explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1864: City Nicknames

2020-09-22T23:20:56Z

Cosumel: /* Nicknames and Demonyms */

{{comic
| number = 1864
| date = July 17, 2017
| title = City Nicknames
| image = city_nicknames.png
| titletext = This place has so many demonyms. Northlanders. Fair Folk. Honey Barons. Lake Dwellers. Treasurers. Swamp Watchers. Dream Farmers. Wellfolk. Rockeaters. Forgotten Royals. Remote Clients. Barrow-Clerks. The People of Land and Sky.
}}

==Explanation==

Cities often have official or unofficial nicknames. For instance, {{w|St. Louis|St. Louis, Missouri}}, is known as "Gateway to the West" among several other nicknames. The nicknames typically invoke some historical or geographic feature of the city, but can sometime be opaque to those not familiar with the city. [https://www.into-asia.com/bangkok/introduction/fullname.php The full, formal name of Bangkok] includes a long list of superlatives translating as "The city of angels, the great city, the residence of the Emerald Buddha, the impregnable city (of Ayutthaya) of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarn."

Despite the skyline being clearly recognizable as St. Louis due to the {{w|Gateway Arch}}, [[Black Hat]] calls it New York City. However, the nickname he gives is neither a common New York nickname (such as "{{w|List of nicknames of New York City|The Big Apple}}") nor a St. Louis nickname. [[Megan]] tries to correct him, but it becomes clear that Black Hat is making up nicknames. Many of his suggestions are puns for real nicknames of other places.

The title text contains made up {{w|demonym}}s in the same pattern. A demonym is a word for the people who live in a particular place. They are typically derived from the name of the place (e.g. "St. Louisan" for people from St. Louis, or New Yorker for those from New York), but some regions have an {{w|Demonym#Informal|informal demonym}} that can be used colloquially by those familiar with the place to refer to its residents (e.g. Hoosier for people from Indiana).

===Nicknames and Demonyms===

{| class=wikitable
! City nickname in comic
! Reference
! Explanation

|-
| The Hot Tamale
| {{w|Hot Tamales}}
| Possibly a reference to the term [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=big%20enchilada big enchilada] (something of great importance). In the movie [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(1996_film) Independence Day], the phrase "Big Tamale" is used in a similar manner as "Big Enchilada" to describe the alien fighter held at Area 51.

|-
| The Winged City
| The Windy City
| Chicago. Possibly also [http://www.airport-technology.com/projects/incheon-international-airport/ Incheon International Airport (ICA/RKSI), South Korea].

|-
| The Gold Trombone
|
| Possibly a reference to the {{w|Golden Horn}} in Istanbul.

|-
| Castleopolis
| {{w|Cassopolis}}, or possibly Dictionopolis.
| Literally "Castle city." {{w|Polis}} (from the Greek πόλις for city) is commonly used as a suffix for city names, like {{w|Minneapolis}} or {{w|Alexandroupolis}}; {{w|Metropolis}} can either be a type of city, or one of the real or fictional cities bearing the name. Possibly a reference to The Phantom Tollbooth, which has both castles and cities named Dictionopolis and Digitopolis. In the Industrial Revolution, places known for certain industries had nicknames such as {{w|Cottonopolis}} ({{w|Manchester}}), Copperopolis ({{w|Swansea}}) and Juteopolis ({{w|Dundee}}). Could also be a city in {{w|Castlevania}}.

|-
| The Kissing Kingdom
| {{w|United Kingdom}}
| This would make a ''Very'' United Kingdom.

|-
| Sandland
|
| {{w|Sandland}} is a village in northern Norway, most likely coincidentally.

|-
| The High Place
| {{w|Denver}}
|Denver is known as the Mile High City. Also, in English translations of the Old Testament, the Hebrew term במה (bamah, plural במות bamot) is rendered as "{{w|high place}}," and denotes a place of worship. In modern Jewish synagogues, the "High Place" (bimah) is the elevated platform from which the Torah is read. In Gene Wolfe's ''Free Live Free'', one character claims to come from the "High Place". The others consider this a metaphor, or simply a lie. Eventually this is discovered not to be the case. It could also a reference to {{w|The Man in the High Castle}}, a novel by {{w|Philip K. Dick}} which was adapted into a TV series (at the time of this comic, two seasons had been produced and a third is espected before the end of 2017).

|-
| Ol' Ironhook
| {{w|Old Ironsides}}
| Old Ironsides is a nickname for the USS Constitution (docked in Charlestown, MA). Ol' Ironhook may be a conflation of Old Ironsides (also a nickname for English Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell) with Old Hookey (a nickname for Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, English general and PM, who was also nicknamed The Iron Duke) or Old Kinderhook (a nickname for US President Martin Van Buren).
|-
| The Thousand Spires || The City of a Hundred Spires / City of Dreaming Spires|| Prague / Oxford.
|-
| The Graveyard of Kings || The Graveyard of Champions / City of Kings / Graveyard of Empires || ''Graveyard'': Court 2 at Wimbledon, where former champions are often defeated (the playing environment is very different from Centre Court and Court One, which are larger and where games involving highly-ranked players are preferentially located). The comic was released one day after the 2017 Wimbledon Championships were finished. ''Kings'': Nickname of [[wikipedia:Lima|Lima, Peru]] and [[wikipedia:Palermo|Palermo, Sicily]]. The {{w|Valley of the Kings}} in Egypt is literally a graveyard of kings, namely the Pharaohs.
Alternatively, Afghanistan is also known as the "Graveyard of Empires" due to its success in defending against would-be conquerors.
|-
| Bloomtown || [[wikipedia: Boomtown|Boomtown]] || Generic term for a town undergoing rapid growth. Used in the 2002 TV series of the same name as a nickname for Los Angeles. Might also be referring to [[wikipedia:Bloom County|Bloom County]], a comic by [[wikipedia:Berkeley Breathed|Berkeley Breathed]], or Dublin, as the setting for Ulysses by James Joyce. Bloomtown also invokes an image of many flowers, so it could be a reference to a large garden, or a city known for its gardens or flowers.
|-
| Lantern City USA || {{w|Tree City USA}} || A designation supporting municipalities that showcase urban forestry, in connection with Arbor Day. Lantern city is a fictional, steam-punk serial.
|-
| The City of Many Daughters || {{w|City of Daughters}} || Might be a reference to {{w|City of Daughters}} album by [[wikipedia:Destroyer (band)|Destroyer]].
|-
| Big Mauve || [[wikipedia: Big_Red_(drink)|Big Red Soda]] || Big Red Soda. Big Red is also a chewing gum by Wrigley's. The Cornell teams are known as the [[wikipedia:Cornell Big Red|Big Red]] as is Western Kentucky's mascot [[wikipedia:Big Red (Western Kentucky University)|Big Red]]. The Dartmouth football team is the Big Green. IBM is sometimes known as Big Blue.
|-
| The Glass Cradle || [[wikipedia:The Glass Menagerie|The Glass Menagerie]] || A play by Tennessee Williams. Or Golden Cradle, referencing Mesopotamia.
|-
| The Road Source ||{{w|Rome}} || From the saying that {{w|All Roads Lead to Rome}}. Possibly Rome's antipode, since the saying makes Rome the Road Sink.
|-
| London Prime || London || In the DC comics, to incorporate multiple continuties, there were multiple universes. London Prime would be "real London" on Earth Prime. Various cities named {{w|New London}} in the United States and elsewhere are imagined as London in alternate continuities. Alternatively in mathematics, a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_(symbol)#Use_in_mathematics.2C_statistics.2C_and_science prime mark], x' can be the next iteration of variable x.
|-
| Hamtown || {{w|Boston}}, {{w|Hamburg}}, {{w|Toronto}} || Boston is known as [[wikipedia:Boston nicknames|beantown]], pork and beans are commonly cooked together (as in {{w|Boston baked beans}}), and ham is a form of pork. The German word ''Burg'' means castle or fort and is often used as suffix for town names. The origin of the prefix ''Ham'' is uncertain, but the food {{w|Hamburger}} derives from this city and ''Hamburger'' in German is the demonym of Hamburg. Toronto is sometimes nicknamed Hogtown.
|-
| The Salad Bowl || || A theory of cultural integration in the US, one that stands in contrast to the older 'Melting Pot' theory. Could also refer to the [[wikipedia: Dust Bowl|Dust Bowl]]. Could also refer to Salinas, CA, the "Salad Bowl of the world".
|-
| God's Boudoir || God's Waiting Room || State of {{w|Florida}}, where many elderly retire then expire. As a ''{{w|boudoir}}'' is a room reserved for a female (host), this usage would implicate that either God is a woman, or that God frequents there often.
|-
| The Glittering Swamp || [[wikipedia:Great Dismal Swamp|The Great Dismal Swamp ]], {{w|Washington, D.C.}} || A large swamp in Virginia and North Carolina. Also, the city of {{w|Washington, D.C.}} has often been referred to as a "swamp," owing partly to its past as a [http://networks.h-net.org/node/28441/pages/36129/swamps-and-city-washington malarial swamp].
|-
| The Steel Forest || The Concrete Jungle || The Concrete Jungle is a name often given to New York's Manhattan area. There was also a book and movie titled ''The Petrified Forest''.
|-
| The Mobius Strip || The Strip || The Strip is a shortened and commonly used name for the Las Vegas Strip, the main area of hotels and casinos in Las Vegas, Nevada. A {{w|Mobius strip}} is a one-sided piece of paper created by rotating the short edge of the strip 180 degrees and attaching it to the other short edge. The Vegas strip has more or less only one side as well.
|-
| The Land of Trains and Fog || || Britain was home to early developments in railroading, and some portions are known for fog and mists.
In the webcomic [[wikipedia:Homestuck | Homestuck]] many events take place on various planets named in the format "Land of X and Y", e.g. "Land of Light and Rain". A series of novels by George R.R. Martin, which was made into the ''Game of Thrones'' TV show, is called ''A Song of Ice and Fire''. The Grand Canyon is known as "The House of Stone and Light" by some native people.
|-
| The Meeting Place || [[wikipedia:Canberra|Canberra]] || The capital city of Australia has its name derived from 'Meeting Place' in the local Aboriginal language, because of a seasonal food boom (Bogong Moths) that drew tribes to the area each year.
|-
| The Dark Star || || ''Dark Star'' is a 1974 science fiction comedy film.
|-
| The Walled Garden || {{w|Walled garden (technology)}} || A walled garden is a virtual environment where the user can only view content that is published or permitted by the proprietor, e.g. AOL or Facebook. This could also be a reference to walled cities, e.g. from the Middle Ages, or the {{w|Kowloon Walled City}} in the modern era. ''The Secret Garden'' is a book by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Or possibly a reference to the {{w|Hanging Gardens of Babylon}}
|-
| Skin City || [[wikipedia:Sin City (description)|Sin City]] || Specifically Las Vegas. Also a generic term for a city well known for gambling, drugs, prostitution, and/or other vices.
|-
| The Horse Rotary || || Horse and rotary are both types of clothes dryer. Might reference The Windy City, which would also likely be good for drying clothes.
|-
| Turkeytown || Turkeytown || A town in Lincoln County, Kentucky.
|-
| The Naked Towers || || ''The Naked City'' was a television series. ''The Two Towers'' is a book by Tolkien, and ''Naked Lunch'' is a book by Burroughs.
|-
| The Meta-City || Metacity || A term for a heterogenous, sprawling urban center with multiple dense centers, such as Tokyo or New York City. Metacity was also the window manager in the Linux GNOME 2 desktop.
|-
| The Urban Orb || || The screen name of a Let's Player on Youtube and Twitch. - Also maybe once more: Rome and the Rest of the world, as in the popes adress to the urbi (city: meaning rome ) and orbi (circle: meaning the world)
|-
| The City of Angles || City of Angels || Los Angeles. Also, the titular City of Angles in the web novel [http://stefangagne.com/cityofangles/ City of Angles]. There also exist several songs with that name, a few of them listed here: {{w|City of Angels}}.
|-
| The Big Wheel || [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041179/ The Big Wheel] || A 1949 movie about a race car driver. Alternatively, a child's plastic tricycle with an oversized front wheel.
|-
| Bird City USA || || A program started by the Audubon Society.
|-
| The City of Seven Crowns || City of Seven Hills || Rome. Also occasionally refers to Moscow. The next nickname is likely a reference to the 'wrong' part of this nickname.
|-
| Hilltopia || The Hilltop || May be reference to The Hilltop in AMC's The Walking Dead.
|-
| Bug City || || A nickname for the bug-infested Chicago in the roleplaying game Shadowrun. Also, a sourcebook for the game.
|-
| The Bottomless Cup || || There are many mentions of Bottomless Pits in stories. Additionally, restaurants offering unlimited refills on drinks may refer to this offer by terms like "Bottomless Soda."
|-
| Lorde's Fen || Lord's Fen || [[wikipedia:Lorde| Lorde]] is a musical artist from Herne Bay, New Zealand - an area near Waitemata Harbour. A [[wikipedia:Fen| fen]] is a type of wetland, which could loosely connect to Herne Bay.
|-
| The Last Town || || The third book in the Wayward Pines series.
|-
| The Empty Set || || The concert hall in the video game Transistor. In mathematics, the {{w|empty set}} refers to an unique set with no elements, often notated as "{}" or "∅".
|-
| Ghost Harbor || || The name for a brewing company in North Carolina.
|}

