explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:3193: Sailing Rigs

2026-01-13T14:09:33Z

D5xtgr:

Here before all the "here im first" comments [[User:TheTrainsKid|TheTrainsKid]] ([[User talk:TheTrainsKid|talk]]) 05:06, 13 January 2026 (UTC)

I can't help but notice that he forgot about cutters. [[User:PDesbeginner|PDesbeginner]] ([[User talk:PDesbeginner|talk]]) 05:07, 13 January 2026 (UTC)

:D [[User:Qwertyuiopfromdefly|Qwertyuiopfromdefly]] ([[User talk:Qwertyuiopfromdefly|talk]]) 05:15, 13 January 2026 (UTC)

Flettner Rig may refer to https://xkcd.com/3119/ [[Special:Contributions/73.225.91.80|73.225.91.80]] 06:19, 13 January 2026 (UTC)
:Yes, but also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flettner_rotor [[Special:Contributions/130.76.187.47|130.76.187.47]] 12:57, 13 January 2026 (UTC)

I see Randall has taken up a new hobby :D [[Special:Contributions/152.115.135.109|152.115.135.109]] 08:21, 13 January 2026 (UTC)
:Perhaps. I presume that the entire comic is in service to the pun in the title text. [[User:Philhower|Philhower]] ([[User talk:Philhower|talk]]) 13:44, 13 January 2026 (UTC)

Wikipedia does have a kite rig web page. That's a real thing, but usually not as pretty as here. And I suppose you could do helium balloons. Robert Carnegie rja.carnegie@gmail.com [[Special:Contributions/85.115.54.203|85.115.54.203]] 11:46, 13 January 2026 (UTC)

Why is this page (alone of all the comics, as far as I've seen) mirrored? The comic image, text, angle of the italics, etc. are all reversed on both the comic page and the front page. Stock Safari on iOS 16.7.12. [[User:D5xtgr|D5xtgr]] ([[User talk:D5xtgr|talk]]) 14:03, 13 January 2026 (UTC)
:"Troll revision". Got it, mystery solved. Though I'm a bit surprised that raw styling like that's allowed, not just wiki markup. [[User:D5xtgr|D5xtgr]] ([[User talk:D5xtgr|talk]]) 14:09, 13 January 2026 (UTC)

Talk:3193: Sailing Rigs

2026-01-13T14:03:37Z

D5xtgr: Troubleshooting

Talk:3036: Chess Zoo

2025-01-10T20:09:37Z

D5xtgr:

For the transcript, I’m thinking of saying that “there are alternating white and grey squares, with smaller black squares imposed on them. The pattern of squares goes ''[something like GWBWGWBWGBW]''“. Would that work? Or is it too confusing? '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 19:03, 10 January 2025 (UTC)
:Re: "GWBWGWBWGBW", knowing who we are here, I presume people might want to distinguish black-on-white from black-on-gray. We'd probably have to have a full markup system for background (gray/white) and foreground (empty, human, barrier, white pawn, gray pawn...). Maybe something like {[gE][wE][gB][wQg]}... Hrm... Because, of course, it has to be as complicated and precise as possible. :) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.46.135|172.70.46.135]] 19:15, 10 January 2025 (UTC)
I don't think it's safe to allow people to go into the bishop enclosure, especially with high aggression in that area since both colors are able to look at each other there but not capture. One of those bishops is eventually going to take it out on someone. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.210|162.158.90.210]] 19:34, 10 January 2025 (UTC)
:I don't know how dangerous they are to visitors in general, but I wouldn't leave children with them unattended. Maybe the enclosures with the knights would be good petting zoos. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 19:49, 10 January 2025 (UTC)
:Thank you for reporting the bishop feeding gate being open, as this was the fifteenth time the one responsible failed to close it after feeding, he has been summarily fired.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.47.106|172.70.47.106]] 20:02, 10 January 2025 (UTC)
The zoo seems to be missing an area for knights and bishops to interact. (It has a knight/queen area, a knight/rook area, and a rook/bishop area. It can't have queen/rook or queen/bishop areas if it wants to have areas for rooks or bishops that exclude queens, because nothing blocks queens without blocking rooks and bishops. But it could have a knight/bishop mingling area, accessible to knights via wall-jump and to bishops via a diagonal corridor, and it doesn't.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.187.84|162.158.187.84]] 20:07, 10 January 2025 (UTC)
I don't have permissions to upload an image to this wiki, but if anyone who does would like to copy it over, I illustrated each piece's range of movement here[https://pasteboard.co/64VsBMA5af8l.png]. [[User:D5xtgr|D5xtgr]] ([[User talk:D5xtgr|talk]]) 20:09, 10 January 2025 (UTC)

1787: Voice Commands

2024-02-07T18:22:01Z

D5xtgr: /* Trivia */

{{comic
| number = 1787
| date = January 18, 2017
| title = Voice Commands
| image = voice_commands.png
| titletext = Dvorak words may sound hard to pronounce, but studies show they actually put less stress on the vocal cords.
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic [[Cueball]] has shown [[Ponytail]] something relevant to her on his smartphone and she asks if he can send it to her. He agrees but then says something completely incomprehensible to Ponytail, but obviously his phone understands and sends the message with a beep.

The caption explains that he was speaking as though he was using a {{w|QWERTY}} keyboard layout and writing as it was a {{w|Dvorak Simplified Keyboard}}. In other words, Cueball is saying keys on a Dvorak keyboard and the phone is receiving the spaces on a QWERTY keyboard that each of Cueball's Dvorak letters uses. Cueball can be sure that nobody else will be able to use voice commands on his phone.

The sentence Cueball tells his phone translates to "Okay Google send a text" - he says it as if he were typing the sentence on a Dvorak layout with the keyboard set to a QWERTY layout. How such words would be pronounced is a mystery, as the letters in the words are merely substituted with others with no regard to phonetics; without standardized pronunciations, a speech-to-text program would be useless. To add to the confusion, one of the words in Cueball's sentence includes a semi-colon as one of its letters despite the fact that semi-colons are punctuation rather than phonemes, which only complicates the pronunciation further.

The title text is a reference to the fact that many users of Dvorak keyboards claim they may be hard to learn, but they are more movement efficient and put less stress on your fingers due to less movement. This makes little sense in the scenario set up by the comic, as speaking gibberish using oddly placed vowels would be equally difficult, if not in fact harder, on the vocal cords.{{citation needed}}

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail is looking at Cueball facing her direction, and he looks down at the smartphone he is holding in his hand.]
:Ponytail: Can you text it to me?
:Cueball: Sure!
:Cueball: ''Svat ussupd ;dlh a kdbk''
:Ponytail: ...What?
:Phone: ''*Beep*''

:[Caption under the panel:]
:Setting my phone's speech recognition to Dvorak was a pain at first, but it's more efficient in the long run.

==Trivia==
*Using a Dvorak keyboard layout on a smartphone (for actual typing, not voice commands) is possible, but the very features that make it desirable in a physical touch-typing environment are drawbacks on a swipe-enabled keyboard. A placement designed to alternate a typist's left and right hands requires the finger of a swipist to travel back and forth across the keyboard more often. Fitting commonly-used letters onto the typist's home row reduces finger movement but makes many words the swipist enters indistinguishable. On a QWERTY swipe keyboard, four English words can be entered by swiping right to left from P to T: "pot", "pit", "put", and "pout"; however, setting the layout to Dvorak causes this to happen with many more common sets of words. For example, swiping right to left from S to O, and left to right from O to T could be any of: "soot", "snot", "snout", "stout", "shot", "shoot", and "shout", because the commonly-used letters N, T, H, and U lie on the homerow in the path of travel. Poor aim, like overshooting the O to hit E before turning around, adds a whole other set of words to confuse the spell-checker further.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Smartphones]]
[[Category:Dvorak]]

Talk:2763: Linguistics Gossip

2023-04-14T17:18:50Z

D5xtgr:

Added initial explanation [[User:Bamboo|Bamboo]] ([[User talk:Bamboo|talk]]) 14:08, 14 April 2023 (UTC)Bamboo

Added possible explanation of title text [[User:Bamboo|Bamboo]] ([[User talk:Bamboo|talk]]) 14:14, 14 April 2023 (UTC)Bamboo

Has anyone asked O what they think of all this?[[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.152|172.70.91.152]] 14:32, 14 April 2023 (UTC)

NOTE: I'm assuming the IE/VE ligature is IE, where the I is tilted
Could this also be a reference to the historical Latin pronunciation of Æ, and its separation into "AA" (which could be represented by "ar" in English ("r" is silent), hence the ligature "AR") and "IE" (which would be pronounced "ee" as in "relieve") [[User:1844161|1844161]] ([[User talk:1844161|talk]]) 15:21, 14 April 2023 (UTC)
: I disagree. The title text strongly points towards VE as the logical interpretation [[User:Boatster|Boatster]] ([[User talk:Boatster|talk]]) 15:52, 14 April 2023 (UTC)

I think it might be helpful to readers to provide a parenthetical describing the pronunciation of the 'ash' glyph, so that people who aren't old language aficionados aren't left in the lurch if they're the sort who read aloud in their head. I'm going to add it, but if someone removes it I won't be miffed. Also, there's no way the new E ligature is meant to be IE. The title text only makes sense if it's VE.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.67.136|172.69.67.136]] 15:56, 14 April 2023 (UTC)

I hope AR wedding hat a pirate theme. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 16:05, 14 April 2023 (UTC)

The AR ligature is used in aeronautical engineering for the aspect ratio of a wing. This mainly applies to handwritten work, since there isn't an easy way to insert that glyph when typing. [[User:D5xtgr|D5xtgr]] ([[User talk:D5xtgr|talk]]) 17:18, 14 April 2023 (UTC)

Talk:2651: Air Gap

2022-07-29T19:44:09Z

D5xtgr:

Worth noting that this is a large and inefficient version of an [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opto-isolator opto-isolator] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.79|108.162.221.79]] 05:37, 28 July 2022 (UTC)

: Incandescent light bulb (assuming it the lamp does not use LED in the shape of light bulb) is not only less efficient than diode, but also much slower to warm up and cool down - it usually is much more sensitive to rapid switching, and has shorter life counted in the number of on/off cycles. --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 07:45, 28 July 2022 (UTC)
:: There’s not even any indication that the bulb is shaped like an incandescent bulb. Only that the front of the light (either fixture or bulb) is a convex curve. For all we know that could be a lens or diffuser in front of a flat LED. Whoever wrote that needs to go back and walk, because the claim that an incandescent bulb is depicted is quite simply false.[[Special:Contributions/172.71.142.89|172.71.142.89]] 10:35, 28 July 2022 (UTC)
::: The warmup and cooldown delays mentioned in the title text must imply an incandescent bulb, mustn't they? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.145|172.70.210.145]] 03:29, 29 July 2022 (UTC)

