does not work in real life{{Citation needed}}). It's possible the plutonium is even in her womb, therefore basically guarenteeing his exposure to it.

It's not clear whether his mother's plutonium is related to his "too many zincs". One explanation for Beret Guy having too much zinc could be that his mother's plutonium changed into zinc through the process of {{w|radioactive decay}}.

It is worth noting that the verbs "recognized" and "had" in the title text are written in past tense. This presents the possibility that Beret Guy's mother passed away due to {{w|radiation sickness}} from exposure to the radiation originating from the plutonium in her middle. This possibility is further evidenced when Beret Guy adds "I never did ask her why...", indicating that he may no longer have the opportunity to do so. This is further corroborated by [[502: Dark Flow]], where Beret Guy also appears to miss his mother.

The English physicist {{w|Henry Moseley}} discovered the law relating the {{w|atomic number}} of elements with their {{w|characteristic x-ray|characteristic x-rays}} when bombarded by free electrons, providing physical evidence for the {{w|periodic table}}, the {{w|Bohr Model}} of the atom and the concept of {{w|atomic number}}. In doing so he developed a method of identifying elements in a substance by bombarding them in a vacuum with electrons and using {{w|x-ray diffraction}} methods to measure the resulting X-rays. A famous French chemist brought him a complicated mixture of {{w|Rare Earth element|Rare Earth elements}}, many of which had only recently been discovered, to test his method. Within a short time, Mosley amazed the chemist by identifying all the elements by number using his method and referring to his chart to name them. This comic may therefore be subtly alluding to this method by suggesting that Beret Guy's eyes can fire electrons at anything he looks at and "read" the resulting X-ray radiation, giving him the ability to identify the composite elements in a similar manner.

==Transcript==
:[Megan stands at a table and is preparing a sample for some kind of analysis in a device, when Beret Guy walks in.]
:Beret Guy: What're you doing?
:Megan: Testing a sample for beryllium.
:Beret Guy: That? Yeah, there's a bunch of berylliums.
:Megan: How do you know?

:[Megan turns to Beret Guy who takes the sample and looks at it.]
:Beret Guy: Look at it! See? Tons of oxygens and silicons, a few irons but definitely some berylliums too! Can't you see them?

:[They continue to talk.]
:Megan: No, I can’t see a list of the atoms in a thing by looking.
:Beret Guy: How do you tell what things are?

:[Zoom in on Megan.]
:Megan: This is ridiculous. Look at me. What do you see?
:Beret Guy (off-panel): You have tons of metal in your face. Lots of fillings, I guess?

:[Megan stares at Beret Guy who takes a looks at his own arm.]
:Megan: What's '''''wrong''''' with you?
:Beret Guy: Too many zincs? I’ve always worried I had too much zinc and everyone thought I was weird.

==Trivia==
In the [https://web.archive.org/web/20150223192206/http://www.xkcd.com/ original version of the comic], there was a typo in the title text. It said "form" instead of "from".
:When I was little I had trouble telling my dad apart form the dog. I always recognized my mom because she had a bunch of extra plutoniums in her middle. I never did ask her why...

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Chemistry]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Atom01]]
[[Category:Comics edited after their publication]]

451: Impostor

2026-02-23T22:41:51Z

Chronotix: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 451
| date = July 18, 2008
| title = Impostor
| image = impostor.png
| titletext = If you think this is too hard on literary criticism, read the Wikipedia article on deconstruction.
}}

==Explanation==
While the comic is ostensibly about grad students, it is really [[Randall]]'s way of poking fun at the relative rigor of different fields, reminiscent of [[435: Purity]]. In the comic, [[Cueball]] attempts to pose as an expert in a given field (a [[:Category:Banned from conferences|recurring pastime]] of his) and sees how long it takes before the real experts detect his nonsense.

The first panel shows [[Cueball]] discussing an {{w|engineering}} problem with [[Ponytail]]. Ponytail is talking about an immediate practical problem involving heat dissipation. Cueball suggests 'using {{w|logarithm|logarithms}}' to solve it. Logarithms are a mathematical tool used for expressing an exponential relationship as a linear one. While they may be used to model the effects of heat dissipation over time, Ponytail is looking for a way to change the rate of heat dissipation, like "water cooling." It only takes 48 seconds before he exposes himself.

The second panel shows a conversation with {{w|linguistics|linguistic}} grad students who are apparently discussing the {{w|Finno-Ugric languages|Finno-Ugric language family}} (a family of related languages that includes Hungarian, Finnish, and Estonian). Cueball asks if {{w|Klingon language|Klingon}} is included in this family. The linguists instantly recognize the meaninglessness of the statement — either because Klingon is a constructed language, designed to sound "alien" to avoid sounding like any human language (thus it cannot be part of any real linguistic family), or because "Klingon" is a recognizable pop-culture reference. Either way he has exposed himself after only 63 seconds of conversation.

In the third panel, the humor comes from the fact that the idea of {{w|sociology}} existing to rank human beings on some arbitrary intrinsic value is not only ridiculous in a scientific context, but also politically offensive. Cueball unknowingly recreates the logic behind some of the worst crimes in human history, a problem sociologists are trained to be very aware of. However, it may be something that a less educated non-sociologist would assume could pass within the field. When he describes his unscientific and offensive approach, we see one of the sociology grad students facepalming in exasperation. Because a non-expert may be able to sound somewhat educated in sociology before making such a slip-up, it is four minutes into the conversation before he is detected.

In the final panel, he attempts to pass as an expert in {{w|literary criticism}}. This field notoriously uses a great deal of impenetrable jargon, so when Cueball makes up seemingly meaningless sentences, no one notices. He makes a quip that literary deconstruction is dependent not just on the story itself, but also dependent on the critic; when taken in good faith this could be seen as a commentary on a critic's own biases (a subject not all too uncommon in ''real'' literary criticism) or if Cueball is testing his audience it may be a meta joke about the field itself failing under deconstruction... (or this sentence may be a meta-meta-example of someone applying literary criticism standards to the analysis of this specific comic). Regardless, we find that rather than being caught out within minutes as in the other fields, he has now published 8 papers and 2 books. The humor comes from the fact that he has accidentally made himself into a recognized authority in the field, despite not having any idea what he was talking about. In this panel, Cueball is sitting in an armchair in the position of an expert lecturing to a student, who sits at his feet apparently absorbing his inane statement.

This implies that the field itself has published a great deal of meaningless things that only superficially look meaningful through the impenetrability of the jargon. The title text challenges the audience to take a look at {{w|Deconstruction|the Wikipedia article for literary deconstruction}} if they don't believe this criticism applies - the Wikipedia article in question is almost constantly flagged for "clean-up" on the grounds that it's a jumbled mess. An archive of the article as it was when this comic was published is available [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Deconstruction&oldid=225953741 here].

==Transcript==
:[Caption above the panels:]
:::My Hobby:
:Sitting down with grad students and timing how long it takes them to figure out that I'm not actually an expert in their field.

:[For all four panels below, there are two frames crossing the border of each panel. The ones at the top left have a caption, and the one below right has the result of the timing.]

:[Ponytail and Cueball are sitting across from each other in office chairs.]
:Engineering:
:Ponytail: Our big problem is heat dissipation
:Cueball: Have you tried logarithms?
:48 seconds

:[Cueball is sitting in a chair at the center of a table looking left at another Cueball-like guy. To the right is a long black-haired girl.]
:Linguistics:
:Cueball: Ah, so does this Finno-Ugric family include, say, Klingon?
:63 seconds

:[Cueball is standing with his hands up talking to another Cueball-like guy and Megan who has lifted her arm to palm her face.]
:Sociology:
:Cueball: Yeah, my latest work is on ranking people from best to worst.
:4 minutes

:[Cueball is sitting in an armchair with another Cueball-like guy sitting attentively in front of him on the floor.]
:Literary Criticism:
:Cueball: You see, the deconstruction is inextricable from not only the text, but also the self.
:Eight papers and two books and they haven't caught on.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Engineering]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Rankings]]
[[Category:Scientific research]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]
[[Category:Comics with a Spanish translation]]

1256: Questions

2026-02-21T20:00:28Z

Chronotix: /* Explanation */

{{distinguish|1448: Question|common=Questions}}
{{comic
| number = 1256
| date = August 26, 2013
| title = Questions
| image = questions.png
| titletext = To whoever typed 'why is arwen dying': GOOD. FUCKING. QUESTION.
}}
A larger version of the picture can be found [https://xkcd.com/1256/large here].

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|
;Does not explain the juxtaposition jokes
This article is a little overly literal and fails to explain the actual recurring joke of the comic, which is the juxtaposition of related searches in specific orders for a humorous implication. For example, the [[#Section Six|series of spider-related searches]] capped with, "Why are spider bites itchy?", implying that the person who was distressed about all the spiders has been bitten. Simply including the answers to the questions doesn't actually explain the source of humor.}}
{{w|Google}} has a feature known as [https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/106230?hl=en autocomplete] that guesses at search queries before they are fully typed out. These guesses are generally made based on popular searches by other people. From time to time, a particularly strange or hilarious one may be found, as is evidenced in this comic.

All the questions in the comic are "why" questions, so many of them are predicated on false assumptions, such as "Why are there pyramids on the Moon". Originally, all these questions and many more (33,171 in total) could be found at [http://xkcd.com/why.txt xkcd.com/why.txt] (now defunct, [https://web.archive.org/web/20170510061043/https://xkcd.com/why.txt archived version]).

There are many reasons Randall may have chosen to highlight so many disparate questions without answers. Some questions have simple answers, some are difficult, some have many different potential answers, but all of them show humans seeking knowledge. There are no stupid questions.

The sections below explain each question by splitting the comic into arbitrary blocks. As a general rule, section numbers work top to bottom, then right to left. A Reddit user has also [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/1l3na7/questions/cbvigrd answered all the questions].

===Title text===
The title text is a reference to the Peter Jackson films of {{w|The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy}}, where Arwen becomes sickly for unspecified reasons as the plot advances, apparently giving Aragorn a more personal reason to fight. The only explanation given is by Elrond, who says "As Sauron's power grows, her [Arwen's] strength wanes." This subplot is entirely absent from the {{w|The Lord of the Rings|original novels}}.

From [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167260/faq#.2.1.21 IMDB]: <blockquote>
Arwen, like her father (and brothers) is considered to be a Half-Elf, the result of a union between an Elf and a mortal human. The Half-Elven of Middle-earth get a choice, to remain immortal and return to the West (Valinor) or to become mortal and to die as humans do. Elrond chose to remain an Elf. Arwen (like her uncle Elros) chooses to become mortal in order to wed and remain with Aragorn. Elrond senses this; this is what he means when he says that Arwen is dying. It is the same as in The Last Unicorn, when the unicorn is given the form of a human woman and can feel that she is no longer immortal ("I can feel this body dying all around me"). According to Tolkien, though, after Aragorn dies in the year 120 (Fourth Age), Arwen returns to Lórien, where she dies by choice the following winter. </blockquote>

===Illustrated panels===

; Why aren't my arms growing?
: Arms stop growing because longer arms would not be a very useful way to spend resources. Human DNA has programmed the body to gradually ossify (turn to bone) the growing arms and legs, closing the {{w|epiphyseal plate}} (the flat plate at the end of each long bone), at which point they stop growing. Alternately, the muscles of the arm, which may have been the intended subject of the question, may fail to grow if not exercised with appropriate resistance, repetition or frequency; if nutrition is insufficient; if insufficient recovery time is given; or if sufficient levels of certain hormones like growth hormone or testosterone are not present.

; Why are there ghosts?
: There is no hard evidence of ghosts. The reason you are seeing ghosts could be {{w|pareidolia}} or some {{w|cognitive bias}}.

; Why are there squirrels?
: Squirrels are the product of a long sequence of evolution, like any other animal. They persist because they effectively reproduce and compete for resources within their niche, but they are also the product of many circumstantial events that has led to them being the way they are.

; Why is sex so important?
: Sex is important biologically because it is the primary method of reproduction in many different species. It is important culturally because it causes hard-to-control urges that affect behaviour, plays an important role in human relationships, and serves as a key form of [https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/seizing-means-reproduction-laura-briggs-reproductive-politics-review/ reproductive labor]. However, it can be of varying importance to different people (see [https://www.asexuality.org/home/?q=overview.html asexuality]).

; Why aren't there guns in Harry Potter?
: In the ''{{w|Harry Potter}}'' universe, [https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Gun guns ''do'' exist] and are mentioned at the beginning of ''{{w|Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban}}'', when the news gives a warning that Sirius Black has one. Muggle technology (human inventions) are often looked down on by wizards - the majority of half-blooded wizards won't touch one, let alone a wizard extremist like {{w|Voldemort}}. Not only does any Muggle device more complex than a wristwatch interfere with magical artifacts, but wands are usually more versatile than most guns; a revolver can't shoot lightning, summon items, or teleport its user. Finally, while Harry himself may or may not consider using firearms due to his Muggle upbringing, ''Harry Potter'' is set in the United Kingdom (which has stricter gun laws than, say, the United States).

===Vertical questions===

; Why is there hell if God forgives?
: There is not a single answer to this question. The answer varies based on the religion and that religion's sect mixed with personal interpretations of that religions scripture and how a person decides to follow it. However, the idea of what Hell will be like also varies. There is no one answer to this question, but the easiest explanation is that the individual did not pray hard enough, correctly, was not part of the right religion, and their forgiveness was contingent on something that the person either did not do or know to do (or say or think).

; Why do iguanas die?
: All living things die,{{cn}} but iguanas may suffer from [https://www.anapsid.org/iguana/kidneyfailure.html kidney failure].

; Why is GPS free?
: GPS was originally developed by the U.S. military for its own use, not for commercial purposes. However, the government realized that free GPS would have a significant bonus for the economy and would prevent disasters like the {{w|Korean Air Lines Flight 007}} where a plane was shot down after accidentally entering Soviet airspace, and in 1983 President Reagan declared that the US would make GPS available to all. At one point, "{{w|selective availability}}" was used to degrade performance for civilian users, but since 2000 this has also been switched off.

; Why are trees tall?
: Tall is a relative term, and Redwoods are famous for their height - among the tallest in the world. The reason for this is, in part [https://www.nps.gov/redw/faqs.htm climate, fog, rain, good soil, few predators, among others].

; Why are there female Mr. Mimes?
: {{w|Mr. Mime}} is a Pokémon introduced in the first generation of the games, and despite its name, it can be either of a male or female gender. As the Pokémon was introduced before the concept of [https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Gender gender in Pokémon games], it is likely that the people in charge of translating its Japanese name (Barrierd) did not take this into account during the process.

; Why is there lava?
: {{w|Lava}} is magma (molten rock) which is at the Earth's surface. Magma in the Earth comes from the melting of rock due to rising heat from deeper within the planet. {{w|Earth's internal heat budget|This heat}} is about half radiogenic and half primordial (left over from the formation and differentiation of the Earth). Most of the crust and mantle of the Earth is solid rock, but in places (usually controlled by plate tectonics, but {{w|Hawaii hotspot|not always}}) where the heat is high enough the minerals with lowest melting point start to melt and then migrate upwards towards the surface. This melt collects in {{w|Magma chamber|magma chambers}}, in which the magma may start to cool and crystallize. Sometimes it will crystallize completely, becoming an underground solid body called a pluton. Other times melt will keep migrating upwards until it reaches the surface and erupts as lava, forming a {{w|volcano}} or undersea vent.

; Why is YKK on all zippers?
: {{w|YKK}} Group is the name of a large group of Japanese manufacturing companies, which among other things manufacture a lot of zippers. YKK zippers are also considered to be some of the best available, so a clothing maker including a YKK zipper would likely leave the YKK name on, instead of getting no branding or rebranding them.

; Why is life so boring?
: It is up to an individual to find meaning and interest in life. Monotony, predictability, and lack of physical and intellectual stimulation would lead to a feeling of boredom.

; Why aren't there dinosaur ghosts?
: Ghosts are a supernatural phenomenon that have not been empirically proven to exist. Those who believe in ghosts implicitly believe in a soul (of which a ghost is a materialization of), and it is a commonly held belief by religious institutions and ghost-hunters that animals do not have souls and thus dinosaurs would not have any either.

; Why is there no king in England?
: At the time of publication, {{w|Elizabeth II}} was the Queen of England, and continued to be so for another decade, ending up having been so for over 70 years.

:In colloquial usage, any married couple reigning over a monarchy is known as the king and queen. For the past several hundred years, there has almost always been a queen in England, the sole exceptions being when the king has not had a wife. (Also, "England" is commonly used as the equivalent to "The United Kingdom", often incorrectly.) However, there is a distinction between being the Queen of England (that is to say, {{w|List of British monarchs|a monarch}} in her own right) and any {{w|queen consort|Queen ''Consort''}} of England (the woman married to, or who later marries, the man who has become its King).

:Monarchies tend to strongly select for Kings (with or without consorts). At times of strife, very few {{w|Empress Matilda|'queen's}} enter the fray. Peaceful {{w|succession to the British throne}} has been for a long governed in England by {{w|male-preference cognatic primogeniture}} which disproportionately favours male descendants. And British laws and customs have been generally built around the presumption that the monarch would be a man, and that man would be married to a woman, [[223: Valentine's Day|comic 223]] be damned. The consort (wife) to the King may be popularly styled as "Queen <her name>" but would not normally be a functional title. If she survives her husband, {{w|Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother|her continued use of the honorific}} does not exclude the successive monarch having (or being) a new queen.

:Despite everything, throughout the {{w|Acts of Union 1707|current continuity of the modern British throne}} two women have begun to reign as Queen in their own right. It just so happens that these two have been two of the longest-reigning monarchs in world history, {{w|Queen Victoria}} and Queen Elizabeth II herself. Both of these have been influential and famed not just in 'England' but around the world, and this fact may add to people noting the rare but conspicuous lack of an 'English' king historically (despite five times as many actual Kings). This is especially true within the living memory of those who asked the questions in the comic, who may never have lived through the time prior to Elizabeth II.

:The title of "{{w|king consort}}" exists but has not been used. Instead Victoria and Elizabeth's respective consorts, {{w|Albert, Prince Consort|Albert}} and {{w|Prince Philip|Philip}}, were given alternate titles — Albert as {{w|Prince Consort}} and Philip as "{{w|British prince|Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland}}" (both commonly referred to as "Prince ..."). These titles being by gift of their own queen and spouse, though Albert was already formally a prince of {{w|Saxe-Coburg and Gotha}} whilst Philip had previously been prince of {{w|Danish royal family|Denmark}} and {{w|Greek royal family|Greece}} but had renounced both titles before marrying then-Princess Elizabeth. Earlier in history, various {{w|Mary II of England|co-ruling queens}}, and {{w|Elizabeth I|unmarried queens}} had also avoided any need for the "consort" title.

:Much more recently, the system of male-preference {{w|Succession to the Crown Act 2013|was changed}} to ''absolute'' primogeniture, where (for all those born after 2011) males are no longer favoured over females, in the otherwise strict chronology of descent. Should the monarchy continue onwards without further social change, there are now likely to be far more actual Queens in the future (with or without consorts); however, already the first three members of Elizabeth II's senior line of descent are male: Prince Charles, as was, Elizabeth's eldest son; Prince William, Charles's eldest son; and Prince George, William's eldest child (being born in 2013).

:It would still likely take a while (or unpredictable circumstances) before England has its next Queen in her own right and the question becomes relevent again. Since Elizabeth's death in September 2022, {{w|Charles III}} has indeed automatically become the King of England, and his current wife {{w|Camilla, Queen consort of the United Kingdom|Camilla}} is Queen Consort (but not formally the Queen of England). No further children are expected, nor would any normally change the immediate line of succession. The second child of William, {{w|Princess Charlotte of Cornwall and Cambridge|Princess Charlotte}} (born 2015), now rises accordingly to be third in line from Charles — behind William and her elder brother, at least until such time as George might himself eventually have an heir of his own, male or female.

; Why do I feel dizzy?
: Balance is achieved from fluids in the inner ear, but {{w|Dizziness#Epidemiology|dizziness}} can have nearly a dozen causes.

; Why are dogs afraid of fireworks?
: Loud noises can trigger their flight or fight responses when they are [https://www.cesarsway.com/dogbehavior/hyperdog/How-to-Keep-Your-Dog-Safe-and-Calm-During-Fireworks nervous].

; Why are there weeks?
: Weeks were originally important for religious reasons, primarily the requirement to observe a sabbath (day of rest) every seventh day. Today it is used to create a common schedule that doesn't change due to month length, much like the months divide a year to be able to schedule things like dentist appointments. Similarly, hours and minutes divide a day making it possible to create a schedule.

===Section One===
; Why do whales jump?
: Partly to get air, partly because it's an effective way to catch prey near the surface, and partly because they just seem to find it fun - it's like going into outer space!{{Actual citation needed}}

; Why are witches green?
: See {{w|The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz}}. The Wicked Witch' green skin looked really good in the film's {{w|Technicolor}}.

; Why are there mirrors above beds?
: Often, these are used by couples to view themselves during sex.

; Why do I say Uh?
: See ''[https://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/05/06/the_odd_body_language_fillers/ Why do we say 'um', 'er', or 'ah' when we hesitate in speaking?]''.

; Why is sea salt better?
: The question likely refers to the difference between common {{w|Fortified table salt}} and usually more expensive sea salt. While a major part of both of these is sodium chloride (NaCl) the idea behind the claim is the different composition mostly in regard to trace elements of sea salt compared to "normal" salt. Table salt's composition is often influenced by a country's health department and thus addition of trace elements is regulated. While these regulations are based on scientific studies there remain to be debates concerning the additions, such as iodine.

; Why are there trees in the middle of fields?
: Many images of fields contain singular trees in the middle of them. While there exist such trees it is likely an artistic choice to give a more pleasing or aesthetically satisfying image compared to just a field. In modern agriculture those would in fact be quite troublesome since they are a hindrance to large machines used and a new tree would be unlikely to grow in a constantly worked field, although they can be useful in fields for grazing animals, since they provide shade. Before mechanized agriculture, such trees would also be planted to give the workers a place to rest in the shade without having to go all the way back from a large field.

; Why is there not a Pokémon MMO?
: {{w|Pokémon}} is a popular franchise, spanning game consoles, anime series, a trading card game, and many other things. Among fans, it is a frequent topic of discussion why a Pokémon {{w|massively multiplayer online game}} has not been officially announced by the series' developers {{w|Game Freak}}, as they often [https://www.dorkly.com/comic/52546/be-careful-what-you-wish-for predict] that such a game would be extremely popular and bring in massive revenue for the company. However, if Game Freak were to develop a Pokémon MMO the MMOs would be strong competition against the console games and therefore reducing the Pokémon demographic significantly. The mobile app {{w|Pokémon Go}} has since partly filled the MMO niche, with multiplayer interactivity through item drops and fighting at gyms.

; Why is there laughing in TV shows?
: Sitcoms were once filmed with an audience, so the actors could respond to their reactions. That's the historical reason there were laughs in TV shows. The tradition continues, with the difference that now the laughter mostly comes from recorded tapes. See {{w|Laugh track}}.

; Why are there doors on the freeway?
: Highway/freeway {{w|noise barrier|noise barriers}} sometimes have doors in them to allow workers access to both sides of the barrier. They also serve as emergency exits in case of large traffic collisions (which can cause fire and smoke), for people to leave on foot.

; Why are there so many svchost.exe running?
: See {{w|svchost.exe}}.

; Why aren't there any countries in Antarctica?
: {{w|Antarctica}} is the southernmost continent and is by large covered in ice and in general pretty cold. While it is a regular target of tourists and researchers it also lacks native human inhabitants. At the moment, the territorial claims concerning Antarctica are mostly handled via the {{w|Antarctic Treaty System}}. In short there are a few countries who claim certain parts of the continent as their own in theory but so far it is considered neutral territory and most maps don't concern themselves with displaying the (in some regards disputed) territorial claims because they do not matter at this point in time. If there are ever any worthwhile resources discovered, this might change.

; Why are there scary sounds in Minecraft?
: To add atmosphere and to give players hints when there is a dark cave nearby. See [https://minecraft.wiki/w/Ambience Ambience Minecraft Wiki].

; Why is there kicking in my stomach?
: See ''[https://www.webmd.com/baby/fetal-movement-feeling-baby-kick Feeling Your Baby Kick]''. Here, ''stomach'' means ''abdomen''.

; Why are there two slashes after http?
: See ''[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1220286/Sir-Tim-Berners-Lee-admits-forward-slashes-web-address-mistake.html Sir Tim Berners-Lee admits the forward slashes in every web address 'were a mistake']''.

; Why are there celebrities?
: There are certain people who are more respected and well-known than other people, whether it be because of their acting career, major advancements to science, or a sex tape.

; Why do snakes exist?
: The question is rather general and likely based on a widespread dislike for the reptilians. Be it due to their appearance, their spread, or the danger a few snakes pose to humans (often due to being venomous) many people have a dislike for snakes and would prefer them to not exist (similar to spiders). In regard to "why do snakes exist on earth?": Because evolution. Snakes fill a gap in the ecosystem as predators and hunt different species, including vermin. Snakes are in that regard similar to many other predatory animals. The question on why snakes developed with their distinct streamlined shape is still debated but {{w|snakes|likely it either provided an advantage when burrowing or swimming}}.

; Why do oysters have pearls?
: {{w|Pearl}}s are formed inside the shell of certain mollusks as a defense mechanism against a potentially threatening irritant such as a parasite inside the shell, or an attack from outside, injuring the mantle tissue. The mollusk creates a pearl sac to seal off the irritation. Pearls are commonly viewed by scientists as a by-product of an adaptive immune system-like function.

; Why are ducks called ducks?
: See {{w|Duck#Etymology|Duck § Etymology}}. {{Wiktionary|duck|According to Wiktionary}}, the noun ''duck'' can be traced back to the {{w|Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic}} word {{Wiktionary|Appendix:Proto-Germanic/dūkaną|''dūkaną''}} ("to dive, bend down"), and, in turn, the {{w|Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European}} {{Wiktionary|Appendix:Proto-Indo-European/dʰewb-|''dʰewb-''}} ("deep, hollow"), which is the origin of the verb ''to duck''. The link between the noun and the verb comes from ducks' tendency to dive under water for short periods of time.

; Why do they call it the clap?
: Paris' medieval Red Light district was called "les clapiers" (the rabbit cages), therefore people were getting {{w|gonorrhea}} there

; Why are Kyle and Cartman friends?
: The question relates to the TV show {{w|South Park}}. Both are children living in the small titular town in Colorado. Cartman is widely accepted to a be very bad person, one of his many character flaws being his antisemitism. Kyle on the other hand is a Jew. However, both, along with two other kids, Stan and Kenny, are the core focus of the show (or used to be) and to some extents are considered to be friends. While there are episodes which show Cartman being not entirely a horrible person and him holding Kyle in a position of at least a worthy adversary, most of the time the question should be "Why is anyone friends with Cartman?" However, they most likely remain "friends" because they are in the same class at school and are therefore "forced" to be around one another.

; Why is there an arrow on Aang's head?
: {{w|Avatar: The Last Airbender#Characters|Aang}} is the main character of the TV series {{w|Avatar the last Airbender|Avatar - The Last Airbender}} and features as part of a large body spanning tattoo an arrow on his head. These tattoos are made to replicate the markings of one of the shows fictional animals, the air bison which are regarded as the original air benders. They are given to human air benders once they attain the status of masters. Because Aang acquired this status very early in life he was already tattooed accordingly.

; Why are text messages blue?
: This likely refers to iMessage chat being blue. These messages are blue when sending a message to another Apple device. When sent as an RCS or SMS message, they will be green.

; Why are there mustaches on clothes?
: Because some people buy them. Mustaches, especially handlebar-style mustaches, were a popular fad at the time of this comic.

; Why are there mustaches on cars?
: Fuzzy pink mustaches are used to designate cars in the {{w|Lyft}} service.

; Why are there mustaches everywhere?
: See {{w|Movember}}

; Why are there so many birds in Ohio?
: There are an estimated [https://oh.audubon.org/bsc/SOTB.html 400 bird species] in {{w|List of birds of Ohio|Ohio}}, but there are [https://www.jstor.org/discover/2419997sid=21104910103541&uid=4&uid=3739776&uid=2&uid=3739256 2.74 nesting pairs per acre].

; Why is there so much rain in Ohio?
: {{w|lake_effect|Lake-effect}} rain develops in the same manner as lake-effect snow.

; Why is Ohio weather so weird?
: See {{w|Lake-effect snow}}.

===Section Two===

; Why are there male and female bikes?
: Historically, women's {{w|bicycle}} frames had a top tube that connected in the middle of the seat tube instead of the top, resulting in a lower {{w|Frame geometry|standover height}} at the expense of compromised structural integrity, since this places a strong bending load in the seat tube, and bicycle frame members are typically weak in bending. This design, referred to as a {{w|step-through frame}} or as an open frame, allows the rider to mount and dismount in a dignified way while wearing a skirt or dress.</blockquote>

; Why are there bridesmaids?
: See {{w|Bridesmaid#Origin and history|Bridesmaid § Origin and history}}.

; Why do dying people reach up?
: In many works of fiction dying people are regarded with an outstretched arm, grasping for unseen objects towards the sky. In all likelihood this originates in the idea of heaven as the place where (good) people go after death. People "reach for the light" which is seen when dying according to similar beliefs or possibly for already dead relatives or other associated people waiting for them. An alternative hypothesis is that they want to hug/touch their loved ones one last time.

; Why aren't there varicose arteries?
: Blood moves through veins due to irregular pressure from skeletal muscles combined with valves to control direction. In varicose veins these valves malfunction affecting blood flow. In arteries blood flow is produced directly from pressure caused by the heart.

; Why are old Klingons different?
: {{w|Klingon Redesign|From Wikipedia}}: <blockquote>For {{w|Star Trek: The Motion Picture}} (1979), the Klingons were retconned, and their appearance and behavior radically changed. To give the aliens a more sophisticated and threatening demeanor, the Klingons were depicted with ridged foreheads, snagged and prominent teeth, and a defined language and alphabet. Lee Cole, a production designer, used red gels and primitive shapes in the design of Klingon consoles and ship interiors, which took on a dark and moody atmosphere. The alphabet was designed as angular, with sharp edges harkening to the Klingon's militaristic focus.[5] Costume designer Robert Fletcher created new uniforms for the Klingons, reminiscent of feudal Japanese armor.</blockquote>Additionally, there is an in-universe explanation: A [https://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Klingon_augment_virus Klingon augment virus] was deployed to make enhanced warriors, but accidentally made weaker Klingons with human-like features. These afflicted Klingons were the ones seen in the original series.

; Why is programming so hard?
: Programming is the art of writing instructions for a computer to do. Since the computer has a limited set of instructions for you to use it involves a new way of thinking for many. It is also hard because the computer itself is not smart or adaptable to unexpected problems. For instance, when humans are told to sort books in a shelf, they can do that even if there are things in the way (simply moving them to the side). A computer will generally just crash if it doesn't have instructions on how to deal with the unexpected problem.

; Why is there a 0 Ohm resistor?
: A resistor is usually designed to create a certain resistance, measured in {{w|Ohm}} in an electronic device. A 0 Ohm resistor seems pointless as it would only provide the same resistance as a normal cable. However, a 0 Ohm resistor works as an easy way to connect two points of a circuit board utilizing the same machines used to place other resistors. Wikipedia's {{w|Zero-ohm link}} article gives a good explanation.

; Why do Americans hate soccer?
: Soccer, or (association) football in British English, is rather unpopular in the USA compared to most other regions of the world. Finding a particular reason behind the (dis)like for certain sports, apart from cultural spread, is difficult. One possible explanation is soccer's tendency to have far fewer points scored in an average game and a higher likelihood of draws compared to such things as American Football, basketball or baseball, which are far more popular. In how far this is a legitimate argument for regarding soccer as "less interesting" is up to debate. The assumption that Americans dislike soccer is also somewhat dated; the national Womens' team is the most successful in the world, having won 4 FIFA Women's World Cups and consistently encouraging more youngsters to take up the sport. Unfortunately, when it comes to the professional game, the National Soccer League still has a long way to go to catch up with the dominance and name recognition of the NFL (American football) (due primarily to the spectacle of the Super Bowl), the MLB (baseball) (partly credited to the dominance of the New York Yankees and the pageantry of the World Series), and the NBA (basketball), due to the makeup of the American professional sports industry during its golden years in the 1970s & 80s.

; Why do rhymes sound good?
: The brain enjoys repetition, especially in music.

; Why do trees die?
: Some common reasons include lack of water, lack of nitrogen in the soil, soil, root and wind damage, and being chopped down.

; Why is there no sound on CNN?
: Some stations broadcast a {{w|second audio program}}, an alternative soundtrack that your TV can be configured to use instead of the primary program. This is intended to be used for broadcasting in an alternate language, or for {{w|Descriptive Video Service}} to make a program accessible to the visually impaired. Many programs that don't actually use SAP will still broadcast an SAP that is identical to the primary program; however, this is not required. If your TV is configured to use SAP and a particular channel isn't broadcasting SAP at that time, there won't be any sound.

; Why aren't Pokémon real?
: Pokémon are fantasized creatures that were designed to produce an interesting battle mechanic in a game. Some of the Pokémons abilities would be impossible on earth as we know it. For instance, Magcargo is [https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Magcargo#Trivia hotter than the surface of the sun].

; Why aren't bullets sharp?
: See {{w|Terminal ballistics}}.

; Why do dreams seem so real?
: Most dreams occur during a stage known as REM (Rapid Eye Movement). During REM, your brain is highly active, and its wave pattern is the same as the wave patterns in a person who is awake. It should be noted that dreams can occur during other stages of sleep but most dreams that are vivid occur during the REM stage.

===Section Three===

; Why do testicles move?
: The scrotum shrinks and expands to account for temperature changes.

; Why are there psychics?
: A {{w|Psychic}} is a supposed user of anomalous powers. Studies have classified psychic powers as pseudoscience. The existence of psychics appears to be as an economic incentive.

; Why are hats so expensive?
: Hats can be expensive depending on the quality of material, size, location, and demand. A probable answer is that hats are simply difficult to make, causing high prices. Another likely cause is the fact that hats are not widely worn in much of the western world and people who do wear them often have far fewer than they have, for example, shirts, meaning that manufacturers cannot get the same economies of scale in production and distribution.

; Why is there caffeine in my shampoo?
: Because the producers want you to believe that caffeine penetrates the hair roots and thereby somehow protects it from negative testosterone impacts and from premature hair loss.

; Why do your boobs hurt?
: Common reasons are a badly fitted bra, breast growth, or {{w|PMS}}. It could also be a hormone imbalance, breastfeeding, large or awkwardly shaped breasts or a serious condition such as {{w|breast cancer}}.

===Section Four===

; Why aren't economists rich?
: Economists study how society organizes resources but, contrary to the popular misconception, don't focus much on the short-term behavior of the stock market (a system that is still poorly understood). In order to become rich, in most cases one has to own a commodity that produces more wealth, such as a large company, or be related to somebody who has done so. In rare cases, a particularly lucky individual could become rich by having an unusually high paying job, such as a famous actor or sports star. Neither of these situations are likely for someone studying the field of economics. Some economists do get very rich as strategists for banks and businesses, but most are just academics and analysts.

; Why do Americans call it soccer?
: {{w|Association football}} is called "soccer" ("association" + "-er") in US English because {{w|American Football}} is the more popular version there. Of note is that the word "soccer" originates on British soil, to distinguish it from Rugby football aka "rugger".

; Why are my ears ringing?
: {{w|Tinnitus}}, or ringing of the ears, can result from stress, foreign objects in the ear, hearing damage, wax build up, or any other number of causes.

; Why are there so many Avengers?
: The number of Avengers has {{w|List of Avengers members|varied greatly}} over the years and decades, each time with its own justification for why they need to work together, but the simplest answer is money. Cross-branding and cross-merchandising is successful to the brand and brings in new readers, plus creates a new franchise to profit from.

; Why are the Avengers fighting the X Men
: {{w|Avengers vs. X-Men}} was a 2012 Marvel crossover event that, like many other recent comic book events, had heroes fight other heroes. In this case, the {{w|Avengers (comics)|Avengers}} and the {{w|X-Men}} fought over the {{w|Phoenix Force (comics)|Phoenix Force}}, a godlike power that often possesses {{w|Jean Grey}} or her descendants (in this case, her alternate universe daughter Hope Summers). The Avengers believed the Phoenix Force is too powerful for humanity to control and wanted to contain it, while the X-Men believed the Phoenix was the messiah for mutants and could fix all of the Earth's problems.

; Why is Wolverine not in the Avengers
: Wolverine ''has'' been an Avenger, in some circumstances. e.g. in the {{w|The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes}} cartoon series, the episode ''New Avengers'' had Wolverine (along with Spider-man, War Machine, The Thing and Luke Cage and Iron Fist) substitute while the 'original' Avengers were unavailable to deal with the current crisis (which of course included the fate of the 'proper' Avengers). However, in general his anti-authority personality makes him a difficult team-member to field, and he has frequently disassociated himself even from the X-Men. But, in Avengers vs. X-Men (see above) Wolverine ''sided'' with The Avengers, and more modern treatments have even included the character in about as much a permanent a membership of the group as Logan is ever likely to have. But if the question is about why Wolverine didn't appear in {{w|The Avengers (2012 film)|''The Avengers''}}, the answer is that ''The Avengers'' is being produced by Marvel/Disney, while Fox still has the rights to the X-Men and all Marvel mutants in general. Unless there is studio agreement, the two properties cannot cross, except through complicated machinations. For example, there were plans to bring Avengers mainstays Quicksilver and The Scarlet Witch to both the ''Avengers'' and ''X-Men'' franchises (plans which successfully came to pass after this comic was written) but only the Fox films had the right to call them the children of Magneto at the time, and Marvel/Disney couldn't even identify them on-screen as "mutants".

===Section Five===

; Why are there ants in my laptop?
: Ants usually come in your laptop when there are little crumbs of food. It is advised to get screen protectors.

; Why is Earth tilted?
: The Earth's axial "tilt", wherein its axis of rotation is not perpendicular it its orbit, is a result of conservation of momentum when the Earth was formed, because not everything orbits in the same way. This is pure happenstance.

; Why is space black?
: What we call black is the absence of light. Space is mostly empty, and although there are many stars, the light from most of these stars hasn't reached us yet. In addition, a lot of light has been stretched by {{w|redshift}} so it's no longer visible to us. See {{w|Olbers' paradox}}

; Why is outer space so cold?
: It's hard to actually define a temperature for space - it's empty, so there's nothing to measure. However, most of space has very little radiation hitting it, so a person won't receive any energy, but will still radiate some away, resulting in a net loss of energy, colloquially "heat." Around the Earth, objects in direct sunlight will actually get very hot. In deep space, there is almost no warming radiation.

; Why are there pyramids on the moon?
: There are no pyramids on the moon. However, the appearance of mountains and some craters on the moon have fooled some into believing there are pyramids on the moon, but these claims are false.

; Why is NASA shutting down?
: NASA isn't shutting down. This question might have something to do with the {{w|United States federal government shutdown of 2013}} or perhaps due to the {{w|Space Shuttle program}} ending in 2011, but that is not the entirety of NASA.

===Section Six===

; Why are there tiny spiders in my house?

; Why do spiders come inside?

; Why are there huge spiders in my house?

; Why are there lots of spiders in my house?

; Why are there spiders in my room?

; Why are there so many spiders in my room?
: During autumn in particular male spiders reaching maturing will set off to find a mate. By chance they may end up in your house. When encountering spiders in large numbers, it is more likely that they are young from the same female spider. Females lay {{w|Spider#Reproduction_and_life_cycle|up to 3,000}} eggs at a time. These questions also play off of Munroe's longstanding fear of spiders, especially the [[8: Red spiders|red spiders]] mentioned in [[:Category:Red Spiders|several early comics]].

; Why do spider bites itch?
: This mostly happens as an immune response to [https://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/stories/why-do-mosquito-bites-itch histamines] under the skin which are injected through saliva.

; Why is dying so scary?
: Part of human nature is the fear of the unknown, and death is the ultimate unknown because it is not knowable until it's experienced, and there is nobody to report what the result was. This leaves it open to speculation, and many major religions are based on preparing one's soul for death. Also, dying would leave loved ones' families with the responsibility of taking care of their remains and finances. And finally, most people don't want to die, living for as long as possible, possibly because the unknown is too unbearable to cope with. Several causes of death are known to inflict pain to the victim, and fear of pain is an instilled evolutionary safeguard for preventing harm to a sapient creature. Still though several people are not afraid of death and dying, and recognize life is short and to cherish each moment while we can. Death is inevitable, so we should not fear it. In addition, it would be evolutionarily advantageous for our ancestors to have feared and avoided death.

; Why is there no GPS in laptops?
: It is possible for laptops to have a GPS, and some do. But there are [https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/50907/are-there-gps-tracker-for-laptops design difficulties] that have to be overcome including battery draining, room within the crowded device to place a receiver, WiFi can give a location just as well, and the product casing could interfere with its ability to functional normally and receive the signals necessary to operate as intended. Some Dell computers have these, but the privacy one needs to give up accepting the terms and conditions makes it unfavorable.

; Why do knees click?
: Typical of other clicking and cracking of joints, this may be the sound of [https://www.webmd.com/pain-management/knee-pain/features/knee-cracks-pops ligaments tightening]. However, do not rely on a wiki to diagnose a medical condition. Consult a licensed physician.

; Why aren't there E grades?
: E grades [https://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/02/e-f-grading-scale/ actually exist] in some districts, but they are rare. In their long and bizarre history, E was originally used where F is today (E was the lowest grade), but in those systems, students often received E's for an "Excellent" grade, creating much confusion. F was used in place instead and E was eliminated from a standard grading scale.

; Why is isolation bad?
: Isolation is when a person deliberately secludes themselves away from others, often far-removed from society. This can happen in locations as small as a city apartment and as large as the open woods. People evolved as social animals and it is generally held that those who isolate themselves suffer from depression or other forms of psychological imbalance. Of course, society can trigger many of these imbalances causing an individual to isolate themselves. Isolation is often seen as therapeutic so people can spend time with themselves constructively, often finding peace within themselves and through mediation. Monks and hermits generally live in solitude as well. Many people view a decision to be isolated as noble, and others as healthy. While general interaction is largely healthy, in the crowded modern world, isolation is neither good or bad; it depends on the person and what that isolation does to them.

; Why do boys like me?
: Attraction comes in many forms: physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, among others. Some people will lie about what they like about you to get something from you (money, sex, etc.), but most are genuine. It is not possible to assert definitively why one person may like another person, and that is something that needs to be discussed openly and honestly with them and nobody else.

; Why don't boys like me?
: Similar to the answer above about what makes one desirable to another, there are an equal number of factors that make one unappealing. This can include everything from physical appearance to how one treats others. If a person is rude and unfriendly, most people find that not conducive to healthy relationship and avoid the person who is asking. Not being liked by someone you like however does not mean you're wrong or are a bad person and, in most cases, has to do with the person you are asking about.

; Why is there always a Java update?
: [https://www.java.com/en/download/faq/whatis_java.xml Java] is a software that runs on most computers and mobile devices that is crucial to its security and stability. The reason it always updates is because it needs to stay current with the ever-upgrading fleet of browsers, operating systems and software that supports Java. Additionally, Java updates itself so each version can run optimally. Software coding and debugging is a never-ending process towards perfectly stable releases.

; Why are there red dots on my thighs?
: This might be {{w|Petechia}}, which are broken blood vessels, however, do not rely on a wiki to diagnose medical conditions. Consult a licensed physician.

; Why is lying good?
: Lying and other forms of dishonesty is typically seen as bad because it lowers one's credibility and makes them less likely to be trusted in the future. It is almost always advantageous to tell the truth, as lies have a way of escalating as you need to keep expanding on the lie to cover your tracks. There are instances however where lying may be used in more noble circumstances. For example, if a friend asks your opinion on something they have made (such as a poem or painting) that you do not like, it is okay to tell them you like it because protecting their feelings and your relationship is more important than how you feel. Often military personnel are trained to keep national security secrets at all costs and will lie about what they know to save themselves and the country.

===Section Seven===

; Why are there slaves in the bible?
: Slavery was viewed differently in the early years of human civilization before the contemporary moral and ethical conversations began centuries later. The Jewish legal system as presented in the bible {{w|The Bible and slavery|justified slavery}} for a number of reasons, notably to pay off some sort of debt. Slaves were seen as property and their work provided value to the slave owner, but such a relationship was legally required to be temporary, and slaves had some basic human rights. Similarly, slave owners rationalized their ownership through scripture, pointing out that it was in the Bible and therefore okay with God — without wishing to go off on a tangent, if you have to rationalize your system of slavery then it's probably illegal under historic Jewish law.

; Why do twins have different fingerprints?
: Fingerprints are not only from the DNA, but from the conditions in the womb which differ from child to child.

; Why are Americans afraid of dragons?
: This question was the title of a [https://blogs.sfu.ca/courses/spring2012/engl387/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Why-are-Americans-Afraid-of-Dragons.docx 1974 essay] by Ursula K. LeGeuin in which she makes a {{w|Semiotics|semiotic}} analysis of dragon mythology. She argues that our belief in dragons (and those outside of America as well) stems from childhood, much like other ferocious fictional creatures such as goblins and hobbits, but many hold onto these fears as a way of avoiding reality. In her closing argument, she writes, "They know that its truth challenges, even threatens, all that is false, all that is phony, unnecessary, and trivial in the life they have let themselves be forced into living. They are afraid of dragons, because they are afraid of freedom."

; Why is HTTPS crossed out in red?

; Why is there a line through HTTPS?
: The site accessed has an invalid SSL certificate. See [[2634: Red Line Through HTTPS]].

; Why is there a red line through HTTPS on Facebook?
: The website has an invalid SSL certificate. This may be the result of a scam, a misdirection, a typo, or some kind of configuration error in the client or the remote server.

; Why is HTTPS important?
: For security reasons, as a site with HTTPS has encrypted traffic.

===Section Eight===

; Why are there swarms of gnats?
: The reason gnats (and other creatures) tend to swarm together is likely a safety-in-numbers protection, and as a big gathering to find a mate.

; Why is there phlegm?
: {{w|Phlegm#Phlegm|Phlegm}} is a thick, viscous fluid produced by the mucus membranes as a way to clear the airway and aids in the release of bacteria, disease and debris in those passages.

; Why are there so many crows in Rochester, MN
: From a Minnesota Paper, [https://www.startribune.com/local/138902104.html the Star Tribune], "Laws prevent the city from poisoning the crows". "Duffy [ {{w|Steve Duffy}}, a co-owner of U.S. Bird Abatement Services, which has contracted with Rochester to get rid of the crows] isn't sure why Rochester has such a bad crow problem; probably a confluence of many bird-friendly conditions that has also made it a magnet for {{w|geese}}. He's seen worse cases but called Rochester's situation 'hideous.'" And best of all, "The city has twice this winter hired experts to chase them off. They tried {{w|lasers}} and bullhorns — hey, get out of here, you crows — and even employed raptors to pick them off, one by one. That worked, for awhile." Unfortunately, they mean a {{w|bird of prey}}, not a {{w|velociraptor}}.

; Why is Psychic weak to Bug
: In Pokémon, Pokémon of the Psychic type like Alakazam are weak to three types of attacks: Ghost, Dark, and Bug. The general theory is that Psychic Pokémon, relying heavily on their thoughts for attacks, are weak to fears, which ghosts, darkness, and bugs can be classified as.

; Why do children get cancer?
: {{w|Cancer}} is an aggressive and often fatal disease that has the potential to affect all humans as well as other organisms. There are multiple types of cancer, each with their own epidemiology, but children are not immune to succumbing to the horrific effects of the disease. Children are subject to the same illnesses adults have, regardless of age, or their innocence. There is no divine or supernatural explanation for this. Simply put, life is a battle for all humans regardless of how small they are.

; Why is Poseidon angry with Odysseus?
: {{w|Poseidon}} was the patron deity of the city of {{w|Troy}}, which after a 10-year siege by the Greeks fell due to {{w|Odysseus}}' strategem of the {{w|Trojan_Horse|Trojan horse}}. As the Greeks were returning home after the Trojan War, Oddyseus' ship accidentally landed on the island home of the cyclops Polyphemus, who imprisoned the crew and ate many of them. In order to escape, Odysseus blinded the cyclops. Poseidon, Polyphemus' father, was extremely angered by his son being blinded, so he cursed Odysseus' ship to prevent him from reaching his home in {{W|Ithaca}}. The adventures which Odysseus encountered during his quest for reaching Ithaca are the main theme of {{w|Homer|Homer's}} {{w|Odyssey}} The Odyssey also says that before sailing, the crew forgot to offer a sacrifice as was ordained.

; Why is there ice in space?
: Space is {{w|Outer_space#Environment|Cold}}. The background radiation, which is used to measure the temperature of space's vacuum, is estimated at about 3K (−270 °C; −454 °F). Water freezes at 273.15 K (0 °C; 32 °F). Because the temperature in space is less than the freezing point of water, liquids freeze in space, turning into ice.

===Section Nine===

; Why is there an owl in my back yard?

; Why is there an owl outside my window?
: Owls can be seen all over the world and live in a wide variety of habitats. They are mainly nocturnal, and spend a large portion of the night hunting. The owl in your back yard and your window is likely looking for food.

; Why is there an owl on the dollar bill?
: On the front of a dollar bill, near the upper right '1' is a tiny section of the design which can be seen to represent an owl. Conspiracy theorists will note that owls were symbolically linked to the Masons, while others will instead see a spider.

; Why do owls attack people?
: While owls and human often live in close proximity without problems, as with other species, owls may attack if they feel threatened. When people irritate or otherwise make owls feel unsafe, they retaliate with violence to protect themselves.

; Why are AK47s so expensive?
: The market value of an AK47 varies depending on where you live. With strict gun control laws, obtaining an AK47 in the UK is likely to be more expensive due to the risks involved for those supplying the weapon. In former Soviet republics and the Middle East, AK47s are more plentiful, and hence the price is likely to be lower.

; Why are there helicopters circling my house?
: People living in high-crime areas will often hear helicopters circling, especially at night, when police use the helicopter's searchlight to locate and track suspects, or to light a crime scene. Those Googling this question might be wondering if a dangerous fugitive is nearby, or what else may be going on. Potentially, the questioner may be hallucinating the helicopters or imagining themselves as the target due to {{w|paranoid schizophrenia}}, in which either a neurochemical imbalance or distorted thought patterns causes {{w|delusions of persecution}}. Alternately, this question may be a joke because it is so incongruous to the others in this section. The joke is that people would be Googling about owls attacking people and assault rifle prices, which could, ostensibly alert authorities to come to your house to arrest you.

===Section Ten===

; Why are there gods?
: Gods and goddesses are part of mythology and folklore that are used to give spiritual guidance as well as explanations for phenomena that are yet unexplained by natural processes.

; Why are there two Spocks?
: This is probably a reference to the {{w|Star_Trek_(film)|2009 Star Trek movie}} in which the franchise was given a {{w|Reboot_(fiction)|continuity reboot}}. The modified setting is explained in-universe by time travel, with both the villain Nero and the original-timeline Spock being brought back from the 24th century to the 23rd, creating a timeline in which both older Spock (played by Leonard Nimoy) and the younger Spock (played by Zachary Quinto) coexist. Another possibility is that the question refers to the episode {{w|Mirror,_Mirror_(Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series)|"Mirror, Mirror"}}, which mostly takes place in an alternate universe populated by ruthless versions of most of the characters (including Spock).

; Why is Mt Vesuvius there?
: The simple answer is that volcanoes are created by interactions where the Earth's tectonic plates meet. These conditions only exist in a few places on Earth. The question could also be asking, "why is Mt Vesuvius near such a heavily populated area?" Humans have lived near Vesuvius throughout history, due to its pleasant climate, rich soil, and proximity to other major cities. The Italian government [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/jun/05/italy.sophiearie offers generous cash incentives] to move people away from the danger zone, but finds few takers.This question could also be a reference to mountaineer {{w|George Mallory}}'s famous answer as to why he wanted to climb Mount Everest: "Because it's there."

; Why do they say T minus?
: Time before the launch of a spacecraft is denoted as "T-minus" because the launch has not happened yet. Any time after the launch is typcally stated with a "plus", for example "T-plus 3 minutes, 17 seconds", so time before the launch is counted downwards as "minus" time. The "T" stands for "Time", as in the practical zero time of launch, although the eventual reaching of zero (related to the intended "L" time of launching) is often still subject to change ''before'' the launch, for both {{w|Built-in hold|planned and unplanned holds}} of arbitrary length.

; Why are there obelisks?
: The {{w|Obelisk}} article has more information.

; Why are wrestlers always wet?
: Professional wrestling is strenuous activity, whether it's fake or not. Strenuous activity results in sweat, giving the bodyan appearance of being wet. Greco-Roman wrestling and Turkish Oil Wrestling both involve oiling the body, giving a similar appearance.

; Why are oceans becoming more acidic?
: Due to the higher amount of carbon dioxide on the atmosphere, which dissolves in the oceans turning into carbonic acid - CO2+H2O=H2CO3 (see {{w|Ocean acidification}})

; Why is Arwen dying?
: {{w|Elf (Middle-Earth)#Death|Elves}} in ''The Lord of the Rings'' can die from grief.

; Why aren't my quail laying eggs?
: Not enough sunlight/calcium, or they are egg bound (very serious)?

; Why aren't my quail eggs hatching?
: Problems in incubation, or the eggs may not be fertilized.

; Why aren't there any foreign military bases in America?
: Further information: {{w|United States military deployments}}This is a very interesting question, albeit one likely based on a regional misunderstanding. Presumably, this question is asked by Americans who assume that the existence of {{w|Category:Military facilities of the United States by country|U.S. military bases abroad}} is a general trend among countries, as opposed to being the rarity that it is. In fact, {{w|List of countries with overseas military bases|only a handful of other countries}} have military bases outside of their borders, and the three—{{w|France}}, the {{w|United Kingdom}}, and {{w|Russia}}—that have more than one or two are all countries that, like the United States, {{w|Allies of World War II|were on the winning side of World War II}}, have {{w|List of countries by military expenditures|massive military expenditures}}, and have {{w|United Nations Security Council veto power|UN Security Council vetoes}}. In other words, only the most militarily elite countries have bases overseas. The U.S. is unique, however, in that it has far more overseas bases than any other country (and, pretty much, far more of anything else than any other country, when it comes to the military), and in that {{w|List of United States military bases|it has bases in several other highly-industrialized nations}}, including {{w|List of United States Army installations in South Korea|South Korea}} and the United Kingdom, and, most notably, the World War II {{w|Axis powers}}: {{w|List of United States Army installations in Germany|Germany}}, {{w|United States s Japan|Japan}}, and {{w|List of United States Army installations in Italy|Italy}}. France, Russia, and the U.K.'s bases, on the other hand, are almost all within areas that they previously controlled.These bases can be controversial in some countries, while in others they are a major source of economic and political stability. The U.S. traditionally justifies their presence as a necessary and crucial element in its efforts to promote peace domestically and worldwide. Despite their major role in {{w|U.S. foreign policy}}, and in the general political structure of the globe, the American public often largely ignores them, and they rarely become a major political issue (apart from an occasional mention by {{w|Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian presidential candidates}}).So, essentially, the absence of foreign military bases within the U.S. is primarily because there aren't really any other countries in a position to place bases there. Ironically, although no battles in the traditional sense have been fought within the U.S. since the {{w|U.S. Civil War}} and the U.S. mainland has seen {{w|Mainland invasion of the United States|almost no military action}}, foreign air bases might have been useful on September 11, 2001. (The {{w|attack on Pearl Harbor}} in 1941 was 18 years before Hawaii became a U.S. state, but Hawaii was still a fundamental part of the United States as it was an incorporated territory.)There are, however, foreign troops stationed at some continental US military bases. For example, RAF (British Royal Air ) 39 Sqn and 361 Sqn at Creech Air Base in Nevada flying Reaper and Predator drones. But these are not foreign military bases, they are just guests.

===Section Eleven===

; Why are my boobs itchy?
: It could be anything from dry skin to a rare life-threatening disease. Could also be related to pregnancy, PMS, or puberty. [https://www.just-health.net/Itchy-Breast.html Here's a thorough list] of possible causes and remedies.

; Why are cigarettes legal?
: Despite the obvious detrimental effects nicotine has on health, it is, like caffeine and alcohol, more profitable to regulate than to ban, and is also subject to intense lobbying by tobacco companies to keep it legal. Substances like cocaine and other drugs are mainly illegal because of government attitudes disapproving of recreational drug use coupled with there being no powerful preexisting corporate lobby with a stake in making or keeping these drugs legal, and also, with some drugs (in the US, at least), due to more than a bit of racism (against Mexicans with regard to marijuana, or against Chinese for opium). Nicotine, however, which is the key ingredient in tobacco, is regulated and heavily taxed, bringing income for the government. This is one of the major arguments for legalizing other, currently-illegal drugs, at least the "softer" ones like marijuana, as, if they're legalized, they can be taxed and bring the government more money, and the government can provide an incentive for producers and sellers to keep their product safe and high-quality (by punishing those who mislabel their drugs or cut them with dangerous substances, while letting producers and sellers of safe, high-quality drugs operate without fear of arrest or prosecution).

; Why are there ducks in my pool?
: Most likely, they're looking for a place to mate. Which means you'll soon have baby ducks in your pool. Most migratory birds are protected by wildlife laws, so you want to prevent them from moving into your pool in the first place. The [https://www.dfwwildlife.org/duck.html DFW Wildlife Coalition] has some tips.

; Why is Jesus white?
: This is an ethnocentric viewpoint that varies throughout cultures. In African cultures he is portrayed as black. In short, whatever culture he is introduced to, those inhabitants will have him fit their own image.

; Why is there liquid in my ear?
: [https://www.healthline.com/symptom/discharge-from-ear It's called otorrhea], and can be caused by infection, trauma, or changes in pressure. A common cause is [https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/swimmers-ear/basics/definition/con-20014723 Swimmer's ear], an infection of the outer ear canal. More seriously, it could be Cerebrospinal fluid. This can end up in your ears due to a puncture in the skull's membrane, often due to a collision/concussion. This is a very serious condition. Again, do not take (too much) medical advice from wiki.

; Why do Q tips feel good?
: The inner ear contains {{w|erectile tissue}} (as does your inner nose which is why sneezing feels good) so you are massaging tissue which gets aroused upon stimulation.

; Why do good people die?
: Everybody dies, no matter how good or bad they were. But sometimes if people are really bad, they are made to die sooner. (But loved ones and ones who were known to make memorable or valuable contributions are mourned and revered more than a person who has left much pain to others as their legacy; we remember the good ones and so it hurts more.)

; Why are ultrasounds important?
: Ultrasound scans provide a great deal of information about a fetus, thus increasing the chances of a healthy birth. They have many other medical uses.

; Why are ultrasound machines expensive?
: As hospital equipment goes, ultrasound machines are actually a bargain. [https://www.costowl.com/healthcare/healthcare-ultrasound-machine-costs.html A new ultrasound machine] costs about $20,000-$75,000, depending on features. Comparable devices are much more expensive: The [https://info.blockimaging.com/bid/84432/CT-Scanner-Price-Guide CT scanner] runs $90,000-$250,000, while the [https://www.ehow.com/about_4731161_much-do-mri-machines-cost.html MRI machine] easily goes over a million.

; Why is stealing wrong?
: Stealing is theft, and it is illegal. Taking something that is not yours without permission or payment hurts the livelihood of other individuals as well as damages their trust in others.

==Transcript==
: [This strip is a rectangular word cloud, titled 'Questions found in Google autocomplete'. Embedded in the cloud are five single panels, with illustrated questions. These are described at the end. Questions are given in roughly columnar order. None of the questions have question marks.]

: Questions found in Google Autocomplete

: Why do whales jump
: Why are witches green
: Why are there mirrors above beds
: Why do I say uh
: Why is sea salt better
: Why are there trees in the middle of fields
: Why is there not a Pokemon MMO
: Why is there laughing in TV shows
: Why are there doors on the freeway
: Why are there so many svchost.exe running
: Why aren't there any countries in antarctica
: Why are there scary sounds in Minecraft
: Why is there kicking in my stomach
: Why are there two slashes after HTTP
: Why are there celebrities
: Why do snakes exist
: Why do oysters have pearls
: Why are ducks called ducks
: Why do they call it the clap
: Why are Kyle and Cartman friends
: Why is there an arraow on Aang's head
: Why are text messages blue
: Why are there mustaches on clothes
: Why are there mustaches on cars
: Why are there mustaches everywhere
: Why are there so many birds in Ohio
: Why is there so much rain in Ohio
: Why is Ohio weather so weird
: Why are there male and female bikes
: Why are there bridesmaids
: Why do dying people reach up
: Why aren't there varicose arteries
: Why are old Klingons different
: Why is programming so hard
: Why is there a 0 ohm resistor
: Why do Americans hate soccer
: Why do rhymes sound good
: Why do trees die
: Why is there no sound on CNN
: Why aren't Pokemon real
: Why aren't bullets sharp
: Why do dreams seem so real
: Why aren't there dinosaur ghosts
: Why do iguanas die
: Why do testicles move
: Why are there psychics
: Why are hats so expensive
: Why is there caffeine in my shampoo
: Why do your boobs hurt
: Why aren't economists rich
: Why do Americans call it soccer
: Why are my ears ringing
: Why are there so many Avengers
: Why are the Avengers fighting the X men
: Why is Wolverine not in the Avengers
: Why are there ants in my laptop
: Why is Earth tilted
: Why is space black
: Why is outer space so cold
: Why are there pyramids on the moon
: Why is NASA shutting down
: Why is there Hell if God forgives
: Why are there tiny spiders in my house
: Why do spiders come inside
: Why are there huge spiders in my house
: Why are there lots of spiders in my house
: Why are there spiders in my room
: Why are there so many spiders in my room
: Why do spider bites itch
: Why is dying so scary
: Why is there no GPS in laptops
: Why do knees click
: Why aren't there E grades
: Why is isolation bad
: Why do boys like me
: Why don't boys like me
: Why is there always a Java update
: Why are there red dots on my thighs
: Why is lying good
: Why is GPS free
: Why are trees tall
: Why are there slaves in the Bible
: Why do twins have different fingerprints
: Why are Americans afraid of dragons
: Why is there lava
: Why are there swarms of gnats
: Why is there phlegm
: Why are there so many crows in Rochester, MN
: Why is psychic weak to bug
: Why do children get cancer
: Why is Poseidon angry with Odysseus
: Why is there ice in space
: Why are there female Mr Mimes
: Why is there an owl in my backyard
: Why is there an owl outside my window
: Why is there an owl on the dollar bill
: Why do owls attack people
: Why are AK47s so expensive
: Why are there helicopters circling my house
: Why are there gods
: Why are there two Spocks
: Why is Mt Vesuvius there
: Why do they say T minus
: Why are there obelisks
: Why are wrestlers always wet
: Why are oceans becoming more acidic
: Why is Arwen dying
: Why aren't my quail laying eggs
: Why aren't my quail eggs hatching
: Why aren't there any foreign military bases in America
: Why is life so boring
: Why are my boobs itchy
: Why are cigarettes legal
: Why are there ducks in my pool
: Why is Jesus white
: Why is there liquid in my ear
: Why do Q tips feel good
: Why do good people die
: Why are ultrasounds important
: Why are ultrasound machines expensive
: Why is stealing wrong
: Why is YKK on all zippers
: Why is HTTPS crossed out in red
: Why is there a line through HTTPS
: Why is there a red line through HTTPS on Facebook
: Why is HTTPS important
: Why are there weeks
: Why do I feel dizzy
: Why are dogs afraid of fireworks
: Why is there no king in England

: [We see Cueball from the torso up, with arms outstretched.]
: Cueball: Why aren't my arms growing

: [Megan stands with a grey ghost on either side of her.]
: Megan: Why are there ghosts

: [Beret Guy stands, looking at a squirrel.]
: Beret Guy: Why are there squirrels

: [Cueball stands.]
: Cueball: Why is sex so important.