{| class=wikitable
! Demonym in comic
! Reference
! Explanation
|-
| Northlanders || {{w|Norsemen}} || Norsemen, literally men from the north, people from Nordic countries. Could also be a reference to highlanders, the people of the {{w|Scottish Highlands}}, with a similar demonym. The "High" in "Highlands" is a reference to the mountainous landscape, not the geographical position. It may or may not have to do with the northernmost province of {{w|New Zealand}}.
|-
| Fair Folk || {{w|Fairy}} || The fair folk is a name for fairies in folklore. The elves in ''The Lord of the Rings'' are referred to as the 'fair folk'.
|-
| Honey Barons || [[wikipedia: Robber_baron_(industrialist) | Robber Barons]], [[wikipedia: Honey_badger | Honey Badgers]], [[wikipedia: Honey bear| honey bear]] || Possibly a play on The Robber Barons, a group of powerful industrialists in the late 1800s known for questionable business ethics, and honey badgers, animals known for their tough skin, bad tempers, and tenacity. Honey bear is a name for a few types of bear, as well as kinkajous.
|-
| Lake Dwellers || The Hobbit || Most likely a reference the people of the Laketown in J.R.R.Tolkien's "The Hobbit".
|-
| Treasurers || || A {{w|treasurer}} is a person in charge of running the treasury of an organization, for example a governmental department. The Auditors were characters in Terry Pratchett's Discworld books who did the book-keeping for reality, and wanted to simplify the universe by destroying life.
|-
| Swamp Watchers || ||
|-
| Dream Farmers || The Dream Factory || Hollywood, California, in its role as the center of the American film industry.
|-
| Wellfolk || Werefolk, Weefolk || The were folk were people who could change into animals: e.g. werewolves. Wee folk is another name for {{w|Fairy}} in folklore.
|-
| Rockeaters || [[Wikipedia:List_of_The_Neverending_Story_characters#Pyornkrachzark_and_the_other_messengers| Rockbiter]] || In the ''Never Ending Story'', Pyornkrachzark, more commonly known as "Rock Biter" is a large creature made completely of stone, named due to their diet of rocks.
May also refer to {{w|Lotus-eaters}}; while these mythical people slept in narcotic apathy, rockeaters might have a tougher time.
|-
| Forgotten Royals || [[wikipedia:Forgotten Realms | Forgotten Realms]] || Royalty from Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) campaign setting.
|-
| Remote Clients || [[wikipedia:Remote_computer|Remote client]] || In computing, a remote client is a program used to access a computer or service over a network. From a System Administrator's perspective, these are typically the users (though sometimes the administrators) of the system.
|-
| Barrow-Clerks || [http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Barrow-wights Barrow-wights] || Wraith like creatures in ''The Lord of the Rings''. The hobbits come across them in the [http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Barrow-downs Barrow-downs].
Those who keep records of items deposited in a grave mound or barrow.
|-
| The People of Land and Sky || [[wikipedia:Sea_Peoples|Sea Peoples]] || Sea peoples were raiders that attacked during the Late Bronze Age collapse.
|}

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat, Megan, and Ponytail are standing on a hill overlooking a city. The Gateway Arch is visible, as well as a number of skyscrapers in the skyline.]
:Black Hat: Ah, New York. The Hot Tamale.
:Megan: This is St. Louis. Also, that's not–
:Black Hat: The Winged City. The Gold Trombone. Castleopolis.
:Megan: It's none of those.

:[Close-up of Black Hat]
:Black Hat: The Kissing Kingdom. Sandland. The High Place. Ol' Ironhook.
:Megan (off-panel): Still wrong.
:Black Hat: The Thousand Spires. The Graveyard of Kings. Bloomtown. Lantern City USA.
:Megan (off-panel): Please stop.

:[Black Hat, Megan, and Ponytail are walking]
:Black Hat: The City of Many Daughters. Big Mauve. The Glass Cradle. The Road Source. London Prime. Hamtown. The Salad Bowl. God's Boudoir. The Glittering Swamp. The Steel Forest. The Mobius Strip. The Land of Trains and Fog. The Meeting Place. The Dark Star. The Walled Garden. Skin City. The Horse Rotary. Turkeytown. The Naked Towers. The Meta-City. The Urban Orb. The City of Angles. The Big Wheel. Bird City USA. The City of Seven Crowns. Hilltopia. Bug City. The Bottomless Cup. [Text size getting smaller] Lorde's Fen. The Last Town. The Empty Set. Ghost Harbor.
:Megan: How long does this last?
:Ponytail: No city has ever let him stay long enough to find out.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:LOTR]]

Talk:1821: Incinerator

2020-09-12T05:31:51Z

Cosumel:

The crisis could come from a more abstract feeling thinking of the incinerating/trash devices as Ouroboros, serpents biting their own tail or nilpotent matrices. Nothing would be left. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.62|162.158.88.62]] 06:01, 8 April 2017 (UTC)

There also might be a more practical explanation of the crisis; in my experience it is extremely difficult to convey to trash collectors that a garbage can itself is part of the trash. Merely placing it inside another, larger trash receptacle is often not enough to convince them to collect it. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.58|108.162.216.58]] 07:15, 8 April 2017 (UTC)
:I actually had the opposite problem recently, where we obtained a medium sized plastic tote with a recyclables logo on the side, and they were kind enough to take all the recyclable materials, apparently including the tote. So be careful what you wish for.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.51|162.158.74.51]] 17:14, 8 April 2017 (UTC)
:Sadly, that might not have been the trash collectors. That is, I'm sure they took the recyclables, but it's possible one of your neighbors said, "Hey, free tote," especially since if it was new, clean, and did not have any identifying marks, such as your address, on it.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.63|162.158.62.63]] 23:19, 8 April 2017 (UTC)
: I find that the people who post here have the weirdest, most unusual problems. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.203|141.101.104.203]] 07:46, 9 April 2017 (UTC)
: In my own practical experience, the only solution to throw away a personal trashcan (that is, a can which is not supplied by the waste management services), is to cut/dismantle the old can and dispose of it in the new can. Trashcans supplied by waste management services have always been a simple call to the customer service office and a brand-new can would be awaiting after the next garbage collection day. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.106|108.162.221.106]] 03:38, 3 June 2017 (UTC)

Disposing of a trash can by putting it in its replacement is simply insustainable: After a few generations, you end up with a container that won't fit trough your door! --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.173|162.158.91.173]] 13:09, 9 April 2017 (UTC)

Maybe the crisis was recursive -- using the broken container to dispose of itself.[[User:CoderLass|CoderLass]] ([[User talk:CoderLass|talk]]) 17:34, 13 April 2017 (UTC)
: That's what I thought as well! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.186|141.101.107.186]] 17:39, 17 April 2017 (UTC)
:: I second this thought process[[User:V|V]] ([[User talk:V|talk]]) 23:19, 4 June 2019 (UTC)

I am reminded of the time a man got a new boomerang for his birthday and went crazy trying to throw the old one away. [[User:Cosumel|Cosumel]] ([[User talk:Cosumel|talk]]) 05:31, 12 September 2020 (UTC)

Talk:1511: Spice Girl

2020-08-11T03:01:43Z

Cosumel:

Not being shouted (from without, at either cueball or his female companion) by a post-apocalyptic crowd, surely, but by Cueball (from within, at the post-apocalyptic person of whom he is currently trying to deny entry whilst possibly necessary weaponry is being loaded)... Or so I read it. If that makes sense. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.4|141.101.99.4]] 05:43, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
:It does look like that, but the caption states "through a door". -- microslayer
::The little lines around the origin point of the speech "bubble" is usually used in XKCD to indicate that the sound is coming through the surface or offscreen (see Writers Strike (360) and Time Vulture (926)). -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.155|108.162.250.155]] 06:52, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
:::Except that I read the ''caption'' as meaning "through a door" by our Cueball, i.e. what someone like him would be shouting ''out'', plosively. (It's "through the wall", anyway, if that's a 'through something' speech-bubble-originator-indicator (like the "THUMP"s are) rather than 'rather loudly' emphasis that I'd expect to be associated with Cueball. They are shown differently, with the non-THUMP indicator not really having the same appearance as all the other ones otherwise mentioned. Even in the very same panel.) Anyway, just my POV. Needs an Official Transcript to be sure, I suppose. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.4|141.101.99.4]] 07:12, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
::::The speak line clearly shows it is Cueball who shouts this quiz title through a door. No question is it like this, so I have corrected the transcript accordingly.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:54, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
:::::I disagree. It's not that clear. The marks around the end of the speech line indicate the question is being shouted from the other side of the wall, and I think - but can't be certain - that the line terminates near Cue Ball's head looks like to me like ambiguous drawing by the cartoonist. That, and the "through the door" make me think that Cue Ball is just silently holding the door shut against the rampaging hoards, who are doing all the shouting. {{unsigned ip|108.162.229.123}}
::::::I agree that it is unclear. See comic [[1493]]. Randall has used those little "blast" lines USUALLY to denote off-screen speech, but in that comic (the first example I found going backwards), he uses it directly on Cueball. That said, most uses are for sound effects or off-screen/through wall speech. I expected to find it used for "shouting", but Cueball isn't even shouting in that comic. Not sure why Randall used it. Another example is [[1393]]. I initially read this comic as Cueball speaking, otherwise Randally would have drawn the line over Cueball's head to the door, but I don't think the other interpretation is necessarily wrong. I do think the third one had to go though. Cueball shouting to Megan doesn't line up with the caption of "through the door". [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:28, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
:::::::I also find it to be confusing. I first thought it was Cueball that was doing the shouting but after reading this page I now see that the little marks around the speech line are usually used when the speaker is off panel or inside of something (car or coming from PC, etc). I went looking through back comics to see if any yelling was indicated differently and found one where the character was not yelling but the speech line has the same little marks (First panel of Fundamental Forces http://xkcd.com/1489/). In that case it looks like a small mistake, but in this comic it just leaves me unsure who is speaking. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.171|108.162.221.171]] 14:39, 13 April 2015 (UTC)Agent0013
::::::: I am satisfied with the two different explanations currently being shown, given the controversy. However, to continue to support 'my' interpretation, do note the difference between the *THUMP* origins (unidirectionally starred lines, definitely on the door) and the question's origins (splayed lines, and an origin on the surface of a wall... ''coincidentally'' in the right place to be confused with originating from Cueball's mouth?). I'd accept that there's argument (before anyone else gives it) that because of Cueball's head being where it is one might not see the leftward-sloping asterism lines, but I don't think it's close enough to have obscured this (and could have been easily drawn to ''avoid'' such an illustration problem, as might a way to have drawn it to be unconfusingly not associated with Cueball's head at all). Tell you what, let's see if we can get it via the 3d.xkcd.com interface... ''Then'' we might know... ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.4|141.101.99.4]] 15:26, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
::::: I agree that it is clear it is Cueball shouting. The caption says through a door, not through a wall. The lines (different from the "through-door" lines) indicate he is shouting it with stress in his voice, through the door at a Spice Girl on the other side. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.187|108.162.250.187]] 23:06, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
:: [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.155|108.162.250.155]] and [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.123|108.162.229.123]] are correct, the shouting is coming from outside the room. Randall/Cueball imagines he is hearing quiz titles "being shouted," he is not imagining shouting them himself. [[User:Pesthouse|Pesthouse]] ([[User talk:Pesthouse|talk]]) 11:56, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
::: Furthermore, ''"in order to make sure the one you '''let in''' is not some scary person but a merciful one"'' makes no sense because the Spice Girl in question is clearly meant to be the girl loading the gun behind the box. She's already in the room. {{unsigned ip|108.162.229.123}}
:::: Hmm, or maybe not. I thought the hair was too different from Megan's usual style, but it could be her. So now I'm about 50/50 on this one. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.123|108.162.229.123]] 12:28, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
::::There is no such character as Megan. Please see [[Megan]]. I quote ""Megan" does not necessarily always represent the same character from comic to comic. She is essentially the female equivalent of Cueball, representing the every-woman to his everyman.". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.201|108.162.221.201]] 13:08, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
::::::::I agree that it is difficult to determine from the small lines where the speak comes from. I have added several changes to the explain, but kept most of it in. I still believe that it is Cueball that shouts, but I'm not 100% sure anymore. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:06, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