: I don't think it's less or more efficient than an opto-isolator, it essentially ''is'' just an opto-isolator. But an opto-isolator isn't supposed to be energy efficient to begin with; it's only designed to transmit data between circuits, not power. So the output side only needs to generate enough voltage/current to change the state of a transistor, and the input side only needs to generate enough light for the output side to do that. The voltages and currents involved aren't comparable to power circuits. --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 08:14, 28 July 2022 (UTC)

: By the way, wikipedia links can be written like this: <code><nowiki>[[wikipedia:opto-isolator|]]</nowiki></code> result: [[wikipedia:opto-isolator|opto-isolator]] (the final <code>|</code> automatically gets expanded to the article title without the <code>wikipedia:</code> prefix). --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 08:26, 28 July 2022 (UTC)
::Or more often here on ExplainXkcd, <code><nowiki>{{w|article}}</nowiki></code> or <code><nowiki>{{w|article|anchor text}}</nowiki></code>. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.213|172.70.206.213]] 08:35, 28 July 2022 (UTC)

::: Yes, thanks :) although there is a tiiiiiny advantage to the direct link without the template (the way I said), <code><nowiki>[[wikipedia:Pipe (computing)|]]</nowiki></code> becomes [[wikipedia:Pipe (computing)|Pipe]] whereas <code><nowiki>{{w|Pipe (computing)}}</nowiki></code> becomes {{w|Pipe (computing)}}. The pipe trick strips out the disambiguation parts of the title according to [[Wikipedia:Help:Pipe trick|some rules]]. --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 12:30, 28 July 2022 (UTC)
:::: Why not <code><nowiki>{{w|Pipe (computing)|pipe}}</nowiki></code>? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.95|172.70.214.95]] 15:18, 28 July 2022 (UTC)
:::::Yes we always use the <code><nowiki>{{w|xkcd|xkcd comic}}</nowiki></code> format here on explain to make {{w|xkcd|xkcd comic}} these links. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:16, 29 July 2022 (UTC)

It is missing that air-gapping the power supply would protect your home from voltage surges in the power network caused by lightning strikes. Depending where the lightning hits the power network, there may be no fuses protecting your home or single fuses may fail to protect you. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.246.115|172.70.246.115]] 07:57, 28 July 2022 (UTC)
:That is true. But the suggestion that this might have anything to do with general energy security (as is currently very prominent in the explanation) is entirely unconvincing to me.
::I also originally thought this was the main joke, until seeing the title text about bit rate. Certainly it's worth mentioning, even if this isn't the main joke, since it would actually work, with a wide enough gap, ideally with a vacuum in between.

Incandescent light bulbs convert most of their energy to infrared light. There are solar cells that work in this infrared spectrum, so this might not be all that inefficient as stated. This should in fact be a lot more efficient than any LED+visible spectrum based panel, as incandescent bulbs are very efficient in converting electricity into infrared light, much more than LEDs most likely will ever be.
The (mostly) omnidirectionality of the light source might be an even bigger loss, as most of the light (however efficient) does not even reach the panel.
And regarding sending data over this construct: As soon as there's a 0V state (which will be the case as soon as the transmission starts, due to some form of manchester coding, regardless of it being a 0 or 1 bit) the PC behind the solar panel would not only have a data transmission problem :)
(With incandescent bulb, that is. A LED 0V might be short enough for capacitors in the PC's power supply to buffer it, if it is only at 50%(+PSU conversion loss) load max, as manchester coded signals per definition have a duty cycle of 50% to keep the DC bias at 0V)
[[Special:Contributions/172.68.51.204|172.68.51.204]] 08:26, 28 July 2022 (UTC)

What is the highest wattage commercial opto-isolator, and how can I get one mounted from the ceiling in my bedroom? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.207.8|172.70.207.8]] 14:10, 28 July 2022 (UTC)

I wonder if it's worth noting the significant understatement within the title text, where it says "the bitrate does drop a little" in contrast to the severe and drastic drop in bitrate that would actually occur, especially in light of today's typical Internet speeds. It might not be worth mentioning, but it struck me as a humorous understatement of the true impact. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 14:25, 28 July 2022 (UTC)
:We don't know if the light bulb is incandescent or LED, so we can't describe the bandwidth drop other than in very general terms. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.88|172.70.211.88]] 15:34, 28 July 2022 (UTC)
:: It's safe to say the warmup and cooldown delays mentioned in the title text imply an incandescent bulb. Is there a standard or average response time for household bulb incandescent filaments? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.43|172.70.214.43]] 03:33, 29 July 2022 (UTC)
::: Maybe this helps? https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/5625426 [[Special:Contributions/172.70.142.21|172.70.142.21]] 06:51, 29 July 2022 (UTC)
:::: Yes! [https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1961&context=all_theses Figure 1.10 seems to suggest that frequencies above 10 Hz are filtered,] and that seems consistent with Figure 3.14, in that recovery time is a tenth of a second (though drop-off "cooldown" time is much shorter.) So if I remember my {{w|Binary Golay code|modem math,}} even with the most sophisticated coding, anything more than 640 bits per second should be impossible. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.225|172.69.33.225]] 07:39, 29 July 2022 (UTC)

I'm almost tempted to suggest that this should be an (honourary) addition to the Cursed Connectors comic-collection. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.94.187|172.71.94.187]] 14:56, 28 July 2022 (UTC)
:I agree that it reminds me of some of those. But it could never be added to the category, as it misses the cursed connector name and number. But I have added a mention of the similarity here above, and also mentioned it on the [[:Category:Cursed Connectors]] page. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:22, 29 July 2022 (UTC)
:It's a cursed ''dis''connector. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 15:24, 29 July 2022 (UTC)
::{{w|Dis (Divine Comedy)|Dis}}-connectors are always cursed! ;) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.95|162.158.159.95]] 17:11, 29 July 2022 (UTC)

Yes, solar panels can transform electrical into electromagnetic signals. It is more on the side of the incandescent bulb that the capability to receive and forward these signals is missing. My source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGUteH93xNo
[[User:Torge|Torge]] ([[User talk:Torge|talk]]) 15:11, 28 July 2022 (UTC)
: Interesting! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.142.21|172.70.142.21]] 06:51, 29 July 2022 (UTC)

Nobody caught on that powerline networking is about sending data through powerlines? or that a crude opto-isolation setup could effectively scrub it? Where my networking geeks at? I am disappoint [[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.51|172.69.71.51]] 15:19, 28 July 2022 (UTC)

An electrical engineer here: perhaps we should mention that the box pictured after the solar panel must be an inverter? The lightbulb/solar panel pair will be acting as a rectifier, putting out purely positive voltage, and to get back to AC to run appliances on there would need to be an inverter.
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.49|172.69.62.49]] 01:10, 29 July 2022 (UTC)
:Can you please help out with the argument about rectifier efficiency at [[2642]]? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.95|172.70.214.95]] 03:24, 29 July 2022 (UTC)

Most of the bulbs in my house (before compact flourescent and LED) were 75 Watt or 100 Watt. 50 Watt would be a very dim bulb.
: Mice wouldn't agree. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.43|172.70.214.43]] 05:05, 29 July 2022 (UTC)
::In Denmark 60 Watt was standard, with 100 and 150 possible in some lamps.
--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:22, 29 July 2022 (UTC)
There are actually usecases for optical power links. For example electric field probes use this: https://www.raditeq.com/products/electric-field-probes/
--[[User:Casandro|Casandro]] ([[User talk:Casandro|talk]]) 08:10, 29 July 2022 (UTC)

I think it might be possible to construct a scenario where this could have some security benefit, albeit not one that justifies such poor efficiency. Suppose you have an embedded system running off USB power to perform some cryptographic task, but the USB port the cable's plugged into is under the control of an attacker who has it instrumented to sample the power consumption at a high frequency. He can perform {{w|power_analysis}} if the load changes based on the operations performed by your device, but the setup in the comic should prevent information from leaking upstream in this manner. [[User:D5xtgr|D5xtgr]] ([[User talk:D5xtgr|talk]]) 19:44, 29 July 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2569: Hypothesis Generation

2022-01-18T19:30:49Z

D5xtgr:

I removed a couple of paragraphs that seem to be more about the the editor's opinions on education and the philosophy of science than the comic. {{unsigned|Nitpicking}}
:I had a look at what you removed:
:* I think this ''is'' a personal tutorial, or else bad teaching/learning by the intense Lenhart/Cueball interaction to the exclusion of all those unpictured.
:* It is indeed important not to do tests and then work out what kind of hypothesis would lead to the inevitably significant results you have already seen to stand out.
:That said, the bits could have been less wordy.
:(I'd be tempted to add Reversion To The Mean as a key problem of reacting wth ideas to prior 'random' test-results, but that wouldn't help to shorten anything!) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.126|172.70.91.126]] 17:38, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

Also, what the heck happens on 31 January, as mentioned in the top image at xkcd.com?{{unsigned|Nitpicking}}
:Haha, this is Randall teasing us about our hypotheses about the Countdown over at https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Countdown_in_header_text [[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 13:01, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
::I just added this link [[Countdown in header text]] at the top of the comic aws for the previous four comics. See there. (and sign you comments ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:03, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
:::Oh, and I just read the title text. Totally makes sense from Randall's perspective! [[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 13:04, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
::::I really do not think this comic is a comment on the countdown. But I can see why it could be funny for us here at explain. But I'm quite sure that Randall stays away from all these fora discussing his comics. We put way to much importance to this site if we think he actually comes here... ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:14, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
:::::He doesn't need to come here! He just needs to like, go on the xkcd subreddit. [[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 14:26, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
::::::I don't think he would go there either... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:23, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

I'm too shy to do the edit myself, but shouldn't the explanation mention how the comic is going meta ? Like, Cueball is generating a hypothesis about hypothesis generation! (btw, how would you test that kind of hypothesis?…) --Anonymous reader {{unsigned ip|172.70.86.22}}
:You are never more anonymous than your IP, so please sign anyway. I think the meta of this is already implicit in the current explanation when it says: "He has made a hypothesis about how to generate a hypothesis. " --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:23, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
:: "You are never more anonymous than your IP, so please sign anyway." All right, sorry. Let's say I never commented yet, and I don't mean to start doing this regularly (although… we'll see!) (Understand: I don't have an account, and I don't want to register atm.) By the way, the IP signoff seems broken: I have nothing to do with "172.70.86.22", and it's faaaar from where I live, according to GeoIP. Back to my original point, I though it would be better to make an *explicit* reference to the meta level. Since it's an explanation, it ought to be made as clear as can be. But here's why I didn't make the edit myself: I don't usually edit wikis, so I'll trust your better jugement. --Not So Anonymous reader