: [We see Ponytail from the torso up.]
: Ponytail: Why aren't there guns in Harry Potter

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Pokémon]]
[[Category:Google Search]]
[[Category:Squirrels]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Soccer]]
[[Category:Star Trek]]
[[Category:Weather]]
[[Category:Harry Potter]]
[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:Sex]]
[[Category:Volcanoes]]
[[Category:Minecraft]]
[[Category:Ants]]
[[Category:Comics featuring children]]
[[Category:Disney]]
[[Category:Ghosts]]

2131: Emojidome

2026-01-31T13:06:32Z

Chronotix: /* Dynamic comic transcript */

{{comic
| number = 2131
| date = April 1, 2019
| title = Emojidome
| image = emojidome.png
| titletext = Thank you to the xkcd April 1st volunteers/commentators, including @Chromakode, Kevin, @Aiiane, Patrick, Kat, Reuven, @cotrone, @bstaffin, @zigdon, schwal, Stereo, and everyone who voted!
}}
{{series
| series = April
| number = 10
| date = April 1, 2019
| days_late =
| day_category = Monday
| prev_title = 1975: Right Click
| prev_date = April 1, 2018
| next_title = 2288: Collector's Edition
| next_date = April 3, 2020
| extra_text =
}}
{{TOC}}The {{xkcd|2131|original comic}} links to a [https://xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket_round_of_128.png image of the results].

==Explanation==
The interactive comic began at noon ET (16:00 UTC) on April 1, 2019, and ended a day later. In it, users were shown two emojis and voted for their favorite before the time ran out. 512 different emojis were paired against each other in a cup or {{w|Bracket (tournament)|bracket}} system, with only one winner. Brackets, like the one in this comic, for finding the best emoji, are a recurring theme in xkcd. It is also relevant for this time of year, and two years ago in 2017, the first comic in April, [[1819: Sweet 16]] from April 3rd was a bracket, referencing {{w|March Madness}}. The {{w|2019 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament|2019 version}} of the {{w|National Collegiate Athletic Association}} {{w|College basketball}} national championship tournament began March 19th and ends April 8th 2019. So this comic could also be said to reference this, although it is not so explicit here. Earlier Randall made another large and "silly" bracket in [[1529: Bracket]] (which someone then actually made into an online voting system, just like in this comic).

The title is a reference to the movie ''{{w|Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome}},'' which had the tagline: "Two men enter. One man leaves." The "Thunderdome" in the film is a gladiatorial arena where conflicts are resolved by a duel to the death. In the final round, the Milky Way emoji (🌌) won against the Hedgehog emoji (🦔). The comic was updated to show the result.

===How it worked===

[[File:2131 Emojidome example.png|thumb|400px|Comic as it appeared during the competition]]

In the first round, the voting period for each bout lasted 37.5 seconds. The voting period for each bout doubled for the second, third, and fourth rounds. The voting period for each bout for the fifth round through the end was 26 minutes. The entire bracket took 24 hours 6 minutes.

Remaining time of a given bout was shown on a timer beneath the voting buttons. If the time remaining was one minute or greater, the time was shown rounded to the nearest minute (e.g., "Remaining Time: 26 minutes"); thus the minute would change on the half minute (e.g., "2 minutes" changed to "1 minute" at 1 minute 30 seconds). If the time remaining was less than a minute, the time was shown in seconds (e.g., "59 seconds"). When there were two (sometimes three) seconds remaining, the timer would display "Time's Up!" through the end of the bout and for a [[1070: Words for Small Sets|couple]] of seconds after the end of the bout while the images for the next bout were loading. Then the next bout would appear and the results of the previous bout would be added to the list of past bouts, with the most recent bout at the top.

Commentary was displayed above the images for each bout, and changed occasionally through the bout. In the first round, the commentary was made up of some stock phrases with a few custom phrases mixed in. Later commentary was tailored to suit each match-up and provided live updates on how each bout was progressing. A final comment was included in the list of past bouts.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Round !! Start (ET) !! Start (UTC) !! Bouts !! Bout length !! Round length
|-
| 1 || 12:00 || 16:00 || 256 || 37.5 s || 2 h 40 m
|-
| 2 || 14:40 || 18:40 || 128 || 1 m 15 s || 2 h 40 m
|-
| 3 || 17:20 || 21:20 || 64 || 2 m 30 s || 2 h 40 m
|-
| 4 || 20:00 || 0:00 || 32 || 5 m || 2 h 40 m
|-
| 5 || 22:40 || 2:40 || 16 || 26 m || 6 h 56 m
|-
| 6 || 5:36 || 9:36 || 8 || 26 m || 3 h 28 m
|-
| 7 || 9:04 || 13:04 || 4 || 26 m || 1 h 44 m
|-
| 8 || 10:48 || 14:48 || 2 || 26 m || 52 m
|-
| 9 || 11:40 || 15:40 || 1 || 26 m || 26 m
|}

The competing candidates were periodically overlaid with colored hearts that floated up from the vote button oscillating in a triangle wave pattern before disappearing above the candidate. Below the current competition, the results of past bouts were shown with the "loser" displayed in greyscale, the winner in color, and the final robot-commentator comment on that match.

The commentary appeared to suggest that there was some real-time feedback from the results of the competition. For instance, "It seems like our friends over Australia is joining the fun" appeared in the commentary. So did "We are getting a lot of questions on this today. This is live commentary, folks." https://i.imgur.com/8kPwjou.png, directly declaring that the commentary is live. Note that the schedule might show different emoji pictures than the main voting screen, presumably because of fonts. The image is pre-rendered.

The competing candidates are chosen in order of Unicode value at first, resulting in similar emojis being compared. Examples include:

😜 squaring off against 😛 - two emojis playfully sticking their tongues out

🤩 squaring off against 😍 - two smiling emojis with symbols for eyes

😂 squaring off with 🤣 - two emojis that are crying in laughter/joy.

The original title text "🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼" consisted of eight wrestler emojis. This likely represented the round of 8, where the eight winners then can turn to the winner next to them and continue the quarterfinals, etc. The title text was updated after the final round. Notably, it appears the eggplant emoji (🍆) and the peach emoji (🍑) were left out of the bracket, alongside the middle finger emoji (🖕). The eggplant and peach are frequently used to represent a penis and vulva/buttocks, respectively. There has been no statement from Randall on why they were left out.

A robot face announcer-emoji (🤖) and a link to the full bracket was added at 38 minutes in.
https://www.xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket.png shows 512 emojis in a single-elimination tournament.
https://www.xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket_256.png was added later and shows the 256 emojis that competed on the second round.
https://www.xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket_round_3.png was added for the third round. https://www.xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket_round_4.png was added for the fourth round. The round 3 bracket was later updated with results during the Volcano vs Owl fight. There was an error where the flying saucer had beaten the stars, which was not the case.
A new bracket image was created for the Round of 32 which seems to be updated with new results as they come in. https://www.xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket_round_of_32.png

It is not clear how the winner is decided when both emojis tied for first. This has happened twice: in Cupcake vs. Birthday Cake (🧁 vs. 🎂) with 3658 points each, where the Birthday Cake (🎂) was declared winner, and in the very first match of Grinning Face vs. Grinning Face With Smiling Eyes (😀 vs. 😁), in which no votes were cast, but the Grinning Face With Smiling Eyes (😁) was declared winner. Both of these tied bouts occurred in round 1, and both declared winners lost their subsequent match in round 2.

The [https://github.com/xkcd/kurita source code for the comic] was released on GitHub. The data from this comic, including the results, is available as JSON-websocket at https://emojidome.xkcd.com/2131/socket, transposed into a more human-readable format at https://leet.nu/tmp/xkcd-2131.html. Another viewer used to be https://phiresky.github.io/emojidome, [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/b89zz1/emojidome_live_bracket_viewer/ made by a redditor], which used to display the brackets along with the final scores and comment.

==== Round 1====
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
! Competitors and score !! Commentary
|-
| 😀 (0) vs 😁 (0)
* Grinning face
* Grinning face with smiling eyes
'''(Tie - unclear how winner was chosen)'''
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 😀. Coming up next!
|-
| 😆 (207) vs '''😅 (251)'''
* Smiling face with open mouth and tightly-closed eyes
* '''Smiling face with open mouth and cold sweat'''
|
* Next up, 😅 and 😆.
* I'm really looking forward to everything we're going to see today.
|-
| 😂 (772) vs '''🤣 (824)'''
* Face with tears of joy
* '''Rolling On the Floor Laughing'''
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
|-
| 🙂 (939) vs '''🙃 (1494)'''
* Slightly smiling face
* '''Upside-down face'''
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🙂. Coming up next!
* You think this is something, folks, well... we're just getting started.
|-
| 😊 (857) vs '''😉 (1774)'''
* Smiling face with smiling eyes
* '''Winking face'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 😉 vs. 😊.
|-
| '''😇 (1417)''' vs 🥰 (1392)
* '''Smiling face with halo'''
* Smiling face with smiling eyes and three hearts
|
* Welcome back, it's time for 😇 and 🥰 to go head to head.
|-
| '''😍 (2159)''' vs 🤩 (1447)
* '''Smiling face with heart-shaped eyes'''
* Grinning face with star eyes
|
* We will be right back with 😍 vs. 🤩!
|-
| 😗 (1045) vs '''😘 (2595)'''
* Kissing face
* '''Face throwing a kiss'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 😗 vs. 😘.
* This is a day that 😗 has been anticipating for a long time.
|-
| 😚 (1619) vs '''😙 (1770)'''
* Kissing face with closed eyes
* '''Kissing face with smiling eyes'''
|
* Have at it, 😙 and 😚!
* If you are just joining us, fear not! You haven't missed much.
|-
| 😋 (1549) vs '''😛 (2644)'''
* Face savouring delicious food
* '''Face with stuck-out tongue'''
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 😋 or 😛?
* 😋 stole that win.
|-
| '''😜 (2302)''' vs 🤪 (2085)
* '''Face with stuck-out tongue and winking eye'''
* Grinning face with one large and one small eye
|
* Next up, 😜 and 🤪.
*😜 didn't do their homework.
|-
| '''😝 (2568)''' vs 🤑 (1372)
* '''Face with stuck-out tongue and tightly-closed eyes'''
* Money-mouth face
|
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 😝 and 🤑 warming up.
|-
| 🤗 (1598) vs '''🤭 (2316)'''
* Hugging face
* '''Smiling face with smiling eyes and hand covering mouth'''
|
* Next up, 🤗 and 🤭.
* Sometimes miracles happen.
|-
| 🤫 (734) vs '''🤔 (4374)'''
* Face with finger covering closed lips
* '''Thinking face'''
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
|-
| 🤐 (1119) vs '''🤨 (2928)'''
* Zipper-mouth face
* '''Face with one eyebrow raised'''
|
* We will be right back with 🤐 vs. 🤨!
* Not sure which way this one goes.
|-
| 😐 (1506) vs '''😑 (1665)'''
* Neutral face
* '''Expressionless face'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 😐 vs. 😑.
* One for the history books.
|-
| 😶 (2437) vs '''😏 (2659)'''
* Face without mouth
* '''Smirking face'''
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 😏 or 😶?
* This one was over before it started.
|-
| 😒 (1562) vs '''🙄 (2692)'''
* Unamused face
* '''Face with rolling eyes'''
|
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 😒 or 🙄.
|-
| '''😬 (3345)''' vs 🤥 (1137)
* '''Grimacing face'''
* Lying face
|
* Oh this one should be good.
*No surprises here. 🤥 skates to an easy win.
*I hope everyone has printed their brackets and are ready, because time waits for very few people!
*No surprises here. 😬 skates to an easy win.
|-
| 😌 (1980) vs '''😔 (2238)'''
* Relieved face
* '''Pensive face'''
|
* Next! Who would win in a match between 😌 and 😔? We are about to find out.
* 😔 comes out on top.
|-
| '''😴 (2770)''' vs 🤤 (1957)
* '''Sleeping face'''
* Drooling face
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
*A dominant performance by 😴.
|-
| 😷 (1760) vs '''🤒 (2629)'''
* Face with medical mask
* '''Face with thermometer'''
|
* Welcome back, it's time for 😷 and 🤒 to go head to head.
* In the end, there was nothing 😷 could do to stop the power of 🤒.
|-
| 🤢 (2270) vs '''🤕 (2648)'''
* Nauseated face
* '''Face with head-bandage'''
|
* Next up, 🤕 and 🤢.
* 🤕 stole that win.
|-
| 🤧 (2325) vs '''🤮 (3260)'''
* Sneezing face
* '''Face with open mouth vomiting'''
|
* Will it be 🤧 or 🤮? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* 🤮 opened strong and 🤧 never caught up.
|-
| 🥵 (1884) vs '''🥶 (3983)'''
* Overheated face
* '''Freezing face'''
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🥵. Coming up next!
* I have never seen 🥶 crush an opponent that mercilessly before.
|-
| 😵 (2920) vs '''🥴 (3762)'''
* Dizzy face
* '''Face with uneven eyes and wavy mouth'''
|
* Oh this one should be good.
* That was 😵's to give away and they did.
|-
| 🤯 (3055) vs '''🤠 (3110)'''
* Shocked face with exploding head
* '''Face with cowboy hat'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🤠 vs. 🤯.
* However this ends up, someone got blown away.
|-
| '''😎 (4316)''' vs 🥳 (2201)
* '''Smiling face with sunglasses'''
* Face with party horn and party hat
|
* On deck, we have 😎 and 🥳.
*I guess it was that kind of a party.
|-
| 😟 (2184) vs '''😕 (3663)'''
* Worried face
* '''Confused face'''
|
* Uh oh. 😟 has had words with 😕 before. The next match will be good.
* 😕 one, 😟 zero.
|-
| ☹ (1638) vs '''😮 (5498)'''
* White frowning face
* '''Face with open mouth'''
|
* Next up, ☹ and 😮.
* I hope everyone has printed their brackets and are ready, because time waits for very few people!
|-
| 😲 (2383) vs '''😯 (3904)'''
* Astonished face
* '''Hushed face'''
|
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 😯 and 😲 warming up.
* And 😲 falls to 😯. A suprising turn of events.
|-
| 😧 (3063) vs '''😳 (3754)'''
* Anguished face
* '''Flushed face'''
|
* We will be right back with 😧 vs. 😳!
* This one was over before it started.
|-
| 😨 (2082) vs '''😰 (4050)'''
* Fearful face
* '''Face with open mouth and cold sweat'''
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
* Well, this doesn't look good.
|-
| 😢 (2095) vs '''😭 (5108)'''
* Crying face
* '''Loudly crying face'''
|
* Have at it, 😢 and 😭!
* This one's a real tear-jerker.
|-
| 😖 (2039) vs '''😱 (4758)'''
* Confounded face
* '''Face screaming in fear'''
|
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 😖 or 😱.
* 😱 stole that win.
|-
| 😞 (2879) vs '''😣 (3528)'''
* Disappointed face
* '''Persevering face'''
|
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 😞 vs. 😣!
* This one's painful.
|-
| 😩 (2785) vs '''😓 (3231)'''
* Weary face
* '''Face with cold sweat'''
|
* On deck, we have 😓 and 😩.
* It's early yet, folks. The coffee hasn't kicked in.
|-
| 😫 (1827) vs '''😤 (4871)'''
* Tired face
* '''Face with look of triumph'''
|
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 😤 vs. 😫!
* I didn't remember 😫 qualifying. I think they snuck in.
|-
| 😠 (1866) vs '''😡 (5192)'''
* Angry face
* '''Pouting face'''
|
* Will it be 😠 or 😡? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* It is astounding how much competition we have in store for today.
|-
| '''😈 (4225)''' vs 🤬 (3072)
* '''Smiling face with horns'''
* Serious face with symbols covering mouth
|
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 😈 vs. 🤬!
*Speak of the devil...
|-
| 👿 (2341) vs '''💀 (4739)'''
* Imp
* '''Skull'''
|
* We will be right back with 👿 vs. 💀!
* It has been a long road for 💀 to get to competing on the world stage.
|-
| '''💩 (4829)''' vs 🤡 (2514)
* '''Pile of poo'''
* Clown face
|
* Have at it, 💩 and 🤡!
*I think we all know how this is going to go.
|-
| 👻 (3680) vs '''👽 (3983)'''
* Ghost
* '''Extraterrestrial alien'''
|
* Have at it, 👻 and 👽!
|-
| 🏰 (2715) vs '''👾 (4412)'''
* European castle
* '''Alien monster'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🏰 vs. 👾.
* 👾 opened strong and 🏰 never caught up.
|-
| 😸 (3334) vs '''😺 (3542)'''
* Grinning cat face with smiling eyes
* '''Smiling cat face with open mouth'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 😸 vs. 😺.
* This one is serious, folks.
|-
| 😹 (2778) vs '''😻 (3702)'''
* Cat face with tears of joy
* '''Smiling cat face with heart-shaped eyes'''
|
* Welcome back, it's time for 😹 and 😻 to go head to head.
* The hearts are my favorite part. It all comes down to love. And that really says something.
|-
| 😽 (1815) vs '''😼 (3991)'''
* Kissing cat face with closed eyes
* '''Cat face with wry smile'''
|
* I'm looking forward to this.
* Sometimes miracles happen.
|-
| 😿 (1189) vs '''🙀 (4682)'''
* Crying cat face
* '''Weary cat face'''
|
* On deck, we have 😿 and 🙀.
|-
| 💋 (2122) vs '''😾 (3837)'''
* Kiss mark
* '''Pouting cat face'''
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
|-
| 💌 (1659) vs '''💖 (3386)'''
* Love letter
* '''Sparkling heart'''
|
* Next! Who would win in a match between 💌 and 💖? We are about to find out.
* 💌 is an fan favorite to go far today.
|-
| '''❤ (3904)''' vs 💔 (1920)
* '''Heavy black heart'''
* Broken heart
|
* Uh oh. 💔 has had words with ❤ before. The next match will be good.
|-
| 🖤 (2940) vs '''💯 (3866)'''
* Black heart
* '''Hundred points symbol'''
|
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 💯 and 🖤! Facing off against each other again!
* A dominant performance by 💯.
|-
| 💥 (3055) vs '''💦 (3843)'''
* Collision symbol
* '''Splashing sweat symbol'''
|
* Welcome back, it's time for 💥 and 💦 to go head to head.
* Like fire and water.
|-
| 🕳 (2476) vs '''💣 (4063)'''
* Hole
* '''Bomb'''
|
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 💣 and 🕳 warming up.
* This one was a mess.
|-
| 🤞 (2246) vs '''🤘 (4845)'''
* Hand with index and middle fingers crossed
* '''Sign of the horns'''
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🤘. Coming up next!
* It feels like these early matches are over almost before they begin.
|-
| 👎 (2231) vs '''👍 (5077)'''
* Thumbs down sign
* '''Thumbs up sign'''
|
* Will it be 👍 or 👎? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* Nice to see the support for positivity.
|-
| 🙏 (3114) vs '''👊 (4861)'''
* Person with folded hands
* '''Fisted hand sign'''
|
* Have at it, 👊 and 🙏!
* I don't think 🙏 expected to see 👊 opposite them today.
|-
| 💅 (2366) vs '''🦵 (4060)'''
* Nail polish
* '''Leg'''
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 💅 or 🦵?
* If 🦵 wins this match, it will be interesting to see how far they can go.
|-
| 🦷 (1409) vs '''🧠 (5821)'''
* Tooth
* '''Brain'''
|
* Oh this one should be good.
|-
| '''👀 (4052)''' vs 🦴 (2198)
* '''Eyes'''
* Bone
|
* Uh oh. 🦴 has had words with 👀 before. The next match will be good.
|-
| 👄 (1712) vs '''👅 (4648)'''
* Mouth
* '''Tongue'''
|
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 👄 and 👅 warming up.
|-
| 👶 (1414) vs '''🤦 (5666)'''
* Baby
* '''Face palm'''
|
* Uh oh. 🤦 has had words with 👶 before. The next match will be good.
|-
| '''👩‍🔬 (6374)''' vs 🤷 (2385)
* '''Woman + microscope'''
* Shrug
|
* Have at it, 👩‍🔬 and 🤷!
|-
| '''👩‍🚀 (5502)''' vs 🦸 (2302)
* '''Woman + rocket'''
* Superhero
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 👩‍🚀 or 🦸?
|-
| 🧚 (1909) vs '''🧙 (6294)'''
* Fairy
* '''Mage'''
|
* Uh oh. 🧚 has had words with 🧙 before. The next match will be good.
* There are some titanic match-ups that could happen today.
* Yes, this is live commentary.
* We have only just started, folks. Stay tuned for more amazing contests!
|-
| 🧜 (3835) vs '''🧛 (3840)'''
* Merperson
* '''Vampire'''
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🧛. Coming up next!
* Not sure which way this one goes.
|-
| 💆 (2815) vs '''🧟 (3747)'''
* Face massage
* '''Zombie'''
|
* Next up, 💆 and 🧟.
* That's just a typical Monday for you.
|-
| 💇 (3029) vs '''🚶 (3055)'''
* Haircut
* '''Pedestrian'''
|
* We will be right back with 💇 vs. 🚶!
* It's going to be a busy day, folks. Remember to pace yourself.
|-
| 🏃 (2239) vs '''💃 (5833)'''
* Runner
* '''Dancer'''
|
* On deck, we have 🏃 and 💃.
* Make some noise! Show 🏃 and 💃 some love!
* That was 🏃's to give away and they did.
|-
| 🕺 (1990) vs '''🕴 (5035)'''
* Man dancing
* '''Man in business suit levitating'''
|
* We will be right back with 🕴 vs. 🕺!
* I spoke with 🕴 before we started today. They were hoping to dodge 🕺. Too bad for them.
|-
| 🏇 (2563) vs '''🤺 (5157)'''
* Horse racing
* '''Fencer'''
|
* Have at it, 🏇 and 🤺!
* Never bring a sword to a horse fight.
|-
| '''⛷ (4510)''' vs 🏂 (3762)
* '''Skier'''
* Snowboarder
|
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's ⛷ vs. 🏂!
*We have a lot of excited fans in the audience.
|-
| 🏌 (2557) vs '''🏄 (6285)'''
* Golfer
* '''Surfer'''
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🏄 or 🏌?
* Ok! Let's see those hearts!
* I have never seen 🏄 crush an opponent that mercilessly before.
|-
| ⛹ (2793) vs '''🏊 (5994)'''
* Person with ball
* '''Swimmer'''
|
* Have at it, ⛹ and 🏊!
|-
| 🏋 (2300) vs '''🚴 (8063)'''
* Weight lifter
* '''Bicyclist'''
|
* Will it be 🏋 or 🚴? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* Right now the crowd is chanting 🏋! 🏋! An early sign of a favorite?
|-
| '''🚵 (5650)''' vs 🤾 (4698)
* '''Mountain bicyclist'''
* Handball
|
* We will be right back with 🚵 vs. 🤾!
*It's neck and neck!
|-
| 👤 (2195) vs '''🛀 (5529)'''
* Bust in silhouette
* '''Bath'''
|
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 👤 and 🛀 warming up.
|-
| '''🐒 (4644)''' vs 🦍 (3336)
* '''Monkey'''
* Gorilla
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
|-
| 🐕 (3458) vs '''🐶 (4004)'''
* Dog
* '''Dog face'''
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🐕. Coming up next!
* Mostly a matter of perspective.
|-
| 🐺 (2774) vs '''🦊 (6024)'''
* Wolf face
* '''Fox face'''
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
* Again, small variations make all the difference.
|-
| '''🐱 (4931)''' vs 🦝 (4017)
* '''Cat face'''
* Raccoon
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🐱 vs. 🦝.
*🦝 is an fan favorite to go far today.
*🐱 stole that win.
|-
| '''🐈 (5046)''' vs 🦁 (3957)
* '''Cat'''
* Lion face
|
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🐈 and 🦁 warming up.
*Again, we are getting a lot of questions on this today. This is live commentary, folks.
*We have a lot of excited fans in the audience.
|-
| 🐆 (2186) vs '''🐅 (6280)'''
* Leopard
* '''Tiger'''
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🐅 or 🐆?
* Stripes or Spots, Stripes or Spots
|-
| 🐴 (3722) vs '''🐎 (4120)'''
* Horse face
* '''Horse'''
|
* Next! Who would win in a match between 🐎 and 🐴? We are about to find out.
* I've got your horse right here.
|-
| 🦓 (3486) vs '''🦄 (6830)'''
* Zebra face
* '''Unicorn face'''
|
* Next! Who would win in a match between 🦄 and 🦓? We are about to find out.
* I think we all know how this is going to go.
* It was neck and neck until the very end, but some necks are longer than others.
|-
| 🐮 (3658) vs '''🦌 (5111)'''
* Cow face
* '''Deer'''
|
* Uh oh. 🦌 has had words with 🐮 before. The next match will be good.
* This is a close one!
|-
| 🐖 (3568) vs '''🐷 (5175)'''
* Pig
* '''Pig face'''
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🐖. Coming up next!
* Who will bring home the bacon?
|-
| 🐗 (2576) vs '''🐏 (6073)'''
* Boar
* '''Ram'''
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🐏 or 🐗?
|-
| 🐪 (3329) vs '''🐐 (5304)'''
* Dromedary camel
* '''Goat'''
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🐐 or 🐪?
|-
| 🦙 (4397) vs '''🦒 (5164)'''
* Llama
* '''Giraffe face'''
|
* Uh oh. 🦙 has had words with 🦒 before. The next match will be good.
* It's neck and neck!
* I hope 🦙 comes back next year. It would be a sham to see it all end like this.
|-
| '''🐘 (4809)''' vs 🦏 (3804)
* '''Elephant'''
* Rhinoceros
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🐘 or 🦏?
*We'll never forget this.
|-
| 🐁 (4039) vs '''🦛 (4085)'''
* Mouse
* '''Hippopotamus'''
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🐁 or 🦛?
|-
| 🐀 (2994) vs '''🐹 (4580)'''
* Rat
* '''Hamster face'''
|
* Will it be 🐀 or 🐹? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* Today is also about settling scores, there is no doubt about that for some of our contestants.
|-
| 🐰 (1865) vs '''🐿 (5175)'''
* Rabbit face
* '''Chipmunk'''
|
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 🐰 or 🐿.
* Its about reflexes.
|-
| 🦇 (3648) vs '''🦔 (4507)'''
* Bat
* '''Hedgehog'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🦇 vs. 🦔.
* This one is a toss-up in my book, folks.
|-
| 🐻 (2686) vs '''🐨 (5059)'''
* Bear face
* '''Koala'''
|
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 🐨 vs. 🐻!
* Ok! You know what to do! Let's see those hearts!
|-
| 🐼 (2896) vs '''🦘 (5185)'''
* Panda face
* '''Kangaroo'''
|
* Next! Who would win in a match between 🐼 and 🦘? We are about to find out.
* It's exciting to look around and see so many joining us from all over the world.
* One for the history books.
|-
| 🦃 (2553) vs '''🦡 (5483)'''
* Turkey
* '''Badger'''
|
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🦃 and 🦡! Facing off against each other again!
* That was a stinker of a battle, if you ask me.
|-
| 🐓 (2883) vs '''🐣 (5153)'''
* Rooster
* '''Hatching chick'''
|
* Welcome back, it's time for 🐓 and 🐣 to go head to head.
|-
| 🕊 (2432) vs '''🐧 (5951)'''
* Dove of peace
* '''Penguin'''
|
* We will be right back with 🐧 vs. 🕊!
|-
| 🦅 (3871) vs '''🦆 (4800)'''
* Eagle
* '''Duck'''
|
* Uh oh. 🦆 has had words with 🦅 before. The next match will be good.
|-
| 🦢 (1613) vs '''🦉 (7025)'''
* Swan
* '''Owl'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🦉 vs. 🦢.
* 🦉 didn't do their homework.
* I hope everyone has printed their brackets and are ready, because time waits for very few people!
* Yes, this is live commentary.
* 🦉 one, 🦢 zero.
|-
| 🦚 (4333) vs '''🦜 (4803)'''
* Peacock
* '''Parrot'''
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
* I know some very invested audience members for this one.
|-
| 🐊 (3986) vs '''🐢 (6403)'''
* Crocodile
* '''Turtle'''
|
* I'm looking forward to this.
|-
| '''🐍 (5378)''' vs 🦎 (4415)
* '''Snake'''
* Lizard
|
* Have at it, 🐍 and 🦎!
*In the end, there was nothing 🐍 could do to stop the power of 🦎.
*Did you just see that!?
*Plenty of matches left to see. Don't go anywhere.
|-
| '''🐉 (5359)''' vs 🦕 (4855)
* '''Dragon'''
* Sauropod
|
* Have at it, 🐉 and 🦕!
*One for the history books.
|-
| '''🐳 (5445)''' vs 🦖 (5411)
* '''Spouting whale'''
* T-rex
|
* I'm looking forward to this.
*Again, another difficult match-up for our audience.
|-
| 🐟 (1639) vs '''🐬 (8071)'''
* Fish
* '''Dolphin'''
|
* Will it be 🐟 or 🐬? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* I know which one I would choose, but I don't have time to vote!
|-
| 🐡 (2307) vs '''🦈 (6544)'''
* Blowfish
* '''Shark'''
|
* Have at it, 🐡 and 🦈!
* 🦈 opened strong and 🐡 never caught up.
|-
| 🐚 (1590) vs '''🐙 (8224)'''
* Spiral shell
* '''Octopus'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🐙 vs. 🐚.
* This one was over before it started.
|-
| 🐌 (4816) vs '''🦋 (4835)'''
* Snail
* '''Butterfly'''
|
* We will be right back with 🐌 vs. 🦋!
* The hearts are flying on this one!
|-
| 🐜 (3194) vs '''🐛 (5132)'''
* Ant
* '''Bug'''
|
* I'm looking forward to this.
* 🐜 didn't do their homework.
|-
| 🐞 (3561) vs '''🐝 (5804)'''
* Lady beetle
* '''Honeybee'''
|
* On deck, we have 🐝 and 🐞.
* This one is a true test of the audience today.
* Will luck be a ladybug tonight?
* Amazing!
|-
| '''🕷 (4806)''' vs 🦗 (4195)
* '''Spider'''
* Cricket
|
* Uh oh. 🦗 has had words with 🕷 before. The next match will be good.
*And 🦗 falls to 🕷. A suprising turn of events.
|-
| 🦂 (3853) vs '''🦠 (4971)'''
* Scorpion
* '''Microbe'''
|
* Next! Who would win in a match between 🦂 and 🦠? We are about to find out.
* Nope. Nope nope nope nope.
|-
| 🌷 (3767) vs '''🌻 (4374)'''
* Tulip
* '''Sunflower'''
|
* We will be right back with 🌷 vs. 🌻!
* Now that's more like it.
|-
| 🌳 (1973) vs '''🌲 (6563)'''
* Deciduous tree
* '''Evergreen tree'''
|
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 🌲 or 🌳.
* Who would have thought, eh?
|-
| 🌴 (3876) vs '''🌵 (5468)'''
* Palm tree
* '''Cactus'''
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
* In the end, there was nothing 🌴 could do to stop the power of 🌵.
|-
| 🍈 (2617) vs '''🍇 (5319)'''
* Melon
* '''Grapes'''
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🍇 or 🍈?
* Folks, I am just as stunned at the outcome as you.
|-
| 🍋 (4186) vs '''🍉 (4720)'''
* Lemon
* '''Watermelon'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🍉 vs. 🍋.
* I just don't know why they can't find common ground.
* 🍉 one, 🍋 zero.
|-
| 🍌 (4704) vs '''🍍 (5525)'''
* Banana
* '''Pineapple'''
|
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🍌 and 🍍 warming up.
* Ok! Let's see those hearts!
* I guess it was that kind of a party.
|-
| '''🍎 (5111)''' vs 🥭 (3830)
* '''Red apple'''
* Mango
|
* I'm looking forward to this.
|-
| 🍏 (2703) vs '''🍓 (6403)'''
* Green apple
* '''Strawberry'''
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🍏 or 🍓?
* We might be close to some matches the audience is expecting or hoping to see today.
* Berry nice!
|-
| 🍅 (3002) vs '''🥝 (5348)'''
* Tomato
* '''Kiwifruit'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🍅 vs. 🥝.
|-
| 🥥 (3840) vs '''🥑 (5759)'''
* Coconut
* '''Avocado'''
|
* On deck, we have 🥑 and 🥥.
* Somehow, someone will blame millenials for this.
|-
| 🥕 (4577) vs '''🥔 (4620)'''
* Carrot
* '''Potato'''
|
* Next! Who would win in a match between 🥔 and 🥕? We are about to find out.
* Ahhh the age old question, 🥕 or 🥔.
|-
| 🌽 (4074) vs '''🌶 (5087)'''
* Ear of maize
* '''Hot pepper'''
|
* Have at it, 🌶 and 🌽!
|-
| 🥬 (2694) vs '''🥒 (5472)'''
* Leafy green
* '''Cucumber'''
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🥒. Coming up next!
* Not sure which way this one goes.
|-
| '''🍄 (5850)''' vs 🥦 (2707)
* '''Mushroom'''
* Broccoli
|
* Will it be 🍄 or 🥦? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
*Folks, we are nearly halfway through the first bracket!
*Again, we are getting a lot of questions on this today. This is live commentary, folks.
*Into the second half of the first round.
*That was 🥦's to give away and they did.
|-
| 🌰 (2698) vs '''🥜 (6225)'''
* Chestnut
* '''Peanuts'''
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🌰 or 🥜?
* I am not even sure what I am looking at here.
|-
| 🍞 (2934) vs '''🥐 (6465)'''
* Bread
* '''Croissant'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🍞 vs. 🥐.
* Well, I know who I would vote for.
|-
| 🥖 (4800) vs '''🥨 (5136)'''
* Baguette bread
* '''Pretzel'''
|
* We will be right back with 🥖 vs. 🥨!
|-
| 🥯 (2470) vs '''🥞 (5926)'''
* Bagel
* '''Pancakes'''
|
* Uh oh. 🥯 has had words with 🥞 before. The next match will be good.
* Now I am just hungry.
|-
| 🥩 (3959) vs '''🧀 (6225)'''
* Cut of meat
* '''Cheese wedge'''
|
* Oh this one should be good.
* Truly a battle for the ages.
|-
| 🍟 (3719) vs '''🍔 (5352)'''
* French fries
* '''Hamburger'''
|
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🍔 and 🍟 warming up.
|-
| 🌭 (1340) vs '''🍕 (7881)'''
* Hot dog
* '''Slice of pizza'''
|
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 🌭 or 🍕.
|-
| '''🌮 (6417)''' vs 🥪 (2869)
* '''Taco'''
* Sandwich
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🌮 or 🥪?
*I'll be honest, even I voted in that last one.
*There are some titanic match-ups that could happen today.
*One for the history books.
|-
| '''🌯 (5359)''' vs 🥚 (3868)
* '''Burrito'''
* Egg
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🌯 or 🥚?
*🥚 is an fan favorite to go far today.
*One for the history books.
|-
| '''🍳 (5293)''' vs 🥗 (3101)
* '''Cooking'''
* Green salad
|
* Have at it, 🍳 and 🥗!
*There can be very food-centric history books.
*If 🍳 wins this match, it will be interesting to see how far they can go.
|-
| '''🍿 (2640)''' vs 🧂 (2067)
* '''Popcorn'''
* Salt shaker
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
*This one was over before it started.
|-
| '''🍱 (4931)''' vs 🥫 (1948)
* '''Bento box'''
* Canned food
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🍱 vs. 🥫.
*It is early still. Possibly too early to predict an over-all winner. But I am hearing 🏇 mentioned a fair bit.
*And 🥫 falls to 🍱. A suprising turn of events.
|-
| 🍤 (2334) vs '''🍣 (5552)'''
* Fried shrimp
* '''Sushi'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🍣 vs. 🍤.
* Plenty of matches left to see. Don't go anywhere.
|-
| 🥡 (3101) vs '''🥟 (4128)'''
* Takeout box
* '''Dumpling'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🥟 vs. 🥡.
* 🥟 one, 🥡 zero.
|-
| 🦀 (3762) vs '''🦞 (4739)'''
* Crab
* '''Lobster'''
|
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 🦀 vs. 🦞!
|-
| 🦐 (2421) vs '''🦑 (6162)'''
* Shrimp
* '''Squid'''
|
* Will it be 🦐 or 🦑? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
|-
| 🍦 (3804) vs '''🍨 (4698)'''
* Soft ice cream
* '''Ice cream'''
|
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 🍦 or 🍨.
|-
| 🍪 (3722) vs '''🍩 (5167)'''
* Cookie
* '''Doughnut'''
|
* We will be right back with 🍩 vs. 🍪!
|-
| 🎂 (3658) vs 🧁 (3658)
* Birthday cake
* Cupcake '''(Tie - unclear how winner was chosen)'''
|
* Next up, 🎂 and 🧁.
|-
| 🍬 (1244) vs '''🍫 (6674)'''
* Candy
* '''Chocolate bar'''
|
* We will be right back with 🍫 vs. 🍬!
|-
| 🍭 (2568) vs '''🍯 (5445)'''
* Lollipop
* '''Honey pot'''
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🍭 or 🍯?
* Thank you for tuning in. I promise you are in for a treat today.
|-
| 🍼 (1824) vs '''🥛 (5239)'''
* Baby bottle
* '''Glass of milk'''
|
* Will it be 🍼 or 🥛? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
|-
| '''☕ (4813)''' vs 🍾 (3227)
* '''Hot beverage'''
* Bottle with popping cork
|
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, ☕ or 🍾.
*Time to get another feel for our audience today.
|-
| 🍷 (3021) vs '''🍹 (3561)'''
* Wine glass
* '''Tropical drink'''
|
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🍷 and 🍹! Facing off against each other again!
* Well now I am just getting thirsty.
|-
| '''🍺 (5763)''' vs 🥤 (3897)
* '''Beer mug'''
* Cup with straw
|
* Will it be 🍺 or 🥤? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
*Still thirsty!
|-
| 🍴 (3917) vs '''🥢 (4348)'''
* Fork and knife
* '''Chopsticks'''
|
* We will be right back with 🍴 vs. 🥢!
* I know which one I would choose, but I don't have time to vote!
|-
| '''🔪 (5627)''' vs 🥄 (1742)
* '''Hocho'''
* Spoon
|
* Have at it, 🔪 and 🥄!
|-
| 🏺 (2604) vs '''🧭 (4784)'''
* Amphora
* '''Compass'''
|
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🏺 and 🧭 warming up.
* You just know that 🏺 is thinking about 🏎 right now.
|-
| ⛰ (1843) vs '''🌋 (6793)'''
* Mountain
* '''Volcano'''
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite ⛰. Coming up next!
* This one was over before it started.
|-
| 🏖 (3159) vs '''🏕 (5611)'''
* Beach with umbrella
* '''Camping'''
|
* Welcome back, it's time for 🏕 and 🏖 to go head to head.
* Time to pick your poison!
|-
| 🏟 (2537) vs '''🏝 (6180)'''
* Stadium
* '''Desert island'''
|
* I'm looking forward to this.
|-
| '''🏗 (4093)''' vs 🧱 (3680)
* '''Building construction'''
* Brick
|
* Oh this one should be good.
*What an amazing display of prowess from 🏗.
|-
| 🏢 (2178) vs '''🏠 (5829)'''
* Office building
* '''House building'''
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
* 🏠 has every reason to be concerned about this match-up.
|-
| 🏨 (1367) vs '''🏥 (5326)'''
* Hotel
* '''Hospital'''
|
* Next! Who would win in a match between 🏥 and 🏨? We are about to find out.
* is $6,000,000 of one and Six million of the other, am I right?
|-
| 🏪 (3114) vs '''🗽 (4875)'''
* Convenience store
* '''Statue of liberty'''
|
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🏪 and 🗽! Facing off against each other again!
|-
| '''⛲ (4296)''' vs ⛺ (3483)
* '''Fountain'''
* Tent
|
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have ⛲ and ⛺ warming up.
*If you look away for a moment, you may miss your chance to send ⛺ into the later rounds.
|-
| 🌁 (3488) vs '''🌃 (4354)'''
* Foggy
* '''Night with stars'''
|
* I'm looking forward to this.
|-
| 🏙 (2396) vs '''🌅 (6055)'''
* Cityscape
* '''Sunrise'''
|
* Next up, 🌅 and 🏙.
* 🏙 is fully committed to this match.
|-
| 🎠 (3307) vs '''🎡 (4648)'''
* Carousel horse
* '''Ferris wheel'''
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🎠 or 🎡?
* Oh no. 🎠 fans are not going to like this match-up.
|-
| '''🎢 (5854)''' vs 💈 (2137)
* '''Roller coaster'''
* Barber pole
|
* Next up, 🎢 and 💈.
*This one will be filled with twists and turns!
|-
| 🚂 (3915) vs '''🚄 (4826)'''
* Steam locomotive
* '''High-speed train'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🚂 vs. 🚄.
* The future waits on no one. Let's see those hearts!
|-
| 🚇 (3395) vs '''🚝 (4881)'''
* Metro
* '''Monorail'''
|
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 🚇 vs. 🚝!
* On the other hand, time and space are a matter of perspective, right?
* I guess it was that kind of a party.
|-
| 🚌 (2412) vs '''🚑 (5363)'''
* Bus
* '''Ambulance'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🚌 vs. 🚑.
* Uh oh, that can't be good for 🚌.
|-
| 🚓 (2703) vs '''🚒 (6746)'''
* Police car
* '''Fire engine'''
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
* Uh oh, that can't be good for 🚓.
* This is a classic struggle.
|-
| 🚕 (3400) vs '''🚗 (3794)'''
* Taxi
* '''Automobile'''
|
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🚕 and 🚗 warming up.
* Well that's certainly something.
|-
| 🚘 (2922) vs '''🚜 (5363)'''
* Oncoming automobile
* '''Tractor'''
|
* Next up, 🚘 and 🚜.
* This one is a real nail biter!
* If 🚘 falls today, we might start hearing serious conversations about retirement.
|-
| 🏎 (3103) vs '''🛵 (4839)'''
* Racing car
* '''Motor scooter'''
|
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🏎 and 🛵 warming up.
* Well this is just fan service. And I am ok with it.
|-
| 🛴 (2103) vs '''🚲 (6970)'''
* Scooter
* '''Bicycle'''
|
* Next! Who would win in a match between 🚲 and 🛴? We are about to find out.
* Frankly, I don't think anyone saw this coming.
|-
| 🛢 (3474) vs '''🛹 (4780)'''
* Oil drum
* '''Skateboard'''
|
* Next! Who would win in a match between 🛢 and 🛹? We are about to find out.
* And 🛢 falls to 🛹. A suprising turn of events.
|-
| '''⚓ (4816)''' vs 🚨 (2389)
* '''Anchor'''
* Police cars revolving light
|
* Welcome back, it's time for ⚓ and 🚨 to go head to head.
*Just to stress this again. Live commentary, folks. Completely unscripted and coming in hot.
*This one is a true test of the audience today.
|-
| '''⛵ (4941)''' vs 🚢 (2877)
* '''Sailboat'''
* Ship
|
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's ⛵ vs. 🚢!
*SAIL!
|-
| 💺 (1776) vs '''🛩 (5947)'''
* Seat
* '''Small airplane'''
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 💺. Coming up next!
|-
| 🚡 (3729) vs '''🚁 (4148)'''
* Aerial tramway
* '''Helicopter'''
|
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 🚁 or 🚡.
* Sometimes miracles happen.
* Plenty of matches left to see. Don't go anywhere.
|-
| 🛰 (3655) vs '''🚀 (4861)'''
* Satellite
* '''Rocket'''
|
* Welcome back, it's time for 🚀 and 🛰 to go head to head.
* 🛰 and 🚀 have been friends for a long time. I am not sure where that relationship is going to be after today.
|-
| ⏳ (3021) vs '''🛸 (5203)'''
* Hourglass with flowing sand
* '''Flying saucer'''
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, ⏳ or 🛸?
* This one is serious, folks.
|-
| '''⌚ (4462)''' vs ⏰ (3619)
* '''Watch'''
* Alarm clock
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite ⌚. Coming up next!
*If you believe in ⏰, now is the time to clap or whatever, because it is not looking good.
*If you believe in ⏰, now is the time to clap or whatever, because it is not looking good.
|-
| 🌕 (3690) vs '''🌒 (4145)'''
* Full moon symbol
* '''Waxing crescent moon symbol'''
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🌒. Coming up next!
* What a shocking result!
|-
| 🌡 (2829) vs '''🌙 (4432)'''
* Thermometer
* '''Crescent moon'''
|
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🌙 and 🌡! Facing off against each other again!
|-
| 🌝 (3559) vs '''🌞 (3871)'''
* Full moon with face
* '''Sun with face'''
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🌝. Coming up next!
|-
| ⭐ (2063) vs '''🌌 (5731)'''
* White medium star
* '''Milky way'''
|
* Uh oh. 🌌 has had words with ⭐ before. The next match will be good.
|-
| '''⛈ (5487)''' vs 🌦 (1983)
* '''Thunder cloud and rain'''
* White sun behind cloud with rain
|
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have ⛈ and 🌦 warming up.
*And 🌦 falls to ⛈. A suprising turn of events.
|-
| 🌨 (3646) vs '''🌪 (4139)'''
* Cloud with snow
* '''Cloud with tornado'''
|
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🌨 and 🌪! Facing off against each other again!
* Folks, I am just as stunned at the outcome as you.
|-
| 🌀 (3034) vs '''🌈 (7070)'''
* Cyclone
* '''Rainbow'''
|
* Next! Who would win in a match between 🌀 and 🌈? We are about to find out.
|-
| ☂ (2117) vs '''⚡ (5125)'''
* Umbrella
* '''High voltage sign'''
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite ☂. Coming up next!
|-
| '''☄ (4988)''' vs ⛄ (2602)
* '''Comet'''
* Snowman without snow
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's ☄ vs. ⛄.
*Another curious match-up with significant implications on how the rest of the day will go.
|-
| 🌊 (3356) vs '''🔥 (5286)'''
* Water wave
* '''Fire'''
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
* I am not sure if 🌊 was prepared for today.
|-
| 🎆 (3284) vs '''🎃 (4418)'''
* Fireworks
* '''Jack-o-lantern'''
|
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 🎃 or 🎆.
* This is a mystery.
|-
| 🎇 (2770) vs '''🧨 (4066)'''
* Firework sparkler
* '''Firecracker'''
|
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 🎇 vs. 🧨!
* Get ready for an explosive result!
|-
| 🎈 (2619) vs '''🎉 (4673)'''
* Balloon
* '''Party popper'''
|
* I'm looking forward to this.
* I guess it was that kind of a party.
|-
| 🎊 (2250) vs '''🎁 (4203)'''
* Confetti ball
* '''Wrapped present'''
|
* Welcome back, it's time for 🎁 and 🎊 to go head to head.
* This one was a mess.
|-
| 🎟 (2054) vs '''🏆 (4558)'''
* Admission tickets
* '''Trophy'''
|
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🎟 and 🏆 warming up.
* Truly a dizzying win.
|-
| ⚽ (3116) vs '''🏅 (4383)'''
* Soccer ball
* '''Sports medal'''
|
* Have at it, ⚽ and 🏅!
* A dominant performance by 🏅.
|-
| '''⚾ (5479)''' vs 🥎 (2335)
* '''Baseball'''
* Softball
|
* Uh oh. 🥎 has had words with ⚾ before. The next match will be good.
*Uhhhh. I can't tell the difference here, can you?
|-
| 🏐 (3742) vs '''🏀 (4148)'''
* Volleyball
* '''Basketball and hoop'''
|
* Oh this one should be good.
* The ball is round, everything else is negotiable.
|-
| 🏈 (2932) vs '''🎾 (6003)'''
* American football
* '''Tennis racquet and ball'''
|
* Next up, 🎾 and 🏈.
* The ball is round ...er .... well .... uh.
|-
| 🎳 (4071) vs '''🥏 (4561)'''
* Bowling
* '''Flying disc'''
|
* We will be right back with 🎳 vs. 🥏!
* I had BOWLING BALL in my March Madness bracket. I did not do well.
* Ok. Now this is just ridiculous.
|-
| 🏑 (2742) vs '''🏏 (3810)'''
* Field hockey stick and ball
* '''Cricket bat and ball'''
|
* We will be right back with 🏏 vs. 🏑!
|-
| '''🏒 (5926)''' vs 🥍 (2291)
* '''Ice hockey stick and puck'''
* Lacrosse stick and ball
|
* Oh this one should be good.
*Floor stick vs. sky stick—who will win?
|-
| '''🏓 (5858)''' vs 🥊 (2203)
* '''Table tennis paddle and ball'''
* Boxing glove
|
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 🏓 vs. 🥊!
|-
| ⛸ (2465) vs '''🛷 (4552)'''
* Ice skate
* '''Sled'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's ⛸ vs. 🛷.
* Foot sled vs. regular sled!
|-
| 🎯 (1539) vs '''🥌 (1873)'''
* Direct hit
* '''Curling stone'''
|
* Next! Who would win in a match between 🎯 and 🥌? We are about to find out.
|-
| '''🎮 (6798)''' vs 🔮 (2657)
* '''Video game'''
* Crystal ball
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
|-
| 🎭 (2137) vs '''🎲 (4868)'''
* Performing arts
* '''Game die'''
|
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 🎭 or 🎲.
|-
| '''🎨 (4172)''' vs 🧶 (2994)
* '''Artist palette'''
* Ball of yarn
|
* Uh oh. 🧶 has had words with 🎨 before. The next match will be good.
*A lot of cats clicking on screens right now.
|-
| '''👓 (4206)''' vs 🥽 (3986)
* '''Eyeglasses'''
* Goggles
|
* Have at it, 👓 and 🥽!
*Glasses vs. Science Glasses!
|-
| 👛 (1029) vs '''🧦 (5468)'''
* Purse
* '''Socks'''
|
* Have at it, 👛 and 🧦!
|-
| '''🎒 (3516)''' vs 👟 (2756)
* '''School satchel'''
* Athletic shoe
|
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🎒 and 👟 warming up.
*Time for school! Which one will you bring?
|-
| 👠 (1627) vs '''👑 (5203)'''
* High-heeled shoe
* '''Crown'''
|
* Oh this one should be good.
|-
| '''🎩 (5611)''' vs 💄 (1719)
* '''Top hat'''
* Lipstick
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🎩 vs. 💄.
*The fanciest matchup!
|-
| 💍 (1284) vs '''💎 (5973)'''
* Ring
* '''Gem stone'''
|
* Will it be 💍 or 💎? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* If you like the one on the right, put a ring on it!
|-
| 🎤 (1728) vs '''🎵 (5239)'''
* Microphone
* '''Musical note'''
|
* On deck, we have 🎤 and 🎵.
* :notes::notes::notes:
* Music!
|-
| '''🎷 (4934)''' vs 📻 (2021)
* '''Saxophone'''
* Radio
|
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🎷 and 📻 warming up.
*The radio and the saxophone are having a music fight. Who can be louder?
|-
| 🎺 (3427) vs '''🎸 (4388)'''
* Trumpet
* '''Guitar'''
|
* Uh oh. 🎺 has had words with 🎸 before. The next match will be good.
* Truly, this is a day that will live in the memories of everyone here.
|-
| '''🎻 (4450)''' vs 🥁 (2857)
* '''Violin'''
* Drum with drumsticks
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🎻 vs. 🥁.
*You can hit either one with drumsticks, technically.
|-
| 📱 (3837) vs '''📞 (3980)'''
* Mobile phone
* '''Telephone receiver'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 📞 vs. 📱.
* 📞 is fully committed to this match.
|-
| 📠 (2877) vs '''📟 (3262)'''
* Fax machine
* '''Pager'''
|
* Uh oh. 📠 has had words with 📟 before. The next match will be good.
* This one is a toss-up in my book, folks.
* Only 15% of the people voting recognize either of these antique devices.
|-
| 🔋 (2676) vs '''💻 (4418)'''
* Battery
* '''Personal computer'''
|
* Oh this one should be good.
* I spoke with 💻 before the match today, and they had this to say: 💻.
* Sparks fly!
|-
| '''⌨ (5293)''' vs 🖨 (1909)
* '''Keyboard'''
* Printer
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
*A keyboard is just a reverse printer.
|-
| 🖱 (2661) vs '''💾 (6308)'''
* Three button mouse
* '''Floppy disk'''
|
* I'm looking forward to this.
* Yes, this is live commentary.
* This one is a mystery to me, folks.
|-
| 📀 (2585) vs '''🧮 (5282)'''
* Dvd
* '''Abacus'''
|
* Will it be 📀 or 🧮? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
|-
| 📺 (2752) vs '''📷 (4543)'''
* Television
* '''Camera'''
|
* Next up, 📷 and 📺.
* 📷 certainly has its work cut out for it going up agaist 📺.
* The camera comes with a tiny TV on the back, which hardly seems fair.
|-
| 📼 (3648) vs '''🔎 (3663)'''
* Videocassette
* '''Right-pointing magnifying glass'''
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 📼 or 🔎?
* 🔎 has every reason to be concerned about this match-up.
* These two can combine for a very unsatisfying movie-watching experience.
|-
| 🕯 (3910) vs '''💡 (4178)'''
* Candle
* '''Electric light bulb'''
|
* Welcome back, it's time for 💡 and 🕯 to go head to head.
* I'm so happy to see 💡 here, after 🧠 didn't make it.
* Some would argue this one was settled in the 1800s.
|-
| 🔦 (1663) vs '''📚 (5960)'''
* Electric torch
* '''Books'''
|
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 📚 and 🔦! Facing off against each other again!
* The flashlight illuminates the pages, but it only makes the books stronger!
|-
| 📰 (2524) vs '''📜 (5491)'''
* Newspaper
* '''Scroll'''
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 📜. Coming up next!
* I thought we had seen everything, but look at 📜 go! Amazing!
* A faceoff between two types of ancient scrolls.
|-
| 💳 (2655) vs '''💰 (5595)'''
* Credit card
* '''Money bag'''
|
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 💰 and 💳! Facing off against each other again!
|-
| 📬 (3218) vs '''📦 (3350)'''
* Open mailbox with raised flag
* '''Package'''
|
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 📦 and 📬 warming up.
* Will the package fit in the mailbox? Vote now!
|-
| 🗳 (2403) vs '''🖋 (4691)'''
* Ballot box with ballot
* '''Lower left fountain pen'''
|
* Welcome back, it's time for 🖋 and 🗳 to go head to head.
* The winner of this bout will go on to face The Sword.
* The winner of this bout will go on to face The Sword. Who’s mightier?
|-
| 🖌 (3530) vs '''🖍 (3897)'''
* Lower left paintbrush
* '''Lower left crayon'''
|
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🖌 and 🖍! Facing off against each other again!
* If 🖍 falls today, we might start hearing serious conversations about retirement.
* Paintbrush (hard mode) vs. Paintbrush (easy mode)
|-
| 💼 (2264) vs '''📅 (3884)'''
* Briefcase
* '''Calendar'''
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
* You have to wonder if 💼 even wanted to be here today.
|-
| 🗒 (2430) vs '''📊 (4726)'''
* Spiral note pad
* '''Bar chart'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 📊 vs. 🗒.
* *checks notes* Yikes.
|-
| 📌 (2799) vs '''📎 (4796)'''
* Pushpin
* '''Paperclip'''
|
* Uh oh. 📎 has had words with 📌 before. The next match will be good.
* I am excited about this match. This might be my favorite early match so far.
|-
| '''✂ (3762)''' vs 🗑 (2409)
* '''Black scissors'''
* Wastebasket
|
* We will be right back with ✂ vs. 🗑!
*This is a day that ✂ has been anticipating for a long time.
|-
| 🔒 (2827) vs '''🗝 (5214)'''
* Lock
* '''Old key'''
|
* Oh this one should be good.
* Finally, an answer to the classic question.
|-
| 🔨 (3350) vs '''🗡 (5042)'''
* Hammer
* '''Dagger knife'''
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
* Between the two of these, you can cover almost any home improvement situation.
|-
| '''⚔ (5352)''' vs 🔫 (3734)
* '''Crossed swords'''
* Pistol
|
* I'm looking forward to this.
*Pew pew pew!
*[sword noises]
|-
| '''🏹 (4931)''' vs 🛡 (2629)
* '''Bow and arrow'''
* Shield
|
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 🏹 vs. 🛡!
*Where is the Master Sword when you need it?
*In this match, we see Legolas take on Captain America.
|-
| 🗜 (3393) vs '''🔧 (3481)'''
* Compression
* '''Wrench'''
|
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🔧 and 🗜 warming up.
* [drops pretense of impartiality] VOTE C clamp!
|-
| '''⚖ (4961)''' vs 🧰 (1868)
* '''Scales'''
* Toolbox
|
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's ⚖ vs. 🧰!
*I know some of you out there had a challenging commute. Hopefully today's matches will improve your day.
*If there’s any justice in the world, the one on the left will win.
|-
| 🧪 (4134) vs '''🧲 (4519)'''
* Test tube
* '''Magnet'''
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🧪 or 🧲?
* Do you want super-powers? Because this is how you get super-powers!
|-
| 🔬 (2587) vs '''🧬 (5487)'''
* Microscope
* '''DNA double helix'''
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
* Do you want super-science? Because this is how you get super-science!
|-
| 📡 (3609) vs '''🔭 (4607)'''
* Satellite antenna
* '''Telescope'''
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 📡. Coming up next!
* This one is a real nail biter!
|-
| 🚿 (3933) vs '''🚽 (4031)'''
* Shower
* '''Toilet'''
|
* Next up, 🚽 and 🚿.
* Combine these to save time in the morning!
|-
| '''🛁 (4131)''' vs 🧷 (2740)
* '''Bathtub'''
* Safety pin
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🛁. Coming up next!
*Well that just doesn't seem fair.
|-
| 🧹 (2655) vs '''🧻 (5118)'''
* Broom
* '''Roll of paper'''
|
* Will it be 🧹 or 🧻? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
|-
| '''⚰ (4651)''' vs 🧯 (4009)
* '''Coffin'''
* Fire extinguisher
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite ⚰. Coming up next!
*You should have one of these handy in your house, although I guess which one is up to you.
|-
| 🆗 (5326) vs '''🆒 (5506)'''
* Squared OK
* '''Squared COOL'''
|
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🆒 and 🆗 warming up.
* Here it is, the final match before the second round!
* At least this one is going to be over quickly.
* Here it is, the final match before the second round!
|-
|}