I don't know much about the Spice Girls, but the comic seems to be referring to two; Is there a "merciful" Spice Girl? Is there one likely to "start a war"? And is there a "war" that is specifically to do with the Spice Girls? -[[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.95|141.101.106.95]] 08:01, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
What about Camp Spice?? {{unsigned ip|173.245.50.103}}

The comic is clearly inventing new Spice Girls: the original Spice Girls didn't have a merciful one, or an evil one. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.201|108.162.221.201]] 13:10, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
:Disagree. In real life, there has not been a war started by ANY spice girl. This is clearly fantasy. It is just as likely that Randall is imagining the Spice Girls rise to power and in their newfound power, become associated with new traits (e.g. one is a merciful and one starts a war - in Cueball's fantasy scenario, there are only two spice girls left, or two who could possibly be at the door). There is no basis to assume this is a reference to invented new spice girls.
:: I also think that if Randall intended to have the quiz's answers make sense, it would have to be the latter, since the quiz won't have an "evil" or "merciful" spice. That said, given Randall's comment about needing to make the link titles less irritating, it's unlikely he would actually do the quiz. He just wants to be less annoyed while skimming his, Facebook feed (for example) [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:33, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
::You are wrong when you say 'the quiz won't have an "evil" or "merciful" spice'. [http://www.kidspot.com.au/the-spice-girls-and-10-other-mummy-types-you-might-know/ Here] you can see Baby Mummy, Sporty Mummy, Scary Mummy, Posh Mummy, Ginger Mummy, and also Old Mummy, Oracle Mummy, Supercalifragalistic Mummy, Drop and Run Mummy, Hover Mummy, Boring Mummy, Disaster Zone Mummy, and Baby Factory Mummy. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.201|108.162.221.201]] 17:15, 13 April 2015 (UTC)

Why are we all ignoring the fact that this is not just this quiz title? It extends to things like "Which Harry Potter Character are you?" and other stuff like that. [[User:YourLifeisaLie|The Goyim speaks]] ([[User talk:YourLifeisaLie|talk]]) 00:15, 14 April 2015 (UTC)
:Because the comics name is Spice Girl!--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:06, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

That's some [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Waste_Land Waste Land] level shit of complexity right there. [[User:Boerder|Boerder]] ([[User talk:Boerder|talk]])

The discussion has convinced me my initial interpretation is wrong, but I still like it best: Cueball is shouting, in a panic, at Megan Spice, who he thought was innocent until those at the door came for her. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.108|173.245.50.108]] 16:40, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

The whole idea that the shout is coming from Cueball is nonsense, utter nonsense. Megan is loading her shotgun, and saying "Haha, you'll see!" So Megan is the merciful spice girl or the one who started the war. The shouted question "Which spice girl are you?" is directed at Megan. And Randall is saying that he likes to imagine questions like this as being shouted through a door. Cueball and Megan are on the same side of the door. Ergo the shout is coming from outside. --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 18:58, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

;Known Comics Iconography for Outside
Everyone who thinks it's Cueball should read "Understanding Comics" by Scott McCloud. The radiating lines at the start of the stem (for both the THUMPs and the shouting) indicate that the sound is coming from off-panel. Randall has used this technique before, in [[1154]] for example. See also "Emanating Dialogue" at http://blambot.com/articles_grammar.shtml - [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 21:32, 14 April 2015 (UTC)
;Known Comics Iconography for Shouting
:It is common for Randall to indicate shouting (and all agree that this line is shouted) with the same type of radiating lines. See when Megan shouts in [[1374: Urn]] and in [[1360: Old Files]]. There is actually a clear difference between the Thumps line and the speech line. So this is no argument. Also the "wall" is not off-screen and thus comic [[1154]] or the other referened in the explanation has nothing to do with this comics speech line. And as the comment below notes, when something is coming out of a box/wall then the "thumps" version is used as can be seen in [[915: Connoisseur]]. So once again we are back to square one. Randall has not made a clear comic here!--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:21, 15 April 2015 (UTC)
::As an evidence-based person, I thank you for the disappointing counter-examples. Yes, Randall has used this symbol ambiguously. However, in standard comicsography, small radiating lines at the base of a speech stem (henceforth called SRL@BOSS) is a known and accepted convention for an occluded speaker. When radiating lines are used to indicate emphasis (which is already rare, since volume is usually demonstrated via thicker lines and other symbols) the lines are typically larger and encompass a substantial fraction of the speaker's head.
:: TL;DR version: Randall might be ''doing it wrong''. - [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 21:33, 15 April 2015 (UTC)
:: p.s. It's certainly his right as an artist to do so. The confusion might even be intentional. {{unsigned|Frankie}}
::The comment below is not about "thumps," it is about how we are a bunch of people locked in a box arguing about something stupid. [[User:Pesthouse|Pesthouse]] ([[User talk:Pesthouse|talk]]) 00:07, 18 April 2015 (UTC)

I think I just realized what [[915: Connoisseur]] is really about. [[User:Pesthouse|Pesthouse]] ([[User talk:Pesthouse|talk]]) 01:45, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

;Is "Duck Soup" the answer to "Anyone who can pinpoint a specific work with this scene in it?"

Regarding the incomplete tag that asks "Anyone who can pinpoint a specific work with this scene in it?":

It vaguely remains me of a scene in the Marx Brothers movie "Duck Soup" but I haven't seen it in many years. Anyone who has copy of the movie (or remembers it well) and can verify this?

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.189|108.162.215.189]] 06:49, 3 May 2015 (UTC)

I've been leaning more towards "The shout comes from Cueball". But the officcial transscript now clearly states, that the shout is coming from "A cruel interloper, external to the scene". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.104|108.162.254.104]]
:I agree with the official transcript. Does anyone else think we should keep the other explanation now? (Although, without the transcript, I would be pretty on the fence about it.) [[User:Zman9600|Zman9600]] ([[User talk:Zman9600|talk]]) 00:53, 27 May 2015 (UTC)
:It's a bit late but I disagree. The official transscript refers to cueball as a terrified figure, and after the bit about the cruel interloper it says: "Terrified figure: WHICH SPICE GIRL ARE YOU?! (...)" - which clearly makes the terrified figure, cueball, the one shouting the question. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.93.219|162.158.93.219]] 08:12, 27 July 2018 (UTC)

Oddly enough, my interpretation is that the girl is a Spice girl, and Cueball entered a known Spice Girl residence in order to escape the hostile entities outside (I watch/read a bit of post-apocalyptic zombie fiction, where it is a common scenario to choose between seeking refuge with a "dangerous" person or contending with a zombie horde).{{unsigned|Username}}

Not believing that no one said it, it needs to be said. Phyllis Diller once claimed that she was the lost Spice Girl - Old Spice. [[User:Cosumel|Cosumel]] ([[User talk:Cosumel|talk]]) 03:01, 11 August 2020 (UTC)

1500: Upside-Down Map

2020-08-10T22:39:02Z

Cosumel: /* Explanation */ Adding notes about medieval maps

{{comic
| number = 1500
| date = March 18, 2015
| title = Upside-Down Map
| image = upside_down_map.png
| titletext = Due to their proximity across the channel, there's long been tension between North Korea and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Southern Ireland.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic plays on the idea that maps with the {{w|South-up map orientation|south pole at the top}} will "change your perspective of the world". Most world maps orient north in the upward direction, placing the north pole as the top. Such an orientation is purely a matter of convention, as 'up' and 'down' don't apply in a planetary context. The north = up tradition probably emerged because most historical cartographers hailed from the northern hemisphere, and placed their own nations at the top. Some people and groups object that this convention subtly, but perniciously, advances the assumption that countries in the northern hemisphere are inherently more important than those in the southern hemisphere. This is especially sensitive because most of the wealthier and more powerful countries in the world are in the northern hemisphere, while relatively fewer southern hemisphere countries have as much wealth or global influence. Early maps had eastern Asia oriented at the top of the map, beyond Israel and the Holy Land in the middle, and western Europe at the bottom.

To remedy this, some advocate the use of maps with the south pole oriented at the top. Some want such maps in common use, while others simply use them to encourage people to rethink their assumptions about how the world should be seen. Such a map can easily be achieved by simply rotating a normal map 180 degrees, though the text labels would also be upside-down and harder to read. A [https://www.google.com/search?site=&tbm=isch&q=upside-down%2Bmap%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bworld Google Images] search reveals many examples of upside-down maps with the text oriented correctly for reading.

This map is a comedic play on such maps, where each land mass is in the same position it would be in a traditional north-top map but rotated 180 degrees (presumably around some central point of the landmass) to the orientation it would have in a south-top map. Such a map is, of course, almost completely useless in real life, because it completely distorts the relative positioning of the landmasses. Moreover, it keeps the northern countries at the top of the map, which means one of the chief complaints about traditional maps is unaddressed.

Note that individual islands are rotated about their own centers, rather than following the rotation of the neighboring continent; however, some are displaced as necessary to keep them from being overlapped by the rotated continents. For instance, {{w|Madagascar}} would be overlapped by the {{w|Sahara}} if it remained in position, but is instead displaced eastward to keep it in the Indian Ocean. On the other hand, all the islands of the {{w|Mediterranean Sea}} have disappeared under {{w|Asia}}.

Asia is so broad that almost the entire {{w|Indochinese Peninsula}} (with for instance {{w|Vietnam}} and {{w|Thailand}}) has been rotated out of the top of the map. Similarly, the map omits {{w|Antarctica}} in the south.