How science works in primary school:
* Consider a question and generate a hypothesis
* Study the literature to understand the problem space
* Design a methodology to test the hypothesis
* Perform the experiment and record the results
* Analyse and interpret your results
* Draw conclusions and write a report
How science works in practice:
* The sponsor comes to you with an invention he wants to sell
* Design a methodology to showcase the invention's advantages
* Run the experiment and hope the undocumented fragile DAQ system works
** Start with the test cases where the invention is expected to perform best
** Scrap the remaining test cases once it falls behind existing tech
* Graph the data and write a paper merely describing what the graphs show
* Skim any prior literature on the design to add citations
[[User:D5xtgr|D5xtgr]] ([[User talk:D5xtgr|talk]]) 19:30, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

2419: Hug Count

2021-02-02T03:01:50Z

D5xtgr: Added tabular transcript of data

{{comic
| number = 2419
| date = February 1, 2021
| title = Hug Count
| image = hug_count.png
| titletext = I've never been that big of a hug person, but it turns out I'm not quite this small of a hug person either.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a HUGGABLE ROBOT. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic observes that in 2020, when the pandemic happened, everyone had to social distance and avoid contact with strangers. People are asked to not closely associate to those outside a very limited 'bubble' of similarly isolating individuals, perhaps as small as one's own household.

A clearly hugging/huggable individual who cares for others will therefore be refraining from being so tactile (and/or is now rightfully discouraged by the potential and previously consenting hug-partner) and so their annual tally crashes quite severely, both as hugger and huggee.

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

[Title of Chart:]
Estimated Number of Distinct People Hugged per Year

[Y Axis:]
0 to 30

[X Axis:]
Years from 1996 until 2021

{|
! Year !! People
|-
! 1996 || 31
|-
! 1997 || 28
|-
! 1998 || 23
|-
! 1999 || 25
|-
! 2000 || 21
|-
! 2001 || 18
|-
! 2002 || 28
|-
! 2003 || 24
|-
! 2004 || 17
|-
! 2005 || 19
|-
! 2006 || 14
|-
! 2007 || 35
|-
! 2008 || 17
|-
! 2009 || 16
|-
! 2010 || 27
|-
! 2011 || 29
|-
! 2012 || 18
|-
! 2013 || 15
|-
! 2014 || 16
|-
! 2015 || 22
|-
! 2016 || 15
|-
! 2017 || 21
|-
! 2018 || 19
|-
! 2019 || 25
|-
! 2020 || 5
|-
! 2021 || 2
|}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Bar charts]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]

Talk:1868: Eclipse Flights

2020-06-07T02:49:53Z

D5xtgr:

This could use an image. Could someone more versed in this website's inner workings add one please? E.g. http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/blogs/bad_astronomy/2015/03/23/sims_schneider_eclipse_mar202015.jpg.CROP.original-original.jpg
--[[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.12|141.101.105.12]] 21:54, 26 July 2017 (UTC)

:I strongly suggest [http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~pogge/Ast161/Images/mir1999.jpg this image of a total eclipse shadow taken from the Mir space station.] I found it on [http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~pogge/Ast161/Unit2/eclipses.html this introductory astronomy lecture notes page] linked from this excerpt:
::''While we often sketch the penumbra as uniform, in reality the penumbra shades gradually from the completely dark umbra out towards the edges. The reason is simple: as you move outwards away from the edge of the umbra, you will see an increasing fraction of the Sun peeking out from behind the Moon. There is a very nice Mir image of the 1999 Aug 11 eclipse shadow showing what I mean.''
:I also suggest that fact be included into the explanation, because the comic showing a sharp shadow transition is factually completely incorrect. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.53|162.158.166.53]] 04:45, 27 July 2017 (UTC)
::It's not wrong, it's just a schematic map of the path of totality. There is in fact a sharp distinction between regions that see a total eclipse and the neighbouring regions where it's only a partial eclipse. This graph clearly shows this, instead of the darkness of the shadow created by the eclipse (in which case the central path would've been pitch black). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.88|141.101.88.88]] 20:33, 27 July 2017 (UTC)
:::On the contrary, that "sharp" transition in the Sims/Schneider image spans over a hundred miles because it was taken from an oblique tangental perspective in space. The Mir photo is pointing more directly straight down at the Earth and shows a more accurate representation. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.178.147|162.158.178.147]] 05:19, 28 July 2017 (UTC)

I've been looking around, and couldn't find a site to give me flight information for that specific day, and overlaid on a flight path of the eclipse. Anyone have any luck? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.118|162.158.255.118]] 22:03, 26 July 2017 (UTC)

Does anyone feel as though the explanation is finished? [[User:Dontknow|Dontknow]] ([[User talk:Dontknow|talk]]) 23:56, 11 September 2017 (UTC)

The airplane depicted is probably a Boeing 737-700. A 737 is recognisable by the "kinked" leading edge to its tail, the presence of blended winglets and a dorsal wifi antenna suggest it is the "Next Generation" series, and the length is most consistent with the -700 variant. [[User:D5xtgr|D5xtgr]] ([[User talk:D5xtgr|talk]]) 02:49, 7 June 2020 (UTC)

2201: Foucault Pendulum

2019-09-11T18:47:48Z

D5xtgr: Initial Description

{{comic
| number = 2201
| date = September 11, 2019
| title = Foucault Pendulum
| image = foucault_pendulum.png
| titletext = Trust me, you don't want to get on the wrong side of the paramilitary enforcement arm of the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Black hat is attending what appears to be a physics lecture. The professor is talking about the Foucault pendulum, a device which demonstrates the rotation of the Earth. Black Hat, being himself, sees an opprotunity to cause chaos and seizes it with both hands, quite literally - that is, he grabs the pendulum. The professor objects strongly to this, seemingly for fear of ruining the delicate demonstration. However, the news anchor in the final panel reveals to us that by arresting the motion of the pendulum, Black Hat has somehow stopped the rotation of the Earth. This is obviously blatantly impossible since the Foucault pendulum's motion is tied to the earth's rotation, not the other way round

A Foucault Pendulum swings from a joint that allows rotation in any direction, like your shoulder joint instead of your elbow. If the Earth were stationary, it would continue to swing in the same plane as when it was released. However, because the earth moves beneath it, over the course of the day the motion gradually changes direction. The low-resistance joint doesn't allow the rotation of the earth to affect the motion of the pendulum, so it stays aligned to its original inertial reference frame rather than the rotating one of the earth.

The fact that the earth's rotation does not influence the motion of the pendulum does NOT mean that other things can't affect it - for example, by running up and manually repositioning the pendulum. Of course, the apparent rotation of the pendulum's plane relative to the earth is an effect of the planet's motion, rather than the cause of it. Thus, stopping a Foucault pendulum manually does not entail pausing the rotation of the earth.

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

{{comic discussion}}

1706: Genetic Testing

2019-08-11T03:23:46Z

D5xtgr:

{{comic
| number = 1706
| date = July 13, 2016
| title = Genetic Testing
| image = genetic_testing.png
| titletext = Plus, now I know that I have risk factors for elbow dysplasia, heartworm, parvo, and mange.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] has sent a DNA sample to a {{w|genetic genealogy}} company. The implied premise of the comic is that Cueball intended to send his own DNA to one of the several companies that analyze human DNA samples and provide a report as to the genetic history of that person - examples include notable/famous ancestors or relatives, ethnic background, risk factors for certain medical conditions, etc. However, the result that Cueball receives is consistent with a report for a {{w|purebred dog|dog pedigree}} test, breaking down the percentage of certain species present in a dog's ancestry. [[Megan]] suggests that Cueball has sent his sample to the wrong company. Cueball appears to agree in principle, but (seriously or jokingly - it is unclear) indicates that he intends to hedge his bets and avoid chocolate just in case he actually is, in fact, a dog. Dogs are generally susceptible to {{w|theobromine poisoning|poisoning from theobromine}}, a compound found in chocolates which causes seizures and heart failure in dogs (and many other creatures). Basically, if Cueball really is a dog, then eating chocolate could kill him.

[https://www.quora.com/What-percentage-of-human-DNA-is-shared-with-other-things 82%] or [http://www.thehumangenome.co.uk/THE_HUMAN_GENOME/Primer.html 94%] of genes (depending on how you measure it) are shared between humans and dogs. National Geographic erroneously reported that only [http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/12/1207_051207_dog_genome.html 5%] of human DNA is shared with dogs and mice, which may have misled Randall Munroe. This leads to several possible interpretations of the comic: It is possible (as Cueball suggests in the last panel) that he is, in fact, a dog with excellent human impersonation skills, or that he somehow shares DNA with a dog. It is possible that Cueball mistakenly sent a sample of a dog's DNA (perhaps his own) somehow thinking that is the method of testing ''his own'' DNA. Perhaps Cueball submitted his own (human) DNA to a dog pedigree company and their method of testing includes a presumption of dog DNA, and therefore was able to produce this result from Cueball's sample. Or perhaps this comic is a suggestion that some DNA test companies are scams that do not even perform DNA tests, but simply send out arbitrary reports that are not based on any testing.

The title text refers to the fact that certain dog breeds are more or less susceptible to disease. The diseases he mentions, {{w|elbow dysplasia}}, {{w|Dirofilaria immitis|heartworm}}, {{w|parvovirus|parvo virus}} and {{w|mange}} are several diseases that can end up killing, disfiguring or disabling dogs, but which humans are generally not susceptible to. As noted above, ancestry DNA test results can inform tell people about their genetic risk factors for disease, either by specifically investigating your own DNA for those risk factors or, more likely (and less costly) by informing of what risk factors are generally prevalent in your ancestry or others people sharing the same ancestry as you.

After this comic was published, [https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform/dna-ancestry-test it was revealed] that a testing service issued reports determining that First Nations ancestry was detected in sample DNA taken from a dog.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are talking to each other.]
:Cueball: I sent a DNA sample to one of those "Trace your ancestry" projects.
:Megan: How legit are those?
:Cueball: No idea. I just figured it'd be fun.

