explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2333: COVID Risk Chart

2020-07-15T23:28:16Z

Cow:

I'm sticking to the green, except for grocery shopping. It'll be a pain to make any kind of table for this. The columns are much better defined than the rows, though. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.150|108.162.245.150]] 18:37, 15 July 2020 (UTC)
:Same! I think we do need to make a table or similar structure to explain each item though. Not exiting, but necessary! Do you think we should switch everything to columns? Since we've started with rows, maybe we should just continue...[[User:Cow|Cow]] ([[User talk:Cow|talk]])

Talk:2333: COVID Risk Chart

2020-07-15T19:16:14Z

Cow:

2333: COVID Risk Chart

2020-07-15T19:12:07Z

Cow: Added some quotes around high and low labels. Sorry I forgot earlier!

{{comic
| number = 2333
| date = July 15, 2020
| title = COVID Risk Chart
| image = covid_risk_chart.png
| titletext = First prize is a free ticket to the kissing booth.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by THE WINNER OF A TEST-TUBE EATING CONTEST. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is a graph showing the risk of COVID-19 infection of numerous activities on the horizontal axis, while showing the other (ie. safety) risks of the activity on the vertical axis. The activities are also color coded green, yellow, orange, or red, presumably indicating whether engaging in them is a good idea. All the activities are green in the upper left corner (no COVID-19 danger and no other dangers), but change to yellow, orange, and red as you go right or down.

The top of the graph contains activities that people are likely to engage in during the pandemic, beginning (from left to right) with staying at home, handing out with friends at the park, grocery shopping, attending in-person classes, and singing in church. The first few activities are common and not very dangerous (colored green and yellow), but the last two come with significant risks of infection due to COVID-19 (they are colored orange and red). Lower on the graph the activities become more and more dangerous (though these dangers are not related to COVID-19, i.e.: they are non-covid risks) and then non-sensical, a trend often seen in XKCD comics. Some activities are grouped together, being variations of the same thing (such as going down a waterslide, going down a waterslide with a stranger, and going down a waterside on an electric scooter).The last row contains extremely dangerous activities such as (from left to right, or from low COVID-19 danger to high) bungee jumping while doing sword tricks, going down a waterslide on an electric scooter, (participating in an) axe catching contest, racing a scooter through a hospital with a mask over your eyes, and winning a test-tube-eating contest at a COVID testing lab. All these activities are likely to result in undesirable outcomes.

This comic strip is similar in presentation to [[2282: Coronavirus Worries]].

=== Green (low risk) ===

The lowest-risk category of activities has very low COVID risk and also very low non-COVID risk.

;Staying home
:The lowest-risk activity of all, as long as the home itself is in decent condition.
;Video chats
:Video chatting carries a slightly higher non-COVID risk than simply staying at home, because you might get into an upsetting argument or accidentally expose something embarrassing. As long as the person you're chatting with is not within your personal space, the risk of catching COVID from them is still zero.
;Hanging out with friends in the park
:Physically interacting with others creates an increased risk COVID transmission, but the major risk of transmission seems to come from sharing enclosed spaces, not the outdoors, and as long as everyone keeps to themselves, they can still safely enjoy the social interaction (as long as [[2330: Acceptable Risk|they aren't prone to overthinking everyday decisions]]).

=== Yellow (medium risk) ===

;Grocery shopping
:Going shopping for groceries involves entering a building in which others are present, including many workers who are present for hours-long shifts. The risk of catching COVID can be reduced by wearing face masks, barriers between staff areas and customer areas, and limiting customer densities.
;Grocery shopping while hungry
:Shopping for groceries ''while hungry'' does not carry any greater risk of catching COVID, but it is said to have a slightly increased non-COVID risk because people who go shopping while hungry tend to buy foods that are more expensive and less healthy. (Be advised that a study that popularized this "common sense" result [https://media.jamanetwork.com/news-item/jama-network-retracts-6-articles-that-included-dr-brian-wansink-as-author/ has been retracted] due to academic misconduct by its author, {{w|Brian Wansink}}.)