To keep their familiar shapes on a rectangular map, the continents would also have to be heavily distorted compared to their actual shapes, becoming much narrower (along the lines of latitude) near the poles and wider towards the equator. See also [[977: Map Projections]].

The basic climates for several areas would be distinctly different. For example, the formerly-Central America area would be in the arctic zone, while Siberia would be subtropical.

This arrangement of the world's land masses would have great advantages for trade, because there are (presumably navigable) straits between the {{w|Americas}} and between Africa and Asia, removing the need for the {{w|Panama Canal}} and the {{w|Suez Canal}}.

The title text references the fact that, in this new map, the {{w|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland|UK}} is now next to Asia – specifically the {{w|Korean Peninsula}}. {{w|North Korea}} is mentioned in the text as having a history of hostile relations with nearby countries. However, on this map North Korea would be the part of {{w|Korea}} we today know as {{w|South Korea}}. Furthermore, {{w|Northern Ireland}} is now at the south of the {{w|island of Ireland}}, so the UK's full name would need to change to The United Kingdom of Great Britain and '''Southern''' Ireland. There have been several wars concerning the {{w|English Channel}}, mainly, but not only, between {{w|England}} and {{w|France}}. Likewise there has been a history of animosity between Korea and {{w|Japan}}, separated by a similar body of water. Since, on this world map, a channel now exists between the UK and North Korea (the real world's South Korea) there could obviously have been many wars for the dominance over said channel.

Along the same line of thinking, interesting speculations could be made about the following "new" facts:
*{{w|Cuba}} is now off the east coast (formerly west coast) of {{w|Canada}} (and the {{w|USA}}).
*{{w|Japan}} is next to the coast of {{w|Portugal}} and {{w|Spain}}.
*Madagascar lies next to {{w|Morocco}} and {{w|Mauritania}} on the east coast (formerly west coast) of the Sahara.
*{{w|Taiwan}} (officially called the Republic of China) is now next to {{w|France}}. This might be a game-changer for the {{w|Cross-Strait relations}}, an ongoing rivalry with {{w|China|China}} (officially called the People's Republic of China).
*{{w|Greenland}} lies next to {{w|Mexico}}.
*{{w|Sri Lanka}} is located next to the {{w|Yamalsky District}} of {{w|Russia}}.
*{{w|Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego|Tierra del Fuego}}, an island just south of the southern tip of South America, which is divided between {{w|Argentina}} and {{w|Chile}}, is now located in a similar manner next to {{w|Colombia}} and {{w|Venezuela}}, so it would probably have been divided between these two countries.
*The {{w|Falkland Islands}} (not named in the map – they are probably represented by the single island above the T in Tierra) where Argentina and the UK have an ongoing {{w|Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute|sovereignty dispute}}, could now be claimed by {{w|Ecuador}} or {{w|Peru}}.
*The Mediterranean islands seem to have vanished entirely, as they are now in approximately the same place as {{w|Mongolia}}.
*{{w|India}} is nowhere near the {{w|Indian Ocean}}.

==Transcript==
:[Map of the world with all the landmasses rotated upside-down.]
:[Four oceans and all the visible continents have been named in large letters in a bold font. The Pacific has been named both to the left and right. Several islands (large and small) have been designated with name but in grey and in a much smaller normal font. For all continents the names are written on them. For the island the name is written in the ocean except for Greenland.]

:[Below the names on the map are given in the order they appear reading from left to right, first for the northern and then the southern hemisphere:]

:[Northern hemisphere:]
:'''North America'''
:Cuba
:Greenland
:'''Atlantic Ocean
:Iceland
:UK
:'''Asia'''
:Sri Lanka
:'''Europe'''
:'''Arctic Ocean'''
:Taiwan
:Japan
:'''Pacific Ocean'''

:[Southern hemisphere:]
:'''Pacific Ocean'''
:'''South America'''
:Tierra del Fuego
:'''Africa'''
:'''Indian Ocean'''
:Madagascar
:Indonesia
:'''Australia'''
:New Zealand

:[Below the main frame:]
:'''This upside-down map will change your perspective on the world!'''

==Trivia==
Map projections are also the subject of [[977: Map Projections]]. In fact, if this comic was released later, it would certainly have "Bad Map Projection #''n''" on the top, and would be part of [[:Category:Bad Map Projections|the category]].

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:Maps]]

Talk:1487: Tornado

2020-08-10T21:11:50Z

Cosumel:

Are we sure this is cueball? it seems like it might be just a generic newscaster cartoon.
[[User:Reywas|Reywas]] ([[User talk:Reywas|talk]]) 07:41, 16 February 2015 (UTC)
: Cueball is not a character; it's a name given to any featureless stick figure in XKCD. [[User:ImVeryAngryItsNotButter|ImVeryAngryItsNotButter]] ([[User talk:ImVeryAngryItsNotButter|talk]]) 15:14, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

:Actually, while the blank figure is used throughout XKCD, at least on this wiki, cueball refers to the recurring character, who I don't think is the one here.[[User:Reywas|Reywas]] ([[User talk:Reywas|talk]]) 20:49, 16 February 2015 (UTC)
: I just checked, [[User:ImVeryAngryItsNotButter|ImVeryAngryItsNotButter]] is correct. [[Cueball]] is a name (or more accurately, a title) given to any featureless stickman. Cueball isn't a 'recurring character' because it's impossible to distinguish any instance from another by any way other than their personality (which has no clear rules to go by). Could you imagine how tough it would be to go through eg. [[610]] and name each one consistently with Cueballs from other comics? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.162|108.162.249.162]] 04:24, 17 February 2015 (UTC)
Can a weather expert verify the claim that a tornado will destroy a merry-go-round? From what little I read and understood (Weather is confusing, and there was no graph!), a F0 or F1 tornado would not destroy it. From my estimations, a merry-go-round weighs 1350kg (2976.24054 lbs). Thanks, [[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.95|141.101.106.95]] 08:53, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

:: The F scale is based on the amount of damage done, by definition an F0 does no damage and F5 Does vast amounts of damage, F1 would damage it but it may be repairable. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.93}}

Another type of "merry-go-round" is a very common playground device, much simpler than the type with seats or horses. This https://smilekiddo.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/zipline_merry-go-round.jpg is what I envisioned from the comic, although it could refer to either type. The freely-rotating small platform, usually with bars for children to hold onto while standing, and rotated merely by people-power, is probably the most common type of merry-go-round in the US. They may weigh from 500 to 2000 lbs, or mass from about 15 to 60 slugs (I'll assume xkcd readers can convert to other mass units if desired.) [[User:Taibhse|Taibhse]] ([[User talk:Taibhse|talk]]) 09:24, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

:: My experience has been that Americans typically refer to the type with seats and horses as a Carousel, and a merry-go-round is just the simple spinning wheel with bars to hold onto. This article says that merry-go-round in reference to a Carousel is a term more often used in Europe: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carousel [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.85|199.27.128.85]] 17:26, 17 February 2015 (UTC)

I think tornado can destroy the merry-go-round of either type and STILL make it a fun ride. The part of "no injuries" is the suspicious one. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:25, 16 February 2015 (UTC)
: No injuries? [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoNW1MQictc Motorbike and merry-go-round]

Wait, what I got from this comic is the classical mass media sensationalism joke, there is no tornado, they simply invented one by taking a merry go round as one, that's why the victims say "Fun and Awesome", they interviewed the kids as victims while they were just enjoying the ride. The title text does the same, with the difference they went further this time, as trying to pass a teacup ride as a multi-vortex tornado is even more hilarious. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.103.206|141.101.103.206]] 11:29, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

I think that the tornado in question is ''caused'' by the merry-go-round because physics and similarly for the tea cup ride -- [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.150|108.162.216.150]] 18:05, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

Is there any point in including "like most amusement rides, it is for children"? I don't know about others but most of the amusement parks near me are for late teens-twenties. They all have a childrens section but it is pretty tiny. --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.202|173.245.56.202]] 14:29, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

I would like to point out that [http://www.regentsprep.org/regents/physics/phys06/bcentrif/centrif.htm Centrifugal Force] Does not exist. What you are describing is Tethered forward momentum. If the rider was not bolted to the Horse then the rider would fly forward as described by the feeling of being pushed away from the center. You can test this yourself by putting a bolt on a string, spin the string and let go. IF there was Centrifugal force then the bolt would keep on a curve. Instead it flies away in a line till gravity takes over. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.93}}

:: Centrifugal force does actually exist. See comic [[123]]. It may not be real in the sense that it exists in inertial reference frames, but it exists in the sense that it's a well-defined and useful way of arranging the math. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.17|108.162.216.17]] 06:31, 17 February 2015 (UTC)

The most improbable fact is that the tornadoes would exactly stay centered around the axes of the merry-go-round, especially in the multi-vortex case. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.92.72|141.101.92.72]] 14:30, 17 February 2015 (UTC)

My first impression was that in the title-text (multi-vortex) case, there were no injuries because the vortices exactly counteracted the spinning of the ride, leaving the participants effectively standing still. The physics likely doesn't work at all if you dig into the details, but as an initial mental image, it was amusing. {{unsigned ip|173.245.52.104}}

Talk:1156: Conditioning

2020-05-26T04:31:23Z

Cosumel:

... the main problem with this idea is that the probability of any particular driver to driver repeately around that place is not so high. Of course, if similarly conditioned animals would be on multiple places ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 08:48, 4 January 2013 (UTC)
:Depending on the animal (species), and assuming a stable or growing "local wildlife" population, the conditioned ones may 1) eventually fan out (including migration) and teach other individuals or 2) breed, teach their offspring, and the offspring will fan out. Eventually -- we can only hope -- the average density EVERYWHERE per square mile of individuals would be above a given threshold to be effective 24/7. Problem solved! --BigMal27 / [[Special:Contributions/192.136.15.177|192.136.15.177]] 12:19, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

Up the ante in rural areas by using not crumbs, but bacon, or deer musk ... nah, that would be evil.[[Special:Contributions/24.79.11.46|24.79.11.46]] 13:18, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

If anything this would just get drivers to close their windows and not solve the problem because loud bass still penetrates car windows. {{unsigned|12.235.98.130}}
:If I were a bass-loving driver, I still wouldn't want birds and squirrels (et cetera) coming at my car! Better to kill the "music" or avoid the area. But it appears to be a hollow victory due to the comment below. --BigMal27 / [[Special:Contributions/192.136.15.178|192.136.15.178]] 20:50, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

The general problem I see: once drivers get educated, animal conditioning has to be kept up, or animals will forget about basses, which would be the exact same nuisance it is trying to address. Otherwise, wildlive would forget to associate basses with food, and thus fail to educate drivers. Kind of a Volterra cycle. Edit: the paragraph before is not mine, someone forgot to sign.[[Special:Contributions/46.142.12.21|46.142.12.21]] 18:59, 4 January 2013 (UTC) madd

Someone suggested attracting wolves and bears. That could stop the morons learning. Or as the Americans say:
Thayer'll layern ya.[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 19:11, 13 January 2015 (UTC)
:As an American, layering what, now? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.196|108.162.210.196]] 15:35, 24 November 2016 (UTC)

Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but wouldn't attracting lots of animals towards cars with thumping bass lead to a lot more road kill? Which wouldn't really be a desired side-effect of the machine... [[Special:Contributions/46.142.12.21|46.142.12.21]] 18:59, 6 January 2013 (UTC)

Of course the conditioning has to be kept up! That's why you run the machine while you are AT WORK! --Schmammel

The side effect of "Road Kill" would also contribute to the desired response... most dirvers who listen to excessive base (music) tend to also not want to hit or splatter an animal across their vehicle (don't see a lot of Pickup Trucks with gun racks thumping out the base) [[User:MIRanger|MIRanger]] ([[User talk:MIRanger|talk]]) MIRanger

Eh, doubt any drivers would make the connection with their music without, say, explanatory signage ("birds here attack loud cars!")... They'd probably just think the local wildlife went after cars in general. [[Special:Contributions/98.201.111.246|98.201.111.246]] 00:03, 3 February 2013 (UTC)mr

This: http://www.snopes.com/college/pranks/birdseed.asp

But the conditioning machine will become annoying to the neighbors. {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.240}}

Someone should actually try this. I could see it working. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.244|162.158.75.244]] 21:47, 11 October 2018 (UTC)

I once heard a story of dubious authenticity, but cute nonetheless. A man spent the summer walking back and forth across the deserted football field of a rival college, blowing a whistle and tossing birdseed. Fun times for the opening game of the season. [[User:Cosumel|Cosumel]] ([[User talk:Cosumel|talk]]) 04:31, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

1104: Feathers

2020-05-12T07:34:58Z

Cosumel: /* Explanation */ Removed defunct links (both at Youtube and Wayback Machine) and found new video that serves the same purpose.

