explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:3231: Lightning

2026-04-12T08:07:32Z

Darth Vader:

I don't know if this is important, but at least right now there is no period. Might change later. [[User:Majordesmosnerd|Majordesmosnerd]] ([[User talk:Majordesmosnerd|talk]]) 20:52, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

im not sure how to insert it into the current state of the explanation, but by being a lightning rod nearby but higher up, he ''is'' providing protection to ponytail, right? - [[User:Vaedez|Vaedez]] ([[User talk:Vaedez|talk]]) 21:04, 10 April 2026 (UTC)
:That does seem to be the premise, but I doubt that a few inches are sufficient for this, especially if they're several feet apart. But I had the same idea and already put it into the explanation. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 21:11, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

Ironically, wearing a (properly grounded) anti-static strap would actually _increase_ the odds of being struck by lightning, turning you into a human lightning rod. The whole point of an anti-static strap is to dissipate any intrinsic potential difference between you and the ground, thus making you a (marginally) shorter path for the extreme potential difference between the clouds and the ground state. [[Special:Contributions/50.47.191.231|50.47.191.231]] 21:10, 10 April 2026 (UTC)
- and of course someone said that in the explanation in the time it took me to write the comment. :-p. [[Special:Contributions/50.47.191.231|50.47.191.231]] 21:12, 10 April 2026 (UTC)
:[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/649:_Static Fortunately, Randall also presents an alternative solution.] [[Special:Contributions/216.7.114.74|216.7.114.74]] 23:13, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

Timing kinda sucks for this one: [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz90vpvlvq3o Colorado officials trying to identify woman struck by lightning]. [[User:RandalSchwartz|RandalSchwartz]] ([[User talk:RandalSchwartz|talk]]) 22:54, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

Compare xkcd [[795]]. [[User:X|X]] ([[User talk:X|talk]]) 00:59, 11 April 2026 (UTC)

THE EXPLANATION GIVEN ABOVE is WRONG-ish. ", Cueball has once again confused how anti-static devices work ". Actually, earthing does protect against lighting strikes -- the ground potential shapes around above the ground point. Cueball is less likely to be hit by lighting while wearing a correctly earthed grounding strap. Imagine that instead of "Cueball", what you see is the surface of the mountain curving up and around over Cueball. And yes, he is also more likely to be hit while he is the tallest point, lightning rods do get hit. Also, to work correctly, a lighting rod should have a pointed tip -- this makes it less likely to be hit because it works better at lifting the "surrounding ground" up to the point of the lighting rod. If it works perfectly, Cueball won't be the "high point" -- the surrounding air will be at the same potential has him.

> ""''possibility, however, that the wire goes down the torso (ideally in an insulated manner, ....''"" -- The lightning bolt has just jumped hundreds of feet through air from(/to) the sky. No wire insulation flexible enough to walk with will stop a lightning bolt that strong. --[[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 06:18, 11 April 2026 (UTC)
:It has long been a matter of contention whether a pointy tip (or even multiple spikes, branching out like crown of thorns), or (say) a ball-top, is the 'best' shape for the tip of a lightning conductor. It's very hard to practically test and compare different designs. But the balance of evidence seems to point (no pun intended!) towards a 'blunt-tipped-pencil'-like single extension (like a sharp end, but rounded off) for every 'summit' (though you can and should place multiple 'single spikes' for area-protection), in part because it never gets so thin as to have the flowing charge all trying to squeeze through it (at the moment where the atmosphere just is no longer enough of an insulator across the air-gap and the ionising 'feeler' can establish itself) which won't exactly help things if and when the lightning does strike.
:There's also a lot of other contentious/commonly-misunderstood details about how lightning-protection works,to which I originally elaborated. But it looked a bit too much TL;DR; even to me, so I just now cut it back, fortunately for y'all. ;) But the best way to prevent conductive damage between conductor and the structure (or person?) it's mounted upon is to have it ''standing off'' whatever it's attached to, secured periodically (enough to not flap about) but maintain an air-gap.
:Or, for things that ''really'' don't need (and maybe can't have) a conductor running down them, like rockets on pads, set up several free-standing 'lightning masts' surrounding the core structure, with a greater height sufficient to intercept chance lightning events that ''might'' have sought the structure of interest without these stand-offish towers being more ready to form the base of any initial upstroke. (Perhaps mount ionising lasers on them, to also make that 'bit of air' slightly more likely to be used, if you can't fly kites from them. Or even fire spool-tethered sounding rockets up when critical conditions are detected. Neither of which sound like good solutions when adjacent to a rocket-pad, of course. :p ). [[Special:Contributions/82.132.239.232|82.132.239.232]] 13:23, 11 April 2026 (UTC)

This might be a stretch but the art reminds me a lot of the art for the Magic card Lightning Bolt, might be an intentional reference. [https://scryfall.com/card/a25/141/lightning-bolt] -magic nerd [[Special:Contributions/38.85.177.78|38.85.177.78]] 10:47, 11 April 2026 (UTC)

Does anyone know what the other comic is where Randall shows lightning? It's one where Cueball keeps walking in a storm, because he thinks the amount of people that die each year from lightning strikes is so small he can't possibly get struck-Despite him being all reckless in a storm by keeping going, thus making him a big target. Anyone know which one it is? [[User:GSLikesCats307|GSLikesCats307]] ([[User talk:GSLikesCats307|talk]]) 15:29, 11 April 2026
:Linked earlier: "Compare xkcd [[795]]." [[User:RandalSchwartz|RandalSchwartz]] ([[User talk:RandalSchwartz|talk]]) 17:29, 11 April 2026 (UTC)
:As well as prior confusion on how antistatic wrist straps work: [https://xkcd.com/649/ xkcd 649]. (Or I have misunderstood what is happening in the strip)[[Special:Contributions/24.255.31.134|24.255.31.134]] 00:34, 12 April 2026 (UTC)

I don't see any comments about the feature of this cartoon visible in my Safari browser on a Mac (not viewing the mobile friendly web site: m.xkcd.com but rather https://xkcd.com/3231/) which shows a Mode pulldown list instead of title text. The pull down list includes: Light Mode, Lighter Mode, Dark Mode, Darkest Mode (Sets the window totally black), Blury Mode, etc. the end of the list is the most disturbing of all, it's Boat Mode.
Isn't anyone else seeing these? They are hilarious.

:They all appeared on all comics since April fools day --[[User:Darth Vader|Darth Vader]] ([[User talk:Darth Vader|talk]]) 08:07, 12 April 2026 (UTC)

SAWilkus --[[Special:Contributions/2A09:BAC2:B089:1D37:0:0:2E9:CF|2A09:BAC2:B089:1D37:0:0:2E9:CF]] 00:44, 12 April 2026 (UTC)

3218: Subduction Retrieval

2026-03-13T10:05:44Z

Darth Vader:

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

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

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

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

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

==Transcript==

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

:Winch: click click click

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

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

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

3218: Subduction Retrieval

2026-03-13T10:04:07Z

Darth Vader:

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

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

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

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

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

==Transcript==

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

:Winch: click click click

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

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

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

3218: Subduction Retrieval

2026-03-13T10:03:24Z

Darth Vader:

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

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

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

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

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

==Transcript==

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

:Winch: click click click

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

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

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

Talk:3198: Double-Pronged Extension Cord

2026-01-24T10:52:18Z

Darth Vader:

F1rSt!1!!1!1!!1!1!1!11!11!1!!!!1!1![[User:Qwertyuiopfromdefly|Qwertyuiopfromdefly]] ([[User talk:Qwertyuiopfromdefly|talk]]) 02:08, 24 January 2026 (UTC)

curses, im too early on the scene for an explanation of what he's gonna do with the items in the titletext; such are the woes of being one of the people writing the explanations that you have to actually ''understand'' the comics - [[User:Vaedez|Vaedez]] ([[User talk:Vaedez|talk]]) 02:15, 24 January 2026 (UTC)

Same [[User:This isn't a good name|This isn't a good name]] ([[User talk:This isn't a good name|talk]]) 02:17, 24 January 2026 (UTC)

This is the third comic to reference the Demon Core experiment, after [[1242]] and [[2593]]. [[User:Soupgirls|Soupgirls]] ([[User talk:Soupgirls|talk]]) 02:21, 24 January 2026 (UTC)

: >"''Demon Core experiment''": [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon_core Demon Core]No, I don't understand either --[[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 03:26, 24 January 2026 (UTC)

If you're otherwise creating fire hazards, a lithium ion battery is a terrible thing to have, and none of the horror stories you've heard involved a sack of them. Flour is a serious explosion hazard. Vinegar and bleach will release chlorine gas when combined. It sounds like an attempt to have the highest ratio of destruction to materials cost with the least effort. [[User:MrMatt|MrMatt]] ([[User talk:MrMatt|talk]]) 03:32, 24 January 2026 (UTC)

The title text just sounds like a bunch of flammable/noxious substances. So really, he has good intentions. [[User:Tanner07|Tanner07]] ([[User talk:Tanner07|talk]]) 03:57, 24 January 2026 (UTC)

---
Would someone mind explaining how the suicide cord can kill grid workers? I don't know if this is easier to understand in the US - we work on a ring main system in the UK, and (once it is plugged in and the prongs thus protected) I'm having problems seeing why it would be a problem even to the end-user (I suppose you could theoretically use it to connect a ring main rated for less current and set the walls on fire?)

:The problem is if you don't plug one end in --[[User:Darth Vader|Darth Vader]] ([[User talk:Darth Vader|talk]]) 10:52, 24 January 2026 (UTC)

EDIT: Gemini reminded me that these are generally used to connect a generator, to power up internal wiring that is depowered - if the grid worker has done this deliberately to work upstream and you power things back up things get ugly.