==== Round 2====
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
! Competitors and score !! Commentary
|-
| 😁 (5968) vs '''😅 (9223)'''
* Grinning face with smiling eyes
* '''Smiling face with open mouth and cold sweat'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 😁 vs. 😅.
* What a shocking result!
* Welcome to round 2!
* Welcome to round 2! These rounds will be a little slower.
* Welcome to round 2!
|-
| '''🙃 (12578)''' vs 🤣 (5892)
* '''Upside-down face'''
* Rolling On the Floor Laughing
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🙃 or 🤣?
*Round two is serious business, folks.
*Rolling-on-the-floor-laughing is a top seed, but the upside-down smiley has a certain intriguing ambiguity. Possible upset?
|-
| 😇 (4117) vs '''😉 (10595)'''
* Smiling face with halo
* '''Winking face'''
|
* Uh oh. 😉 has had words with 😇 before. The next match will be good.
* Is it winking *at* the halo? Or is it winking at me?
* I didn't remember 😉 qualifying.
|-
| 😘 (6659) vs '''😍 (8816)'''
* Face throwing a kiss
* '''Smiling face with heart-shaped eyes'''
|
* On deck, we have 😍 and 😘.
* I expect to see a lot of hearts on the page for this one.
|-
| 😙 (2284) vs '''😛 (11620)'''
* Kissing face with smiling eyes
* '''Face with stuck-out tongue'''
|
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 😙 and 😛! Facing off against each other again!
* This one is a toss-up in my book, folks.
* Don’t you hate it when one of you sticks out your tongue right as the other goes for the kiss?
* Close one!
|-
| 😝 (6304) vs '''😜 (7167)'''
* Face with stuck-out tongue and tightly-closed eyes
* '''Face with stuck-out tongue and winking eye'''
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 😜. Coming up next!
|-
| 🤭 (1796) vs '''🤔 (15162)'''
* Smiling face with smiling eyes and hand covering mouth
* '''Thinking face'''
|
* Will it be 🤔 or 🤭? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* You know what the correct answer is here.
|-
| 😑 (5943) vs '''🤨 (9223)'''
* Expressionless face
* '''Face with one eyebrow raised'''
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 😑. Coming up next!
* 😑 certainly has its work cut out for it going up agaist 🤨.
|-
| 🙄 (5122) vs '''😏 (8486)'''
* Face with rolling eyes
* '''Smirking face'''
|
* Welcome back, it's time for 😏 and 🙄 to go head to head.
* Why is the one on the right looking at me like that?
|-
| 😔 (4101) vs '''😬 (8574)'''
* Pensive face
* '''Grimacing face'''
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 😔 or 😬?
* I don’t think either competitor wants to win this round.
* See? That's how you should feel. Starting at a humble live commentator doing live commentary.
|-
| '''😴 (8582)''' vs 🤒 (2281)
* '''Sleeping face'''
* Face with thermometer
|
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 😴 vs. 🤒!
*Mondays, am I right?
*Two big moods enter, one leaves.
|-
| 🤕 (5579) vs '''🤮 (8136)'''
* Face with head-bandage
* '''Face with open mouth vomiting'''
|
* On deck, we have 🤕 and 🤮.
* I don't feel so good...
* Really leaving it all on the floor with this one.
|-
| 🥴 (5548) vs '''🥶 (7121)'''
* Face with uneven eyes and wavy mouth
* '''Freezing face'''
|
* On deck, we have 🥴 and 🥶.
* Ice to see you.
* I think they might be trying to ice the kicker!
|-
| '''😎 (8912)''' vs 🤠 (5576)
* '''Smiling face with sunglasses'''
* Face with cowboy hat
|
* Have at it, 😎 and 🤠!
*Howdy, I’m the sheriff of cool!
|-
| 😕 (4748) vs '''😮 (7861)'''
* Confused face
* '''Face with open mouth'''
|
* I'm looking forward to this.
* An unexpected pairing! This should be good.
* I mean ... you can *see* the bracket so it isn't completely unexpected.
|-
| 😳 (5552) vs '''😯 (6583)'''
* Flushed face
* '''Hushed face'''
|
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 😯 and 😳! Facing off against each other again!
* Wasn't 😯 in the last match?
|-
| 😰 (2756) vs '''😭 (9508)'''
* Face with open mouth and cold sweat
* '''Loudly crying face'''
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
* 😰 is going to have to dig deep if they want to continue.
|-
| 😣 (2674) vs '''😱 (10403)'''
* Persevering face
* '''Face screaming in fear'''
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
* It doesn't get more real than this, folks.
|-
| 😓 (4790) vs '''😤 (7053)'''
* Face with cold sweat
* '''Face with look of triumph'''
|
* Welcome back, it's time for 😓 and 😤 to go head to head.
* Nice. Nice nice nice nice.
|-
| 😡 (4209) vs '''😈 (9437)'''
* Pouting face
* '''Smiling face with horns'''
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 😈 or 😡?
* This one is a toss-up in my book, folks.
|-
| 💩 (7681) vs '''💀 (12905)'''
* Pile of poo
* '''Skull'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 💀 vs. 💩.
* This one is going to cause some arguments.
|-
| 👽 (4888) vs '''👾 (9937)'''
* Extraterrestrial alien
* '''Alien monster'''
|
* I'm looking forward to this.
* Space invaders: Analog vs. Digital
|-
| 😻 (5800) vs '''😺 (6451)'''
* Smiling cat face with heart-shaped eyes
* '''Smiling cat face with open mouth'''
|
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 😺 vs. 😻!
* I love cats. I love every kind of cat.
|-
| 😼 (4767) vs '''🙀 (7648)'''
* Cat face with wry smile
* '''Weary cat face'''
|
* Oh this one should be good.
* Every. Kind. Of. Cat.
* Did someone say "V-E-T?"
|-
| 😾 (5464) vs '''💖 (7037)'''
* Pouting cat face
* '''Sparkling heart'''
|
* Next up, 💖 and 😾.
* 😾 looks pretty upset.
|-
| ❤ (7490) vs '''💯 (7881)'''
* Heavy black heart
* '''Hundred points symbol'''
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite ❤. Coming up next!
* Two crowd-pleasers here, folks!
* The score is Love-100
|-
| 💣 (6379) vs '''💦 (7343)'''
* Bomb
* '''Splashing sweat symbol'''
|
* Next up, 💣 and 💦.
* From where I am standing 💦 has a commanding grip on this bracket.
* Well that's certainly something.
* I know which one I would choose, but I don't have time to vote!
|-
| '''👍 (7610)''' vs 🤘 (6417)
* '''Thumbs up sign'''
* Sign of the horns
|
* On deck, we have 👍 and 🤘.
*This is going well, right? This is working for you?
|-
| '''👊 (8368)''' vs 🦵 (3323)
* '''Fisted hand sign'''
* Leg
|
* Next up, 👊 and 🦵.
*Kickpuncher or punchkicker?
|-
| 👀 (6253) vs '''🧠 (6412)'''
* Eyes
* '''Brain'''
|
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 👀 or 🧠.
* Whoever wins this one gets punched by the fist emoji in the next round. Choose wisely.
* Whoever wins this one gets punched by the fist emoji in the next round. Choose wisely.
|-
| 👅 (4726) vs '''🤦 (7496)'''
* Tongue
* '''Face palm'''
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 👅 or 🤦?
* Look, we are a little disappointed, too.
|-
| 👩‍🚀 (5246) vs '''👩‍🔬 (7971)'''
* Woman + Rocket
* '''Woman + Microscope'''
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
* So, what do you want to be when you grow up?
* Neither of these professions go well with concussions.
|-
| 🧛 (2269) vs '''🧙 (13138)'''
* Vampire
* '''Mage'''
|
* We will be right back with 🧙 vs. 🧛!
* Science?
|-
| '''🚶 (6112)''' vs 🧟 (6020)
* '''Pedestrian'''
* Zombie
|
* Oh this one should be good.
*Oh no. 🚶 fans are not going to like this match-up.
*Walk for your lives!
|-
| 🕴 (5070) vs '''💃 (7283)'''
* Man in business suit levitating
* '''Dancer'''
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 💃. Coming up next!
* The Matrix is TWENTY YEARS OLD
* The Matrix is *TWENTY* *YEARS* *OLD*
|-
| ⛷ (4388) vs '''🤺 (7484)'''
* Skier
* '''Fencer'''
|
* On deck, we have ⛷ and 🤺.
* A slippery slope. En guard!
* The IOC has rejected this combination sport.
|-
| 🏊 (4139) vs '''🏄 (5491)'''
* Swimmer
* '''Surfer'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🏄 vs. 🏊.
* This one, too.
|-
| 🚴 (4082) vs '''🚵 (7642)'''
* Bicyclist
* '''Mountain bicyclist'''
|
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 🚴 vs. 🚵!
* Why is 🚵 stuck in a box?
|-
| 🛀 (4042) vs '''🐒 (6948)'''
* Bath
* '''Monkey'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🐒 vs. 🛀.
* Uh-oh.
|-
| 🐶 (5214) vs '''🦊 (12396)'''
* Dog face
* '''Fox face'''
|
* We will be right back with 🐶 vs. 🦊!
* Again, we are getting a lot of questions on this today. This is live commentary, folks.
* 12/10 Both good doggos.
|-
| 🐱 (5182) vs '''🐈 (7578)'''
* Cat face
* '''Cat'''
|
* We will be right back with 🐈 vs. 🐱!
* EVERY. CAT.
|-
| 🐎 (4944) vs '''🐅 (9398)'''
* Horse
* '''Tiger'''
|
* Have at it, 🐅 and 🐎!
* If it were up to me, the last bracket would have eight cats and then just stop there with eight winners.
|-
| 🦌 (5619) vs '''🦄 (10318)'''
* Deer
* '''Unicorn face'''
|
* Have at it, 🦄 and 🦌!
* The IOC had some words about this pairing as well
|-
| 🐷 (5341) vs '''🐏 (8541)'''
* Pig face
* '''Ram'''
|
* Welcome back, it's time for 🐏 and 🐷 to go head to head.
* Or side to head, or whatever. VOTE!
* That was 🐷's to give away and they did.
|-
| 🐐 (6038) vs '''🦒 (8345)'''
* Goat
* '''Giraffe face'''
|
* I'm looking forward to this.
* Yet more Very good dogs
|-
| '''🐘 (11342)''' vs 🦛 (3614)
* '''Elephant'''
* Hippopotamus
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
*Another curious match-up with significant implications on how the rest of the day will go.
|-
| 🐹 (3660) vs '''🐿 (10713)'''
* Hamster face
* '''Chipmunk'''
|
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🐹 and 🐿! Facing off against each other again!
* We are incredibly excited to see so many fans here.
* Finally, the long-awaited showdown between Alvin and the Chipmunks and the Hamster Dance.
|-
| 🐨 (5171) vs '''🦔 (10929)'''
* Koala
* '''Hedgehog'''
|
* On deck, we have 🐨 and 🦔.
* It doesn't get more real than this, folks.
* Tree pocket cat vs. spiky cat
|-
| 🦘 (6954) vs '''🦡 (7727)'''
* Kangaroo
* '''Badger'''
|
* Will it be 🦘 or 🦡? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* If you believe in 🦘, now is the time to clap or whatever, because it is not looking good.
|-
| 🐣 (5846) vs '''🐧 (12239)'''
* Hatching chick
* '''Penguin'''
|
* We will be right back with 🐣 vs. 🐧!
* Don't count 🐣 out yet. They may have a contingent of fans just tuning in to battle.
* I thought we had seen everything, but look at 🐧 go! Amazing!
* A generational battle.
|-
| 🦆 (6558) vs '''🦉 (9674)'''
* Duck
* '''Owl'''
|
* Will it be 🦆 or 🦉? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* You just know that 🦆 is thinking about 🏥 right now.
* Duck... duck... duck... duck... owl!
|-
| '''🐢 (11594)''' vs 🦜 (3957)
* '''Turtle'''
* Parrot
|
* Uh oh. 🦜 has had words with 🐢 before. The next match will be good.
*Sometimes miracles happen.
|-
| 🐍 (5264) vs '''🐉 (6954)'''
* Snake
* '''Dragon'''
|
* Have at it, 🐉 and 🐍!
* How spiky do you like your sneks?
* Snake is currently losing to Fanfiction Snake.
* Snake is losing to Snake Fanfiction
|-
| 🐬 (7916) vs '''🐳 (9398)'''
* Dolphin
* '''Spouting whale'''
|
* On deck, we have 🐬 and 🐳.
* It's the battle of the blowholes!
|-
| '''🐙 (8799)''' vs 🦈 (3695)
* '''Octopus'''
* Shark
|
* Next up, 🐙 and 🦈.
*This one is potentially a battle between two mimic octopuses.
|-
| 🐛 (5330) vs '''🦋 (9176)'''
* Bug
* '''Butterfly'''
|
* On deck, we have 🐛 and 🦋.
* Time waits for no one.
* Another generational struggle.
|-
| 🕷 (5714) vs '''🐝 (12151)'''
* Spider
* '''Honeybee'''
|
* We will be right back with 🐝 vs. 🕷!
* 🕷 and 🐝 have been friends for a long time. I am not sure where that relationship is going to be after today.
|-
| 🌻 (6639) vs '''🦠 (10448)'''
* Sunflower
* '''Microbe'''
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
* You *knwo* what to do, folks.
* Oh no. 🦠 fans are not going to like this match-up.
* Fresh off its victory over the aliens in War of the Worlds…
|-
| 🌲 (8099) vs '''🌵 (8194)'''
* Evergreen tree
* '''Cactus'''
|
* Will it be 🌲 or 🌵? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* DISAPPOINTED!
* both are surprisingly spiky!
* This is the closest battle in the bracket so far.
|-
| 🍇 (6548) vs '''🍉 (8681)'''
* Grapes
* '''Watermelon'''
|
* Oh this one should be good.
* sweet!
|-
| 🍎 (5411) vs '''🍍 (10586)'''
* Red apple
* '''Pineapple'''
|
* Have at it, 🍍 and 🍎!
* Regular apple versus Pine’s Apple
* Fancy apple holds a clear lead over Regular Apple.
|-
| '''🍓 (8877)''' vs 🥝 (7540)
* '''Strawberry'''
* Kiwifruit
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🍓 or 🥝?
*Seeds: Inside or Out?
*Outside: Seeds or Hair?
|-
| 🥔 (7800) vs '''🥑 (9580)'''
* Potato
* '''Avocado'''
|
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🥑 and 🥔 warming up.
* Fun fact: Several different analyses confirm baby boomers like avocados more than millennials!
|-
| '''🌶 (8714)''' vs 🥒 (6360)
* '''Hot pepper'''
* Cucumber
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🌶. Coming up next!
*I know some very invested audience members for this one.
|-
| '''🍄 (8929)''' vs 🥜 (5311)
* '''Mushroom'''
* Peanuts
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🍄. Coming up next!
*It's peanut butter mushroom time!
|-
| 🥨 (7003) vs '''🥐 (9204)'''
* Pretzel
* '''Croissant'''
|
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🥐 and 🥨 warming up.
* Buttery curved bread: extra-buttery or extra-curved?
|-
| 🥞 (7881) vs '''🧀 (9457)'''
* Pancakes
* '''Cheese wedge'''
|
* Will it be 🥞 or 🧀? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* I wonder what cheesy pancakes are like.
|-
| 🍔 (5917) vs '''🍕 (11407)'''
* Hamburger
* '''Slice of pizza'''
|
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🍔 and 🍕! Facing off against each other again!
* Friday Night Food Fight!
|-
| 🌮 (7714) vs '''🌯 (8885)'''
* Taco
* '''Burrito'''
|
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 🌮 vs. 🌯!
* ………
* . . . . . .
|-
| 🍿 (7104) vs '''🍳 (8128)'''
* Popcorn
* '''Cooking'''
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🍳. Coming up next!
* The saltiest and butteriest matchup yet
|-
| 🍱 (4259) vs '''🍣 (7578)'''
* Bento box
* '''Sushi'''
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
* Hungry again. Wasn't it just lunch time?
* This part of the bracket has been *wild*
* Sushi takes the lead!
|-
| 🥟 (5804) vs '''🦞 (7681)'''
* Dumpling
* '''Lobster'''
|
* Oh this one should be good.
* A delicious dumpling vs some kind of large spider
|-
| 🍨 (7349) vs '''🦑 (7834)'''
* Ice cream
* '''Squid'''
|
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 🍨 or 🦑.
* I think there’s another squid hiding in the ice cream bowl.
|-
| 🎂 (4175) vs '''🍩 (8454)'''
* Birthday cake
* '''Doughnut'''
|
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 🍩 or 🎂.
|-
| 🍯 (4787) vs '''🍫 (7565)'''
* Honey pot
* '''Chocolate bar'''
|
* Next! Who would win in a match between 🍫 and 🍯? We are about to find out.
* The beans vs. the bees!
|-
| '''☕ (7674)''' vs 🥛 (5344)
* '''Hot beverage'''
* Glass of milk
|
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's ☕ vs. 🥛!
*Would you like some coffee with your milk?
|-
| 🍹 (4901) vs '''🍺 (7490)'''
* Tropical drink
* '''Beer mug'''
|
* Uh oh. 🍺 has had words with 🍹 before. The next match will be good.
* how drunk do you want to get?
* One small glass of beer with an umbrella, please.
|-
| '''🔪 (7787)''' vs 🥢 (5468)
* '''Hocho'''
* Chopsticks
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
*The two most popular ways to eat food
|-
| '''🌋 (8706)''' vs 🧭 (4079)
* '''Volcano'''
* Compass
|
* I'm looking forward to this.
*That compass is not leading you in a good direction.
|-
| 🏝 (5445) vs '''🏕 (8722)'''
* Desert island
* '''Camping'''
|
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 🏕 vs. 🏝!
|-
| 🏠 (5722) vs '''🏗 (5804)'''
* House building
* '''Building construction'''
|
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🏗 and 🏠! Facing off against each other again!
* It's building vs. building!
|-
| '''🏥 (7053)''' vs 🗽 (5981)
* '''Hospital'''
* Statue of liberty
|
* We will be right back with 🏥 vs. 🗽!
|-
| ⛲ (5498) vs '''🌃 (6519)'''
* Fountain
* '''Night with stars'''
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite ⛲. Coming up next!
|-
| 🎡 (3212) vs '''🌅 (8000)'''
* Ferris wheel
* '''Sunrise'''
|
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🌅 and 🎡! Facing off against each other again!
|-
| 🎢 (4701) vs '''🚄 (7014)'''
* Roller coaster
* '''High-speed train'''
|
* We will be right back with 🎢 vs. 🚄!
* Do you like your fast trains flat, or up-and-down?
|-
| 🚑 (4901) vs '''🚝 (7087)'''
* Ambulance
* '''Monorail'''
|
* On deck, we have 🚑 and 🚝.
|-
| 🚗 (2707) vs '''🚒 (8391)'''
* Automobile
* '''Fire engine'''
|
* Will it be 🚒 or 🚗? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
|-
| 🛵 (5344) vs '''🚜 (6475)'''
* Motor scooter
* '''Tractor'''
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🚜 or 🛵?
* Both of these are popular rideshare vehicles.
|-
| 🛹 (3509) vs '''🚲 (9447)'''
* Skateboard
* '''Bicycle'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🚲 vs. 🛹.
* next wave of rideshare vehicles.
|-
| '''⚓ (6608)''' vs ⛵ (6431)
* '''Anchor'''
* Sailboat
|
* Welcome back, it's time for ⚓ and ⛵ to go head to head.
*Should I stay or should I go?
|-
| 🛩 (5694) vs '''🚁 (6529)'''
* Small airplane
* '''Helicopter'''
|
* Will it be 🚁 or 🛩? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* Here in the future, flying cars are common!
|-
| 🚀 (7266) vs '''🛸 (14945)'''
* Rocket
* '''Flying saucer'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🚀 vs. 🛸.
* IFO vs UFO
|-
| ⌚ (6623) vs '''🌒 (7404)'''
* Watch
* '''Waxing crescent moon symbol'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's ⌚ vs. 🌒.
* Waxing crescent already? I must be running slow.
|-
| 🌙 (8921) vs '''🌞 (15703)'''
* Crescent moon
* '''Sun with face'''
|
* Welcome back, it's time for 🌙 and 🌞 to go head to head.
* Two contenders as different as night and day.
* In five billion years, this battle will play out in real life with the same result.
|-
| ⛈ (9358) vs '''🌌 (17038)'''
* Thunder cloud and rain
* '''Milky way'''
|
* I'm looking forward to this.
* Astronomers are hammering the button on the right as hard as they can.
|-
| 🌪 (9848) vs '''🌈 (11326)'''
* Cloud with tornado
* '''Rainbow'''
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🌈. Coming up next!
* The Wizard Of Oz (1938)
* The Wizard Of Oz (1939)
|-
| '''☄ (8014)''' vs ⚡ (7597)
* '''Comet'''
* High voltage sign
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
*The two leading theories for what killed the dinosaurs: A comet strike, or Zeus.
*Boom!
|-
| 🎃 (4112) vs '''🔥 (10407)'''
* Jack-o-lantern
* '''Fire'''
|
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 🎃 or 🔥.
|-
| 🎉 (5422) vs '''🧨 (18509)'''
* Party popper
* '''Firecracker'''
|
* Oh this one should be good.
* How emphatic do you like your celebrations?
|-
| 🏆 (5564) vs '''🎁 (6499)'''
* Trophy
* '''Wrapped present'''
|
* Have at it, 🎁 and 🏆!
|-
| ⚾ (5404) vs '''🏅 (7337)'''
* Baseball
* '''Sports medal'''
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
* Sports fact: If you hit a medal-winner with a ball, you take their title.
|-
| 🎾 (6117) vs '''🏀 (6171)'''
* Tennis racquet and ball
* '''Basketball and hoop'''
|
* We will be right back with 🎾 vs. 🏀!
* Sports fact: If you hit a medal-winner with a ball, you take the medal (but they take first base.)
* Sports showdowns: Bouncy edition
* Would you rather play basketball with a tennis ball, or tennis with a basketball?
|-
| 🏏 (7343) vs '''🥏 (7546)'''
* Cricket bat and ball
* '''Flying disc'''
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🏏. Coming up next!
|-
| 🏒 (8078) vs '''🏓 (8739)'''
* Ice hockey stick and puck
* '''Table tennis paddle and ball'''
|
* Uh oh. 🏓 has had words with 🏒 before. The next match will be good.
|-
| 🛷 (7104) vs '''🥌 (7733)'''
* Sled
* '''Curling stone'''
|
* Have at it, 🛷 and 🥌!
|-
| 🎲 (11931) vs '''🎮 (14739)'''
* Game die
* '''Video game'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🎮 vs. 🎲.
* Digital or analog?
* Devices or, uh, dices?
|-
| '''🎨 (5374)''' vs 👓 (4988)
* '''Artist palette'''
* Eyeglasses
|
* We will be right back with 🎨 vs. 👓!
*two ways to add color to your world
|-
| '''🎒 (4961)''' vs 🧦 (4819)
* '''School satchel'''
* Socks
|
* We will be right back with 🎒 vs. 🧦!
*You can put your feet in either of these! No one can stop you.
|-
| '''🎩 (23265)''' vs 👑 (19274)
* '''Top hat'''
* Crown
|
* Will it be 🎩 or 👑? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
*Hats for fancy people!
|-
| '''🎵 (17951)''' vs 💎 (9378)
* '''Musical note'''
* Gem stone
|
* We will be right back with 🎵 vs. 💎!
*C-notes
|-
| 🎷 (6954) vs '''🎸 (10692)'''
* Saxophone
* '''Guitar'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🎷 vs. 🎸.
* I've never heard the dueling banjos played like this!
|-
| '''🎻 (11568)''' vs 📞 (8172)
* '''Violin'''
* Telephone receiver
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🎻 vs. 📞.
*Can I put you on hold? I can't hang onto both of these with my chin
|-
| 💻 (7355) vs '''📟 (9348)'''
* Personal computer
* '''Pager'''
|
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 💻 and 📟! Facing off against each other again!
* Over time, computers have gotten steadily smaller.
|-
| ⌨ (3372) vs '''💾 (8550)'''
* Keyboard
* '''Floppy disk'''
|
* I'm looking forward to this.
* fun fact: it would take the average person 20 years to type an entire floppy disk
|-
| 📷 (10623) vs '''🧮 (12401)'''
* Camera
* '''Abacus'''
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
|-
| 🔎 (7902) vs '''💡 (12706)'''
* Right-pointing magnifying glass
* '''Electric light bulb'''
|
* On deck, we have 💡 and 🔎.
* it's mostly clicks either way.
* Both equally bad for bugs.
|-
| 📜 (4020) vs '''📚 (32459)'''
* Scroll
* '''Books'''
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
* Turning pages: hot new technology, or too much complication?
|-
| 💰 (5378) vs '''📦 (17957)'''
* Money bag
* '''Package'''
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
* Let's be real. Neither contain actual money.
|-
| 🖋 (6166) vs '''🖍 (42115)'''
* Lower left fountain pen
* '''Lower left crayon'''
|
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🖋 and 🖍! Facing off against each other again!
* Neither is coming off your walls if a kid gets ahold of them.
|-
| 📅 (3309) vs '''📊 (5217)'''
* Calendar
* '''Bar chart'''
|
* Have at it, 📅 and 📊!
* It’s cool how, if you design an emoji font, you get to tell everyone your birthday.
|-
| ✂ (4504) vs '''📎 (5846)'''
* Black scissors
* '''Paperclip'''
|
* It is a battle as old as time itself. ✂ and 📎! Facing off against each other again!
* Look, we all have too much paper in our lives, but we all deal with it differently
* Clippy, I swear…
|-
| 🗡 (5537) vs '''🗝 (6193)'''
* Dagger knife
* '''Old key'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🗝 vs. 🗡.
* There are two ways to open doors: The easy way and the fun way.
|-
| ⚔ (5514) vs '''🏹 (7201)'''
* Crossed swords
* '''Bow and arrow'''
|
* Welcome back, it's time for ⚔ and 🏹 to go head to head.
* Close-up stabby, or stabby from a ways off?
|-
| '''⚖ (6153)''' vs 🔧 (4351)
* '''Scales'''
* Wrench
|
* Will it be ⚖ or 🔧? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
*⚖ comes out on top.
|-
| 🧲 (4654) vs '''🧬 (9019)'''
* Magnet
* '''DNA double helix'''
|
* Oh this one should be good.
|-
| 🚽 (4388) vs '''🔭 (8647)'''
* Toilet
* '''Telescope'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🔭 vs. 🚽.
* I got these mixed up last week and I still haven't heard the end of it.
|-
| 🛁 (4540) vs '''🧻 (11347)'''
* Bathtub
* '''Roll of paper'''
|
* Welcome back, it's time for 🛁 and 🧻 to go head to head.
* Needed both of these after the telescope incident.
|-
| '''⚰ (7909)''' vs 🆒 (6024)
* '''Coffin'''
* Squared COOL
|
* On deck, we have ⚰ and 🆒.
*And that wraps up the round!
|-
|}

==== Round 3====
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
! Competitors and score !! Commentary
|-
| 😅 (6285) vs '''🙃 (31589)'''
* Smiling face with open mouth and cold sweat
* '''Upside-down face'''
|
* Uh oh. 🙃 has had words with 😅 before. The next match will be good.
|-
| 😍 (8430) vs '''😉 (10837)'''
* Smiling face with heart-shaped eyes
* '''Winking face'''
|
* Next! Who would win in a match between 😉 and 😍? We are about to find out.
* Some of us are more suave than others...
|-
| 😛 (9010) vs '''😜 (10428)'''
* Face with stuck-out tongue
* '''Face with stuck-out tongue and winking eye'''
|
* Uh oh. 😜 has had words with 😛 before. The next match will be good.
* Battle of the tongues
|-
| 🤨 (6519) vs '''🤔 (18849)'''
* Face with one eyebrow raised
* '''Thinking face'''
|
* Next up, 🤔 and 🤨.
* Some behind the scenes for you, folks. I know for a fact that 🤔 wanted first billing for this match and 🤨 refused to budge.
|-
| 😬 (8983) vs '''😏 (11449)'''
* Grimacing face
* '''Smirking face'''
|
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 😏 and 😬! Facing off against each other again!
|-
| '''😴 (10588)''' vs 🤮 (7773)
* '''Sleeping face'''
* Face with open mouth vomiting
|
* Have at it, 😴 and 🤮!
*🤮 opened strong and 😴 never caught up.
*I hope everyone has printed their brackets and are ready, because time waits for very few people!
*I guess it was that kind of a party.
|-
| '''😎 (11469)''' vs 🥶 (9176)
* '''Smiling face with sunglasses'''
* Freezing face
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
*🥶 has a chance here, but it is slipping away.
*What's cooler than being cool?
*What’s cooler than being cool?
*You need to be cooler than that!
|-
| 😯 (7648) vs '''😮 (7944)'''
* Hushed face
* '''Face with open mouth'''
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
* Anyone want to go bowling?
* Sometimes I spend so long deciding on which of these to use that the conversation moves on.
|-
| 😭 (7559) vs '''😱 (8894)'''
* Loudly crying face
* '''Face screaming in fear'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 😭 vs. 😱.
* In these kinds of contests, everyone comes away a little hurt.
|-
| 😤 (5475) vs '''😈 (9739)'''
* Face with look of triumph
* '''Smiling face with horns'''
|
* Uh oh. 😤 has had words with 😈 before. The next match will be good.
* I don't think 😤 expected to see 😈 opposite them today.
* Devils over Cotton by a country mile. Let's see those hearts!
* This one was over before it started.
|-
| 💀 (6669) vs '''👾 (11173)'''
* Skull
* '''Alien monster'''
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 👾 or 💀?
* It doesn't get more real than this, folks.
|-
| 😺 (7993) vs '''🙀 (8903)'''
* Smiling cat face with open mouth
* '''Weary cat face'''
|
* On deck, we have 😺 and 🙀.
* I spoke with 🙀 before we started today. They were hoping to dodge 😺. Too bad for them.
* The next few are contests are going to break friendships.
* This one is a real nail biter!
|-
| 💯 (9859) vs '''💖 (10041)'''
* Hundred points symbol
* '''Sparkling heart'''
|
* Next! Who would win in a match between 💖 and 💯? We are about to find out.
* I've always considered 💖 to be one of the greats.
* Starting to think 100 might go all the way.
* Starting to think 💯 might go all the way.
|-
| 👍 (9892) vs '''💦 (9960)'''
* Thumbs up sign
* '''Splashing sweat symbol'''
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 👍 or 💦?
* What an unexpected result!!
* Now what is going to happen here:
* We are seeing some real back and forth matches this round.
* Again, cannot stress this enough. This commentary is 100% (sorry) live.
|-
| 👊 (6867) vs '''🧠 (12115)'''
* Fisted hand sign
* '''Brain'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 👊 vs. 🧠.
* Sometimes miracles happen.
* The match-up you have been waiting for!
|-
| '''👩‍🔬 (15141)''' vs 🤦 (7172)
* '''Woman + Microscope'''
* Face palm
|
* Oh this one should be good.
*Looks like someone forgot their PPE today!
|-
| 🚶 (2581) vs '''🧙 (17413)'''
* Pedestrian
* '''Mage'''
|
* Welcome back, it's time for 🚶 and 🧙 to go head to head.
* Another fan favorite. Can 🚶 catch up to 🧙?
* Well folks, it is not looking good for 🚶.
* In the end, there was nothing 🚶 could do to stop the power of 🧙.
|-
| 💃 (10409) vs '''🤺 (10987)'''
* Dancer
* '''Fencer'''
|
* We will be right back with 💃 vs. 🤺!
* Pointy Dancy vs. Pointy Stancy
* This one should be familiar to anyone who has tried fencing in heels.
|-
| 🏄 (7355) vs '''🚵 (10300)'''
* Surfer
* '''Mountain bicyclist'''
|
* Oh this one should be good.
* 🏄 has a chance here, but it is slipping away.
* Bicycle --> Unicycle --> None-cycle with left waves
* 🏄 has a chance here, but it is slipping away.
|-
| 🐒 (4784) vs '''🦊 (15635)'''
* Monkey
* '''Fox face'''
|
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🐒 and 🦊! Facing off against each other again!
* Another challenging contest of cute!
* What *does* the fox say? "NOT TODAY, MONKEY."
|-
| 🐅 (7014) vs '''🐈 (11420)'''
* Tiger
* '''Cat'''
|
* Oh this one should be good.
* I have taken this yoga class!
* It looks like it is Cat vs. Extremely Cat.
|-
| 🐏 (12498) vs '''🦄 (12505)'''
* Ram
* '''Unicorn face'''
|
* On deck, we have 🐏 and 🦄.
* 🐏 is an fan favorite to go far today.
* This one is a real nail biter!
* This one is a real horn-biter!
|-
| '''🐘 (11723)''' vs 🦒 (6162)
* '''Elephant'''
* Giraffe face
|
* Have at it, 🐘 and 🦒!
*Two great examples of character creator parameters set to different extremes.
|-
| 🐿 (9539) vs '''🦔 (12565)'''
* Chipmunk
* '''Hedgehog'''
|
* Have at it, 🐿 and 🦔!
* I have no idea how you are going to handle this one, folks.
* 🦔 is out to an early lead, but don't count 🐿 out just yet.
* the crowd is going nuts!
* One for the history books.
|-
| '''🐧 (14230)''' vs 🦡 (7361)
* '''Penguin'''
* Badger
|
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🐧 and 🦡! Facing off against each other again!
*Arriving at the party ... same party two hours later.
|-
| 🐢 (10674) vs '''🦉 (10893)'''
* Turtle
* '''Owl'''
|
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 🐢 vs. 🦉!
* Yeah, we know. This one is going to sting.
* It's neck and ... very interesting neck!
* Owl standing in for Hare in this round. We're all as surprised as you are.
|-
| 🐳 (9881) vs '''🐉 (12000)'''
* Spouting whale
* '''Dragon'''
|
* Welcome back, it's time for 🐉 and 🐳 to go head to head.
* Dry Snek vs. Wet Snek.
* A showdown between two mythical creatures!
* The dragon keeps beating real animals, even though dragons are just our animal fanfic.
* Save the whales!
|-
| '''🐙 (13431)''' vs 🦋 (6011)
* '''Octopus'''
* Butterfly
|
* On deck, we have 🐙 and 🦋.
*save the butterwhales!
*Here we have a contest between two mimic octopuses
*The octopus has over twice as many clicks, folks. This one isn’t looking close.
*The octopus has over twice as many clicks, folks. This one isn’t close.
|-
| '''🐝 (19577)''' vs 🦠 (16657)
* '''Honeybee'''
* Microbe
|
* I'm looking forward to this.
*nooooon, :butterfly:
*nooooon, butterfly (edited)
*Honeybees vs. colony collapse disorder
*I’m looking at the totals, and this one is extremely close.
*🦠 fans need to click more and faster!
*I mean, 🐝 fans need to keep clicking!
*Fun fact: You can click more than once, although if you click too much it ignores you.
*No! Save the bees!
*Bees!
|-
| 🍉 (12946) vs '''🌵 (13830)'''
* Watermelon
* '''Cactus'''
|
* Have at it, 🌵 and 🍉!
* As a dessert for saving the bees, try one of these fine desert fruits.
* Ever wonder what the inside of a cactus looks like? We’ve cut one open for you here.
|-
| 🍓 (12167) vs '''🍍 (12522)'''
* Strawberry
* '''Pineapple'''
|
* Uh oh. 🍓 has had words with 🍍 before. The next match will be good.
* What fruit is best to eat in the night? Could it be Pine’s Apple?
* The weird-textured fruit showdown features two strong competitors.
|-
| 🌶 (13812) vs '''🥑 (13975)'''
* Hot pepper
* '''Avocado'''
|
* Uh oh. 🥑 has had words with 🌶 before. The next match will be good.
* We have reached the halfway point of round 3!
* As Twitter user @jitka said, “I like avocados because they taste pretty good and also they come with a cool wood ball you get to keep”
|-
| 🍄 (11290) vs '''🥐 (11348)'''
* Mushroom
* '''Croissant'''
|
* Next up, 🍄 and 🥐.
* Don’t eat either of these if you find them on the ground in the woods.
|-
| '''🍕 (13520)''' vs 🧀 (8558)
* '''Slice of pizza'''
* Cheese wedge
|
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🍕 and 🧀 warming up.
*cheese: baked or not?
*pizza is just impure cheese
|-
| 🍳 (8407) vs '''🌯 (9848)'''
* Cooking
* '''Burrito'''
|
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🌯 and 🍳 warming up.
* one burrito, sunny-side up
* Now I want a burrito.
|-
| '''🍣 (11362)''' vs 🦞 (9488)
* '''Sushi'''
* Lobster
|
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🍣 and 🦞! Facing off against each other again!
*I thought we had seen everything, but look at 🍣 go! Amazing!
|-
| 🍩 (12192) vs '''🦑 (12893)'''
* Doughnut
* '''Squid'''
|
* On deck, we have 🍩 and 🦑.
* Do not mix these flavors.
|-
| ☕ (7248) vs '''🍫 (13919)'''
* Hot beverage
* '''Chocolate bar'''
|
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, ☕ or 🍫.
* what a cruel choice
* in which form would you like your beans?
* mocha hold the chocolate vs. mocha hold the coffee
|-
| 🍺 (11448) vs '''🔪 (12597)'''
* Beer mug
* '''Hocho'''
|
* Will it be 🍺 or 🔪? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* What an amazingly bad combination!
* Its ... a close shave.
|-
| 🏕 (6055) vs '''🌋 (13928)'''
* Camping
* '''Volcano'''
|
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🌋 vs. 🏕.
* What an amazingly bad combination! .... Again!
* the eruption of mt. Saint helens (artist's conception)
* ruuuuunn!
|-
| 🏥 (7225) vs '''🏗 (8415)'''
* Hospital
* '''Building construction'''
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🏗. Coming up next!
* the crane can build hospitals, so voting for the crane is like wishing for infinite wishes
|-
| 🌅 (7042) vs '''🌃 (10460)'''
* Sunrise
* '''Night with stars'''
|
* Oh this one should be good.
* all good things must come to an end
|-
| 🚄 (8128) vs '''🚝 (8903)'''
* High-speed train
* '''Monorail'''
|
* I'm looking forward to this.
|-
| 🚜 (6598) vs '''🚒 (8085)'''
* Tractor
* '''Fire engine'''
|
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 🚒 vs. 🚜!
* We can put out your fire, or we can move it over there.
|-
| ⚓ (6987) vs '''🚲 (9001)'''
* Anchor
* '''Bicycle'''
|
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, ⚓ or 🚲.
|-
| 🚁 (3409) vs '''🛸 (12591)'''
* Helicopter
* '''Flying saucer'''
|
* Oh, this one should be good.
* Independence Day (1996)
|-
| 🌞 (6290) vs '''🌒 (11026)'''
* Sun with face
* '''Waxing crescent moon symbol'''
|
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 🌒 vs. 🌞!
|-
| 🌈 (12417) vs '''🌌 (13194)'''
* Rainbow
* '''Milky way'''
|
* Uh oh. 🌌 has had words with 🌈 before. The next match will be good.
|-
| ☄ (7687) vs '''🔥 (8315)'''
* Comet
* '''Fire'''
|
* Have at it, ☄ and 🔥!
* Armageddon (1998)
|-
| 🎁 (5311) vs '''🧨 (9417)'''
* Wrapped present
* '''Firecracker'''
|
* I'm looking forward to this.
* Do you like surprises?
|-
| 🏀 (3729) vs '''🏅 (9083)'''
* Basketball and hoop
* '''Sports medal'''
|
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 🏀 or 🏅.
* This match has me questioning 🏀's commitment.
|-
| '''🏓 (9290)''' vs 🥏 (7916)
* '''Table tennis paddle and ball'''
* Flying disc
|
* I'm looking forward to this.
*Don't blink.
|-
| 🎮 (11060) vs '''🥌 (14205)'''
* Video game
* '''Curling stone'''
|
* Welcome back, it's time for 🎮 and 🥌 to go head to head.
* Curling Simulator 2019
* If you love 🥌, you will have to show it now!
* Its a close match!
* 🎮 sweeping up
* 🥌 sweeping up
* I think 🥌 has it.
|-
| 🎒 (5682) vs '''🎨 (8574)'''
* School satchel
* '''Artist palette'''
|
* Oh this one should be good.
* Is the backpack Blue or Red??
* Blue or Red isn't going to matter if 🎨 keeps their lead!
* This one was over before it started.
|-
| 🎩 (9120) vs '''🎵 (10259)'''
* Top hat
* '''Musical note'''
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🎩 or 🎵?
* Top Hat (1935)
|-
| 🎸 (7349) vs '''🎻 (10889)'''
* Guitar
* '''Violin'''
|
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🎸 and 🎻 warming up.
* the day the music died
|-
| 📟 (3276) vs '''💾 (14470)'''
* Pager
* '''Floppy disk'''
|
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 💾 and 📟 warming up.
* 🖍, are you watching this match?
* At this rate, 📟 will lose worse than 🎒 earlier!
|-
| 💡 (7834) vs '''🧮 (10579)'''
* Electric light bulb
* '''Abacus'''
|
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 💡 and 🧮! Facing off against each other again!
* What an illuminating contest.
* In case you were wondering, the obsolete tech bracket is coming to a close soon.
* 🧮 comes out on top.
|-
| 📦 (3650) vs '''📚 (13464)'''
* Package
* '''Books'''
|
* Uh oh. 📦 has had words with 📚 before. The next match will be good.
* Remember trees?
|-
| 📊 (7144) vs '''🖍 (8035)'''
* Bar chart
* '''Lower left crayon'''
|
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 📊 and 🖍! Facing off against each other again!
* Which crayon is the shortest
* Which crayon is the shortest?
|-
| 📎 (8114) vs '''🗝 (9019)'''
* Paperclip
* '''Old key'''
|
* Have at it, 📎 and 🗝!
* Have you considered just casting 'Knock'?
|-
| ⚖ (6910) vs '''🏹 (9251)'''
* Scales
* '''Bow and arrow'''
|
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite ⚖. Coming up next!
* I am not sure if there is anything else that 🏹 needs to prove.
|-
| 🔭 (9037) vs '''🧬 (11772)'''
* Telescope
* '''DNA double helix'''
|
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🔭 or 🧬?
* Pretty sure that is not how any of this works.
|-
| ⚰ (12470) vs '''🧻 (13083)'''
* Coffin
* '''Roll of paper'''
|
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have ⚰ and 🧻 warming up.
* This is the final match of round 3!
* You have died of Dysentery.
|-
|}

==== Round 4====
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
! Competitors and score !! Commentary
|-
| 😉 (13589) vs '''🙃 (22912)'''
* Winking face
* '''Upside-down face'''
|
* Will it be 😉 or 🙃? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* Finally! A rivalry spoke only in whispers now takes center stage.
* I see our friends in Australia have joined in the fun.
* 😉 has some time to recover, but they are going to need help.
* Down to our last minute in the match!
* 😉 never had a chance.
|-
| 😜 (6578) vs '''🤔 (25692)'''
* Face with stuck-out tongue and winking eye
* '''Thinking face'''
|
* Next! Who would win in a match between 😜 and 🤔? We are about to find out.
* This match-up reminds me of something clever I heard earlier ...
* Oh! I remember what it was!
* Someone said
|-
| 😴 (11518) vs '''😏 (12506)'''
* Sleeping face
* '''Smirking face'''
|
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 😏 or 😴.
* Success is no stranger to 😏. Let's see if they can keep it going.
* Don't sleep on this match-up!
|-
| 😮 (18361) vs '''😎 (18415)'''
* Face with open mouth
* '''Smiling face with sunglasses'''
|
* Next up, 😎 and 😮.
* I don't know about you, but this is the match I have been waiting all day to see.
* Sunglasses pulling ahead.
* The betting markets had 😮 as favourite today, but it sure looks like 😎 is going to make it!
* It's all up to 😎 now. Can they hold 😮 back long enough to claim victory?
* The betting markets had 😮 as favourite today, but it sure looks like 😎 is going to make it!
* The gap is closing! Is there enough time for 😮 to take the lead?
* This one is coming down to the wire!
* Surprised Pikachu pulls ahead!
|-
| 😱 (4868) vs '''😈 (5411)'''
* Face screaming in fear
* '''Smiling face with horns'''
|
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 😈 and 😱! Facing off against each other again!
|-
| 👾 (18385) vs '''🙀 (18571)'''
* Alien monster
* '''Weary cat face'''
|
* 👾 and 🙀 have been friends for a long time. I am not sure where that relationship is going to be after today.
* This could get interesting if 🙀 brings out their lasers!
* This could get interesting if 👾 brings out their lasers!
* Can we go back to the laser kittens for a minute?
* laser kittens! mew mew mew!
* Uh oh. The cat cheering section seems to be slacking.
* Can the cats make a comeback and save us all?
* It's gonna be tight!
|-
| 💦 (13865) vs '''💖 (15698)'''
* Splashing sweat symbol
* '''Sparkling heart'''
|
* Someone has to win this match and someone has to lose, but you have to acknowledge the pure sportsmanship of these competitors.
* Click the link at the bottom of the comic to view the current bracket! (Just updated.)
* That last one came down to the wire, and this one's looking like it might too.
* The three other Planeteers are watching this match tensely.
* Sparkle Heart has been a surprisingly strong contender, knocking out the 100 emoji early!
* Click the link at the bottom of the comic to view the current bracket!
* Sparkle heart appears to be running away with another one.
|-
| '''👩‍🔬 (19865)''' vs 🧠 (9398)
* '''Woman + Microscope'''
* Brain
|
* This is a match that no one wanted to deal with until the end.
*what exactly is 👩‍🔬 going to do with that beaker?
*Neuroscience vs. Neuro!
*There seems to be a commotion in the audience as to whether that was a flask or a beaker.
*I *was* a beaker, but someone changed it in post!
*Looks like 👩‍🔬 is really taking 🧠 to *flask*.
|-
| 🤺 (8947) vs '''🧙 (25337)'''
* Fencer
* '''Mage'''
|
* 🤺 has been a fan favorite all day. Suprising literally no one.
* However, 🧙 has literally been disintegrating their competition all afternoon.
* What are we thinking here? 'Heat Metal'?
* Parry hotter vs Harry Potter?
|-
| 🚵 (7397) vs '''🦊 (27045)'''
* Mountain bicyclist
* '''Fox face'''
|
* This is a match that no one wanted to deal with until the end.
* several people are typing.
* 🦊 is putting 🚵 in the rear-view mirror and stepping on the gas.
* I have never seen 🦊 crush an opponent that mercilessly before.
|-
| '''🐈 (25965)''' vs 🦄 (20912)
* '''Cat'''
* Unicorn face
|
* Oh this one should be good.
*I am not sure if there is anything else that 🐈 needs to prove.
|-
| 🐘 (23083) vs '''🦔 (23975)'''
* Elephant
* '''Hedgehog'''
|
* I spoke with 🐘 before the match today, and they had this to say: 🐘.
* This is one grudge that won't be resolved soon: 🐘 never forgets.
* Hedgehog has been a strong contender but elephant is running surprisingly close.
* This is going to come down to the final seconds.
* An amazing match from 🦔.
|-
| 🐧 (19957) vs '''🦉 (22737)'''
* Penguin
* '''Owl'''
|
* There are a lot of 🐧 fans in the audience today hoping to see their champ make it through.
* Another close match in the making!
* 1 minute for 🦉 to overtake 🐧!
* I think the bird has it.
|-
| 🐉 (25129) vs '''🐙 (25238)'''
* Dragon
* '''Octopus'''
|
* You wouldn't know it to look at them right now, but 🐉 and 🐙 have been friends for years.
* I think 🐉 may have finally met their match.
* 🐙 is trying to get back in the lead. But 🐉 is not having any of it.
* The totals are back and forth!
* An unbelievably close match is down to the final minute!
* It’s neck and neck, despite one being all neck and the other having none.
* The final seconds are here. Who will take the final lead?
|-
| 🌵 (17985) vs '''🐝 (18691)'''
* Cactus
* '''Honeybee'''
|
* 🌵 has really suprised me today.
* another close match. Are all of the contests going to be like this now?
|-
| '''🍍 (19728)''' vs 🥑 (18099)
* '''Pineapple'''
* Avocado
|
* 🍍 continues to show why they are just the dominant force to be reckoned with today.
*Avocado Toast or Pineapple Pizza
*Avocado Toast or Pineapple Pizza?
|-
| '''🍕 (19207)''' vs 🥐 (11100)
* '''Slice of pizza'''
* Croissant
|
* Oh this one should be good.
*Pineapple pizza isn't real pizza
*There are two correct answers here. Choose wisely.
*Pizzas are like croissant tacos
*Looks like 🥐 is getting roasted.
*🥐 burn so easily. Who knew?
|-
| 🌯 (16204) vs '''🍣 (17599)'''
* Burrito
* '''Sushi'''
|
* 🌯 came to play. It is so obvious.
* why do we have to choose?
* I have definitely eaten food that was described as both of these.
|-
| 🍫 (17503) vs '''🦑 (18313)'''
* Chocolate bar
* '''Squid'''
|
* Oh this one should be good.
* No No Nothing about this is good.
* 🍫 is pretty sweet, but I'm a sucker for 🦑
|-
| '''🌋 (18049)''' vs 🔪 (7144)
* '''Volcano'''
* Hocho
|
* 🌋 has been a fan favorite all day. Suprising literally no one.
*before the knives come out of the mountain they're technically called "magma"
*before knives come out of a mountain they're technically called 'magma'
|-
| 🏗 (7355) vs '''🌃 (12660)'''
* Building construction
* '''Night with stars'''
|
* Oh this one should be good.
* Has anyone ever seen one of these without the other? Hmm.
* 163
|-
| 🚒 (4736) vs '''🚝 (9570)'''
* Fire engine
* '''Monorail'''
|
* 🚒 is dedicating this match to someone very special in their lives.
|-
| 🚲 (11477) vs '''🛸 (14994)'''
* Bicycle
* '''Flying saucer'''
|
* 🚲 has really suprised me today.
* E.T. (1982)
|-
| 🌒 (7313) vs '''🌌 (15975)'''
* Waxing crescent moon symbol
* '''Milky way'''
|
* I am very excited to see 🌌 still in this competition.
* This battle is out of this world!
|-
| '''🔥 (13588)''' vs 🧨 (8239)
* '''Fire'''
* Firecracker
|
* This is a match with a special meaning for 🔥.
*Uh oh, this is one of those battles where nobody wins.
*🔥 bolting ahead with an alarming lead against 🧨
*Take cover folks, this looks like it's going to be a hot one.
*aaaaaand boom goes the dynamite!
|-
| 🏅 (9309) vs '''🏓 (11409)'''
* Sports medal
* '''Table tennis paddle and ball'''
|
* I am very excited to see 🏅 still in this competition.
* Ohhhhhhhh. That one is going to leave a mark.
|-
| 🎨 (11242) vs '''🥌 (20329)'''
* Artist palette
* '''Curling stone'''
|
* Look at where you came from 🎨. Look at where you started! You would think that this would be enough.
* C'mon baby put the rock in the house
|-
| 🎵 (10452) vs '''🎻 (11806)'''
* Musical note
* '''Violin'''
|
* 🎵 came to play. It is so obvious.
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🎵 and 🎻! Facing off against each other again!
* No, that's not the iTunes logo
* 🎻's tuning might be working against them right now.
|-
| '''💾 (16887)''' vs 🧮 (13339)
* '''Floppy disk'''
* Abacus
|
* 💾 is dedicating this match to someone very special in their lives.
*Welcome back to the Obsolete Technology Dome!
*MicroSD Card is watching closely at this battle of two square data storage options
|-
| 🖍 (6157) vs '''📚 (16083)'''
* Lower left crayon
* '''Books'''
|
* This is going to be a challenge for 📚.
* 📚 really left a mark on 🖍 in their last match.
* 🖍 really left a mark on 📚 in their last match.
|-
| '''🏹 (14112)''' vs 🗝 (11789)
* '''Bow and arrow'''
* Old key
|
* 🏹 is looking fierce, but 🗝 is having none of it.
|-
| 🧻 (8107) vs '''🧬 (24415)'''
* Roll of paper
* '''DNA double helix'''
|
* 🧬 came to play. It is so obvious.
* 🧻 and 🧬 are neck and neck here in the final bout of round 3!
* when either is missing, you're in trouble
* And 🧻 falls to 🧬. A suprising turn of events.
|-
|}

==== Round 5====
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
! Competitors and score !! Commentary
|-
| 🙃 (77562) vs '''🤔 (85714)'''
* Upside-down face
* '''Thinking face'''
|
* all remaining rounds will be 26 minutes
* all remaining bouts will be 26 minutes
* Sometimes I think they've gone too far with plastic surgery
* This one's a fitting start to the round of 32, don't you think?
* Spiderman (2002)
* these vote totals are getting *close*! 🤔
* up is down, down is up! 🤔
* up is down, down is up! 🙃
* 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
* Getting knocked out in the round of 32 🙃
|-
| 😎 (35129) vs '''😏 (35485)'''
* Smiling face with sunglasses
* '''Smirking face'''
|
* 😎 and 😏 have been friends for a long time. I am not sure where that relationship is going to be after today.
* wink wink vs nudge nudge
* The Blues Brothers (1980)
* Can't read my p-p-p-poker face"
* Can't read my p-p-p-poker face
* David Caruso, is that you
* explicit vs. implicit
|-
| 🙀 (34060) vs '''😈 (46401)'''
* Weary cat face
* '''Smiling face with horns'''
|
* Are we about to see a huge upset?
* The devil went down to kittytown
* We're not sure which of these is a more accurate representation of a cat
* Both of them like to make your life hell.
* Which side are the Hellcats cheering for?
* 9 circles of hell. 9 lives. COINCIDENCE?
* Better the devil you know than the one you pet.
|-
| 💖 (15594) vs '''👩‍🔬 (43035)'''
* Sparkling heart
* '''Woman + Microscope'''
|
* This is a match that no one wanted to deal with until the end.
* Love Potion No. 9 (1963)
* The shine seems to be wearing off for sparkle heart.
* The shine seems to be wearing off for sparkle heart. What's in that flask?
|-
| 🦊 (48941) vs '''🧙 (49275)'''
* Fox face
* '''Mage'''
|
* 🦊 has really suprised me today.
* :leaves:: Target creature gets +3/+3 until end of turn targeting Devilthorn Fox
* G: Target creature gets +3/+3 until end of turn targeting Devilthorn Fox
|-
| 🐈 (32862) vs '''🦔 (42994)'''
* Cat
* '''Hedgehog'''
|
* I don't care if you are a 🐈 fan or a 🦔 fan, you have to admire their work here today.
* Scoring of this bout might be delayed, we're having to re-calibrate our cuteness meter.
|-
| 🐙 (38553) vs '''🦉 (204094)'''
* Octopus
* '''Owl'''
|
* Someone has to win this match and someone has to lose, but you have to acknowledge the pure sportsmanship of these competitors.
* This staring contest began hours before the match started.
* You obviously like owls.
|-
| 🍍 (25531) vs '''🐝 (28801)'''
* Pineapple
* '''Honeybee'''
|
* 🍍 is dedicating this match to someone very special in their lives.
* Neither of these really go well with a bonnet.
|-
| 🍕 (30696) vs '''🍣 (33247)'''
* Slice of pizza
* '''Sushi'''
|
* We didn't expect 🍕 to show up today, and ... well ... we are just as suprised as you!
* It's come down to this... which one is going to get taken out.
* In Toronto, this isn't even a competition.
|-
| '''🌋 (24884)''' vs 🦑 (20329)
* '''Volcano'''
* Squid
|
* There was never any doubt in my mind that 🌋 would be right here, right now.
*Finally the mastermind has an appropriate lair
|-
| 🌃 (21192) vs '''🚝 (24042)'''
* Night with stars
* '''Monorail'''
|
* I am very excited to see 🌃 still in this competition.
|-
| '''🌌 (25884)''' vs 🛸 (14803)
* '''Milky way'''
* Flying saucer
|
* 🌌 has been a fan favorite all day. Suprising literally no one.
*Will we go to the stars, or will the stars come to us?
|-
| 🏓 (13494) vs '''🔥 (17154)'''
* Table tennis paddle and ball
* '''Fire'''
|
* 🏓 continues to show why they are just the dominant force to be reckoned with today.
* Would you rather be on fire, or on fire?
* Have you ever seen a ping pong paddle on fire? Me neither.
|-
| '''🎻 (26281)''' vs 🥌 (26221)
* '''Violin'''
* Curling stone
|
* 🎻 certainly has its work cut out for it going up agaist 🥌.
*Which do you prefer, classical or house?
|-
| 📚 (16770) vs '''💾 (19628)'''
* Books
* '''Floppy disk'''
|
* 💾 had an interesting previous round. Let's see what they do now.
* One of these is a universal icon for saving data, and the other is a floppy.
* The Persistence of Memory (1931)
|-
| 🏹 (9717) vs '''🧬 (20370)'''
* Bow and arrow
* '''DNA double helix'''
|
* We didn't expect 🏹 to show up today, and ... well ... we are just as suprised as you!
* The latest ad targeting technology is pretty scary.
|-
|}

==== Round 6====
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
! Competitors and score !! Commentary
|-
| 😏 (17357) vs '''🤔 (23903)'''
* Smirking face
* '''Thinking face'''
|
* Look at where you came from 😏. Look at where you started! You would think that this would be enough.
* I know something you don't know.
* How do you know for sure that your votes are doing anything?
|-
| 😈 (11306) vs '''👩‍🔬 (30208)'''
* Smiling face with horns
* '''Woman + Microscope'''
|
* This is a match with a special meaning for 👩‍🔬.
* The scientific method's problem is that the devil's in the details.
|-
| 🧙 (26205) vs '''🦔 (27999)'''
* Mage
* '''Hedgehog'''
|
* 🦔 had an interesting previous round. Let's see what they do now.
* Hedge magic is generally more pragmatic than other forms of sorcery.
* The wizard didn't do it
|-
| 🐝 (21941) vs '''🦉 (28070)'''
* Honeybee
* '''Owl'''
|
* 🐝 came to play. It is so obvious.
* Of course we all know about the Owls and the Bees
* The Owlbee is a lesser known, but beloved D&D monster.
* The Owlbee is a lesser known, but beloved D and D monster.
* The Owlbee is a lesser known, but beloved DnD monster.
* Owls well that ends well
|-
| 🍣 (27026) vs '''🌋 (33364)'''
* Sushi
* '''Volcano'''
|
* 🌋 is dedicating this match to someone very special in their lives.
* Cooked or raw?
* Sushi is tasty, but the volcano offers free delivery.
* Click the link at the bottom for a just-updated bracket!
* Sushi has received a technical disqualification for being very very cooked
|-
| '''🌌 (36285)''' vs 🚝 (17405)
* '''Milky way'''
* Monorail
|
* 🌌 continues to show why they are just the dominant force to be reckoned with today.
*~future~
*The red carpet is empty tonight; the sky is full of stars.
*NIGHT TRAIN!
*Spaaaaaaaaace
|-
| 🎻 (26806) vs '''🔥 (32652)'''
* Violin
* '''Fire'''
|
* 🎻 is dedicating this match to someone very special in their lives.
* Either can kill if used indiscriminately.
* And fire flew from his fingertips as he rosined up his bow.
* That fiddle-playing is [fire emoji], but that fire emoji is [actual fire].
* That 🎻 is 🔥, but that 🔥 is actual 🔥.
* Click the link below the comic to see the current round of 32! (just updated)
* Click the link at the bottom to see the current round of 32! (just updated)
* That 🎻 is 🔥, but that 🔥 is actual 🔥.
|-
| 💾 (57577) vs '''🧬 (58313)'''
* Floppy disk
* '''DNA double helix'''
|
* Look at where you came from 💾. Look at where you started! You would think that this would be enough.
* Magnets work on both of these, right?
* Fun fact: Your genome could fit on just a few hundred floppy disks.
* This is the final match of the round, determining whether 💾 or 🧬 makes it into the Elite Eight.
* These two have been neck-and-neck through the whole bout.
* The “3d-printed save icon” is pulling ahead in the home stretch!
* This is a close one!
* Fun fact: Your genome could fit on just a few hundred floppy disks.
|-
|}

==== Round 7 - Quarterfinals====
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
! Competitors and score !! Commentary
|-
| '''👩‍🔬 (113683)''' vs 🤔 (108653)
* '''Woman + Microscope'''
* Thinking face
|
* Nearly tied at 40,000 votes each!
*Nearly tied at 50,000 votes each!
*👩‍🔬 has the lead, but 🤔 points out it’s not a statistically significant difference.
*🤔 has the lead, but 👩‍🔬 points out it’s not a statistically significant difference.
*🤔 pulls ahead, but reminds everyone that it’s not a statistically significant lead.
*👩‍🔬 pulls ahead, but reminds everyone that it’s not a statistically significant lead.
*Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
*👩‍🔬 is ahead, but reminds everyone that it’s not statistically significant.
*👩‍🔬 appears to be leading, but more studies are needed.
*🤔
|-
| 🦉 (103212) vs '''🦔 (105260)'''
* Owl
* '''Hedgehog'''
|
* I've always considered 🦉 to be one of the greats.
* sky cat vs. pointy cat
* This bout will decide which animal emoji advances to the final 4.
* The main difference between these two is the number of potentially flying spines.
* This one's going to be close.
* One might say this was neck and neck if either of these had one.
* 🦔 just barely squeaking in a victory.
|-
| 🌋 (105716) vs '''🌌 (175099)'''
* Volcano
* '''Milky way'''
|
* 🌋 had an interesting previous round. Let's see what they do now.
* Star stuff or regurgitated star stuff?
* This is secretly a referendum on air pollution.
* “Earth” and “Space” have each sent their most exciting representatives
* 🌋 is going to go extinct at this rate.
* This combination led to the cretaceous extinction.
* It’s looking like 🌌 will advance to the final 4.
* Good (starry) Night!
|-
| '''🔥 (178121)''' vs 🧬 (159553)
* '''Fire'''
* DNA double helix
|
* Did you know the melting point of DNA depends on the information it encodes?
*Jurassic Park III (2001)
*🧬 pulled ahead early, but 🔥 has closed the gap.
*🧬 is pulling away!
*Click the link below to see the current bracket!
*🧬 seems eager to move up the ladder.
*Whatever happens, this one will have a twist ending.
*🧬 has pulled ahead in the home stretch!
*🔥 has pulled ahead in the home stretch!
*🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
|-
|}

==== Round 8 - Semifinals====
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
! Competitors and score !! Commentary
|-
| 👩‍🔬 (285263) vs '''🦔 (285736)'''
* Woman + Microscope
* '''Hedgehog'''
|
* 👩‍🔬 defeated [purple devil face] and [sparkling heart] to get here.
* 👩‍🔬 defeated the wizard and then beat out the rest of the animal quadrant.
* 🦔 defeated the wizard and then beat out the rest of the animal quadrant.
* With over a quarter of a million votes, this one is coming down to the wire.
* In the final minutes, 🦔 is opening up the first real lead of the bout!
* 🦔 fans had better keep clicking!
* 👩‍🔬 is ahead but 🦔 is closing the gap!
* It’s virtually tied going into the final minute! Keep clicking!
* 🦔 pulls ahead!
* Science!
|-
| '''🌌 (281040)''' vs 🔥 (155282)
* '''Milky way'''
* Fire
|
* Without oxygen, there’s no 🔥.
*Space fire fact: If we detect fire on exoplanets, it may indicate life. Oxygen is volatile and shouldn’t persist in an atmosphere without something replenishing it.
*Space fire fact: If we detect fire on exoplanets, it may indicate life. Oxygen is volatile and shouldn’t persist in an atmosphere without replenishment.
*Just how much fire is there in a star, anyway?
*The winner of this match will go on to face hedgehog in the finals.
*The galaxy is running away with this one.
*Click the link below for the bracket! (Change the 32 to 128 for a larger one.)
*Space is running away so fast with this one we're seeing red shift.
*Spaaaaaaaaaaaaace
*Space ran away with that one so fast it redshifted.
|-
|}

==== Round 9 - Final====
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
! Competitors and score !! Commentary
|-
| '''🌌 (710129)''' vs 🦔 (682919)
* '''Milky way'''
* Hedgehog
|
* 🦔 is in the lead!
*🌌 has pulled ahead again!
*🦔 is slowly trying to close the gap that 🌌 managed to open.
*🦔 is catching up!
*🦔 is in the lead, 🌌 hot on its tail.
*🌌 beginning to expand its lead again.
*Over a million votes have been cast!
*🌌 in the lead, but 🦔 isn't out of this yet.
*This is it folks, the final moments...
*🌌 takes it!
|-
|}

===Error image transcript===
:[This is the image that appears when JavaScript fails or other errors occur. This is what embeds and automated programs usually see, as they load down dynamic comics. The transcript for this image is below the image:]
:[[File:2131_Emojidome_Error_image.png]]
:[A tournament bracket tree is shown with eight participants each on the left and right side, for a total of sixteen, all of which are the 😰 emoji ("Face With Open Mouth and Cold Sweat"). From both sides towards the middle the brackets reduce to eight, then four, two, and one line where the latter join to a rectangle in the middle. Below is an explanation of why this is seen instead of the correct comic. It is due to an error with JavaScript. This is also why the sad emoji is used in all sweet sixteen places.]