:Six weeks later...
:[Cueball walks towards Megan with a letter in his hand.]
:Cueball: Sweet, got my results back.
:Megan: Ooh, share!

:Ancestry Report
::48% Labrador Retriever
::35% Beagle
::12% Cocker Spaniel
::5% Other

:[Megan is holding the report.]
:Megan: I think you sent your sample to the wrong service.
:Cueball: Just in case, I should probably start avoiding chocolate.

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

2142: Dangerous Fields

2019-04-26T19:14:58Z

D5xtgr: Context about posting date

{{comic
| number = 2142
| date = April 26, 2019
| title = Dangerous Fields
| image = dangerous_fields.png
| titletext = Eventually, every epidemiologist becomes another statistic, a dedication to record-keeping which their colleagues sincerely appreciate.
}}

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

{{W|Mathematics}} is such a pure non-physical field that it being the direct cause of death is extremely low, barring any workplace disputes.

{{W|Astronomy}} is mostly dealing with extremely far away things, so assuming there isn't a meteor impact is probably not going to kill you. Mildly more likely than Mathematics though since it is a physical study/process.

{{W|Economics}} is the study of markets, which through recessions and scarcity can kill you in any way that Capitalism can affect the goods and services you need to survive.

{{W|Law}} in the context of this would be the rules people have to follow for a just society, and given the nature of laws (Civil and Criminal) the odds that your death is related to law is low.

{{W|Criminology}} is very similar to law, but is the study of crime, meaning it's more dangerous than just "law".

{{W|Meteorolgy}} is the study of weather and through large weather events like Hurricanes and Tornados, death is a distinct possibility.

{{W|Chemistry}} is the study of chemicals and reactions of those chemicals. Since everything in existence is made up of chemicals, (and chemists using especially reactive or dangerous chemicals) the cause of your death being chemistry is significant.

{{W|Marine Biology}} is the study of marine animals. Many of them are venomous, many of them are very large, many of them are very hungry. Depending on circumstance your death is extremely likely.

{{w|Volcanology}} involves the study of {{w|volcanoes}}, {{w|lava}}, and {{w|magma}}, with obvious risks to the scientists studying them in the field. At least 67 scientists have been killed in volcanic eruptions, as of 2017 ("[https://cosmosmagazine.com/geoscience/volcanologists-lose-their-lives-in-pursuit-of-knowledge Volcanologists lose their lives in pursuit of knowledge]").

{{w|Gerontology}} involves the study of aging, and of growing old in general, which at time of posting has a 100% fatality rate.

This comic was posted the day after Joe Biden entered the race for the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, which is shaping up to [https://cbc.ca/1.5107181 feature] the oldest set of candidates in history.

The title text is about {{w|Epidemiology}} or the study of health and disease conditions in populations. In the event of an epidemic, there is a strong chance that Epidemiologists in the search for the causation, transmission and treatment will be exposed and become victims of the disease in their own right, or a statistic of the disease the epidemiologists are trying to study in the first place.

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

Graph title: Probability that you'll be killed by the thing you study

Graph subtitle: By Field

Graph legend: An arrow pointing from the left, or least likely to be killed, to the right, or most likely to be killed

A line of points with fields from left to right.

1. Mathematics

2. Astronomy

3. Economics

4. Law

5. Criminology

6. Meteorology

7. Chemistry

8. Marine Biology

9. Volcanology

Much farther to the right, in an amusing fashion is

10. Gerontology

Title Text: Eventually, every epidemiologist becomes another statistic, a dedication to record-keeping which their colleagues sincerely appreciate.

{{comic discussion}}

2127: Panama Canal

2019-03-22T19:10:11Z

D5xtgr: Initial explanation

{{comic
| number = 2127
| date = March 22, 2019
| title = Panama Canal
| image = panama_canal.png
| titletext = Once they selected the other proposal, we could have kept shopping ours around, but we would had to modify it include an aqueduct over their canal, which would be totally unreasonable.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a Panamax vessel. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
The Panama Canal is, as the name suggests, a canal through the country of Panama. It is important for bridging the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and is an important trade route. The canal is in Panama because Panama is very thin, making construction and maintenance very easy. Randall's canal, however, would be none of these things. The distance from northern Canada to southern Chile is pretty long{{Citation needed}}, and there are not very many people who would benefit from such a canal, due to it being far from many important trade routes.

The title text referencing the now-existing Panama Canal, and the fact that Randall's canal would need to bridge over or under it. The humor here is that this canal would be one of the most ambitious construction projects in history; an aqueduct being added to the costs is an expense on the same scale of needing an extra screw to hold something in on Apollo XI.

The canal would not be worthless, however, providing not only jobs but also commerce to what would be one of the longest 'rivers' in the world.

Cueball proposes an alternate route for the Panama Canal that connects the Arctic Ocean to the Great Southern Ocean instead of connecting the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean. His suggested route runs somewhat to the east of the continental divide and has a total length of slightly over ten thousand miles, in contrast to the real-life canal which is only fifty miles long. The extra length and more-rugged terrain make his proposal much more difficult to build. Moreover, while the real-life canal significantly shortens the travel distance between major cities on the east and west coasts of the Americas, his alternative offers only a slight improvement over transiting the Bering or Davis Straits and there are relatively few major settlements in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, so little traffic desires to follow such a route anyway.

The title text suggests that crossing two canals would have to be done via aqueduct, instead of the more useful at-grade crossing. This is still far ''less'' unreasonable than other elements of the proposal, as noted above. The route depicted appears to cross the Mackenzie, Missouri, Rio Grande, and Amazon rivers anyway, so such crossings cannot be considered an insurmountable obstacle.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing in front of a poster with two maps showing the Americas. He is pointing to the right one with a stick he is holding in his hand. Specifically to the red line going through the Americas from the Arctic sea above Canada near Alaska, down through North America, through the middle of Central America down through the middle of South America to end up in the Antarctic sea below the tip of South America. On the map to the left there is a similar red line indicating the Panama Canal crossing the thinnest part of Central America from the Pacific Oceanto the Atlantic Ocean. Both lines end in small dots on either "side" of the continent. The two maps have labels above them:]
:Atlantic-Pacific option
:Arctic-Antarctic option

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I still don't understand why the Panama Canal planners rejected my proposal.

==Trivia==
*The Panama Canal was the main theme in [[1632: Palindrome]] and there is a scene in [[1608: Hoverboard]] where a [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0d/1608_1026x1073y_Ruins_with_Cueball_singing_of_Spiders_and_Panama.png song that Cueball sings] references the canal. {{w|Panamax}} is referenced in the title text of [[1865: Wifi vs Cellular]].
*The second comic in a row with a [[:Category:Maps|map based theme]]. Randall likes maps.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Maps]]

Talk:2123: Meta Collecting

2019-03-13T18:54:00Z

D5xtgr:

RIP {{w|List of collectables}} and grammar. It’s collectable. Not collectible, collectable. [[User:Netherin5|Netherin5]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 16:07, 13 March 2019 (UTC)
:You may disagree, but collectable is also correct. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/collectable [[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.23|108.162.242.23]] 16:21, 13 March 2019 (UTC)
:I think we’re agreeing here? I also use collectable, and said so in my comment. At least it should be used in this case, because it’s what Wikipedia uses on said page. [[User:Netherin5|Netherin5]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 16:26, 13 March 2019 (UTC)
:My understanding was that the words had different meanings. Something is collectible if it would have a place in a collection; a Harley is collectible because it would have a place in Cueball's collection of items. Something is collectable if it can be collected; a court judgement may be collectable if the person ordered to pay has enough money to make the payment. [[User:D5xtgr|D5xtgr]] ([[User talk:D5xtgr|talk]]) 17:33, 13 March 2019 (UTC)
::Suspiciously enough, that’s the exact example I got when I googled it, but thank you for the collection. I only say this because of the article in question discussed. [[User:Netherin5|Netherin5]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 17:41, 13 March 2019 (UTC)
:::Yes, I was having a hard time wording my original example - it's rather easier to show why a debt or court judgement ''wouldn't'' be collectable than to explain why one ''would'' be. [[User:D5xtgr|D5xtgr]] ([[User talk:D5xtgr|talk]]) 18:54, 13 March 2019 (UTC)

First time posting here, so my format might be terrible. But looking at the list of collectables; Maytag is listed, and the reference is for antique scales, so definitely not dryers. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.7|173.245.54.7]] 16:13, 13 March 2019 (UTC)
:Antique washer models to scale? Fixed it. On a serious note, it’s just one source, there are probably people who would collect washers, or, the more likely option, they just saw Maytag and thought “washers” EDIT: As a formatting nerd, it’s good. [[User:Netherin5|Netherin5]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 16:20, 13 March 2019 (UTC)

Talk:2123: Meta Collecting

2019-03-13T17:33:16Z

D5xtgr:

RIP {{w|List of collectables}} and grammar. It’s collectable. Not collectible, collectable. [[User:Netherin5|Netherin5]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 16:07, 13 March 2019 (UTC)
:You may disagree, but collectable is also correct. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/collectable [[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.23|108.162.242.23]] 16:21, 13 March 2019 (UTC)
:I think we’re agreeing here? I also use collectable, and said so in my comment. At least it should be used in this case, because it’s what Wikipedia uses on said page. [[User:Netherin5|Netherin5]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 16:26, 13 March 2019 (UTC)
:My understanding was that the words had different meanings. Something is collectible if it would have a place in a collection; a Harley is collectible because it would have a place in Cueball's collection of items. Something is collectable if it can be collected; a court judgement may be collectable if the person ordered to pay has enough money to make the payment.[[User:D5xtgr|D5xtgr]] ([[User talk:D5xtgr|talk]]) 17:33, 13 March 2019 (UTC)

First time posting here, so my format might be terrible. But looking at the list of collectables; Maytag is listed, and the reference is for antique scales, so definitely not dryers. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.7|173.245.54.7]] 16:13, 13 March 2019 (UTC)
:Antique washer models to scale? Fixed it. On a serious note, it’s just one source, there are probably people who would collect washers, or, the more likely option, they just saw Maytag and though “washers” [[User:Netherin5|Netherin5]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 16:20, 13 March 2019 (UTC)

2114: Launch Conditions

2019-02-21T03:19:51Z

D5xtgr: He actually passed on Saturday but didn't hit the news until yesterday

{{comic
| number = 2114
| date = February 20, 2019
| title = Launch Conditions
| image = launch_conditions.png
| titletext = Though I do think the tiny vent on one of the boosters labeled "O-RING" is in poor taste.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an O-RING FAILURE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

An image of a rocket with a progressively larger white cloud around it is shown, but no external object for scale is visible until the third panel.
It is then revealed to be a model or miniature when Ponytail walks into the shot.