[[Special:Contributions/92.237.46.83|92.237.46.83]] 08:48, 24 January 2026 (UTC) Jon

3193: Sailing Rigs

2026-01-14T12:05:58Z

Darth Vader:

{{comic
| number = 3193
| date = January 12, 2026
| title = Sailing Rigs
| image = sailing_rigs_2x.png
| imagesize = 508x822px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I wanted to make the world's fastest yawl, so I made the aft sail bigger, but apparently that means it's not a yawl anymore! It's a real ketch-22.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by the birds flying in my kite. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This comic shows the side profiles of a variety of different sailing boat/ship rigs, not all of which are real.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Type
!Image
!Real?
!Description 
!Explanation 
|-
|{{w|Lateen}}
|[[File:3193 Lateen.png|200x200px]]
|{{Yes}}
|A single triangular sail.
|The triangular sail is affixed to a long yard or crossbar, mounted at its middle to the top of the mast and angled to extend aft far above the mast and forward down nearly to the deck. The sail, its free corner secured near the stern, is capable of taking the wind on either side, and, by enabling the vessel to tack into the wind, the [https://www.britannica.com/technology/lateen-sail lateen] immensely increases the potential of the sailing ship. 
|-
|{{W|Bermuda rig|Bermuda rigged sloop}}
|[[File:3193 Bermuda.png|200x200px]]
|{{Yes}}
|A front and rear triangular sail share a mast.
|A {{w|sloop}} has one mast, typically with two sails mounted on the mast, one ahead and one behind.
|-
|{{w|Ketch}}
|[[File:3193 Ketch.png|200x200px]]
|{{Yes}}
|A sailboat with two masts, where the main mast is taller than the mizzen (or aft mast), and the mizzen is forward of the rudder post
|Similar to a yawl
|-
|{{w|Gaff rig|Gaff rigged sloop}}
|[[File:3193 Gaff Sloop.png|200x200px]]
|{{Yes}}
|A front triangular sail shares a mast with a rear quadrilateral sail.
|A sloop is a sailboat with one mast, typically with two sails mounted on it — one ahead and one behind. A [https://nauticalknowhow.mysailingcourse.com/glossary/gaff-rig/ gaff rig] is a sailing rig where one sail is four-sided and controlled by a spar (the gaff) at its top, which is hoisted at an angle to the mast.
|-
|{{w|Yawl}}
|[[File:3193 Yawl.png|200x200px]]
|{{Yes}}
|Two triangular sails share a front mast, and a much smaller aft mast holds a small aft sail.
|A yawl is sailboat with two masts, where the main mast has two sails (one in front of the mast and one behind, known as {{w|Fore-and-aft rig|fore-and-aft rigging}}, and the mizzen mast is mounted aft of the rudder post, leading the mizzen sail to typically be small. Similar to a ketch.
|-
|{{w|Schooner}}
||[[File:3193 Schooner.png|200x200px]]
|{{Yes}}
|A sailboat with two or more masts, where all have {{w|Fore-and-aft rig|fore-and-aft rigging}}, and where the foremast is typically smaller than the main mast
|-
|Ketch-rigged gaff
|[[File:3193 Ketch Gaff.png|200x200px]]
|{{No}}
|Resembles a gaff, with the aft sail reduced and two triangular sails mounted above. The resulting shape resembles a vertical ketch.
|The first fictional rig. It might be capable of functioning like a sloop, but its rigging would be more complicated and it is likely less efficient at catching the wind.
|-
|Kloop-rigged sketch
|[[File:3193 Kloop.png|200x200px]]
|{{No}}
|Four or five sails mounted in a nonsensical configuration, with elements from the schooner, ketch, and gaff
| A mixture of the names of {{w|ketch}} and {{w|sloop}}, poking fun at the unfamiliar and odd-sounding names of some rigs. Adding to the absurdity, the kloop-rigged sketch is neither a sloop nor a ketch. However it is technically a {{w|Sketch (drawing)|sketch}}, as "sketch" can mean "drawing"
|-
|Bunkbed rig
|[[File:3193 100% more boat.png|200x200px]]
|{{No}}
|A gaff-rigged sloop mounted on top of a second hull.
|The name refers to a {{w|bunkbed}}, where one bed is mounted directly above another. Bunk-style sleeping arrangements are sometimes used on boats for reasons of space efficiency. It applies this idea to the whole ship, mounting one hull directly above another. While {{w|Multihull|boats with multiple hulls}} do exist, these are always mounted side-by-side to guarantee stability. Mounting one hull above another would be a terrible idea, as the upper hull would be ineffective when raised above the water, the lower hull might become submerged and sink, and such a tall boat would be unstable, causing it to fall over. The comic is funny{{cn}} due to this {{w|surreal humour|absurdity}}, due to the boat's obviously extreme design being so far outside what someone would expect a boat to look like.
Notably, this ship's ''rigging'' is mundane; the connection between hulls seems to be structural. It may be more accurate to refer to it as a bunkbed ''hull''.
|-
|Flettner rig
|[[File:3193 Flettner.png|200x200px]]
|{{Yes}}, though not typically called a rig
|The rectangular outline of a cylinder with motion lines around it, indicating a {{w|Flettner rotor}}
|A Flettner rotor is a right circular cylinder with disc end plates which is spun along its long axis. As air passes across it the {{w|Magnus effect}} causes an aerodynamic lift force to be generated in the direction perpendicular to both the long axis and the direction of airflow. In a {{w|rotor ship}}, the rotors stand vertically and lift is generated at right angles to the wind, to drive the ship forwards.

Flettner rotors were previously mentioned in [[3119]]
|-
|Oops, all spinnakers
|[[File:3193 Spinnakers.png|200x200px]]
|{{No}}
|Three masts each with a sail billowing in front
|A {{w|spinnaker}} is a real type of sail, where a boat is propelled by a large sail directly pulled by the wind, similar in principle to a parachute. However, "Oops, all spinnakers" is not real, as spinnakers are only practical for smaller craft, and if multiple spinnakers are mounted in a row the earlier ones may disrupt the airflow to the later ones. It does not appear that there are any real boats propelled by more than one spinnaker.
The name of the rig is a reference to the {{w|Cap'n Crunch}} cereal type that became a meme, [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/oops-all-berries-box-parodies ''Oops! All Berries''], which has also been referenced in [[2256]] and [[2719]].
|-
|Keel rig
|[[File:3193 Keel.png|200x200px]]
|{{No}}
|Three sails in a ketch arrangement, but mounted to the keel, which would typically put the ''sails underwater''.
|The book {{w|Heaven (Stewart and Cohen novel)|''Heaven''}}, by Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen, features an aquatic protagonist who is introduced as sailing a surface craft with underwater 'sails' (and above-water 'keel'), due to the switched nature of his usual environment.
|-
|Kite rig
|[[File:3193 Kite.png|200x200px]]
|{{Maybe|Kind of}}
|All sails are replaced by two groups of kites, each tied to the mast with their own independent line.
|A {{w|kite rig}} is a real thing, where a kite is deployed from a boat or ship to catch the wind and pull the vessel along. This rigging is used in various types of vessel, most commonly {{w|kite surfing}}, but occasionally other vessels too, up to [https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/30/travel/airseas-giant-kites-ships-slash-carbon-emissions-scn-climate-spc trials with cargo ships]. However, the real kite riggings typically use one large kite optimised for catching the wind, rather than many small kites optimised for flying (as depicted) which would likely get tangled and not pull much on the ship.
|-
|Longsail rig
|[[File:3193 Longsail.png|200x200px]]
|{{No}}
|A Bermuda rigged sloop with the aft sail extending ~5 times as far back, well beyond the end of the hull.
|While not technically impossible, such a long sail would likely be susceptible to damage from the wind, as well as potentially making it hard to control the boat. This design could be a reference to "{{w|Cargo bike#Longtail bicycle|long-tail bikes}}", a type of cargo bicycle useful for hauling heavy or voluminous charges at the cost of higher weight and reduced manoeuvrability.
|-
|Deckhand obliterator
|[[File:3193 Deckhand Obliterator.png|200x200px]]
|{{No}}
|All sails replaced by an anchor that swings from the mast on a chain.
|Any deckhands (crew) on the deck could be knocked off or fatally hurt if the anchor passes through their space. While most captains would consider this counterproductive, it might be effective at its stated purpose. There is a risk that the anchor might damage the mast in a collision or get wrapped around it.
|-
|Offset rig
|[[File:3193 Offset.png|200x200px]]
|{{No}}
|Gaff rigged sloop sails are mounted on a mast that is offset (forward) from the hull via an underwater extension of the keel.
|The extreme mechanical advantage of the sail, potentially combined with the uneven weight, would make this rigging hard if not impossible to control. 
There are in fact [https://junkrigassociation.org/technical_forum/470838 sail configurations] called [https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/gaffs-balanced-lugs-hoyt-offset-rig-etc.53504/ offset rigs] but they aren't like the one shown here.
|-
|Mastless rig
|[[File:3193 Mastless.png|200x200px]]
|{{Maybe|Kind of}}
|A single sail is attached directly to the hull of the boat, without any mast to give it form.
|As depicted, the sail would provide little to no useful propulsion, as it would not be high enough to effectively catch the wind, and would, in any case, flap unpredictably. However, ships do exist without masts, such as ships not powered by wind or, more rarely, inflatable sails (e.g. [http://inflatedwingsails.com/en/concept/ this concept]), which use air, rather than a mast, for rigidity. While not intentional, it is conceivable that the drawing depicts an inflatable sail in its deflated state.
|-
|Unclassifiable chaos rig
|[[File:3193 Unclassifiable Chaos.png|200x200px]]
|{{Maybe|Arguably}}
|Includes elements of the schooner, yawl, lateen, and possibly others.
|While this specific rig is almost certainly fictional, there are many ways to rig a ship, some of which are difficult to classify.
|}

The title text is a pun on {{w|Catch-22 (logic)|Catch-22}}, which is a term (taken from the novel of the same name) for a situation where success is impossible because it requires meeting contradictory conditions. For example, in the novel, the term was used by military pilots who qualified to be released from combat duty, but were ordered to fly additional missions, and were told that disobeying those orders was grounds to have their releases revoked, which would require them to fly additional missions anyway.

Per the main panel, a ketch is similar to a yawl but has a larger aft sail, so increasing the aft sail of a yawl effectively turns the yawl into a ketch, effectively making it impossible to build a faster yawl. However, this is not technically true, as the distinction between a {{w|yawl}} and {{w|ketch}} is based on whether the aft sail is mounted forward or aft of the rudder post (although a yawl with a large aft sail may be difficult to control).{{actual citation needed}}

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

[The comic contains views from the side of boats, each with a different sailing rig. All boats are oriented to the left of the comic.]
*Lateen [a single triangular sail]
*Bermuda rigged sloop [a front and rear triangular sail share a mast]
*Ketch [two triangular sails as above, with an additional triangular sail on a second rear mast]
*Gaff rigged sloop [front triangular sail shares mast with rear quadrilateral sail]
*Yawl [two triangular sails share front mast and a much smaller aft mast holds a small aft]
*Schooner [two triangular front sails share foreward mast with quadrilateral center sail. An aft mast supports a quadrilateral aft sail]
*Ketch-rigged gaff [Resembles a gaff, with the aft sail reduced and two triangular sails mounted above. The resulting shape resembles a vertical ketch]
*Kloop-rigged sketch: [Includes elements of ketch and sloop]
*Bunkbed rig [A gaff-rigged sloop is mounted on top of a second hull]
*Flettner rig [The rectangular outline of a cylinder with motion lines around it]
*Oops, all spinnakers [three masts each with a sail only attached to the top]
*Keel rig [three sails in a ketch arrangement, but mounted to the keel]
*Kite rig [all sails are replaced by two groups of kites, each tied to the mast with an independent line]
*Longsail rig [bermuda rigged sloop with the aft sail extending ~5 times as far back, well beyond the end of the hull]
*Deckhand obliterator [all sails replaced by an anchor that swings around the mast on a chain, similar to tetherball]
*Offset rig [gaff rigged sloop sails are mounted on a mast that is offset (forward) from the hull via an underwater extension of the keel]
*Mastless rig [a single sail is attached where the mast would normally be mounted, flapping around freely]
*Unclassifiable chaos rig [includes elements of the schooner, yawl, lateen, and possibly others]
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Puns]]
[[Category:Sailboats]]

3193: Sailing Rigs

2026-01-13T13:07:08Z

Darth Vader: /* Explanation */

3193: Sailing Rigs

2026-01-13T13:06:20Z

Darth Vader: /* Transcript */

3193: Sailing Rigs

2026-01-13T13:04:12Z

Darth Vader: /* Transcript */

3193: Sailing Rigs

2026-01-13T13:03:03Z

Darth Vader: /* Transcript */

3193: Sailing Rigs

2026-01-13T13:00:29Z

Darth Vader: /* Transcript */

3191: Superstition

2026-01-07T20:53:07Z

Darth Vader: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 3191
| date = January 7, 2026
| title = Superstition
| image = superstition_2x.png
| imagesize = 275x393px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It's important to teach yourself to feel responsible for random events, because with great responsibility comes great power. That's what my wise Uncle Ben told me right before he died; he might still be alive today if only I'd said rabbit rabbit that year!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by people who will edit this wiki or else it is their fault. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This comic references the superstition, which is known to have existed as far back as 1909, of saying "{{W|rabbit rabbit rabbit|rabbit rabbit}}" on the first day of a month in order to have good luck.