{{comic
| number = 1104
| date = September 05, 2012
| title = Feathers
| image = feathers.png
| titletext = Click to see a video of a modern bird using stability flapping during predatory behavior. It all fits! Also, apparently Microraptor had *four* wings? The past keeps getting cooler! (And there's more of it every day!)
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Dinosaur}}s have been a fascinating topic in popular science and have captivated children's interest since the first fossils were discovered in modern times, around the 1700s; prior discoveries in China and elsewhere were thought to be the bones of dragons or other mythical creatures. The success of the ''{{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park}}'' movies perpetuated an erroneous understanding of the physical characteristics of dinosaurs. Since the first movie of that series, scientific evidence has emerged suggesting that {{w|Dromaeosauridae}}, or "[[:Category:Velociraptors|raptors]]", the main antagonists of that movie, looked quite different from their animatronic and CGI versions. In particular, they are now known to have been much smaller, and are believed to have had feathers and even wings, as evidenced by quill nobs observed on the arms of raptors.

[http://denverfowler.com/ Denver W. Fowler] is among the scientists who support this hypothesis. (incidentally, a "{{w|Fowler}}" is a hunter of wildfowl/birds) The comic refers to [http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0028964 a publication by him and his colleagues] ("{{Wiktionary|et al.}}"), in the ''{{w|PLoS ONE}}'', an online scientific journal ("PLoS" stands for "Public Library of Science").

[[Megan]] believes this new model of the appearance of raptors makes them much less cool, but the way in which [[Science Girl]] reformulates the facts to make them seem like even more vicious predators re-ignites her interest and makes the new raptors seem like at least as good a candidate for a good action thriller movie like the original version, if not better. Thus the phrase "the past keeps getting cooler".

Clicking on the original cartoon links to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJKBPyavWlI a YouTube video] of a bird of prey (in this case a {{w|Secretarybird}}) using its wings for stability while standing on top of a struggling prey, from which one can easily envision instead a raptor upon its prey—especially in case of some kind of "raptorphobia", as for [[Randall]] (see [[87: Velociraptors]] and [[135: Substitute]]). {{w|Microraptor}} was a small raptor with four wings, which lets you imagine even scarier scenes.

The same idea is later explored from a different perspective in [[1527: Humans]].

==Transcript==
:[Megan is walking up to Science Girl with a bow in her hair bun. Science Girl has a stack of three books in front of her, is reading another book and a fifth book lies behind her on the floor.]
:Megan: What are you reading about?
:Science Girl: Dinosaurs!
:Megan: Oh, yeah.

:[Zoom out of the same scene, with Megan standing and Science Girl looking up at her.]
:Megan: They've gotten all weird since when I was a kid.
:Megan: They used to be awesome, but now they all have dorky feathers, right?
:Science Girl: Yup!

:[Same scene in a frame-less panel. Science Girl looks down and below the two characters there is a footnote.]
:Science Girl: This says they now think raptors used their wings for stability, flapping to stay on top of their prey while hanging on with their hooked claws and eating it alive.
:*Fowler et. al., PLoS ONE 6(12), 2011

:[Zoom in on the same scene, the book on the floor is outside the panel. Megan just stands staring at Science Girl who reads on. Beat panel.]

:[Megan is now on the floor next to Science Girl flipping through the top book she has taken from the pile.]

==Trivia==
*In the comic it says "et. al." instead of the correct "et al.", this is a common mistake.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Science Girl]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Animals]]

1104: Feathers

2020-05-12T07:32:17Z

Cosumel: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1104
| date = September 05, 2012
| title = Feathers
| image = feathers.png
| titletext = Click to see a video of a modern bird using stability flapping during predatory behavior. It all fits! Also, apparently Microraptor had *four* wings? The past keeps getting cooler! (And there's more of it every day!)
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Dinosaur}}s have been a fascinating topic in popular science and have captivated children's interest since the first fossils were discovered in modern times, around the 1700s; prior discoveries in China and elsewhere were thought to be the bones of dragons or other mythical creatures. The success of the ''{{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park}}'' movies perpetuated an erroneous understanding of the physical characteristics of dinosaurs. Since the first movie of that series, scientific evidence has emerged suggesting that {{w|Dromaeosauridae}}, or "[[:Category:Velociraptors|raptors]]", the main antagonists of that movie, looked quite different from their animatronic and CGI versions. In particular, they are now known to have been much smaller, and are believed to have had feathers and even wings, as evidenced by quill nobs observed on the arms of raptors.

[http://denverfowler.com/ Denver W. Fowler] is among the scientists who support this hypothesis. (incidentally, a "{{w|Fowler}}" is a hunter of wildfowl/birds) The comic refers to [http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0028964 a publication by him and his colleagues] ("{{Wiktionary|et al.}}"), in the ''{{w|PLoS ONE}}'', an online scientific journal ("PLoS" stands for "Public Library of Science").

[[Megan]] believes this new model of the appearance of raptors makes them much less cool, but the way in which [[Science Girl]] reformulates the facts to make them seem like even more vicious predators re-ignites her interest and makes the new raptors seem like at least as good a candidate for a good action thriller movie like the original version, if not better. Thus the phrase "the past keeps getting cooler".

Clicking on the original cartoon links to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJKBPyavWlI a YouTube video] of a bird of prey (in this case a {{w|Secretarybird}}) using its wings for stability while standing on top of a struggling prey, from which one can easily envision instead a raptor upon its prey—especially in case of some kind of "raptorphobia", as for [[Randall]] (see [[87: Velociraptors]] and [[135: Substitute]]). This video is now defunct, but you can still access it via the [http://web.archive.org/web/20120905203614/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qpdk-U8fI0&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]. {{w|Microraptor}} was a small raptor with four wings, which lets you imagine even scarier scenes.

The same idea is later explored from a different perspective in [[1527: Humans]].

==Transcript==
:[Megan is walking up to Science Girl with a bow in her hair bun. Science Girl has a stack of three books in front of her, is reading another book and a fifth book lies behind her on the floor.]
:Megan: What are you reading about?
:Science Girl: Dinosaurs!
:Megan: Oh, yeah.

:[Zoom out of the same scene, with Megan standing and Science Girl looking up at her.]
:Megan: They've gotten all weird since when I was a kid.
:Megan: They used to be awesome, but now they all have dorky feathers, right?
:Science Girl: Yup!

:[Same scene in a frame-less panel. Science Girl looks down and below the two characters there is a footnote.]
:Science Girl: This says they now think raptors used their wings for stability, flapping to stay on top of their prey while hanging on with their hooked claws and eating it alive.
:*Fowler et. al., PLoS ONE 6(12), 2011

:[Zoom in on the same scene, the book on the floor is outside the panel. Megan just stands staring at Science Girl who reads on. Beat panel.]

:[Megan is now on the floor next to Science Girl flipping through the top book she has taken from the pile.]

==Trivia==
*In the comic it says "et. al." instead of the correct "et al.", this is a common mistake.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Science Girl]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Animals]]

Talk:1103: Nine

2020-05-12T07:27:53Z

Cosumel:

I really find that the hover-over text applies to me more often than not, unless I'm not in mixed company. This reminds me of a time that I was staying with a friend and she walked in on me changing the time on her microwave. When I explained to her that her microwave, stove, and coffee pot were all set to different times and it was bugging me, she just looked at me like I was crazy. --[[User:Grate314|"grate314"]] ([[User talk:Grate314|talk]]) 16:47, 3 September 2012 (UTC)
:I don't think that is what the title text meant. Also, anybody who reads an xkcd comic and remembers that they did that ''is'' crazy. --[[Special:Contributions/98.221.139.80|98.221.139.80]]
:I agree with grate314. I have to fix this every time the power goes out in my house because the stove, microwave, and radio all treat power outages differently. Between different rooms, though, it doesn't bother me. --[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 19:04, 3 September 2012 (UTC)
::I know that that isn't specifically what the hover-over text was talking about, but I was thinking of it in a more general way. I've just found that whenever someone asks me what I'm thinking about, it's best to say 'nothing'. What I meant by 'mixed company' is a general social gathering, like a wedding or birthday party. I'm an EE student, so when someone asks me that question at school, I answer honestly. The answer is usually 'soldering'. I think about soldering a lot. Thanks, DanB, the clocks were all on top of each other, btw, I'm not sure how she lived in that chaos.--[[User:Grate314|grate314]] ([[User talk:Grate314|talk]]) 21:27, 3 September 2012 (UTC)

Did anybody try doing what the title text is saying? Just wondering. --[[Special:Contributions/98.221.139.80|98.221.139.80]]

When I'm not following written instructions, I tend to use multiples of 1:11, out of laziness. So, if I figure something should take about 2-3 minutes, I'll nuke it for 2:22. That way, I can press one button 3 times without having to move my finger. [[User:MGK|MGK]] ([[User talk:MGK|talk]]) 17:23, 3 September 2012 (UTC)

If your microwave is connected to your home network you should accept that GCHQ have probably broken all your codes.[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 20:03, 20 January 2015 (UTC)

I'm lazy and like to use repeated digits rather than have to move my finger along to find the next one - thus 33, 55, 66 get used a lot. I also find that for most items, longer time at lower power settings is more effective at even heating, so I do a lot of 66 at 50% rather than 33 at 100%. Our current oven only has 10 power settings, unlike a previous one that had two digit power settings resulting in 66 sec at 55% being a fairly commonly used setup. Interestingly, the logic of every microwave oven I have encountered treats 99 entered in the seconds display the same as if one were to have entered 1minute and 33 seconds. Thus 99:99 would be 100 minutes and 33 seconds. [[User:J-beda|J-beda]] ([[User talk:J-beda|talk]]) 17:31, 3 September 2012 (UTC)

Oddly (apparently) my microwave has only 3 buttons (10 minutes, 1 minute, 10 seconds), though I do feel sorry for the 10 minute button.
:Maybe it would make more sense to change the 10 minutes button to a 6 minutes button [[Special:Contributions/212.23.140.110|212.23.140.110]] 16:39, 5 September 2012 (UTC)

I usually just push the "add 30 seconds" button until I reach the desired time (6 pushes for three minutes, 3 for 1:30, etc.). [[User:Erenan|Erenan]] ([[User talk:Erenan|talk]]) 16:06, 4 September 2012 (UTC)

:mine only has a single analogue dial that jumps up in increasingly large steps, and for some reason is numbered to skip over some sensible times, such as six minutes. however, no buttons, so problem solved. [[Special:Contributions/86.15.83.223|86.15.83.223]] 22:00, 29 December 2012 (UTC)

The 9 and 0 button are near each other so I do a lot of 90 (meaning 1 minute, 30 seconds). Sometimes, I'll get lazy<strike>er</strike> and press 99.