The dialog reveals the miniature rocket is a domestic {{w|humidifier}} appliance, using its plumes of water vapor to mimic the appearance of the exhaust plume of a full-size rocket.

Modern rocket launches are backed by a ''Sound Suppression System'' avoiding damages to the rocket itself, the payload, or even humans inside. This system drops vast amounts of water into the exhaust of the rocket engines and the water vaporizes immediately. This vapor mainly interrupts the sound reflections from the ground. This reduces the sound to a level the rocket can withstand but also produces a big cloud of water vapor. In fact the cloud at the ground consists mostly of water and not the exhaust of the rocket engines. This article shows how the system works: [https://interestingengineering.com/nasa-sound-suppression-system-prevents-rocket-from-exploding NASA's Incredible Sound Suppression System Prevents Rockets from Exploding (interestingengineering.com)].

This comic appeared the day after the death of Peter Cosgrove, who was known for photographing many Space Shuttle launches, was reported.

The title text references the failed o-ring that led to the {{Wikipedia|Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|disintegration of the ''Challenger'' Space Shuttle}} and the death of all on board.
This disaster was a focal point of controversy, which Richard Feynman played a key {{Wikipedia|Rogers_Commission_Report#Role_of_Richard_Feynman|role in piercing}}. The o-ring in question failed to expand at freezing temperatures, resulting in a leak of gas around the edges that was visible as a small vapor plume on the recording. The launch was pushed to a day with lower temperatures than the engineers had planned for. For the humidifier to vent the water vapor from this opening is indeed in poor taste, even though the model does not resemble a shuttle.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A rocket sits on a launch pad and the tower to the left has retracted its access arms. The engines have just start firing and a small cloud at the bottom is visible.]

:[The rocket still sits on the pad but the cloud is growing and extending to both sides on the ground.]

:[Ponytail's head in a size like the rocket appears above. The cloud covers the full ground and hides a bigger part of the rocket.]

:[Zoom out. Ponytail stands behind a pedestal with a rocket model on top and the cloud is all around the bottom of the rocket and below.]
:Off screen: It's still pretty dry in here.
:Ponytail: I love the new humidifier, though.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Space]]

Talk:1980: Turkish Delight

2018-04-13T17:57:52Z

D5xtgr: Crackpot Animorphs Theory

whomever[[Special:Contributions/172.68.26.71|172.68.26.71]] 15:42, 13 April 2018 (UTC)

Randall is a known Animorphs fan, and Cinnabon is portrayed in the books as being foremost among the favourite foods of Andalites when in human morph. Possibly the title text is meant to introduce the narrator as one? It wouldn't be the [[769:_War|first time]] that mousing over has revealed the identity of a character in the strip. [[User:D5xtgr|D5xtgr]] ([[User talk:D5xtgr|talk]]) 17:57, 13 April 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1815: Flag

2018-02-02T01:36:22Z

D5xtgr: Blazon for the flag

Makes me wonder why he was doing this at 5:48 pm.
--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.190|108.162.249.190]] 20:56, 25 March 2017 (UTC)

A vote for me is a vote for bread on every table and a [https://smile.amazon.com/Off-Be-Wizard-Magic-2-0/dp/1612184715/ 73% battery level] until the end of time! [[User:Jameslucas|jameslucas]] ([[User talk:Jameslucas|" "]] / [[Special:Contributions/Jameslucas|+]]) 14:02, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

Given that the design is a screenshot, the flag could be part of an existing logo, e.g. of a U.S. sport association.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.82|162.158.150.82]] 14:15, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

The comic states "our NEW country" so I removed the theory it could be a new US flag.
The most recent sovereign state, according to Wikipedia, is South Sudan created in 2011 so we could assume Randall never intended to talk about a real-life country [[Special:Contributions/162.158.234.28|162.158.234.28]] 14:25, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

:It could be referring to new country proposals by techno-libertarians and the like? [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasteading] -[[User:Jules.LT|Jules.LT]] ([[User talk:Jules.LT|talk]]) 14:32, 24 March 2017 (UTC)
:: for instance https://www.cnet.com/news/asgardia-will-be-a-new-nation-in-space-and-you-can-be-a-citizen/ [[User:WhiteDragon|WhiteDragon]] ([[User talk:WhiteDragon|talk]]) 14:44, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

Note that official flags have an aspect ratio of 3:2 (with a few exceptions, like Switzerland and Nepal). The proposed flag including the notification bar measures 474 x 316 pixels (3*158 x 2*158 pixels), following the standard. If one removes the notification bar the resulting flag is somewhat wider than the standard. [[Special:Contributions/188.114.110.250|188.114.110.250]] 15:06, 24 March 2017 (UTC)
:Those "few" exceptions include 106 of the 189 or so sovereign states. Even that overstates the popularity of 3:2 since some nations have multiple different official flag specifications for different uses or users. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.21|162.158.62.21]] 15:29, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

:When I measured it, I found it to be 314 pixels tall - about pi * 100, which I feel is no mistake. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.185|162.158.79.185]] 18:04, 8 April 2017 (UTC)

According to [https://developer.apple.com/ios/human-interface-guidelines/ui-bars/status-bars/ Apple's own documentation], this kind of bar is referred to as a "status bar", and not a "notification bar". --[[User:Jonhaugen|Jonhaugen]] ([[User talk:Jonhaugen|talk]]) 15:28, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

:Key word: Apple. Notification bar is a term used more commonly in Android, largely from the time Android had a pull down notification tray and iOS didn't. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.28|162.158.34.28]] 02:02, 25 March 2017 (UTC)

Since the screenshot is part of the editing process, I don't think this can be interpreted as a mistake. It probably is entirely deliberate. The joke relies on the fact that most of the times when this bar appears, it is a side effect of the way the relevant data (the rest of the image) has been obtained, rather than part of the information itself. Actually, not only can the bar be ignored most of the time, but this is so often true that some people may not pay any attention to it at all. The committee's mistake might not have been that they failed to understand that Randall actually meant for the bar to be there, they might have not noticed it at all (even more likely if they looked at the image in full screen on a similar device). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.184|141.101.88.184]] 16:08, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

The real reason for firing him would most probably be that he made the committee and any decision making bodies up the chain look unprofessional. He may have missed it or intentionally trolled them, but it seems the status bar made it through the committee and all the way to becoming official without getting noticed. That sort of publicity will result in heads rolling, starting with the easiest target, the designer (depending on the state maybe literally, but if he was just fired it's probably not that type of system).--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.102.76|162.158.102.76]] 18:07, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

What kind of barbaric country still relies on 3G? It's like we're going back to the stone age!

I think this new flag represents a part of USA (3 states) that has either split with the rest due to the current president or are the three states that was left after the other 47 left. This makes sense with Randall's views of Trump and the colour stars and stripes is so clearly a reference to the Stars and Stripes also given Randall is from the states and as he was asked to make the flag. Maybe it is Massechusets, Conneticut and New York that had formed an independent country? ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:30, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

:The United States of Macutny had better be prepared for a long war with the remaining USA over access to Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. - [[User:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For]] ([[User talk:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|talk]]) 20:28, 25 March 2017 (UTC)

::I sure hope those are the states he picked! But also, Connecticut annexes Rhode Island. - Lieutenant Zipp

Is the notification bar a standard one for some OS or common system, or has Randall invented it? Probably not an interesting comment, but I'm curious if that layout actually exists. Would seem an awful waste of screen real-estate devoting a third of the bar to an almost meaningless "signal strength" metric -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.109|162.158.154.109]] 20:29, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

:The bar is the one redesigned in iOS 7. The off-white coloration, layout, and even the specific icons beside the battery display are taken from that interface. The issue with the wasted space of the cellular strength meter is even worse on an actual device, where the name of your service provider (or the word "iPad" on, well, an iPad) is also displayed at all times. [[User talk:AgentMuffin|~AgentMuffin]]

[https://o.lgm.cl/xkcd1815/ A construction sheet for the XKCD 1815 flag] (excluding notification bar)[[User:Locoluis|Locoluis]] ([[User talk:Locoluis|talk]]) 22:32, 25 March 2017 (UTC)

Has anybody noticed that the flag perfectly represents the overall politican division of the current US with the blue states on the coast, and the red states in the middle? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.38|162.158.155.38]] 08:59, 27 March 2017 (UTC)

Is it just me but the 39% could be a take on the current approval rating of the US president and the 3G to the 3 branches of government?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.52|162.158.126.52]] 10:16, 27 March 2017 (UTC)

Could this also not be a dig at the hopelessly tech illiterate (mostly, in my humble experience iPhone users) who habitually take screenshots rather than saving an image to disk? And continue to do so even after it's pointed out to them that they don't need all that cruft. That saving to disk is so simple makes it doubly hilarious and vexing. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.18|141.101.107.18]] 12:24, 27 March 2017 (UTC)

If the Netherlands (or insert country or state known for their "relaxedness" here) were to update their flags with a status bar they would 'obviously' choose 4:20 as their time ;) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.144|162.158.90.144]] 13:53, 29 March 2017 (UTC)cdm

Any heraldry nerds want to take a crack at cleaning up my attempt to blazon the flag?
:''Azure between two Mullets Argent on a Pale Gules fimbriated Argent a Mullet Argent; on a chief Argent all Sable: in dexter three Roundels two Annulets and the Letters "3G", in centre the Letters "5:48 PM", in sinister a Chevron turned bendwise sinister a Clock the Letters "39%" and a Battery turned sinister'' [[User:D5xtgr|D5xtgr]] ([[User talk:D5xtgr|talk]]) 01:36, 2 February 2018 (UTC)

1815: Flag

2018-02-02T00:40:49Z

D5xtgr: Rule of tincture

{{comic
| number = 1815
| date = March 24, 2017
| title = Flag
| image = flag.png
| titletext = There's a compromise bill to keep the notification bar but at least charge the battery.
}}

==Explanation==

Presumably [[Randall]] was hired by a committee to propose a new {{w|flag}} for an unspecified country. His process editing the flag involved taking a screenshot of his design to export it, a mistake that went unnoticed by anyone until the flag was officially implemented.

Once the problem was pointed out, the design committee placed the blame on Randall, but could not immediately undo their decision until new suggestions had been submitted and a new committee could agree on another design. Thus the country is now stuck with this design, making it the only country with such a bar in the flag.