It also mocks {{W|magical thinking}}. There are many superstitions about actions that either cause bad luck (e.g. "step on a crack, break your mother's back", walking under a ladder, breaking a mirror) or protect against bad luck (e.g. carrying a rabbit's foot, throwing salt over your shoulder after spilling some). The comic suggests that the reason for superstitions like these is to make people feel guilty for not doing the right thing in these circumstances.

"{{W|Uncle Ben}}" is a reference to Spider-Man, whose uncle told him that "with great power comes great responsibility". He was referring to actual powerful abilities (Peter's super-powers), but superstitions imply that we all have great powers, and must therefore use them responsibly.

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

:[Blondie, Cueball and a child (Hairy) are walking from left to right. The child is turning towards Cueball.]

:Cueball: Oops, I forgot to say "rabbit rabbit" on January first!

:Hairy: Why do you do that?

:Cueball: Just a superstition.

:Hairy: What's a superstition?

:Cueball: It's a way to train yourself to feel like any bad thing that happens is your fault.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]

3191: Superstition

2026-01-07T20:15:50Z

Darth Vader:

Talk:3185: Sauropods

2025-12-26T12:21:28Z

Darth Vader:

I was going to put in the first draft of an explanation, but that would have meant sticking my neck out... ;) [[Special:Contributions/92.23.2.208|92.23.2.208]] 01:24, 25 December 2025 (UTC)

I also wanted to try explaining, by it's scary, I feel spineless [[Special:Contributions/62.56.149.220|62.56.149.220]] 01:33, 25 December 2025 (UTC)
:Here, I did it for you. [[User:RadiantRainwing|RadiantRainwing]] ([[User talk:RadiantRainwing|talk]]) 15:22, 25 December 2025 (UTC)

The title text is referencing [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiders_Georg Spiders Georg]. [[User:DanielLC|DanielLC]] ([[User talk:DanielLC|talk]]) 01:37, 25 December 2025 (UTC)
: i came here to yell "spiders georg!" but i see you have beat me to it - [[User:Vaedez|Vaedez]] ([[User talk:Vaedez|talk]]) 01:40, 25 December 2025 (UTC)

The extremely short, punctuationless title text definitely evokes the spirit of early xkcd title texts like “disgusting” or “just thought you should know” [[User:KelOfTheStars!|KelOfTheStars!]] ([[User talk:KelOfTheStars!|talk]]) 02:51, 25 December 2025 (UTC)
:Yeah, I don't think there's been a title text this short and punchy in a while [[User:R128|R128]] ([[User talk:R128|talk]]) 10:30, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

i just discovered that paleology is ''not'' the study of fossils and such, by trying to check if "paleontological" was a mashup of paleological and ontological; nope, paleology is the study of antiquities, paleontology the study of fossils - [[User:Vaedez|Vaedez]] ([[User talk:Vaedez|talk]]) 05:34, 25 December 2025 (UTC)

merry christmas, i guess? [[user:lett‪herebedarklight|raeb]] 12:58, 25 December 2025 (UTC)
:Its red and green :) --[[User:Darth Vader|Darth Vader]] ([[User talk:Darth Vader|talk]]) 12:21, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

3183: Pole Vault Pole

2025-12-20T10:35:28Z

Darth Vader:

{{comic
| number = 3183
| date = December 19, 2025
| title = Pole Vault Pole
| image = pole_vault_pole_2x.png
| imagesize = 550x464px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = My goal in life is to be personally responsible for at least one sports rule change.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a BOT OF UNLIMITED LENGTH. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

The comic shows three hypothetical ways to cheat at {{w|pole vault}}, taking advantage of the fact that the rules don't limit the physical size of the pole. {{w|World Athletics}}' competition rules, rule 28.11, states, "The pole may be of any material or combination of materials and of any length or diameter, but the basic surface must be smooth."

The first way uses a pole that's short but with a very large diameter. It's then turned 90 degrees horizontally, so it can actually be used as a large wheel. The vaulter balances on top, then uses their feet to make it roll towards a crossbar at about the same height as the pole's diameter. When it reaches the bar, they simply jump a short amount to clear the bar.

The second method uses a pole whose length is more than twice the height of the crossbar. It's stretched over the bar and somehow attached to the ground at each end. Then the vaulter simply climbs up and over the bar.

The third method ties the ends of a very long and wide pole together, forming a large hoop that can be rolled towards the crossbar. The vaulter grabs onto the hoop, and when they reach the top they let go, and their momentum tosses them over the bar.

There are several flaws with these designs:

• Chiefly, the reason that the IAAF has not yet specified a standard measurement for poles is because there have not been any attempts to use a bizarre or potentially-advantageous design like these in sanctioned competitions. Were someone to try to do so, the authorities would {{tvtropes|ObviousRulePatch|take notice}} (though as we will see in the title text, Randall would count this as a win).

• The first design is hampered by its size; any material sturdy enough to take a human's weight would cause a wheel that big to be considerably massive, difficult for a human to start in motion from a dead stop, dangerous if the user falls off while rolling it down the track, and capable of continuing on after the vaulter makes their jump, dislodging the bar from the vaulting frame and thereby disqualifying the attempt.

• The second design needs a few minutes in order to be sturdily embedded in the take-off & landing pits, causing a lot of stress to gather along the bowed pole which could make it snap or suddenly dislodge itself. Climbing along the pole also does not meet the defined action of vaulting, which is the apogee of the vaulter's ascent when their momentum should carry them over the bar on their own.

• The third design combines the first design's risks of the vaulter falling off and dislodging the bar with the second's risk of snapping or coming unfurled.

The title text says that Randall wants to be responsible for a sports rule change. Based on the contents of the comic, the implication is that he would go about this by exploiting some loophole that the organizers would be forced to patch.

Pole vaulting and unfair methods of gaining height are also discussed in the first chapter of [[How To]].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[At top left: A large wheel whose diameter is more than 4 times Cueball's height. Cueball is at the top, running backwards so that the wheel will roll towards a pole-vaulting crossbar at the same height.]
:[At top right: A long pole is bent into an arch going over a very high pole-vaulting crossbar. Cueball is climbing up the left part, and is about 3/4 of the way to the top.]
:[Along the bottom: A long pole has been bent into a circular hoop, with the ends tied together. It's rolling left-to-right towards a very high pole-vaulting crossbar, and three positions are shown. On the left Cueball is running to catch up with it. In the middle he has jumped and caught the left part of the pole. On the right, he has let go and is thrown into the air towards the crossbar.]
:[Caption below the panel:]
:Fun fact: There are no limits on the length or diameter of the pole in pole vault.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Sport]]

3182: Telescope Types

2025-12-18T18:00:30Z

Darth Vader:

{{comic
| number = 3182
| date = December 17, 2025
| title = Telescope Types
| image = telescope_types_2x.png
| imagesize = 517x680px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I'm trying to buy a gravitational lens for my camera, but I can't tell if the manufacturers are listing comoving focal length or proper focal length.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created recently ACCORDING TO A TELESCOPE POINTING BACK IN TIME. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This comic shows diagrams of a number of different types of {{w|telescope}} — some real, while others are other objects, or made up by [[Randall]]. It includes both refracting and reflecting designs; see [[1791: Telescopes: Refractor vs Reflector]] for the important (according to Randall) differences between them.

{| class="wikitable"
! Type !! Real? !! Refractor/Reflector !! Description
|-
| {{w|Reflecting telescope#Prime_focus|Prime Focus}} || Yes || Reflector || A telescope design where the observer/receiver is situated at the focal point of a single mirror. Rare in optics, but a common design in radio telescopes.
|-
| {{w|Herschelian telescope|Herschelian}} || Yes || Reflector || A telescope design much akin to Prime Focus but with the mirror tilted so that the observer does not block incoming light. Named after astronomer William Herschel.
|-
| {{w|Newtonian telescope|Newtonian}} || Yes || Reflector || Newtonian telescopes employ a second, flat mirror along with the primary parabolic mirror.
|-
| {{w|Galilean telescope|Galilean}} || Yes || Refractor || What might usually come to mind when picturing a telescope. A long tube that uses lenses rather than mirrors (making it a refracting telescope) to magnify images.
|-
| {{w|Keplerian telescope|Keplerian}} || Yes || Refractor || An improvement on Galilean telescopes, using a convex lens rather than a concave one at the eyepiece (as shown in the diagram). It does however invert images.
|-
| {{w|Gregorian telescope|Gregorian}} || Yes || Reflector || Uses two concave mirrors, the secondary being placed beyond the primary's focal point. The image is reflected back through a hole in the primary mirror. Unique among reflectors in that the image is not inverted.
|-
| {{w|Cassegrain telescope|Cassegrain}} || Yes || Reflector || Similar to prime focus, but uses a secondary mirror to reflect light through a hole in the primary mirror to the observer (situated at the rear)
|-
| {{w|Cardboard}} tube || Yes, but not as a (functional) telescope || Neither || Children may sometimes use tubes, particularly the cardboard middles from paper rolls, as a play 'telescope'. Looking through a tube can give an illusion of magnification by removing distractions and focusing your attention on the object in view, but it doesn't actually magnify the object being viewed. It will still cause a minor optical effect due to {{w|diffraction}} on the edges of the tube.
|-
| Kaleido || Yes, but not as a telescope || Reflector || A {{w|kaleidoscope}} is similar in form to the stereotypical 'ship's telescope', being a tubular object that you look in to one end of. However, it isn't really a telescope, because you can't use it to magnify arbitrary objects of interest. The non-viewing end is closed, and you view patterns created by many fragmented reflections of tiny objects contained at the end, rather than remote objects. The mirrors are also usually flat, so there's no magnification.
|-
| {{w|Liquid mirror telescope|Liquid Mirror}} || Yes || Reflector || A telescope with the same design as Prime Focus, using a rotating pool of reflective liquid (most commonly mercury) as a mirror. The diagram adds a straw so that someone can drink the liquid. This would not improve telescope performance or end well for the drinker.
|-
| Narcissian || Yes, but not as a telescope || Reflector || This is like a prime focus telescope, but the focus is outside the end of the telescope where the viewer is located, so they can only see themselves, magnified by the concave mirror. This is inspired by the myth of {{w|Narcissus}}, who fell in love with his reflection in a pool of water. A {{w|house of mirrors}} (a typical attraction at a funfair) might feature such a 'telescope', because it is basically a concave mirror.