'''Quasar '''unit offers the additional accuracy/simplicity/utility of min 10, 1 and sec 10, 1 There are no other numbers on the control face, which has 14 buttons total. hmm, Minimum number of buttons required to accomplish nuking?--[[User:Idkrash|Idkrash]] ([[User talk:Idkrash|talk]]) 01:28, 5 September 2012 (UTC)
:For simplicity I would be in favor of 2 dials and 2 buttons. The dials could serve for power and time, which could output to digital displays. The buttons then could serve as start and stop. Pressing start and stop simultaneously would toggle the clock set function and you could use the dials to set the min and hour.----[[User:Shine|Shine]] ([[User talk:Shine|talk]]) 10:47, 5 September 2012 (UTC)
::I suspect that sooner or later they'll all just have a power button and a touchscreen. [[User:Erenan|Erenan]] ([[User talk:Erenan|talk]]) 15:15, 5 September 2012 (UTC)
::Agreed that the touchscreen is likely but you could get away with just the two dials by having the time dial start the oven when it is pulled out and stop when pushed in. (#Analog) --[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 19:18, 5 September 2012 (UTC)
::: My microwave already has a touch screen... we use the 30 second button on it a lot... --[[User:Tustin2121|Tustin2121]] ([[User talk:Tustin2121|talk]]) 16:36, 9 September 2012 (UTC)
:::The pushable dial isn't even necessary, have the machine start when the dial is twisted, which then ticks back to zero, and stop when the door is opened [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.65|141.101.99.65]] 14:13, 21 July 2017 (UTC)

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benford's_law Benfords law] pops to mind.

I don't use 20, 30 ,40, because find it easier to just click twice same button: 11, 22, 33, 44, 55, 66, 77, 88, 99 and anything beyond 99 seconds - well, 200 {{unsigned ip|82.71.241.138|17:25, 6 December 2012‎ (UTC)}}

As a datum-point, my microwave has a (linear, clockwork, with mechanical bell-ding) dial, which is imprecise enough. Also it's a ''really'' old one (20 years old? 25? 30?) with a lower power than is common to see mentioned, so I look at the packaging recommendations, see perhaps 650W, 750W and 850W times, or 700W and 800W ones, and then add half again onto the lower rate's required time, and then perhaps a little more for good luck, as the amount I (roughly) twist the dial. I rarely use anything other than 'full'-power, out of the five settings. And I still sometimes need to renuke after testing. I really ought to get a new one. Probably would be more efficient, as well as accurate. ;) [[Special:Contributions/178.98.141.216|178.98.141.216]] 13:07, 31 March 2013 (UTC)

Shockingly, no one has mentioned Cirno from Touhou Project.--[[Special:Contributions/67.78.126.46|67.78.126.46]] 12:41, 14 October 2013 (UTC)

Shockingly, noone has mentioned that 159 seconds is closer to 3 minutes that it is to 2. [[User:Marklark|Marklark]] ([[User talk:Marklark|talk]]) 23:03, 29 December 2015 (UTC)
: I think it's a reasonable assumption that a the 1 gets bumped into the minutes column, otherwise all times would have to be entered in seconds or some other untidy interface would be necessary [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.65|141.101.99.65]] 14:13, 21 July 2017 (UTC)

Am I the only one that uses "99" whenever the instructions say something close to "1 minute 30 seconds"? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.49|108.162.216.49]] 15:11, 26 February 2016 (UTC)BenDanTomJack
:If the instructions say 1:30, wouldn't 88 be a better choice than 99? A variance of 2 seconds under vs. a variance of 9 seconds over. {{unsigned ip|173.245.48.105}}

* Shockingly, no one has mentioned Pluto. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.10.172|172.68.10.172]] 18:12, 21 July 2019 (UTC)

Who doesn’t use 90 fairly often? A lot of things need to be cooked for 90 seconds. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.82|162.158.214.82]] 13:58, 25 November 2019 (UTC)

From a scientific standpoint, we moved into a new house last year which has a well-used (probably 20+ years) Amana Radar-range, so lots of button pushes. The buttons for 1, 2, 3, 5, and 0 are WELL worn with the rest nearly untouched. [[User:Cosumel|Cosumel]] ([[User talk:Cosumel|talk]]) 07:27, 12 May 2020 (UTC)

Talk:992: Mnemonics

2020-04-18T01:46:21Z

Cosumel:

The most memorable resistor code mnemonics I know are not...politically correct, shall we say. But they are memorable. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 19:55, 27 August 2012 (UTC)
:tell pls [[User:SuperSupermario24|Just some random derp]] 23:45, 8 June 2015 (UTC)
::Bad Boys Rape Our Young Girls But Violet Gives Willingly [[Special:Contributions/172.68.132.77|172.68.132.77]] 22:53, 24 April 2017 (UTC)
::: And that's one of the better ones. Some use "black" instead of "bad", which is better in that it disambiguates (that color is actually black IIRC), but worse in that it's even more terrible and has added racism. [[User:Hppavilion1|Hppavilion1]] ([[User talk:Hppavilion1|talk]]) 07:14, 7 September 2017 (UTC)

I feel like he got lazy at the end and didn't provide an "or" to the Jesus one mnemonic. Also, why is mnemonic often pronounced "new-monic" ?

Mnemonic is supposed to be pronounced "nim-monic"; "new-monic" is rather a malapropism, given that is a correct pronunciation of "pneumonic" (meaning related to lungs or to pneumonia"), similar to how some people pronounce "nuclear" as "nu-kyoo-lar" (reminiscent of "-cular"-ending words, such as: perpendicular, particular, jocular, etc.).
:I pronounce it as written, same for "gnome" - keeps those muscles going. (Try it with "knight", you'll get an approximation of Chaucer. Seriously.) --[[User:Qwach|Qwach]] ([[User talk:Qwach|talk]]) 02:39, 1 September 2013 (UTC)
:My dictionary says it's a schwa sound. Both "nim" and "new" are putting too much emphasis on the first syllable. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.202|108.162.219.202]] 06:46, 30 December 2013 (UTC)
::Yes, it should be nuh-MAHN-ic (n'monic) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.78.10|172.68.78.10]] 02:15, 31 January 2017 (UTC)

Mnemonics are actually counter-productive. They claim to help you remember something but, in actuality, they replace what you're supposed to remember with something useless, thus causing you to FAIL to remember.[[Special:Contributions/76.29.225.28|76.29.225.28]] 03:32, 4 July 2013 (UTC)

"Mnemonics are actually counter-productive." I disagree. They provide the '''order''' to the list of already known, or mostly known, words. They provide a little extra help.--DrMath 20:50, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

The only one I ever learned:
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz.
Fucking stupid brain! (It HAS been useful, although I don't recall why at the moment. (Fucking stupid brain.))
[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 07:15, 22 January 2015 (UTC)
Big Brother Reptilian Overlors. This aren't Raptors or Tyranosaurs?? I remmeber any 'fear' from Monroe to they -- {{unsigned ip|108.162.210.252}}
:"It's the most remarkable word I've ever seen!"[[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.174|173.245.50.174]] 05:25, 6 September 2015 (UTC)

Has anyone noticed the Order of Operations is Out of Order? Please Email Dad & Mum A Shark? - Apostrophyx ([[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.221|108.162.249.221]] 03:17, 15 July 2014 (UTC))
:It's not out of order, multiplication and division are one tier together. 6 x 5 / 2 and 6 / 2 x 5 have the same result. [[User:Cflare|Cflare]] ([[User talk:Cflare|talk]]) 14:29, 11 September 2014 (UTC)

I learned "Kahn's Hot Dogs Use Dead Cow Meat" as a mnemonic for SI prefixes. Covers all the common ones, but leaves out extreme ones like Giga or Zepto.--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.64|173.245.55.64]] 20:13, 17 July 2014 (UTC)

My favorite is for SOHCAHTOA: "Some Old Hippie Caught Another Hippie Tripping On Acid." [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.228|199.27.128.228]] 05:16, 15 February 2015 (UTC)

And this, fundamentally, is why people don't like Pluto not being a planet. Sure, it's logical, but you took away our nine pizzas and gave us only nachos in return. Who wouldn't be mad about that?[[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.174|173.245.50.174]] 05:25, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
:Not to mention the self-referential "My very educated mother just showed us nine planets." [[Special:Contributions/172.68.78.10|172.68.78.10]] 02:15, 31 January 2017 (UTC)

My personal favorite for taxonomy is "Dumb kids playing catch on freeways get squashed."[[User:RedHatGuy68|RedHatGuy68]] ([[User talk:RedHatGuy68|talk]]) 01:12, 31 January 2016 (UTC)
:Exactly what I was thinking. That one seems to be more traditional because I got taught that back in school. [[User:625571b7-aa66-4f98-ac5c-92464cfb4ed8|625571b7-aa66-4f98-ac5c-92464cfb4ed8]] ([[User talk:625571b7-aa66-4f98-ac5c-92464cfb4ed8|talk]]) 03:43, 9 March 2017 (UTC)
:Do Kindly Please Come Over For Green Soup [[User:Cosumel|Cosumel]] ([[User talk:Cosumel|talk]]) 01:46, 18 April 2020 (UTC)

Marx didn't "invent" either socialism or communism. Both terms predated him. [[User:Gmcgath|Gmcgath]] ([[User talk:Gmcgath|talk]]) 17:09, 6 November 2016 (UTC)

I know one for SI prefixes: Kalium, magnesium, gallium, thallium, palladium, erbium, zinc(, yttrium), for the >1 ones, and "Magnesium, manganese, natrium, palladium, actinium, zinc(, yttrium)" for <1. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.188|162.158.88.188]] 10:26, 24 January 2018 (UTC)

It can be noted and I suggest this onto the trivia section that the ''only'' sexually suggestive traditional mnemonic has the only sexually non-suggestive suggested mnemonic besides the suggested SI mnemonic. ''(Sorry, but the more traditional version for taxonomy is "King Phillip Came Over For Good '''Spaghetti'''")'' [[Special:Contributions/172.69.186.58|172.69.186.58]] 11:27, 30 July 2018 (UTC)

My favorite one is for the digestive system: Mouth, Esophagus, Stomach, Gall Bladder, Small Intestine, Large Intestine, Rectum, Anus. Better remembered as "Mother Eats Squirrel Guts Because She Is Living In Rural Arkansas." [[User:Cosumel|Cosumel]] ([[User talk:Cosumel|talk]]) 01:46, 18 April 2020 (UTC)

Talk:788: The Carriage

2020-03-24T19:37:08Z

Cosumel:

Fun fact: you can sing anything written in ballad meter to the tune of anything else written in ballad meter. Try singing the pokemon theme to the tune of saving grace. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:23, 24 April 2013 (UTC)
: Do you mean ''Amazing'' Grace? {{unsigned ip|74.226.103.181}}
::Bah, close enough. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 03:00, 11 May 2013 (UTC)

What is this Y-button? --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 16:38, 4 June 2013 (UTC)
: It is the button used to enter / exit a vehicle in GTA (XBOX versions) [[User:SioD|SioD]] ([[User talk:SioD|talk]]) 09:28, 22 November 2013 (UTC)
::You have to press a button to steal a car? {{unsigned|Weatherlawyer}}
:::While playing the game, on that device, you gain pretend illegal possession of a pixelated vehicle by pushing the game controller button specified [[User:Katt3|Katt3]] ([[User talk:Katt3|talk]]) 17:56, 19 September 2016 (UTC)Katt3

Is it Emily ion the comic? She is not depicted with a bun on wiki. And neither is she in most of the pics found on google. If someone makes an edition of GTA they would not necessarily use them selves as the protagonist? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:27, 4 April 2015 (UTC)