:Visit xkcd.com to participate

:If you ''are'' on xkcd.com, then you're seeing this
:because of something something JavaScript.

:Listen, websites are hard 😰

==Transcript==
:[This was an interactive and dynamic comic during April 1st from its release until its completion. But the final and current image, will be the official image to transcribe. But the dynamic part of the comic as well as the "error image" displayed to services that could not render the dynamic comic is also transcribed here below.]

:[The final picture shows the winner of the gold medal in the Emojidome bracket tournament, as well as the runner up with the silver medal. There is no text. The winner is the "Space", "Stars" or "Milky Way" emoji, which is shown with a blue band on top of a dark blue band on top of an almost black background, indicating the light band of the Milky Way in the night sky. Stars (in both five point star shape and as dots) in light blue are spread out in all three bands of color. The large gold medal with its red neck string, is floating close to the middle of the picture, lacking any kind of neck in space to tie it around. To the left of the gold medal is the runner up, the brown Hedgehog, with light-brown face. It clutches the smaller silver medal, also with red neck string, which floats out there in space. The hedgehog with medal is depicted small enough to fit inside the neck string on the gold medal.]

===Dynamic comic transcript===
:[This is an example of how the comic appeared during the competition. The example includes one of the final winner, Space's, matches. The dynamic part of the comic is transcribed below:]
:[[File:2131 Emojidome example.png|400px]]
:[At the top center of the comic, the two emojis battling it out are shown next to each other. The emojis displayed in the comic used the [https://github.com/twitter/twemoji twemoji] icon set. A different emoji set was shown in links to image of the tournament brackets. These matches are called bouts in the comic. The emoji from the top (or left) of the bracket is shown to the left. In this case it was space, night sky, milky way or stars vs Maglev train. Between them is the following text:]
:VS

:[There are two buttons one below each of the two emoji. If pressed the buttons became red. They could be pressed multiple times each match. The buttons have text on them:]
:Vote Vote

:[From the buttons colored hearts are released, often in bundles, and then they wave up across the emoji whose button they emanated from.]

:[Below the buttons there is and indicator showing how long the current battle is open for further votes. In the example the text is:]
:Remaining time: 24 minutes

:[The time began at "26 minutes" during the final rounds. It changed to "1 minute", with 1 minutes and 30 seconds left, and then 30 seconds later to "60 seconds" counting down to a few seconds. Then, before reaching 2 or 3 seconds it changed (a bit too early) to "Time's up!" Shortly there after a new bout would begin.]

:[Above the two emoji at the very top is a comment. The commentator is shown as a robot emoji. The comment often changed during the long final rounds. In the current example the text is:]
:"~future~"

:[But there would have been several others during the match. Given that Space won the entire Emojidome, the train lost this match. Often a final comment was posted just as the result was in. These final messages was then put at the top of the list of past bouts (matches). These bouts was displayed at the bottom of the comic below the remaining time. To the left was the following text:]
:Past bouts:

:[Below this text was a list of all previous matches, showing the two emojis, with the loser grayed out, with their final comment next to them. As soon as there where more than three a scroll bar appeared to the right, making it possible to scroll down through all these previous matches. As it was 512 emojis to begin with, there were 256 bouts in the first round, and then 255 the rest of the way to the final for a total of 511 bouts at the end. Here are the text of the three matches that can be seen in the example (the grayed out loser was Sushi, Bee and Wizard):]
:🌋 vs 🍣 "Sushi has received a technical disqualification for being very very cooked"
:🐝 vs 🦉 "Owls well that ends well"
:🦔 vs 🧙 "The Wizard didn't do it"

:[All the final bouts remarks, as well as the match ups, the score of votes, and all the other comments coming at the top during each bout can be found below in the round 1 to round 9 sections. They are thus not only a transcript.]

:[Finally at the bottom of the comic below the scroll-able version of the past bouts, there was a link to images of the brackets, beginning with the full long one of all 512 emojis, and the zooming in and out, plus updating with results along the way. The link was a text that explained what the link was for. In the current example the link text, which is link blue, was:]
:Full bracket for today's comic (round 3).

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Emoji]]
[[Category:Sport]]
[[Category:Tournament bracket]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Portmanteau]]
[[Category:Giraffes]]

775: Savannah Ancestry

2025-12-16T18:51:24Z

Chronotix: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 775
| date = August 4, 2010
| title = Savannah Ancestry
| image = savannah_ancestry.png
| titletext = She's a perfectly nice lady from a beautiful city, and there's no reason to be mean just because she thinks a quarterback is a river in Egypt.
}}

==Explanation==
First, some quick definitions: Savanna ancestry usually means our ancestors in the {{w|Human evolution|African savanna}}, millions of years ago; {{w|Savannah, Georgia|Savannah, Georgia, USA}} is a city in the United States; Evo-psych means {{w|evolutionary psychology}}.

[[Cueball]] is apparently trying to teach [[Megan]] something mathematical, feels frustrated at his lack of success, blames that lack of success entirely on his student, and appears to use evolutionary psychology, specifically a popular trope/myth about women being bad at abstract thinking, as an excuse. Evolutionary excuses in this context are trying to lay blame somewhere other than either participant, and so can be seen as comforting, but of course they falsely place all women in an inferior position to all men, at least when it comes to "abstract math". She naturally objects to the excuse, calls it bullshit sexism, and, depending on how you interpret it, may indicate this isn't the first time she's heard him say something similar.

But the twist is that he turns out not to be talking about her lower-case savanna (which may also be spelled with "h" like the city) ancestors, the ones in the African savanna of millenia ago, but rather of her very recent "Savannah ancestors", better called parents, who live in the city of Savannah. They apparently know each other well. The implication is now much more personal: that her mother didn't prepare her. Of course, Randall uses only upper case everywhere, so he has avoided giving the reader a clue about the misdirect-joke he is working toward.

Teasing people about their mothers in the USA — specifically that their mothers' are particularly stupid, fat or promiscuous — is a common enough theme in popular culture that there is a series of jokes that start with the words "Yo mama" that exemplify the genre. There is also an extremely common theme that the South's education system is failing; the comic combines the two.

The title text is apparently Megan starting to defend her mother, but then lapsing into a Yo Mama joke without the introducing words, showing that her mother is stupid enough to think that a quarterback (one of the positions played in American football) would be a river in Egypt. This is a conflation of the Yo Mama joke "Yo mama so stupid she thinks a quarterback is a refund!" and the common pun, "Denial (sounds like "The Nile") is not just a river in Egypt".

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are at a blackboard with equations and graphs on it.]
:Cueball: Look, I'm doing my best, but the fact is your savannah ancestors just didn't prepare you for doing abstract math.
:Megan: See, that's just the kind of bullshit sexism that discredits evo-psych. Your "evolutionary histories" always seem tuned to produce 1950's gender roles.
:Cueball: Evolutionary? What? I meant Savannah, ''Georgia.''
:Megan: ...Hey! Let's leave my mom out of this.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Your Mom]]
[[Category:Puns]]

2466: In Your Classroom

2025-10-20T20:29:21Z

Chronotix: /* Table of subjects */

{{comic
| number = 2466
| date = May 21, 2021
| title = In Your Classroom
| image = in_your_classroom.png
| titletext = Ontology is way off to the left and geography is way off to the right.
}}

==Explanation==

[[Randall]] has created a thought experiment and corresponding chart about school courses. The idea is, "the subject of the class appears in the classroom" and the chart compares how dangerous and how unusual that would be.

In the title text two points that are off the chart to the left and right are also mentioned. See details about all the subjects in the [[#Table of subjects|table]] below.

Note that Randall uses similar diagrams in each of [[388: Fuck Grapefruit]], [[1242: Scary Names]] and [[1501: Mysteries]], which also contain different items. They also have extra points mentioned in the title text. In the first two comics the points are also off the chart, whereas for the last the description of the point is too long to fit on the chart. Extra info outside the chart is also used in the title text of [[1785: Wifi]], but this is a line graph. Extra info outside a map is also used in the title text of [[United States Map]].

==Table of subjects==
(Clarification: -10 on weirdness means furthest on the "normal" left extent of the horizontal normal-to-weird scale, while -10 badness means at the "good" top end of the good-to-bad vertical range, with respective axes crossing each other at zero. Values are approximate. Written labels avoid overwriting each other, or axes, with no obvious datum points other than the centre of each fragment of text.)
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Breakdown of Subjects
|-
!Course Topic
!Weirdness
!Badness
!Explanation
|-

!scope=row|Atmospheric Physics
| -10
| -10
|Absent very strange and unprecedented circumstances, every classroom on Earth has an atmosphere (although going by the exact wording of the starting hypothesis, "The thing you study just showed up in your classroom", the implication is that up until that point, the room in which the class is being held contained a vacuum, which in and of itself is interesting to physics students.)
|-

!scope=row|Ethics
| -5
| -10
|Ethical thinking and behavior are widely considered good{{Citation needed}} and should normally be present in education, but are sadly not universal.
|-

!scope=row|Education
| -10
| -8
|Learning usually goes on in classrooms, so education as a concept is both being learned about and present in the form of learning itself.
|-

!scope=row|Bibliography
| -5
| -8.6
|Bibliography is the study of books, and books are normally present in classrooms, particularly bibliography classrooms. Although, more commonly speaking academically, a bibliography is a list of all sources used to compose a research paper, considered mandatory in all branches of academics but occasionally falsified or written in an incorrect style.
|-

!scope=row|Human Physiology
| -10
| -6
|This comic assumes that there are humans learning in the classroom, which was true at the time this comic was published, although in many places at the time the comic was published, many classrooms were closed due to COVID-19 restrictions.
|-

!scope=row|Public Speaking
| -5
| -7
|Some classes require students to present things in front of the class, which is likely a requirement in a public speaking class. Thus, public speaking itself would be present in the class.
Some classes also have a teacher talking or presenting to the students from the front of the class, another form of public speaking.
|-

!scope=row|Architecture
| -10
| -4
|All buildings can be considered architecture, and most classes take place in buildings. This comic also refers to a class''room'', which is a room, and therefore considered architecture.
|-

!scope=row|Library Science
| -5
| -5
|Library science is concerned with the organization of knowledge, and is useful for finding information. Many classes require [https://papersowl.com/pay-for-research-paper research papers] that require the use of books and other sources of information to complete them. This would be even more appropriate for a class actually taught in the school library.
|-

!scope=row|Furniture Design
| -10
| -2
|Most rooms have furniture,{{Citation needed}} so this would probably be present in a classroom. May also be implying the classroom furniture has not been assembled yet, making it not as good and a lesson in furniture design.
|-

!scope=row|Culinary Arts
| -2
| -4
|Most studies of culinary arts include the teacher and/or students preparing food using the tools and/or techniques that have been taught, so it would be fairly normal for food to be a result of classroom activities. How ''good'' it is, however, can be a mixed bag, especially for student cooking attempts.
|-

!scope=row|Ergonomics
| -9
| -1
|Ergonomic equipment and workspaces promote comfort and efficiency, while non-ergonomic ones may be unpleasant, unhealthy, or even immediately dangerous.
|-

!scope=row|Botany
| -2
| -2
|The near-neutral position of botany (aka plant biology) suggests that the most likely reason for plants to be present would be something like a potted plant, which is not uncommon, and usually not unpleasant, but not very noteworthy. There are other potential reasons for plants to be present, but those are generally less likely.
|-

!scope=row|20th Century Authors
|3
| -8
|Literature classes would benefit greatly from an open discussion or interview with the author themself. Sadly such things are rare, but not unheard of, putting it slightly on the "weird" side of the spectrum. Well-known authors of the 20th century have an increased likelihood of being dead by 2021, but there are still some authors of the 20th century who were well-established enough to be studied and still alive at the time this comic was published.
|-

!scope=row|Exobiology
|10
| -10
|Exobiology is the study of extraterrestrial life. This would mean that an alien lifeform was in the classroom. This is extremely weird but very good for people to investigate and research the alien.
|-

!scope=row|21st Century Authors
|2
| -6

|21st century authors have the advantage (over 19th and 20th century authors) of typically being alive and active at the time this comic was published. However, most authors who were primarily active in the 21st century are still developing their body of work, and/or still awaiting the judgment of history. The better availability of such authors, as compared to 20th century author probably explains the slightly lower "weirdness" score, while the limited body of truly prominent authors probably explains the lower "goodness" score.
|-

!scope=row|19th Century Authors
|10
| -7
|No author who was active in the 19th century was alive at the writing of this comic,{{Citation needed}} hence, having one of them show up in class would be extremely weird. The opportunity to interact with such a person would be utterly unique, meaning that it scores pretty high on the "goodness" metric, though interestingly not as high as a 20th century author. Possibly, the potential "badness" of having a zombie or other reanimated being show up in your class is weighed against the advantage of having a historical figure there in person. It may also be that someone from the 19th century has an increased danger of having outdated ethics, which may result in discomfort on the part of the students.
|-

!scope=row|Paleontology
|10
| -5
|Paleontology is the study of the history of life on Earth as based on fossils. In geology classes, it would be normal to have some fossils in the classroom. However, fossils are not usually found in other classrooms, and especially below the college level. Randall is also probably implying the weirdness of finding a live ''Jurassic Park''-style dinosaur.
|-

!scope=row|Robotics
|1
| -4
|A course on robotics would often be expected to have some form of working models of the robots being discussed. However, for it to have "showed up" in your classroom could imply an actual functioning robot prototype walked into the classroom. While not cause for concern (as long as nobody in the class is {{w|Sarah Connor (Terminator)#The Terminator (1984)|named Sarah Connor}}), this would be a bit weird.
|-

!scope=row|Martian Soil Chemistry
|10
| -3
|Martian soil only reaches Earth in small amounts, so it would be unusual to find a meaningful amount anywhere, except Mars.
|-

!scope=row|Tourism
|5
| -2
|Tourists coming into an active classroom would be quite unusual; while tourists sometimes visit university campuses, it would generally be rude for a tour guide to lead them into a classroom when class is in progress. This could also refer to the students leaving to become tourists in another location.
|-

!scope=row|Child Psychology
|2
| -1
|Children are rarely students in classrooms advanced enough to teach child psychology. In order for child psychology to be on display, presumably someone would have to have brought a child (either for a demonstration, or for some other reason), which is slightly weird, but not unheard of. This is considered slightly "good", presumably because it would give students some opportunity for firsthand observation, and because most people like, or at least tolerate, children.
|-

!scope=row|Entomology
| -7
|1
|Entomology is the study of insects. Insects getting into a classroom is a very common event, even putting aside the possibility of someone bringing insects specifically to study. Most insects that might get in are relatively benign, but some (such as mosquitoes) might sting or bite, and many people simply don't like insects, even when they're not harmful, pushing this slightly into "bad" territory.
|-

!scope=row|Occupational Therapy
| -8
|2.4
|Injury, illness or mental health problem that hinder your participation in life/school. Many students who have significant physical injuries and conditions that require occupational therapy would generally not engage in those activities during a class, although volunteers may be brought in as a demonstration of a particular health problem or method of treatment.
|-

!scope=row|Hydraulic Engineering
| -2
|2.4
|Likely in the form of flooding or plumbing problems.
|-

!scope=row|Pest Control
| -5
|4
|This is not dissimilar to entomology, but pest control tends to involve larger infestations, as opposed to individual insects, and also includes non-insect animals, such as rats. Such events in classroom are not as common as individual insects getting in (especially in a well-maintained building), but are far from unheard of, and risk many negative effects, from bug bites to structural damage, and may require evacuation and fumigation to deal with.
|-

!scope=row|Foodborne Illness
| -7
|6
|Sometimes students in a culinary arts class do not properly observe hygiene standards and the food they present would lead to illness in those that consume the food. Thankfully, this is rare if the teacher is paying enough attention to proceedings. Students could also be ill from food eaten outside of class.
|-

!scope=row|Criminal Law
| -1
|7
|This might happen if a crime occurs in the class. While an armed robbery is unlikely, incidents involving theft or drug use are not particularly uncommon. Regardless, such an incident would be very bad.
|-

!scope=row|Physiology of Stress
| -10
|8
|Stress in a classroom, even stress that's bad enough to manifest itself in physical symptoms, is all too common. Stress that bad is very harmful, and a student realizing that they were manifesting the symptoms they're studying should take it as a warning sign.
|-

!scope=row|Oncology
| -5
|10
|Oncology is the medical practice of treating cancer. For someone (probably the professor) in a classroom full of students to have cancer is, unfortunately, not an uncommon event, putting it on the "normal" side of the scale. While not abnormal, it's clearly very bad.
|-

!scope=row|Ornithology
|2
|1
|Ornithology is the study of birds. A bird getting into a classroom would be somewhat strange, but there are circumstances under which it would happen. In most cases, that's not especially dangerous, but it would be disruptive, and introduce the possibility of the bird making a mess, and possibly getting hurt (or even hurting others), which makes it slightly bad.
|-

!scope=row|Animation
|10
|1.2
|Presumably Randall isn't referring to examples of animated works being displayed to the students in an animation class, as that would be normal. Nor is he referring to teachers or students doing animation by creating or filming drawings, stop-motion figures, or computer graphics to make an animated film, which would also be normal. However, it would be very weird for animated characters to appear physically in the classroom instead of being projected on screens. Possibly a reference to movies such as ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' in which cartoon characters actively interact with the live action cast. As many of the characters abide by different physics, and a couple are depicted as insane, this would be very weird and potentially bad.
|-

!scope=row|Petroleum Geology
|3
|2
|Crude oil coming up through the floor of the classroom would be ''very'' weird{{citation needed}}. Any potential for hands-on learning experience would be limited, and quickly outweighed by classes being disrupted entirely (be it damage to the building, or oil companies trying to negotiate for the land).
|-

!scope=row|Highway Engineering
|5
|3
|A highway being built through an active classroom would be very unusual and not that safe.
|-

!scope=row|Toxicology
|1
|5
|Most likely, a toxic substance is present in the room. This is not very weird if the room is in a building that has {{w|asbestos}}-containing insulation (phased out during the 1990s, although it has not been specifically outlawed in the United States due to industrial lobbying) or lead paint (which was fully outlawed in the United States in 1978, so any paint that remains must have been applied prior to that date). However, toxic substances are unsafe for humans.{{Citation needed}}
|-

!scope=row|Hematology
|5
|4
|Hematology is the study of blood. Given that there should be blood in each of the students present,{{Citation needed}} we should probably assume Randall means "large quantities of blood outside of one's body ([[:Category:Comics with blood|click here]])", which would indeed be both bad and weird.
|-

!scope=row|Hostage Negotiation
|4
|7
|Reasons as to why there would be hostage negotiations taking place at a school have horrifying implications for the students and teacher. The 'weird'ness rating of this occurence would presumably change depending on location, school shootings and hostage situations being (unfortunately) much more 'normal'ised in the USA than any other country.
|-

!scope=row|History of Siege Warfare
|10
|6
|This would be an exceptionally strange event. Given that the topic is "history", having it show up implies that either historical figures have the classroom under siege (possibly through time travel or reanimation) or at least that the besiegers are using traditional weapons and methods in their attack. In either case, it would be a very weird event, and also very bad.
|-

!scope=row|Trauma Surgery
|1
|9
|An injury severe enough to require trauma surgery would be rare in a classroom, but there are circumstances under which it could realistically happen. Such an injury would be, by its very nature, a very bad thing.
|-

!scope=row|Volcanology
|5
|9
|Having a live volcano in one's classroom is both very dangerous and very weird {{Citation needed}}. Volcanoes mature over very long time frames, but even the earliest stages are highly disruptive and potentially deadly, as seen in the {{w|Parícutin#Formation|1943 eruption of Paricutín}} and the {{w|2018_lower_Puna_eruption#Eruption|2018 flank eruption of Kilauea}}. Note this also applies to [[1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar | baking soda and vinegar volcanoes that are offshoots of much larger vinegar hotspots]].
|-

!scope=row|Quasar Astronomy
|5
|10
|{{w|Quasars}} are distant astronomical objects that release large amounts of energy. Not only would the power of a quasar destroy the classroom (as well as the rest of Earth), quasars are too large to fit inside any known classroom. For example, {{w|ULAS J1342+0928}} has a mass of 8*10^8 solar masses. This means the event horizon of the black hole is almost 16 AU in radius, and this size does not include the accretion disk.
|-

!scope=row|Ontology (title text)
|<-10
|?
|Ontology is the philosophical study of existence and being. Since there must be ''something'' learning in the classroom, it is unsurprising that ontology is a normal subject to appear in the classroom. It would, in fact, be more bizarre to have a lack of ontology in the classroom.
|-

!scope=row|Geography (title text)
|>10
|?
|Geographers study the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of the Earth. While each classroom contains a small portion of the Earth's surface (normally not enough of it to be interesting to geographers), having the ''entire Earth'' appear inside a classroom would likely demand explanation {{Citation needed}}. In particular, if this is an ordinary classroom (i.e. located ''on'' the Earth), the planet's simultaneous appearance within its walls would both defy our current understanding of spacetime, and risk [[1515: Basketball Earth | disastrous consequences at the hands of curious students.]] This could also be implying the classroom is suddenly being located on top of a geographic border, which would be highly unlikely, especially if it happened without warning.

|}

==Transcript==

:[Caption above scatter plot with labeled axes]
:Caption: The thing you study just showed up in your classroom! That's...
:Top: good
:Bottom: bad
:Left: normal
:Right: weird

Items are listed row by row, left to right, top to bottom.

:[First quadrant (good and weird)]
:20th century authors
:Exobiology
:21st century authors
:19th century authors
:Robotics
:Paleontology
:Martian soil chemistry
:Child psychology
:Tourism
:[Second quadrant (good and normal)]
:Atmospheric physics
:Ethics
:Education
:Bibliography
:Human physiology
:Public speaking
:Architecture
:Library science
:Furniture design
:Culinary arts
:Ergonomics
:Botany
:[Third quadrant (bad and normal)]
:Entomology
:Occupational therapy
:Hydraulic engineering
:Pest control
:Foodborne illness
:Criminal law
:Physiology of stress
:Oncology
:[Fourth quadrant (bad and weird)]
:Ornithology
:Animation
:Petroleum geology
:Highway engineering
:Toxicology
:Hematology
:Hostage negotiation
:History of siege warfare
:Trauma surgery
:Volcanology
:Quasar astronomy

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Rankings]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Cancer]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Volcanoes]]
[[Category:Engineering]]
[[Category:Scatter plots]]

3152: Skateboard

2025-10-09T10:01:45Z

Chronotix:

{{comic
| number = 3152
| date = October 8, 2025
| title = Skateboard
| image = skateboard_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x267px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I understand it's hard to do more than 300 feet on these 90-second rush jobs, but with a smaller ramp I'm worried the gee forces will be too high for me to do any tricks.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by an extremely expedited half pipe. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

In this comic, [[Cueball]] appears to have gone {{w|skydiving}}. In mid-fall, he opens what he thought was his parachute, only to discover the bag in fact contains {{w|skateboarding}} gear. This may be a reference to a 1988 incident{{acn}} where a skydiver switched his skydiving equipment for his camera equipment backpack and perished. Cueball blames himself for the error, pointing out that having something that is not a parachute in a bag that looks a lot like a parachute bag is practically inviting disaster.

After a {{tvtropes|BeatPanel|beat panel}}, Cueball (still in mid-fall) takes out his phone and makes a call to a company responsible for {{w|skatepark}}s, hoping to place an order for a {{w|half-pipe}}. Half-pipes are skating ramps consisting of a semi-circular surface that forms 180 degrees of an arc, allowing skaters to ascend vertically to perform tricks and then descend onto the same ramp. It seems Cueball's intention is to have a very large half-pipe transported to (or constructed at) his landing zone, then use his skateboard to land on the ramp. From there, he could either transfer his downward momentum into much more survivable horizontal momentum, or continue into the opposing ramp to transfer into upward momentum, which would be counteracted by gravity and produce a more meaningful fall.

Obviously, this idea is absurd; half-pipes are very large structures, and it would be difficult to move such a structure ''any'' meaningful distance in the time it would take Cueball to hit the ground, and still more to build one ''in situ''. Furthermore, it would have to be built or positioned to align closely with Cueball's line of descent, and ascertaining this would significantly delay the operation. The title text plays this for laughs, suggesting that the skatepark representative only takes issue with the ''size'' of the ramp that Cueball is requesting (600 feet), with the implication that a smaller half-pipe (300 feet) would be perfectly within their capabilities. Cueball tries to convince the rep to accept his original request due to his falling speed; making a high-speed turn inflicts significantly more {{w|G-force}}s (unusually rendered as 'gees' in the comic) on the turner the tighter the turn is and the faster the turner is going, and humans have a tendency to black out under extreme Gs. While Cueball is confident in his ability to endure the Gs of a 600-foot halfpipe turn, he has less confidence regarding a much tighter 300-foot halfpipe - and, of course, because he is falling without a parachute, he does not have the option of slowing down in order to make the tighter turn more manageable.

The human record for a controlled skateboard descent on an extremely tall ramp [https://www.redbull.com/int-en/sandro-dias-ultimate-skate-ramp was set in September 2025] by Brazilian professional skateboarder Sandro Dias, who completed a controlled 70-meter skating descent on a skateboard ramp built to match the curved contour of {{w|Centro Administrativo Fernando Ferrari|an office building in Porto Alegre}}, Brazil, with a shape somewhat similar to a half-pipe. Dias started from rest, on a platform attached to the skate ramp, rather than first jumping out of an airplane and reaching terminal velocity, but he was able to maintain control throughout the extremely steep and high descent, reaching speeds of over 100 km/h without falling. Cueball is in a much more challenging position in various ways. Dias' feat actually confirms the conceptual plausibility of a 300-foot halfpipe, although he is currently the only person in the world ever to have safely descended such a large ramp, and the ramp built for his challenge was constructed on the side of an existing building over the course of an entire month, not in a matter of seconds.

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

:[Cueball falling in the sky facing, his back down, him facing upwards. He has a backpack on his back and a skateboard in his hand. Clouds are seen in the background.]
:Cueball: I guess this is on me. I should really keep my skateboarding gear and my parachutes in different-looking bags.

:[Cueball looking at his skateboard, still falling, now facing downwards]

:[Cueball dialing on his phone, almost completely upside down]
:BEEP BEEP

:[Cueball talking on his phone, back facing upwards, similar to the first panel]
:Cueball: Hello, Pro Skate Parks LLC? I'd like an extremely expedited order for a 600-foot halfpipe.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Skateboard]]

1633: Possible Undiscovered Planets

2025-10-01T11:41:59Z

Chronotix: /* Table of items in the chart */

{{comic
| number = 1633
| date = January 22, 2016
| title = Possible Undiscovered Planets
| image = possible_undiscovered_planets.png
| titletext = Superman lies near the bird/plane boundary over a range of distances, which explains the confusion.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is about {{w|Planet Nine}}, a possible {{w|Neptune}}-sized {{w|planet}} far beyond the farthest planet, {{w|Neptune}}. Astronomers {{w|Michael E. Brown|Mike Brown}} and {{w|Konstantin Batygin}} published a paper on 2016-01-20, only two days before the release of this comic. The paper is called ''[http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/0004-6256/151/2/22 Evidence for a Distant Giant Planet in the Solar System]'' and shows indirect evidence that such a planet may exist, inferred from an otherwise unlikely correlation between the unusual orbits of several {{w|dwarf planets}}. See for instance also explanations, for the layman, of the results here: ''[http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/01/feature-astronomers-say-neptune-sized-planet-lurks-unseen-solar-system Astronomers say a Neptune-sized planet lurks beyond Pluto]'' and ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGfv3Oay_pY Planet X Discovered??]''

As this paper came out on the day of the previous comic's release ([[1632: Palindrome]]), this comic's release day was the first release day after the news came out. This explains why this comic was released in the late afternoon rather than just past midnight as is often the case with normal releases.
Once [[Randall]] heard this news, he had to decide to do this comic instead of the scheduled comic, and then invent and draw a completely new and actually very complicated comic (resulting in [[#Info on new version|several position errors]]) about "{{w|Planet X}}" before he could release this comic.

Now this planet could be called Planet IX (and is labeled ''Planet nine?'' on the chart), as {{w|Pluto}}, the previously "planet 9" has been degraded to a dwarf planet. The "X" did, however, not only refer to the roman numeral! Note that Mike Brown is the astronomer that {{w|How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming|killed Pluto}}, or at least reduced Pluto to a dwarf planet, something that has been a subject in [[xkcd]] before; see for instance [[473: Still Raw]].

This was the first of two times within a month where a new astronomical announcement (of something discovered months before the actual announcement) resulted in a related comic. The second being [[1642: Gravitational Waves]]. But in that case Randall seemed to know about it in advance, as he even changed the normal release schedule to post the comic on the day of the announcement, unlike here, where he seems to have been forced to make a new comic up on the fly.

Stating the obvious, this {{w|log–log plot}} shows that for an object to be an unknown planet it has to be very far away, since planets are big, to explain why we haven't seen it yet. With the log scale it is possible to go from a diameter of less than 1 mm to an {{w|astronomical unit}} (AU) on the Y-axis and from a distance of just 1 cm up to thousands of AU on the X-axis.

Randall's chart is somewhat humorously parochial (if not downright {{w|egocentric}}) in that it purports to measure distance not "from Earth" or from an arbitrary observer, but specifically from himself ("from me"). There is also more detail (e.g. a differentiation between bird, bugs, and skin flora) in the zone closest to the observer, somewhat reminiscent of the classic New Yorker cover illustration ''{{W|View of the World from 9th Avenue}}''.

The distance calculations are somewhat problematic (see more on this below). Close distances seem to be measured from the surface of Randall's body (skin/eyes) rather than from his center of mass. All the planets (and moon) that are marked on the chart are so far away that it will not matter if the distance is measured from Randall's surface, his center of mass, or by the way anywhere on {{w|Earth}}. Also, the planets' diameters are so much smaller than the distance from Earth that their real size would hardly take up any space in the chart due to the {{w|Logarithmic scale|log-scale}}. The dots marking these 7 planets are thus not drawn to scale that should represent their actual size compared with the other planets. But their distance from Earth (and Randall) is not constant even on the log-scale, especially not for the nearest planets, as they can be on either side of the {{w|Sun}} compared to Earth.

The chart correctly states that if there was a planet that was at a distance from him smaller than its diameter, he would be inside it (although at the bottom of that region, it's more like the planet that would be inside him, as this line goes down to a diameter of 1 cm). If the distance is to the planets center, this would also fit if he was only a radius away from the planet. As Randall is not inside the Earth but really close to it, Earth is correctly positioned on this line. However, for Earth, which is marked with the largest of the dots, he seems to have put himself a full Earth diameter away from Earth. Even using the center of mass of Earth as its position he should only have been 6,350 km away from it, but now he places the measuring point of his distance to Earth on the opposite side of the Earth so his distance to it is equal to its diameter (which would make a choosing a distance of 0 km just as correct). Earth is just left of the 10,000 km line on both axis, and Earth has a diameter of 12,700 km, which will fit fine with the center of the dot, but not with the distance which should have been the maximum distance Randall could be from it (0 or 6350 km depending on the definition of distance from Randall).

The {{w|IAU definition of planet}} requires a solar orbit, gravitational rounding, and "clearing the neighborhood", a controversial (at the time of its introduction) calculation of relative size that excludes {{w|Kuiper Belt Objects}} such as Pluto. The calculation regarding Planet Nine would make it large enough to meet the IAU definition. Using this definition the chart quickly rules out birds and bugs, although at a glance they could be mistaken for planets, something that is especially the case for planes (at night) which are even called ''fool’s planets’'' in the chart, a reference to {{w|fool's Gold}}. Note that anything that is actually on Earth is positioned within 60 km from Randall. This is because if it is further away he cannot see them due to the curvature of the Earth. This does not mean that he intends to indicate that they cannot be further away from him than that.

The already known planets are prominently marked on the chart. They are the solid black dots. Besides Earth and ''Planet Nine?'', the bottom row of three small dots are {{w|Mercury (planet)|Mercury}}, {{w|Venus}} and {{w|Mars}}. The top row of four larger dots (but smaller than the dot that marks Earth) are (from left to right) {{w|Jupiter}} and {{w|Saturn}} (visible to the naked eye) and {{w|Uranus}} and Neptune (visible through a telescope).

It is unclear how Randall is calculating these distances, especially to the three {{w|terrestrial planets}}, since none of these options work: closest approach, average, mean, current or maximum distance. In the comic [[482: Height]] Randall shows (among other) the distance from the Earth's surface to all the planets. For especially Venus and Mars he shows that their distance changes a lot based on theirs and Earth's orbital positions. But he has used these loops to base neither the dot size nor position, as these loops clearly go closer than 1 AU and only one of the planets are drawn closer than that. It is thus unclear which of the three represents which planet, but in the '''[[#Table of items in the chart|table below]]''' it has been reasoned that the dot situated at the largest diameter of the three inner planets planets should represent Venus (12,000 km) as it is almost twice as big as Mars (6,700 km), which on the other hand is more similar to Mercury (5,000 km) and given that the two dots furthest out are almost the same size, it would make most sense if they represent Mercury and Mars. Since the outer dot never comes closer than 2.5 AU and Mercury never gets further away than 1.5 AU it makes most sense to place Mercury as the middle of the three and Mars as the outer of the three dots.

Below some objects are mentioned that are not on the chart, and also other errors in position (probably due the hasty creation of such a complex comic.) Many of these objects as well as the planets with the errors mentioned clearly revealed can be see in this '''[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/ef/Modified_possible_undiscovered_planets.png modified image]''', which is also inserted and explained [[#Image used to create data for the table|in the trivia section]] below.

Pluto, no longer considered a planet (it was the ninth until 2006), is not marked on the chart, but it would be below Neptune just outside the pink region (2,300 km diameter and 30-50 AU away). This makes sense since that region is for dwarf planets not yet discovered and any one as big and close as Pluto would have been discovered by now. There are thus also other dwarf planets that would not belong in the pink region, one of them is even much much closer and is easily visible with a telescope: {{w|Ceres (dwarf planet)|Ceres}}, which would appear roughly below Mars and Jupiter. (950 km diameter and 1.5-4 AU away from Earth). But this pink region is there to show where there could (and most likely will) still be undiscovered dwarf planets.

The {{w|Moon}} is also marked on the chart, with a gray dot (almost as large as the gas giants dots). The name is written in brackets since it's not a planet (because Earth is clogging up its neighborhood). Randall has messed up the positioning and the diameter of the Moon as it is clearly positioned past a million km, and it is only up to 400,000 km away from the Earth.

The Sun is not marked at all, even though it is extremely prominent, but as it is clearly not a planet it is left out. It would per definition have been at a distance of 1 AU, and with a diameter of 1.4x106 km it would be well inside the region of things that we can see during the day. Note that objects this big will always be shining, already a large planet such as Jupiter is [https://www.worldcat.org/title/jupiter-and-saturn/oclc/60393951&referer=brief_results brighter] than if it could reflect 100% of Sun's light. In general, ''planets ruled out because we would see them during the day'' refers to objects big enough to be {{w|stars}} or {{w|brown dwarfs}}, but {{w|List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs|the only star system}}, other than Sun, that would fit on the chart is {{w|Alpha Centauri}}, which at 4.37 {{w|light-years}} (ly) is well within the right boundary that falls at 5.68 ly, just before the distance to the next nearest star {{w|Barnard's Star}} at 5.96 ly from the Sun. A light year is 63,241 AU, and with the 10,000 AU mark far from the right edge of this log-log plot, it is clear that also 100,000 AU and thus a light year is within the chart. And this also goes for 5 ly.

"Planets ruled out by the WISE survey" refers to the {{w|Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer}} (WISE), a space telescope designed to look for warm objects such as brown dwarfs, which generate heat at their centers. It was capable of detecting Saturn-sized or larger planets in the outer reaches of our solar system, but did not find any. WISE would not have detected "Planet Nine" (even if it exists) because it is too small and thus too cold to be detected. There is a chance that it can be seen in some more temperature sensitive measurements. But these have not been checked for such a planet yet, (see [http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/01/feature-astronomers-say-neptune-sized-planet-lurks-unseen-solar-system here]).

The word ''satellites'' is written on the border of two regions indicating that these can be in both regions. Some are small enough (10 cm) to be comparable to the ''space junk'' below, (see {{w|cubesats}}), others are much bigger and would fit in the region above: ''Stuff we can see through telescopes''. Although it may not be called a satellite in daily talk, the {{w|International Space Station}} is in fact a satellite, which is over 100 m in the longest direction. It would thus be on the border to the ''Planets ruled out because I would have noticed them above my house'' region just above the "A" in ''satellites'' (400 km above the surface). Some satellites can be seen without a telescope, like the space station.

The title text explains why some people {{w|It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman|confuse Superman for a bird or a plane}}, since {{w|Superman}} often flies at the limit between the two categories in the diagram. This is though not really true as can be seen in the bottom of the table below. (This was later referenced in [[Bird/Plane/Superman]].)

===Table of items in the chart===
*This table lists the limits of all regions and dots in the image.
**Some of the more stretched out regions has also been split into two or three smaller parts.
**The planet dots has the limits from the edges of the circle the dots makes used for maximum and minimum limits.
*The table is sort-able, taking care of units even though these change throughout.
*The data has been read out using the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/ef/Modified_possible_undiscovered_planets.png image] inserted and explained [[#Image used to create data for the table|in the trivia section]].
**The image also shows the "correct position" of the planets and the Moon, and includes other objects discussed in the table and the explanation
**Note that superman is also drawn in on this image.
*The wiki links included below may have been used in the explanation above.
**They are only used once in this table though, but not necessarily the first time the word is used.
**Rather they are used in the section that has most to do with this object
***So Earth is first wiki-linked from the Earth dot
***And brown dwarfs first from the WISE region etc.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Regions and objects
! Min. distance
! Max. distance
! Min. diameter
! Max. diameter
! Explanation
|-
|{{w|Planets}} ruled out because I would be inside them||{{sort|012|1 cm}}||{{sort|02800|109 km}}||{{sort|0170|1 cm}}||{{sort|0440000|109 km}}||Planets that would either have Randall inside or, if smaller than Randall. would be inside Randall. Earth comes close since Randall is on its surface (most of the time). The line dividing this region from the'' Planets we see at night'' hits the Y-axis at 1 cm and then goes to the top at almost 10 AU. A dot representing Earth is on this line at around 12,700 km = Earth's diameter. This is strange since this means that Randall is 12,700 km from Earth. Of course this is how far he is from the far side of the Earth, but more logically it would either have been 6,350 km (from Earths center) or 1 cm, since his surface, that is his feet, touches Earth, except for the soles of his shoes.
|-
|Planets ruled out because they wouldn’t fit through my door||{{sort|0140|1 m}}||{{sort|012|60 m}}||{{sort|02300|1 m}}||{{sort|0190|60 m}}||As these "planets" are more than 1 m in diameter it is likely they would not fit through his door. It is assumed that if a planet were within 60 m from Randall that they would be within his house, but because objects in this triangle can't fit through his door,even though they should be in his house, they couldn't be in his house, and thus they can be ruled out (they do not exist). The real planets would of course also not fit through any door.
|-
|{{w|Birds}} that got into my house||{{sort|013|20 cm}}||{{sort|011|60 m}}||{{sort|0190|20 cm}}||{{sort|0140|1 m}}||Small birds that get into Randall's house. They are not planets… He has a fairly big house as they can be 60 m away from Randall (when he is inside) and still be inside his house.
|-
|Region with ''bugs'' and ''skin''||{{sort|011|1 cm}}||{{sort|0160|25 km}}||{{sort|011|0.15 mm}}||{{sort|012|20 cm}}||The ''giant bugs'' region is not inside this one, thus takes a cut out of the top right of this region. The bottom of the chart is at 0.15 mm. Only at the very bottom for very small items does the region stretch out beyond 10 km…
|-
|{{w|Bugs}} (Not planets)||{{sort|0160|10 m}}||{{sort|0130|1 km}}||{{sort|016|1 mm}}||{{sort|011|1 cm}}||This is only the approximate region where the words ''Bugs (not planets)'' are written. As the skin part probably is at the origin, the whole region is probably related to bugs. See above for the size of this region.
|-
|{{w|Skin flora}}||{{sort|010|1 cm}}||{{sort|010|1 cm}}||{{sort|010|0.15 mm}}||{{sort|010|0.15 mm}}||There is an arrow pointing to the corner of the diagram. The values are thus the same for min. and max. as it is a point value. Of course it may also mean that they are outside the chart, closer to Randall (i.e. on his skin) and smaller (i.e. they are not visible), but this is not clear.
|-
|{{w|Largest_organisms#Insects_.28Insecta.29|Giant}} {{w|Goliath birdeater|bugs}}||{{sort|0190|100 m}}||{{sort|0150|10 km}}||{{sort|0180|3 cm}}||{{sort|013|20 cm}}||Giant bugs are for Randall from about 5 cm. It seems like he tries to keep them at least 100 m away. The limit of 20 cm doesn't cover the range, as {{w|Giant huntsman spider|some spiders}} reach 30 cm leg span, and the length, with antenna, of {{w|Longhorn beetle|some insects}} may surpass 25 cm.
|-
|Planets which are {{w|List of largest birds|actually birds}}||{{sort|0170|60 m}}||{{sort|0170|45 km}}||{{sort|0200|20 cm}}||{{sort|0160|8 m}}||Birds bigger than the birds that can get into Randall’s house, and up to the biggest possible birds (and even bigger). These are so big that they actually look so much like planets that you have to be told that they are actually just birds.
|-
|{{w|Airplanes}} (Fool’s planets’)||{{sort|0200|200 m}}||{{sort|0180|60 km}}||{{sort|02700|8 m}}||{{sort|0200|100 m}}||Planes in the sky can often be mistaken for a planet, especially at night and at a distance. This may be a comment on {{w|fool's Gold}}, i.e. the metal Pyrite, that looks so much like gold that it is easy for people finding Pyrite to believe they have found gold. The same goes for airplanes and planets according to Randall
|-
|Region with ''Space junk'', ''Asteroids'' and ''Oort Cloud''||{{sort|02300|10 km}}||{{sort|04100000|5.7 ly}}||{{sort|014|0.15 mm}}||{{sort|02400|500 km}}||Space junk can get as close as 10 km from Randall and be of a sub millimeter size. And then the objects in the asteroid belt and Oort cloud that are not to be considered dwarf planets can be up to 500 km and can reach out to the next star as the edge of the graph is almost at 6 light-years (ly)
|-
|{{w|Space debris|Space junk}}||{{sort|02200|10 km}}||{{sort|02100|105 km}}||{{sort|012|0.15 mm}}||{{sort|0170|10 m}}||This is only the approximate region around where the words ''Space junk'' are written in this large region. From the left to halfway to the next label for ''comets and asteroids'' and the max diameter taken at this point
|-
|{{w|Comets}} and {{w|asteroids}}||{{sort|0280000|105 km}}||{{sort|0350000|100 AU}}||{{sort|013|0.15 mm}}||{{sort|02300|225 km}}||This is only the approximate region around where the words '''comets and asteroids''' is written in this large region. It goes from halfway to the previous label for ''Space junk'' and halfway to the next label for ''Oort cloud''. The max diameter is taken at this last point. A small part of this section just reaches into the Dwarf planet territory, making sense as {{w|Ceres}} is a dwarf planet in the {{w|asteroid belt}} which lies in this distance range. However, Ceres is much closer to Earth than the dwarf planet region. But that region is also the one where undiscovered dwarf planets should be! The main concentration of asteroids in the belt is between Mars and Jupiter. A very slim region in this log-log chart! Ceres is the only dwarf planet in the belt. The largest asteroid is {{w|4 Vesta|Vesta}} which is not gravitational rounded even with a diameter of 500 km. It would not fit inside this part of the chart due to its size (and distance of 2.4 AU). The best known comet is {{w|Halley's Comet}} which returns every 75 year (next time in 2061). At that time it is much closer to the Sun than Earth at just 0.6 AU, but in 7 years time when it is the farthest away it will be out at 35 AU, further out than Neptune. But is it only of the order of 10 km in diameter (11 km in mean, 8 km x 15 km). So it can only be seen when close to the sun for a few months. This comet would fit inside this region for most of the time, when it is more than 2 AU from the sun, above the word "and" near the top of this part of the region over that word.
|-
|{{w|Oort cloud}}||{{sort|045000000|1000 AU}}||{{sort|04000000|1 ly}}||{{sort|015|0.15 mm}}||{{sort|02500|500 km}}||For distance this is only the region where the words ''Oort cloud'' are written in this large region. This fits with the Wikipedia article that puts it in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oort_cloud#/media/File:PIA17046_-_Voyager_1_Goes_Interstellar.jpg this range] from 1000 AU to more than one light-year (ly). The Oort cloud is speculated to stretch as far as 2 ly out from the Sun. It may even be so that the far edges of the cloud overlaps with similar clouds from the nearby stars, which are 4-6 ly away.
|-
|{{w|Satellites}}||{{sort|02600|100 km}}||{{sort|02300|105 km}}||{{sort|02200|1 m}}||{{sort|0180|10 m}}||This is only the approximate region where the word ''Satellites'' is written. The words cross the border between the ''Space junk etc.'' region below and the ''Stuff we can see through telescopes'' region above. In principle it could thus go down into the space junk region and reach the 10 cm diameter of a {{w|cube sat}}, and up to the size of the {{w|International space station}} (100 m).
|-
|Stuff we can see through {{w|telescopes}}||{{sort|02500|60 km}}||{{sort|0370000|800 AU}}||{{sort|02600|1 m}}||{{sort|041000|430,000 km}}||The max and min. values are not very representative as the region follows a shifted diagonal. Close items can be seen with telescope even if they are small, and large object might not be visible if they are far enough away. Hence this section has been split in three, see below. At the top left of the region there are two dots representing Uranus and Neptune, the planets not visible to the naked eye.
|-
|Stuff we can see through telescopes (over ''satellites'')||{{sort|02400|60 km}}||{{sort|02200|105 km}}||{{sort|02400|1 m}}||{{sort|02100|1 km}}||This section has been split in three, see the entire region above. This is objects in the satellite range.
|-
|Stuff we can see through telescopes (over ''asteroids'')||{{sort|0300000|106 km}}||{{sort|030000|10 AU}}||{{sort|02800|30 m}}||{{sort|02800|20,000 km}}||This section has been split in three, see the entire region above. This is objects in the asteroids range.
|-
|Stuff we can see through telescopes (Past ''asteroids'')||{{sort|03800000|10 AU}}||{{sort|0380000|800 AU}}||{{sort|030000|100 km}}||{{sort|042000|430,000 km}}||This section has been split in three, see the entire region above. This is objects in the outer planet range. Here are also the two dots representing Uranus and Neptune, the planets not visible to the naked eye. The reason the upper cut of it at (almost) the same level through all this region it that if the "planets" got any bigger, then they would turn into brown dwarfs that could be seen during the day, or if they got even bigger they could even turn into a small star (or big star see below), and thus would be visible by day.
|-
|Region with both ''planets above house'' and ''visible at night''||{{sort|0180|60 m}}||{{sort|033000|43 AU}}||{{sort|02500|3.5 m}}||{{sort|038000|300,000 km}}||The max and min. values are not very representative as the region follows a shifted diagonal. Close items can be seen with the naked eye at night even if they are small, and large object might not be visible if they are far enough away. Hence this section has been split in two sections as there are two labels, see below. At the top left of the region there are five dots representing the five planets visible to the naked eye. Also the moon is shown with a gray dot (i.e. not a planet), this is more in the middle of the region, and finally the Earth is on the border to the region to the left, with planets that Randall would be inside if they did exist.
|-
|Planets ruled out because I would have noticed them above my house||{{sort|02100|1 km}}||{{sort|02000|105 km}}||{{sort|02900|100 m}}||{{sort|02200|10 km}}||This is only the approximate region around where the words of this part of the region are written in this large region. Just to show how much smaller the limits are in the small scale of the region. However, this entire region is about things that are visible at night, including the five planets and the moon. Those can be seen as labels for the dots, not another label for the region. Also Saturn is above Randall’s house when he sees it! Of course this also goes for any another bright object down to only 1 km above his house. But anyway planet or not he would be able to rule it out as a new planet, as if there were any that close and this big they would have been spotted long ago.
|-
|{{w|Classical_planet#Naked-eye_planets|Planets we can see at night}}||{{sort|0320000|108 km}}||{{sort|031000|10 AU}}||{{sort|035000|10,000 km}}||{{sort|040000|300,000 km}}||This is only the edges of the region of the five dots representing the five planets visible to the naked eye. They do belong to the region of planets Randall can spot from above his house, and as such this section may just be a label for the five planet dots, and not for any special part of the entire region. But the limits here are interesting to compare with the entire region or with that of the part with smaller dimensions as shown above. The reason the upper limit cut of at the same level through all this region it that if the "planets" got any bigger, then they would turn into brown dwarfs that could be seen during the day, or if they got bigger they could even turn into a small star (or big star see below), and thus would be visible by day.
|-
| style="background-color:pink;"| Dwarf planets||{{sort|03900000|13 AU}}||{{sort|04300000|5.7 ly}}||{{sort|031000|170 km}}||{{sort|02700|16,000 km}}||Dwarf planets can in principle be anywhere in the solar system. But this region is shaded pink as it only covers undiscovered dwarf planets (similar to undiscovered planets) and thus they should be at least a given distance away, before it is realistic they would not already have been discovered. Also they need to be a certain size to be able to round themselves under their own gravity. And if they are too big, it is not realistic that they are only dwarf planets. The region reaches out to the next star as the edge of the graph is almost at 6 light-years (ly)
|-
| style="background-color:#FF748C;"| '''{{w|Planets beyond Neptune|Possible undiscovered planets}}'''||{{sort|042000000|100 AU}}||{{sort|04400000|5.7 ly}}||{{sort|032000|3,600 km}}||{{sort|039000|300,000 km}}||This is the region the whole comic is about. The label is not written in this light red shaded region in order to leave space for the label for '''Planet Nine?'''. Instead the explanation is given with a label at a small rectangle at the top left with the same color. It is in this region there could still be undiscovered planets. They have to have a certain size to be a planet if they are this far away, and also have to be this far away before it is realistic they would not already have been discovered. If they were any bigger, it would be like with the other planet regions to the left, that they would turn into a brown dwarf, (or at least Saturn sized planet) and although maybe not visible with telescopes just above this size, they would have been spotted by the WISE survey (see below). The region reaches out to the next star as the edge of the graph is almost at 6 light-years (ly)
|-
|Planets ruled out by the {{w|Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer|WISE survey}}||{{sort|043000000|450 AU}}||{{sort|04500000|5.7 ly}}||{{sort|043000|70,000 km}}||{{sort|0430000|106 km}}||This region refers to the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), a {{w|space telescope}} designed to look for warm objects such as {{w|brown dwarf}}s, which generate heat at their centers. It was capable of detecting Saturn-sized or larger planets in the outer reaches of our solar system, but did not find any. WISE would not have detected "Planet Nine" (even if it exists) because it is too small and thus too cold to be detected. If the objects got any bigger than the upper limit they would turn into small stars, which would be visible during the night probably even with the naked eye. This region is the last section below the ''could see them during the day'' region. The WISE region reaches out to the next star as the edge of the graph is almost at 6 light-years (ly)
|-
|Planets ruled out because we would {{w|Star|see them during the day}}||{{sort|0290000|360,000 km}}||{{sort|04200000|5.7 ly}}||{{sort|0450000|360,000 km}}||{{sort|0450000|109 km}}||This region covers object that are either brown dwarfs close enough to us that we could see them (even by day) or if even bigger real stars, that would be closer to us than almost any other star system. The upper limit is at the top of the chart which almost reaches 10 AU. The {{w|Sun}} fits into this region (at 1 AU per definition and at 1.4x106 km), but is not depicted. It still fits in even when it turns into a {{w|red giant}}, after its main sequence when it has {{w|Sun#After_core_hydrogen_exhaustion|exhausted its hydrogen}}, then it will swell up to a diameter of 2 AU and not only swallow the two inner most planets but also likely reach out to Earth. But there are also stars swelling up to more than 10 AU ({{w|UY Scuti}} is {{w|List of largest stars|the largest}} known star, it has a diameter of almost 16 AU). The max. distance actually reaches the nearest star system of {{w|Alpha Centauri}}. And the biggest of those stars would be inside this last region, as it is 1.2 times bigger than the sun, and thus have a diameter of approximately 1.7 106 km, and they are "only" about 4,37 {{w|light-years}} (ly) away and the graph goes to 5.7 ly. But these stars are definitely not visible during the day. If the graph had stopped at 10,000 AU, at the last tick, this may have been true, but now it is an error, as stars in this entire region will not be visible during day time. But they would at night, if not by eye then by telescope. So no planets in this region, and also no undiscovered objects of that size!
|-
|Gray Dot: ({{w|Moon}})||{{sort|0310000|1.3x106 km}}||{{sort|02400|3x106 km}}||{{sort|033000|5,000 km}}||{{sort|02600|12,000 km}}||This dot represents the Moon. It is gray and moon is written in brackets to indicate that it is not a planet. Randall seems to have misplaced the dot completely. The Moon has a diameter of 3,400 km and the min limit is 5,000 km. It is even worse with the distance which is a factor 10 too large, at least at the max. The moon is on average 380,000 km from earth, and at the max distance is 406,700 km, to which Randall can add 6000 km when on the other side of the Earth to get him about 413,000 km from the Moon (but then he cannot see it). However, the minimum distance given is more than one million km, and thus more than a factor two of, and the max distance is almost a factor 10 off. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes.
|-
|Dot 1: {{w|Earth}}||{{sort|027000|12,000 km}}||{{sort|0190|32,000 km}}||{{sort|034000|12,000 km}}||{{sort|02900|23,000 km}}||This dot represents Earth. The Earth has a diameter of 12,700 km and Randall is on top of it, thus distance is zero. Thus the dot makes no sense. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes.
|-
|Dot 2: {{w|Venus}}||{{sort|03300000|0.8 AU}}||{{sort|025000|1.2 AU}}||{{sort|038000|15,000 km}}||{{sort|03200|30,000 km}}||This dot either represents Mercury or Venus, as they are the one closest to 1 AU from Earth. Mercury comes closest to this limit as it never gets far from the sun and thus also never strays far from being 1 AU from the Earth. The range of distances from Earth is from 0.5 to 1.5 AU, with Venus coming close to this with a range from 0.25 to 1.7 AU. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes. And for the distance this is within the limits for both Venus and Mercury's orbit. However, the diameter of Mercury is only 5,000 km and this does not fit well, so from that principle it fits better with Venus. But Venus can be much longer from the Earth when on the other side of the sun, and with a diameter of 12,000 km it doesn't even fit well with Venus. However, since Mars, the third planet is much closer in diameter to Mercury than Venus with 6,700 km, and two of the dots are of equal and smaller size, it makes most sense that this planet is Venus.
|-
|Dot 3: {{w|Mercury (planet)|Mercury}}||{{sort|03400000|1.2 AU}}||{{sort|026000|2.3 AU}}||{{sort|037000|12,000 km}}||{{sort|03100|25,000 km}}||This dot either represents Mercury or Venus, as they are the one closest to Earth. Venus can get closer to the Earth when they are on the same side of the sun. The range of distances from Earth is from 0.25 to 1.7 AU. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes. The distance for this dot fits equally bad with both planets. The diameter is smaller than before, but it is still way too big for Mercury’s 5,000 km and it is not too small but just at the limit of the 12,000 km of Venus. This does thus fit better with Venus on both parameters. But Mercury is similar in size to Mars, the third dot, and the second and third dot are at the same diameter, which makes it more likely that the larger diameter for dot 2, should belong to Venus, making this dot Mercury.
|-
|Dot 4: {{w|Mars}}||{{sort|03500000|2.5 AU}}||{{sort|027000|4.7 AU}}||{{sort|036000|12,000 km}}||{{sort|03000|23,000 km}}||This dot represents Mars. Mars has a diameter of 6,700 km and, so here it is set to at least double its diameter. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes. The range of distances from Earth is from 0.4 to 2.7 AU. The min distance at least is lower than 2.7 AU thus making this the dot that fits best with Mars. Because putting Mercury at a dot well past 2 AU would simply not make any sense, even though Mars can actually get closer to Earth than Mercury.
|-
|Dot 5: {{w|Jupiter}}||{{sort|03600000|2.6 AU}}||{{sort|029000|6.7 AU}}||{{sort|0440000|100,000 km}}||{{sort|037000|240,000 km}}||This dot represents Jupiter. Jupiter has a diameter of 140,000 km so it falls within the range. The distances from the sun is about 5 AU and thus from the Earth it ranges from about 4 to 6 AU. This dot thus fit nicely on both parameters with the largest planet. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes.
|-
|Dot 6: {{w|Saturn}}||{{sort|03700000|6.7 AU}}||{{sort|032000|13 AU}}||{{sort|042000|53,000 km}}||{{sort|036000|126,000 km}}||This dot represents Saturn. Saturn has a diameter of 120,000 km so it falls within the range. The distances from the sun is about 9-10 AU and thus from the Earth it ranges from about 8 to 11 AU. This dot thus fit nicely on both parameters with the 2nd largest planet. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes.
|-
|Dot 7: {{w|Uranus}}||{{sort|04000000|21 AU}}||{{sort|034000|43 AU}}||{{sort|041000|38,000 km}}||{{sort|035000|83,000 km}}||This dot represents Uranus. Uranus has a diameter of 50,000 km so it falls within the range. The distances from the sun is about 18-20 AU and thus from the Earth it ranges from about 17 to 21 AU. This dot thus just reaches down to this distance, but it is within the limits on both parameters. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes.
|-
|Dot 8: {{w|Neptune}}||{{sort|04100000|45 AU}}||{{sort|0360000|100 AU}}||{{sort|040000|37,000 km}}||{{sort|03400|83,000 km}}||This dot represents Neptune. Neptune has a diameter of 49,000 km so it falls within the range. The distances from the sun is about 30 AU and thus from the Earth it ranges from about 29 to 31 AU. This dot is thus too far out on this parameter. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes.
|-
|Dot 9: '''{{w|Planet Nine}}?'''||{{sort|044000000|700 AU}}||{{sort|0390000|1550 AU}}||{{sort|039000|21,000 km}}||{{sort|03300|50,000 km}}||This is the dot representing the possible undiscovered planet that is the reason for this entire comic. As it is only speculations made on well documented features of dwarf planets' orbits, nothing much is known. But the guess is that it has a diameter between 26,000 and 52,000 km (fine with the dots min and max) and although it could get into 200 AU this may take thousands of years, and it is expected that it will be further out than 700 AU most of the time going all the way out to 1200 AU, so this dot fits perfectly with the newest estimates.
|-
|{{w|Superman}} (title text)||{{sort|0150|1 m}}||{{sort|0140|10 km}}||{{sort|0210|50 cm}}||{{sort|0150|2 m}}||The limits are set as Arms length away (shaking hands with Randall), and he cannot be seen much more than 10 km away (like for big birds). He is about 2 m high and 0.5 m over the shoulder. This does not fit very well with the title text, as he is not even near the plane limit, but still at a distance it can be hard to tell if the flying object is a plane far away (on Earth scale) or a man closer or a small bird really close.
|}

==Transcript==
:[Caption above the chart.]
:<big>'''Possible Undiscovered Planets'''</big>
:in our Solar System
:By <big>'''size'''</big> and <big>'''distance'''</big> (from me)

:[A chart of possible undiscovered planets with a log-log plot, with the objects diameter on the y-axis and the distance from “me” (Randall) on the X-axis. Both axes are labeled and have several ticks most of which also have labels. A region to the right, with possible new planets including Planet 9 with a “?”, is shaded light red, and a small rectangle at the top left with the same color tells what this color means. The region, of undiscovered dwarf planets, is shaded pink, also to indicate that here may be more of these, but the lighter color indicate that these will not be new “planets”. The eight known planets are marked with a black dot, and also this is explained with a dot under the colored rectangle. The Moon is indicated with a similar dot, but in gray, and the name is in brackets. The chart itself is divided into several labeled regions, the smallest with the label outside and an arrow pointing in. In one case a label breaks a border, and in two regions there are more labels, although these clearly belong to different regions within these regions, with different sizes and/or distances.]