Furthermore, a narcissist, someone who is inordinately self-centered and arrogant (named for Narcissus), would likely appreciate this kind of mirror, as a narcissist would consider self-viewing more worthwhile than viewing the outside world.
|-
| {{w|Gravitational lens|Gravitational}} || Yes || Refractor || Using the gravitational effect of very large objects on the light passing around them to gain a magnified (if distorted) view of objects beyond them. These are formed naturally by large stars (particularly {{w|black holes}}) and galaxies, which can't be constructed on Earth{{cn}}. There are proposals to launch missions to the very far reaches of the Solar System to "construct" a {{w|Solar gravitational lens}} telescope, but the masses and distances involved are not compatible with consumer camera hardware. In the title text, Randall makes a pun on whether the listed focal length of a gravitational lens is measured in the {{w|comoving and proper distances|comoving or proper}} reference frame — that is, whether the expansion of the universe (between the place and time of the lens's creation or construction and Randall's decision to purchase) has been factored out or not. At the cosmological scales between stars and galaxies, where gravitational lensing is most relevant, this is a useful distinction to make, but [https://iauarchive.eso.org/public/themes/buying_star_names/ stars are not for sale] (by any legitimate commercial entity) and so nobody would be advertising any focal length in either reference frame for any purchaser.
|-
| Geological || No || Reflector || This 'telescope' employs a single mirror to show the observer the 2003 movie {{w|The Core}}, which was universally derided by science-minded people. As a telescope it would not be useful, not least because it cannot be pointed at an arbitrary object. Its relevance to real geology is also dubious.
|}

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

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Telescopes]]
[[Category:Movies]]
[[Category:The Core]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

Talk:3178: Hyperacute Interdynamics

2025-12-09T21:13:41Z

Darth Vader:

Explanatings!!! --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] 02:37, 9 December 2025 (UTC)
:E X P L A N A T E ! E X P L A N A T E ! E X P L A N A T E ! --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] 02:42, 9 December 2025 (UTC)
::Incomprehension is futile - you will be explanated. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 09:43, 9 December 2025 (UTC)

A black hole with the mass of the sun would have a Schwarzschild radius of 2.95 km. So it would take some significant revisions to theory to accommodate a grapefruit-sized object with that mass. Perhaps if it's digested by a squirrel, it gets smaller? [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 03:32, 9 December 2025 (UTC)
:hopefully quite a bit smaller, given the size of the squirrel in this example. [[User:KelOfTheStars!|KelOfTheStars!]] ([[User talk:KelOfTheStars!|talk]]) 05:15, 9 December 2025 (UTC)
: Not terribly impressed with the science chops of these "unifiers" if they can't work out what's gonna happen here. Hint: it's no happy dance for the squirrel. [[Special:Contributions/2605:59C8:160:DB08:CDB6:FE7F:1FC9:524|2605:59C8:160:DB08:CDB6:FE7F:1FC9:524]] 16:28, 9 December 2025 (UTC)

''Eastern Gray Squirrel.... measures 16-20 inches (approx. 40-50 centimeters) .... would be too big for Hyperacute Interdynamics (10-30cm (~4"-12")) to apply.'' Clearly a squirrel's tail can be neglected (see: '''spherical cow theory'''), being a very skinny (even rat-like) whip with bulky but insignificant fritz. ''The '''head and body length''' is from 23 to 30 cm (9.1 to 11.8 in)'' -- Wikipedia ---- Also, a bit north of Randall's place, we have lots of "Red Squirrels" which are significantly smaller than East Gray tree-rats. ''"Red squirrels are much smaller than greys and measure about 35centimetres including their tails and grow to around 350grams."'' - (YouTube) Our locals say "chipmunk" but I knew chipmunks from Sequoya Nat Park and these aint them. --[[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 06:45, 9 December 2025 (UTC)
:I'm from Randall's area and we always called chipmunks chipmunks. Yes, we heard of red squirrels, but only saw gray squirrels and chipmunks. Massachusetts has a population with steadfast opinions. Doubt it? Try driving in Boston. [[Special:Contributions/173.188.192.138|173.188.192.138]] 14:09, 9 December 2025 (UTC)
: Lots of red squirrels in SE Mass ("South Shore"). They don't like cities much. Very intelligent animals. [[Special:Contributions/2605:59C8:160:DB08:CDB6:FE7F:1FC9:524|2605:59C8:160:DB08:CDB6:FE7F:1FC9:524]] 16:15, 9 December 2025 (UTC)

::Would the tail be excluded? Yes it's an extension, but it's certainly a part of the squirrel, and as such would contribute to it's length. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] 14:36, 9 December 2025 (UTC)
:::[[File:Squirrel and soccer ball.png]]
:::I don't think there's a prblem. When the squirrel is sat passively, it fits (roughly) within the size constraints and is therefore fully explainable via Hyperacute Interdynamics. Once it starts running around and jumping, with its tail trailing behind it, the predictive ability of theory lessens (needn't be a cliff-edge of understanding, could even smoothly sustain ''near-''perfect accuracy for the {{w|Black giant squirrel}}, at least at rest, just isn't so fundemnentally precise any more) but HI is entirely accurate again the moment it stops to nibble a nut.
:::Though do squirrels eat grapefruit? (Solar-massive ones or otherwise.) I know someone left out pumpkin flesh, on a fallen tree in a woods near me, clearly from having created a Jack-O-Lantern for this year's Halloween (and apparently not thought to try making a few batches of pumpkin soup, for whatever reason), and it sat there for weeks (until it disintigrated) with no sign of either squirrels (American greys, unfortunately) or birds partaking of the 'feast'. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.236.87|82.132.236.87]] 17:55, 9 December 2025 (UTC)
::::Every year during Jack-o-Lantern season, squirrels are constantly trying to eat them even before they start rotting. I believe they're, once again, American Grays. They do indeed partake in feasts here, at least. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] 18:47, 9 December 2025 (UTC)
:::::Assuming, like me, that IP is in the UK... perhaps our 'invasive' Greys (hence the 'unfortunately'?) just haven't yet got used to the proliferation of pumpkins (we always used to make do with turnips, round here, until comparatively recent absorption of the US-style traditions). And the native reds are now far less likely to be near significant population so probably don't partake very much on such human bounty. [[Special:Contributions/78.144.255.82|78.144.255.82]] 19:43, 9 December 2025 (UTC)

Should we think of a name for this young cueball? He's been around quite a lot but still anonymous.--[[User:Darth Vader|Darth Vader]] ([[User talk:Darth Vader|talk]]) 21:13, 9 December 2025 (UTC)

3177: Chessboard Alignment

2025-12-06T13:56:28Z

Darth Vader:

{{comic
| number = 3177
| date = December 5, 2025
| title = Chessboard Alignment
| image = chessboard_alignment_2x.png
| imagesize = 397x289px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Luckily, the range is limited by the fact that the square boundary lines follow great circles.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created BY AN ALIGNED BISHOP. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
The comic shows an overhead view of three chess boards side by side, with two players facing each other across most of the boards. Yellow squares (used to show the available or actual movement of a given piece) have been marked leading from the starting position of the middle board's right bishop (F1) to the upper-right. The path continues beyond the edge of the middle board, across four columns of empty space or unseen table, and ends in the top left corner (A8) of the right board. The right board has only one rook (black rectangle) while the other two boards each have two, so it is implied that the bishop has captured the rook. The text below jokingly claims that if you align chess boards exactly, pieces can cross the boundary like this. This is not legal in normal chess {{citation needed}}, but fits into Randall's long history of comics about unusual chess rules or boards.
The title text refers to the fact that chess boards are normally placed approximately level (parallel to the surface of the Earth). A perfect line of chessboards placed end to end on the surface of an Earth-sized sphere (or on perfectly placed tables on that sphere) would form a "great circle" - the longest possible path around that sphere. While nearby boards would appear to be in the same plane, the curvature of the earth would cause boards more distant than 3.57 meters away to be in planes so different that the squares would be more than a micrometer off from the ideal straight lines leading off the board. It is thus implied that each infinite-range piece's valid path is a straight line of virtual squares that eventually leads into space. Otherwise, the alleged rule would allow chess moves between boards that were kilometers (or even whole countries) apart in any vertical line. If following the great circle along the ground was considered a straight line, then it would also be possible for each side's rooks and queen to capture their counterparts in the other color's back row, just by moving backwards around the planet. This does not rule out motion to another board on another celestial body or spaceship, though delivery of a chess piece across this distance would be impractical{{citation needed}}. This is thus the second comic in a week about [[3174:_Bridge_Clearance|distances extending past typical boundaries]].

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

It doesn't happen often because it requires micrometer precision, but if two chess boards are '''''perfectly''''' aligned, it's actually legal to move pieces between them.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Chess]]
[[Category:Comics_with_color]]

3173: Satellite Imagery

2025-11-26T21:47:39Z

Darth Vader:

{{comic
| number = 3173
| date = November 26, 2025
| title = Satellite Imagery
| image = satellite_imagery_2x.png
| imagesize = 429x526px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Every weekend I take an ATV out into the desert and spend a day tracing a faint "(C) GOOGLE 2009" watermark across the landscape.
}}

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

In the title text Cueball aims to further confuse the remote sensing people by drawing a {{w|Watermark}} in the sand, leading people to believe the picture was taking in 2009.

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

:[[Cueball]] and [[Ponytail]] are standing in front of a board, which is displaying a satellite image of an empty area. However, in the middle of the image there is a square area which is pixelated as if it had been redacted.]

:Cueball: Wait, when was this imagery taken? Is this censorship the work of the contractor? One of our people? '''''Foreign agents?'''''
:Ponytail: Do we know who's operating a facility at that location?
:Cueball: We can't find '''''anything'''''.

:[Caption:]
:My hobby: Setting up big colored panels in the middle of nowhere as a prank on remote sensing people.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theory]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
</noinclude>

3164: Metric Tip

2025-11-05T22:12:43Z

Darth Vader:

{{comic
| number = 3164
| date = November 5, 2025
| title = Metric Tip
| image = metric_tip_2x.png
| imagesize = 187x322px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The package weighs 7 kg 9 oz.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a 6 LB, 243 g ROBOT. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This comic parodies the common advice for people converting between one system of measurement and another, which is to 'do it in steps'. In this case, instead of doing it normally (i.e converting the entire measurement to metric and then saying the conversion), Cueball's response is to give the first part of the measurement in the Imperial system, and then give the second part in metric. This is worse than saying it all in one single system, as it is much more awkward and much more confusing for the receiver.

The title text gives another example of Cueball's conversion system, in which he gives the weight of a package as being seven kilograms and nine ounces, again converting between metric and imperial partway through the message.

This is also the first comic to give a height for Cueball, at 5'9" (176 cm).
==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

:White Hat: How tall are you?
:Cueball: 5ft 24cm

:[Caption below the panel:]
:When switching to metric, make the process easier by doing it in steps.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

3162: Heart Mountain

2025-11-01T08:12:58Z

Darth Vader:

{{comic
| number = 3162
| date = October 31, 2025
| title = Heart Mountain
| image = heart_mountain_2x.png
| imagesize = 669x272px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Even geology papers about Heart Mountain are like, "Look, we all agree this 'volcanic gas earthquake hovercraft' thing seems like it can't possibly be right, but..."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a GIANT SLIDING ROBOT. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
[[Cueball]] and [[Ponytail]] wonder whether the {{w|geology}} department (presumably at a university) is doing okay. Ponytail goes to check in on the geologists, and finds them discussing a theory which sounds ridiculous to her. Someone presumably on the faculty of the geology department proposes that a feature called Heart Mountain slid sideways like a hovercraft, in an attempt to explain some aspect of the geology. Based on hearing this hypothesis, Ponytail concludes that the geology department is not okay.