Can we please change 'Hair Bun Girl' to 'Emily Dickinson'? We all know that's who she's supposed to be. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.35|108.162.218.35]] 13:41, 27 June 2015 (UTC)

Just rewrote the first quatrain with GTA wording:
Because I could not stop for Death/
He kindly stopped for me/
I yanked him from the driver’s seat/
And got a carriage free. {{unsigned ip|108.162.220.221}}

I sympathize fully with Randall. Since I learned (can't remember where) that this poem can be sung to "the Yellow Rose of Texas" I can't read it any other way either. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.117|108.162.242.117]] 21:31, 20 October 2016 (UTC)
: Babylon 5 episode, "Day of the Dead" [[User:Cosumel|Cosumel]] ([[User talk:Cosumel|talk]]) 19:37, 24 March 2020 (UTC)

Talk:745: Dyslexics

2020-03-20T21:27:41Z

Cosumel: Added anecdote

Can someone explain this sentence: "I kept doing 'doing 'doing it wrong' wrong' wrong."? Other than the 3 nested quotes, I don't get the point. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 16:10, 3 January 2014 (UTC)

He's expanding the "it" in "doing it wrong." The joke of the comic itself is that the dyslexics are having difficulty making a mistake--they're doing "doing it wrong" wrong. In the title-text, Randall reveals he was having difficulty doing that wrong--he was doing "doing "doing it wrong" wrong" wrong. --[[User:Hatkirby|Hatkirby]] ([[User talk:Hatkirby|talk]]) 07:17, 4 January 2014 (UTC)

It's a nested statement. Perhaps made clearer with parenthesis. He's {doing [doing (doing it wrong) wrong] wrong}. In other words. He's incorrectly executing the incorrect execution of "doing it wrong" [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.112|199.27.128.112]] 03:27, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

A := "doing it wrong" 
This is referring to the mispelling of 'unite' as 'untie' by the dyslexic designer of the T-shirt.
B := "doing A wrong" == "doing 'doing it wrong' wrong" 
This refers to Randall's purposefully mispelling 'untie' as 'unite' to parody the The Far Side comic (which spelled 'unite' as 'untie').
C := "doing C wrong" == "doing 'doing 'doing it wrong' wrong' wrong" 
This refers to Randall getting confused and writing out 'untie' instead of 'unite'. He is messing up his parody of the The Far Side joke.
Steven Chartis [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.124|108.162.237.124]] 22:48, 26 December 2014 (UTC)
:I think you meant to say "doing B wrong" at the end instead of C. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.232|108.162.210.232]] 18:41, 9 May 2016 (UTC)
::So he was explaining 'doing 'doing 'doing it wrong' wrong' wrong' wrong? That's wrong on so many levels!--[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 15:20, 9 January 2020 (UTC)
"an invresion" is likely a typo but it's on-topic so I'm totally leaving it there [[Special:Contributions/188.114.97.133|188.114.97.133]] 00:54, 22 February 2015 (UTC)

I actually saw "untie" on first glance... that sukcs... [[User:Flewk|flewk]] ([[User talk:Flewk|talk]]) 10:09, 9 January 2016 (UTC)
: Same here, it took me a few times to get it straight. [[User:Dontknow|Dontknow]] ([[User talk:Dontknow|talk]]) 05:09, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

Once when Thelonius Monk wanted a retake during a recording session of one of his compositions he explained, "I played the wrong wrong notes."

Or, as Eric Morecambe would say... "He's playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order."
[[User:Brenda|Brenda]] ([[User talk:Brenda|talk]]) 08:19, 20 June 2018 (UTC)

Oh. I was thinking "Dylsexia" before I even looked at "UNITE" {{unsigned ip|162.158.75.22}}

Sometimes, you just need to own it. Someone I used to go to church with used to have an eddress lisdexyc@(the domain.com) [[User:Cosumel|Cosumel]] ([[User talk:Cosumel|talk]]) 21:27, 20 March 2020 (UTC)

Talk:641: Free

2020-03-10T04:40:31Z

Cosumel:

"it doesn't contain a synthetic, lab-grown building material"

Actually asbestos is a natural material (so some marketers would have you believe it can't be bad). It used to be mined in Quebec.

:That's the danger in associating synthetic as evil. Synthetic oil does better than natural oil, for cars. GMO doesn't necessarily mean something bad. Cross breeding is essentially GMO, if you take the literal definition of the phrase "Genetically Modified Organisms". [[User:Cflare|Cflare]] ([[User talk:Cflare|talk]]) 14:07, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

----

Modified the above to switch the example from "cholesterol" to "fat". The statement:

:''A more realistic example can be found in various fruit- and vegetable-based foods that advertise themselves as "cholesterol-free," which is exactly what we would expect since cholesterol is only found in animals in nature.''

is false as plants do contain small amounts of cholesterol, although they tend to rely more on phytosterols for cellular function rather than cholesterol which animals rely upon (see [[wikipedia:Cholesterol#Physiology|Cholesterol:Physiology]]). For clarification, the term "cholesterol free" applies when there exists less than 2mg of cholesterol per serving (see [http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=101.62 FDA CFR Title 21 Subpart D 101.62], under ''(c)Fatty acid content claims''). [[User:Thokling|Thokling]] ([[User talk:Thokling|talk]]) 12:02, 29 September 2013 (UTC)

Why is there just a random mention of redfarm and staypuft? --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.58|108.162.215.58]] 00:19, 11 May 2015 (UTC)

Is GenCo a reference to GeneCo from ''Repo: A Genetic Opera''? {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.117}}
:I took "GenCo" and the ring symbol (Ⓞ in the transcript) as a reference to Cheerios, made by '''Gen'''eral Mills. --[[User:Tepples|Tepples]] ([[User talk:Tepples|talk]]) 21:34, 25 June 2015 (UTC)
:: Or it could just be short for '''Gen'''eric '''co'''mpany. -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 06:01, 26 June 2015 (UTC)

Today, we have every poultry company advertising that their chicken has no antibiotics, even though they then have to admit in the fine print that it is against federal law to use antibiotics on chickens. [[User:Cosumel|Cosumel]] ([[User talk:Cosumel|talk]]) 04:40, 10 March 2020 (UTC)

Talk:628: Psychic

2020-03-08T05:35:09Z

Cosumel:

Tip: No one picks 50. [[Special:Contributions/75.69.96.225|75.69.96.225]] 01:35, 14 March 2013 (UTC)
:The '''Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything''' is 42. This comic is wrong ;) --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:52, 6 October 2013 (UTC)

Interestingly, it appears Megan was trying to trip Cueball up. The obvious choice would have been "42", a number with very geeky connotations, {{w|42_(number)#Popular_culture|to say the least}}. Megan may have thought of it immediately, known Cueball would suspect, and gone for the next higher number, 43. Of course, Cueball was smart enough to realize this simple trick, and knew Megan was, too. So he won anyway. {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.91}}

I seems that 37 (or 73) would be most not-random random. Though I cannot say, that sources are 100% reliable: [http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/creatures/pages/random.html]
[http://catb.org/jargon/html/R/random-numbers.html]
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.219|141.101.88.219]] 08:57, 15 May 2015 (UTC) Koovert

Wait, if Cueball's probability to pick a specific number is 1/100 and Megan's probability to pick a specific number is also 1/100, wouldn't the probability of their picks being the same be 0.01%?
--[[User:Jogerj|Jogerj]] ([[User talk:Jogerj|talk]]) 02:11, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
::Yes, now multiply it by 100 because there can be 100 specific numbers. [[User:Anachor|Anachor]] ([[User talk:Anachor|talk]]) 10:17, 27 August 2015 (UTC)
::No, because you only have to have one of them match the other, not both of them match a number from some other source.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.34|173.245.54.34]] 07:07, 30 August 2015 (UTC)

Ooh, so the 17 thing is real after all! I've long since spotted it, but was never sure whether it's objective or just me preferentially noticing this number. Man, it feels good to be vindicated. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.82|141.101.104.82]] 05:11, 26 April 2016 (UTC)

Did anyone else read this that this trick worked and got Cueball a date to the movies? He took the lead, assuming that she would go along with because she was amazed by his psychic ability. [[User:Cosumel|Cosumel]] ([[User talk:Cosumel|talk]]) 05:35, 8 March 2020 (UTC)

Talk:617: Understocked

2020-03-07T20:17:27Z

Cosumel: typo fix

I can officially refute the mouseover text. Ever had wood alchohol? don't. Your body metabolizes it into poison, and can cause bildness is small doses(~2-4 fluid ounces), depending on weight, physical health, and other factors, and death in larger doses. {{unsigned ip|‎173.245.54.210}}
:Randall is quite possibly referring exclusively to Ethyl Alcohol, which is that which develops naturally in alcoholic beverages. Wood alcohol is an ungodly mixture of Ethyl, Methyl, and Isopropyl alcohol, the last two of which is inherently strongly toxic. Note: Ethyl = Ethanol, Methyl = Methanol. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.15|108.162.242.15]] 00:57, 1 July 2015 (UTC)
::Yes for sure he is referring to the "alcohol" in Tequila vs. that in beer (or wine or whiskey etc). Of course the same amount of alcohol would affect you in the same way, but only under the circumstances that you have the same amount of water and at the same rate. People also often end up drinking much more alcohol when drinking liquor and tequila is easy to drink fast, especially when using body shots etc. So this is why it is known to make you more drunk... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:33, 24 July 2016 (UTC)

== 2019! ==

As a Vodkassian, I would like to add 2 my cents.

1. Beer has certain herb component "хмель" in it which were used as sedatives anyway. Also, the hangover is different if the beer used had different amount of byproduct oils in it.

2. CO2 in beer alters the speed of getting into bloodstream.

Tequila is either as pure as Hiiammadeofpotatoes vodka or taken with lots of salt and lemon instead of herbs.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.234.124|162.158.234.124]] 12:43, 17 October 2019 (UTC)

Talk:605: Extrapolating

2020-03-07T06:21:21Z

Cosumel: Added obligatory joke.

If I post a comment on this page, this page will someday consume all the bandwidth of the world. Eh, what the heck.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.158|108.162.216.158]] 02:45, 1 September 2015 (UTC)

: Don't worry. That's not how bandwidth works. And even it was, its growth can also be extrapolated. [[User:Flewk|flewk]] ([[User talk:Flewk|talk]]) 09:59, 8 January 2016 (UTC)

What is we extrapolate at the time point just before she has one husband? {{unsigned ip|108.162.222.75}}

Why does doing this with my paycheck / payday never work? Though it seems this is the logic bills follow. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.166|108.162.216.166]] 19:25, 27 July 2017 (UTC)

This reminds me of the Steven Wright joke: "When I turned two I was really anxious, because I'd doubled my age in a year. I thought, if this keeps up, by the time I'm six I'll be ninety."