:[Y-axis, with a label written to the left, from bottom and up, with an arrow pointing up, and 15 ticks with a label each:]
:Diameter
:1 mm
:1 cm
:10 cm
:1 m
:10 m
:100 m
:1 km
:10 km
:100 km
:1,000 km
:10,000 km
:100,000 km
:106 km
:107 km
:1 AU

:[X-axis, with a label written below, with an arrow pointing right, and 17 ticks but only 11 labels as the ticks at 100 km, between 1000 and 106 km, 107 km as well as 10 and 1000 AU is not labeled:]
:Distance from me
:10 cm
:1 m
:10 m
:100 m
:1 km
:10 km
:1000 km
:106 km
:1 AU
:100 AU
:10,000 AU

:[At the top left of the chart is the light-red rectangle and the black dot labeled:]
:Possible undiscovered planets
:Known planets

:[Going down and anti-clockwise from these two labels, the rest of the chart is transcribed:]
:Planets ruled out because I would be inside them
::Earth
:Planets ruled out because I would have noticed them above my house
:Planets ruled out because they wouldn’t fit through my door
:Birds that got into my house
:Skin flora
:<big>Bugs</big>
::(Not planets)
:Giant bugs
:Planets which are actually birds
:Airplanes
:(Fool’s planets’)
:<big>Space junk</big>
:<big>Comets and asteroids</big>
:<big>Oort cloud</big>
:<big>Satellites</big>
:Stuff we can see through telescopes
:Planets we can see at night
::(Moon)
:Dwarf planets
:Planet Nine?
::?
:Planets ruled out by the WISE survey
:Planets ruled out because we would see them during the day

==Trivia==
===Image used to create data for the table===
*This image was used for obtaining the data in [[#Table of items in the chart|the table above]].
*The image was created in a power-point slide show and moving lines along and reading out the position gave the values, with the help of Excel.
**The lines going all through the image goes through existing ticks on the axes
**Lines not going all the way out to the axes are not over existing ticks
**Values for the lines have been added both for those without ticks but also for ticks without values in the comic.
**Lines have been color coded, so red for metric, green for AU and purple for units that is not used in the comic.
*Superman has been drawn in as best as possible in blue (should probably have gone out to 10 km as for big birds, and closer by for a hug).
*An updated version with many more details have been added since the first version.
**See more details [[#Info on new version|below]] the image.
[[File:Modified_possible_undiscovered_planets.png|750px]]
====Info on new version====
*New features in the image include more precisely marked dots of the planets and other objects.
*The dots used for planets or objects are always larger than the diameter range, and centered on the average diameter and average distance.
**All the diameters used here have been taken from the relevant Wikipedia page.
**The same orange color has been used for all planets and the Moon, except when two planets are too close on the log-log plot to be clearly distinct if the same color, then one is brown for only this reason.
***To avoid snide remarks Uranus is not one of those marked with brown…
**Dwarf planets and the like are pink
**The comet is also in brown as it is too close to other pink dots
**Images have been used for the suns two states and a yellow dot for the only other star.
*Distance:
*Earth can have three different distances from Randall which have all been marked:
**No distance because he is standing on top of it
**The radius (or the center of mass), since this is the average distance Randall is from the Earth
**Or the diameter (which is used in the comic) as the farthest distance from Randall is the opposite side of the Earth.
**Data:
***For the seven planets (and Pluto) the distance range and average distance from Earth has been taken from [http://distancefrom.facts.co/earthtomercury/distancebetweenearthandmercury.php this page]
****Which needs to be opened as a new page to not return to this page.
***For other objects the range has been taken from the relevant Wikipedia page
**The Moon’s distance range is small enough to be within the dot.
**For the four outer planets the dots will as a minimum cover the range from lowest to highest distance from Earth
**For the three terrestrial planets the distance varies so much that a bar has been added through the dot placed at the average distance, to indicate the range of distances.
*The original dot for planet nine covers the range of diameters (at the top just, and then further down at the bottom.)
**The distance is centered on 1000 AU and it is expected to be between 700 and 1200 AU away, which is covered by the dot.
**But it could be as close as 200 AU. But if it where we should have detected it by now.
*There are several planets/objects that are very far from the mark.
**The moon is far off on both parameters.
**All three terrestrial planets are way off.
***Except of course if the 2nd planet is Venus, then the deviation for that one would not be too bad.
***But it would not make sense to make Mercury bigger than Venus and it thus just seems that all three are far off the mark
**Jupiter is spot on, Saturn not far away and Uranus close enough.
***But Neptune is so close to Uranus on both parameters on the log-log plot, that this probably explains why it has been placed quite of the mark distance wise.
*Extra additions:
**Pluto has been included and it is not within the pink Dwarf planet region.
***This makes sense as it has been discovered, and any object this large and that close would have been discovered by now.
***Thus again indicating that this region is the region of Possible Undiscovered '''Dwarf''' Planets.
**Ceres and Vesta have been included and they are not within the asteroids region
***As they can be seen in telescopes and are the two largest objects in the belt this makes sense.
***Their distance range is indicated with bars and ranges this wide since their distance from Earth depend drastically on which side of the sun they are.
**Halley's Comet has been added and here a large bar is needed to indicate the distance.
***The distance from the sun has been used, as it can get very close to the Earth when passing it on the way in.
**The International Space Station has been included
***The distance range is given as the height above Earths surface which the line just covers (i.e. not distance from Randall when it is on the other side of the Earth.)
***The diameter is ranging from the height of 20 m to the width of 108 m (length 73 m).
**The Sun has been inserted
***Also when it becomes a red giant
***This is a case where an actual real object would put Randall inside them. As can be seen the Sun as a red giant would be in the ''Planets ruled out because I would be inside them'', as it in the end will reach a diameter of about 2 AU, it will thus reach out to Earth (as the radius is 1AU).
***Again the way this zone is depicted using diameter rather than radius makes no sense, since the 2 AU diameter sun would only just reach out to Earth, and not out to Mars. It would make more sense to locate the red star on the boarder of this zone, which would have been the case if Randall had used radius rather than diameter.
**The nearest star, Alpha Centauri A, has also been included.
***Thus only the largest of the three stars in that star system is shown.
**The other two stars are smaller than the sun, and the same distance away when compared to the total distance.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Telescopes]]
[[Category:Animals]]

1633: Possible Undiscovered Planets

2025-10-01T11:40:49Z

Chronotix: /* Table of items in the chart */

{{comic
| number = 1633
| date = January 22, 2016
| title = Possible Undiscovered Planets
| image = possible_undiscovered_planets.png
| titletext = Superman lies near the bird/plane boundary over a range of distances, which explains the confusion.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is about {{w|Planet Nine}}, a possible {{w|Neptune}}-sized {{w|planet}} far beyond the farthest planet, {{w|Neptune}}. Astronomers {{w|Michael E. Brown|Mike Brown}} and {{w|Konstantin Batygin}} published a paper on 2016-01-20, only two days before the release of this comic. The paper is called ''[http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/0004-6256/151/2/22 Evidence for a Distant Giant Planet in the Solar System]'' and shows indirect evidence that such a planet may exist, inferred from an otherwise unlikely correlation between the unusual orbits of several {{w|dwarf planets}}. See for instance also explanations, for the layman, of the results here: ''[http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/01/feature-astronomers-say-neptune-sized-planet-lurks-unseen-solar-system Astronomers say a Neptune-sized planet lurks beyond Pluto]'' and ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGfv3Oay_pY Planet X Discovered??]''

As this paper came out on the day of the previous comic's release ([[1632: Palindrome]]), this comic's release day was the first release day after the news came out. This explains why this comic was released in the late afternoon rather than just past midnight as is often the case with normal releases.
Once [[Randall]] heard this news, he had to decide to do this comic instead of the scheduled comic, and then invent and draw a completely new and actually very complicated comic (resulting in [[#Info on new version|several position errors]]) about "{{w|Planet X}}" before he could release this comic.

Now this planet could be called Planet IX (and is labeled ''Planet nine?'' on the chart), as {{w|Pluto}}, the previously "planet 9" has been degraded to a dwarf planet. The "X" did, however, not only refer to the roman numeral! Note that Mike Brown is the astronomer that {{w|How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming|killed Pluto}}, or at least reduced Pluto to a dwarf planet, something that has been a subject in [[xkcd]] before; see for instance [[473: Still Raw]].

This was the first of two times within a month where a new astronomical announcement (of something discovered months before the actual announcement) resulted in a related comic. The second being [[1642: Gravitational Waves]]. But in that case Randall seemed to know about it in advance, as he even changed the normal release schedule to post the comic on the day of the announcement, unlike here, where he seems to have been forced to make a new comic up on the fly.

Stating the obvious, this {{w|log–log plot}} shows that for an object to be an unknown planet it has to be very far away, since planets are big, to explain why we haven't seen it yet. With the log scale it is possible to go from a diameter of less than 1 mm to an {{w|astronomical unit}} (AU) on the Y-axis and from a distance of just 1 cm up to thousands of AU on the X-axis.

Randall's chart is somewhat humorously parochial (if not downright {{w|egocentric}}) in that it purports to measure distance not "from Earth" or from an arbitrary observer, but specifically from himself ("from me"). There is also more detail (e.g. a differentiation between bird, bugs, and skin flora) in the zone closest to the observer, somewhat reminiscent of the classic New Yorker cover illustration ''{{W|View of the World from 9th Avenue}}''.

The distance calculations are somewhat problematic (see more on this below). Close distances seem to be measured from the surface of Randall's body (skin/eyes) rather than from his center of mass. All the planets (and moon) that are marked on the chart are so far away that it will not matter if the distance is measured from Randall's surface, his center of mass, or by the way anywhere on {{w|Earth}}. Also, the planets' diameters are so much smaller than the distance from Earth that their real size would hardly take up any space in the chart due to the {{w|Logarithmic scale|log-scale}}. The dots marking these 7 planets are thus not drawn to scale that should represent their actual size compared with the other planets. But their distance from Earth (and Randall) is not constant even on the log-scale, especially not for the nearest planets, as they can be on either side of the {{w|Sun}} compared to Earth.

The chart correctly states that if there was a planet that was at a distance from him smaller than its diameter, he would be inside it (although at the bottom of that region, it's more like the planet that would be inside him, as this line goes down to a diameter of 1 cm). If the distance is to the planets center, this would also fit if he was only a radius away from the planet. As Randall is not inside the Earth but really close to it, Earth is correctly positioned on this line. However, for Earth, which is marked with the largest of the dots, he seems to have put himself a full Earth diameter away from Earth. Even using the center of mass of Earth as its position he should only have been 6,350 km away from it, but now he places the measuring point of his distance to Earth on the opposite side of the Earth so his distance to it is equal to its diameter (which would make a choosing a distance of 0 km just as correct). Earth is just left of the 10,000 km line on both axis, and Earth has a diameter of 12,700 km, which will fit fine with the center of the dot, but not with the distance which should have been the maximum distance Randall could be from it (0 or 6350 km depending on the definition of distance from Randall).

The {{w|IAU definition of planet}} requires a solar orbit, gravitational rounding, and "clearing the neighborhood", a controversial (at the time of its introduction) calculation of relative size that excludes {{w|Kuiper Belt Objects}} such as Pluto. The calculation regarding Planet Nine would make it large enough to meet the IAU definition. Using this definition the chart quickly rules out birds and bugs, although at a glance they could be mistaken for planets, something that is especially the case for planes (at night) which are even called ''fool’s planets’'' in the chart, a reference to {{w|fool's Gold}}. Note that anything that is actually on Earth is positioned within 60 km from Randall. This is because if it is further away he cannot see them due to the curvature of the Earth. This does not mean that he intends to indicate that they cannot be further away from him than that.

The already known planets are prominently marked on the chart. They are the solid black dots. Besides Earth and ''Planet Nine?'', the bottom row of three small dots are {{w|Mercury (planet)|Mercury}}, {{w|Venus}} and {{w|Mars}}. The top row of four larger dots (but smaller than the dot that marks Earth) are (from left to right) {{w|Jupiter}} and {{w|Saturn}} (visible to the naked eye) and {{w|Uranus}} and Neptune (visible through a telescope).

It is unclear how Randall is calculating these distances, especially to the three {{w|terrestrial planets}}, since none of these options work: closest approach, average, mean, current or maximum distance. In the comic [[482: Height]] Randall shows (among other) the distance from the Earth's surface to all the planets. For especially Venus and Mars he shows that their distance changes a lot based on theirs and Earth's orbital positions. But he has used these loops to base neither the dot size nor position, as these loops clearly go closer than 1 AU and only one of the planets are drawn closer than that. It is thus unclear which of the three represents which planet, but in the '''[[#Table of items in the chart|table below]]''' it has been reasoned that the dot situated at the largest diameter of the three inner planets planets should represent Venus (12,000 km) as it is almost twice as big as Mars (6,700 km), which on the other hand is more similar to Mercury (5,000 km) and given that the two dots furthest out are almost the same size, it would make most sense if they represent Mercury and Mars. Since the outer dot never comes closer than 2.5 AU and Mercury never gets further away than 1.5 AU it makes most sense to place Mercury as the middle of the three and Mars as the outer of the three dots.

Below some objects are mentioned that are not on the chart, and also other errors in position (probably due the hasty creation of such a complex comic.) Many of these objects as well as the planets with the errors mentioned clearly revealed can be see in this '''[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/ef/Modified_possible_undiscovered_planets.png modified image]''', which is also inserted and explained [[#Image used to create data for the table|in the trivia section]] below.

Pluto, no longer considered a planet (it was the ninth until 2006), is not marked on the chart, but it would be below Neptune just outside the pink region (2,300 km diameter and 30-50 AU away). This makes sense since that region is for dwarf planets not yet discovered and any one as big and close as Pluto would have been discovered by now. There are thus also other dwarf planets that would not belong in the pink region, one of them is even much much closer and is easily visible with a telescope: {{w|Ceres (dwarf planet)|Ceres}}, which would appear roughly below Mars and Jupiter. (950 km diameter and 1.5-4 AU away from Earth). But this pink region is there to show where there could (and most likely will) still be undiscovered dwarf planets.

The {{w|Moon}} is also marked on the chart, with a gray dot (almost as large as the gas giants dots). The name is written in brackets since it's not a planet (because Earth is clogging up its neighborhood). Randall has messed up the positioning and the diameter of the Moon as it is clearly positioned past a million km, and it is only up to 400,000 km away from the Earth.

The Sun is not marked at all, even though it is extremely prominent, but as it is clearly not a planet it is left out. It would per definition have been at a distance of 1 AU, and with a diameter of 1.4x106 km it would be well inside the region of things that we can see during the day. Note that objects this big will always be shining, already a large planet such as Jupiter is [https://www.worldcat.org/title/jupiter-and-saturn/oclc/60393951&referer=brief_results brighter] than if it could reflect 100% of Sun's light. In general, ''planets ruled out because we would see them during the day'' refers to objects big enough to be {{w|stars}} or {{w|brown dwarfs}}, but {{w|List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs|the only star system}}, other than Sun, that would fit on the chart is {{w|Alpha Centauri}}, which at 4.37 {{w|light-years}} (ly) is well within the right boundary that falls at 5.68 ly, just before the distance to the next nearest star {{w|Barnard's Star}} at 5.96 ly from the Sun. A light year is 63,241 AU, and with the 10,000 AU mark far from the right edge of this log-log plot, it is clear that also 100,000 AU and thus a light year is within the chart. And this also goes for 5 ly.

"Planets ruled out by the WISE survey" refers to the {{w|Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer}} (WISE), a space telescope designed to look for warm objects such as brown dwarfs, which generate heat at their centers. It was capable of detecting Saturn-sized or larger planets in the outer reaches of our solar system, but did not find any. WISE would not have detected "Planet Nine" (even if it exists) because it is too small and thus too cold to be detected. There is a chance that it can be seen in some more temperature sensitive measurements. But these have not been checked for such a planet yet, (see [http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/01/feature-astronomers-say-neptune-sized-planet-lurks-unseen-solar-system here]).

The word ''satellites'' is written on the border of two regions indicating that these can be in both regions. Some are small enough (10 cm) to be comparable to the ''space junk'' below, (see {{w|cubesats}}), others are much bigger and would fit in the region above: ''Stuff we can see through telescopes''. Although it may not be called a satellite in daily talk, the {{w|International Space Station}} is in fact a satellite, which is over 100 m in the longest direction. It would thus be on the border to the ''Planets ruled out because I would have noticed them above my house'' region just above the "A" in ''satellites'' (400 km above the surface). Some satellites can be seen without a telescope, like the space station.

The title text explains why some people {{w|It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman|confuse Superman for a bird or a plane}}, since {{w|Superman}} often flies at the limit between the two categories in the diagram. This is though not really true as can be seen in the bottom of the table below. (This was later referenced in [[Bird/Plane/Superman]].)

===Table of items in the chart===
*This table lists the limits of all regions and dots in the image.
**Some of the more stretched out regions has also been split into two or three smaller parts.
**The planet dots has the limits from the edges of the circle the dots makes used for maximum and minimum limits.
*The table is sort-able, taking care of units even though these change throughout.
*The data has been read out using the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/ef/Modified_possible_undiscovered_planets.png image] inserted and explained [[#Image used to create data for the table|in the trivia section]].
**The image also shows the "correct position" of the planets and the Moon, and includes other objects discussed in the table and the explanation
**Note that superman is also drawn in on this image.
*The wiki links included below may have been used in the explanation above.
**They are only used once in this table though, but not necessarily the first time the word is used.
**Rather they are used in the section that has most to do with this object
***So Earth is first wiki-linked from the Earth dot
***And brown dwarfs first from the WISE region etc.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Regions and objects
! Min. distance
! Max. distance
! Min. diameter
! Max. diameter
! Explanation
|-
|{{w|Planets}} ruled out because I would be inside them||{{sort|012|1 cm}}||{{sort|02800|109 km}}||{{sort|0170|1 cm}}||{{sort|0440000|109 km}}||Planets that would either have Randall inside or, if smaller than Randall. would be inside Randall. Earth comes close since Randall is on its surface (most of the time). The line dividing this region from the'' Planets we see at night'' hits the Y-axis at 1 cm and then goes to the top at almost 10 AU. A dot representing Earth is on this line at around 12,700 km = Earth's diameter. This is strange since this means that Randall is 12,700 km from Earth. Of course this is how far he is from the far side of the Earth, but more logically it would either have been 6,350 km (from Earths center) or 1 cm, since his surface, that is his feet, touches Earth, except for the soles of his shoes.
|-
|Planets ruled out because they wouldn’t fit through my door||{{sort|0140|1 m}}||{{sort|012|60 m}}||{{sort|02300|1 m}}||{{sort|0190|60 m}}||As these "planets" are more than 1 m in diameter it is likely they would not fit through his door. It is assumed that if a planet were within 60 m from Randall that they would be within his house, but because objects in this triangle can't fit through his door,even though they should be in his house, they couldn't be in his house, and thus they can be ruled out (they do not exist). The real planets would of course also not fit through any door.
|-
|{{w|Birds}} that got into my house||{{sort|013|20 cm}}||{{sort|011|60 m}}||{{sort|0190|20 cm}}||{{sort|0140|1 m}}||Small birds that get into Randall's house. They are not planets… He has a fairly big house as they can be 60 m away from Randall (when he is inside) and still be inside his house.
|-
|Region with ''bugs'' and ''skin''||{{sort|011|1 cm}}||{{sort|0160|25 km}}||{{sort|011|0.15 mm}}||{{sort|012|20 cm}}||The ''giant bugs'' region is not inside this one, thus takes a cut out of the top right of this region. The bottom of the chart is at 0.15 mm. Only at the very bottom for very small items does the region stretch out beyond 10 km…
|-
|{{w|Bugs}} (Not planets)||{{sort|0160|10 m}}||{{sort|0130|1 km}}||{{sort|016|1 mm}}||{{sort|011|1 cm}}||This is only the approximate region where the words ''Bugs (not planets)'' are written. As the skin part probably is at the origin, the whole region is probably related to bugs. See above for the size of this region.
|-
|{{w|Skin flora}}||{{sort|010|1 cm}}||{{sort|010|1 cm}}||{{sort|010|0.15 mm}}||{{sort|010|0.15 mm}}||There is an arrow pointing to the corner of the diagram. The values are thus the same for min. and max. as it is a point value. Of course it may also mean that they are outside the chart, closer to Randall (i.e. on his skin) and smaller (i.e. they are not visible), but this is not clear.
|-
|{{w|Largest_organisms#Insects_.28Insecta.29|Giant}} {{w|Goliath birdeater|bugs}}||{{sort|0190|100 m}}||{{sort|0150|10 km}}||{{sort|0180|3 cm}}||{{sort|013|20 cm}}||Giant bugs are for Randall from about 5 cm. It seems like he tries to keep them at least 100 m away. The limit of 20 cm doesn't cover the range, as {{w|Giant huntsman spider|some spiders}} reach 30 cm leg span, and the length, with antenna, of {{w|Longhorn beetle|some insects}} may surpass 25 cm.
|-
|Planets which are {{w|List of largest birds|actually birds}}||{{sort|0170|60 m}}||{{sort|0170|45 km}}||{{sort|0200|20 cm}}||{{sort|0160|8 m}}||Birds bigger than the birds that can get into Randall’s house, and up to the biggest possible birds (and even bigger). These are so big that they actually look so much like planets that you have to be told that they are actually just birds.
|-
|{{w|Airplanes}} (Fool’s planets’)||{{sort|0200|200 m}}||{{sort|0180|60 km}}||{{sort|02700|8 m}}||{{sort|0200|100 m}}||Planes in the sky can often be mistaken for a planet, especially at night and at a distance. This may be a comment on {{w|fool's Gold}}, i.e. the metal Pyrite, that looks so much like gold that it is easy for people finding Pyrite to believe they have found gold. The same goes for airplanes and planets according to Randall
|-
|Region with ''Space junk'', ''Asteroids'' and ''Oort Cloud''||{{sort|02300|10 km}}||{{sort|04100000|5.7 ly}}||{{sort|014|0.15 mm}}||{{sort|02400|500 km}}||Space junk can get as close as 10 km from Randall and be of a sub millimeter size. And then the objects in the asteroid belt and Oort cloud that are not to be considered dwarf planets can be up to 500 km and can reach out to the next star as the edge of the graph is almost at 6 light-years (ly)
|-
|{{w|Space debris|Space junk}}||{{sort|02200|10 km}}||{{sort|02100|105 km}}||{{sort|012|0.15 mm}}||{{sort|0170|10 m}}||This is only the approximate region around where the words ''Space junk'' are written in this large region. From the left to halfway to the next label for ''comets and asteroids'' and the max diameter taken at this point
|-
|{{w|Comets}} and {{w|asteroids}}||{{sort|0280000|105 km}}||{{sort|0350000|100 AU}}||{{sort|013|0.15 mm}}||{{sort|02300|225 km}}||This is only the approximate region around where the words '''comets and asteroids''' is written in this large region. It goes from halfway to the previous label for ''Space junk'' and halfway to the next label for ''Oort cloud''. The max diameter is taken at this last point. A small part of this section just reaches into the Dwarf planet territory, making sense as {{w|Ceres}} is a dwarf planet in the {{w|asteroid belt}} which lies in this distance range. However, Ceres is much closer to Earth than the dwarf planet region. But that region is also the one where undiscovered dwarf planets should be! The main concentration of asteroids in the belt is between Mars and Jupiter. A very slim region in this log-log chart! Ceres is the only dwarf planet in the belt. The largest asteroid is {{w|4 Vesta|Vesta}} which is not gravitational rounded even with a diameter of 500 km. It would not fit inside this part of the chart due to its size (and distance of 2.4 AU). The best known comet is {{w|Halley's Comet}} which returns every 75 year (next time in 2061). At that time it is much closer to the Sun than Earth at just 0.6 AU, but in 7 years time when it is the farthest away it will be out at 35 AU, further out than Neptune. But is it only of the order of 10 km in diameter (11 km in mean, 8 km x 15 km). So it can only be seen when close to the sun for a few months. This comet would fit inside this region for most of the time, when it is more than 2 AU from the sun, above the word "and" near the top of this part of the region over that word.
|-
|{{w|Oort cloud}}||{{sort|045000000|1000 AU}}||{{sort|04000000|1 ly}}||{{sort|015|0.15 mm}}||{{sort|02500|500 km}}||For distance this is only the region where the words ''Oort cloud'' are written in this large region. This fits with the Wikipedia article that puts it in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oort_cloud#/media/File:PIA17046_-_Voyager_1_Goes_Interstellar.jpg this range] from 1000 AU to more than one light-year (ly). The Oort cloud is speculated to stretch as far as 2 ly out from the Sun. It may even be so that the far edges of the cloud overlaps with similar clouds from the nearby stars, which are 4-6 ly away.
|-
|{{w|Satellites}}||{{sort|02600|100 km}}||{{sort|02300|105 km}}||{{sort|02200|1 m}}||{{sort|0180|10 m}}||This is only the approximate region where the word ''Satellites'' is written. The words cross the border between the ''Space junk etc.'' region below and the ''Stuff we can see through telescopes'' region above. In principle it could thus go down into the space junk region and reach the 10 cm diameter of a {{w|cube sat}}, and up to the size of the {{w|International space station}} (100 m).
|-
|Stuff we can see through {{w|telescopes}}||{{sort|02500|60 km}}||{{sort|0370000|800 AU}}||{{sort|02600|1 m}}||{{sort|041000|430,000 km}}||The max and min. values are not very representative as the region follows a shifted diagonal. Close items can be seen with telescope even if they are small, and large object might not be visible if they are far enough away. Hence this section has been split in three, see below. At the top left of the region there are two dots representing Uranus and Neptune, the planets not visible to the naked eye.
|-
|Stuff we can see through telescopes (over ''satellites'')||{{sort|02400|60 km}}||{{sort|02200|105 km}}||{{sort|02400|1 m}}||{{sort|02100|1 km}}||This section has been split in three, see the entire region above. This is objects in the satellite range.
|-
|Stuff we can see through telescopes (over ''asteroids'')||{{sort|0300000|106 km}}||{{sort|030000|10 AU}}||{{sort|02800|30 m}}||{{sort|02800|20,000 km}}||This section has been split in three, see the entire region above. This is objects in the asteroids range.
|-
|Stuff we can see through telescopes (Past ''asteroids'')||{{sort|03800000|10 AU}}||{{sort|0380000|800 AU}}||{{sort|030000|100 km}}||{{sort|042000|430,000 km}}||This section has been split in three, see the entire region above. This is objects in the outer planet range. Here are also the two dots representing Uranus and Neptune, the planets not visible to the naked eye. The reason the upper cut of it at (almost) the same level through all this region it that if the "planets" got any bigger, then they would turn into brown dwarfs that could be seen during the day, or if they got even bigger they could even turn into a small star (or big star see below), and thus would be visible by day.
|-
|Region with both ''planets above house'' and ''visible at night''||{{sort|0180|60 m}}||{{sort|033000|43 AU}}||{{sort|02500|3.5 m}}||{{sort|038000|300,000 km}}||The max and min. values are not very representative as the region follows a shifted diagonal. Close items can be seen with the naked eye at night even if they are small, and large object might not be visible if they are far enough away. Hence this section has been split in two sections as there are two labels, see below. At the top left of the region there are five dots representing the five planets visible to the naked eye. Also the moon is shown with a gray dot (i.e. not a planet), this is more in the middle of the region, and finally the Earth is on the border to the region to the left, with planets that Randall would be inside if they did exist.
|-
|Planets ruled out because I would have noticed them above my house||{{sort|02100|1 km}}||{{sort|02000|105 km}}||{{sort|02900|100 m}}||{{sort|02200|10 km}}||This is only the approximate region around where the words of this part of the region are written in this large region. Just to show how much smaller the limits are in the small scale of the region. However, this entire region is about things that are visible at night, including the five planets and the moon. Those can be seen as labels for the dots, not another label for the region. Also Saturn is above Randall’s house when he sees it! Of course this also goes for any another bright object down to only 1 km above his house. But anyway planet or not he would be able to rule it out as a new planet, as if there were any that close and this big they would have been spotted long ago.
|-
|{{w|Classical_planet#Naked-eye_planets|Planets we can see at night}}||{{sort|0320000|108 km}}||{{sort|031000|10 AU}}||{{sort|035000|10,000 km}}||{{sort|040000|300,000 km}}||This is only the edges of the region of the five dots representing the five planets visible to the naked eye. They do belong to the region of planets Randall can spot from above his house, and as such this section may just be a label for the five planet dots, and not for any special part of the entire region. But the limits here are interesting to compare with the entire region or with that of the part with smaller dimensions as shown above. The reason the upper limit cut of at the same level through all this region it that if the "planets" got any bigger, then they would turn into brown dwarfs that could be seen during the day, or if they got bigger they could even turn into a small star (or big star see below), and thus would be visible by day.
|-
| style="background-color:pink;"| Dwarf planets||{{sort|03900000|13 AU}}||{{sort|04300000|5.7 ly}}||{{sort|031000|170 km}}||{{sort|02700|16,000 km}}||Dwarf planets can in principle be anywhere in the solar system. But this region is shaded pink as it only covers undiscovered dwarf planets (similar to undiscovered planets) and thus they should be at least a given distance away, before it is realistic they would not already have been discovered. Also they need to be a certain size to be able to round themselves under their own gravity. And if they are too big, it is not realistic that they are only dwarf planets. The region reaches out to the next star as the edge of the graph is almost at 6 light-years (ly)
|-
| style="background-color:#FF748C;"| '''{{w|Planets beyond Neptune|Possible undiscovered planets}}'''||{{sort|042000000|100 AU}}||{{sort|04400000|5.7 ly}}||{{sort|032000|3,600 km}}||{{sort|039000|300,000 km}}||This is the region the whole comic is about. The label is not written in this light red shaded region in order to leave space for w the label for '''Planet Nine?'''. Instead the explanation is given with a label at a small rectangle at the top left with the same color. It is in this region there could still be undiscovered planets. They have to have a certain size to be a planet if they are this far away, and also have to be this far away before it is realistic they would not already have been discovered. If they were any bigger, it would be like with the other planet regions to the left, that they would turn into a brown dwarf, (or at least Saturn sized planet) and although maybe not visible with telescopes just above this size, they would have been spotted by the WISE survey (see below). The region reaches out to the next star as the edge of the graph is almost at 6 light-years (ly)
|-
|Planets ruled out by the {{w|Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer|WISE survey}}||{{sort|043000000|450 AU}}||{{sort|04500000|5.7 ly}}||{{sort|043000|70,000 km}}||{{sort|0430000|106 km}}||This region refers to the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), a {{w|space telescope}} designed to look for warm objects such as {{w|brown dwarf}}s, which generate heat at their centers. It was capable of detecting Saturn-sized or larger planets in the outer reaches of our solar system, but did not find any. WISE would not have detected "Planet Nine" (even if it exists) because it is too small and thus too cold to be detected. If the objects got any bigger than the upper limit they would turn into small stars, which would be visible during the night probably even with the naked eye. This region is the last section below the ''could see them during the day'' region. The WISE region reaches out to the next star as the edge of the graph is almost at 6 light-years (ly)
|-
|Planets ruled out because we would {{w|Star|see them during the day}}||{{sort|0290000|360,000 km}}||{{sort|04200000|5.7 ly}}||{{sort|0450000|360,000 km}}||{{sort|0450000|109 km}}||This region covers object that are either brown dwarfs close enough to us that we could see them (even by day) or if even bigger real stars, that would be closer to us than almost any other star system. The upper limit is at the top of the chart which almost reaches 10 AU. The {{w|Sun}} fits into this region (at 1 AU per definition and at 1.4x106 km), but is not depicted. It still fits in even when it turns into a {{w|red giant}}, after its main sequence when it has {{w|Sun#After_core_hydrogen_exhaustion|exhausted its hydrogen}}, then it will swell up to a diameter of 2 AU and not only swallow the two inner most planets but also likely reach out to Earth. But there are also stars swelling up to more than 10 AU ({{w|UY Scuti}} is {{w|List of largest stars|the largest}} known star, it has a diameter of almost 16 AU). The max. distance actually reaches the nearest star system of {{w|Alpha Centauri}}. And the biggest of those stars would be inside this last region, as it is 1.2 times bigger than the sun, and thus have a diameter of approximately 1.7 106 km, and they are "only" about 4,37 {{w|light-years}} (ly) away and the graph goes to 5.7 ly. But these stars are definitely not visible during the day. If the graph had stopped at 10,000 AU, at the last tick, this may have been true, but now it is an error, as stars in this entire region will not be visible during day time. But they would at night, if not by eye then by telescope. So no planets in this region, and also no undiscovered objects of that size!
|-
|Gray Dot: ({{w|Moon}})||{{sort|0310000|1.3x106 km}}||{{sort|02400|3x106 km}}||{{sort|033000|5,000 km}}||{{sort|02600|12,000 km}}||This dot represents the Moon. It is gray and moon is written in brackets to indicate that it is not a planet. Randall seems to have misplaced the dot completely. The Moon has a diameter of 3,400 km and the min limit is 5,000 km. It is even worse with the distance which is a factor 10 too large, at least at the max. The moon is on average 380,000 km from earth, and at the max distance is 406,700 km, to which Randall can add 6000 km when on the other side of the Earth to get him about 413,000 km from the Moon (but then he cannot see it). However, the minimum distance given is more than one million km, and thus more than a factor two of, and the max distance is almost a factor 10 off. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes.
|-
|Dot 1: {{w|Earth}}||{{sort|027000|12,000 km}}||{{sort|0190|32,000 km}}||{{sort|034000|12,000 km}}||{{sort|02900|23,000 km}}||This dot represents Earth. The Earth has a diameter of 12,700 km and Randall is on top of it, thus distance is zero. Thus the dot makes no sense. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes.
|-
|Dot 2: {{w|Venus}}||{{sort|03300000|0.8 AU}}||{{sort|025000|1.2 AU}}||{{sort|038000|15,000 km}}||{{sort|03200|30,000 km}}||This dot either represents Mercury or Venus, as they are the one closest to 1 AU from Earth. Mercury comes closest to this limit as it never gets far from the sun and thus also never strays far from being 1 AU from the Earth. The range of distances from Earth is from 0.5 to 1.5 AU, with Venus coming close to this with a range from 0.25 to 1.7 AU. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes. And for the distance this is within the limits for both Venus and Mercury's orbit. However, the diameter of Mercury is only 5,000 km and this does not fit well, so from that principle it fits better with Venus. But Venus can be much longer from the Earth when on the other side of the sun, and with a diameter of 12,000 km it doesn't even fit well with Venus. However, since Mars, the third planet is much closer in diameter to Mercury than Venus with 6,700 km, and two of the dots are of equal and smaller size, it makes most sense that this planet is Venus.
|-
|Dot 3: {{w|Mercury (planet)|Mercury}}||{{sort|03400000|1.2 AU}}||{{sort|026000|2.3 AU}}||{{sort|037000|12,000 km}}||{{sort|03100|25,000 km}}||This dot either represents Mercury or Venus, as they are the one closest to Earth. Venus can get closer to the Earth when they are on the same side of the sun. The range of distances from Earth is from 0.25 to 1.7 AU. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes. The distance for this dot fits equally bad with both planets. The diameter is smaller than before, but it is still way too big for Mercury’s 5,000 km and it is not too small but just at the limit of the 12,000 km of Venus. This does thus fit better with Venus on both parameters. But Mercury is similar in size to Mars, the third dot, and the second and third dot are at the same diameter, which makes it more likely that the larger diameter for dot 2, should belong to Venus, making this dot Mercury.
|-
|Dot 4: {{w|Mars}}||{{sort|03500000|2.5 AU}}||{{sort|027000|4.7 AU}}||{{sort|036000|12,000 km}}||{{sort|03000|23,000 km}}||This dot represents Mars. Mars has a diameter of 6,700 km and, so here it is set to at least double its diameter. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes. The range of distances from Earth is from 0.4 to 2.7 AU. The min distance at least is lower than 2.7 AU thus making this the dot that fits best with Mars. Because putting Mercury at a dot well past 2 AU would simply not make any sense, even though Mars can actually get closer to Earth than Mercury.
|-
|Dot 5: {{w|Jupiter}}||{{sort|03600000|2.6 AU}}||{{sort|029000|6.7 AU}}||{{sort|0440000|100,000 km}}||{{sort|037000|240,000 km}}||This dot represents Jupiter. Jupiter has a diameter of 140,000 km so it falls within the range. The distances from the sun is about 5 AU and thus from the Earth it ranges from about 4 to 6 AU. This dot thus fit nicely on both parameters with the largest planet. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes.
|-
|Dot 6: {{w|Saturn}}||{{sort|03700000|6.7 AU}}||{{sort|032000|13 AU}}||{{sort|042000|53,000 km}}||{{sort|036000|126,000 km}}||This dot represents Saturn. Saturn has a diameter of 120,000 km so it falls within the range. The distances from the sun is about 9-10 AU and thus from the Earth it ranges from about 8 to 11 AU. This dot thus fit nicely on both parameters with the 2nd largest planet. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes.
|-
|Dot 7: {{w|Uranus}}||{{sort|04000000|21 AU}}||{{sort|034000|43 AU}}||{{sort|041000|38,000 km}}||{{sort|035000|83,000 km}}||This dot represents Uranus. Uranus has a diameter of 50,000 km so it falls within the range. The distances from the sun is about 18-20 AU and thus from the Earth it ranges from about 17 to 21 AU. This dot thus just reaches down to this distance, but it is within the limits on both parameters. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes.
|-
|Dot 8: {{w|Neptune}}||{{sort|04100000|45 AU}}||{{sort|0360000|100 AU}}||{{sort|040000|37,000 km}}||{{sort|03400|83,000 km}}||This dot represents Neptune. Neptune has a diameter of 49,000 km so it falls within the range. The distances from the sun is about 30 AU and thus from the Earth it ranges from about 29 to 31 AU. This dot is thus too far out on this parameter. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes.
|-
|Dot 9: '''{{w|Planet Nine}}?'''||{{sort|044000000|700 AU}}||{{sort|0390000|1550 AU}}||{{sort|039000|21,000 km}}||{{sort|03300|50,000 km}}||This is the dot representing the possible undiscovered planet that is the reason for this entire comic. As it is only speculations made on well documented features of dwarf planets' orbits, nothing much is known. But the guess is that it has a diameter between 26,000 and 52,000 km (fine with the dots min and max) and although it could get into 200 AU this may take thousands of years, and it is expected that it will be further out than 700 AU most of the time going all the way out to 1200 AU, so this dot fits perfectly with the newest estimates.
|-
|{{w|Superman}} (title text)||{{sort|0150|1 m}}||{{sort|0140|10 km}}||{{sort|0210|50 cm}}||{{sort|0150|2 m}}||The limits are set as Arms length away (shaking hands with Randall), and he cannot be seen much more than 10 km away (like for big birds). He is about 2 m high and 0.5 m over the shoulder. This does not fit very well with the title text, as he is not even near the plane limit, but still at a distance it can be hard to tell if the flying object is a plane far away (on Earth scale) or a man closer or a small bird really close.
|}

==Transcript==
:[Caption above the chart.]
:<big>'''Possible Undiscovered Planets'''</big>
:in our Solar System
:By <big>'''size'''</big> and <big>'''distance'''</big> (from me)

:[A chart of possible undiscovered planets with a log-log plot, with the objects diameter on the y-axis and the distance from “me” (Randall) on the X-axis. Both axes are labeled and have several ticks most of which also have labels. A region to the right, with possible new planets including Planet 9 with a “?”, is shaded light red, and a small rectangle at the top left with the same color tells what this color means. The region, of undiscovered dwarf planets, is shaded pink, also to indicate that here may be more of these, but the lighter color indicate that these will not be new “planets”. The eight known planets are marked with a black dot, and also this is explained with a dot under the colored rectangle. The Moon is indicated with a similar dot, but in gray, and the name is in brackets. The chart itself is divided into several labeled regions, the smallest with the label outside and an arrow pointing in. In one case a label breaks a border, and in two regions there are more labels, although these clearly belong to different regions within these regions, with different sizes and/or distances.]

:[Y-axis, with a label written to the left, from bottom and up, with an arrow pointing up, and 15 ticks with a label each:]
:Diameter
:1 mm
:1 cm
:10 cm
:1 m
:10 m
:100 m
:1 km
:10 km
:100 km
:1,000 km
:10,000 km
:100,000 km
:106 km
:107 km
:1 AU

:[X-axis, with a label written below, with an arrow pointing right, and 17 ticks but only 11 labels as the ticks at 100 km, between 1000 and 106 km, 107 km as well as 10 and 1000 AU is not labeled:]
:Distance from me
:10 cm
:1 m
:10 m
:100 m
:1 km
:10 km
:1000 km
:106 km
:1 AU
:100 AU
:10,000 AU

:[At the top left of the chart is the light-red rectangle and the black dot labeled:]
:Possible undiscovered planets
:Known planets

:[Going down and anti-clockwise from these two labels, the rest of the chart is transcribed:]
:Planets ruled out because I would be inside them
::Earth
:Planets ruled out because I would have noticed them above my house
:Planets ruled out because they wouldn’t fit through my door
:Birds that got into my house
:Skin flora
:<big>Bugs</big>
::(Not planets)
:Giant bugs
:Planets which are actually birds
:Airplanes
:(Fool’s planets’)
:<big>Space junk</big>
:<big>Comets and asteroids</big>
:<big>Oort cloud</big>
:<big>Satellites</big>
:Stuff we can see through telescopes
:Planets we can see at night
::(Moon)
:Dwarf planets
:Planet Nine?
::?
:Planets ruled out by the WISE survey
:Planets ruled out because we would see them during the day

==Trivia==
===Image used to create data for the table===
*This image was used for obtaining the data in [[#Table of items in the chart|the table above]].
*The image was created in a power-point slide show and moving lines along and reading out the position gave the values, with the help of Excel.
**The lines going all through the image goes through existing ticks on the axes
**Lines not going all the way out to the axes are not over existing ticks
**Values for the lines have been added both for those without ticks but also for ticks without values in the comic.
**Lines have been color coded, so red for metric, green for AU and purple for units that is not used in the comic.
*Superman has been drawn in as best as possible in blue (should probably have gone out to 10 km as for big birds, and closer by for a hug).
*An updated version with many more details have been added since the first version.
**See more details [[#Info on new version|below]] the image.
[[File:Modified_possible_undiscovered_planets.png|750px]]
====Info on new version====
*New features in the image include more precisely marked dots of the planets and other objects.
*The dots used for planets or objects are always larger than the diameter range, and centered on the average diameter and average distance.
**All the diameters used here have been taken from the relevant Wikipedia page.
**The same orange color has been used for all planets and the Moon, except when two planets are too close on the log-log plot to be clearly distinct if the same color, then one is brown for only this reason.
***To avoid snide remarks Uranus is not one of those marked with brown…
**Dwarf planets and the like are pink
**The comet is also in brown as it is too close to other pink dots
**Images have been used for the suns two states and a yellow dot for the only other star.
*Distance:
*Earth can have three different distances from Randall which have all been marked:
**No distance because he is standing on top of it
**The radius (or the center of mass), since this is the average distance Randall is from the Earth
**Or the diameter (which is used in the comic) as the farthest distance from Randall is the opposite side of the Earth.
**Data:
***For the seven planets (and Pluto) the distance range and average distance from Earth has been taken from [http://distancefrom.facts.co/earthtomercury/distancebetweenearthandmercury.php this page]
****Which needs to be opened as a new page to not return to this page.
***For other objects the range has been taken from the relevant Wikipedia page
**The Moon’s distance range is small enough to be within the dot.
**For the four outer planets the dots will as a minimum cover the range from lowest to highest distance from Earth
**For the three terrestrial planets the distance varies so much that a bar has been added through the dot placed at the average distance, to indicate the range of distances.
*The original dot for planet nine covers the range of diameters (at the top just, and then further down at the bottom.)
**The distance is centered on 1000 AU and it is expected to be between 700 and 1200 AU away, which is covered by the dot.
**But it could be as close as 200 AU. But if it where we should have detected it by now.
*There are several planets/objects that are very far from the mark.
**The moon is far off on both parameters.
**All three terrestrial planets are way off.
***Except of course if the 2nd planet is Venus, then the deviation for that one would not be too bad.
***But it would not make sense to make Mercury bigger than Venus and it thus just seems that all three are far off the mark
**Jupiter is spot on, Saturn not far away and Uranus close enough.
***But Neptune is so close to Uranus on both parameters on the log-log plot, that this probably explains why it has been placed quite of the mark distance wise.
*Extra additions:
**Pluto has been included and it is not within the pink Dwarf planet region.
***This makes sense as it has been discovered, and any object this large and that close would have been discovered by now.
***Thus again indicating that this region is the region of Possible Undiscovered '''Dwarf''' Planets.
**Ceres and Vesta have been included and they are not within the asteroids region
***As they can be seen in telescopes and are the two largest objects in the belt this makes sense.
***Their distance range is indicated with bars and ranges this wide since their distance from Earth depend drastically on which side of the sun they are.
**Halley's Comet has been added and here a large bar is needed to indicate the distance.
***The distance from the sun has been used, as it can get very close to the Earth when passing it on the way in.
**The International Space Station has been included
***The distance range is given as the height above Earths surface which the line just covers (i.e. not distance from Randall when it is on the other side of the Earth.)
***The diameter is ranging from the height of 20 m to the width of 108 m (length 73 m).
**The Sun has been inserted
***Also when it becomes a red giant
***This is a case where an actual real object would put Randall inside them. As can be seen the Sun as a red giant would be in the ''Planets ruled out because I would be inside them'', as it in the end will reach a diameter of about 2 AU, it will thus reach out to Earth (as the radius is 1AU).
***Again the way this zone is depicted using diameter rather than radius makes no sense, since the 2 AU diameter sun would only just reach out to Earth, and not out to Mars. It would make more sense to locate the red star on the boarder of this zone, which would have been the case if Randall had used radius rather than diameter.
**The nearest star, Alpha Centauri A, has also been included.
***Thus only the largest of the three stars in that star system is shown.
**The other two stars are smaller than the sun, and the same distance away when compared to the total distance.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Telescopes]]
[[Category:Animals]]

1633: Possible Undiscovered Planets

2025-10-01T11:36:47Z

Chronotix: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1633
| date = January 22, 2016
| title = Possible Undiscovered Planets
| image = possible_undiscovered_planets.png
| titletext = Superman lies near the bird/plane boundary over a range of distances, which explains the confusion.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is about {{w|Planet Nine}}, a possible {{w|Neptune}}-sized {{w|planet}} far beyond the farthest planet, {{w|Neptune}}. Astronomers {{w|Michael E. Brown|Mike Brown}} and {{w|Konstantin Batygin}} published a paper on 2016-01-20, only two days before the release of this comic. The paper is called ''[http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/0004-6256/151/2/22 Evidence for a Distant Giant Planet in the Solar System]'' and shows indirect evidence that such a planet may exist, inferred from an otherwise unlikely correlation between the unusual orbits of several {{w|dwarf planets}}. See for instance also explanations, for the layman, of the results here: ''[http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/01/feature-astronomers-say-neptune-sized-planet-lurks-unseen-solar-system Astronomers say a Neptune-sized planet lurks beyond Pluto]'' and ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGfv3Oay_pY Planet X Discovered??]''

As this paper came out on the day of the previous comic's release ([[1632: Palindrome]]), this comic's release day was the first release day after the news came out. This explains why this comic was released in the late afternoon rather than just past midnight as is often the case with normal releases.
Once [[Randall]] heard this news, he had to decide to do this comic instead of the scheduled comic, and then invent and draw a completely new and actually very complicated comic (resulting in [[#Info on new version|several position errors]]) about "{{w|Planet X}}" before he could release this comic.

Now this planet could be called Planet IX (and is labeled ''Planet nine?'' on the chart), as {{w|Pluto}}, the previously "planet 9" has been degraded to a dwarf planet. The "X" did, however, not only refer to the roman numeral! Note that Mike Brown is the astronomer that {{w|How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming|killed Pluto}}, or at least reduced Pluto to a dwarf planet, something that has been a subject in [[xkcd]] before; see for instance [[473: Still Raw]].

This was the first of two times within a month where a new astronomical announcement (of something discovered months before the actual announcement) resulted in a related comic. The second being [[1642: Gravitational Waves]]. But in that case Randall seemed to know about it in advance, as he even changed the normal release schedule to post the comic on the day of the announcement, unlike here, where he seems to have been forced to make a new comic up on the fly.

Stating the obvious, this {{w|log–log plot}} shows that for an object to be an unknown planet it has to be very far away, since planets are big, to explain why we haven't seen it yet. With the log scale it is possible to go from a diameter of less than 1 mm to an {{w|astronomical unit}} (AU) on the Y-axis and from a distance of just 1 cm up to thousands of AU on the X-axis.

Randall's chart is somewhat humorously parochial (if not downright {{w|egocentric}}) in that it purports to measure distance not "from Earth" or from an arbitrary observer, but specifically from himself ("from me"). There is also more detail (e.g. a differentiation between bird, bugs, and skin flora) in the zone closest to the observer, somewhat reminiscent of the classic New Yorker cover illustration ''{{W|View of the World from 9th Avenue}}''.

The distance calculations are somewhat problematic (see more on this below). Close distances seem to be measured from the surface of Randall's body (skin/eyes) rather than from his center of mass. All the planets (and moon) that are marked on the chart are so far away that it will not matter if the distance is measured from Randall's surface, his center of mass, or by the way anywhere on {{w|Earth}}. Also, the planets' diameters are so much smaller than the distance from Earth that their real size would hardly take up any space in the chart due to the {{w|Logarithmic scale|log-scale}}. The dots marking these 7 planets are thus not drawn to scale that should represent their actual size compared with the other planets. But their distance from Earth (and Randall) is not constant even on the log-scale, especially not for the nearest planets, as they can be on either side of the {{w|Sun}} compared to Earth.

The chart correctly states that if there was a planet that was at a distance from him smaller than its diameter, he would be inside it (although at the bottom of that region, it's more like the planet that would be inside him, as this line goes down to a diameter of 1 cm). If the distance is to the planets center, this would also fit if he was only a radius away from the planet. As Randall is not inside the Earth but really close to it, Earth is correctly positioned on this line. However, for Earth, which is marked with the largest of the dots, he seems to have put himself a full Earth diameter away from Earth. Even using the center of mass of Earth as its position he should only have been 6,350 km away from it, but now he places the measuring point of his distance to Earth on the opposite side of the Earth so his distance to it is equal to its diameter (which would make a choosing a distance of 0 km just as correct). Earth is just left of the 10,000 km line on both axis, and Earth has a diameter of 12,700 km, which will fit fine with the center of the dot, but not with the distance which should have been the maximum distance Randall could be from it (0 or 6350 km depending on the definition of distance from Randall).

The {{w|IAU definition of planet}} requires a solar orbit, gravitational rounding, and "clearing the neighborhood", a controversial (at the time of its introduction) calculation of relative size that excludes {{w|Kuiper Belt Objects}} such as Pluto. The calculation regarding Planet Nine would make it large enough to meet the IAU definition. Using this definition the chart quickly rules out birds and bugs, although at a glance they could be mistaken for planets, something that is especially the case for planes (at night) which are even called ''fool’s planets’'' in the chart, a reference to {{w|fool's Gold}}. Note that anything that is actually on Earth is positioned within 60 km from Randall. This is because if it is further away he cannot see them due to the curvature of the Earth. This does not mean that he intends to indicate that they cannot be further away from him than that.

The already known planets are prominently marked on the chart. They are the solid black dots. Besides Earth and ''Planet Nine?'', the bottom row of three small dots are {{w|Mercury (planet)|Mercury}}, {{w|Venus}} and {{w|Mars}}. The top row of four larger dots (but smaller than the dot that marks Earth) are (from left to right) {{w|Jupiter}} and {{w|Saturn}} (visible to the naked eye) and {{w|Uranus}} and Neptune (visible through a telescope).

It is unclear how Randall is calculating these distances, especially to the three {{w|terrestrial planets}}, since none of these options work: closest approach, average, mean, current or maximum distance. In the comic [[482: Height]] Randall shows (among other) the distance from the Earth's surface to all the planets. For especially Venus and Mars he shows that their distance changes a lot based on theirs and Earth's orbital positions. But he has used these loops to base neither the dot size nor position, as these loops clearly go closer than 1 AU and only one of the planets are drawn closer than that. It is thus unclear which of the three represents which planet, but in the '''[[#Table of items in the chart|table below]]''' it has been reasoned that the dot situated at the largest diameter of the three inner planets planets should represent Venus (12,000 km) as it is almost twice as big as Mars (6,700 km), which on the other hand is more similar to Mercury (5,000 km) and given that the two dots furthest out are almost the same size, it would make most sense if they represent Mercury and Mars. Since the outer dot never comes closer than 2.5 AU and Mercury never gets further away than 1.5 AU it makes most sense to place Mercury as the middle of the three and Mars as the outer of the three dots.

Below some objects are mentioned that are not on the chart, and also other errors in position (probably due the hasty creation of such a complex comic.) Many of these objects as well as the planets with the errors mentioned clearly revealed can be see in this '''[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/ef/Modified_possible_undiscovered_planets.png modified image]''', which is also inserted and explained [[#Image used to create data for the table|in the trivia section]] below.

Pluto, no longer considered a planet (it was the ninth until 2006), is not marked on the chart, but it would be below Neptune just outside the pink region (2,300 km diameter and 30-50 AU away). This makes sense since that region is for dwarf planets not yet discovered and any one as big and close as Pluto would have been discovered by now. There are thus also other dwarf planets that would not belong in the pink region, one of them is even much much closer and is easily visible with a telescope: {{w|Ceres (dwarf planet)|Ceres}}, which would appear roughly below Mars and Jupiter. (950 km diameter and 1.5-4 AU away from Earth). But this pink region is there to show where there could (and most likely will) still be undiscovered dwarf planets.

The {{w|Moon}} is also marked on the chart, with a gray dot (almost as large as the gas giants dots). The name is written in brackets since it's not a planet (because Earth is clogging up its neighborhood). Randall has messed up the positioning and the diameter of the Moon as it is clearly positioned past a million km, and it is only up to 400,000 km away from the Earth.

The Sun is not marked at all, even though it is extremely prominent, but as it is clearly not a planet it is left out. It would per definition have been at a distance of 1 AU, and with a diameter of 1.4x106 km it would be well inside the region of things that we can see during the day. Note that objects this big will always be shining, already a large planet such as Jupiter is [https://www.worldcat.org/title/jupiter-and-saturn/oclc/60393951&referer=brief_results brighter] than if it could reflect 100% of Sun's light. In general, ''planets ruled out because we would see them during the day'' refers to objects big enough to be {{w|stars}} or {{w|brown dwarfs}}, but {{w|List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs|the only star system}}, other than Sun, that would fit on the chart is {{w|Alpha Centauri}}, which at 4.37 {{w|light-years}} (ly) is well within the right boundary that falls at 5.68 ly, just before the distance to the next nearest star {{w|Barnard's Star}} at 5.96 ly from the Sun. A light year is 63,241 AU, and with the 10,000 AU mark far from the right edge of this log-log plot, it is clear that also 100,000 AU and thus a light year is within the chart. And this also goes for 5 ly.

"Planets ruled out by the WISE survey" refers to the {{w|Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer}} (WISE), a space telescope designed to look for warm objects such as brown dwarfs, which generate heat at their centers. It was capable of detecting Saturn-sized or larger planets in the outer reaches of our solar system, but did not find any. WISE would not have detected "Planet Nine" (even if it exists) because it is too small and thus too cold to be detected. There is a chance that it can be seen in some more temperature sensitive measurements. But these have not been checked for such a planet yet, (see [http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/01/feature-astronomers-say-neptune-sized-planet-lurks-unseen-solar-system here]).

The word ''satellites'' is written on the border of two regions indicating that these can be in both regions. Some are small enough (10 cm) to be comparable to the ''space junk'' below, (see {{w|cubesats}}), others are much bigger and would fit in the region above: ''Stuff we can see through telescopes''. Although it may not be called a satellite in daily talk, the {{w|International Space Station}} is in fact a satellite, which is over 100 m in the longest direction. It would thus be on the border to the ''Planets ruled out because I would have noticed them above my house'' region just above the "A" in ''satellites'' (400 km above the surface). Some satellites can be seen without a telescope, like the space station.

The title text explains why some people {{w|It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman|confuse Superman for a bird or a plane}}, since {{w|Superman}} often flies at the limit between the two categories in the diagram. This is though not really true as can be seen in the bottom of the table below. (This was later referenced in [[Bird/Plane/Superman]].)