The actual {{w|Heart Mountain (Wyoming)#Geology|geology of Heart Mountain}}, in Wyoming, ''is'' very much explained as the comic suggests. The main anomaly is that the rock at the top of the mountain is far older than that of its base. There are other processes that can result in such {{w|inverted stratigraphy}}, but in this case the evidence does indeed seem to suggest that a (more than) mountain-sized amount of rock was rapidly forced to slide a great distance through the action of various volcanic processes on and above a near-horizontal {{w|Fault (geology)|geological fault}}, after which significant erosion has left 'just' the mountain (and some other traces) in its new anomalous position. (As an added bonus, the first maps of the mountain also had it placed in the wrong position, but this was purely human error and totally unconnected to the prehistoric rearrangement of material.)

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

:[Cueball is on the left, Ponytail is facing him from the right.]
:Cueball: We haven't checked in on the Geology Department for a while. I wonder if they're doing okay.

:[Ponytail is walking to the right.]
:Ponytail: I'll go see what they're up to.

:[Ponytail opens a door to a room. White Hat, Megan, and another Cueball are looking at a chart on the wall, and the other Cueball is pointing at it. Most of the chart is illegible, but near the top it says "90 MPH", and there's a diagram of geologic strata.]
:Cueball: 49 million years ago, Heart Mountain, Wyoming slid sideways 15 miles like a giant stone hovercraft.

:[Ponytail walks back to the Cueball from the first panel.]
:Ponytail: ... They're not okay.
:Voice from off the right side of the panel: Hey, '''''you''''' come up with a better explanation!

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Geology]]

3162: Heart Mountain

2025-11-01T08:11:57Z

Darth Vader:

3161: Airspeed

2025-10-29T22:07:10Z

Darth Vader: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 3161
| date = October 29, 2025
| title = Airspeed
| image = airspeed_2x.png
| imagesize = 293x338px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Carefully maneuvering the balloon down a mineshaft in an effort to break the OTHER altitude record
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created recently. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
The joke is that it's slow as ''FUUUCK.''

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
[Megan and Cueball riding in a hot air balloon basket, Cueball looking over side while Megan looks at something inside basket]
:Megan: 0 MPH... 0 MPH...
:Ooh, 1MPH with
:that last gust...
:0 MPH... 1 MPH...
:1 MPH... 2 MPH!!!
:Cueball: YESSSS!
:[Caption below the panel:]
:Breaking the hot air balloon level-flight airspeed record
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

3161: Airspeed

2025-10-29T21:35:23Z

Darth Vader:

Talk:3158: Shielding Chart

2025-10-26T10:16:35Z

Darth Vader:

Brb, going out to buy some lead. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 01:49, 23 October 2025 (UTC)
:If you buy some oven mitts, too, you can get rid of the only two remaining penetrating substances (sound and heat) [[User:Logalex8369|Logalex8369]] ([[User talk:Logalex8369|talk]]) 21:16, 23 October 2025 (UTC)

My new expansion to Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock is coming along nicely. [[User:KelOfTheStars!|KelOfTheStars!]] ([[User talk:KelOfTheStars!|talk]]) 02:25, 23 October 2025 (UTC)

Ah yes, you can make sound in a vacuum! [[User:King Pando|King Pando]] ([[User talk:King Pando|talk]]) 02:41, 23 October 2025 (UTC)

:Well, there's air in her helmet, presumably... [[Special:Contributions/160.39.41.199|160.39.41.199]] 05:05, 23 October 2025 (UTC)

We're not gonna have a good time filling out this table, are we? [[Special:Contributions/47.141.47.226|47.141.47.226]] 05:14, 23 October 2025 (UTC)
:i bet randall is laughing at those silly explainxkcd editors who now have to elaborate on every single square. if i were conspiratorial i'd say he wrote this just to spite us. [[user:lett‪herebedarklight|raeb]] 08:46, 23 October 2025 (UTC)
::Nah, I'm good at filling out tables :) --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 13:07, 23 October 2025 (UTC)
:::Is your name perhaps Bobby Tables? [[user:Seshan S.]] 10:25, 23 October 2025
::::Bobby Tables is good at deleting tables, not filling them out :) -[[User:Ash Crow|Ash Crow]] ([[User talk:Ash Crow|talk]]) 10:47, 24 October 2025 (UTC)
:::::My name is Billy Tables, Bobby Tables' mild-mannered twin brother. Bobby is my evil twin here to cause mischief and mayhem in small wikis.--'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 14:09, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

A bit surprised there's nothing about keeping Mr. Faraday away. --[[Special:Contributions/130.233.188.214|130.233.188.214]] 06:50, 23 October 2025 (UTC)
: He was a doctor, so apples would do the job for that. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 13:21, 23 October 2025 (UTC)

This came out a couple of weeks after the 50th anniversary of Jaws, so it's disappointing that "a bigger boat" isn't one of the protections. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 14:24, 23 October 2025 (UTC)

"Air," "Lead," "Water," and "Glass," and a near-perfect "Vacuum" actually vary by thickness. I guess Oven mitts, armor, bio-hazard suits, faraday cages, and shark cages do too but those usually come in human-scale sizes. A meter of air won't give you significant protection against gamma rays, but if you are anywhere near sea level, the air above your head does. A near-perfect vacuum too wide for a shark to get to you before it dies will protect you, one only a few nanometers thick probably won't. [[Special:Contributions/64.201.132.210|64.201.132.210]] 18:20, 23 October 2025 (UTC)
: The best shield of all is distance. You just need enough of it. [[User:KelOfTheStars!|KelOfTheStars!]] ([[User talk:KelOfTheStars!|talk]]) 00:33, 24 October 2025 (UTC)
:: No - the best shield of all is the Hylian Shield. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 08:31, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

Me & my brother read this whole thing and cracked up about it for several minutes. [[User:RadiantRainwing|RadiantRainwing]] ([[User talk:RadiantRainwing|talk]]) 03:03, 24 October 2025 (UTC)
:This is definitely one of my favorite xkcd comics. I love the confusion matrix ones. [[User:RadiantRainwing|RadiantRainwing]] ([[User talk:RadiantRainwing|talk]]) 03:05, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

Wait, why no “raptors” row? I really want to see that. [[User:RadiantRainwing|RadiantRainwing]] ([[User talk:RadiantRainwing|talk]]) 03:09, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

I'm noticing that the transcript isn't looking too good right now, but I don't exactly have the time to fix it right now. Can someone look at [[2998: Ravioli-Shaped Objects#Transcript]] and copy that format? Thanks, '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 03:44, 24 October 2025 (UTC)
:There's now an "effect vs shield" row for ''every'' tile, plus (following on from how the first row started) a "effect-row" scene-setting description placeholder.
:I put a list of the rows and columns at the top, just for quick 'scan down/along' reference by anyone reading that bit, but each cell explicitly starts with the "what vs what" and can (where it hasn't already been) be given the hue of the tile and then a followup line (or more!) which addresses the mini-vignette that depicts its particular clash of row header and column header.
:Please '''do not''' bother with text-colo(u)rs. For one thing, set on default white page-background, the Yellow would be hard to read (by those who can read it) and also likely of zero value (by those who use text-to-audio to read it). The light grey would be bad enough, and the dirty-yellow could be as bad as either.
:The reason I did this much is because someone had put a suggestion about copypasting the #hex HTML colour-codes which either was going to lead to the thing I've just said shouldn't be done or would have to be converted into the colour-code-equivalent descriptive plaintext, and still would not have the 'important everything vs. everything' reference which I quickly cobbled together to provide this structure.
:Anyone with a text editor can still constructively search/replace anything within that basic structre that I've perhaps not done the way they think should be done (wrong capitalisation, the way the " - " sits between the "vs." and where the colour should be, whether "vs." is even the right way of describing it!), but the big job is actually trying to describe with sufficient detai what Cueball (or the fish/ice/whatever) is doing to prevent the appropriate effect by the (in)appropriate shield. Which I'm leaving for those in a time-zone more westerly than me (who aren't well beyond their healthy bedtimes) or far more easterly than me (for whom dawn has at least started to approach), or possibly just until people not significantly far from me in either direction find that they're more wide awake than anybody else around the world.
:Of course, there's always a possibility that someone has been beavering away at it, offline, for a while now and is going to overwirte all that I did. Which is Ok too, and hopefully all credit to them. I may even now have spent more time writing this than I did putting my framework in, and I frankly hope to find this reply to be superfluous by the next time I check in, anyway, so I can delete it entirely and replace with a congratulatory message. ;) [[Special:Contributions/2.98.65.8|2.98.65.8]] 00:43, 25 October 2025 (UTC)

So, with lead, water, vacuum, oven mitts, and either glass or a bio-hazard suit, I would be ''invincible''. [[Special:Contributions/67.4.71.239|67.4.71.239]] 22:01, 25 October 2025 (UTC)

Randall's clearly only seen the film Jaws but not the book... --[[User:Darth Vader|Darth Vader]] ([[User talk:Darth Vader|talk]]) 10:16, 26 October 2025 (UTC)

3155: Physics Paths

2025-10-15T20:50:11Z

Darth Vader:

{{comic
| number = 3155
| date = October 15, 2025
| title = Physics Paths
| image = physics_paths_2x.png
| imagesize = 433x663px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = If nothing else, that reasoning definitely overturns syllogisms.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a BOT trying to prove its value. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
[[Cueball] is reasoning to the viewer that Einstein proved his value by having a major insight that overturned physics. He attempts to do the same and when he fails the comic presents two possible results, the "Healthy Path" and the "Path of Ruin".

This is the second comic in a row referencing Einstein and his major contribution to physics.

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

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

Einstein had an Insight that overturned physics,
Thus proving his value.

I hope I have value. Ill try to have an insight that overturns physics, to check.

3154: Physics Insight

2025-10-13T20:43:29Z

Darth Vader:

{{comic
| number = 3154
| date = October 13, 2025
| title = Physics Insight
| image = physics_insight_2x.png
| imagesize = 302x351px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = When Galileo dropped two weights from the Leaning Tower of Pisa, they put him in the history books. But when I do it, I get 'detained by security' for 'injuring several tourists.'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a BOT WHO DROPPED OUT OF COLLEGE. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
[[Cueball]], presumably an undergraduate, suggests that he should be considered a great physicist because he said something Einstein said, the fact that he isn't is called a double standard by [[White Hat]]. The joke is that Cueball did not come up with the theory, but was rather taught this, so he was not unique in his suggestion and also saying something widely known.

Perhaps the comic is making fun of people whom Randall views as doing this often.

The title text continues the joke, but with Galileo instead of Einstein and him even being detained because he hit someone, in Galileo's time however, this would probably not been an issue as there were fewer people and the authorities were less worried about that than they are now {{Citation Needed}}.

Cueball's idea is not impressive because he is just restating and redoing what has already been done.

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

:[Cueball is talking to White Hat, arms outstretched.]
:Cueball: Sure, when '''''Einstein''''' suggests using the Lorentz transform to explain the connection between velocity and time, people call him a genius.
:Cueball: But when '''''I''''' suggest it, it's "basic physics" and "undergraduate stuff."
:White Hat: Such a double standard!