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[This comic is a graph plotting the safety risk of activities on the vertical axis and the risk of infection from COVID-19 on the horizontal axis. Lowest risks are in the upper left corner, and highest in the lower right. All activities are color coded green, yellow, orange, or red. A two way arrow labeled “non-COVID risk” points up and down to "high" and "low" labels on the left side of the graph. Another two way arrow labeled “COVID risk” points left and right to "high" and "low" labels on the top of the graph.
From left to right and top to bottom:]
:Staying home & Video chats, Hanging out with friends at the park, Grocery shopping, Attending in-person classes, Singing in church
:Going for walks, Hanging out with friends on the beach, Grocery shopping while hungry, Attending online classes while in class at a different school, Going to a restaurant
:Riding an electric scooter, Renting an electric scooter, Grocery shoplifting & Riding a single rental scooter with a stranger, Getting a dental cleaning & Going on a tinder date, Going to a bar & Going to a party & Hosting a party & Going on a cruise
:Going down a waterslide, Going down a waterslide with a stranger, Getting in a stranger’s car, Getting a dental cleaning from a tinder date, Opening a kissing booth at a COVID testing site
:Playing lawn darts, Climbing a waterslide with a stranger, Getting in a stranger’s car uninvited, Doing skateboard tricks in a hospital, Doing skateboard tricks in a bar
:Doing skateboard tricks, Riding a conveyor belt through the TSA x-ray machine, Axe throwing contest, Racing a scooter through a hospital with a mask on & Racing a scooter through a hospital without a mask, Skateboarding into a mosh pit on a cruise ship & Getting a COVID test from a stranger at a crowded bar
:Setting off fireworks in your car, Running and sliding headfirst into the pins at a bowling alley, Stealing a stranger’s car, Racing a scooter through a hospital with a mask on & Racing a scooter through a hospital without a mask [extends from previous row], Skateboarding into a mosh pit on a cruise ship & Getting a COVID test from a stranger at a crowded bar
:Bungee jumping while doing sword tricks, Going down a waterslide on an electric scooter, Setting off fireworks in a stranger’s car & Axe catching contest, Racing a scooter through a hospital with a mask over your eyes, Winning a test-tube-eating contest at a COVID testing lab

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]

2333: COVID Risk Chart

2020-07-15T17:48:47Z

Cow: Finished transcript

2333: COVID Risk Chart

2020-07-15T17:27:16Z

Cow: Begging transcript

2209: Fresh Pears

2019-09-30T23:11:49Z

Cow:

{{comic
| number = 2209
| date = September 30, 2019
| title = Fresh Pears
| image = fresh_pears.png
| titletext = I want to sell apples but I'm still working on getting the machine to do the cutting and grafting.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a VENDING MACHINE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Megan]] tries to purchase "fresh pears" (as indicated by as sign advertising them as 50¢ each) from a vending machine. She asks [[Beret Guy]], presumably the creator of the machine why it's not working. He explains that it just takes a while to work.

To the left (hidden from Megan), we see the machine dispensing a seed into the dirt. Above it is a robotic arm and a hopper for collecting and dispensing the ripened pears. The term "a while" is ambiguous, but in the context of waiting for a vending machine to dispense food, it's usually assumed to be a matter of seconds. Beret Guy, in his usually surrealist approach, seems to consider it reasonable to wait at a machine years for a tree to sprout, grow to maturity and begin bearing fruit. While such a pear would indeed be "fresh", it's implausible that anyone would accept that kind of lag time in buying a pear, particularly considering that any number of factors could interfere with the production of pears in the meantime.

The title text refers to the increased difficulty in cultivating desirable apples, as compared to other fruits. Apples cannot be reliably produced from seeds, seedlings often don't survive, and even when they do, they don't generally reflect the characteristics of the parent plant. As a result, apple orchards are created by grafting tissue from desirable trees onto suitable rootstock. This process is more complex and labor-intensive than simply planting seeds.

The joke, then, is that the next planned version of the machine would not only require the user to wait years, but would also involve as-yet unavailable technology to automatically perform the grafting process as to create an apple tree that produces desirable fruit.

==Transcript==
[Megan rattles a machine that is supposed to dispense fresh pears]
:Machine: [Plants a pear seed]
:Megan: I put in my quarters. Is the machine broken?
:Beret Guy: It just takes a while to work.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Beret Guy's Business]]
[[Category: Food]]

Talk:2209: Fresh Pears

2019-09-30T23:08:53Z

Cow:

If anyone complains about the wait, Beret Guy can tell them to 'grow a pear'.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.151|162.158.158.151]] 21:04, 30 September 2019 (UTC)

Beret Guy may just have a good idea. Why not put up a seed dispenser with a sign: "Plant a pear tree: 50¢"? Any unwanted seedlings could easily be removed--even accidentally by lawn mowers--within the first few years, and wanted trees would last a long time, benefit the environment, and produce food for people and animals. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.51|162.158.74.51]] 21:31, 30 September 2019 (UTC)
::That is a great idea! I hope some one will try that. [[User:Cow|Cow]] ([[User talk:Cow|talk]]) 23:08, 30 September 2019 (UTC)

2209: Fresh Pears

2019-09-30T18:49:35Z

Cow:

2185: Cumulonimbus

2019-08-05T20:20:23Z

Cow: Added transcript.

{{comic
| number = 2185
| date = August 5, 2019
| title = Cumulonimbus
| image = cumulonimbus.png
| titletext = The rarest of all clouds is the altocumulenticulostratonimbulocirruslenticulomammanoctilucent cloud, caused by an interaction between warm moist air, cool dry air, cold slippery air, cursed air, and a cloud of nanobots.
}}

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



This comic follows the naming of clouds. As with other lists (like in [[2022: Sports Champions]]), it starts off as normal but then gets more unusual until it is unrealistic.