===Table of items in the chart===
*This table lists the limits of all regions and dots in the image.
**Some of the more stretched out regions has also been split into two or three smaller parts.
**The planet dots has the limits from the edges of the circle the dots makes used for maximum and minimum limits.
*The table is sort-able, taking care of units even though these change throughout.
*The data has been read out using the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/ef/Modified_possible_undiscovered_planets.png image] inserted and explained [[#Image used to create data for the table|in the trivia section]].
**The image also shows the "correct position" of the planets and the Moon, and includes other objects discussed in the table and the explanation
**Note that superman is also drawn in on this image.
*The wiki links included below may have been used in the explanation above.
**They are only used once in this table though, but not necessarily the first time the word is used.
**Rather they are used in the section that has most to do with this object
***So Earth is first wiki-linked from the Earth dot
***And brown dwarfs first from the WISE region etc.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Regions and objects
! Min. distance
! Max. distance
! Min. diameter
! Max. diameter
! Explanation
|-
|{{w|Planets}} ruled out because I would be inside them||{{sort|012|1 cm}}||{{sort|02800|109 km}}||{{sort|0170|1 cm}}||{{sort|0440000|109 km}}||Planets that would either have Randall inside or, if smaller than Randall. would be inside Randall. Earth comes close since Randall is on its surface (most of the time). The line dividing this region from the'' Planets we see at night'' hits the Y-axis at 1 cm and then goes to the top at almost 10 AU. A dot representing Earth is on this line at around 12,700 km = Earth's diameter. This is strange since this means that Randall is 12,700 km from Earth. Of course this is how far he is from the far side of the Earth, but more logically it would either have been 6,350 km (from Earths center) or 1 cm, since his surface, that is his feet, touches Earth, except for the soles of his shoes.
|-
|Planets ruled out because they wouldn’t fit through my door||{{sort|0140|1 m}}||{{sort|012|60 m}}||{{sort|02300|1 m}}||{{sort|0190|60 m}}||As these "planets" are more than 1 m in diameter it is likely they would not fit through his door. It is assumed that if a planet were within 60 m from Randall that they would be within his house, but because objects in this triangle can't fit through his door,even though they should be in his house, they couldn't be in his house, and thus they can be ruled out (they do not exist). The real planets would of course also not fit through any door.
|-
|{{w|Birds}} that got into my house||{{sort|013|20 cm}}||{{sort|011|60 m}}||{{sort|0190|20 cm}}||{{sort|0140|1 m}}||Small birds that get into Randall's house. They are not planets… He has a fairly big house as they can be 60 m away from Randall (when he is inside) and still be inside his house.
|-
|Region with ''bugs'' and ''skin''||{{sort|011|1 cm}}||{{sort|0160|25 km}}||{{sort|011|0.15 mm}}||{{sort|012|20 cm}}||The ''giant bugs'' region is not inside this one, thus takes a cut out of the top right of this region. The bottom of the chart is at 0.15 mm. Only at the very bottom for very small items does the region stretch out beyond 10 km…
|-
|{{w|Bugs}} (Not planets)||{{sort|0160|10 m}}||{{sort|0130|1 km}}||{{sort|016|1 mm}}||{{sort|011|1 cm}}||This is only the approximate region where the words ''Bugs (not planets)'' are written. As the skin part probably is at the origin, the whole region is probably related to bugs. See above for the size of this region.
|-
|{{w|Skin flora}}||{{sort|010|1 cm}}||{{sort|010|1 cm}}||{{sort|010|0.15 mm}}||{{sort|010|0.15 mm}}||There is an arrow pointing to the corner of the diagram. The values are thus the same for min. and max. as it is a point value. Of course it may also mean that they are outside the chart, closer to Randall (i.e. on his skin) and smaller (i.e. they are not visible), but this is not clear.
|-
|{{w|Largest_organisms#Insects_.28Insecta.29|Giant}} {{w|Goliath birdeater|bugs}}||{{sort|0190|100 m}}||{{sort|0150|10 km}}||{{sort|0180|3 cm}}||{{sort|013|20 cm}}||Giant bugs are for Randall from about 5 cm. It seems like he tries to keep them at least 100 m away. The limit of 20 cm doesn't cover the range, as {{w|Giant huntsman spider|some spiders}} reach 30 cm leg span, and the length, with antenna, of {{w|Longhorn beetle|some insects}} may surpass 25 cm.
|-
|Planets which are {{w|List of largest birds|actually birds}}||{{sort|0170|60 m}}||{{sort|0170|45 km}}||{{sort|0200|20 cm}}||{{sort|0160|8 m}}||Birds bigger than the birds that can get into Randall’s house, and up to the biggest possible birds (and even bigger). These are so big that they actually look so much like planets that you have to be told that they are actually just birds.
|-
|{{w|Airplanes}} (Fool’s planets’)||{{sort|0200|200 m}}||{{sort|0180|60 km}}||{{sort|02700|8 m}}||{{sort|0200|100 m}}||Planes in the sky can often be mistaken for a planet, especially at night and at a distance. This may be a comment on {{w|fool's Gold}}, i.e. the metal Pyrite, that looks so much like gold that it is easy for people finding Pyrite to believe they have found gold. The same goes for airplanes and planets according to Randall
|-
|Region with ''Space junk'', ''Asteroids'' and ''Oort Cloud''||{{sort|02300|10 km}}||{{sort|04100000|5.7 ly}}||{{sort|014|0.15 mm}}||{{sort|02400|500 km}}||Space junk can get as close as 10 km from Randall and be of a sub millimeter size. And then the objects in the asteroid belt and Oort cloud that are not to be considered dwarf planets can be up to 500 km and can reach out to the next star as the edge of the graph is almost at 6 light-years (ly)
|-
|{{w|Space debris|Space junk}}||{{sort|02200|10 km}}||{{sort|02100|105 km}}||{{sort|012|0.15 mm}}||{{sort|0170|10 m}}||This is only the approximate region around where the words ''Space junk'' are written in this large region. From the left to halfway to the next label for ''comets and asteroids'' and the max diameter taken at this point
|-
|{{w|Comets}} and {{w|asteroids}}||{{sort|0280000|105 km}}||{{sort|0350000|100 AU}}||{{sort|013|0.15 mm}}||{{sort|02300|225 km}}||This is only the approximate region around where the words '''comets and asteroids''' is written in this large region. It goes from halfway to the previous label for ''Space junk'' and halfway to the next label for ''Oort cloud''. The max diameter is taken at this last point. A small part of this section just reaches into the Dwarf planet territory, making sense as {{w|Ceres}} is a dwarf planet in the {{w|asteroid belt}} which lies in this distance range. However, Ceres is much closer to Earth than the dwarf planet region. But that region is also the one where undiscovered dwarf planets should be! The main concentration of asteroids in the belt is between Mars and Jupiter. A very slim region in this log-log chart! Ceres is the only dwarf planet in the belt. The largest asteroid is {{w|4 Vesta|Vesta}} which is not gravitational rounded even with a diameter of 500 km. It would not fit inside this part of the chart due to its size (and distance of 2.4 AU). The best known comet is {{w|Halley's Comet}} which returns every 75 year (next time in 2061). At that time it is much closer to the Sun than Earth at just 0.6 AU, but in 7 years time when it is the farthest away it will be out at 35 AU, further out than Neptune. But is it only of the order of 10 km in diameter (11 km in mean, 8 km x 15 km). So it can only be seen when close to the sun for a few months. This comet would fit inside this region for most of the time, when it is more than 2 AU from the sun, above the word "and" near the top of this part of the region over that word.
|-
|{{w|Oort cloud}}||{{sort|045000000|1000 AU}}||{{sort|04000000|1 ly}}||{{sort|015|0.15 mm}}||{{sort|02500|500 km}}||For distance this is only the region where the words ''Oort cloud'' are written in this large region. This fits with the Wikipedia article that puts it in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oort_cloud#/media/File:PIA17046_-_Voyager_1_Goes_Interstellar.jpg this range] from 1000 AU to more than one light-year (ly). The Oort cloud is speculated to stretch as far as 2 ly out from the Sun. It may even be so that the far edges of the cloud overlaps with similar clouds from the nearby stars, which are 4-6 ly away.
|-
|{{w|Satellites}}||{{sort|02600|100 km}}||{{sort|02300|105 km}}||{{sort|02200|1 m}}||{{sort|0180|10 m}}||This is only the approximate region where the word ''Satellites'' is written. The words cross the border between the ''Space junk etc.'' region below and the ''Stuff we can see through telescopes'' region above. In principle it could thus go down into the space junk region and reach the 10 cm diameter of a {{w|cube sat}}, and up to the size of the {{w|International space station}} (100 m).
|-
|Stuff we can see through {{w|telescopes}}||{{sort|02500|60 km}}||{{sort|0370000|800 AU}}||{{sort|02600|1 m}}||{{sort|041000|430,000 km}}||The max and min. values are not very representative as the region follows a shifted diagonal. Close items can be seen with telescope even if they are small, and large object might not be visible if they are far enough away. Hence this section has been split in three, see below. At the top left of the region there are two dots representing Uranus and Neptune, the planets not visible to the naked eye.
|-
|Stuff we can see through telescopes (over ''satellites'')||{{sort|02400|60 km}}||{{sort|02200|105 km}}||{{sort|02400|1 m}}||{{sort|02100|1 km}}||This section has been split in three, see the entire region above. This is objects in the satellite range.
|-
|Stuff we can see through telescopes (over ''asteroids'')||{{sort|0300000|106 km}}||{{sort|030000|10 AU}}||{{sort|02800|30 m}}||{{sort|02800|20,000 km}}||This section has been split in three, see the entire region above. This is objects in the asteroids range.
|-
|Stuff we can see through telescopes (Past ''asteroids'')||{{sort|03800000|10 AU}}||{{sort|0380000|800 AU}}||{{sort|030000|100 km}}||{{sort|042000|430,000 km}}||This section has been split in three, see the entire region above. This is objects in the outer planet range. Here are also the two dots representing Uranus and Neptune, the planets not visible to the naked eye. The reason the upper cut of it at (almost) the same level through all this region it that if the "planets" got any bigger, then they would turn into brown dwarfs that could be seen during the day, or if they got even bigger they could even turn into a small star (or big star see below), and thus would be visible by day.
|-
|Region with both ''planets above house'' and ''visible at night''||{{sort|0180|60 m}}||{{sort|033000|43 AU}}||{{sort|02500|3.5 m}}||{{sort|038000|300,000 km}}||The max and min. values are not very representative as the region follows a shifted diagonal. Close items can be seen with the naked eye at night even if they are small, and large object might not be visible if they are far enough away. Hence this section has been split in two sections as there are two labels, see below. At the top left of the region there are five dots representing the five planets visible to the naked eye. Also the moon is shown with a gray dot (i.e. not a planet), this is more in the middle of the region, and finally the Earth is on the border to the region to the left, with planets that Randall would be inside if they did exist.
|-
|Planets ruled out because I would have noticed them above my house||{{sort|02100|1 km}}||{{sort|02000|105 km}}||{{sort|02900|100 m}}||{{sort|02200|10 km}}||This is only the approximate region around where the words of this part of the region are written in this large region. Just to show how much smaller the limits are in the small scale of the region. However, this entire region is about things that are visible at night, including the five planets and the moon. Those can be seen as labels for the dots, not another label for the region. Also Saturn is above Randall’s house when he sees it! Of course this also goes for any another bright object down to only 1 km above his house. But anyway planet or not he would be able to rule it out as a new planet, as if there were any that close and this big they would have been spotted long ago.
|-
|{{w|Classical_planet#Naked-eye_planets|Planets we can see at night}}||{{sort|0320000|108 km}}||{{sort|031000|10 AU}}||{{sort|035000|10,000 km}}||{{sort|040000|300,000 km}}||This is only the edges of the region of the five dots representing the five planets visible to the naked eye. They do belong to the region of planets Randall can spot from above his house, and as such this section may just be a label for the five planet dots, and not for any special part of the entire region. But the limits here are interesting to compare with the entire region or with that of the part with smaller dimensions as shown above. The reason the upper limit cut of at the same level through all this region it that if the "planets" got any bigger, then they would turn into brown dwarfs that could be seen during the day, or if they got bigger they could even turn into a small star (or big star see below), and thus would be visible by day.
|-
| style="background-color:pink;"| Dwarf planets||{{sort|03900000|13 AU}}||{{sort|04300000|5.7 ly}}||{{sort|031000|170 km}}||{{sort|02700|16,000 km}}||Dwarf planets can in principle be anywhere in the solar system. But this region is shaded pink as it only covers undiscovered dwarf planets (similar to undiscovered planets) and thus they should be at least a given distance away, before it is realistic they would not already have been discovered. Also they need to be a certain size to be able to round themselves under their own gravity. And if they are too big, it is not realistic that they are only dwarf planets. The region reaches out to the next star as the edge of the graph is almost at 6 light-years (ly)
|-
| style="background-color:#FF748C;"| '''{{w|Planets beyond Neptune|Possible undiscovered planets}}'''||{{sort|042000000|100 AU}}||{{sort|04400000|5.7 ly}}||{{sort|032000|3,600 km}}||{{sort|039000|300,000 km}}||This is the region the whole comic is about. The label is not written in this light red shaded region, as there should be space to write a label for '''Planet Nine?'''. Instead the explanation is given with a label at a small rectangle at the top left with the same color. It is in this region there could still be undiscovered planets. They have to have a certain size to be a planet if they are this far away, and also have to be this far away before it is realistic they would not already have been discovered. If they were any bigger, it would be like with the other planet regions to the left, that they would turn into a brown dwarf, (or at least Saturn sized planet) and although maybe not visible with telescopes just above this size, they would have been spotted by the WISE survey (see below). The region reaches out to the next star as the edge of the graph is almost at 6 light-years (ly)
|-
|Planets ruled out by the {{w|Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer|WISE survey}}||{{sort|043000000|450 AU}}||{{sort|04500000|5.7 ly}}||{{sort|043000|70,000 km}}||{{sort|0430000|106 km}}||This region refers to the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), a {{w|space telescope}} designed to look for warm objects such as {{w|brown dwarf}}s, which generate heat at their centers. It was capable of detecting Saturn-sized or larger planets in the outer reaches of our solar system, but did not find any. WISE would not have detected "Planet Nine" (even if it exists) because it is too small and thus too cold to be detected. If the objects got any bigger than the upper limit they would turn into small stars, which would be visible during the night probably even with the naked eye. This region is the last section below the ''could see them during the day'' region. The WISE region reaches out to the next star as the edge of the graph is almost at 6 light-years (ly)
|-
|Planets ruled out because we would {{w|Star|see them during the day}}||{{sort|0290000|360,000 km}}||{{sort|04200000|5.7 ly}}||{{sort|0450000|360,000 km}}||{{sort|0450000|109 km}}||This region covers object that are either brown dwarfs close enough to us that we could see them (even by day) or if even bigger real stars, that would be closer to us than almost any other star system. The upper limit is at the top of the chart which almost reaches 10 AU. The {{w|Sun}} fits into this region (at 1 AU per definition and at 1.4x106 km), but is not depicted. It still fits in even when it turns into a {{w|red giant}}, after its main sequence when it has {{w|Sun#After_core_hydrogen_exhaustion|exhausted its hydrogen}}, then it will swell up to a diameter of 2 AU and not only swallow the two inner most planets but also likely reach out to Earth. But there are also stars swelling up to more than 10 AU ({{w|UY Scuti}} is {{w|List of largest stars|the largest}} known star, it has a diameter of almost 16 AU). The max. distance actually reaches the nearest star system of {{w|Alpha Centauri}}. And the biggest of those stars would be inside this last region, as it is 1.2 times bigger than the sun, and thus have a diameter of approximately 1.7 106 km, and they are "only" about 4,37 {{w|light-years}} (ly) away and the graph goes to 5.7 ly. But these stars are definitely not visible during the day. If the graph had stopped at 10,000 AU, at the last tick, this may have been true, but now it is an error, as stars in this entire region will not be visible during day time. But they would at night, if not by eye then by telescope. So no planets in this region, and also no undiscovered objects of that size!
|-
|Gray Dot: ({{w|Moon}})||{{sort|0310000|1.3x106 km}}||{{sort|02400|3x106 km}}||{{sort|033000|5,000 km}}||{{sort|02600|12,000 km}}||This dot represents the Moon. It is gray and moon is written in brackets to indicate that it is not a planet. Randall seems to have misplaced the dot completely. The Moon has a diameter of 3,400 km and the min limit is 5,000 km. It is even worse with the distance which is a factor 10 too large, at least at the max. The moon is on average 380,000 km from earth, and at the max distance is 406,700 km, to which Randall can add 6000 km when on the other side of the Earth to get him about 413,000 km from the Moon (but then he cannot see it). However, the minimum distance given is more than one million km, and thus more than a factor two of, and the max distance is almost a factor 10 off. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes.
|-
|Dot 1: {{w|Earth}}||{{sort|027000|12,000 km}}||{{sort|0190|32,000 km}}||{{sort|034000|12,000 km}}||{{sort|02900|23,000 km}}||This dot represents Earth. The Earth has a diameter of 12,700 km and Randall is on top of it, thus distance is zero. Thus the dot makes no sense. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes.
|-
|Dot 2: {{w|Venus}}||{{sort|03300000|0.8 AU}}||{{sort|025000|1.2 AU}}||{{sort|038000|15,000 km}}||{{sort|03200|30,000 km}}||This dot either represents Mercury or Venus, as they are the one closest to 1 AU from Earth. Mercury comes closest to this limit as it never gets far from the sun and thus also never strays far from being 1 AU from the Earth. The range of distances from Earth is from 0.5 to 1.5 AU, with Venus coming close to this with a range from 0.25 to 1.7 AU. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes. And for the distance this is within the limits for both Venus and Mercury's orbit. However, the diameter of Mercury is only 5,000 km and this does not fit well, so from that principle it fits better with Venus. But Venus can be much longer from the Earth when on the other side of the sun, and with a diameter of 12,000 km it doesn't even fit well with Venus. However, since Mars, the third planet is much closer in diameter to Mercury than Venus with 6,700 km, and two of the dots are of equal and smaller size, it makes most sense that this planet is Venus.
|-
|Dot 3: {{w|Mercury (planet)|Mercury}}||{{sort|03400000|1.2 AU}}||{{sort|026000|2.3 AU}}||{{sort|037000|12,000 km}}||{{sort|03100|25,000 km}}||This dot either represents Mercury or Venus, as they are the one closest to Earth. Venus can get closer to the Earth when they are on the same side of the sun. The range of distances from Earth is from 0.25 to 1.7 AU. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes. The distance for this dot fits equally bad with both planets. The diameter is smaller than before, but it is still way too big for Mercury’s 5,000 km and it is not too small but just at the limit of the 12,000 km of Venus. This does thus fit better with Venus on both parameters. But Mercury is similar in size to Mars, the third dot, and the second and third dot are at the same diameter, which makes it more likely that the larger diameter for dot 2, should belong to Venus, making this dot Mercury.
|-
|Dot 4: {{w|Mars}}||{{sort|03500000|2.5 AU}}||{{sort|027000|4.7 AU}}||{{sort|036000|12,000 km}}||{{sort|03000|23,000 km}}||This dot represents Mars. Mars has a diameter of 6,700 km and, so here it is set to at least double its diameter. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes. The range of distances from Earth is from 0.4 to 2.7 AU. The min distance at least is lower than 2.7 AU thus making this the dot that fits best with Mars. Because putting Mercury at a dot well past 2 AU would simply not make any sense, even though Mars can actually get closer to Earth than Mercury.
|-
|Dot 5: {{w|Jupiter}}||{{sort|03600000|2.6 AU}}||{{sort|029000|6.7 AU}}||{{sort|0440000|100,000 km}}||{{sort|037000|240,000 km}}||This dot represents Jupiter. Jupiter has a diameter of 140,000 km so it falls within the range. The distances from the sun is about 5 AU and thus from the Earth it ranges from about 4 to 6 AU. This dot thus fit nicely on both parameters with the largest planet. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes.
|-
|Dot 6: {{w|Saturn}}||{{sort|03700000|6.7 AU}}||{{sort|032000|13 AU}}||{{sort|042000|53,000 km}}||{{sort|036000|126,000 km}}||This dot represents Saturn. Saturn has a diameter of 120,000 km so it falls within the range. The distances from the sun is about 9-10 AU and thus from the Earth it ranges from about 8 to 11 AU. This dot thus fit nicely on both parameters with the 2nd largest planet. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes.
|-
|Dot 7: {{w|Uranus}}||{{sort|04000000|21 AU}}||{{sort|034000|43 AU}}||{{sort|041000|38,000 km}}||{{sort|035000|83,000 km}}||This dot represents Uranus. Uranus has a diameter of 50,000 km so it falls within the range. The distances from the sun is about 18-20 AU and thus from the Earth it ranges from about 17 to 21 AU. This dot thus just reaches down to this distance, but it is within the limits on both parameters. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes.
|-
|Dot 8: {{w|Neptune}}||{{sort|04100000|45 AU}}||{{sort|0360000|100 AU}}||{{sort|040000|37,000 km}}||{{sort|03400|83,000 km}}||This dot represents Neptune. Neptune has a diameter of 49,000 km so it falls within the range. The distances from the sun is about 30 AU and thus from the Earth it ranges from about 29 to 31 AU. This dot is thus too far out on this parameter. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes.
|-
|Dot 9: '''{{w|Planet Nine}}?'''||{{sort|044000000|700 AU}}||{{sort|0390000|1550 AU}}||{{sort|039000|21,000 km}}||{{sort|03300|50,000 km}}||This is the dot representing the possible undiscovered planet that is the reason for this entire comic. As it is only speculations made on well documented features of dwarf planets' orbits, nothing much is known. But the guess is that it has a diameter between 26,000 and 52,000 km (fine with the dots min and max) and although it could get into 200 AU this may take thousands of years, and it is expected that it will be further out than 700 AU most of the time going all the way out to 1200 AU, so this dot fits perfectly with the newest estimates.
|-
|{{w|Superman}} (title text)||{{sort|0150|1 m}}||{{sort|0140|10 km}}||{{sort|0210|50 cm}}||{{sort|0150|2 m}}||The limits are set as Arms length away (shaking hands with Randall), and he cannot be seen much more than 10 km away (like for big birds). He is about 2 m high and 0.5 m over the shoulder. This does not fit very well with the title text, as he is not even near the plane limit, but still at a distance it can be hard to tell if the flying object is a plane far away (on Earth scale) or a man closer or a small bird really close.
|}

==Transcript==
:[Caption above the chart.]
:<big>'''Possible Undiscovered Planets'''</big>
:in our Solar System
:By <big>'''size'''</big> and <big>'''distance'''</big> (from me)

:[A chart of possible undiscovered planets with a log-log plot, with the objects diameter on the y-axis and the distance from “me” (Randall) on the X-axis. Both axes are labeled and have several ticks most of which also have labels. A region to the right, with possible new planets including Planet 9 with a “?”, is shaded light red, and a small rectangle at the top left with the same color tells what this color means. The region, of undiscovered dwarf planets, is shaded pink, also to indicate that here may be more of these, but the lighter color indicate that these will not be new “planets”. The eight known planets are marked with a black dot, and also this is explained with a dot under the colored rectangle. The Moon is indicated with a similar dot, but in gray, and the name is in brackets. The chart itself is divided into several labeled regions, the smallest with the label outside and an arrow pointing in. In one case a label breaks a border, and in two regions there are more labels, although these clearly belong to different regions within these regions, with different sizes and/or distances.]

:[Y-axis, with a label written to the left, from bottom and up, with an arrow pointing up, and 15 ticks with a label each:]
:Diameter
:1 mm
:1 cm
:10 cm
:1 m
:10 m
:100 m
:1 km
:10 km
:100 km
:1,000 km
:10,000 km
:100,000 km
:106 km
:107 km
:1 AU

:[X-axis, with a label written below, with an arrow pointing right, and 17 ticks but only 11 labels as the ticks at 100 km, between 1000 and 106 km, 107 km as well as 10 and 1000 AU is not labeled:]
:Distance from me
:10 cm
:1 m
:10 m
:100 m
:1 km
:10 km
:1000 km
:106 km
:1 AU
:100 AU
:10,000 AU

:[At the top left of the chart is the light-red rectangle and the black dot labeled:]
:Possible undiscovered planets
:Known planets

:[Going down and anti-clockwise from these two labels, the rest of the chart is transcribed:]
:Planets ruled out because I would be inside them
::Earth
:Planets ruled out because I would have noticed them above my house
:Planets ruled out because they wouldn’t fit through my door
:Birds that got into my house
:Skin flora
:<big>Bugs</big>
::(Not planets)
:Giant bugs
:Planets which are actually birds
:Airplanes
:(Fool’s planets’)
:<big>Space junk</big>
:<big>Comets and asteroids</big>
:<big>Oort cloud</big>
:<big>Satellites</big>
:Stuff we can see through telescopes
:Planets we can see at night
::(Moon)
:Dwarf planets
:Planet Nine?
::?
:Planets ruled out by the WISE survey
:Planets ruled out because we would see them during the day

==Trivia==
===Image used to create data for the table===
*This image was used for obtaining the data in [[#Table of items in the chart|the table above]].
*The image was created in a power-point slide show and moving lines along and reading out the position gave the values, with the help of Excel.
**The lines going all through the image goes through existing ticks on the axes
**Lines not going all the way out to the axes are not over existing ticks
**Values for the lines have been added both for those without ticks but also for ticks without values in the comic.
**Lines have been color coded, so red for metric, green for AU and purple for units that is not used in the comic.
*Superman has been drawn in as best as possible in blue (should probably have gone out to 10 km as for big birds, and closer by for a hug).
*An updated version with many more details have been added since the first version.
**See more details [[#Info on new version|below]] the image.
[[File:Modified_possible_undiscovered_planets.png|750px]]
====Info on new version====
*New features in the image include more precisely marked dots of the planets and other objects.
*The dots used for planets or objects are always larger than the diameter range, and centered on the average diameter and average distance.
**All the diameters used here have been taken from the relevant Wikipedia page.
**The same orange color has been used for all planets and the Moon, except when two planets are too close on the log-log plot to be clearly distinct if the same color, then one is brown for only this reason.
***To avoid snide remarks Uranus is not one of those marked with brown…
**Dwarf planets and the like are pink
**The comet is also in brown as it is too close to other pink dots
**Images have been used for the suns two states and a yellow dot for the only other star.
*Distance:
*Earth can have three different distances from Randall which have all been marked:
**No distance because he is standing on top of it
**The radius (or the center of mass), since this is the average distance Randall is from the Earth
**Or the diameter (which is used in the comic) as the farthest distance from Randall is the opposite side of the Earth.
**Data:
***For the seven planets (and Pluto) the distance range and average distance from Earth has been taken from [http://distancefrom.facts.co/earthtomercury/distancebetweenearthandmercury.php this page]
****Which needs to be opened as a new page to not return to this page.
***For other objects the range has been taken from the relevant Wikipedia page
**The Moon’s distance range is small enough to be within the dot.
**For the four outer planets the dots will as a minimum cover the range from lowest to highest distance from Earth
**For the three terrestrial planets the distance varies so much that a bar has been added through the dot placed at the average distance, to indicate the range of distances.
*The original dot for planet nine covers the range of diameters (at the top just, and then further down at the bottom.)
**The distance is centered on 1000 AU and it is expected to be between 700 and 1200 AU away, which is covered by the dot.
**But it could be as close as 200 AU. But if it where we should have detected it by now.
*There are several planets/objects that are very far from the mark.
**The moon is far off on both parameters.
**All three terrestrial planets are way off.
***Except of course if the 2nd planet is Venus, then the deviation for that one would not be too bad.
***But it would not make sense to make Mercury bigger than Venus and it thus just seems that all three are far off the mark
**Jupiter is spot on, Saturn not far away and Uranus close enough.
***But Neptune is so close to Uranus on both parameters on the log-log plot, that this probably explains why it has been placed quite of the mark distance wise.
*Extra additions:
**Pluto has been included and it is not within the pink Dwarf planet region.
***This makes sense as it has been discovered, and any object this large and that close would have been discovered by now.
***Thus again indicating that this region is the region of Possible Undiscovered '''Dwarf''' Planets.
**Ceres and Vesta have been included and they are not within the asteroids region
***As they can be seen in telescopes and are the two largest objects in the belt this makes sense.
***Their distance range is indicated with bars and ranges this wide since their distance from Earth depend drastically on which side of the sun they are.
**Halley's Comet has been added and here a large bar is needed to indicate the distance.
***The distance from the sun has been used, as it can get very close to the Earth when passing it on the way in.
**The International Space Station has been included
***The distance range is given as the height above Earths surface which the line just covers (i.e. not distance from Randall when it is on the other side of the Earth.)
***The diameter is ranging from the height of 20 m to the width of 108 m (length 73 m).
**The Sun has been inserted
***Also when it becomes a red giant
***This is a case where an actual real object would put Randall inside them. As can be seen the Sun as a red giant would be in the ''Planets ruled out because I would be inside them'', as it in the end will reach a diameter of about 2 AU, it will thus reach out to Earth (as the radius is 1AU).
***Again the way this zone is depicted using diameter rather than radius makes no sense, since the 2 AU diameter sun would only just reach out to Earth, and not out to Mars. It would make more sense to locate the red star on the boarder of this zone, which would have been the case if Randall had used radius rather than diameter.
**The nearest star, Alpha Centauri A, has also been included.
***Thus only the largest of the three stars in that star system is shown.
**The other two stars are smaller than the sun, and the same distance away when compared to the total distance.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Telescopes]]
[[Category:Animals]]

3134: Wavefunction Collapse

2025-09-27T13:27:10Z

Chronotix:

{{comic
| number = 3134
| date = August 27, 2025
| title = Wavefunction Collapse
| image = wavefunction_collapse_2x.png
| imagesize = 656x272px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Wavefunction collapse is only one interpretation. Under some interpretations, graduate students also have souls.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created BY A SOUlFUl PARTICLE DETECTOR. Should the reference to unsolved problem be removed? Those comics are very different to this and the other two mentioned as it is three different things not three replies to one question. And cursed is not the same as wrong or chaotic!}}

This comic presents three possible responses to a common question posed by undergraduates upon confronting the {{w|Measurement problem|problem of measurement}} in quantum mechanics - does the apparently privileged role of subjective or conscious {{w|Observer (quantum physics)|observers}} in wavefunction collapse imply that human consciousness itself impacts physics? This question is sometimes phrased as: does the observation effect or quantum collapse prove humans have souls? These questions stem from a misunderstanding of what an "observer" in physics really is, a misunderstanding the comic depicts with a college student asking his professor about human consciousness.

The 'Bad' option shows Cueball telling his student that everybody has a soul, and their individual consciousness affects reality in some way. The 'good' option shows Cueball telling his student that consciousness doesn't play a role at all, and that it is 'just a physical measurement'. The 'chaotic' option shows Cueball apparently observing that the wave function collapses only when ''he'' looks at it, because he is special in some way (in this case, Cueball is a professor while Hairy is the undergraduate student).

That quantum states exist as probability density distributions, but are only ever observed in definite states, raises the question of how the quantum world transitions into the classical world. The (historically) most popular {{w|Copenhagen interpretation|interpretation}} posits that {{w|wave function collapse}} occurs upon the measurement of a quantum state, in which the multiple mathematically possible states resolve into a definite state, without explicitly defining precisely when this "collapse" occurs, or what defines "measurement;" in fact, when measuring, say, an electron in a superposition of two states, wavefunction collapse could occur at any stage from the electron interacting with the detector, to the detector recording the measurement, to the scientist observing the recording. A famous though experiment, {{w|Schrödinger's cat}}, takes this to the extreme: if a cat is placed a box with a decaying radioisotope that upon decay triggers a gas bomb that kills the cat, shouldn't this place the cat-bomb-isotope-box system into a mixed state that only undergoes wavefunction collapse upon opening and observing whether the cat is alive or dead? The Copenhagen interpretation is agnostic to this question, only confirming that the cat will have resolved into its alive or dead state at or before observation. The {{w|Consciousness causes collapse}} postulate endorsed by the "bad" panel -- unfashionable now, but taken seriously historically -- posits that the conscious observation is indeed what triggers wave-function collapse. The 'good' panel, rather flippantly, seems to endorse a more modern {{w|Quantum decoherence|decoherence}}-based interpretation - that every interaction inside the cat-box system is a "measurement" that destroys the superposition well before the human observer enters the picture. Finally, the `chaotic` option is far more radical and sollipsistic than the `bad` - it's not merely conscious observation that causes collapse, but PhD-holding and tenured consciousness.

Good, bad, and chaotic may be taken as references to the {{w|Alignment (Dungeons & Dragons)|alignment system}} in the role-playing game {{w|Dungeons & Dragons}}. In D&D, roles are characterized by their morality (good/neutral/evil) and their views about order (lawful/neutral/chaotic). However, this allows a single alignment to be both chaotic ''and'' either good or 'bad'/evil, so is perhaps just more a matter of two extremes followed up by {{tvtropes|TakeAThirdOption|something completely different}}, to set up a {{tvtropes|RuleOfThree|common variety}} of joke format.

The title text continues the chaotic option. Graduate students are intermediate between undergraduate and professors. It is unclear whether graduate students can cause waveform collapse, and therefore have souls.

==Transcript==
:[Hairy is sitting behind a desk with one a hand on the desktop and the other in his lap. He is looking up at Cueball, who is standing in front of the desk. Hairy is asking a question:]
:Hairy: If the wavefunction only collapses when I observe it, does that mean my consciousness affects the universe?

:[Three panels follows showing three possible responses from Cueball. Each panel has a label above, written inside a small rectangle that is overlaid on the top left of each panel. Each panel shows the same zoom in on the top half of Cueball.]

:[Panel 1]
:Bad:
:Cueball: Yes. Quantum entanglement proves that we all have souls.

:[Panel 2]
:Good:
:Cueball: No. Consciousness plays no role here. Its just physical measurement.

:[Panel 3]
:Chaotic:
:Cueball: No. The wave function collapses when '''''I''''' look at it because I'm a full professor.
:Cueball: It won't collapse for an undergraduate.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Religion]]

1138: Heatmap

2025-09-27T13:24:51Z

Chronotix: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1138
| date = November 23, 2012
| title = Heatmap
| image = heatmap.png
| titletext = There are also a lot of global versions of this map showing traffic to English-language websites which are indistinguishable from maps of the location of internet users who are native English speakers.
}}

==Explanation==
Another of [[Randall|Randall's]] many [[:Category:Pet Peeves|Pet Peeves]], this time on [[:Category:Maps|maps]]. This one has also been numbered #208, like the first comic on the subject [[238: Pet Peeve 114|238: Pet Peeve #114]].

In the comic, [[Cueball]] compares three heatmaps, showing the location of "our site's users," "subscribers to ''{{w|Martha Stewart Living}}''" and "consumers of furry pornography." which interestingly seems to have a spike in San Antonio despite not being present in others. The three maps are nearly identical, leading [[Cueball]] to come to the conclusion that his site's userbase largely consists of fans of Martha Stewart and {{w|furry fandom|furry}} porn, and that the audience (presumably the owners/operators of the website) should adjust their content or advertising to cater to these demographics. However, Cueball's analysis is faulty; the actual reason the maps are the same is they all match the population concentration in the U.S., not because there is any statistically-significant relation between geographic location and any of the mentioned sub-populations.

A heatmap is a graph showing three-dimensional data on a two-dimensional image, with each pixel's color representing the value of the data at that position. It does not necessarily have anything to do with heat, but a heatmap may resemble a thermal image. In this comic, red represents the highest numerical values, then yellow and green, with white the lowest values, in all three maps.

The title text reflects a similar situation in world maps where the website written in English is read by English-speaking users no matter the location, because their ISP and search providers direct them primarily to English websites, so the visitors' geographic graph matches the graph of the global English-speaking population.

==Transcript==
:[Three near-identical charts of the 48 contiguous United States are shown with heatmaps depicting population density. The first chart is labelled "Our site's users," the second chart is labelled "Subscribers to ''Martha Stewart Living''," and the third chart is labelled "Consumers of furry pornography." Cueball is standing with a stick pointing at the charts.]
:Cueball: The business implications are clear.
:Pet peeve #208:
:Geographic profile maps which are basically just population maps

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Pet Peeves]]
[[Category:US maps]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Statistics]]
[[Category:Furries]]

599: Apocalypse

2025-08-20T16:54:06Z

Chronotix: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 599
| date = June 19, 2009
| title = Apocalypse
| image = apocalypse.png
| titletext = I wonder if I still have time to go shoot a short film with Kevin Bacon.
}}

== Explanation ==
This comic begins with the beginning of the {{w|Apocalypse}}, hence the title. It is depicted, properly, with a very dystopian color picture with several yellow burning {{w|meteors}} striking down from the blood red sky, towards a black, red, orange and yellow ground. The way the panels are drawn below makes a transition from this dark image to a normal comic, with the first normal panel being superimposed on the dark image.

In this image [[Beret Guy]] shouts out '''The apocalypse!''' And then he continues to explain what this will mean: ''The skies burn, the seas turn to blood, and the dead walk the earth!''

All three sentences are attributed to the apocalypse, but it seems that the first one about the sky burning, actually comes from a translation of one of the {{w|Nostradamus}} predictions which has, amongst others, been used to "{{w|Nostradamus_in_popular_culture#September_11.2C_2001|predict 9/11}}". In {{w|Revelation 16}} from the Bible about the {{w|Seven bowls}}, which are a set of seven plagues of God's wrath poured over the wicked towards the Apocalypse, the {{w|Seven_bowls#Second_Bowl|second bowl}} describes that ''{{w|Revelation_16#Structure|The Sea Turns to Blood}}''. The {{w|Universal resurrection|resurrection of the dead}} is from the biblical version of the Apocalypse, the {{w|Last Judgment}}.

After Beret Guy has announced this, he runs into [[Cueball]] who has heard part of this, but he is only interested in the last part and asks to check if he understood correctly that the dead will walk the earth. When this is confirmed Cueball becomes very busy.

He runs to his office and quickly writes a scientific math paper, then runs as fast as he can to the math department and gets his colleagues to sign it. Then he runs to a cemetery where the dead are rising, finds the one he searched for, and asks the resurrected {{w|zombie}} if he is Erdős. When confirmed that he is indeed Erdős, Cueball asks him to sign the math paper.

{{w|Paul Erdős}} (26 March 1913 – 20 September 1996) was a Hungarian mathematician who (according to Wikipedia) published more papers than any other mathematician in history, working with hundreds of collaborators. His grave is in the Kozma Street Cemetery in Budapest.

There is an in-joke developed among mathematicians called the {{w|Erdős number}} (similar to a Bacon number for film actors, referenced in the title text, see below). By definition, Erdős has an Erdős number of 0. Everyone who has co-written a mathematical paper with Erdős has an Erdős number of 1. Everyone who collaborated with them (but not Erdős himself) is assigned an Erdős number of 2. In general, if ''k'' is the minimal Erdős number of all the people you've written papers with, your Erdős number is ''k'' + 1. The Erdős number is the length of the shortest "chain" from you to Erdős.

Thanks to collaboration between mathematicians and other researchers, many people in science and medical research now have Erdős numbers. Not everyone has an Erdős number, though; people without any chain linking them to Erdős have an undefined Erdős number. For example, most people who are not mathematicians or scientists do not have Erdős numbers. Nor do mathematicians and scientists whose publications were written by themselves only with no collaborators.

By this trick Cueball thinks that he and his colleagues will now all have an Erdős number of 1. The joke is that he would be using his last few hours in this life to write a math paper just to improve his and his friends' Erdős numbers.

There are, however, many problems with his idea, even assuming the dead will walk the earth on that day. First of all, just having your name on a piece of paper with Erdős's signature does nothing for your Erdős number. It needs to be a {{w|Scientific_literature#Scientific_article|scientifically valid paper}}, published in a {{w|peer reviewed}} {{w|scientific journal}}. And given that the apocalypse is happening, there seems no time, chance or reason to publish any more math papers.{{cn}}

Even if there were time, it would not count for much to have someone sign a math paper they haven't even read, let alone had anything to do with the actual writing and research. The same would be true for the other five mathematicians who signed it. But of course many papers have coauthors who did not do much more than work in the same department as the person who actually wrote the paper (a sad but true fact). Presumably Cueball's friends assume that nobody will investigate whether they, or Erdős, truly participated in the writing and research of Cueball's paper.

Furthermore, even if it did count, they will not be able to take the paper with them into the afterlife (although people can come back to life after being [https://www.healthline.com/health/lazarus-syndrome clinically dead] they don't experience the afterlife), and thus since no one would have had time to read the paper, no one would know they had an Erdős number of 1. In the afterlife they could all say that they had such a number, but then again everyone else with such an interest could do the same, since no one could prove otherwise. Of course if you end up in the same part ({{w|Heaven}} or {{w|Hell}}) of the {{w|afterlife}} as Erdős he could confirm or deny the claim, but that would probably not help Cueball and his friends, since he could tell the truth about their paper. (Erdős was known for using an idiosyncratic set of slang terms, in which he described people who had stopped doing mathematics as having "died", whereas people who had died had "left".)

That the whole comic is about the Erdős number, and not just Erdős signature, is made clear in the title text which refers to a similar (and less esoteric) meme called "{{w|Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon}}", or simply Bacon numbers. This time, the chain's center is actor {{w|Kevin Bacon}}, and the links are formed by two people appearing in the same movie. Unlike Erdős, Kevin Bacon is not dead yet, so those of you wishing to get a Bacon number of 1 still have a chance.

In the title text Cueball thus wonders if there is still time for him to make a short film with Kevin Bacon, now he has used so much time on improving his Erdős number. Again, if the film hasn't been shown to the public it would not count for anything...

One of the mathematical scribbles appearing in panel 5 shows the square root of 163, which may be a reference to {{w|Ramanujan's constant}}.

[[403: Convincing Pickup Line]] has a parody of the Erdős collaboration graph.

Zombies are a [[:Category:Zombies|recurring theme]] in xkcd, particularly zombie scientists, which has also occurred both before with {{w|Richard Feynman}} in [[397: Unscientific]] and after with {{w|Marie Curie}} in [[896: Marie Curie]].

==Transcript==
:[The first panel is very large and shows a dark scene with one large meteor in front and four smaller in the background showering the darkened earth. They are all five black with yellow fire around them and a fire trail behind them, and all are flying from the top left corner and down towards right. The sky at the top is pitch black, but then the sky turns blood red under dark clouds. Two large mountain peaks, one almost pyramid shaped, are shown to the left and to the right there are two smaller peaks towards the distant horizon. The mountains and the ground around them are mainly black, but with red, orange and yellow streaks spread all over the black area beneath the mountain peaks, maybe indicating fire or lava, or reflections in water or blood. At the bottom right corner a normal white panel is superimposed on this apocalyptic image.]

:[The smaller panel at the bottom of the first is halfway over the first panel, haflway below, and only to the right of the middle of the first panel. Beret Guy is running towards left, with his arms raised in the air.]
:Beret Guy: The apocalypse! The skies burn, the seas turn to blood, and the dead walk the earth!

:[From here a normal sequence of panels in three rows begin beneath the second panel. This leaves a gap between the apocalyptic panel and the first row of regular panels, on the left side where the 2nd panel did not reach over. In this panel Beret Guy (coming from the right) finds Cueball.]
:Cueball: The dead what?
:Beret Guy: Walk the earth!

:[Cueball running right in a thin panel.]
:Cueball: I have to go.

:[Cueball sitting on a chair at a table scribbling vigorously and noisily with a pen on a paper. Mathematical symbols appear above Cueball's head, including a summation from i=0 to n, a logarithm of n and the square root of a number.]
:<big>∑</big>ni=0ik1/i log(n)
:√163
:''Scribble''
:''Scribble''

:[Cueball running right again, in a thin panel, pen and paper in hand.]

:[Cueball opening door with label:]
:Math Dept
:Cueball: The dead return!
:Cueball: Everyone, quick, get your names on here!

:[Cueball stand on the left side of a table looking left over his shoulder. Five people are lining up to sign the paper lying on the right side of the table. The first who signs with a pen is Blondie, then in line follows Megan, a Cueball-like guy, Ponytail and another Cueball-like guy who stand with one hand to his chin looking right, away from the other.]
:Blondie: At last!
:Guy looking right: I hope there's time!

:[Cueball running right in yet a thin panel, with pen and the paper flowing behind him.]

:[Cueball walks right with the paper and pen in his hand as he arrives at at a cemetery as revealed by an old worn sign. Scary sounds appear off-panel right.]
:Sign: Cemetery
:Rising dead (off-panel): ''Hurrghhh''

:[Cueball, still going right, arrives at a grave, pen in hand and the other hand almost outside the panel, but with a corner of the paper just visible. The grave has a large gravestone to the right and in front of it there is a Cueball-like guy rising up from the ground using his arms to push up on the base of the stone and the small pile of earth towards Cueball. The guy looks very worn, with dirt on his head and scratches on his cheek.]

:[Cueball bends a little down and offers pen and paper to the raised dead man who looks up at him when he is addressed.]
:Cueball: Paul Erdős?
:Erdős: Yes?
:Cueball: We need you to sign this.

==Trivia==
*This version of [[Blondie]] seems to be employed at a mathematical department on a university. It could thus also be [[Miss Lenhart]], but there is no proof that she is a teacher...

{{Comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Zombies]]
[[Category:Comics with blood]]
[[Category:Scientific research]]

3129: Archaeology Research

2025-08-15T20:08:46Z

Chronotix: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3129
| date = August 15, 2025
| title = Archaeology Research
| image = archaeology_research_2x.png
| imagesize = 381x433px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The academic archaeology establishment is suppressing my breakthroughs because of the disruption it would bring to their prepared-core flake-based toolmaking industry.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created a long time ago and improved recently. Don’t remove this notice too soon.}}

In this comic, [[Cueball]] is presenting an improvement over the stone {{w|arrowhead}}s used by early humans. Stone arrowheads are produced by {{w|Knapping|shaping flint}} by expertly knocking flakes off a suitable raw piece of stone. By contrast, once {{w|Copper extraction#History|the use of metals}} is developed, a far more scalable industry can eventually cast smooth copper arrowheads as depicted in Cueball’s presentation.

Metalworking requires some knowledge of ores and often (depending upon the metal) how to maintain and control high temperatures. The era of mass-produced metal objects heralded the waning of the {{w|Stone Age}} and eventually led to the {{w|Bronze Age}}, by way of the copper-using {{w|Chalcolithic}}, in some parts of the world. Once copper arrowheads were produced, in any given region, the practice of flint arrowheads largely died out.

It seems that Cueball was tasked to look at details of active {{w|Paleolithic}} culture (the "Old Stone Age"), in the era that extended until not quite 10,000 BCE, but has accidentally 'discovered' the developments (from around 6,500 BCE to 5,000 BCE) that actually superceded the practices that he was supposed to be studying, initially with lumps of copper nuggets being taken and cold-hammered into into awls, chisels, ornaments and spear heads, later learning to use heat to soften it and after that to be able to melt and cast it.

The caption below the comic tells us that Cueball has based his entire {{w|dissertation}} on the false proposition that an archaeologist's job is to recreate history rather than revealing it. This would be disastrous for Cueball, as dissertations take a large amount of time and effort to complete, and he may have used the effort to effectively reengineer several thousand years of human development, leading away from the original subject.

The title text claims that his 'discoveries' are unappreciated ''not'' because they are useless (in a completely context, they might be an exciting academic pursuit), but because the academic 'establishment' has a strangehold on the arrowhead industry and too many vested interests in flint-knapping to allow the {{w|disruptive innovation}} that this new change to copper weaponry might herald. 

==Transcript==
:[Cueball stands in front of a roll-down projector screen, pointing to it behind him as he looks forward. The screen depicts two arrowheads: On the left is an arrowhead hewn from stone with the subtitle "Stone (traditional)". On the right is a smoother arrowhead with the subtitle "Copper (my method)"]
:Cueball: In the process of analyzing Paleolithic stone toolmaking, I've stumbled on an improved technique for producing points and blades.
:Cueball: Instead of stone, my method is based on the heating and shaping of copper ore...

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Too late, I realized that my entire archaeology dissertation had been based on a colossal misunderstanding.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
8

992: Mnemonics

2025-07-15T10:54:05Z

Chronotix: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 992
| date = December 19, 2011
| title = Mnemonics
| image = mnemonics.png
| titletext = 'Sailor Moon's head exploded once' and 'Some men have explosive orgasms' both work for the Great Lakes from west to east (Paddle-to-the-Sea order).
}}

==Explanation==
A {{w|mnemonic}} is a trick that makes {{w|memory|memorization}} easier. To memorize a sequence of names, a common type of mnemonic uses the beginning letters of the names in the sequence and invents another phrase using different words that start with the same letters. For example, the order of operations goes '''P'''arentheses, '''E'''xponentiation, '''M'''ultiplication and '''D'''ivision, '''A'''ddition and '''S'''ubtraction, and the traditional mnemonic goes '''P'''lease '''E'''xcuse '''M'''y '''D'''ear '''A'''unt '''S'''ally, or in Britain: '''B'''rackets, '''I'''ndices, '''M'''ultiplication, '''D'''ivision, '''A'''ddition and '''S'''ubtraction: there is no mnemonic, just the word "BIMDAS" to remember. To make them more memorable, mnemonics are usually quite silly and often vulgar. In this comic, Randall invents various scientific mnemonics, some of them as suggested replacements for traditional ones.

The category is listed at the top of the box, the members are listed below that. Then there is the traditional mnemonic that children are usually taught in school to help them remember. Below the comic is one or two options for new mnemonics suggested by Randall. The top one is illustrated in the frame.

*{{w|SI}} Prefixes are the prefixes for the systems of units to indicate the orders of magnitude for the given value, and since there is one prefix set for large numbers (increasing multipliers), and another one for the small ones (similarly progressive fractions), the mnemonic needs two lines.
**{{w|Karl Marx}}, as visible in the comic, was a German philosopher and economist who, among other things, popularized the ideas of socialism and communism. Central to his ideas was the {{w|dictatorship of the proletariat}}, or the working class achieved by an uprising of the lower class, which taken literally could be done using zeppelins.
**{{w|Microsoft}}'s {{w|Zune}} was a failed mp3 player that Microsoft brought to market. It never caught on.

*{{w|Taxonomy}} is the science of identifying and naming species. {{w|Katy Perry}}, portrayed in the panel, is an {{w|United States|American}} {{w|pop music}} singer, whose popular songs are ones like "Firework" or "I Kissed A Girl".

*In the geologic periods frame, the illustration is of a month's worth of "the pill", a common contraceptive. The affliction Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, causes women to have an irregular menstrual period. This can be treated with a low powered version of the contraceptive pill. Here, [[Randall]] has misspelt the word "contraceptive".

*{{w|Electronic_color_code#Resistors|Resistor Color Codes}} represent the values 0 through 9 and are used to indicate the resistance value of discrete cylindrical resistors, with 2 or 3 color bands around the resistor body for the significant digits of the value and another color band for a power of ten multiplier. A resistor with Yellow-Violet-Red bands would be 47 x 10^2 or 4700 ohms. {{w|Glenn Beck}} is shown in this panel, a far-right conservative commentator in the US who used to have a show on the {{w|Fox News}} Network. His yelling about "Big Brother reptilian overlords" is a reference to his [https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-top-9-glenn-beck-cons_b_3361097 real-life promotion of conspiracy theories]. Resistor color codes were previously mentioned in [[227: Color Codes]].
**The prevailing mnemonic for resistor color codes is rather vulgar (and memorable), hence Randall's comment "none I care for". It involved Bad Boys (or sometimes Black Boys, helping to distinguish black from brown) and Young Girls, as well as a specific girl named Violet. However, there are many other mnemonics, to the point that Wikipedia has a {{w|List of electronic color code mnemonics|whole page dedicated to them}}.
**{{w|WP:BOLD|Be Bold}} is a {{w|Wikipedia}} credo. Respect Others may be a reference to {{w|WP:AGF|Assume Good Faith}}, another Wikipedia philosophy.

*In the Planets frame, the illustration is of Mary and Joseph, who in the story of the Birth of Jesus in the Bible, were mother and father to Jesus. However, Mary's conception of Jesus was from God and Mary was still considered a virgin. This mnemonic shows Joseph not really believing that story. Ironically the upstairs neighbour could have multiple meanings as you can't get more upstairs than heaven and thus God. Given the snarky tone of most xkcd comics take, it is likely a corporeal neighbor that is being suspected, but it is curious that a neighbor of the upstairs variety is specifically referenced especially given the lack of urban density in the time of Christ.
**Earlier traditional Planets mnemonics included Pluto, which was "officially" considered a planet before 2006. The traditional mnemonic at that time was '''M'''y '''V'''ery '''E'''xcellent '''M'''other '''J'''ust '''S'''erved '''U'''s '''N'''ine '''P'''izzas, instead of just nachos.

*The {{w|Great Lakes}} mentioned by the title text are Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario.
**''{{w|Sailor Moon}}'' is an anime and manga series. The eponymous {{w|Sailor Moon (character)|Sailor Moon}} (Usagi Tsukino), has never had her head exploded, however.
**''{{w|Paddle-to-the-Sea}}'' is an illustrated children's book by {{w|Holling C. Holling}} about a toy boat's journey through the Great Lakes.

==Transcript==
:XKCD Presents:
:'''Some New Science Mnemonics'''

:[Pattern of each given situation goes:
:*[Within panel frame]
:**''Subject''
:**''Elements''
:**''Traditional mnemonic(s)''
:**''Illustrated contents of frame''
:*[Below panel frame]
:**''New mnemonic(s)''
:...there are three rows with two situations in each, unequally sized as required for respective widths of contents.]

:'''Order of Operations'''
:Parentheses, Exponents, Division & Multiplication, Addition & Subtraction
:Traditional: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally
:[Cueball, pointing at his laptop, with Ponytail carrying a shark.]
:Please Email My Dad A Shark
:or
:People Expect More Drugs And Sex

:'''SI Prefixes'''
:[In this section, the final words (and preceding comma) are given in a roughly halftone gray for the two given lists of terms and each respective mnemonic.]
:Big: Kilo, Mega, Giga, Tera, Peta, Exa, Zetta[Halftone:], Yotta
:Milli, Micro, Nano, Pico, Femto, Atto, Zepto[Halftone:], Yocto
:Traditional: [Text in square-brackets:] I never learned one.
:[Graph of the declining profits of the Zune.]
:[Karl Marx delivering a number of zeppelins to a bunch of confused proletarians.]
:[Proletarians (off-screen):] Er. What do we do with them?
:[Karl Marx:] Rise!
:Big: Karl Marx Gave The Proletariat Eleven Zeppelins[Halftone:], Yo.
:Small: Microsoft Made No Profit From Anyone's Zunes[Halftone:], Yo.

:'''Taxonomy'''
:Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
:Traditional: King Philip Came Over For Good Sex
:[Katy Perry standing.]
:[Katy Perry:] I'm not sure who doubts this, really.
:Katy Perry Claims Orgasms Feel Good Sometimes
:or
:Kernel Panics Crash Our Family Game System.

:'''Geologic Periods'''
:(Precambrian), Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, Paleogene, Neogene
:Traditional: [Text in square-brackets:] I never learned one.
:[A month's set of birth control pills.]
:PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome Does Cause Problems That Judicious Contraceptves [sic] Partially Negate

:'''Resistor Color Codes'''
:Black Brown, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet, Gray, White
:Traditional: [Text in square-brackets:] none I care for
:[Glenn Beck holding the traditional "Nanobot Vaccine Chemtrail 9/11" sign.]
:"Big Brother Reptilian Overlords", yelled Glenn, "Brainwashing Via Ground water!!";
:or
:Be Bold, Respect Others; You'll Gradually Become Versatile, Great Wikipedians!

:'''Planets'''
:Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
:Traditional: My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nachos
:[A pregnant Mary attempting to explain things to an incredulous Joseph with black hair and full beard]
:[Joseph:] Uh huh.
:Mary's "Virgin" Explanation Made Joseph Suspect Upstairs Neighbor.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Airships]]
[[Category:Sharks]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]
[[Category:Sex]]

992: Mnemonics

2025-07-14T20:09:30Z

Chronotix: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 992
| date = December 19, 2011
| title = Mnemonics
| image = mnemonics.png
| titletext = 'Sailor Moon's head exploded once' and 'Some men have explosive orgasms' both work for the Great Lakes from west to east (Paddle-to-the-Sea order).
}}

==Explanation==
A {{w|mnemonic}} is a trick that makes {{w|memory|memorization}} easier. To memorize a sequence of names, a common type of mnemonic uses the beginning letters of the names in the sequence and invents another phrase using different words that start with the same letters. For example, the order of operations goes '''P'''arentheses, '''E'''xponentiation, '''M'''ultiplication and '''D'''ivision, '''A'''ddition and '''S'''ubtraction, and the traditional mnemonic goes '''P'''lease '''E'''xcuse '''M'''y '''D'''ear '''A'''unt '''S'''ally, or in Britain: '''B'''rackets, '''I'''ndices, '''M'''ultiplication, '''D'''ivision, '''A'''ddition and '''S'''ubtraction: there is no mnemonic, just the word "BIMDAS" to remember. To make them more memorable, mnemonics are usually quite silly and often vulgar. In this comic, Randall invents various scientific mnemonics, some of them as suggested replacements for traditional ones.

The category is listed at the top of the box, the members are listed below that. Then there is the traditional mnemonic that children are usually taught in school to help them remember. Below the comic is one or two options for new mnemonics suggested by Randall. The top one is illustrated in the frame.

*{{w|SI}} Prefixes are the prefixes for the systems of units to indicate the orders of magnitude for the given value, and since there is one prefix set for large numbers (increasing multipliers), and another one for the small ones (similarly progressive fractions), the mnemonic needs two lines.
**{{w|Karl Marx}}, as visible in the comic, was a German philosopher and economist who, among other things, popularized the ideas of socialism and communism. Central to his ideas was the {{w|dictatorship of the proletariat}}, or the working class achieved by an uprising of the lower class, which taken literally could be done using zeppelins.
**{{w|Microsoft}}'s {{w|Zune}} was a failed mp3 player that Microsoft brought to market. It never caught on.

*{{w|Taxonomy}} is the science of identifying and naming species. {{w|Katy Perry}}, portrayed in the panel, is an {{w|United States|American}} {{w|pop music}} singer, whose popular songs are ones like "Firework" or "I Kissed A Girl".

*In the geologic periods frame, the illustration is of a month's worth of "the pill", a common contraceptive. The affliction Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, causes women to have an irregular menstrual period. This can be treated with a low powered version of the contraceptive pill. Here, [[Randall]] has misspelt the word "contraceptive".

*{{w|Electronic_color_code#Resistors|Resistor Color Codes}} represent the values 0 through 9 and are used to indicate the resistance value of discrete cylindrical resistors, with 2 or 3 color bands around the resistor body for the significant digits of the value and another color band for a power of ten multiplier. A resistor with Yellow-Violet-Red bands would be 47 x 10^2 or 4700 ohms. {{w|Glenn Beck}} is shown in this panel, a far-right conservative commentator in the US who used to have a show on the {{w|Fox News}} Network. His yelling about "Big Brother reptilian overlords" is a reference to his [https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-top-9-glenn-beck-cons_b_3361097 real-life promotion of conspiracy theories]. Resistor color codes were previously mentioned in [[227: Color Codes]].
**The prevailing mnemonic for resistor color codes is rather vulgar (and memorable), hence Randall's comment "none I care for". It involved Bad Boys (or sometimes Black Boys, helping to distinguish black from brown) and Young Girls, as well as a specific girl named Violet. However, there are many other mnemonics, to the point that Wikipedia has a {{w|List of electronic color code mnemonics|whole page dedicated to them}}.
**{{w|WP:BOLD|Be Bold}} is a {{w|Wikipedia}} credo. Respect Others may be a reference to {{w|WP:AGF|Assume Good Faith}}, another Wikipedia philosophy.

*In the Planets frame, the illustration is of Mary and Joseph, who in the story of the Birth of Jesus in the Bible, were mother and father to Jesus. However, Mary's conception of Jesus was from God and Mary was still considered a virgin. This mnemonic shows Joseph not really believing that story. Ironically the upstairs neighbour could have multiple meanings as you can't get more upstairs than heaven and thus God. Given the snarky tone of most xkcd comics take, it is likely a corporeal neighbor that is being suspected, but it is curious that a neighbor of the upstairs variety is specifically referenced especially given the lack of urban density in the time of Christ.
**Earlier traditional Planets mnemonics included Pluto, which was "officially" considered a planet before 2006. The traditional mnemonic at that time was '''M'''y '''V'''ery '''E'''xcellent '''M'''other '''J'''ust '''S'''erved '''U'''s '''N'''ine '''P'''izzas, instead of just nachos.

*The {{w|Great Lakes}} mentioned by the title text are Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario.
**''{{w|Sailor Moon}}'' is an anime and manga series. The eponymous {{w|Sailor Moon (character)|Sailor Moon}} (Usagi Tsukino), has never had her head exploded, however.
**''{{w|Paddle-to-the-Sea}}'' is an illustrated children's book by {{w|Holling C. Holling}} about a toy boat's journey through the Great Lakes.

==Transcript==
:xkcd Presents:
:'''Some New Science Mnemonics'''

:[Pattern of each given situation goes:
:*[Within panel frame]
:**''Subject''
:**''Elements''
:**''Traditional mnemonic(s)''
:**''Illustrated contents of frame''
:*[Below panel frame]
:**''New mnemonic(s)''
:...there are three rows with two situations in each, unequally sized as required for respective widths of contents.]

:'''Order of Operations'''
:Parentheses, Exponents, Division & Multiplication, Addition & Subtraction
:Traditional: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally
:[Cueball, pointing at his laptop, with Ponytail carrying a shark.]
:Please Email My Dad A Shark
:or
:People Expect More Drugs And Sex

:'''SI Prefixes'''
:[In this section, the final words (and preceding comma) are given in a roughly halftone gray for the two given lists of terms and each respective mnemonic.]
:Big: Kilo, Mega, Giga, Tera, Peta, Exa, Zetta[Halftone:], Yotta
:Milli, Micro, Nano, Pico, Femto, Atto, Zepto[Halftone:], Yocto
:Traditional: [Text in square-brackets:] I never learned one.
:[Graph of the declining profits of the Zune.]
:[Karl Marx delivering a number of zeppelins to a bunch of confused proletarians.]
:[Proletarians (off-screen):] Er. What do we do with them?
:[Karl Marx:] Rise!
:Big: Karl Marx Gave The Proletariat Eleven Zeppelins[Halftone:], Yo.
:Small: Microsoft Made No Profit From Anyone's Zunes[Halftone:], Yo.

:'''Taxonomy'''
:Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
:Traditional: King Philip Came Over For Good Sex
:[Katy Perry standing.]
:[Katy Perry:] I'm not sure who doubts this, really.
:Katy Perry Claims Orgasms Feel Good Sometimes
:or
:Kernel Panics Crash Our Family Game System.

:'''Geologic Periods'''
:(Precambrian), Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, Paleogene, Neogene
:Traditional: [Text in square-brackets:] I never learned one.
:[A month's set of birth control pills.]
:PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome Does Cause Problems That Judicious Contraceptves [sic] Partially Negate

:'''Resistor Color Codes'''
:Black Brown, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet, Gray, White
:Traditional: [Text in square-brackets:] none I care for
:[Glenn Beck holding the traditional "Nanobot Vaccine Chemtrail 9/11" sign.]
:"Big Brother Reptilian Overlords", yelled Glenn, "Brainwashing Via Ground water!!";
:or
:Be Bold, Respect Others; You'll Gradually Become Versatile, Great Wikipedians!

:'''Planets'''
:Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
:Traditional: My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nachos
:[A pregnant Mary attempting to explain things to an incredulous Joseph with black hair and full beard]
:[Joseph:] Uh huh.
:Mary's "Virgin" Explanation Made Joseph Suspect Upstairs Neighbor.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Airships]]
[[Category:Sharks]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]
[[Category:Sex]]

992: Mnemonics

2025-07-14T20:07:06Z

Chronotix: /* Explanation */

1242: Scary Names

2025-07-14T07:53:10Z

Chronotix: /* Table */

{{comic
| number = 1242
| date = July 24, 2013
| title = Scary Names
| image = scary_names.png
| titletext = Far off to the right of the chart is the Helvetica Scenario.
}}

==Explanation==
This chart humorously explores how things are often named colloquially and without regard to accuracy in correlating actual scariness with apparent scariness. It is interesting to note how people react to the items near the bottom right of the chart "scary things with not-very-scary names" when compared to how they may react to items in the upper left "not-very-scary things with scary names". Some of the entries on the chart are especially interesting examples considering that portions of the names that are associated with significant historical or cultural events and themes. i.e. Chernobyl Packet, Demon Core. All items are described in the [[#Table|table below]] including the title text on Helvetica Scenario.

On the chart, things toward the right are scary/dangerous/very bad, while things toward the top ''sound'' scary without ''necessarily'' being scary.

Note that [[Randall]] uses similar diagrams in both [[388: Fuck Grapefruit]], [[1501: Mysteries]] and [[2466: In Your Classroom]], which also contain different items. The first two also have an extra point, and the last two extra points mentioned in the title text. Only the first and the last comics points are also off the chart, whereas for the second the description of the point is too long to fit on the chart. Extra info outside the chart is also used in the title text of [[1785: Wifi]], but this is a line graph.

===Table===
*This table lists the entries from least to most scary, including the ''entry'' mentioned in the title text.
*To begin with it is sorted from most scary name to least scary name.
**The assigned percentage values assumes a linear scale and assigns ''flesh eating bacteria'' with the point (100%, 100%).
**This is simply the easiest way to list the entries as there is no mention of the scale.
**As is clear from the title text, "flesh eating bacteria" is not an absolute, simply the highest in this particular sample; there are things more scary than 100%!

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! scope="col" class="unsortable"| Name
! scope="col"| Approximate Apparent Scariness
! scope="col"| Approximate True Scariness
! scope="col" class="unsortable"| Description
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Necrotizing fasciitis|Flesh-eating bacteria}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|m !}}100%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|l !}}100%}}
|As the name suggests, bacteria that eat (or more accurately, releases toxins that destroy) your skin and muscle.
|-
|{{Nowrap|[http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/C/Chernobyl-packet.html Chernobyl Packet]}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|k !}}95%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|a !}}4%}}
|A network packet that induces a {{w|broadcast storm}} or network meltdown. It is an analogous reference to the {{w|Chernobyl disaster}}, but otherwise has no relation: one did not cause the disaster, nor does it concern literal packets of radioactive material from Chernobyl.
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Kessler syndrome|Kessler Syndrome}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|k !}}90%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|d !}}53%}}
|A hypothetical scenario where low Earth orbit objects collide, creating debris which increases the risk of more collisions, leading to a cascade effect which could severely hinder exploration and satellite technologies for many decades. It has been mentioned in {{w|Gravity (2013 film)}}.
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Demon core|Demon Core}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|j !}}87%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|h !}}73%}}
|A subcritical mass of plutonium that was involved in two separate fatal incidents at Los Alamos laboratory in 1945 and 1946. In both cases, the core was accidentally placed into a configuration where it went supercritical and exposed an experimenter to fatal doses of radiation. The second is more notable, where Louis Slotin held two halves of a beryllium neutron reflector apart with a flat head screwdriver which slipped, suddenly causing the contained plutonium core to become supercritical and delivering a fatal dose of radiation. This is later referenced in [[2593: Deviled Eggs]].
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Calorimeter#Bomb calorimeters|Bomb Calorimeters}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|h !}}67%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|b !}}28%}}
|A device for measuring heat of combustion of a reaction in a pressure vessel. It does not interact with explosive devices directly, though the chemicals a bomb calorimeter would be called upon to measure are occasionally explosive or dangerous, and a carelessly operated calorimeter could start a fire.
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Avian influenza virus|Bird Flu}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|h !}}57%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|g !}}72%}}
|An illness caused by strains of influenza adapted for birds, which is generally very deadly in humans. Should the virus adapt for human to human transmission, a pandemic can quickly result. Since birds can travel great distances quickly, it is generally already widespread and difficult to contain.
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Nuclear football|Nuclear Football}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|g !}}52%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|k !}}94%}}
|An aluminum Zero Halliburton briefcase which is used by the President of the United States to authorize nuclear attack. A military aide carrying the football is always near the president.
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Sulfur mustard|Mustard Gas}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|f !}}47%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|c !}}50%}}
|A chemical warfare agent which causes blisters and severe irritation on skin and lung tissue.
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Antimicrobial resistance|Superbug}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|e !}}39%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|j !}}83%}}
|Antibiotic resistant bacteria. The growing use of antibiotics has caused some bacteria to evolve to become resistant to the antibiotics. A "superbug" refers to a scenario where a bacteria evolves to become resistant to all antibiotics, for example, {{w|MRSA}}. Thanks to popular culture, however, the term "superbug" usually makes the audience think "a bug with superpowers", such as {{w|Atom Ant}}.
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Criticality accident|Criticality Incident}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|d!}}22%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|i !}}74%}}
|An unexpected and uncontrolled nuclear reaction. This occurs when a system that should be sub-critical becomes critical by accident (a term devised by Louis Slotin, as seen above).
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Soil liquefaction|Soil Liquefaction}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|c !}}16%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|e !}}54%}}
|A phenomenon where wet soil loses its strength and becomes temporarily liquid, capable of swallowing people and buildings, especially after earthquakes or torrential rains. Liquefaction can cause landslides; landslides can cause more liquefaction. Once the earthquake stops, the ground becomes solid again, trapping whatever was submerged.
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Gray goo|Grey Goo}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|b !}}5%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|f !}}69%}}
|A hypothetical end-of-world scenario where self-replicating nanobots consume all matter. It is (partially) illustrated in [[865: Nanobots]].
|-
|Helvetica Scenario (from the title text)
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|z !}}N/A}}
|{{Hs|m !}}Off the chart
|This scenario is also in the title text of [[683: Science Montage]]: "...We have a Helvetica scenario!". The scenario is a fictional experiment, presented in Switzerland (Helvetica), which assumes that removing only the nucleus (the center of an atom) of a calcium atom in one's skin, but still leaving the electron shell at its position, would cause a massive reaction ending up in heavy mutations. The Helvetica scenario was made up by the BBC comedy show {{w|Look Around You}} in the pilot episode, which can be seen [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4CRCJUmWsM&t=5m53s here (at 5:53)]. The fact that the term {{w|Helvetica}} is more commonly known as referring to a very-commonly-used modern typeface makes the name sound like it should refer to a much less serious situation.
|}

==Trivia==
*In the ''[[What If? (book)|What If?]]'' book, in the book-exclusive article "No More DNA", this graph is shown redrawn with "Destroying Angel" added to it, with both its Approximate True Scariness and Approximate Apparent Scariness at an off-the-chart 110%. Destroying Angel is the common name for ''Amanita bisporigera'', a poisonous mushroom which causes irreversible damage at the cellular level in a way the article uses as an analogue to the scenario of a person's DNA being removed. Other items in the chart have also moved positions – most noticeably, Nuclear Football has moved right to a 120% Approximate True Scariness.