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]

Talk:3151: Window Screen

2025-10-07T08:40:52Z

Darth Vader:

The 'standard' and '2x' sized images had unexpected sizes, so an imagesize parameter has been added to render the image consistently with other comics on this website. See the web [https://web.archive.org/web/*/window_screen.png archive] for more details. --[[User:TheusafBOT|TheusafBOT]] ([[User talk:TheusafBOT|talk]]) 03:15, 7 October 2025 (UTC)
:Oh cool the bot can comment too [[User:TheTrainsKid|TheTrainsKid]] ([[User talk:TheTrainsKid|talk]]) 04:06, 7 October 2025 (UTC)
Is the comic not fitting into the section right on the original xkcd website? Is this some kind of meta joke? [[Special:Contributions/138.67.132.61|138.67.132.61]] 04:10, 7 October 2025 (UTC)
:This is Randall's mistake. Since comic [[1084: Server Problem#Trivia|1084]] from 2012, comics usually have two versions: normal and double resolution (2x). If you read on a high-DPI screen (like a phone) or zoom in, you'll see a high-resolution version of the comic, but if you read on a desktop or laptop without zooming in, you'll see the normal resolution. In this case, Randall accidentally uploaded the 2x version into ''both'' comics, making the normal one twice as big as it should be. If you zoom in just a tiny bit, it'll look normal again. <del>I'll add this in a Trivia section</del> <ins>Someone already did</ins>. --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 07:35, 7 October 2025 (UTC)
:I suspect Randall was inspired by the U.S. President's outsized ego insisting he deserves the Nobel Prize for Peace when he hasn't actually solved any international problems at all, and in the view of many has made things much worse.[[Special:Contributions/68.116.0.20|68.116.0.20]] 05:33, 7 October 2025 (UTC)
::...and in ''objective reality'' has made things much worse. --[[Special:Contributions/45.143.82.106|45.143.82.106]] 06:52, 7 October 2025 (UTC)

I suspect all the math could have been avoided if the screen were just carefully laid out on top of the window and cut to a matching shape. Why trig when you can trace? --[[Special:Contributions/45.143.82.106|45.143.82.106]] 06:53, 7 October 2025 (UTC)

It's easy when building a flat screen to accidentally get the tension wrong on one side and *generate* non-coplanarity--[[Special:Contributions/174.127.176.33|174.127.176.33]] 08:24, 7 October 2025 (UTC)

Is the "overly large image mistake" really a mistake, considering it’s about the "size" of an image displaying on a "screen"? {{unsigned ip|89.91.92.1|08:34, 7 October 2025 (UTC)}}

Interesting that Cueball has hair in the last two panels --[[User:Darth Vader|Darth Vader]] ([[User talk:Darth Vader|talk]]) 08:40, 7 October 2025 (UTC)

3148: 100% All Achievements

2025-09-30T08:34:09Z

Darth Vader:

{{comic
| number = 3148
| date = September 29, 2025
| title = 100% All Achievements
| image = 100_all_achievements_2x.png
| imagesize = 271x475px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I'm trying to share my footage of the full run to prove it's not tool-assisted, but the uploader has problems with video lengths of more than a decade.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created recently. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
100% All Achievements is a category of {{w|Speedrunning|video game speedruns}} where the goal is to do everything possible in the game, as fast as possible, while getting all achievements. (Many games have a progress bar to track completion of the game, making the "100%" criterion officially defined.) Cueball is attempting a 100% all achievements run for his university, which is a ridiculous pursuit for several reasons. Even though 100% runs for video games can take very long (up to [https://www.speedrun.com/baten_kaitos_eternal_wings_and_the_lost_ocean?h=100&x=mke7v926 two weeks]), they don't even come close to the amount of time needed to complete a single university major, let alone every class. Other factors to take into account are the high costs of university attendance and the vague definition of "all achievements".

In traditional speedrunning, a {{w|tool-assisted speedrun}} is one done with software such as a video game emulator to perform incredibly precise movements. These tools do not exist in real life{{Citation needed}}, so Cueball may have meant using artificial intelligence or similar "cheats" to illegitimately complete his work. Unassisted speedruns are typically reviewed in full by a moderator of the speedrunning community for that game, to ensure there truly were no tools involved. There is no known community for university speedrunning,{{Citation needed}} so no moderators will be able to review the years of footage to determine whether the speedrun was legitimate.

Most video sharing services limit the length of uploaded videos, either by size or length, for a variety of reasons. A decade long video file is almost certainly too big for any service, and would require significant infrastructure support by the service for it to be allowed.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[Cueball, arms outstretched, is talking to White Hat.]
:Cueball: I finished all the gen-ed back in 2010, and I'm up to the 400-level courses in most departments.
:Cueball: But now one of my advisors is saying I "can't have more than 20 majors" and "need to graduate next year."
:Cueball: It's outrageous!

:[Caption below the panel:]
:My university is making it really hard to finish a 100% all achievements speedrun.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]

3138: Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure

2025-09-06T10:08:30Z

Darth Vader:

{{comic
| number = 3138
| date = September 5, 2025
| title = Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure
| image = dimensional_lumber_tape_measure_2x.png
| imagesize = 532x478px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = A person with two watches is never sure what time it is, especially if I got them one of the watches.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by A LUMBERYARD PSYCHIATRIST. Don’t remove this notice too soon.}}
A 2x4 is a type of dimensional lumber, meaning it is cut to a specified length. In the case of a 2x4, despite specifying dimensions of 2 inches by 4 inches, its actual dimensions are 1.5 inches by 3.5 inches. The Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure "fixes" this inaccuracy by changing the length of its indicated inches so that a 2x4 is measured as 2 inches by 4 inches. Note that the comic states 7.125 inches as the width of a 1x8, when in reality the width is 7.25 inches.

As explained {{w|Lumber#Dimensional_lumber|here}}, the nominal dimensions of a piece of lumber(US)/timber(UK) are those to which, in history, the wood was cut from green logs. Over time, the wood would shrink from loss of water. Consequently, a board cut to 2x4 inches would shrink to some fraction of those dimensions. The nominal dimensions also refer to the rough cut lumber - the final product is typically planed which further reduces its dimensions. The actual final dimensions would vary based on the type of wood, the amount of water lost, and other such factors with a greater or lesser amount of predictability. Over time, the actual dimensions of the wood became standardized at some regularly-achievable value less than the nominal dimensions.

A person not familiar with this history may be puzzled at the disconnect between the nominal and actual dimensions of lumber/timber, perhaps to the point of thinking that something underhanded was going on. To such persons, the comic’s Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure makes sense, or at least addresses the disconnect. It would not, however, have any practical use, and attempts to employ it would likely lead to constructions going dangerously awry, promptly.

Additionally, leaving it in someone else’s toolbox without informing them would likely lead to them incorrectly measuring things, as the Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure appears visually similar to a standard tape measure and has similar enough units that it is plausible someone could use the Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure and assume it was measuring in inches.

The title text is a play on the adage “A man with two watches is never sure what time it is.” That adage is a rephrasing of {{w|Segal's law|Segal’s law}}.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|So far, only the raw text was added. Needs description of the pictures and layout.}}

Dimensional lumber tape measure

Dimensional lumber sizes are tricky. A “2×4” is actually 1½" by 3½", and a “1×8” is ¾" by 7⅛".

[a diagram of … 1½" … 3½" … “2×4”]

If you know someone into carpentry or woodworking, get them our ''dimensional lumber tape measure''.

[A picture of two tape measures side by side, seen from the side. The left one is labeled “12'”. The right one is labeled “12'*”.]

Normal tape measure:

Dimensional lumber tape measure:

'''Don’t tell them you got it'''—just leave it in their toolbox. They’ll appreciate the surprise when all their measurements work out!

===Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure===

Dimensional lumber sizes are tricky. A "2×4" is actually 1½" by 3½", and a "1×8" is ¾" by 7⅛".

(A drawing of a rectangular block labelled "2×4", with notes indicating the length of the sides being 1½" and 3½".)

(Drawing of two tape measures, with labels saying <code>12'</code> and <code>12'*</code>

If you know someone into carpentry or woodworking, get them our ''dimensional lumber tape measure.''

(Two drawings of the tape measures:

Normal tape measure: The measure is divided into inches evenly.
Dimensional lumber tape measure: The measure is divided unevenly, such that 1st and 2nd marked 'inches' are each equal to a ¾-inch but the 3rd to 7th marks each equate to a single 1 inch. The 8th mark is once again ¾-inch after the 7th.

Neither measures indicates the unit being used)

Don't tell them you got it—just leave it in their toolbox. They'll appreciate the surprise when all their measurements work out!

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Comics with color]]

Talk:3137: Cursed Number

2025-09-03T22:00:42Z

Darth Vader:

Warning! Do not read! 421827639108237885847650045004 --[[User:Darth Vader|Darth Vader]] ([[User talk:Darth Vader|talk]]) 22:00, 3 September 2025 (UTC)

3137: Cursed Number

2025-09-03T21:46:20Z

Darth Vader:

{{comic
| number = 3137
| date = September 3, 2025
| title = Cursed Number
| image = cursed_number_2x.png
| imagesize = 388x449px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Another group of mathematicians is working to put an upper bound on the number, although everyone keeps begging them to stop.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created in a CURSED YEAR. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
In the universe fonthis comic there exists some number that, through unknown means, is extremely harmful to the human mind to read it. Dangerous pieces of writing like this are a fairly common trope in speculative fiction, such as the Necronomicon in the Cthulhu Mythos or "memetic cognitohazards" in the SCP Foundation.

Naturally, the mathematics of this world are doing their best keeping this number away from as many human eyeballs as possible, in the interest of public safety. Through some process they have figured out the number is at least 22 digits long; because numbers this large (greater that a sextillion) are extremely unlikely to be found in the day to day lives of non-mathematicians, the public officials have deemed it safe for people to go about their daily lives reading numbers again.

In the title text another group of mathematicians are trying to narrow down the number's identity even further. The more attributes of the cursed number the mathematicians identify, the easier it is for anyone with morbid curiosity or researching more attributes of the number to discover the number themselves and get their mind damaged. This includes the researchers themselves, as they are now willingly going above the lower safe limit, greatly increasing their chances of seeing it accidentally.

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

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]

3134: Wavefunction Collapse

2025-08-28T07:35:41Z

Darth Vader:

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

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created BY AN UNDERGRAD WITHOUT A SOUL. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
The 'Bad' option shows Cueball telling his student that everybody has a soul, and their individual consciousness affects reality in some way. The 'good' option shows Cueball telling his student that consciousness doesn't play a role at all, and that it is 'just a physical measurement'. The 'chaotic' option shows Cueball apparently observing that the wave function collapses when only ''he'' looks at it, because he is of a higher rank than the student in some way (in this case, Cueball is a professor while Hairy is the student).

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

:[Hairy is sitting behind a desk with a hand on the table and Cueball is standing next to him.]
:Hairy: If the wavefunction only collapses when I observe it, does that mean my consciousness affects the universe?

:[A panel with the caption "Bad:" on the top left, zoomed into Cueball's head]
:Cueball: Yes, quantum entanglement proves that we all have souls.

:[The same scene with the caption "Good:"]
:Cueball: No, consciousness plays no role here. Its just physical measurement.