Talk:2256: Bad Map Projection: South America

2020-01-18T20:30:42Z

Cosumel:

I overlaid this map on all the projections in https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/977:_Map_Projections to show the difference. Is that something this wiki wants? [[User:EmuSam|EmuSam]] ([[User talk:EmuSam|talk]]) 05:54, 17 January 2020 (UTC)
:I don't know about the rest of the wiki, but I certainly do! --[[User:T0]] ([[User talk:T0|talk]]) 10:40, 17 January 2020 (UTC)
:Heck yeah that's awesome! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.222|108.162.210.222]] 13:48, 17 January 2020 (UTC)
: I'm gonna venture out on a limb here in my toe-shoes and say that those of us reading the comments on the explain-XKCD wiki will geek our Azimov socks off over that. [[User:Iggynelix|Iggynelix]] ([[User talk:Iggynelix|talk]]) 13:59, 17 January 2020 (UTC)
: Huwah, want? I clicked the link above with high hopes :x How did you not upload it yet :D [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.110|162.158.155.110]] 15:40, 17 January 2020 (UTC)
:yes, please! [[User:WhiteDragon|WhiteDragon]] ([[User talk:WhiteDragon|talk]]) 22:05, 17 January 2020 (UTC)
:What amuses me: Since you have the first comment, the wiki doesn't know how to show your picture on my iPad's Safari, so the bottom lines up with your comment and extends UP into the explanation, overlaid by the links for adding a comment etc. LOL! And I agree, totally fitting to include here. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 08:08, 18 January 2020 (UTC)

How many different kinds of transformation have been applied to South America? I can see resize, rotation, and skew (shear). Can't see any reflections or anything that looks obviously non linear. Anyone care enough to check? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.119.83|162.158.119.83]] 08:02, 17 January 2020 (UTC)
:Not an expert on the terminologies used, especially in English. Does what has been done to the south America that is where Australia should be qualify as resize? It is not maintaining the aspect ratios, and is much "shorter" in the direction that used to be north-south (the way chile is "long") (and is now east west) and much wider in the other one. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 08:17, 17 January 2020 (UTC)

My God. It's full of South Americas [[User:Cosumel|Cosumel]] ([[User talk:Cosumel|talk]]) 20:30, 18 January 2020 (UTC)

Note: 358 is country code for finland, which is completely missing in the projection. {{unsigned ip|162.158.238.216| 08:11, 17 January 2020}}
:Finland is part of Europe and Asia continent, which is now South America. It is thus not more missing thatn any country not in South America. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:43, 17 January 2020 (UTC)

Something something a Brazilian South Americas how many is that [[User:Cellocgw|Cellocgw]] ([[User talk:Cellocgw|talk]]) 12:19, 17 January 2020 (UTC)

It's also similar to [[1653: United States Map]], isn't it? [[User:Nedlum|Nedlum]] ([[User talk:Nedlum|talk]]) 15:47, 17 January 2020 (UTC)
:No it is not similar but it is somewhat related. But there is all the states that are moved around, not one state that makes up all of USA. But take Collorado and make it small enough and you can build anything with that square state. :-) I think this one is closer related: [[1500: Upside-Down Map]]. But I have added both to the explanation for reference. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:38, 17 January 2020 (UTC)

I wonder what projection the South America is pulled from. I also wonder whether that projection has the rest of the world laid out similar to this arraignment, or if they are the same projection used for layout as for the shape. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.146.176|162.158.146.176]] 17:39, 17 January 2020 (UTC)

Wait a minute. If Tierra del Fuego is replaced by the whole of South America, does this include a tiny Tierra? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.111.205|162.158.111.205]] 20:42, 17 January 2020 (UTC)
:Yes, there is clearly a small bend in the "tip" of the SA replacing Tierra. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 20:56, 17 January 2020 (UTC)
::So many layers :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:38, 17 January 2020 (UTC)
:"{{w|The Last Battle|Further <s>up</s>''south'' and further in!}}" [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.221|141.101.99.221]] 17:05, 18 January 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2244: Thumbtacks And String

2019-12-23T17:16:14Z

Cosumel:

Per the title text: I've overheard various people mention, usually in arguments, tattooing information to prevent it being forgotten. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.147|172.69.68.147]] 22:06, 20 December 2019 (UTC) M.Striker

Reminds me of [https://www.ikea.com/se/sv/p/markerad-matta-kort-lugg-vit-svart-00434753/ this rug] (sold by IKEA), which looks like a giant receipt of the very same rug. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.111.187|162.158.111.187]] 23:09, 20 December 2019 (UTC)
: Getting all information on that receipt correct would be quite challenge even with pre-ordering ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:13, 20 December 2019 (UTC)
:The explanation suggests the actual receipt is printed on the rug, but it's not custom made. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.234.140|162.158.234.140]] 16:31, 23 December 2019 (UTC)

The tattoo subtext makes me think it's referring to the 2001 film 'Memento', a film noir in which the main character tries to solve a mystery while suffering from amnesia so he carries a bundle of clippings from motel-room to motel-room and has the most important clues tattooed onto his body.
[[User:RimGreaper|RimGreaper]] ([[User talk:RimGreaper|talk]]) 23:55, 20 December 2019 (UTC)

Firesign Theater had a scene in their album, "Don't Crush that Drawf, Hand Me the Pliers," that has a mural named, "Heroic Struggle of the Little Guy to Finish the Mural." [[User:Cosumel|Cosumel]] ([[User talk:Cosumel|talk]]) 17:16, 23 December 2019 (UTC)

I'm disappointed that the bulletin board itself only counts as one of the generic office supplies. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.222|162.158.34.222]] 10:39, 21 December 2019 (UTC)

A quick search provided a real world example of the title text [https://www.eonline.com/news/528117/teen-tattoos-mcdonald-s-receipt-on-his-arm-a-week-later-tattoos-the-tattoo-receipt-on-his-other-arm "A tatoo if a tatoo parlour receipt"]. The exercise of string and tacks is left for readers of Pinerest [[User:Iggynelix|Iggynelix]] ([[User talk:Iggynelix|talk]]) 15:09, 21 December 2019 (UTC)
:This example should be added to the Explanation!
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 16:15, 21 December 2019 (UTC)
:: If only that bit of the Explanation could also serve as an example... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.93|162.158.158.93]] 20:24, 21 December 2019 (UTC)
:::Added it and other things here above to the explanation. Of course he was from Norway... (Said the Dane, next door neighbor to Norway, with almost the same written language :-). --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:08, 21 December 2019 (UTC)

ROTFL because it reminds me of some program managers at a former company who thought they could organize tasks on a large project by putting them up on a board and sequence-ordering them with colored twine. Made for a nice piece of modern art and not much more. [[User:Cellocgw|Cellocgw]] ([[User talk:Cellocgw|talk]]) 15:06, 23 December 2019 (UTC)

I think that its a play on puting the cart before the horse. You can't make a Thumbtacks and string diagram without thumbtacks and string, you can't tattoo a receipt for the tattoo without having got the tattoo. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.213|172.69.63.213]] 16:58, 23 December 2019 (UTC)

Talk:2216: Percent Milkfat

2019-11-17T04:13:34Z

Cosumel:

I've always called 2% milk "98% water".
Also, these comics have been arriving ''really'' late this week; I hope Randall is doing alright.
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 00:19, 17 October 2019 (UTC)

Is the fact that the comic arrived later in the day responsible for the bottom of the page brokenly saying this is a "Thursday" comic? That doesn't seem editable in the normal wiki manner.
: I don't know the cause, or if they are related, but I was able to manually fix all that--even adding the appropriate categories that got left off. [[User:Trlkly|Trlkly]] ([[User talk:Trlkly|talk]]) 04:17, 17 October 2019 (UTC)
::Randall was presenting his new book at a speech he gave in Berlin on the 15th of October. However being in Europe would make his comics more early, unless he has made an error with the cript doing the upload (mmoving time zone in the wrong direction) or he is uploading very early morning the next day. Alternatively he is just jet-lagged and his schedule is messed up. [https://www.fu-berlin.de/presse/informationen/fup/2019/fup_19_281-randall-munroe-tu/index.html See the German Press release of the university he is visiting.] He also advertised it on the header of the page, if the OS/Browser is set to German language. [[Talk:xkcd Header text|I wanted to put this on the wiki, but got no replies for it and hadn't had the time to do it on my own.]] --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 06:26, 17 October 2019 (UTC)
:::Lupo, can you post an image of how it looks in the German version if there is a current version with different header? Also will it be possible that this is saved in a web archive? I would like to add it to the explanation, but without any kind of visual to show that it is indeed the case, it would be a bit thin as part of an explanation. I think it is an interesting information, but this page is about a US comic, so it should only be for the informational value, not something that needed to be fully included in the [[xkcd Header text|header text explanation]]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 06:47, 17 October 2019 (UTC)
::::The announcement of his speech in Berlin has been replaced by a image of the German bookcover and the simple text (which is a link to the publishers shop), roughly translated as "In stores now". I am currently at work, but will look into getting a screenshot in the evening. Apperantly some IP-User has found a way to view the different localized versions at the talk page of the header, as I just noticed. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:08, 17 October 2019 (UTC)
:::: There is also an anouncement of this, and of a tour across the UK last week at [https://xkcd.com/how-to/ xkcd.com/how-to] --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:11, 17 October 2019 (UTC)

2% milk is called half-full in the Netherlands. As a child I once asked my mother why anybody would want to buy a milk carton that was only half full :-).
:See that's marvelous. Lends a ''whole'' different meaning to "a glass half-full kinda guy"!
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 02:46, 21 October 2019 (UTC)

The amount of milkfat in milk varies by the breed of cattle that produced it, along with individual variation. Holsteins are most often used for milk production because they can produce the greatest volume of milk, but other breeds, such as Jersey, produce less milk, but with higher milk fat, often up to 6% milkfat. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 11:14, 17 October 2019 (UTC)
:The proteins produced can vary by breed, too. Unfortunately for US consumers, there is a brand called "A2" that, due to carefully crafted intellectual property restrictions, is the sole interstate distributor of milk from some breeds of cows (that produce less, but for some people more digestible, milk).
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 02:46, 21 October 2019 (UTC)

I am not entirely comfortable referring to dark energy as matter. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.19|172.68.189.19]] 12:40, 17 October 2019 (UTC)
:Per Einstein, energy and matter are interchangeable. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 14:23, 17 October 2019 (UTC)
::Energy and matter are NOT interchangeable! Energy and mass are interchangeable—- not the same thing at all. Matter is stuff that obeys the Pauli Exclusion Principle. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.101|108.162.221.101]] 21:38, 17 October 2019 (UTC)
:::So most helium and lead are not matter? (Even mass number nuclei atomic are boson and does not obey the Pauli Exclusion Principle)[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.4|108.162.219.4]] 06:47, 18 October 2019 (UTC)
::::Forming a Bose-Einstein condensate is not the same as obeying the Pauli exclusion principle, but it can be if the component does. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.82|162.158.255.82]] 17:41, 18 October 2019 (UTC)
::It's not the fungibility, it's the commission. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.136|162.158.255.136]] 15:27, 17 October 2019 (UTC)

I think we may need to start a list of things that are made up of dark matter: 1. Squirrels, 2. Milk [[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.155|172.69.68.155]] 14:21, 17 October 2019 (UTC) Sam
...
:3. Profit!
:(Sorry, a list often needs more than two entries, or I can't help making a South Park reference.)
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 02:46, 21 October 2019 (UTC)

If cosmologists and food scientists are working together, could we be getting close to a Grand Unified Theory? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 14:23, 17 October 2019 (UTC)
:If you can get Big Corn behind primordial black holes, you could ray-trace a giant ear of corn as a signal, perhaps as a form of communication to smaller earlier multiverses occupying your same space. However, it is questionable as to whether this hypothesis can be tested in a reasonable time frame by which to reply to the comments of Reviewer Two. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.82|162.158.255.82]]

I've long been amused by the confusion over 2% milk, and have exactly had to point out to people before that real milk can't be 100%, but is only like 50% more than...okay, that's another pet peeve of mine, that when you tell someone that something is 50% more than 2% they can interpret that either as 3% or as 52%. Our mathematical notation could use some improvement. — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 18:54, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
:Twenty four quart jars.
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 02:46, 21 October 2019 (UTC)

There is a billboard near me that advertises local whole milk as 97% fat free. Completely accurate and I laugh every time I pass it. [[User:Cosumel|Cosumel]] ([[User talk:Cosumel|talk]]) 04:13, 17 November 2019 (UTC)