The title text mentions a compromise bill that will change the flag. This implies that the flag was approved with the status bar included. Apparently there is some controversy about removing the status bar from the flag, as the compromise bill proposes keeping the status bar and changing the displayed percentage of the battery from 39% to 100%. This is wordplay on the term "charge" as used in {{w|vexillology}}, where it refers to a figure appearing on the background of the flag. It may also be a reference to [[1373: Screenshot]].

===Flag design===
The ''bar'' in ''notification bar'', is a vexillological descriptor, as in the "{{w|Flags_of_the_Confederate_States_of_America#First_flag:_the_.22Stars_and_Bars.22_.281861.E2.80.931863.29|Stars and Bars}}," a term used for the first flag of the {{w|Confederate States of America}}.

Flags are often minimalist and involve geometric shapes and solid colors. A notification bar at the top of the flag would clash with these design elements and look unprofessional. The flag in the comic is otherwise well-designed, conforming with a principle of heraldry and vexillology known as the {{w|rule of tincture}}: the "metals" consist of white, silver, yellow, and gold, while the "colours" consist of red, blue, green, purple, and black; anything in the "metal" category should only be placed upon a background of the "colour" category and vice versa.

The elements of the flag's intended design—the colors red, white, and blue; the use of stripes; and the star emblems—are the same that are used in the American flag the {{w|Flag of the United States|Stars and Stripes}}.

The elements of this flag are, however, also present in several other existing flags, like those derived from {{w|Union Jack}}, the flag of the {{w|United Kingdom}}, and like the flags of {{w|Flag_of_Australia|Australia}} and {{w|Flag_of_New_Zealand|New Zealand}}. They are also in the flags of {{w|Flag of North Korea|North Korea}}, {{w|Flag_of_Liberia|Liberia}}, and {{w|Flag_of_Malaysia|Malaysia}}. The flags from USA, Australia, Liberia and Chile have [[commons:Category:Flags_with_white_stars|white stars]], and those of USA and Liberia have [[commons:Category:Flags_with_white_stripes|white bars]] as well.

===Theories===
The low battery status might imply that the country is low on resources. It thus seems like people have taken the reference to modern times smartphones to their hearts and actually wish to have this very modern design.

But if they indeed continue with this idea, thinking that their country would look better with a full battery charge, they might also consider changing the 3G connection to the {{w|4G|newer 4G}} version and giving the phone a full signal (5/5 instead of only 3/5 dots), and maybe also choose a time that would mean something rather than 5:48 PM. For instance noon/midnight, or 8:00.

The reason such a status bar could be missed in the first place could be that most people today look at pictures on their smartphones all the time, and thus their own phones status bar is indirectly included at the top of all the pictures they see. People thus do not notice these status bars any longer as they are always there and clearly not important for the picture. Randall has mentioned before, in [[1373: Screenshot]], that he cannot take smartphone screenshots seriously if the battery of the device is low, as he cannot focus on the content, becoming afraid his own device is running out of power. A problem that only occurs if he sees it on his smartphone, as he then becomes concerned that it is his phone that is about to run out of charge. But in this status bar there are still 39%, high enough not to cause immediate concern. His fear of losing his on-line connection like this was the joke in a the comic [[1802: Phone]] released about a month before this one.

Since Randall was asked to create this flag, it seems most likely that he would have to be a citizen of this new country. It could thus indicate that a group of states have broken free from the USA to form their own smaller union of three states, one for each star. With the current political situation in the states after {{w|Donald Trump|Donald Trump’s}} {{w|Inauguration of Donald Trump|inauguration}} there have been some talk about states leaving USA, and Randall has clearly been against the election of Trump, see [[1756: I'm With Her]]. His choice of comic subjects seems to have been [[1756: I'm_With_Her#Sad_comics|affected]] by the election result. Since Randall lives in {{w|Massachusetts}}, it could be this and two other nearby states that have formed their own new union of states, maybe the other two small states {{w|Connecticut}} and {{w|Rhode Island}}.

==Transcript==
:[A two colored flag is shown. The left and rightmost parts of the flag are dark blue, and the center is red and each section has a large white star in its center. The colored parts are separated by thinner white vertical stripes. At the top of the flag, there is an off-white status bar like one found at the top of an iOS smart device. On the left it is displaying the strength of the connection (3/5 dots), in the center it is displaying the time and on the right there are three small icons the last is the battery charge:]
:3G
:5:48 PM
:39%

:[Below the panel there are two captions]
:The design committee fired me once they realized that my editing process involved a screenshot, but it was too late.
:Until they change it, our new country has the only national flag to include a phone notification bar.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Smartphones]]

Talk:1931: Virtual Assistant

2017-12-22T05:11:16Z

D5xtgr:

I just set up Siri to do this: https://youtu.be/B32YLUa6bUg [[User:DPS2004|DPS2004'); DROP TABLE users;--]] ([[User talk:DPS2004|talk]]) 15:54, 20 December 2017 (UTC)

The transcript has to follow the common layout as used in nearly all former comics. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 16:22, 20 December 2017 (UTC)

I feel like the explanation for this one missed the masturbation reference - the sounds of the sink and the zipper? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.181|172.68.189.181]] 22:36, 20 December 2017 (UTC)
:Agreed. It's like when the guys are at Chuckie's house in Good Will Hunting and Morgan gets called downstairs with the guiltiest look on his face. Here, the virtual assistant is doing something embarrassing and hides the evidence before addressing Megan's request. Doing up his pants is the zip, washing his hands is the sink running, running around hiding his magazines and toys makes up the thumps, clicks, and slams.[[User:D5xtgr|D5xtgr]] ([[User talk:D5xtgr|talk]]) 05:11, 22 December 2017 (UTC)

Someone should hang a warning sign on that TvTropes link, you are playing with fire here! --Pax

After several tries, I was able to turn off the "ok google" only by removing the right to use microphone from that application. "Not able to turn off" seem to been covered on my phone. Turn off assistant, yes, turn off listening and responding on "ok google" when on homescreen, no - when assistant was off, it just asked if it should turn it on. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 19:55, 21 December 2017 (UTC)

Oversleeping / startled awake, then running into things (maybe because it's dark, or because balance can be off when you get up too fast) and flipping light switches seems more natural to me than locked doors. [[User:Elvenivle|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle|talk]]) 00:52, 22 December 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1884: Ringer Volume/Media Volume

2017-09-01T16:23:21Z

D5xtgr:

So, is this about the volume buttons controlling all aspects of volume on the phone, and it being difficult to control sometimes (a lot!)? ~Chris {{unsigned ip|108.162.245.220}}
:Yes, but it's strange because the default action of the volume control should be the ''main volume'' and NOT the ''ring tone volume''. Nevertheless a video advertisement is often much louder than the movie where it is embedded. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:50, 1 September 2017 (UTC)
Protip: on Android when loading a youtube video, lock your phone and then unlock it. The video will then start paused, allowing you to adjust volume and then press play.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.206.4|172.68.206.4]] 15:06, 1 September 2017 (UTC)
On my Android phone, pressing either volume key results in the ringer volume slider appearing at the top of the screen. To its right is a downward-pointing caret. Pressing that caret adds sliders for media and alarm volumes. These can be moved using the touchscreen or the user can tap to select one to adjust and use the volume keys. [[User:D5xtgr|D5xtgr]] ([[User talk:D5xtgr|talk]]) 16:23, 1 September 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1877: Eclipse Science

2017-08-29T23:17:31Z

D5xtgr:

I'm pretty sure his point was actually that in the modern day eclipses are pretty well understood, easy enough to travel to, and provide very little actually unique circumstances, so in reality there is very little scientific value at all. Just a really cool thing to see

[[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.10|162.158.75.10]] 15:56, 16 August 2017 (UTC)
:Yet still there are some aspects of eclipses such as shadow bands which are unexplained. There are some theories, but eclipses are rare enough, plus shadow bands don't occur with every one, so there is no definitive explanation yet.
:[[User:RChandra|RChandra]] ([[User talk:RChandra|talk]]) 18:56, 16 August 2017 (UTC)
::The explanation of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_bands shadow bands] on wikipedia seems pretty solid to me. [[User:Zmatt|Zmatt]] ([[User talk:Zmatt|talk]]) 11:51, 17 August 2017 (UTC)

To me the comic is poking fun at the idea the media (and by extension laypeople in general) perceive eclipses to be of great scientific importance and that scientists are excited about it for that reason. Note how his almost every utterance contains "science". Megan deftly deflects his attempts to put words in her mouth and remains resolute in her stance that eclipses are interesting to everyone on their face value but not necessarily more so to scientists that others. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.160|108.162.216.160]] 19:35, 16 August 2017 (UTC)Pat

I guess Randall is sad that people outside the band seem to have less interest in the eclipse, like shown in the previous comic, and that they might not wish to travel a few hours to see a once in a life time spectacle, or as he also feared in the last comic, try too late to get there and get stuck in the trafic jam outside the totality zone. Being in the 99.9999% dark part is nothing compared to being inside the zone being able to see the corona (the ring in the sky). Go and see it if you have any chance of doing so! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:13, 16 August 2017 (UTC)

Should we make a new category for eclipse comics?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.58|162.158.214.58]] 11:53, 17 August 2017 (UTC)
:If he continues tomorrow and Monday maybe. There are so far only really two. The other two comics mentioned in the previous comic only briefly mentions the eclipse. So it is really only two comics so far. And they are not related in their individual subject. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:30, 17 August 2017 (UTC)
:: While I agree an Eclipse category would be uncalled for, this is the third comic I can think of without looking back further: 1868, 1876 and now 1877. If Randall continues the theme tomorrow / today and Monday, that's a total of 5. Maybe a post-eclipse comic on Wednesday, then I expect he'll be done on the subject unless something big happens (like a plane crash by the eclipse being in their eyes or something. we can blame Randall for that example coming to my mind, LOL!). 6 and done doesn't seem to warrant a category. :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:52, 18 August 2017 (UTC)
:::"Puts on sunglasses" got a category after three comics. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.11|162.158.238.11]] 09:31, 19 August 2017 (UTC)