==Transcript==
:[A scatter-plot, with 12 labeled dots. Both axis are labeled but neither has an arrow at its end. The dots are scattered from left to right and top to bottom. Below all labels are given, first for the axis, and then for each dot in approximately normal reading order, left to right top to bottom, but in the order it would make sense to read them:]
:Y-axis: Scariness of name
:X-axis: Scariness of thing name refers to

:[Top left]: Chernobyl packet
:[Top halfway right]: Kessler syndrome
:[Top three quarters towards right]: Demon core
:[Top right]: Flesh-eating bacteria
:[A third down left]: Bomb calorimeter
:[Halfway down three quarters towards right]: Bird flu
:[Halfway down right]: Nuclear football
:[Dead center]: Mustard gas
:[Just below and right of center]: Superbug
:[Bottom halfway right]: Soil liquefaction
:[A third up three quarters towards right ]: Criticality incident
:[Very bottom two-thirds to the right]: Grey goo

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Scatter plots]]
[[Category:Rankings]]
[[Category:Nuclear weapons]]

562: Parking

2025-07-12T17:31:36Z

Chronotix: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 562
| date = March 30, 2009
| title = Parking
| image = parking.png
| titletext = Police reported three dozen cheerful bystanders, yet no one claims to have seen who did it.
}}

==Explanation==
There are few things so annoying as finding, when a parking lot is full, that someone has parked so carelessly as to take up two spaces. Even worse, it may have been intentional; they decided to exchange the risk of someone accidentally scratching their car for the risk of someone doing it on purpose, see [[1030: Keyed]]. However, there are also non-violent ways to tackle the problem;{{Citation needed}} [http://www.threadless.com/product/187/I_Park_Like_an_Idiot politely leave a note] (original link defunct, archive [https://web.archive.org/web/20120719122829/http://www.threadless.com/product/187/I_Park_Like_an_Idiot here]), or, if possible, just move their car (whether to its proper alignment or to an impound lot).

Of course, [[Black Hat]] takes the road less traveled, apparently involving a {{w|cutting torch}} and what looks to be a {{w|circular saw}}. The offending portion of the parked car is sliced off (entirely without surgical precision) and neatly slotted into the remainder of the space. It is now legally parked, but will never become a functional car again.{{Citation needed}} But at least Black Hat finally has space for his own car!

This comic may be the one referenced in [[496: Secretary: Part 3]], where it is shown that Black Hat '...completely disassembled a car' because 'It was parked across two spaces! It was only fair', or this is the second time that a car has been in the way of him parking, so he has taken matters into his own hands.

The title text indicates that a large crowd watched Black Hat at work but refused to identify him, presumably because they feel that the car owner got what he deserved.

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat is in a car driving around a parking lot.]

:[Black Hat's car pulls up next to a red car, that's parked over a line at an angle that blocks two spaces.]

:[Black Hat gets out of his car.]
:''SLAM''

:[Black Hat is now holding a blow torch and a rotary saw, He's also wearing goggles and fuel tanks on his back. The blow torch is lit.]
:''Fwoosh''

:[The badly parked car has been cut in half along a diagonal, and the half of the car that was in the second slot has been moved into the same slot as the rest of the car. Black Hat's car occupies the newly freed space.]

==Trivia==
Black Hat, in the fourth panel, is also seen in the "Your Ad Here" screen.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

1490: Atoms

2025-06-24T08:59:53Z

Chronotix: /* Trivia */

{{distinguish|3050: Atom}}
{{comic
| number = 1490
| date = February 23, 2015
| title = Atoms
| image = atoms.png
| titletext = When I was little I had trouble telling my dad apart from the dog. I always recognized my mom because she had a bunch of extra plutoniums in her middle. I never did ask her why...
}}

==Explanation==
This comic shows another quirky and fantastical ability of [[Beret Guy]]. In this comic, [[Megan]] is preparing a sample of what appears to be some mineral for {{w|elemental analysis}}. It seems to be some kind of {{w|silicate}} containing a small amount of {{w|iron}} (a common example of this would be {{w|red sandstone}}), and she is running a test to see if it contains {{w|beryllium}} (a rarer element whose best-known natural form is as a component of {{w|emerald}}). Such analyses typically involve many instruments and steps to prepare the sample. However, Beret Guy seems to be able to identify all the elements the substance is composed of just by eyeballing it, making him perhaps the perfect elemental analysis instrument.

To confirm this, Megan asks Beret Guy what he sees when he looks at her face, expecting that a normal person would describe the arrangement of colors and features that they see. Since Beret Guy sees the atoms Megan is composed of (mostly {{w|Composition_of_the_human_body|oxygen, carbon and hydrogen}}) he only notices the unusual atoms. In this case he sees the metal atoms her {{w|Dental_restoration#Materials_used|dental fillings}} are composed of. This shows his "atomic vision" extends beyond the surface of the substances. Megan finds this bizarre and asks Beret Guy what is wrong with him. He states that he has always suspected he contains too much {{w|zinc}}, which he believes makes people think he is weird, thus missing Megan's point: what is weird is not Beret Guy's elemental content, but his ability to apparently see everything as atoms sorted by element. He even describes himself as having "too ''many zincs''" rather than "too ''much zinc''", i.e. he's thinking of it in terms of discrete atoms.

High zinc intake ({{w|Zinc toxicity|zinc toxicity}}) can cause nausea, vomiting, pain, cramps and diarrhea. It also reduces copper absorption, which affects the immune system. However, it does not grant superhuman sensory abilities.{{Citation needed}} That is solely a function of [https://coppermind.net/wiki/Tin tin].

The comic continues the theme of Beret Guy's naive misunderstandings of scientific terminology turning to be literally true. In a previous [[1486: Vacuum|comic]] his misinterpretation of the notion of energy in the vacuum resulted in him gaining significant superpowers.

In the title text, the concept is taken even further: Beret Guy found his dad indistinguishable from a dog. This is likely because all mammals are essentially made of the same basic elements. Absent a distinguishing element from either his dad or the dog, they would appear to be the same. He could, however, apparently distinguish his mother because she contained {{w|plutonium}}. This is a very unusual occurrence; a human body should not contain more than a few atoms of plutonium, based on its natural synthesis, and those should be roughly the same in all bodies. Some possible explanations are:
#She had an {{w|Radioisotope thermoelectric generator|RTG}}-powered pacemaker (a few hundred were made in the 1970s).
#She lived near Los Alamos during the second world war and was a member of the [https://web.archive.org/web/20241211130823/https://warisboring.com/the-scientists-who-pee-plutonium/ UPPU club (translated as “You pee Pu!”)]. Alternatively, she could have been exposed to another source such as {{w|radioactive contamination from the Rocky Flats Plant}}.
#She was one of {{w|The Stepford Wives}} robots.
#She was the victim of some unidentified, unethical medical experimentation. Such as {{w|Albert Stevens}}.
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20060218071859/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archimedes_Plutonium#Biographical_notes Archimedes Plutonium] was right all along, and she has some connection with him.
#She actually eats plutonium. Why would we expect anything else from Beret Guy's mother?
It is also possible that Beret Guy's mother containing plutonium is probably intended as a whimsical explanation of his powers. The presence of plutonium in his mother may be the source of his own differences: radioactive exposure (in this case, potentially in utero) is a {{tvtropes|ILoveNuclearPower|common source of superpowers}} in comic books and other fiction (though unfortunately, this does not work in real life{{Citation needed}}). It's possible the plutonium is even in her womb, therefore basically guarenteeing his exposure to it.

It's not clear whether his mother's plutonium is related to his "too many zincs". One explanation for Beret Guy having too much zinc could be that his mother's plutonium changed into zinc through the process of {{w|radioactive decay}}.

It is worth noting that the verbs "recognized" and "had" in the title text are written in past tense. This presents the possibility that Beret Guy's mother passed away due to {{w|radiation sickness}} from exposure to the radiation originating from the plutonium in her middle. This possibility is further evidenced when Beret Guy adds "I never did ask her why...", indicating that he may no longer have the opportunity to do so. This is further corroborated by [[502: Dark Flow]], where Beret Guy also appears to miss his mother.

The English physicist {{w|Henry Moseley}} discovered the law relating the {{w|atomic number}} of elements with their {{w|characteristic x-ray|characteristic x-rays}} when bombarded by free electrons, providing physical evidence for the {{w|periodic table}}, the {{w|Bohr Model}} of the atom and the concept of {{w|atomic number}}. In doing so he developed a method of identifying elements in a substance by bombarding them in a vacuum with electrons and using {{w|x-ray diffraction}} methods to measure the resulting X-rays. A famous French chemist brought him a complicated mixture of {{w|Rare Earth element|Rare Earth elements}}, many of which had only recently been discovered, to test his method. Within a short time, Mosley amazed the chemist by identifying all the elements by number using his method and referring to his chart to name them. This comic may therefore be subtly alluding to this method by suggesting that Beret Guy's eyes can fire electrons at anything he looks at and "read" the resulting X-ray radiation, giving him the ability to identify the composite elements in a similar manner.

==Transcript==
:[Megan stands at a table and is preparing a sample for some kind of analysis in a device, when Beret Guy walks in.]
:Beret Guy: What're you doing?
:Megan: Testing a sample for beryllium.
:Beret Guy: That? Yeah, there's a bunch of berylliums.
:Megan: How do you know?

:[Megan turns to Beret Guy who takes the sample and looks at it.]
:Beret Guy: Look at it! See? Tons of oxygens and silicons, a few irons but definitely some berylliums too! Can't you see them?

:[They continue to talk.]
:Megan: No, I can’t see a list of the atoms in a thing by looking.
:Beret Guy: How do you tell what things are?

:[Zoom in on Megan.]
:Megan: This is ridiculous. Look at me. What do you see?
:Beret Guy (off-panel): You have tons of metal in your face. Lots of fillings, I guess?

:[Megan stares at Beret Guy who takes a looks at his own arm.]
:Megan: What's '''''wrong''''' with you?
:Beret Guy: Too many zincs? I’ve always worried I had too much zinc and everyone thought I was weird.

==Trivia==
In the [https://web.archive.org/web/20150223192206/http://www.xkcd.com/ original version of the comic], there was a typo in the title text. It said "form" instead of "from".
:When I was little I had trouble telling my dad apart form the dog. I always recognized my mom because she had a bunch of extra plutoniums in her middle. I never did ask her why...

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Chemistry]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Atom01]]
[[Category:Comics edited after their publication]]

2294: Coronavirus Charts

2025-06-13T13:12:00Z

Chronotix: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2294
| date = April 15, 2020
| title = Coronavirus Charts
| image = coronavirus_charts.png
| titletext = Adding data for South Korea but with their cases scaled to match the population of Japan and the land area of Australia, and vice versa.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is the 19th comic in a row (not counting the [[2288: Collector's Edition|April Fools' comic]] and [[2293: RIP John Conway|the previous tribute comic]]) in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}.

During the current outbreak of COVID-19, there have been many graphs used by health officials and others to show trends in infection and death rates. Their x-axis is usually time. The curves might represent different countries or different mitigation strategies. But
health officials and media have struggled to decide what to put on the y-axis. Because testing strategies and reporting are so variable across even small regions, their data does not reflect comparable guesses at the true number of cases. So they produce graphs of confirmed cases, confirmed plus suspected cases, deaths, hospitalizations, any of the above per capita, day-to-day changes in any of the above, and [https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/new-york-coronavirus-curve share of test results that are positive for different areas of New York].

This graph, however, while sharing similarities with actual data and graphs, is completely useless. This is due to the bizarre data-points being used, as well as the unhelpful graph axes. The caption of the comic notes as much, perhaps indicating that this comic is intended to satirize the useful, but exceptionally detailed graphs that are currently in use. Some of these graphs have a semilog scale, like this graph - but generally the y-axis is the log scale and the x-axis is not. Sometimes the other graphs compare things of vastly different sizes - as demonstrated by showing both the USA and New York. Sometimes they scale the data to population, as referenced by the title text.

In addition, the selection of geographic areas used here is incomprehensible. Two of the lines represent countries (USA and Italy), and another represents part of one of those countries (New York City area). The New York City area may have been chosen because it has a very large number of cases, more than some countries. However, a fourth line combines Norway and Sweden -- two countries which are culturally, economically, and geographically similar [https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-why-the-nordics-are-our-best-bet-for-comparing-strategies-135344 but have imposed very different strategies] regarding closing businesses and schools. Combining Norway and Sweden obscures any differences attributable to their different policies regarding the virus. A fifth line represents not a geographical area but the ''ratio'' between France and Spain, making an already meaningless graph even less comprehensible.

The title text adds a further ambiguity: Usually, there are only two items being compared in a "vice versa" (e.g. "Would you rather have live in a city with the land size of San Francisco and the population density of Tokyo, or vice versa?" when comparing two other cities with those measurements); here there are ''three'', leading to either ambiguity (''possibly'' two South Korea lines, each based on one of two complementary sets of cross-demographic refactoring), or six lines being embodied in that "vice versa".

'''Other metrics used'''

X-axis:
*Negative test results: Negative [https://covidtracking.com/ test results] would refer to people who were tested for COVID-19, but who do not have the disease (or were not able to confirm having the disease). If there are any places reluctant to test, in order to artificially suppress the unpopular number of positives, this measure would similarly be unreasonably low. It might therefore be an important key measure, used as just one component of a meta-measurement, to regrade or even highlight such practices. At least until the figures are freshly massaged by instead overtesting people with a low probability of being infected.
* per Google search for "COVID": Meanwhile, [https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%203-m&q=covid Google search results for "COVID"] are search hits for that word. There is no relation between these two, and furthermore, it does not make sense for this to be graphed on a {{w|logarithmic scale}}.
* As mentioned above, the x-axis for most charts is time, as it is valuable to know how the virus or deaths are spreading over time. Negative test results should grow over time, but may not grow uniformly depending on availability of tests, and some may later be invalidated as testing methodologies are refined. Given that and depending on the trends in Google searches for COVID, it's entirely possible for multiple points in time to map to the same value of ''x'' (although none of the curves shown here do, Scenario 4 from [[2289: Scenario 4]] did).

Y-axis:
*[https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/worldwide-graphs/#daily-deaths Coronavirus deaths today]: Deaths from the coronavirus "today" are constantly reported by the media, and could be a helpful metric in seeing whether the virus is spreading or not, if deaths "today" are compared to deaths yesterday and previous days.
*[https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/worldwide-graphs/#total-cases Total cases] one week ago: This is a much larger number than deaths and will completely dominate the sum. Cases one week ago might have some predictive value for deaths today or in the near future, but adding them together double-counts many cases.
*{{w|Per capita}}: This is a measure of the amount per person, and is useful for averaging out numbers based on population size. For example, the United States have the most publicly-reported COVID-19 cases and deaths, but also has the third-largest population of all countries, so using per capita numbers tells a different story.

Title text: While adding data for South Korea might be helpful (as it shows an Asian country, compared to just Europe and the US), it is only logical to scale the data to the population of another country (e.g. Japan) if you're actually comparing the two countries (i.e. does Japan have more or fewer cases per capita than South Korea). Scaling cases based on land area is much less useful; it's true that countries with lots of {{w|land area}}, like Australia, do have lower population densities, which affects the spread of disease, but most of the people in Australia live in higher-density cities on the coast, so the actual change is not that great.

==Transcript==
[A graph is drawn.]
:[A curve labeled "United States" starts about halfway up the vertical axis, rises almost to the top, and then levels off about a third of the way along the horizontal axis.]
:[4 other curves are also shown, labeled "New York City area", "Italy", "Norway + Sweden" and "Ratio between France and Spain".]
:Y-axis label: Coronavirus deaths today plus total cases one week ago per capita
:X-axis label: Negative test results per Google search for "COVID" (log scale)
:Caption: I'm a huge fan of weird graphs, but even I admit some of these coronavirus charts are less than helpful.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Line graphs]]

994: Advent Calendar

2025-06-01T08:40:51Z

Chronotix: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 994
| date = December 23, 2011
| title = Advent Calendar
| image = advent_calendar.png
| titletext = I think you could get up to about 11:59:57 before you'd have trouble swallowing the chocolates fast enough. At that point, you'd need some kind of a liquify-and-chug apparatus to get up over the 11:59:59 barrier. Anyway, Merry Christmas!
}}

==Explanation==
An {{w|Advent calendar}} is a special calendar used to count or celebrate the days in anticipation of Christmas. They come in a multitude of forms, from a simple paper calendar with flaps covering each of the days, to fabric pockets on a background scene, to painted wooden boxes with cubby holes for small items. Advent calendars typically take the form of a large rectangular card with "windows", of which there are usually 24: one for each day of December leading up to and including Christmas Eve (December 24). Consecutive doors are opened every day leading up to Christmas, beginning on December 1. The calendar windows open to reveal an image, a poem, a portion of a story (such as the story of the Nativity of Jesus), or a small gift, such as a toy or a chocolate item.

This comic, however, depicts an Advent calendar which has a chocolate every time they get halfway to Christmas. This is a joke because of {{w|Zeno's paradox}}, which said "Before a moving object can travel a certain distance, it must travel half that distance. Before it can travel half the distance it must travel 1/4 the distance, etc. This sequence goes on forever. Therefore, it seems that the original distance cannot be travelled, and motion is impossible." This means that eating chocolates at diminishing intervals will make it so Christmas never happens.

The title text says that when you get close to midnight, it gets physically impossible to eat the chocolates fast enough to keep up, but you could get to the one-second-away mark with a chocolate liquefier and feeder tube.

Going from the second to the last of the visible time stamps it goes like this: At 11:57:11.25 PM there is still remaining 00:02:48.75 (2 minutes 48 seconds and 75 hundredth of a second.) Half of this time period will then progress before the next windows time stamp, that is 00:01:24.375 (1 minute and 24.375 s). This will then give the next time stamp by adding to the previous and we get: 11:58:35.625 PM. This has been rounded to 35.63 s in the comic. Similarly the time stamp for the next four windows, whose top are visible below, can be calculated starting from the fact that there is now only 00:01:24.375 left of the day.

*13: 42.1875 s left, so the time stamp is: 11:59:17.8125
*14: 21.09375 s left, so the time stamp is: 11:59:39.90625
*15: 10.546875 s left, so the time stamp is: 11:59:49.453125
*16: 5.2734375 s left, so the time stamp is: 11:59:54.7265625

It would take three more windows before crossing the 11:59:59 line with less than one second to go. At the 19th window there would only be 0.6591796875 seconds left of the day for a time-stamp of 11:59:59.3408203125. So that would be a window another line further down, even below the green window (no. 15) that is just visible at the button of the panel. And you would have to eat four chocolates in less than five seconds from window no. 16 to fulfill Randall's prediction.

When reaching the 24th window there would be 0.0206 s left, so that is 6 chocolates in 0.638 s. That may be a good place to stop, but of course you could continue at least until reaching the {{w|Planck time}} of 5.39 x 10-44 s. That limit will not be reached before window 162, so there are still 138 chocolates left for those last two hundredths of a second.

[[1153: Proof]] is also about Zeno, and [[1577: Advent]] is a very different longer running Advent calendar (but with only a finite number of windows).{{Citation needed}}

==Transcript==
:[A portion of an advent calendar shows 12 windows where the date can be seen below. The top row is cut off so you cannot see the very top of the window At the bottom there are four more windows, but only the top part can be seen, and there is no decoration visible. All the other windows have a decoration, although, you cannot see the one on the second window as it is opened more than 90 degree. The first is also opened, but not more than you can see there is a decoration. The 3rd is also open. The rest is still closed.]
:[A green mistletoe on red, partially open.]
:December 23rd

:[A fully open window.]
:December 24th 12:00 AM

:[A red and white Santa hat on green just opened.]
:December 24th Noon

:[Two crossed red and white candy canes on white. From here all windows are closed.]
:December 24th 6:00 PM

:[A red Christmas ball on white.]
:December 24th 9:00 PM

:[A white Christmas star on red.]
:December 24th 10:30 PM

:[A red Christmas heart on gren.]
:December 24th 11:15 PM

:[A red Santa sleigh on white.]
:December 24th 11:37:30 PM

:[A red and white Christmas sock on green.]
:December 24th 11:48:45 PM

:[A green Christmas tree on red.]
:December 24th 11:54:22.5 PM

:[A red and green Christmas wreath on white]
:December 24th 11:57:11.25 PM

:[A red and white Christmas gift on green]
:December 24th 11:58:35.63 PM

:[Below the top of four more windows where only the background colors can be seen red, white, green and then red again.]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:'''Zeno's Advent Calendar'''

{{Comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Christmas]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]
[[Category:Calendar]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Advent Calendar]]

1337: Hack

2025-06-01T08:36:47Z

Chronotix: /* Trivia */

<noinclude>{{distinguish|:Category:1337{{!}}the 1337 series}}</noinclude>
{{comic
| number = 1337
| date = March 3, 2014
| title = Hack
| image = hack.png
| titletext = HACK THE STARS
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is an imagined project to re-position the {{w|International Cometary Explorer|ISEE-3/ICE}} probe, and a parody of the 1995 movie ''{{w|Hackers (film)|Hackers}}''.

The history of the probe, as laid out in the comic, is true. The probe did, indeed, return to signal range in 2014, and seemed capable of being controlled, but NASA declined to devote the resources necessary to re-establish communication. The proposed, independent project to take control of the probe and send it on a new mission didn't exist at the time of the comic, but has since [http://spacecollege.org/isee3/ become reality], as [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] noted in a [https://blog.xkcd.com/2014/05/30/isee-3/ blag post]. See [[#Background for ISEE-3/ICE|details below]].

The film ''Hackers'' was about the exploits of a group of teenage computer hackers, and their adventures in gaining unauthorized access to various systems. Like many fictional depictions of hacking, the film was heavily criticized for its lack of technical accuracy, but it did a lot to interest mainstream youth at the time in hacker culture. The primary protagonist goes by the handle "Crash Override", and his rival (and love interest) goes by "Acid Burn". The film ends with the two of them in a swimming pool, on their first date, with the lights in several nearby buildings spelling out "Crash And Burn", in Crash's latest hack/romantic gesture.

The strip depicts a scene in the satellite's control room, which plays out like many of the hacking scenes in the movie, with the system operators being shocked and flummoxed at being locked out of their own system, while an unauthorized party takes control and sends alternative instructions. The screen displays the phrase "mess with the best, die like the rest", which was Crash's signature phrase in the film.

The final row depicts a recreation of (or sequel to) the final scene of the film, with Crash and Burn once again swimming together. This time, however, Burn tells Crash to "make a wish", immediately before a shooting star appears in the sky (there's a tradition of making wishes when shooting stars appear in the sky). The implication is that Burn is the one who hacked the satellite controls and that she placed the satellite on a course for earth, causing it to burn up in the atmosphere in exactly the right time and place to create her own shooting star. This is arguably a much more impressive feat than controlling building lights, and definitely one-ups his previous romantic gesture. Since the ability to do something so dramatic by hacking computer systems depended on a very specific and rare set of circumstances, it's unlikely that he'll ever be able to top it.

The comic number is 1337, which stands for "leet", short for "elite hacker" and "leetspeek" in {{w|leetspeak}}. Leetspeak is a form of symbolic writing that substitutes various numbers and {{w|ASCII}} symbols for letters. It originates from the hacker subculture, where words were converted to leetspeek e.g., to avoid filters and triggers on chat rooms. "1337" for "leet" can most likely be explained as {{w|calculator spelling}}.

The title text "Hack the stars" is also an allusion to ''Hackers'', where the phrase "Hack the planet!" is used on multiple occasions. The movie was previously referenced in [[689: FIRST Design]] and [[1247: The Mother of All Suspicious Files]].

==Transcript==
:[A black image shows an image of the ISEE-3/ICE spacecraft in white. Text is written in white above it]
:The ISEE-3/ICE probe was launched in 1978.
:Its mission ended in 1997 and it was sent a shutdown signal.

:[The text continues, black on white, without a frame around it, between the first frame and the next.]
:In 2008, we learned-to our surprise-that the probe didn't shut down.
:It's still running and it has plenty of fuel.
:...and in 2014, its orbit brings it near earth.

:[Megan holding up one hand and Ponytail are talking to each other.]
:Megan: We could send it on a new mission...
:Megan: Except we no longer have the equipment to send commands to it.
:Ponytail: Can't we—

:[Zoom in on Megan's head and torso as she looks towards Ponytail off-panel to the right.]
:Megan: NASA won't rebuild it. "Too Expensive"
:Ponytail (off-panel): ''Seriously?''
:Megan: I know, right?
:Megan: So the internet found the specs
:Megan: And we went to work.

:[Megan and Ponytail are walking towards right, between Hairbun facing left and Cueball (with head phones) facing right. They are sitting at desks working on their laptops. Megan speaks, as indicated both by the story line and by her hand which is lifted up, but there is not speech line from her to the text.]
:Megan: We've convinced them to give us time on the Madrid DSN transmitter and hacked the maser to support the uplink.
:Megan: And today's the big day.

:[Zoom in on Cueball's head and torso, he holds a hand up to his speaker on his head phones and watches his lit screen (as indicated by lines emanating from it).]
:Cueball: Transmitting...
:Cueball: We have a signal!
:Cueball: We have control!

:[Zoom in on Megan's head and torso. She has turned away from Cueball to the right towards Hairbun.]
:Megan: OK, transmit the new comet rendezvous maneuver sequen—
:Cueball (off panel): What ''the hell?''
:Megan: What?

:[Same setting as when Megan and Ponytail entered the control-room, but Ponytail just stands there and Megan puts a hand out towards Cueball.]
:Cueball: My console went dead!
:Hairbun: ''Mine too!''
:Megan: What's happening?!

:[Another zoom in on Cueball's head and torso and glowing screen. He has both hands down.]
:Cueball: There's a new signal going out over the transmitter!
:Megan (off panel): A bug?
:Cueball: ''Someone else is in the system!''

:[Zoom in on Hairbun's head and torso. She is also working on her laptop, with the glowing screen visible.]
:Hairbun: Kill the connection!
:Cueball (off panel): ''I can't find it!''
:Hairbun: ''They're firing the probe's engines!''
:Cueball (off panel): ''No!!''

:[Back to a zoom in on Cueball. He points at his screen.]
:Megan (off panel): ''Who's '''doing''' this??'' Stop them!
:Hairbun (off panel): ''I'm trying!''
:Cueball: ''Look! My screen!''

:[Same setting as when Megan and Ponytail entered the control-room, but Ponytail has a hand to her mouth and she and Megan stand close to Cueball who has taken his hands off the keyboard. The text on Cueball's laptop screen is shown above the setting, indicated with zigzag lines:]
:M-E-S-S-W-I-T-H-
:T-H-E-B-E-S-T

:D-I-E-L-I-K-E-
:T-H-E-R-E-S-T

:[The last four panels is outside night scenes with a black sky above. In the first of these a woman (Burn) with long hair (Megan like) and a hairy man (Crash) is seen in a swimming pool with blue water.]

:[A zoom out reveals that the pool is on top of a skyscraper in a vertically developed, downtown setting with lots of light in all the skyscrapers, one of which is even taller than the one with the pool. From the top of the central skyscraper speech lines come which indicate that the two from the pool is up there speaking, and we get their names from this panel.]
:Burn: Crash?
:Crash: Yeah, Burn?

:[Same setting but only one speech line.]
:Burn: Make a wish.

:[The last panel shows the same setting, but with the spacecraft streaking across the sky as it enters the Earths atmosphere and burns up in a way that is indistinguishable from a meteoroid.]

==Trivia==

===Background for ISEE-3/ICE===
The {{w|International Cometary Explorer|ISEE-3/ICE}} probe was launched in August 12, 1978 and tasked to study Earth's magnetic field and the solar wind. Before completing its original mission the probe was repurposed on June 10, 1982 to study the interaction between the solar wind and a cometary atmosphere. By flying through the comet {{w|21P/Giacobini–Zinner|Giacobini-Zinner}}'s tail, it became the first probe to do so. This put ISEE-3 in a {{w|heliocentric orbit}}. Its trajectory will bring it close to Earth on August 2014.

The Deep Space Network (DSN) detected the probe again in 2008 because NASA mistakenly left its transmitters on. However, the probe was only transmitting the carrier signal at that time. A status check of the spacecraft has revealed that [https://www.planetary.org/articles/02070836-isee-3 many of its instruments are still working and that it contains plenty of fuel.]

It was reported that the hardware to communicate with ISEE-3/ICE had been decommissioned. The Madrid DSS complex still has the special filter required to communicate with the ICE satellite, but because of frequency conflicts [https://deepspace.jpl.nasa.gov/dsndocs/810-005/101/101E.pdf S-band uplink is not supported.]

On March 1 and 2, 2014 radio amateurs were able to detect the beacon signal from the retired NASA deep space probe ICE (International Cometary Explorer) using the 20 m [https://amsat-uk.org/2014/03/09/radio-amateurs-receive-nasa-isee-3ice-spacecraft/ radio telescope at the Bochum Observatory (Germany).]

===Updates for ISEE-3/ICE===
After this comic was published, it was established that an 18-meter satellite dish at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory does still have the right hardware.
*April 4, 2014: Volunteers started a crowdfunding project on RocketHub to contact the probe and [https://web.archive.org/web/20140417052853/https://www.rockethub.com/42228 put it back into a halo orbit around Lagrangian point L1.]
*May 23, 2014: First contact to the probe was established.
*May 29, 2014: NASA gave them approval to try to achieve contact.
*May 30, 2014: The project, led by [http://www.rockethub.com/profiles/68340-dennis-wingo Dennis Wingo] and {{w|Keith Cowing}}, had taken control of the spacecraft.
*July 2, 2014: The reboot project successfully fired the thrusters for the first time since 1987. The engines on ISEE-3 performed a successful spin-up burn. The spin rate was changed to 19.76 rpm which is inside of the original mission specifications at 19.75 +/- 0.2 rpm.
**Further attempts to change the trajectory into an earth bound orbit did fail. Despite the effort from experts and [https://spacecollege.org/isee3/we-are-borg-crowdsourced-isee-3-engineering-and-the-collective-mind-of-the-internet.html amateurs via the internet], it was determined that the spacecraft had run out of nitrogen pressurant.
*Since the device was still communicating, and many of the instruments were still working, the ISEE-3 was intended to be used for [https://spacecollege.org/isee3/announcing-the-isee-3-interplanetary-citizen-science-mission.html the first citizen science, crowd funded, crowd sourced, interplanetary space science mission.].
*{{w|International_Cometary_Explorer#Contact_lost|Contact was finally lost}} on 2014-09-16.

See [http://spacecollege.org/isee3/ Space College: ISEE-3 Reboot Project Archives] for the coverage of this amazing project.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Space probes]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Computers]]

2761: 1-to-1 Scale

2025-05-17T12:07:31Z

Chronotix:

{{comic
| number = 2761
| date = April 10, 2023
| title = 1-to-1 Scale
| image = 1_to_1_scale_2x.png
| imagesize = 444x281px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = There's a version that shows the planets with no cropping, but it's hard to find a display that supports it.
}}

==Explanation==

[[File:NASA_1-to-1_scale.png|200px|thumb|left|Scaled representation of the full diagram. The comic corresponds to a tiny rectangle at the intersection of all the planets.]]

This comic is implied to be a part of a huge diagram that shows each of the eight planets at real size (as seen by the ant on Earth's surface). Each planet is represented by a circle thousands of kilometers in diameter. However, the planets have been awkwardly placed in an extremely tight circle, so that all eight planets touch (or nearly touch) a tiny central area of "space" a few inches large. This comic shows a fraction of this diagram, cropped so that we see this area of "space" and a little of the edge of each planet intentionally arranged next to it.

The joke of this comic appears to be that when planets are indeed displayed at a 1:1 scale, it is almost impossible to tell their relative sizes, even when the image technically shows (part of) each of the planets.

The reason why each planet's circular border appears straight is because it's such a small area of each planet: you're only seeing a couple of square inches of the surface of each of the planets, and even though they are all round, the curvature would be imperceptible on this scale. The four gas giants are completely smooth, whereas the four rocky planets display features, most notably on Earth where grass and an ant are visible.

That it cannot have been an image of the real planets aligning is clear, as Mercury can be shown to be in front of Jupiter (implying that the latter is in the part of its orbit on the far side of the Sun from the viewer), yet Jupiter obscures Earth (which necessitates that it be in the arc of orbit ''nearest'' any given observer). In other words, there is no possible real alignment of the planets in which Jupiter passes between Mercury and Earth. In the title text it is made clear that this is just a small part of a larger drawing, so this is not an image taken from far away – they are only placed this way for scale.

The title text remarks that it is hard to find a display that supports a version of the image without cropping. This is because a true 1:1 scale image showing all of the planets would be at least as big as the largest one, Jupiter – far larger than any monitor or display currently available{{Citation needed}} – or perhaps even big enough to hold Saturn's rings, in whatever orientation they lie. Furthermore, the amount of video memory that a graphics card would need to have in order to output at anywhere near the same {{w|Dots per inch|DPI}} to such a display, even as a 1-bit-per-pixel-image (i.e., all pixels are either black or white), is well beyond the capabilities of any graphic card that existed at the time of publication.{{cn}}

==Transcript==
:[A frame with a central area of black 'space', bounded at various intersecting angles by eight 'straight lines' representing planetary surfaces, originating from various out-of-frame angles of 'down' and the white of some bodies obscuring some part of the others.]
:[There are labels indicating which line represents each planet.]
:[The four gas-giants' lines are simply drawn, near straight and featureless.]
:[The lines for the rocky inner-planets have variations to them, stereotypical of some part of their surface.]
:[The "Earth" line ('down' being out the top of the frame) has a profile indicating various small-scale vegetation and also features the white silhouette of an ant that may be of a realistic size for your display.]
:[Caption below the panel:]
:The solar system's planets at 1:1 scale

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category: Space]]
[[Category:Comics_with_inverted_brightness]]

730: Circuit Diagram

2025-05-11T09:02:27Z

Chronotix: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 730
| date = April 21, 2010
| title = Circuit Diagram
| image = circuit_diagram.png
| titletext = I just caught myself idly trying to work out what that resistor mass would actually be, and realized I had self-nerd-sniped.
}}

==Explanation==
Another fine example of [[356|nerd sniping]], as mentioned in the title text.
There are pieces of circuit diagrams, road maps, chemical diagrams, and other things all mixed in.
Explanations for each below!

{|class="wikitable table-padding left-align"
!Image Fragment
!width="130px" | Image Location
!Description
|-
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=19|Y=25|W=106|H=37|image=circuit_diagram-019-025-106-037-scale.png|text=A map scale. Lists kilometers and miles as equivalent. (And makes the diagram many miles wide.)}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=15|Y=62|W=40|H=85|image=circuit_diagram-015-062-040-085-antenna.png|text=An antenna. Typical of radio receivers or transmitters. Or the Turtle in {{w|Logo (programming language)|LOGO programming language}}.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=53|Y=60|W=41|H=87|image=circuit_diagram-053-060-041-087-inductor.png|text=A coil or {{w|inductor}}. Normal, but unlabeled.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=107|Y=86|W=85|H=93|image=circuit_diagram-107-086-085-093-cloverleaf.png|text=A {{w|cloverleaf interchange}} or junction is a feature of road networks that does not belong in a circuit diagram. Of course, other types of {{w|p–n junction|junctions}} are important in electronics.
A cloverleaf junction has previously been used in [[253: Highway Engineer Pranks]].}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=184|Y=12|W=87|H=63|image=circuit_diagram-184-012-087-063-battery.png|text=A battery. The voltage of square root of two is strange, but getting about 1.41412... volts is not unheard of. This could also indicate an {{w|Root_mean_square|RMS}} voltage, although this is unlikely given that this is a DC power supply and not an AC generator. The marked polarity is also the reverse of what is implied by the symbol (where the larger terminal is positive).}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=187|Y=110|W=94|H=71|image=circuit_diagram-187-110-094-071-resister.png|text=A 120 ohm {{w|resistor}} is normal enough. "Or to taste" is odd for a circuit diagram and more like instructions from a recipe, e.g., "1 tbsp tomato purée, or to taste".}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=283|Y=50|W=90|H=63|image=circuit_diagram-283-050-090-063-switch.png|text=A normal {{w|switch}}, with a notation to glue it open. Reminiscent of the [http://catb.org/esr/jargon/html/magic-story.html MAGIC/MORE MAGIC] switch.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=337|Y=101|W=69|H=64|image=circuit_diagram-337-101-069-064-transisitor.png|text=A {{w|Bipolar_junction_transistor#PNP|bipolar PNP transistor}}, except that it has two emitters and no collector. It also resembles one of the schematic symbols for a {{w|DIAC}}, except the arrows are backwards.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=52|Y=141|W=79|H=107|image=circuit_diagram-052-141-079-107-compass-points.png|text=Compass points. A map feature, not a circuit feature, but possibly useful given the circuit is many miles wide.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=415|Y=18|W=63|H=58|image=circuit_diagram-415-018-063-058-resister.png|text=A normal resistor, labeled with color code. Brown-Blue-Orange would be 16000 ohms. {{w|Electronic color code|Resistor color codes}} are for reading the value on the physical device itself. They would not normally be shown on the circuit diagram, where it's much easier to just write the number, e.g. 16K.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=517|Y=14|W=42|H=32|image=circuit_diagram-517-014-042-032-diode.png|text=A normal {{w|diode}}.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=615|Y=55|W=73|H=74|image=circuit_diagram-615-055-073-074-666timer.png|text=A chip. The normal timer is a "{{w|555_timer_IC|555}}". "666" would be the number of the beast in [http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Rev&c=13&v=18&t=KJV#18 Rev. 13:18]. The pin connected to "?" is the CTRL pin on a normal 555 timer, which would typically be connected to ground (via a decoupling capacitor) if used at all; the implication here seems to be that it would be connected directly to Hell itself.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=632|Y=138|W=69|H=41|image=circuit_diagram-632-138-069-041-bat.png|text=A Batman logo.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=650|Y=211|W=75|H=71|image=circuit_diagram-650-211-075-071-squirrel.png|text=A squirrel, or perhaps a wire bent into the shape of a squirrel. {{w|Electrical disruptions caused by squirrels|Squirrels are among the leading causes of disruptions to electrical grids,}} so having one as part of a circuit is inviting disaster. [[:Category:Squirrels|Squirrels]] also appear in past and future xkcd comics.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=606|Y=165|W=54|H=53|image=circuit_diagram-606-165-054-053-inductor.png|text=A coil or inductor. An inductor in an AC circuit is analogous to a mass in an oscillating mechanical system; rather than listing the coil's inductance, the measurement of an analogous mechanical element is given: 11 kilograms of mass. However, the mass could also be the mass of the wires used, which would be a lot of winds.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=538|Y=209|W=99|H=59|image=circuit_diagram-538-209-099-059-generator.png|text=A 240-volt AC generator (or other power source).}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=483|Y=186|W=111|H=103|image=circuit_diagram-483-186-111-103-shorted-generator.png|text=A shorting wire around a generator. The label reads "Omit this if you're a wimp." If this wire is included, it will quickly melt - or worse.
Theoretically, wimps will omit the wire, and people who know this fact will also; the only people who would willfully include it are those who feel that putting on a show of toughness outweighs actual logic.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=419|Y=78|W=57|H=75|image=circuit_diagram-419-078-057-075-scarab-beetles.png|text=A jar of {{w|Scarabaeidae|scarab beetles}}. Possibly a conflation of a {{w|Leyden jar}}, that is an actual very old-style electrical/electronic component, and something like a {{w|killing jar}} or other {{w|Insect trap|insect-collection equipment}}. Or even, due to the traditionally Egyptian beetles, a repurposed {{w|canopic jar}}.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=482|Y=47|W=28|H=44|image=circuit_diagram-482-047-028-044-variable-resister.png|text=A {{w|variable resistor}} with center tap. Normally, there would be an arrowhead on the center tap.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=507|Y=53|W=22|H=27|image=circuit_diagram-507-053-022-027-capacitor.png|text=A normal {{w|capacitor}}.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=577|Y=318|W=96|H=62|image=circuit_diagram-577-318-096-062-magic.png|text="{{w|Magic Smoke}}" is the legendary stuff that all circuit components require to function. This is why all components cease to function after releasing smoke. When an electrical component is subject to excessive current it often fails due to heat. This heat is often accompanied by a burning smell and smoke, right at the moment that the circuit fails. Hence the joke that the reason that the circuit failed is that "the magic smoke that makes it work has been released." }}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=669|Y=315|W=51|H=66|image=circuit_diagram-669-315-051-066-frayed-wires.png|text=Some frayed or dangling wires. The wire on the left seems confused because it did not manage to cross with the one on the right.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=567|Y=392|W=58|H=48|image=circuit_diagram-567-392-058-048-buoy.png|text=A {{w|Fishing float|float}}, which is used in fishing to control the depth of the attached line. This might actually complete the circuit, depending on the design, as the hooks are metal and may be connected by the same spring to provide the tension to secure fishing line to the float.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=458|Y=336|W=111|H=86|image=circuit_diagram-458-336-111-086-moral-rectifier.png|text=A {{w|Diode_bridge|bridge rectifier}}, which would normally turn alternating current at the top and bottom into direct current on the left and right. In this case, it is labeled as a "moral rectifier". This is presumably a play on the idea of moral rectitude – it makes your circuit more moral. Why this matters in a circuit is unclear.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=423|Y=259|W=80|H=85|image=circuit_diagram-423-259-080-085-warm-front.png|text=This resembles both the schematic symbol for part of a {{w|transformer}} and the meteorological symbol for a {{w|warm front}}, which is a feature on a {{w|Surface weather analysis|synoptic weather map}}.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=190|Y=199|W=54|H=52|image=circuit_diagram-190-199-054-052-battery.png|text=A normal 50-volt battery.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=173|Y=200|W=89|H=56|image=circuit_diagram-173-200-089-056-shorted-battery.png|text=A battery is grounded on both sides. Something will melt or burn out quickly, unless these are separate "earth ground"s, in which case the ground might get a bit cooked.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=259|Y=198|W=174|H=25|image=circuit_diagram-259-198-174-025-pull-wire.png|text=Text reads "Pull this wire really tight". This kind of physical-property issue may indicate a high-frequency radio device. Or, given the absurdity of the context, it's a silly reference to a "high tension wire."}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=141|Y=211|W=41|H=91|image=circuit_diagram-141-211-041-091-3-8-inch.png|text=A specified 3/8-inch separation. This probably indicates a carefully controlled capacitance issue. Also contradicts the scale of the drawing, by which the distance shown would be about 0.8 miles ({{#expr: (0.8 * (25146/15625)) round 5}} km) or 0.8 km ({{#expr: (0.8 * (15625/25146)) round 5}} miles), depending on which interpretation of the given scale you choose.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=173|Y=309|W=92|H=59|image=circuit_diagram-173-309-092-059-eel.png|text=An {{w|electric eel}}. This may be an effective power source in the circuit, capable of producing a shock at up to 600 volts and 1 ampere of current (600 watts), but for less than 2 ms.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=266|Y=307|W=35|H=41|image=circuit_diagram-266-307-035-041-resistor.png|text=A normal resistor.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=222|Y=358|W=34|H=29|image=circuit_diagram-222-358-034-029-capacitor.png|text=A normal capacitor.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=130|Y=335|W=44|H=40|image=circuit_diagram-130-335-044-040-resistor.png|text=A normal resistor, labeled "ë". This may be a play on {{w|e (mathematical constant)|Euler's Number}}, which doesn't normally have a {{w|tréma}} or an {{w|umlaut (linguistics)|umlaut}}. Alternatively instead of being an umlaut or tréma it may indicate the second {{w|derivative}} of e with respect to time in {{w|Newton's notation}}, in which case, as e is a constant, the resistance of this element is zero.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=65|Y=249|W=61|H=92|image=circuit_diagram-065-249-061-092-blender.png|text=Our best guess is that this is a {{w|blender}}. Due to the scale, this would certainly be the worlds largest blender. Record setting blenders are not typically part of computer circuits.{{Citation needed}}}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=20|Y=342|W=115|H=73|image=circuit_diagram-020-342-115-073-arduino.png|text=An {{w|arduino}}, labeled "Arduino, just for blog cred". May refer to the fact that inexpensive, easy-to-integrate single-board computers like the arduino, which have contributed to the rise of {{w|Maker culture}}, are used and discussed frequently in that culture, and the use of one might impress readers. The comment implies that an arduino is not otherwise needed in this circuit, although it is necessarily hard to tell, given the other components of the circuit.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=39|Y=423|W=118|H=82|image=circuit_diagram-039-423-118-082-meca.png|text=A chip labeled "Most expensive chip available". The small curve at the top is a part of the packaging designed to show its orientation.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=159|Y=428|W=91|H=50|image=circuit_diagram-159-428-091-050-neck-strap.png|text=Labeled "Neck Strap", which could be piece of torture or execution equipment, or to restrain the hired hand flipping the switch below. May also be a reference to the grounded wrist straps people working with electronics commonly wear, to prevent accidental static discharges from frying the circuitry.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=147|Y=480|W=110|H=88|image=circuit_diagram-147-480-110-088-switch.png|text=A switch labeled "Hire someone to open and close switch real fast." Possibly meant to perform the function of an {{w|Electronic oscillator|oscillator}} in a more hackish manner. Could also be a reference to {{w|Maxwell's Demon}}.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=273|Y=498|W=61|H=64|image=circuit_diagram-273-498-061-064-resistor.png|text=A 5 ohm resistor labeled "(decoy)". One end is not attached to anything. Perhaps this indicates wishful thinking that electrons might be tricked into entering this part of the circuit despite the fact that there's nowhere for them to go.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=307|Y=453|W=103|H=56|image=circuit_diagram-307-453-103-056-tongue.png|text=A pair of contacts, labeled "Touch Tongue Here". Could be referring to the practice of daring someone to touch their tongue to the contacts of a 9V battery.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=301|Y=270|W=45|H=45|image=circuit_diagram-301-270-045-045-frown.png|text=A frowny-face in a circle which is usually used to denote components without dedicated symbols, such as a voltmeter or an ammeter.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=294|Y=311|W=128|H=124|image=circuit_diagram-294-311-128-124-IC.png|text=A small integrated circuit. The lower gate is an {{w|Inverter (logic gate)|inverter}}, wired as a free-running oscillator. The upper gate is an {{w|XOR gate|XOR}} wired to act as either a free-running oscillator or a latch. Since the XOR will be slower than the inverter, the overall output of the upper gate is probably very chaotic. Two "input" wires are not connected at all. An additional wire is attached to the top with hot glue, which could act to control static electricity and electrical leakage.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=302|Y=235|W=91|H=25|image=circuit_diagram-302-235-091-025-curve.png|text=A caution sign at a curve. Another road feature in the circuit. This is a play on the notion that 90-degree corners on printed circuit board traces can disrupt signal integrity.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=401|Y=455|W=67|H=68|image=circuit_diagram-401-455-067-068-CH3.png|text=A {{w|methyl group}} (chemistry) attached to a corner. If the circuit were an organic chemical, it would be reasonable to find a number of these.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=453|Y=167|W=43|H=93|image=circuit_diagram-453-167-043-093-baloon.png|text=A balloon, possibly blowing in a breeze.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=572|Y=68|W=22|H=43|image=circuit_diagram-572-068-022-043-inductor.png|text=A coil or inductor.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=508|Y=96|W=42|H=20|image=circuit_diagram-508-096-042-020-inductor.png|text=A coil or inductor.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=534|Y=61|W=22|H=31|image=circuit_diagram-534-061-022-031-ground.png|text=A ground connection.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=472|Y=49|W=134|H=140|image=circuit_diagram-472-049-134-140-solderr-blob.png|text=A {{w|Soldering#Soldering_defects|solder blob}} covering a portion of the circuit. Normally, this would not be part of the circuit diagram, but a mistake in building the circuit.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=493|Y=443|W=207|H=158|image=circuit_diagram-493-443-207-158-res-rats-nest.png|text=A rat's nest of 1 ohm resistors. It is labeled "Oh, so you think you're such a whiz at EE201?" The name EE201 (Electrical Engineering 201) follows US course naming conventions for what appears to be a basic level course in electrical engineering (compare the term {{w|101 (term)|101}}), which would include being taught how to [http://www.wikihow.com/Calculate-Series-and-Parallel-Resistance calculate the effective resistance of various resistor networks]. Performing the calculation by hand on a network this complex would probably be very difficult; by computer-assisted methods its resistance can be computed as 93755/121051 ohms (approximately {{#expr:93755/121051 round 5}} ohms, not a very friendly number!).
A grid of 1 ohm resistors has appeared earlier in [[356: Nerd Sniping]], a comic also referred to in the title text.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=315|Y=533|W=232|H=200|image=circuit_diagram-362-531-151-167-arena.png|text=An {{w|arena}}, with a few bodies in it. Note the direction of movement enforced by the surrounding diodes, {{w|Mad_Max_Beyond_Thunderdome|"two men enter, one man leaves"}}, a film reference.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=569|Y=653|W=47|H=51|image=circuit_diagram-569-653-047-051-resistor.png|text=A "{{w|pi}}" ohm resistor.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=610|Y=655|W=75|H=70|image=circuit_diagram-610-655-075-070-generator.png|text=A 500-volt AC generator. The wiring to the right shorts out this generator.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=481|Y=682|W=85|H=64|image=circuit_diagram-481-682-085-064-ground.png|text=A ground connection, labeled "Bury deep, but not too deep". This type of ground connection is called an "earth ground" The "too deep" part might be a reference to {{w|Moria (Middle-earth)|Moria}} in Lord of Rings. The dwarves dug too deeply and disturbed a Balrog. See also comic [[760: Moria]].}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=17|Y=610|W=75|H=73|image=circuit_diagram-017-610-075-073-fishhook.png|text=A ground connection at the end of a curve, looking like a fishhook. This could mean being "earth[ed] down under", which is a phrase used to refer to Australia or the southern hemisphere.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=206|Y=662|W=66|H=45|image=circuit_diagram-206-662-066-045-yarn.png|text=A length of "wire" is labeled "yarn". This would make it a terrible conductor.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=102|Y=590|W=93|H=88|image=circuit_diagram-102-590-093-088-fluxcapacitor.png|text=The {{w|DeLorean time machine#Flux capacitor|flux capacitor}} from {{w|Back to the Future}}. This may be difficult to implement, since flux capacitors are not available to most people,{{Citation needed}} and connecting one to power may cause time travel or time distortions in the local area.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=138|Y=685|W=54|H=24|image=circuit_diagram-138-685-054-024-I95.png|text=A road sign for {{w|Interstate 95}}, which is the main north-south highway on the east coast of the United States, running from Maine to Florida.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=12|Y=713|W=134|H=36|image=circuit_diagram-012-713-134-036-tothesun.png|text=A connection labeled "To center of Sun". A 93-million-mile or 150-million-km circuit is rather large.{{Citation needed}}}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=31|Y=753|W=144|H=177|image=circuit_diagram-031-753-144-177-rats-nest.png|text=A rat's nest of wires. Everything winds up being connected. May also be a parody diagram of an [http://i.stack.imgur.com/np2p9.png undirected graph], from graph theory.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=22|Y=513|W=97|H=61|image=circuit_diagram-022-513-097-061-esf.png|text=A label reading "Electrons Single File". If this happens, the resistance in this section of wire would be rather high.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=256|Y=619|W=29|H=39|image=circuit_diagram-256-619-029-039-ground.png|text=A ground connection.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=589|Y=600|W=58|H=46|image=circuit_diagram-589-600-058-046-vibrator.png|text=A vibrator, which would be a motor with an off-center weight attached to it.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=532|Y=779|W=74|H=52|image=circuit_diagram-532-779-074-052-motor.png|text=A motor, labeled "To Scale". This indicates that the physical size and shape of the motor must match the size of the parts around it, or is consistent with the specified scale of the drawing. }}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=662|Y=822|W=73|H=109|image=circuit_diagram-662-822-073-109-holy-ground.png|text=A ground connection, in a beaker labeled "{{w|Holy Water}}", possibly creating {{w|Holy ground (religion)|holy ground}}.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=197|Y=740|W=48|H=55|image=circuit_diagram-197-740-048-055-speed.png|text=A sign indicating a speed limit of 55 MPH. This is a rather typical road sign, but inappropriate for a circuit diagram. It is presumably referring to the speed of individual electrons, which can normally vary up to almost the speed of light - although based on the width of the wire and assuming about 1A of current, the ''average'' speed of all electrons, the drift velocity, is likely to be in the order of 10-17mph.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=238|Y=706|W=100|H=116|image=circuit_diagram-238-706-100-116-flipflop.png|text=A pair of {{w|NOR gate}}s wired as a SR (set-reset) {{w|Flip-flop (electronics)|flip-flop}}. The label reads "May use an actual sandal instead", which is a play on the meanings of the term "{{w|Flip-flops|flip-flop}}". Also,the gate looks like a sandal.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=322|Y=708|W=70|H=54|image=circuit_diagram-322-708-070-054-holdingpen.png|text=A pen usually used to hold animals in via a fence enclosure.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=339|Y=777|W=42|H=49|image=circuit_diagram-339-777-042-049-knot.png|text=A simple {{w|overhand knot}}, which would have pretty high resistance due to its characteristic pretzel shape.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=191|Y=889|W=149|H=33|image=circuit_diagram-191-889-149-033-ecg.png|text=This appears to be an {{w|Electrocardiography|electrocardiograph}} (ECG) trace, but not the sort that would be seen in a healthy person. If this were a real ECG trace, the absence of large, clear {{w|P wave (electrocardiography)|P waves}} might indicate {{w|Atrial Fibrillation|fine atrial fibrillation}}, but in some recording configurations, P waves are sometimes lost in the noise anyway. Additionally, without a time scale to tell us the ventricular heart rate, it is impossible to make a strong educated diagnosis of any hypothetical disease at all. If we assume it is atrial fibrillation, it is not clear if Randall intended this, or if he is just not familiar with how a normal ECG should look. Lastly, we should throw all of these findings out of the window, as it does not appear that this is an actual ECG machine, but simply a bent wire, much like the "Not a resistor" label nearby.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=223|Y=826|W=82|H=68|image=circuit_diagram-223-826-082-068-photodiode.png|text=A {{w|photodiode}}, labeled "Tear Collector". A photodiode is a light-sensing device.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=373|Y=859|W=49|H=68|image=circuit_diagram-373-859-049-068-lamp.png|text=A lamp. This is not [http://electronicsclub.info/circuitsymbols.htm the symbol used in electrical circuits], but a drawing of a lightbulb.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=450|Y=887|W=65|H=32|image=circuit_diagram-450-887-065-032-inductor.png|text=A coil or inductor.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=537|Y=847|W=120|H=72|image=circuit_diagram-537-847-120-072-inductor.png|text=A coil or inductor, labeled "Take off shirt while wiring this part. Ooh, yeah, I like that." Stripping while wiring plays on the more mundane action of stripping a wire.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=504|Y=860|W=34|H=41|image=circuit_diagram-504-860-034-041-resistor.png|text=A resistor labeled "?". Presumably this means the resistance is unknown.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=459|Y=828|W=55|H=38|image=circuit_diagram-459-828-055-038-resistor.png|text=A resistor labeled "YES". Likely another improper unit - a reference to boolean values YES (TRUE) and NO (FALSE). Depending on the limits of a circuit, a resistor would still have a YES boolean value. Possibly indicating that this is a real resistor, as opposed to the one above it in the circuit, labeled "not a resistor." This may also be a reference to the question: "How much INSERT OBJECT HERE do you want?, Yes.", "yes" meaning all of the items or an infinite amount}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=389|Y=774|W=58|H=53|image=circuit_diagram-389-774-058-053-resistor.png|text=A resistor labeled "8 mm". Resistance is measured in ohms, and while it might be useful to specify the dimensions of a component to be used (usually on an actual assembly template, or other written documentation, rather than upon a connectivity diagram) the lack of required resistance rating/acceptable range adds far more doubt.}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=443|Y=747|W=93|H=84|image=circuit_diagram-443-747-093-084-resistor.png|text=A resistor labeled "Not a resistor; wire just does this". Apparently the wire is or must be physically bent into a zig-zag shape, which would not serve much useful purpose in a low frequency or DC circuit, or perhaps it reflects the fact that any wire has a certain (small) amount of resistance just by being a wire. In a {{w|Radio frequency|high frequency circuit}} this can be actually useful, as the shape and length of the {{w|Transmission line|transmission line}} alters the {{w|Electrical impedance|impedance}} of the line. ([https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phaseshifter2.png Example])}}
{{circuit-diagram-part|X=415|Y=863|W=82|H=24|image=circuit_diagram-415-863-082-024-unsure.png|text=A symbol for a feedthrough capacitor, labeled "3 Liters". Probable word-play on "capacity/capacitor." Also similar to the symbol for an orifice or flow restriction used on plumbing or hydraulic diagrams, in which case the "3 Liters" might mean 3 liters per minute or per second.}}
|}

==Transcript==
:[In the upper left corner there is a map scale, labeled with 1 mi (1 km).]
:[Underneath the scale is a circuit diagram with the following items connected:]
:An antenna symbol.
:A blender.
:An Arduino, labeled with "Arduino, just for blog cred".
:A chip, labeled "Most expensive chip available".
:A symbol for an inductor.
:A pattern that looks like a highway cloverleaf.
:A battery symbol (with the + and - symbols on the wrong ends) with a value of √2V.
:A resistor symbol label "120Ω or to taste".
:A switch that is labeled "glue open".
:A transistor with two emitters, one P and one N, and no collector.
:A jar of scarab beetles.
:A resistor labeled "brown blue orange".
:An unlabeled resistor with a center tap.
:A capacitor.
:A diode.
:A ground.
:An inductor.
:An another inductor.
::The two inductors and ground are all covered by a "solder blob".
:A "666 timer" that has pin 5 going into a question mark.
:A compass rose.
:A battery, labeled 50V, with grounds on both sides.
:A long horizontal wire that is labeled "pull this wire really tight".
:An AC source that is labeled 240V, shorted out, with a label on the short "Omit this if you're a wimp."
:An inductor that is labeled with "11kg".
:A Batman symbol.
:A squirrel.
:A wire that is labeled as a distance 3/8".
:A 50V battery.
:A frowny face.
:A vertical wire with a 90 degree bend labeled "caution".
:A balloon.
:An inductor symbol with a line on the bottom edge labeled as "warm front".
:A resistor labeled "ë".
:An electric eel.
:A capacitor.
:An unlabeled resistor.
:A gob of hot glue attached to a chip with an inverter hooked to an XOR gate, both with feedback into each other.
:A neck strap.
:A bridge rectifier labeled as "Moral rectifier".
:A bottle of magic smoke.
:A fishing bobber.
:A broken wire labeled with a question mark.
:A vertical wire labeled with "electrons single file".
:A switch labeled "Hire someone to open and close switch real fast."
:A contact labeled "touch tongue here".
:A resistor labeled "5Ω (decoy)" with only one terminal connected.
:A methyl group attached to a wire.
:A complex mesh of 1Ω resistors labeled with "Oh, so you think you're such a whiz at EE201?"
:A wire labeled "electrons single file".
:A wire bent in a U shape with an upside-down ground on the end.
:A flux capacitor with the bottom wire labeled "I-95".
:A wire labeled "yarn".
:An arena with two diodes going in and one leaving.
:An anode labeled "Bury deep, but not too deep."
:A motor labeled "vibrator".
:A resistor with a value of π.
:A 500V AC source.
:A wire that leads out of frame with a label "to center of sun".
:A 55 MPH speed limit sign.
:An SR latch (flip-flop) labeled "may use an actual sandal instead".
:A holding pen.
:A wire in a knot.
:A resistor labeled "8mm".
:A resistor symbol labeled "not a resistor; wire just does this".
:A motor symbol labeled "to scale".
:A tangled mess of wires connected and jumping over each other.
:A photo diode labeled "tear collector".
:A wire in the shape of a ECG.
:A light bulb.
:A capacitor-looking symbol labeled "3 liters".
:A resistor labeled "yes".
:An unlabeled inductor.
:A resistor with a question mark as a label.
:An inductor labeled "Take off shirt while wiring this part. Ooh, yeah, I like that."
:A ground symbol immersed in a beaker of holy water.

==Trivia==
This is one of the six [[Footer comics|footer comics]] featured in the bottom segment of [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Engineering]]
[[Category:Maps]]
[[Category:Footer comics]]
[[Category:Squirrels]]
[[Category:Back to the Future]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Emoji]]

1271: Highlighting

2025-05-01T19:44:06Z

Chronotix: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1271
| date = September 30, 2013
| title = Highlighting
| image = highlighting.png
| titletext = And if clicking on any word pops up a site-search for articles about that word, I will close all windows in a panic and never come back.
}}

==Explanation==
A number of people find it easier to read long texts by marking their place as they move through the reading. When done on paper, this may be done with a ruler, pencil, or finger. On-screen, however, one of the most effective methods is by highlighting the text being read. People accustomed to this form of reading often do it absentmindedly. Some people simply highlight parts of an article they're consulting without regards to which line they're currently reading, just to occupy their hands.