;Cumulus
: The first panel shows a {{w|cumulus}} These are your typical clouds, and are relatively small.
;Cumulonimbus
: The second panel shows a {{w|cumulonimbus}}. This cloud can be described as anvil shaped, and are also rain clouds.
;Cumulonimbulonimbus
: The third panel shows an even bigger cloud and names it cumulonimbulonimbus. The humor here comes from building up an even bigger name for the cloud as its size increases.
;Cumulonimbulonimbulocumulonimbus
: The forth panel shows an absurdly large cloud and gives it the name cumulonimbulonimbulocumulonimbus. This cloud may look like a soaker.
;Altocumulenticulostratonimbulocirruslenticulomammanoctilucent
: The title text continues this list by naming a new cloud that is also supposedly the rarest. It requires cursed air and nanobots to make, which is impossible since neither of those exist.{{Citation needed}}

==Disappearing Comic==

This comic replaced the following 'disappearing' comic, sharing the same sequence number. The original comic does not appear in explainxkcd's comic navigation and hence is linked here: [[2185:_Disappearing_Sunday_Update]]

==Transcript==
:[Drawing of a small cloud with title "Cumulus"]
:[Drawing of a medium sized tall cloud with title "Cumulonimbus"]
:[Drwaing of a large cloud with title "Cumulonimbulonimbus"]
:[Drawing of a huge and very complicated cloud with title "Cumulonimbulonimbulocumulonimbus"]
{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2185: Cumulonimbus

2019-08-05T20:15:04Z

Cow: Added comment

Hey, the back arrow here doesn't go back to yesterday's "Disappearing Sunday Update" [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.28|162.158.75.28]] 18:17, 5 August 2019 (UTC)
That's why it was disappearing. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.226.46|172.68.226.46]] 18:42, 5 August 2019 (UTC)

I think this could be improved by expanding out the translations from latin for the various parts of each cloud's name. I.e., cumulus is just "heaped"; cumulo-nimbus would be "heaped raincloud"; cumulo-nimbulo-nimbus would be "heaped rainy raincloud"; cumulo-nimbulo-nimbulo-cumulo-nimbus would be "heaped, rainy, rainy, heaped raincloud", and alto-cumu-lenticulo-strato-nimbulo-cirrus-lenticulo-mamma-noctilucent would be "mid-altitude, heaped, standing, rainy, wispy, standing, highly turbulent, and lit at night." (Some of these descriptors are contradictory; cirrus clouds can not also be mammatus clouds.) (And yes, "mammatus" clouds mean what you think they mean.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.142.82|162.158.142.82]] 19:08, 5 August 2019 (UTC)

It says "soaker" in the description of the fourth cloud. Do we mean "super soaker"? It does look like a super soaker. I didn't dare change the description in case I am missing something.
[[User:Cow|Cow]] ([[User talk:Cow|talk]]) 20:15, 5 August 2019 (UTC)

2147: Appendicitis

2019-05-08T17:04:02Z

Cow:

{{comic
| number = 2147
| date = May 8, 2019
| title = Appendicitis
| image = appendicitis.png
| titletext = Fortunately, after a brief skirmish, I seem to have gained the upper hand in the battle against my internal organs, at least until they learn to read and find out the mean stuff I've said about them.
}}

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

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[Cueball sits on a bench with Ponytail (in a lab coat) standing in front of him]
:Ponytail: Well, we zapped you with energy beams, and it looks like on of your stupid organs is a traitor.
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

2140: Reinvent the Wheel

2019-04-22T21:07:22Z

Cow: Added description of title text.

{{comic
| number = 2140
| date = April 22, 2019
| title = Reinvent the Wheel
| image = reinvent_the_wheel.png
| titletext = Right now it's a bicycle wheel, so we've had to move to lighter vehicles, but the reduced overhead is worth it. There was one week when a wheel of cheese got dangerously close to the first page, though.
}}

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

{{w|Reinventing the wheel|Reinvent the Wheel}} is a metaphor that refers to duplicate effort to recreate something that has already been created or perfected previously without adding any value in the process. The phrase relates to the idea that the round wheel was invented a long time ago, and nobody has come up with a better shape for the wheel since that original concept. While the phrase includes the word "wheel", it isn't typically directly associated with the wheel but instead uses the word "wheel" because of the belief that the round wheel was an ancient invention.

In this comic, Beret Guy apparently works for an automotive manufacturer, and he is explaining to Ponytail their decision to not reinvent the wheel for the automobiles that they produce, using the phrase in a literal sense instead of figuratively. Instead, they use a daily Google image search for "wheel" to determine the highest ranked wheel and simply use that wheel on the vehicles they produce that day.


The title text indicates that Beret Guy is currently usning bicycle wheels for his vehicles, requiring them to be lighter as bicycle wheels cannot carry a lot of weight. Finally, the narrator (supposidly Berret Guy) explains that at one point a wheel of cheese was near the top of the google images search. If it had reached the top, it would have been disatrouse as a wheel of cheese is completly unsuited for use as a vehicle's wheel.

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

:[Beret Guy is talking to Ponytail.]
:Beret Guy: We don't want to reinvent the wheel, so every day we Google image search "wheel", and whatever object comes up, that's what we attach to our vehicles.
:Beret Guy: Sure, external dependencies carry risks, but so far they've all been pretty good wheels.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]