The explanation claims, "While some astronomers might be testing elaborate hypotheses during an eclipse, for other scientists (eg. organic chemists and herpetologists) it is just a once in a long time (maybe even once in a lifetime) event which is visually interesting". This is at odds with the existence of several [http://www.reuters.com/article/us-solar-eclipse-usa-projects-idUSKCN1AX100?feedType=RSS&feedName=scienceNews| citizen science projects] encompassing not just astronomy but also atmospheric sciences and animal behaviour. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.111.241|162.158.111.241]] 13:00, 17 August 2017 (UTC)
:There's also a decent number of science experiments that are worth repeating mostly to take advantage of improved instruments and so people get to see them--which can also be considered under 'improved instruments,' if part of what you're doing this time is recording the entire procedure on video. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.130|108.162.237.130]] 22:38, 17 August 2017 (UTC)

While the eclipse may not provide very many more opportunities to advance scientific research and knowledge, it is a terrific opportunity for science teachers at the elementary level to demonstrate the basic science of orbits and positions of the Sun, Moon, Planets and Stars.
As well as an opportunity at the secondary level to talk about the laws of gravity and motion and how predictable it all is that we can calculate the exact path of an eclipse hundreds of years in advance. Too bad this is happening during summer vacation.
It is also the kind of event that excites children enough that they might consider pursuing a career in science.
So while astronomers may find it old news and not providing new research opportunities, there is still a lot of science teaching opportunity. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 12:36, 18 August 2017 (UTC)

So there's a couple points here:
*Public demonstration of previously performed science is not really the same thing as actual experimentation where the outcome is in doubt, the latter of which advances our understanding. So yes, you can show something to people who haven't observed it directly before, but then you're not using the word "science" in the same way as Megan.
*There actually are new [http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/while-millions-watch-the-eclipse-from-earth-nasa-observes-from-the-sky-1.4255242|new experiments] being performed, not just old experiments with a new audience or improved equipment.
*There is a tendency among non-scientists to underestimate the certainty of scientific or statistical results. Some examples are "you can't teach evolution as settled science because it's only a ''theory''" and more recently "this poll only sampled a thousand adults, which is 0.03% of Americans, so it's meaningless because we have no idea what the other 99.97% think". So scientists are expected to keep verifying and re-verifying fairly basic results. [[User:D5xtgr|D5xtgr]] ([[User talk:D5xtgr|talk]]) 16:29, 21 August 2017 (UTC)
:That last one is hilarious, for reasons I doubt you realize. Some of us here know how to get a proper population sample--and, well, with that poll? I don't even know where to ''start'' on the potential sources of error. 'Too small' should appear on the list several times, though, since a lot of the sources of error can be controlled for by simply adding to your sample. (Yes, yes, changing your sampling techniques will also do it, but it's just plain '''''easier''''' to add more people, so you start there.) This is actually part of why being able to replicate results matter--plus, the training in how to do it properly does give you a pretty good idea how to rig your poll to produce the desired results, and what to watch for when reading others' research. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.130|108.162.237.130]] 21:39, 24 August 2017 (UTC)
::Reasons you doubt I realise? What are you on about? The point is, the fraction of the population appearing in your sample doesn't need to be very large to have a margin of error below five percent. Margin of error for a representative sample of 1000 from an ''infinite'' population is 3.2 percent - the hard part is to get a representative sample of adults rather than a biased one. And then you go on about "that poll"... your meaning is very unclear. [[User:D5xtgr|D5xtgr]] ([[User talk:D5xtgr|talk]]) 23:17, 29 August 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1877: Eclipse Science

2017-08-21T16:29:27Z

D5xtgr:

Talk:1874: Geologic Faults

2017-08-11T03:15:45Z

D5xtgr:

Faults are not necessarily caused on plate boundaries - they can happen anywhere. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.146.16|162.158.146.16]] 04:41, 10 August 2017 (UTC)

Totally missed an opportunity for a Lego Fault.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.251|108.162.212.251]] 13:43, 9 August 2017 (UTC)
:Both LEGO and BRIO in the same comic would have been too many toys. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.196|162.158.134.196]] 14:38, 9 August 2017 (UTC)
::I agree, but I think he should have gone with Lego instead, more universally recognized. I know "Brio" as a Spanish Cola. :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 02:41, 11 August 2017 (UTC)

The alt text reminds me of how Earthquakes are depicted in movies, where a massive rift opens up in the Earth. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.10|162.158.75.10]] 13:48, 9 August 2017 (UTC)

I was totally expecting the Amigara Fault in there [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.112|108.162.216.112]] 14:10, 9 August 2017 (UTC)

Probably only for Germans, but the comedian Otto Waalkes invented that soap bar long ago in the seventies: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKOcmLiujAI Keili]. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 16:01, 9 August 2017 (UTC)

No seg fault to the left or right of the image? Unfortunate. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.78.16|172.68.78.16]] 16:56, 9 August 2017 (UTC)

Your fault: 💔 [[User:SilverMagpie|SilverMagpie]] ([[User talk:SilverMagpie|talk]]) 19:24, 9 August 2017 (UTC)

Well, the "taffy fault" is named as a joke, it is quite similar to "rift faults". These are several normal faults going on at the same time at both sides of a valley. The "soap fault" is not impossible.

Another terrifying thing about living near a bag-of-chips fault is that usually the things near the tears in chip bags get eaten. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.95|108.162.238.95]] 04:48, 10 August 2017 (UTC)

The "soap fault" is nothing but two reverse faults with a narrow wedge between them. A geologist would refer to the two faults separately, but to the general public, "soap faulting" would be a clear, and accurate, term.

The "splinted fault" is probably related to the ''plates'' used to fix broken bones.

The "Apple Power Cable Fault" I took as less a reference to MagSafe connectors and more a reference to iDevice power cords (both the old 30-pin and the current Lightning), whose shielding is so soft and fragile, this kind of tearing always happens, even with the most gentle handling. Actually, it hasn't seemed like the MagSafe connectors have had this fragility problem, at least not to me. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 02:38, 11 August 2017 (UTC)

* If the "soap fault" actually occurred, we would probably have a name for it, like we do for the similar formations called horsts and grabens. But it just doesn't seem to be how the crust behaves. [[User:D5xtgr|D5xtgr]] ([[User talk:D5xtgr|talk]]) 03:15, 11 August 2017 (UTC)

1787: Voice Commands

2017-01-18T21:04:48Z

D5xtgr: Added paragraph on why not to use Dvorak on your smartphone; deduplicated the "translation" of Cueball's command.

{{comic
| number = 1787
| date = January 18, 2017
| title = Voice Commands
| image = voice_commands.png
| titletext = Dvorak words may sound hard to pronounce, but studies show they actually put less stress on the vocal chords.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page.}}
The {{w|Dvorak_Simplified_Keyboard|Dvorak keyboard layout}} was designed to replace the {{w|QWERTY}} keyboard layout (the de facto standard keyboard layout, so named for the starting letters in the top row). The Dvorak layout was designed in the belief that it would significantly increase typing speeds over the QWERTY layout. This can be seen, among other ways, by the popular misconception that the placement of letters in the QWERTY standard were deliberately organized to limit typing speed in accommodation the tendency of original mechanical typewriters to jam if two adjacent keys were pressed in quick succession. (In fact, the original QWERTY layout was mostly random, excepting that it is possible to type "typewriter" using only keys on the top row.)

Even as other arguably better layouts were proposed over the years since the introduction of the QWERTY keyboard, QWERTY remained the standard due to widespread use.

Using Dvorak for speech to text, however, makes no sense whatsoever as there is no keyboard, real, virtual, or otherwise, involved in speaking. Even the virtual keyboard (usually QWERTY layout but often changeable) included in most phones and tablet devices is not used when speaking to the phone.

The sentence Cueball tells his phone translates to "Okay Google send a text" - he says it as if he were typing the sentence on a Dvorak layout with the keyboard set to a QWERTY layout.

The title text is a reference to the fact that many users of DVORAK keyboards claim they may be hard to learn, but they are more movement efficient and put less stress on your fingers due to less movement. For example, see the link at http://www.dvzine.org/zine/10-11.html . This makes little sense in the scenario set up by the comic, as speaking gibberish using oddly placed vowels would be equally difficult, if not in fact harder, on the vocal chords.

Using a Dvorak layout on a smartphone (for actual typing, not voice commands) is possible, but the very features that make it desirable in a physical touch-typing environment are drawbacks on a swipe-enabled keyboard. A placement designed to alternate a typist's left and right hands requires the finger of a swipist to travel back and forth across the keyboard more often. Fitting commonly-used letters onto the typist's home row reduces finger movement but makes many words the swipist enters indistinguishable. On a QWERTY swipe keyboard, four English words can be entered by swiping right to left from P to T: "pot", "pit", "put", and "pout"; however, setting the layout to Dvorak causes this to happen with many more common sets of words.

==Transcript==
[Ponytail and Cueball are standing looking at each other. Cueball is holding a phone.]

Ponytail: Can you text it to me?

Cueball: Sure!

Cueball: ''SVAT USSUPD ;DLH A KDBK''

Ponytail: ...What?

Phone: *BEEP*

[Caption under the panel:]

Setting my phone's speech recognition to Dvorak was a pain at first, but it's more efficient in the long run.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

1738: Moon Shapes

2016-09-26T17:41:11Z

D5xtgr: /* gibbous vs gibbon */

{{comic
| number = 1738
| date = September 26, 2016
| title = Moon Shapes
| image = moon_shapes.png
| titletext = Whenever I see a picture of the moon where the points go more than halfway around, I assume it's being eclipsed by one of those Independence Day ships and interpret the rest of the image in light of that.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Table needs pictures. Needs overall more detail.}}
The Earth's {{w|moon}}, being the most prominent object in the night sky, is a frequent subject of art; particularly art depicting a nighttime scene. Unfortunately, the moon often appears in works of art in ways that are very dramatic and would not be scientifically possible. It may be done out of ignorance, or knowingly by taking {{w|artistic license}}. As someone interested in and who has worked in astronomy, this likely bothers [[Randall]].

The Earth's {{w|moon}} is well known to have "{{w|lunar phase|phases}}" describing what portion of the visible surface of the moon is illuminated by sunlight and highly visible, and what portion is dark, and generally only slightly visible when the moon appears while the sun is also up. These phases progress between "new" (when the surface facing the Earth is completely dark) and "full" (when the surface facing the Earth is completely illuminated, appearing circular from Earth). Mid-way between those extreme phases is a "half" moon, when exactly half of the surface facing the Earth is completely dark, resulting in a semi-circular appearance.