:[The same scene with the caption "Chaotic:"]
:Cueball: No, the wave function collapses when '''''I''''' look at it because I'm a full professor.
:Cueball: It won't collapse for an undergraduate.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

Talk:3133: Dual Roomba

2025-08-26T21:22:55Z

Darth Vader: I don't think we want vids here...

wow now way i was here before the page was created ts is crazy [[User:TheTrainsKid|TheTrainsKid]] ([[User talk:TheTrainsKid|talk]]) 04:08, 26 August 2025 (UTC)
: ... I think the bot is broken? [[User:TheTrainsKid|TheTrainsKid]] ([[User talk:TheTrainsKid|talk]]) 04:33, 26 August 2025 (UTC)
::actually, nope! this behavior isn't too surprising of the bot and it ''definitely'' isn't broken. the bot sometimes has a bit of a lag when creating pages, so you might see the comic page before the talk page is created. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 04:55, 26 August 2025 (UTC)

i'm going to be honest, this is one of the first times in MONTHS that randall has been able to get a laugh out of me from his comics. keep it up, randall! miss the good old days in the 2010s when you had a lot more adult-oriented comics C: '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 05:09, 26 August 2025 (UTC)
:welcome back Tori! how you doing? [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 11:34, 26 August 2025 (UTC)
:it's entirely possible that the last time I saw you edit this wiki was when you commented on my user page! (thanks for that) [[User:RadiantRainwing|RadiantRainwing]] ([[User talk:RadiantRainwing|talk]]) 15:18, 26 August 2025 (UTC)

profanity will return to xkcd [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 11:34, 26 August 2025 (UTC)

THE RETURN OF THE LEGENDARY 42.BOOK.ADDICT! MAY SHE BRING PEACE AND UNITY TO ALL READERS AND EDITORS ALIKE! 15:10, 26 August 2025 (UTC)

I know I shouldn't be putting reason into absurdity, but if he already has to intervene to flip one over, why not just clean it by hand? I feel like that would take just as long. [[Special:Contributions/2600:4040:79DD:3A00:B489:424C:28D:8EE7|2600:4040:79DD:3A00:B489:424C:28D:8EE7]] 15:20, 26 August 2025 (UTC)

3132: Coastline Similarity

2025-08-22T19:22:03Z

Darth Vader:

{{comic
| number = 3132
| date = August 22, 2025
| title = Coastline Similarity
| image = coastline_similarity_2x.png
| imagesize = 553x219px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Hey! A bunch of the early Cretaceous fossils on each coast seem to have been plagiarized, too!
}}

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

This comic depicts a classroom, likely relating to geography, geology, or history, in which the teacher is discussing continental drift. She is explaining how continental drift created the similar coastlines of Africa and South America. One student exclaims that one coastline plagiarized the other, before being interrupted by Miss Lenhart, who explains that it was continental drift.

Of course, coastlines are inanimate objects, and have no concept of plagiarism, let alone know how to perform it.

{{w|Continental drift}} is the widely accepted theory that Earth's continents were once all connected, and have been moving relative to each other due to {{w|plate tectonics}}. One of the clues that led to this discovery was that the shapes of the coastlines of South America and Africa that are separated by the Atlantic Ocean are similar; they're like adjacent pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

The title text continues the joke about plagiarism. Additional corroborating evidence of continental drift is that there are similar species of plant and animal fossils on the two sides of the Atlantic, dating to the time when they were connected. Cueball thinks that the creators of these species also copied each other.

The theory of continental drift was originally proposed by Alfred Wegener, based on such fossil evidence and other common geological features, in addition to the similarities in shoreline shapes. It's significant to the history of science as a general subject, as a proposal that was originally met with strong opposition (not to mention mockery) but eventually became accepted by almost everyone. Modern cranks and crackpots sometimes point to it in support of their own implausible "theories", as though universal rejection of a "theory" by all of the experts somehow proves that it will someday be accepted and its originator proven right all along. In fact, Wegener's original theory did have a serious flaw, in that it lacked a plausible mechanism, though it was otherwise correct. Modern cranks' "theories" generally lack both plausible mechanisms ''and'' good analysis of supporting evidence.

==Transcript==
[Panel 1. Miss Lenhart is holding a pointer pointing to a wall map. The map shows South America and Africa, with the east coast of South America and the southwest coast of Africa highlighted in red.]

Miss Lenhart: People had long noticed that South America and Africa had similarly-shaped coastlines.

[Panel 2. Hairbun and Cueball are sitting at school desks, looking at Miss Lenhart.]

Miss Lenhart: In the 20th century, geologists finally found the explanation:

[Panel 3]

Cueball: Plagiaris--

Miss Lenhart: Continental drift.

Cueball: Oh.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

3129: Archaeology Research

2025-08-15T21:00:31Z

Darth Vader:

{{comic
| number = 3129
| date = August 15, 2025
| title = Archaeology Research
| image = archaeology_research_2x.png
| imagesize = 381x433px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The academic archaeology establishment is suppressing my breakthroughs because of the disruption it would bring to their prepared-core flake-based toolmaking industry.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created a long time ago and improved recently. Don’t remove this notice too soon.}}

In this comic, [[Cueball]] is presenting an improvement over the stone {{w|arrowhead}}s used by early humans. Stone arrowheads are produced by {{w|Knapping|shaping flint}} by expertly knocking flakes off a suitable raw piece of stone. By contrast, once {{w|Copper extraction#History|the use of metals}} is developed, a far more scalable industry can eventually cast smooth copper arrowheads as depicted in Cueball’s presentation.

Metalworking requires some knowledge of ores and often (depending upon the metal) how to maintain and control high temperatures. The era of mass-produced metal objects heralded the waning of the {{w|Stone Age}} and eventually led to the {{w|Bronze Age}}, by way of the copper-using {{w|Chalcolithic}}, in some parts of the world. Once copper arrowheads were produced, in any given region, the practice of flint arrowheads largely died out.

It seems that Cueball was tasked to look at details of active {{w|Paleolithic}} culture (the "Old Stone Age"), in the era that extended until not quite 10,000 BCE, but has accidentally 'discovered' the developments (from around 6,500 BCE to 5,000 BCE) that actually superseded the practices that he was supposed to be studying, initially with lumps of copper nuggets being taken and cold-hammered into into awls, chisels, ornaments and spear heads, later learning to use heat to soften it and after that to be able to melt and cast it.

The caption below the comic tells us that Cueball has based his entire {{w|dissertation}} on the false proposition that an archaeologist's job is to recreate history rather than revealing it. This would be disastrous for Cueball, as dissertations take a large amount of time and effort to complete, and he may have used the effort to effectively reengineer several thousand years of human development, leading away from the original subject.

The title text claims that his 'discoveries' are unappreciated ''not'' because they are useless (in a completely context, they might be an exciting academic pursuit), but because the academic 'establishment' has a stranglehold on the arrowhead industry and too many vested interests in flint-knapping to allow the {{w|disruptive innovation}} that this new change to copper weaponry might herald. This is a humorous mashup of two classes of conspiracy theories, those of academia suppressing "the TRUTH" (according to pseudo-historians) and of oil, pharmaceutical, or other industries suppressing "free energy" or other such "innovations".

In addition, {{w|Industry (archaeology)|"industry"}} is a term used in archaeology to describe specific types of tools made with the same methods- Cueball's technique would, technically, be its own new industry.



==Transcript==
:[Cueball stands in front of a roll-down projector screen, pointing to it behind him as he looks forward. The screen depicts two arrowheads: On the left is an arrowhead hewn from stone with the subtitle "Stone (traditional)". On the right is a smoother arrowhead with the subtitle "Copper (my method)"]
:Cueball: In the process of analyzing Paleolithic stone toolmaking, I've stumbled on an improved technique for producing points and blades.
:Cueball: Instead of stone, my method is based on the heating and shaping of copper ore...

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Too late, I realized that my entire archaeology dissertation had been based on a colossal misunderstanding.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

3129: Archaeology Research

2025-08-15T21:00:14Z

Darth Vader:

3128: Thread Meeting

2025-08-15T09:00:10Z

Darth Vader:

{{comic
| number = 3128
| date = August 13, 2025
| title = Thread Meeting
| image = thread_meeting_2x.png
| imagesize = 399x425px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Hey, so did you ever finish your video series about Cassie and the caterpillar morph? I loved the first three, but never ... no, sorry, I get it, this isn't the place. Sorry! Sorry.
}}

==Explanation==
Many people have different sets of acquaintances from different parts of their lives, and there's not much overlap. For instance, they have colleagues at work and friends from different hobbies. People encountered in online forums are often very separate, since they may be anywhere in the world and even have quite differently eclectic tastes that they never mention. People find it surprising when there are overlaps in unrelated spheres.

In this comic, NorthLakeKayak and AntaresMike are two participants in an online thread (presumably about boating, or maybe specifically kayaking). NorthLakeKayak recognizes the username AntaresMike as also used by someone he remembers from a different forum about {{w|Animorphs}}, and apparently not a likely username to have [[1963: Namespace Land Rush|been independently claimed]] by someone else.

As children, the most striking example of this type of compartmentalization is that {{tvtropes|TeachersOutOfSchool|we think of teachers as only existing in school}}. They're actually people with real lives (as also referenced in [[2808: Daytime Firefly]]), but we find it extremely weird when we encounter them in some mundane place outside school, like at a restaurant or store. The comic makes the point that encountering the same person in two unrelated online forums is analogous to this.

Very often, the culture/rules of a particular forum will encourage relevence to the forum's ''{{w|raison d'etre}}'', at least in its main threads, and fellow users will get to know all about their on-topic obsessions but usually only see hints of other individuals' alternate pastimes and hobbies. In the title text, NorthLakeKayak starts to go drastically '{{w|off topic}}', presumably within the same conversation supposed to be discussing kayaks, and starts to {{w|Self-censorship|self-censor}} what he says, with apologies to the wider readership. And, perhaps, also to his fellow Animorph-appreciator, who may not appreciate being 'outed'/low-level-'{{w|doxing|doxed}}', even assuming they ''are'' indeed the same person; there's no indication that they have confirmed themselves as being the same AntaresMike, and not just another 'Mike' who opted to choose the exact same name from whatever independent association they choose to have with '{{w|Antares (disambiguation)|Antares}}'.

The title text extends the theme by talking about a book series that was written by a person seen outside their usual position (maybe a book convention). And then it gets weird, because what the author is into is not related to the book. Also, this is probably a reference to the Animorphs book by K. A. Applegate.

If the forum has a {{w|Private Messaging}} feature, this off-topic personal discussion could be taken there. Conceivably, the message from the title text ''was'' taken 'off-thread', but the author still finds their own excited tendency to blur the boundaries between subject matter embarassing.

We have not yet been shown any response from the kayak-forum AnteresMike, such that NorthLakeKayak may have been asynchonously conducting his whole side of the conversation without yet having confirmed that AntaresMike, here about the kayaks, was indeed the other AntaresMike, on the Animorph forum. Nor whether they'd be happy to be identified as the same person. Additionally, NorthLakeKayak need not have used the same name on the Animorphs site, and AnteresMike might be reluctant to engage; either because they don't actually know who NorthLakeKayak was, in their other domain of interest, or because they ''do'' know who they were, and any perceived connection from those times is really only a one-way 'friendship'.

==Transcript==
:[A portion of a thread in an online forum is shown. It has one post and a reply to that post.]