Highlighting, however, has the potential to create shapes on screen. Randall is referring to the fact that the shapes created may occasionally be symmetrical, which creates satisfaction. Different highlighting patterns may be caused by the user's browser, the site provided, or by simply dragging one's cursor across the screen with the mouse button held down, and releasing at different shapes.

The top example shows tight-fitting highlight syntax, which only covers the text of the paragraph. This is the most common result of highlighting an entire paragraph, but as paragraphs are rarely symmetrical, this example is marked by an X.

The second example starts the highlighting a few words in and continues to the end of the paragraph, while the third example begins another half-word in and continues down a line and a word before ending. Both of these patterns would be caused by manually highlighting the text with the mouse button, rather than rapidly-clicking until a segment is highlighted. The second example forms a square where the three lines of highlighted text overlap, while the third has rotational symmetry of the selected region; both are marked with checks.

The fourth example highlights the entire paragraph, as well as the whitespace caused by the indentation of the paragraph and at the end of the paragraph when the last line does not continue to the opposite margin. This example has both rotational and divisible symmetry, and is marked with a check.

The fifth example highlights the whitespace after the end of the paragraph, but not the whitespace of the indentation, leaving an odd block at the start of it. This ruins the paragraph's symmetry, and so this example is marked with an X.

The bottom example refers to the practice of websites adding a script to disable highlighting, often to discourage readers from copying their content. This creates a great dissatisfaction in readers accustomed to highlight as they read, shown by the many overlapping "X"s. Ironically, since the comic is an image, the text in the comic can also not be highlighted.

The title text refers to the practice of websites of adding a script that searches upon clicking any word in the text; most notably done by {{w|Yahoo News}} in years prior. The search may be of the site, the web, or of an advertisement provider. The script sometimes creates a popup, which, Randall says, causes him to "panic", and consequently never want to return to the site again. It is in fact quite annoying to the occasional highlighter, causing them to lose their place and interrupting their train of thought.

==Transcript==
:[A paragraph of text is shown. The highlight starts away from the leftmost edge of the highlight, and is a different distance to that between the rightmost edge of the highlight and the highlight end. Red X.]
:[A paragraph is shown. The highlight's starting point, end point, and number of lines included is such that there is an internal square in the middle, illustrated in green. Green tick.]
:[A paragraph is shown. Not only does it have an internal square, but the distance between the leftmost edge and the highlight start point is the same as the distance between the rightmost edge and the highlight end point. Green tick.]
:[A paragraph is shown. The entire paragraph is highlighted, making one big rectangle. Green tick.]
:[A paragraph is shown. The whole paragraph is selected, but the highlight starts away from the leftmost margin. This is shown with a red box, an arrow, and "?!?!". Red X.]
:[A paragraph is shown. Over the top is overlaid "[Clicking to highlight text is disabled]". Many, many red Xes.]
:I absentmindedly select random blocks of text as I read, and feel subconsciously satisfied when the highlighted area makes a symmetrical shape.

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

1271: Highlighting

2025-05-01T19:42:13Z

Chronotix: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1271
| date = September 30, 2013
| title = Highlighting
| image = highlighting.png
| titletext = And if clicking on any word pops up a site-search for articles about that word, I will close all windows in a panic and never come back.
}}

==Explanation==
A number of people find it easier to read long texts by marking their place as they move through the reading. When done on paper, this may be done with a ruler, pencil, or finger. On-screen, however, one of the most effective methods is by highlighting the text being read. People accustomed to this form of reading often do it absentmindedly. Some people simply highlight parts of an article they're consulting without regards to which line they're currently reading, just to occupy their hands.

Highlighting, however, has the potential to create shapes on screen. Randall is referring to the fact that the shapes created may occasionally be symmetrical, which creates satisfaction. Different highlighting patterns may be caused by the user's browser, the site provided, or by simply dragging one's cursor across the screen with the mouse button held down, and releasing at different shapes.

The top example shows tight-fitting highlight syntax, which only covers the text of the paragraph. This is the most common result of highlighting an entire paragraph, but as paragraphs are rarely symmetrical, this example is marked by an X.

The second example starts the highlighting a few words in and continues to the end of the paragraph, while the third example begins another half-word in and continues down a line and a word before ending. Both of these patterns would be caused by manually highlighting the text with the mouse button, rather than rapidly-clicking until a segment is highlighted. The second example forms a square where the three lines of highlighted text overlap, while the third has rotational symmetry of the selected region; both are marked with checks.

The fourth example highlights the entire paragraph, as well as the whitespace caused by the indentation of the paragraph and at the end of the paragraph when the last line does not continue to the opposite margin. This example has both rotational and divisible symmetry, and is marked with a check.

The fifth example highlights the whitespace after the end of the paragraph, but not the whitespace of the indentation, leaving an odd block at the start of it. This ruins the paragraph's symmetry, and so this example is marked with an X.

The bottom example refers to the practice of websites adding a script to disable highlighting, often to discourage readers from copying their content. This creates a great dissatisfaction in readers accustomed to highlight as they read, shown by the many overlapping "X"s. Ironically since the comic is an image, the text in the comic can also not be highlighted.

The title text refers to the practice of websites of adding a script that searches upon clicking any word in the text; most notably done by {{w|Yahoo News}} in years prior. The search may be of the site, the web, or of an advertisement provider. The script sometimes creates a popup, which, Randall says, causes him to "panic", and consequently never want to return to the site again. It is in fact quite annoying to the occasional highlighter, causing them to lose their place and interrupting their train of thought.

==Transcript==
:[A paragraph of text is shown. The highlight starts away from the leftmost edge of the highlight, and is a different distance to that between the rightmost edge of the highlight and the highlight end. Red X.]
:[A paragraph is shown. The highlight's starting point, end point, and number of lines included is such that there is an internal square in the middle, illustrated in green. Green tick.]
:[A paragraph is shown. Not only does it have an internal square, but the distance between the leftmost edge and the highlight start point is the same as the distance between the rightmost edge and the highlight end point. Green tick.]
:[A paragraph is shown. The entire paragraph is highlighted, making one big rectangle. Green tick.]
:[A paragraph is shown. The whole paragraph is selected, but the highlight starts away from the leftmost margin. This is shown with a red box, an arrow, and "?!?!". Red X.]
:[A paragraph is shown. Over the top is overlaid "[Clicking to highlight text is disabled]". Many, many red Xes.]
:I absentmindedly select random blocks of text as I read, and feel subconsciously satisfied when the highlighted area makes a symmetrical shape.

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

3074: Push Notifications

2025-04-11T08:53:11Z

Chronotix:

{{comic
| number = 3074
| date = April 9, 2025
| title = Push Notifications
| image = push_notifications_2x.png
| imagesize = 277x347px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = NOTIFICATION: Now dismissing a head of the Notification Hydra… NOTIFICATION: Success! You have dismissed a head of the Notification Hydra! Different title text: :3
}}
To experience the interactivity of the game, visit the {{xkcd|3074|original comic}}.

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please write a better overall explanation and explain the other functions of the comic. If you see any comic images that haven't been uploaded yet, please download and add them!}}
This interactive comic is the 15th [[:Category:April fools' comics|April Fools' Day]] comic released by Randall, just over a week late. It uses {{w|push notifications}} to change the comic image over time and make other statements.

Upon viewing the comic for the first time, a sequence of notifications will be rendered over the comic itself. The notifications have a fade-in animation and appear one after another. The sequence is divided into several "groups" of notifications, each containing up to 4 regular notifications and an interactable button, which has a circled arrow icon to the right as well as a different text color. Clicking the arrow removes all notifications on screen and proceeds the sequence to the next group.

At the end of the sequence, a red-background option to sign up for xkcd notifications is presented. This part differs depending on if the user is "playing" from a mobile or desktop browser.

On desktop, clicking this will result in the browser prompting the user to allow or block xkcd.com's request to send push notifications. By clicking allow, the game begins. If blocked, the comic shows a message "An actual error occured :(", and the laptop bursts into flames. Note that the laptop also blows up in response to any other browser error, such as a 500 Internal Server Error, which is reported to happen if you click the pause button too quickly.

On mobile, a new on-screen notification will show up, telling the user to add xkcd.com to their home screen in order for it to send push notifications on mobile. Upon doing so and opening the webpage from the home screen, the system will prompt the user to allow or block push notifications from this webpage. The outcomes of allowing and denying are the same as on desktop.

Once the game begins, you are provided with two buttons: one labeled "Emergency Stop" which will let you either end the game or sign up for real xkcd updates only, and one labeled "Silence notifications at a cost" which will silence notifications at the cost of notifying two random people.

Up to 7 clickable cats periodically spawn at predetermined positions around the page, including one on the edge of the Emergency Stop button.

For a table of all notification messages, see [[3074: Push Notifications/Table of Notifications]].

A general list of notification types include:
* A few starter notifications about this comic, the successful sending of a notification of this comic, and the lack of another comic.
* An announcement that an old comic was posted, specifying a (seemingly) random comic and its publication date. The publication date seems to be shown in a random {{w|Calendar date|calendar date format}}.
* A word game where a first notification asks you to type a word, with further notifications to be sent whenever someone chooses the same word as you.
** The word can be chosen by clicking on the first notification, which lands you in the comic page. The comic pane will be changed to a comic-style input dialogue with a space for the word and a submit button.
** Upon providing a word, a notification informs you that you will then receive notifications (of the form "Someone else has selected the word <Your Word>!"), and that your choice is permanent and cannot be changed.
** It is entirely possible to (mis-)submit a blank word, and to receive "Someone else has selected the word !" notifications.
* A "streak" notification counting the number of times you've clicked it. The message changes first every 10 clicks, then every 50 clicks (after 100) and then at increasing intervals, with the last new message name being at 2000 clicks. After every 50 clicks there is an offer to make future clicks count twice, making this a simple version of {{w|Cookie Clicker}}. If you choose to accept the offer by clicking on it, it will reset your clicks back to zero but makes all future clicks count double of the current click rate; you can also reject the offer by continuing to click on the click counter message. There are occasionally notifications encouraging you to keep clicking and "extend your streak," tempting you with "a free click to keep you going". After 400 clicks it will reset your clicks back to zero but makes all future clicks count four times.
** Early notifications encourage further clicking.
** Approaching a hundred, the messages grow more concerned and later start warning that the server will crash or has crashed.
** Above 750: "Are you just doing this to annoy me?"
** 1000-2000: "You're just doing this to annoy you?"
** Above 2000: "I guess it worked"
* A "have you seen my cat?" notification which causes all the cats to spawn when clicked.
* Cat fact notifications that appear when a cat is clicked, in reference to [https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/241/756/e6e.png this exchange].
* Various "Erroneous Alerts" with a warning triangle {{w|emoji}} (⚠ U+26A0), some with just flavor text, some corresponding to changes in the comic image.
* "Zoom notifications" including numeric coordinates, sometimes prefixed with "oh look!"; plotting these coordinates creates an image that appears to be a turtle, which could be a reference to [[1416: Pixels]].
* "Constant reminders" with references to mathematical, physical, or some other constants. The constant values are stated to be "at the tone", likely in reference to {{w|Speaking clock|time-of-day phone services}}, which are live or recorded human voice services that tell you the exact time "at the third stroke" over the phone.
* A notification that offers to provide weather alerts for your location, which leads into a series of notifications asking whether you live in a named city. If none of the cities that it knows are selected, your location is set to the summit of {{w|Mount Washington}}.
* When the time is near a full hour or half-hour, that the current time is five o'clock.
* An invitation to subscribe to the "What if?" YouTube channel
* A notification with the heading "System Log" that reads (INFO): A user has paused notifications
** This notification presumably appears when a random user has pressed the "Silence notifications at a cost" button.
* A reminder to comment and subscribe. When click on it will redirect to one of various Wikipedia pages, including: {{w|Talk:Mathematics}}, {{w|Talk:Romance}}, {{w|Talk:Language}}, (presumably, as the fourth of the stated topics [[xkcd]] is about) {{w|Talk:Sarcasm}}, {{w|Talk:Alarm_fatigue}}, {{w|Talk:Boneless}}, {{w|Talk:Sitting}}, {{w|Category talk:Unix text editors}}, {{w|Talk:Robot}}, {{w|Talk:Jamming avoidance response}}, {{w|Talk:Squircle}}, {{w|Talk:Like}}, {{w|Talk:Drafting linen}}, {{w|Talk:Hot dog}}, {{w|Talk:Goomba}}, {{w|Talk:Tidal locking}}, {{w|Talk:Multiple unit}}, {{w|Talk:Flag semaphore}}, {{w|Talk:Stoating}}, {{w|Talk:Roseate_spoonbill}}, {{w|Talk:Teleportation}}, {{w|Talk:List of dumplings}}, {{w|Talk:List of hat styles}}, {{w|Talk:Cats and the Internet}}, {{w|Talk:Laminar flow}}, {{w|Talk:Time management}}, {{w|Talk:Hole}}, {{w|Talk:Spot welding}}, {{w|Talk:Myst}}, {{w|Talk:Agriculture in ants}}.
* A "{{w|Carriage return|Carriage Return}} Line Feed", referencing the Windows standard of storing line returns as a carriage return character followed by a line feed (newline) character. However, the xkcd Carriage Return Line Feed is instead a news feed concerning the next stop on a supposed "Carriage Return Line" of a train system. The announcements are all related to stations on the {{w|London Underground}}, including the use of the phrase "{{w|Mind the gap}}".

The title text references the {{w|Lernaean Hydra}}, a multi-headed serpent-like monster from Greek mythology. In many stories, such as {{w|Labours_of_Hercules#Second:_Lernaean_Hydra|the second labour of Hercules}}, when one of its heads was cut off, two heads would grow in its place, resulting in more heads than before. Something similar has happened in the title text itself: there was a notification that was requested to be dismissed, and it created two more notifications notifying the user of the status of the dismissal.

The subdirectory where the images and scripts for this comic are stored is titled 'marconi,' which is likely a reference to the Italian engineer and inventor of the same name, {{w|Guglielmo Marconi}}, who is credited with inventing the radio, and did much work in the field of early communication systems.

Clicking the "Emergency Stop" button allows you to either restart the full game or to subscribe just to notifications for new comics. Blocking notifications to just new comics at this stage will also result in [[Cueball]]'s laptop exploding.

===Gallery of comic images===
<gallery class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" widths=100px>
File:3074_normal.png|Cueball sitting at his desk, with his laptop.
File:3074_big_laptop.png|Cueball sitting at his desk, with a very large laptop.
File:3074_plant_small.png|Cueball sitting at his desk, with a small potted plant.
File:gallery_placeholder.png|Cueball sitting at his desk, with a squirrel in the pot.
File:3074_plant_big.png|Cueball sitting at his desk, with a much larger plant that has clearly outgrown the pot, at least vertically.
File:3074_big_plant_cat_A.png|Cueball sitting at his desk with the larger plant, with a cat on one of the branches.
File:gallery_placeholder.png|A second image of Cueball sitting at his desk with the larger plant with a cat on one of the branches, but in a different spot.
File:3074 Desk with Cat Foreground.png|Cueball sitting at his desk, with a cat in the foreground near the point of view.
File:3074_cat_chair.png|Cueball sitting at his desk, his chair replaced with a large cat.
File:3074_computer_fire.png|Cueball sitting farther back from his desk, with the laptop on the desk on fire.
File:3074_float.png|Cueball, the desk, and the laptop floating in the air.
File:3074_spin.png|Cueball spinning in his chair.
File:3074_desk_sit.png|Cueball sitting on the desk, facing the laptop on the chair.
File:3074_gameover.png|The desk vacant with "Game Over" displayed if you use the emergency stop.
File:3074_sword.png|Cueball sitting at his desk, with a laptop on the desk, and a sword leaning against the desk on the other side.
File:gallery_placeholder.png|Cueball and Ponytail swordfighting while the computer has an hourglass icon, referencing [[303: Compiling]].
File:3074_flooding.png|The room flooded 2/3 of the way up the desk. Cueball is still sitting with his laptop.
File:3074_sailboat.png|The same flooding, with a miniature sailboat behind Cueball.
File:gallery_placeholder.png|The same flooding, with a cat face behind Cueball.
File:3074_Flooded_Shark_Fin.png|The same flooding, with a shark fin on the far side of the desk, facing toward Cueball.
File:gallery_placeholder.png|Cueball kneeling on the chair, which is raised up higher than the desk, and leaning over to use the laptop.
File:gallery_placeholder.png|Cueball sitting at the desk, which has been extended behind his laptop like a long meeting table.
File:gallery_placeholder.png|No Cueball, only the chair, desk, and laptop.
File:gallery_placeholder.png|Cueball using the laptop on his lap, with no desk.
File:gallery_placeholder.png|Cueball with a squirrel on his head.
File:gallery_placeholder.png|A squirrel sitting at the desk, seemingly using the laptop.
File:gallery_placeholder.png|Cueball standing on top of the laptop keyboard.
File:gallery_placeholder.png|Cueball sitting at the desk, wearing a wizard hat.
File:3074_floor.png|Cueball sitting on the floor behind the desk.
File:3074_tentacles.png|Cueball sitting in his chair, shielding his face from a tentacle coming from the computer screen.
File:3074_cat.png|The cat that appears after returning to the comic window after leaving it idle for long period of time. It has a unique title text of ":3".
File:zoom_turtle.png|The turtle that appears when graphing coordinates from the Zoom Notifications.
</gallery>

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball sits at a desk in an office chair. He is typing on a computer.]
:[Gray message boxes with a small circled “x” at the top right corner are shown:]
:Happy April 1st (observed)!
:To celebrate, we were excited to introduce a new xkcd.com feature: push notifications for new comics!
:Unfortunately, this feature has gone horribly wrong.
:Until further notice, we are asking people ''NOT'' to sign up for new comic notifications.
:Frankly, we recommend not even clicking on any notifications to learn more.
:''Click this notification to learn more!'' (a circled arrow is shown)

:“Push notifications for new comics” sounds like a simple feature, right?
:There’s a nice API for browser notifications. xkcd updates three times a week.
:So you just send a notification for each update, right?
:That’s what we thought, too.
:''Click to continue!'' (a circled arrow is shown)

:[To the side of the comic frame is a big, horizontal hexagonal stop sign]
:Sign: Emergency STOP
:Below the sign: ''Halt ALL notifications and forget everything''
:The good news is that we did build a button to stop xkcd new comic notifications.
:You can press this button at any time and the system will stop sending you notifications.
:The nightmare will be over and the server will forget you ever existed.
:This part definitely works.
:''The rest of the system does NOT work.'' (a circled arrow is shown)

:We’re sorry.
:We don’t know how things went so wrong.
:The system is sending more than three notifications a week. A LOT more.
:We cannot recommend signing up for xkcd new comic notifications at this time.
:''Click here to ignore the warnings.'' (a circled arrow is shown)

:No, really.
:Our notification system may send a large number of very real system notifications.
:These may flood your browser, displace other notifications, and cause problems.
:<big>⚠️DO NOT ENABLE XKCD NEW COMIC NOTIFICATIONS⚠️</big>
:''Yeah, I get it, but I definitely want to enable xkcd new comic notifications.'' (a circled arrow is shown)

:Are you sure?
:''Yes!'' (a circled arrow is shown)
:Absolutely sure?
:''YES!!'' (a circled arrow is shown)
:To enable push notifications on mobile you need to add xkcd.com to your home screen.

:''Click here to subscribe to xkcd notifications''

:[Initial static image shows Cueball sat on an office chair at a desk using a laptop computer. A notification 'window' is speech-bubbled above the computer]
:[Grey notification box, header:] April 1st (Observed)
:[Notification box, further text:] Open xkcd.com to view.
:Laptop: [Warning sign.]

:[When viewed live, various xkcd-style popover notifications appear, each can be dismissed or (usually the last on every page) invited to press an 'onwards'-style button.]

:[First page of messages]
:Happy April 1st! To celebrate, we were excited to introduce a new xkcd.com feature: Push Notifications for new comics!
:Unfortunately, this feature has gone horribly wrong.
:Until further notice, we are asking people NOT to sign up for new comic notifications.
:Frankly, we recommend not even clicking on any notifications to learn more.
:[Notification with 'onwards button':] ''Click on this notification to learn more''

:[Upon choosing to continue, further messages appear, replacing any prior ones left open]
:"Push Notifications for new comics" sounds like a simple feature, right?
:There's a nice API for browser notifications, xkcd updates three times a week.
:So you just send a notification for each upafte, right?
:That's what we thought, too.
:[Notification with 'onwards button':] ''Click on this notification to continue''

:[Next set of popover messages]
:The good news is that we did build a button to STOP xkcd new comic notifications.
:You can press this button at any time and the system will stop sending you notifications.
:The nightmare will be over and the server will forget you ever existed.
:This part definitely works.
:[Notification with 'onwards':] ''The rest of the system does not work.''
:[To the right of the comic frame, a red, octagonal button has white text upon it:]Emergency Stop
:[Below the button is red text:] Halt all notifications and forget everything

:[Next set of popovers, "stop" button remains permanently so long as you continue]
:We're sorry.
:We didn't know how things went so wrong.
:The system is sending more than three notifications at this time.
:['Onwards' notification:] ''Click here to ignore the warnings''

:[Next set.]
:No, really.
:Our notification system may send a large amount of very real system notifications.
:These may flood your browser, displace other notifications, and cause problems.
:[Text bookended by warning triangles:] Do not enable xkcd new comic notifications
:['Onwards':] Yeah, I get it, but I definitely want to enable xkcd new comic notifications

:[Just two popovers, initially]
:Are you sure?
:['Onwards':] Yes
:[On clicking onwards, two more appear below]
:Absolutely sure?
:['Onwards':] Yes!!
:[On clicking, a further popover]
:[Red-tinted 'onwards'-style popover with warnings:] Click here to subscribe to xkcd notifications.

:[...something appeared then dissappeared...]
:[Genuine(?) browser dialogue activated:] xkcd.com wants to send you notifications. Block / Allow

:[If allowed, one more popover in the original style]
:Success!!
:[Below the Emergency Stop button, an oval gray button appears labeled in white:] Silence notifications at a cost
:[Below that, in grey text:]Temporarily pause your notifications at the cost of notifying two random people.

:[Further changes include the contents of the pane, whether Cueball is sat at the laptop, whether the laptop is larger, or a pot-plant, whether there are cats in the frame, outside the frame, sat on the Stop buttons, whether Cueball is sat on a large cat instead of an office chair...]
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:April fools' comics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

3072: Stargazing 4

2025-04-05T12:09:11Z

Chronotix:

{{comic
| number = 3072
| date = April 4, 2025
| title = Stargazing 4
| image = stargazing_4_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x386px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = We haven't actually seen a star fall in since we invented telescopes, but I have a list of ones I'm really hoping are next.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT DISTRACTED BY STARS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is the fourth comic in the [[:Category:Stargazing|Stargazing]] series, and it followed [[2274: Stargazing 3]] that came out five years before. That was the longest stretch between two comics in the series so far.

The host [[Megan]] begins the introduction by referencing rude {{w|Yelp}} reviews of her stargazing lessons. The reviewers doubt that she is actually a qualified astronomer due to how simplistic her lessons are, and that she is actually just saying the words that come to mind.

Then she states that there are over 20 stars in the sky and some of them are over the age of 100. While this is true, it is an extreme underestimation of their number and age, which respectively number in the thousands (for visible stars) and billions or millions of years. Though in a city there could be less than 20 stars visible even in a clear night; in a normal stargazing session the event should though be moved to a place with as little light pollution as possible. Although, given the unprofessional nature of Megan's lessons, there is no guarantee that it does not take place in a city.

Megan continues to state true facts that are of no value. She states that our galaxy is huge and that there are more grains of sand in the {{w|Milky Way}} than grains of sand on all of Earths beaches. Since the Earth's sand is a subset of all of the galaxy's sand, and there are more planets with sand other than Earth (such as Mars), there are unquestionably more grains of sand in the entirety of the Milky Way than on Earth. This is a parody of the common saying that there are more stars in the visible universe than grains of sand on all the beaches of Earth. Tangentially it is actually unclear as to whether the stars outnumber Earth's sands, as shown here: [https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-stars-outnumber-the-sands-of-earths-beaches/ Do Stars Outnumber the Sands of Earth’s Beaches?] and here: [https://www.astronomy.com/science/the-ever-lasting-question-more-sand-or-stars/ The ever-lasting question: more sand or stars?]. Original quote was also all the sand on Earth not just on the beaches.

Megan also adds a helpful hint to those that do not know what a beach is, calling a beach a big wet sandbox.

She then finishes the lesson by correctly saying that there is a black hole in the center of our galaxy ({{w|Sagittarius A*}}), and that stars sometimes fall in and get consumed by the black hole. When stars come too close to black holes, they experience a {{w|tidal disruption event}} (TDE), where a star is pulled apart by the black hole after exceeding its {{w|Roche limit}}. This creates streams of material that orbits the black hole and forms an accretion disk, that will eventually be consumed by the black hole or ejected in jets.

She adds her personal opinion on this fact saying that such events are "hilarious" and proceeds by saying that it's okay to laugh at the fate of those stars as the gravity of the black hole will prevent any signals from those stars escaping. This is due to black holes' immense gravitational attraction that prevents even light from escaping. In Megan's case the most important consequence of this fact is that anyone on planets around such stars cannot leave Yelp reviews if they hear her laughing. Thus, they cannot add to those that mock her lesson.

However, as the Roche limit of a black hole is always greater than its {{w|Schwarzschild radius}}, reviews made just after the star begins spaghettification could still escape the black hole. Not only do stars not use any kind of human-made technology,{{citation needed}} but any information regarding the app Yelp has yet to reach any star near Sagittarius A*, and will only reach it in 27 thousand years. It is much more likely that someone living on one of the star's planets would try to leave a comment on Yelp, not the star itself. But the same issues with distances would of course apply. It also seems unlikely that any planet would still be following a star when it first gets that close to a super massive black hole.

In the title text Megan claims that we haven't actually seen a star fall into the black hole since we invented telescopes. This is false as over a hundred TDEs have been discovered in a variety of wavelengths, including by the Hubble telescope. The way title text is phrased though she might have meant fall into specifically Sagittarius A*, and it is true that we haven't observed any star fall in into our closest supermassive black hole, there was however {{w|Sagittarius_A*#Discovery_of_G2_gas_cloud_on_an_accretion_course|G2 gas cloud on an accretion course}} discovered in 2002. Megan also apparently has a list of stars she would want to see fall into the black hole. But she can keep hoping as humans at this time has no way of changing the orbit of any star. So unless she is hoping for one (or more) of the closer stars to fall in next, she is unlikely to experience success based on her list. But it is a dark wish to have, that certain stars should fall in to a black hole. They might have planets with life on them, that would thus also be destroyed.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[The background is black, Megan is in front of three others, Cueball and Ponytail to the left, and White Hat to the right. Megan is drawn in white while the background characters are in grey.]

:[Megan:] Welcome back to stargazing.
:[Megan:] According to some ''incredibly'' rude yelp reviews, I'm "not informative" and "can't possibly be an astronomer" and "just kind of say words as they occur to me."
:[Megan:] I guess some losers just hate cool space facts.

:[The sky is white, the floor is black, Megan is pointing at the sky. Hairy, a Megan-like girl, Cueball, and Ponytail are on the left, White Hat and Hairbun are on the right. All of the characters are drawn in black.]

:[Megan:] Anyway, that dot is a "star."
:[Megan:] There are over 20 stars in the sky, and some of them are more than 100 years old.

:[The background is black again, the panel zooms in on Megan's face.]

:[Megan:] Our galaxy is huge.
:[Megan:] You know the beach? That big wet sandbox?
:[Megan:] Well, there are more grains of sand in the milky way than in all earth's beaches combined.

:[Character off-panel to the left:] Wow.
:[A different character off-panel to the right:] ...Wait.

:[The background is still in black, Ponytail is left of Megan, White Hat and Hairbun on the right. Megan is again drawn in white while the background characters are in grey.]

:[Megan:] The galaxy has a black hole at the center.
:[Megan:] Sometimes stars fall in, which is ''hilarious''.
:[Megan:] Don't worry, it's okay to laugh. The gravity prevents signals from escaping, so they can't leave yelp reviews.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Stargazing]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Stargazing]]
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Danish]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]

1506: xkcloud

2024-10-20T21:49:24Z

Chronotix: /* Trivia */

{{comic
| number = 1506
| date = April 1, 2015
| title = xkcloud
| image = xkcloud.png
| titletext =
}}
<div class="toclimit-3">{{TOC}}</div>
*To experience the interactivity of the game, visit the {{xkcd|1506|original comic}}.

==Explanation==
This was the sixth [[:Category:April fools' comics|April fools' comic]] released by [[Randall]]. The previous fools comic was
[[1350: Lorenz]] from Tuesday April 1st 2014. The next was [[1663: Garden]] scheduled for release Friday April 1st 2016, but in the end released on [[1663:_Garden#Monday_4th_of_April_release|Monday April 4th]] 2016.

In this interactive {{w|April Fools' Day}} comic [[Cueball]], presumably representing [[Randall]], admits to the readers he built a flimsy {{w|Cloud computing|cloud}} services company using spare computers and parts. Included in the cloud hardware are (from left to right) a {{w|Macintosh}}, several old laptops, an {{w|Alienware}} tower, a {{w|Nintendo}} {{w|Virtual Boy}}, an old desktop with the cover off, and an {{w|Atari, Inc.|Atari}} {{w|Pong#Home_version|Pong Console}}.

He named the company after xkcd, xkcloud being a [[:category:Portmanteau|portmanteau]] of "[[xkcd]]" and "{{w|Cloud computing|cloud}}", here pronounced XK-cloud. The portmanteau incidentally still contains all four xkcd letters in the correct order: xkcLOUd. This was later reused for the xkcd keyboard in [[2150: XKeyboarCD]], where the word Keyboard, has an X before the word and a C before the D with the xkcd letters capitalized.

After providing his services to various (very big) companies ({{w|Facebook}}, {{w|Twitter}} and {{w|Tumblr}}), that are very concerned with securing the users data, his setup failed (some portions may even have caught fire? He is not sure). This has caused him to lose the data he was required to preserve as part of his service. He thus requests the readers help to make up and re-imagine the lost data by pressing the large red button at the bottom of the comic. Preferably ''before Facebook & Co notice we lost it.''

If you take him up on his request and push the button, you will be taken to a "survey" where you will get the chance to help by either trying to combine a posted picture with its lost text or, vice versa, by trying to combine a posted text with its lost picture. In either case you get a selection of texts/pictures to choose from but can also choose to write your own text or even draw the picture. After doing this you get to see this combination in the news feed together with several other posts (which other people have helped combine from other lost data). And then you can continue helping as long as you like.

The content of the "surveys" appear to come from reader submissions, and are different upon every click. This is thus both an interactive and a dynamic comic with only the first picture shown on top of this page. By inviting the xkcd readers to add content that will be displayed in the comic later, the result of all the interactions leads to the generation of {{w|Crowdsourcing|crowd-sourced content}}.

It was not immediately clear if the reader-created drawings or captions are, in fact, being cycled into the surveys and feeds, or if the displayed items were all created by Randall and the reader-created content is simply discarded. With the huge amount of different comments and drawings that already appeared on the first day, and since especially the drawings look like they are created in the simple Paint app (i.e. not by Randall), there can be no doubt that most of the content is created by the users. However he must have made some pictures to get it all started, and at least one of these can be seen [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures posted by users#Randall's pictures|here]].

This comic resembles last years April Fools' comic [[1350: Lorenz]] where user input also generated a very complex crowd-sourced comic. In both comics it was possible to create a [[#Permalink|permalink]] to save a given version of the comic to share with others.

An earlier comic was also related to problems with cloud computing: [[908: The Cloud]].

Due to the very complex nature of this comic, there are lots of details that may need an explanation. This can be found in the sections below.

*Note that there have been some [[#Changes and bugs|changes and bugs]] regarding this comic after it was first released.
*Some of the pictures that are referenced below was saved before these changes took place. So consult [[#Changes in the comic|these changes]] if the pictures do not match the expectations.

===Functionality===
*Pressing the red button at the '''front page''' (shown here above) links to one of two interactive survey pages (see [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages|the pictures]] of all types of pages.).
**All these pages have a news feed below the top post. This will be described [[#News feed|here below]].
*The '''Lost picture page''' (see several [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages#Help.21 We lost the picture page|pictures here]]) asks the reader to indicate which of eight '''line-drawings''' (see several [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures posted by users|examples here]]) best matches a given caption, or the reader can create their own drawing.
**This can be done on the '''Draw one your self sub-page''' (see several [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages#Draw one your self page|pictures here]]) in a simple web-based "{{w|Paint (software)|paint}}"-style {{w|Web application|app}}.
***Note that someone found a way to copy a picture into the comic. See at least one example of this [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures posted by users#Copy pasted pictures|here]].
*The '''Lost text page''' (see several [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages#Help! We lost the text page|pictures here]]) asks the reader to indicate which of eight captions best matches the given drawing, or the reader can create their own caption and submit this instead.
**These captions are user generated. See transcribed examples of these '''post from users''' [[1506: xkcloud/Transcript#Post from users|here]].
*In either case, at the top of the pages, we are given the '''Reason for the data loss'''. And there are many different reasons (all by account of Randall).
**A list of transcribed reasons (with explanations included) [[1506: xkcloud/Transcript#Reason for data loss|can be found here]].
*After completing the "survey" you go to a new page appears:
*The '''Help us recover more data''' page (see several [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages#Help us recover more data page|pictures here]]) has yet another red button like the front page, but on this page it is at the top of the page, saying exactly ''Help us recover more data''.
**By pushing this button you go to one of the two "Lost" pages mentioned above.
*It is possible to go back to the front page at any time by clicking the picture of Cueball sitting behind his desk in the same way as he does in the first picture on the front page.
**Cueball is always present to the left on all pages after the front page.
**But if you go back to the front page like this, then if you again click on the "original" red button to return to help with the recovery, you will always go back to the same page you came from (with the same posts in the news feed and if it is one of the lost data pages also with the same post to fix.)
**You can thus only get to a new survey page by finishing the current task (or pressing a permalink as [[#Permalink|discussed below]]).

===News feed===
*Below the "survey" or the post you just recovered (to begin with), you will be presented with a listing similar to a {{w|Facebook features#News Feed|Facebook news feed}}, listing six posts of the line-drawings apparently tagged with the captions as paired up by other users survey results.
**The posts are made by apparently '''fictional randomly-named readers''' (see transcribed examples [[1506: xkcloud/Transcript#User names|of names here]]).
**But there are only 20 '''user pictures'''. See these (and why it is known that there are only 20) as well as a description of these pictures [[1506: xkcloud/Transcript#User pictures|here]].
**The posts are accompanied by a button similar to Facebook's "'''{{w|Like button}}'''" but here the button is labeled with different words which are all {{w|synonyms}} for ''[http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/want want]'' (see transcribed [[1506: xkcloud/Transcript#Like buttons|list of words here]]). So not "to like" but "to want" is the new thing in this version of Facebook.
*After the first time you recovered a post, there will thus be seven posts on the ''Help us recover more data'' page, six new posts below the one you just helped complete.
**The only difference when you click this pages red button (rather than when you start for the first time at the front page) is that there will now be seven posts below the one you need to fix.
**These seven posts are the same as those you had on the previous page, including your own at the top.

===Permalink===
*Next to each post there is a text ''Link'' above the "Want" button above the picture. (This goes for all three types of pages mentioned above.)
*The "Link" is an actual link of the type that is called a "'''{{w|permalink}}'''", a portmanteau of "permanent-link".
*If you wish to "save" any given post for future reference (for instance one with your own drawing) you can do so by copying down this link.
**Last year's April Fools comic, [[1350: Lorenz]], was the first time the [[1350: Lorenz#Permalink|concept of a permalink]] was used on xkcd.
**The permalink option did not appear in the comic until very late in the afternoon on April 1. The "Link" was thus not present on the pictures refereed above. (See [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages#After 18:00 ET on April 1st|these pictures]] instead).
*Pressing the "Link" next to any given post takes you to the page of the permalink:
**This page will show a version of the ''Help us recover more data'' page with the chosen post as the top post.
**When you click the permalink it takes you to this "new" page and this page will '''not''' show all the posts from the page where you chose it.
**Only the post you saved via the "Link" next to it.
***All the other post will again just be chosen at random, and these will change again every time you reload this page via the saved permalink.
***Even the text on the "want" buttons also continues to change.
***The user name and user picture stay the same though.
*As an '''example''' of a [http://xkcd.com/1506/#post/50b47c70-3a7c-504d-bcc0-60597338e999 permalink] this is a post saying: ''We told Iran that atomic energy is unsafe'' for a picture of a black devil and two Cueballs next to a road.
**Originally the user name was {{w|Mark Zuckerberg}} but this has since changed to ''Destiny1983'' next to a user picture of a stick figure with black hair on a skateboard.
**See [[#Changes in the comic|Changes in the comic]] below for a possible reason.
**Also please make a note here, if the user name and picture is no longer the same.
*A huge '''collection of permalinks''' with link to the pictures have been amassed here:
**[[1506: xkcloud/Table of Permalinks|Table with permalinks]] contains all known images and captions at least once. (2179 feed entries, featuring 1481 different pictures and 1935 different captions, as of 2015-04-24)
**[[1506: xkcloud/List of Permalinks|List of Permalinks]] contains all known permalinks (25585 links, as of 2015-04-24)

====Details on the permalink====
*Since the post from the page where you choose the first permalink is reloaded... Can you then only save one post at a time?
*The answer is "no" - you can save all posts on any given page.
**For each "Link" text on a given page, there has already been generated a unique permalink {{w|URL}}.
**Thus you can copy any permalink via the "Link", without actually pressing the "Link" to obtain the permalink for a given post.
**Furthermore, since this may be the only comic where you can copy the text, you can simple mark the entire page and copy paste it into a document that contains formating. If you do this then you will have all the text, pictures and most importantly the permalinks for all the posts.
*If you click the Link and go to the permalink page there will be seven posts, six new and the one you just saved.
**The behavior of the posts is very strange from here if you press more permalinks on this first permalink page
**Also it will not be the same again after this first time as compared to if you continue to help recover more data and use the permalink later.
**On this first permalink page, where your chosen post is at the top, if you click on another post's permalink the following will happen:
***The post you originally choose disappears from the page, as the new chosen post is moved to the top.
***The other five post remains in the same order, so there are not only 6 posts.
***If you continue to choose the other posts one at a time, they will simply exchange place with the one at the top, with all six posts remaining.
***Once you have been through all of them, then the order of the post has been determined.
****So if you click on a "Link" that you have already once activated, then this page will just reload, and the post will have the same order as last time.
****This is only until you choose to reload, or when you load such a permalink later. Then again it will just be the chosen post, and then always six other new posts.
**If you then at some point move on via the red button you kind of stay in the permalink page, now just with new options to choose from.
***If you then create a new post, six new posts will be loaded below.
***When you click on a permalink at this point, there will not be any reloading of the post (because it is not the first time).
***Any post you click will move to the top, but all the other (six this time) will stay, the top post just moving down to another position.
****It is not always a direct exchange. Sometimes the top post moves to another position and then pushes the others down until they reach the now calculated position of the post now at the top.

===Our policy regarding your personal data===
:On every of the pages after the front page Cueball sits at his desk labeled XKCD.COM
:Below him are xkcloud's policy:
:''Our policy regarding your personal data'':
*Please stop sending us your personal data
*We are running out of places to put it
*Is this even yours?
*Does anyone recognize whose data this is?
*Oh jeez never mind here comes more data
*Why are you doing this
*Please stop
*Help
:As can be seen he is getting desperate because people keep sending them more data.
::He has no place to store it.
::And he do not even know who the data belongs to.
::So now he hopes someone else recognize the data (what you are doing if you choose to help).
::In the end he simply pleads for people to stop and then shouts ''Help''.
:If you click on the desk you are sent back to the front page of the comic.
:But below Help is their real contact detail [[#Don't contact us|Don't contact us]]:

===Don't contact us===
*At the same time the permalink appeared, there was also suddenly a new link on all other pages than the front page, written in a very light grey font. It can be hard to see on some screens and has possibly changed colour to become harder to see since it first appeared.
**It is located right beneath ''help'' at the bottom of the list of problems written under ''our policy regarding your data'' right beneath Cueball at his desk to the left (see [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages#After 18:00 ET on April 1st|picture here]]).
**In some cases, tilting the screen will help to make it visible- if you still can't see it, you can still find it with the cursor, or you can also highlight the text below Cueball down to make it easier to see.
*The link text reads '''Don't contact us''' and links to [https://euphoria.io/room/xkcd a now-defunct chatroom formerly hosted at euphoria.io].
*Click the [https://euphoria.io/room/xkcd/ link] to open an xkcd chatroom on Euphoria. (See a [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages#xkcd chat forum|picture here]]). <ref>As of February 2024, euphoria has been shut down, but the xkcd room lives on in the form of a new instance on [https://euphoria.leet.nu/room/xkcd/ euphleet].</ref>
**Several xkcd users began posting on the original chatroom at around 18:00 {{w|Eastern Time Zone|Eastern time}} (Randall's timezone).
**After picking a username, you can chat in real time with the other users. You can change your username by clicking on it near the bottom of the screen and entering a new one.
''We are open for anyone to chat here. Hey you! Come right over and say hello to us! ~<s>[https://euphoria.io/room/xkcd euphoria.io/room/xkcd]</s> https://euphoria.leet.nu/room/xkcd/ ''
(PS. Please say thank you to @Xyzzy on it; He did make the new chat, after all. (From @KurzgesagtDuck11.))
====Undocumented Feature====
*This chat room is reminiscent of the one in a comic [[1305: Undocumented Feature]].
*As mentioned above, this chat room is hard to access! You need to know that there is a hidden link on the pages you get to by pressing a red button in {{xkcd|1506}}.
**You do get to choose your username (this is not the case in Undocumented Feature), but you could change it. Or others could use the same.
*When it came out, many users began using the chatroom.
*Maybe Randall timed these extra features for when people came back from work all over the US.

===Extra xkcloud pages===
Since this comic is so big and complicated extra pages have been created to include much more information than is wished for on this main page (which is already of considerable size). These pages are listed here for convenience, but they are also listed in the relevant sections below:
*[[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages]] - Pictures representing the other three main types of pages.
*[[1506: xkcloud/Pictures posted by users]] - Some of the pictures of the comic created by users.
*[[1506: xkcloud/Transcript]] - A transcript of these pages with explanations for the reason for data loss and other features, such as usernames, like buttons, etc.

==Changes and bugs==
*During the first day there occurred several changes to the comic, and also some bugs very present.

===Changes in the comic===
*All the changes mentioned here occurred during April 1 on the release day:
*Since being [[Media:Originalxkcloud.png|originally posted]] the words "Click here" were relatively quickly added in large text to the top of the red button followed by the word "to" being added to the beginning of the existing text.
**The text changed from
***''Help us recover user data before Facebook & Co notice we lost it.'' to
***''Click here to help us recover user data before Facebook & Co notice we lost it.''
**The reason for this is most likely that too few users understood that they could enter a second part of the comic by clicking on the red button.
*Late in the afternoon on April 1 (around 18:00 {{w|Eastern Time Zone|ET}}) several changes occurred to the pages that can be reached from the front page:
**The [[#Permalink|permalink]] option appeared
**The link that says [[#Don't contact us|Don't contact us]] appeared under the text beneath Cueball's desk with a link to an xkcd chat room.
***Though only for the text font to fade out to being almost invisible again later on April 1.
**The alignment of the text right beneath Cueball's desk changed. (Compare this [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages#Help us recover more data page|before picture]] with this [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages#After 18:00 ET on April 1st|picture after]] 18:00 ET).
**The number of posts increased from 3 or 4 to 6 or 7. (See the pictures above — scroll down to see the relevant after picture).
**Also the number of pictures and text to choose from increased from five to eight (as can also be seen by comparing the pictures found here for before — for [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages#Help! We lost the text page|text]] and for [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages#Help! We lost the picture page|picture]] — with the [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages#After 18:00 ET on April 1st|pictures after]] (scroll down as mentioned before)).
***The reason he increased the number of posts (both to see and to choose from) could simply be because there where now is so many possible posts that the risk of seeing the same is smaller even with 6 posts.
*Sometime on April 2, Randall made an update to the names list.
**That this happened could be seen since the names shown in permalinks did change. And since then they have stayed constant.
**For instance, [http://xkcd.com/1506/#post/3c34fb48-1a07-51d2-a81d-5257a3681024 this permalink], to an atomic bomb explosion with the caption ''that's one nasty burn!'', had the name "Lauren Ibsen Dolores Amit" (a play on "{{w|Lorem ipsum|Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet}}"), but then displayed the name "Virginia2006" next to a picture of a man with black hair. Currently, it displays the name "Michelleii" next to the same image.
***(If this changes please make a note - then the names list have either been changed again, or the assumption that the names stay constant is wrong.)

===Bugs===
*From time to time, instead of the interactive page there is a page with [[Media:three dots only.png|three dots only]].
**This also occurred after April 1.
*Around 18:00 when all the changes occurred the xkcd page did not work properly. (Overload plus new features).
**The chat room was also overloaded at this time.

==Transcript==
:[This transcript only transcribes what can be seen in the first picture shown at the top of the explanation here. '''For more''' see link below.]

:[One large frame with a five part comic and a large red button at the bottom.]
:[Cueball sitting behind a desk.]
:Cueball: We've made a huge mistake.
:Desk: XKCD.COM

:[Cueball stands and indicates a motley collection of computers and related equipment strewn around the desk.]
:Cueball: I figured starting a cloud services company would be easy.
:Cueball: After all, I've got ''tons'' of computers!

:[A zoomed view on Cueballs head.]
:Cueball: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr— they all struggle to protect privacy and user data...
:Cueball: And '''''we''''' offered a solution.
:Cueball: I forget what it was, though.

:[Cueball is standing with his arms up.]
:Cueball: Anyway, long story short, we screwed up ''immediately'' and lost ''tons'' of their data.
:Cueball: Also a bunch of stuff is literally on fire?

:[Cueball standing behind a desk.]
:Cueball: We can fix this.
:Cueball: But we need your help.
:Desk: XKCD.COM

:[Below the above is a large red rectangular clickable button, that will take the reader on to the interactive part of the comic. On the button it says in large white letters:]
:'''CLICK HERE'''
:To help us recover user data before Facebook & Co notice we lost it.

:[The standard text for the next possible pages can be seen on the link to the '''[[1506: xkcloud/Transcript|continued transcript]]'''. Also here will be a list (which may not be possible to make complete) with possible text for the lost data.]

==Trivia==
*It's the first comic:
**Without a title text. (If you don't count the unnumbered [[A Smarter Planet]] comics and [[404: Not Found]].)
**Where you can copy and paste most of the text from the comic. I.e it is not drawn but printed.
***This goes only for the follow up pages after the front page.
***It does not only go for the user input.
**These two facts could go together since the way this comic had to be created (i.e. it is not a single picture), there may not have been any possibilities for making a title text
*Source code of elements in the drawing interactive contain the attribute "data-reactid", indicating it is written using the [http://facebook.github.io/react/ React JavaScript library,] developed to use with Facebook & Instagram.
*One of the pieces of text you can get explains the very reason you need to put in the image for it.

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:April fools' comics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Knit Cap]] 
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Portmanteau]]
[[Category:No title text]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Elon Musk]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Characters with hats]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Joe Biden]]

1116: Traffic Lights

2024-09-04T21:23:54Z

Chronotix: /* Frame by frame breakdown */

{{comic
| number = 1116
| date = October 3, 2012
| title = Traffic Lights
| image = traffic_lights.gif
| titletext = There's an intersection I drive through sometimes that has a forward green arrow, a red light, and a 'no turns' sign all on one pole. I honestly have no idea what it's telling me to do.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic is an {{w|animated gif}} which features an array of {{w|traffic light}}s which are lighted signals posted at intersections to control vehicular traffic. The standard North American traffic light has three solid lights: red, yellow and green (meaning, in simplistic terms, "stop", "stop if you can, otherwise exit the intersection" and "go if it is safe" respectively). More complicated lights sometimes have additional signals such as arrows indicating go or stop for a specific direction such as left or right turns.

However, as in the strip, sometimes an intersection has multiple lights with certain of them designated to apply solely to a specific lane or specific direction of travel. A common one is a left-turn light that allows the lights to stop or allow left-turn traffic independent of the rest of the traffic. Another common example is a light that applies only to public transit like streetcars that run on tracks on the city streets.

There are also other rules and features that tend to be unique to different localities as noted in the Wikipedia article for {{w|Traffic-light signalling and operation}}.

In this comic, [[Randall]] is commenting on the confusion that can be caused by having too many lights with multiple rules attached by creating an exaggerated example.

In this strip, the right light has a sign indicating that the light and the right lane are for ''left'' turners, while the 3rd-from-left is a straight or ''right'' turn lane and the 2nd from left is ''right'' turn only. In normal course, right turns would be permitted from the right lane and left turns from the left lanes. The system in this comic would have turning traffic crossing each other, as well as the straight-ahead traffic and would cause chaos (and require very complicated traffic light phases to control). The left-most light on the post has a sign indicating that left, right and straight travel are all prohibited, which is even more confusing.

The comic, as an animated gif, cycles through various phases, at first appearing somewhat normal, but then adding unusual phases. The animated gif takes about 90 seconds to cycle through the 32 discrete panels before repeating. The left post light has (unusually) left ''and'' right arrows, later becoming up and down arrows. At times the light completely shuts off, and at other times, has conflicting signals.

The third-from-left light has red ''and'' yellow, and later all three lights come on at the same time, then all three lights go yellow, and then reverse with green at top and red at bottom. The bottom light then becomes an arrow.

The fourth-from-left traffic light switches from a green light to a purple light at times.

The right light only lights red in each position.

The second-from-left light and second-from-right lights do not appear to have any quirks other than changing phases in unusual patterns.

At frames 21 and 22 (see below) the colors of the latter five lights correspond to the color sequence of the letters in the Google logo. Only the first letter of the logo, which is blue, is not reproduced on the first traffic light.

===Title Text===
The title text mentions a straightforward intersection that allows going forward but not turning. Even though Randall is confused, in some places, a red light and a forward green arrow permits going forward but disallows turns.

==Frame by frame breakdown==

[[File:traffic lights list.png]]

* 1. All traffic lights are on red, likely because the perpendicular road crossing our road has some of its lights on green. At a traffic light-managed junction, cars typically cannot cross or merge into roads that are in use from a different direction.
* 2. The traffic light of undefined purpose (pole light) switches from red to yellow. This is highly unusual, as yellow is typically used as an intermediary phase when going from green to red (in the US, it may be {{w|Traffic light#Meanings of signals|usual/expected}} elsewhere, in various contexts). Yellow is usually a warning light to inform drivers that the light will switch to red soon.
* 3. In switching to green, the pole light surprisingly reveals itself to point to the left. Some conventions require that all three lights in a stack have the same symbol on them, so drivers cannot be surprised by their purpose suddenly switching. This light now informs drivers they may turn left, but there is no lane that would allow them to do so. The left-most light also turned green, but it is flanked by a sign informing drivers that they may only turn to the right from here. This is a particularly contentious setup, as drivers on this lane must cross all other lanes in order to turn right.
* 4. The pole light is giving mixed messages. Maybe the red light is only relevant for cars crossing straight through? It is impossible to be sure. The fourth light also turned green, allowing people to drive straight through. The pole light and fifth light may contradict each other directly. Cars from the first lane and fifth lane would be likely to crash, unless a tunnel or bridge system is in place in the middle of this intersection.
* 5. Lane 3 and 4 are not synced. Why are they not synced? They both go straight ahead, yes?
* 6. Why did the first lane light turn off for three seconds, to then turn on again? This is not enough time for a crossing road to clear out. The fifth lane switched to amber, a distinct color in this system, although often a synonym for "yellow" (not red or green) in the context of traffic lights. People can never agree whether it's yellow or amber, so Randall helpfully differentiated the two colors. See frame 2 why it may be odd for the light to switch from red to amber. Like lane 1, lane 5 would presumably cross all the other lanes, resulting in accidents.
* 7. Oh no the first lane light is blinking between red and green. This is terrifying. The fifth lane just hangs on amber, which is probably a fair use of a warning light. The pole light is doing its own thing, better not to worry about it.
* 8. Pole light has begun blinking, light 1 continues to blink, 3 and 4 stay green, 5 continues to warn.
* 9. Light 2 joins in by turning on its yellow light. This is a common setup in Britain, to have red and yellow on simultaneously before switching to green. This allows drivers to be prepared to start driving, without yet being allowed to do so.
* 10. The pole added yellow again. Ignore it. Light 1 continues to blink. Light 2 is stuck on red-and-yellow, constantly teasing the lane 2 drivers who expect it may switch to green any moment now. Probably for the best that it won't.
* 11. Lights 3 and 4 are behaving normally, getting ready to go back to red by switching to yellow. Light 5 finally switched to the bottom light, but it's red instead of green. This is confusing.
* 12. Argh! 3 continued on to red as it should, but 3 changed its mind and switched back to green! Oh, and the pole turned off completely, which is unusual too.
* 13. The pole activates again. It should have stayed off. The arrow magically turned around, which is not possible for this type of light.
* 14. The pole continues to mess around.
* 15. The pole continues to mess around. Light 1 is still blinking, 2 is still edging, 3 still red, 4 still green, and 5 still red.
* 16. One of the arrows on the pole magically turned from green to red. A bulb near the bottom of a stack should not be red. Lane 4 switched to yellow again, maybe it will finally turn red?
* 17. Light 4 betrayed us again and switched back to green. Lane 2 now turned on its green light too, which has no meaning but it's very colorful.
* 18. Light 3 decided to join light 4 again, but now it is blue instead of green. This color is used in Japan instead of green. Light 1 stopped blinking and is now red.
* 19. Pole is still doing whatever it wants, briefly turning off its arrows.
* 20. All three bulbs of light 2 turn yellow, which I guess is a warning to us all. Light 4 teases us once again by briefly switching to yellow.
* 21. The pole is still messing around, Light 1 is still red, light 2 is completely yellow, light 3 is still blue, light 4 is back to green, and light 5 is still red.
* 22. No change at all.
* 23. The bottom bulb of light 2 turned red. This light should be green. In the sense that it should be anything at this point.
* 24. Pole is briefly off again. Light 2 reversed itself: green is on at the top now. Light 4 suddenly switched to red, no warning whatsoever!
* 25. The pole now has an "up" arrow instead of side arrows. These indicate that you can (only) go straight ahead. The center light is still <s>green</s> blue, so I suppose this is true. However, the top bulb of the pole is red too, so it's a bit of mixed messaging. Lane 2 turned off its center yellow bulb. Light 5 is back to showing amber.
* 26. Light 2 and 4 turned off completely, which is unhelpful.
* 27. The pole added an arrow "down", which is not used for traffic lights and has no defined meaning. Honestly it looks like it's outright telling the drivers to crash into eachother at this point. Light 2 is magically pointing to the right now, which I suppose is allowed because it is one of the directions that the sign flanking it allows for. Light 3 switched back to red. Light 4 is pointing left, which would probably result in crashes but is technically fine. Light 5 switched back to red. The bird, up until this point very still, moved a little bit.
* 28. Small change on the pole. 1 is red, 2 is green-right, 3 is red, 4 is green-left, and 5 is red.
* 29. Light 1, 2, and 4 are all on red. Light 3 turned itself off suddenly. Light 5 turns all three of its lights on: red, amber, and red.
* 30. The pole finally switches off for this loop. Possibly, cross-traffic can go again, with most lines either red or off. Lamp 5 is back to amber, however, which looks a bit like red.
* 31. No change from last frame.
* 32. Light 4 turns itself off too, and light 5 returns to red.

After phase 32, all lights turn back on to their top-red position. All these phases then repeat.

==Closeups on the Lights==
The following is a closeup on the lights, and the bird. The lights from left to right are here shown top to bottom. Time advances to the right.

[[File:traffic lights closeups revised.png]]

Originally, the second light had a couple frames near the start that were different. The closeup of this was as follows:

[[File:traffic lights closeups.png]]


[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics with animation]]
[[Category:Traffic light]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]

2241: Brussels Sprouts Mandela Effect

2024-06-12T21:22:14Z

Chronotix: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2241
| date = December 13, 2019
| title = Brussels Sprouts Mandela Effect
| image = brussels_sprouts_mandela_effect.png
| titletext = I love Brussels Sprouts Mandela Effect; I saw them open for Correct Horse Battery Staple.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Brussels sprouts}} are a leafy vegetable from the cabbage family which were cultivated in {{w|Brussels}}, in what is now Belgium, in the 13th century, giving them their name. Many adults and children [https://www.camdenliving.com/blog/why-do-we-hate-brussel-sprout dislike Brussels sprouts], perhaps because of their bitterness.

[[Cueball]] was one of these people who thought he had a dislike for Brussels sprouts, but after trying them recently he had a change of heart and likes them now. He feels "misled" by the public dislike for Brussels sprouts. [[Megan]] chimes in and notes that it is not just him. Farmers started to develop a newer {{w|cultivar}} of Brussels sprouts in the 1990s (as opposed to the 15 years ago referenced in the comic), which taste less bitter than the "original" cultivar of Brussels sprouts that Cueball grew up eating. (A [https://npr.org/773457637 source] is provided in the comic as a foot note to Megan's statement. This would be the first of two comics in a row with this type of reference given, the second coming in [[2242: Ground vs Air]].)

A {{w|False_memory#Mandela_Effect|Mandela Effect}} is a pseudoscience explanation for a false memory held in common by a substantial number of people. {{w|false memory|False memories}} may arise via suggestibility, activation of associated information, the incorporation of misinformation, and source misattribution, and {{w|False_memory#Commonly_held_false_memories|they can be shared}}, sometimes widely, when one of these triggers happens to many people in a population. But a fringe theory holds that such memories are actually real, in some way related to either reality warping or alternate universes, leaving many people in a reality that contradicts their memory in minor but specific ways. The name comes from multiple people reporting vivid memories of anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela dying in prison in the 1980s, despite Mandela famously becoming President of South Africa and living until 2013.

The characters realizing that brussels sprouts taste good, despite having all of them having distinct memories of the vegetable being unpleasant, is seen as similar to having a widespread false memory.

In the last panel, [[Ponytail]] then tricks Cueball into thinking that {{w|licorice}}, [https://www.nbcnews.com/healthmain/why-do-so-many-us-hate-black-licorice-few-theories-963738 another widely disliked food], is good tasting. At this point Megan realizes that this must be a trap. Unlike Brussels sprouts, the taste of licorice has not changed noticeably, so people who hated the taste before are likely to still find it unpleasant.

That Ponytail is up to no good is shown to be true when she additionally claims that {{w|Silica_gel|silica gel}} packets are actually edible and taste delicious. This is very false! {{w|Silica_gel#Desiccant|Silica gel packets}} are typically used as a desiccant, to keep electronics and other moisture sensitive items dry. They are typically marked "[https://www.123rf.com/photo_72752039_single-silica-gel-packet-isolated-on-white-background-.html Do Not Eat]" to warn people that they are not edible. Although not toxic, and even {{w|Silica_gel#Food_additive|allowed in some form in food}}, silica gel has a sand-like texture and no flavor or nutritional value, can {{w|Silica_gel#Hazards|cause irritation}} if digested in the raw form, and the packets may contain {{w|Silica_gel#Humidity_indicator_(blue/orange_silica_gel)|potentially toxic additives}}.

Cueball, having been prepped by both his own experience and Megan's facts are totally ready to believe Ponytail, even to the extent that he seems to feel cheated by the makers of silica gel packets, who he must now think has written ''Do Not Eat'' just to keep that delicious gel for themselves. Hopefully Megan can convince him not to find and eat them. Ponytail is often not nice to Cueball, although in other comics it is more like she talks him down, see [[:Category:Code Quality|Code Quality]], not directly trying to harm him.

The title text suggests that "Brussels Sprouts Mandela Effect" is a music band, who once were the {{w|opening act}} for the presumably better known band "Correct Horse Battery Staple". This latter group is a reference to [[936: Password Strength]]. It hints at the "{{tvtropes|AGoodNameForARockBand|good name for a musical band}}" trope, which Randall before tried to replace by a dot tumblr dot com trope in [[1025: Tumblr]]. Indirectly, he also suggests that ''Brussels Sprouts Mandela Effect'' would be a great long password that is now easy to remember (as long as you remember [https://www.reddit.com/r/MandelaEffect/comments/6meq1a/brussel_sprouts_right/ there is an S] at the end of {{w|Brussels}} (at least in English, but not in Dutch, which is one of the official languages of Brussels/Belgium)).

For a comic about awkwardly named bands, see [[119: Worst Band Name Ever]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing between Ponytail and Megan talking to them.]
:Cueball: I always thought of Brussels sprouts as terrible, but they're actually really good! I can't believe I let everyone mislead me!

:[In a frame-less panel Megan replies. Below her is a footnote with a citation to back up her statement.]
:Megan: It's not just you! Farmers developed a less-bitter cultivar like 15 years ago.*
:*npr.org/773457637

:[Back to all three as Megan continues to explain while holding her arms away from her.]
:Megan: Now the whole world is having this revelation, one person at a time. It's like a real Mandela effect. We secretly switched to the parallel universe where Brussels sprouts taste good.
:Cueball: ''Cool.''

:[Ponytail lifts a finger as Cueball and Megan turns to look at her.]
:Ponytail: Also, licorice is good now.
:Cueball: Whoa, really?
:Megan: This is a trap.
:Ponytail: And those silica gel packets that say "Do not eat"? '''''Delicious.'''''
:Cueball: ''I knew it.''

==Trivia==
* The URL given was [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/5/5d/20191216154116%21brussels_sprouts_mandela_effect.png originally] given [https://npr.org/773457633 npr.org/77345763'''3'''] but this was an error!
**The actual URL is number 77345763'''7''' which was later corrected by an updated comic.
**Here is the [https://text.npr.org/s.php?sId=773457637 plain HTML version] and here the [https://npr.org/773457637 full site].
*As always when Randall offers his opinion on some sort of food, it may lead to [[388:_Fuck_Grapefruit#Controversy|controversy]] and lots of discussion in the [[Talk:2241:_Brussels_Sprouts_Mandela_Effect|talk page]].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category: Food]]
[[Category:Footnotes]]