Because the moon is approximately spherical, as the moon progresses from "new" to "half" (or vice versa), the illuminated portion forms a crescent. As it progresses from "half" to "full" (or vice versa), the illuminated portion it is described as "gibbous" (which just means that the dark portion has formed a crescent). One can imagine this like a globe on which you draw a straight line from the north pole to the south pole down the centre of the side facing you (appearing to create two semi-circles); upon rotating the globe, the line would become rounded as it moved away creating a crescent on the side the line was moved towards. Because of the geometry involved, a line connecting the two points (horns) of a crescent moon (or of the darkened crescent inverse of a gibbous moon) must be a diameter of the moon (i.e. it must pass through the centre of the circle).

The deliberate misidentification of a "waxing gibbous" moon ("waxing" means going from new to full; that is increasing in illuminated area) as a "wax gibbon" (a Southeast Asian ape made of a nonpolar solid) is a source of humour in this comic.

Further, because the light portion of the moon is illuminated by sunlight (whether or not the moon is in the sky at the same time as the sun), the light side of the moon will always be facing towards the sun. If the moon is in the night sky, the sun must be somewhere "below" the horizon on the other side of the Earth. Thus, at night, the light portion of the moon must always be the on the half of the moon that faces the horizon (there are points during the daytime when the orientation can go the other way).

It is also notable that the portion of the moon that is dark is still a large hunk of (unlit) rock, and therefore even at night when we can't distinguish between the dark part of the moon and the background blackness, it would still be impossible to see more distant objects such as stars "through" the dark portion of the moon's circumference. This is most dramatically exemplified by a {{w|solar eclipse}} during which the moon passes in front of the sun and is therefore completely dark (the sun is lighting only the far side), but the moon's circumference still blocks a circular portion of the sun's light.

This comic lists some of the some common mistakes. In some cases, a depiction may be unrealistic in multiple ways - for example, the {{w|Flag of Tunisia}} has both unrealistic horns and a star visible between the horns, while {{w|File:Moon tarot charles6.jpg|the Charles VI tarot}} shows a moon with over-long horns pointing towards the horizon.

In the title text, Randall is referring to the movie "{{w|Independence Day (film)|Independence Day}}" and how one of the alien's ships (in the movie) 'eclipses' part of the moon. He says that if the points go halfway or longer around the moon, then he imagines it's caused by an alien ship and interprets the entire piece of art in that context (i.e. aliens are about to attack those shepherds!).

{| class="wikitable"
|+Explanation of individual items in the list
!Image
!Explanation
!Examples
|-
|Full moon|| Normal || -
|-
|Gibbous moon||Normal || -
|-
|Crescent moon with horns away from horizon || Normal || -
|-
|Crescent moon with horns towards horizon || This can only happen when the sun is above the horizon. This isn't necessarily ''only'' during a solar eclipse, but since a crescent moon means that the Sun and Moon are relatively close in the sky, it's hard to see at other times. || Van Gogh, {{w|File:Van Gogh - Passeio ao Crepúsculo.jpg|Landscape with Couple Walking and Crescent Moon}}
|-
|Wide crescent-like moon where the horns don't connect through a diameter || This is only possible during a partial solar eclipse or the start of an annular eclipse (in which cases the lit portion is not the moon, but the sun), or else if the Earth is casting an extra shadow on the moon, a lunar eclipse. Randall labels the lunar eclipse "dubious", since the shadow during would be much fuzzier than shown here. The Earth's shadow, being very large, would also likely cast a less-rounded edge than depicted here. || Van Gogh, {{w|File:Van Gogh - Starry Night - Google Art Project.jpg|Starry Night}}
|-
|Narrow crescent-like moon where the points don't connect through a diameter || This situation is even harder to create than the previous one - unlike the previous example, here the diameter of the entire shadow is clear, and is too small for the Earth's shadow in a lunar eclipse. A huge ''Independence Day'' spaceship (as per the Title text) might be the right size. It does however resemble a partial {{w|annular eclipse}} if you imagine that the black area is the moon covering up the white sun. || {{w|File:AlcoholicBluesCoverVonTilze.jpg|Alcoholic Blues}}
|-
|Crescent moon blocking stars|| Normal || -
|-
|Crescent moon with stars between horns || Many people (including artists) seem to forget that the dark portion of the moon is still a solid object that we can not see through.[http://imgur.com/S30fuOj][https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/a7/7d/4a/a77d4ae9e3549e36edd350246d33700c.jpg] If stars are visible, there are either one or more holes in the moon, or the light-source is actually on the moon. As the {{w|Star and Crescent}}, the image is sometimes considered a symbol of Islam, although it's relatively recent and there's no traditional basis for putting the star ''between'' the horns - as originally used on the Flag of Turkey, the star appears in a realistic position. || Edwin Blashfield, {{w|File:Edwin Blashfield - Spring Scattering Stars.jpg|Spring Scattering Stars}}, the {{w|DreamWorks Animation}} logo
|}

==Transcript==
:[Caption above the panel:]
:'''Interpreting the shape of the moon in art'''
:[The left part of the panel shows a two column chart is shown with labels above the columns. The left side shows the moons shape as white on a black square. These types of moons could be seen in certain art pieces. The right side saying whether this is normal or not as indicated with a green check mark or a red X. Right of the second column there are explanations of why the specific type of moon is marked as it is and what it could be called or how it could be possible even with the red X. The upper three moons have one common explanation as indicated with a bracket that covers all three with the text on the middle part of the bracket. Similarly moon five and six also have a bracket and only one explanation.]
:Shape Normal?

:[Shape #1-3 shows a white circle (full moon), a more than half full moon (Gibbon) and a thin seal at the bottom right of the square.]
:<big>✓</big>
:<big>✓</big> "Full" or "Quater" or "Harvest" or "Wax Gibbon" or whatever
:<big>✓</big>

:[Shape #4 same as #3 but with the seal in the upper part of the square.]
:<big>✗</big> Only possible during a solar eclipse

:[Shape #5-6 shows a full moon with a circular section taken out of the right side and a seal that goes almost all the way around the circumference of the moon with almost a full circle taken out of the top left part of the moon.]
:<big>✗</big>
:<big>✗</big> Only possible during a lunar eclipse (#1 only, dubious) or a solar eclipse (bright part is the Sun)

:[Shape #7 same as #3 but with the seal a little smaller and more to the top and less to the left. Around the moon there are several starts represented with 29 small white dots. In the center of the black square there is a black circle, coinciding with the outer rim of the seal. Within this circle (the dark side of the moon) there are no stars!]
:<big>✓</big> Looks OK

:[Shape #8 same as #7 but apart from the 29 small white dots from before there are now also 6 more dots inside the dark circle with no stars in #7.]
:<big>✗</big> There's either a hole in the Moon or a nuclear war on its surface.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Fiction]] 
[[Category:Astronomy]]

1732: Earth Temperature Timeline

2016-09-12T17:23:05Z

D5xtgr:

{{comic
| number = 1732
| date = September 12, 2016
| title = Earth Temperature Timeline
| image = earth_temperature_timeline.png
| titletext = [After setting your car on fire] Listen, your car's temperature has changed before.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please remove this tag only when everything is explained.}}
In the past 100 years, human action produced lots of CO2 emissions, causing a rise in average global temperature through the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_effect greenhouse effect]. This is called "global warming" or "climate change". There are people, however, who claim that this is not happening, called "climmate change deniers". One argument of theirs is that global warming is happening for natural causes, summarized with the phrase "temperature has changed before".

This comic shows that while temperature changes have indeed occurred before, the speed of the current temperature rise is much, much faster than those seen (actually: estimated) in the previous thousands of years.

This comic is a timeline on how the temperature has changed since 20 000 BCE to the present day, meant to contrast the slow-paced natural changes with the rapid temperature rise in the recent years. The effect is achieved by forcing the reader to scroll endlessly through slow, building-up changes and then face them with an almost instantaneous, quick rise towards the end.

The title text compares the slow changes to a car that occur over many years with the rapid destruction caused by burning. This joke was made previously in [[1693: Oxidation]].

* 2750 BCE: Stonehenge is a reference to the 1984 movie "This is Spinal Tap" (A documentary/parody featuring the fake metal band "Spinal Tap", http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088258/), the musicians order a Stone Henge prop for the stage, which turns out to be too small (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAXzzHM8zLw)

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Climate change]]

1693: Oxidation

2016-06-14T01:54:26Z

D5xtgr:

{{comic
| number = 1693
| date = June 13, 2016
| title = Oxidation
| image = oxidation.png
| titletext = Calm down--there were lots of arthropods living on your skin already. These ones are just bigger.
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic [[Ponytail]] has set [[Megan]]'s car on fire, possibly by crashing it.

{{w|Oxidation}} refers to a whole class of chemical reactions. Any chemical reaction that involves the loss of electrons is called "oxidation" (since a lot of these involve oxygen).

One oxidation reaction is {{w|rusting}}: the reaction of iron atoms in the steel of the car with oxygen and moisture to produce iron oxide hydrate. Rusting is extremely difficult to prevent, and all cars are rusting slowly.

Another oxidation reaction is {{w|combustion}}: the violently {{w|exothermic}} reaction of flammable parts of the car with oxygen to produce a whole load of nasty gases and particulates, as well as a lot of heat. {{w|Vehicle fire|Vehicle fires}} can burn very quickly and destroy a vehicle within minutes.

From the most detached viewpoint, these are both oxidation reactions (although they occur in different places: rusting normally happens to the car chassis while fires are usually isolated to the engine) and Ponytail argues that as all cars oxidize, the fire that she has caused has only accelerated the inevitable destruction of the vehicle.

The comic by extension mocks arguments that ignore or trivialise quantitative differences. Such arguments are commonly employed to attack climate change: the Earth has been warming since the glacial period ten thousand years ago, it's just happening faster since the introduction of large quantities of greenhouse gases.

In the title text the small {{w|arthropods}} (invertebrates that have jointed bodies and exoskeletons) are referencing microscopic {{w|mites}} – tiny creatures that can live on the human body without normally causing any harm (you probably have {{w|eyelash mite}}s, for instance).

Presumably as a form of revenge, Megan has caused Ponytail to become covered in much larger arthropods - most probably {{w|spiders}}, judging by [[Randall|Randall's]] [[:Category:Spiders|fixation with them]], but it could be any combination of these often feared animal: spiders, {{w|scorpions}}, {{w|insects}}, {{w|crabs}}, {{w|centipedes}}, {{w|millipedes}} etc.

Megan's car also caught fire in [[1014: Car Problems]].

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail is holding a finger up in front of Megan while gray smoke and heat waves pours in to the frame from off-panel left.]
:Ponytail: In my defense, your car has been oxidizing since you got it.
:Ponytail: It's just happening a lot faster now.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Spiders]]