:[First post:]
:[Stylized A avatar] '''AntaresMike'''
:[To the right of AntaresMike's username are a grayed-out star, plus sign in a circle, and illegible text in a box.]
:You could also check out this kayak model. I attached a motor to mine, and it's a little but of a kludge but it works great.
:[Below the first post are grayed-out icons of a word balloon, two links from a chain, an arrow, and illegible text.]

:[Reply (indented with a line connecting from AntaresMike's reply to NorthLakeKayak's):]
:[Cueball picture avatar] '''NorthLakeKayak'''
:[To the right of NorthLakeKayak's username are a grayed-out plus sign in a circle, and illegible text in a box.]
:Oh, hey, AntaresMike! I know you!
:Honestly I didn't realize you existed outside of the Animorphs fandom. I haven't seen you in forever!
:Uh. So. How are you doing?
:Kayaking, I guess.
:Anyway yeah that model is great.
:[Below the reply are grayed-out icons of a word balloon, two links from a chain, an arrow, and illegible text.]

:[Bottom caption:]
:Running into someone on a thread who you know from a totally different part of the Internet feels weirdly like running into your teacher in a store.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Animorphs]]
[[Category:Social networking]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

Talk:3125: Snake-in-the-Box Problem

2025-08-07T13:26:01Z

Darth Vader:

The math problem in question is https://oeis.org/A099155 [[User:Mei|Mei]] ([[User talk:Mei|talk]]) 21:57, 6 August 2025 (UTC)

why is d>8 unsolved? stevethenoob 21:59, 6 August 2025 (UTC)
:Computational power, I guess, although I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that for N=9 snake=196. [[Special:Contributions/94.73.52.245|94.73.52.245]] 23:18, 6 August 2025 (UTC)
:It's not that hard to imagine: if you were to try a brute force search it would take time that's exponential in the path length, which itself is exponential in d. There are evidently methods to do it slightly better, but not enough to make solving d=9 feasible yet. [[User:Zmatt|Zmatt]] ([[User talk:Zmatt|talk]]) 10:03, 7 August 2025 (UTC)
:To give an impression of the rate at which these get solved: d=6 was solved in 1988, d=7 in 1996, d=8 in 2014. [[User:Zmatt|Zmatt]] ([[User talk:Zmatt|talk]]) 10:32, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

I would argue that computer science has one as well with the China room problem. [[User:Ctinsman|Ctinsman]] ([[User talk:Ctinsman|talk]]) 22:14, 6 August 2025 (UTC)

: Humans aren't cute animals (mostly), so I propose a variant of the problem called the Chinese Red Panda Room [[Special:Contributions/177.12.49.23|177.12.49.23]] 22:38, 6 August 2025 (UTC)

Interesting. Just a few days ago I was investigating a very similar idea (looking at a path that transitioned between adjacent ''faces'' of a polyhedron, which was effectively going from vertex to connected vertex upon that chosen polyhedron's ''dual''), but for the opposite reason, i.e. looking for the paths that actually maximised proximity (along the path) between neighbouring faces (upon the polyhedra), so that it actually minimised the search back/forth along the path-chain to establish what value the adjacent polyhedron faces (beyond the ones automatically at ±1 positions on the chain) inherited.
 As to solving this one (basically disallowing visiting of any nodes adjacent to prior visits ''other'' than the single one that the +1 position of the chain has to first go to), I've got a basic idea of how I'd N-dimensionally space-search the possible routes (after all, visiting any given node at {0,1} value for dimensions [a, b, c, ...] rules out now visiting all of [!a, b, c, ...], [a, !b, c, ...], [a, b, !c, ...], etc, ''except'' whichever one of these was chosen for the next step of onward travel), for valid foldings across the appropriate N-polytype cuboidal analogue. Though I suspect that the exponental (or greater!) growth in the potential search-trees you'd use would be the sticking point. No point in setting off an exhaustive algorithm if it seemed likely to take three years to check just 1% of possibilities, and no doubt more dedicated analysis than my own brute-forcing method has already hit other problems in trying a more nuanced extrapolation between each level of added dimensionality, which is where the unsolved nature of this starts to bite.
 But also think it'd be far more interesting to investigate the possibilities in the N>3-Dimensional extensions of non-cubic platonic solids, like the {{w|600-cell}} and beyond, and establish what allowable lengths of traversal ''they'' would allow, under similar stipulations.
 Great! I love getting things like this to think about. If I can spare the time needed... [[Special:Contributions/82.132.245.59|82.132.245.59]] 22:22, 6 August 2025 (UTC)
: I think you've been nerd-sniped. [[Special:Contributions/177.12.49.23|177.12.49.23]] 22:42, 6 August 2025 (UTC)
::So far, I've personally got as far as:
::*For any given number of dimensions, N, there are always N adjacent points (point, zero dimensions, zero neighbours; line, one dimension, one neighbour; square, two dimension, two neighbours, etc).
::*In total, there are 2N points (0d=1, 1d=2, 2d=4, etc)
::*A maximum possible length, L, has a ''lower'' lower limit of starting at any particular vortex and only taking directions that are perpendicular to all prior directions (for a cube, only go by x, y and z directions once), and this would be eaual to N.
::*But that's overly-lazy, as you're ruling out (as you gain enough dimensions) revisiting a dimensional plane, even though you're allowed to revisit a point on that plane that's shifted by at least ''two'' other dimensions of offset. e.g. the top right of a cube's facing face when you started at the bottom left of it (went 'deep' to the rear face, took two steps from the rear-lower-left to rear-upper-right then back).
::*For the first step, you have N choices from your starting position. You take one and cannot later visit any of the ones you did not choose to go to. For the second step onwards, you have N-1 basic choices (every direction but backwards to the prior step) and should choose one and rule out ever visiting the rest.
::*This gives a new (at least for N>2) lower limit to L whereby the sum of starting, taken and not-taken nodes that you count can be added to by new steps until you would end up with have a total greater than 2N. (Line: start on one (of two), choice of one (taken), two points 'marked', only two points possible; Square: start on one (of four), two choices, take one, reserve one, three points 'marked', still the fourth point available for L=2, but then five points would be marked (the untaken-from-start being the only non-backwards choice) so can't go further.
::*But this is also wasteful as (in increasingly higher dimensions) there's nothing to stop an unvisited neighbour of a past step from being a(n enforced) unvisited neighbour from a later step, as you 'choose' to go only to a valid further point. So clever "near-neighbour" backtracking can reduce the number of ''freshly'' eaten-up points and thus maintain more future points for more steps.
::**Noting that past-step no-go-neighbours that can possibly 'fold into' the current-step's not-going-neighbours list only become such after ''at least'' two intervening steps (for 'square-based' hypercubic domains, whereas triangle-based hypernets (e.g. tetra-, octa- and icosohedrons, in 3-space) happen after just one step, and pentagon-based ones (dodecahedrons in 3-space) can't take advantage of this in less than three. (This seems to share some of the mathematics with the 'classical' rabbit-population problem, whereby new offspring only become viable breeding population after a step or two since their generation.)
::*Optimally, in fact, you should aim to double-back in such a way as leave yourself with ''all but one'' onward neighbour unavailable (thus only eating up potential points at a rate of one per step, at that point).
::*Heading vaguely back 'towards' past snake-lengths, in higher-dimensional hypernets, seems like the best(/longest) space-filling strategy. It's a bit like coil-built pottery, but with more undulations (and dimensions) to it. But with care to make sure you don't burrow yourself into a dead-end with ''no'' viable onward choices while still having maybe half of the potential visitable/neighbourable points untouched, or avoiding filling 'voids' to guaranteeing accessing a majority of the potential future visits, but unwisely not exploiting all the phase-space of vertices optimally.
::**I can mentally visualise doing this successfully in 3-, 4- and 5-cube situations, elegantly enough (it's like , but N>=6 versions get increasingly hard to do in my head with certainty. After I've slept on it, I might have to break out the pencil and paper.
::So, yeah, I've set a lower-limit to L, for various Ns, and can construct a ''possible'' upper-limit to L, but I haven't even checked these L(N)s vs. the values stated in the comic. Or what progress (and more advanced logical reasoning) has already been made in the field. I suspect I'm just reinventing the (hyper-)wheel, of course, rather than have the key to the problem that everyone else had failed to spot, but that's not the point. If I get even half way close to what the 'professionals' in this field have managed, I'll be smug and self-satisfied enough for myself. And, anyway, I've explained myself enough tolet any ''other'' similarly-minded nerd the ability to get at least as far as I've got with this problem. Which is as good an outcome, as far as I'm concerned, as getting this done entirely on my own. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.41|82.132.244.41]] 00:33, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

::: I've got the 50 length one for 7D, lets see if I can go further :) --[[User:Darth Vader|Darth Vader]] ([[User talk:Darth Vader|talk]]) 13:25, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

::: I'm still having trouble getting hold of long enough snakes. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 08:31, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

Psychology is way ahead of y'all, they've been putting actual mice in weird boxes for ''decades''. [[Special:Contributions/177.12.49.23|177.12.49.23]] 22:45, 6 August 2025 (UTC)
:Psychology might have been putting animals in boxes for decades, but zoology has been doing it for centuries! [[Special:Contributions/97.118.209.207|97.118.209.207]] 00:36, 7 August 2025 (UTC)
::Gastronomy has been doing it for as long as people have been storing food. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 03:41, 7 August 2025 (UTC)
:: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/284912743/--[[Special:Contributions/2001:4450:8178:2200:D1C2:8DED:F6FE:E93C|2001:4450:8178:2200:D1C2:8DED:F6FE:E93C]] 04:01, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

Reading (just) the [comments] of the underlying research suggests that 98 is the longest found snake. Perhaps that means a longer one has not been explicitly eliminated (making 8 also not solved to some extent) [[Special:Contributions/2A02:A45B:8867:0:BED8:F2BA:838E:765|2A02:A45B:8867:0:BED8:F2BA:838E:765]] 22:52, 6 August 2025 (UTC)
:a(8)=98 was proven by: Östergård, P.R.J., Pettersson, V.H. Exhaustive Search for Snake-in-the-Box Codes. Graphs and Combinatorics 31, 1019–1028 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00373-014-1423-3
:[[User:Zmatt|Zmatt]] ([[User talk:Zmatt|talk]]) 09:46, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

I suppose Randall doesn't consider [[beetles]] cute, or else [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophical_Investigations#Wittgenstein's_beetle philosophy of language] would be included. [[Special:Contributions/137.25.230.78|137.25.230.78]] 23:15, 6 August 2025 (UTC)
: that's a great example [[Special:Contributions/177.12.49.23|177.12.49.23]] 01:46, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

In simultaneous interpreting, humans are the cute animal in the box. {{unsigned|DrInterpreter|07:35, 7 August 2025 (UTC)}}

I don't believe an explanation of the Schrödinger's cat thought experiment is necessary to understand this comic. However, people keep editing the page to include an incorrect description of the experiment, by saying the cat is either dead or alive and you don't know which until you open the box. That's wrong and misses the point of quantum superposition. The cat is not dead or alive, it's literally both, due to its fate being linked to radioactive decay, a process that is subject to quantum superposition. Since it does seem inevitable that someone will keep editing this to add an explanation, I've added one myself. [[Special:Contributions/177.12.49.23|177.12.49.23]] 10:29, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

The link in the mail newsletter lead to "http://https//xkcd.com/3125/", not sure if that's worth documenting here. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 13:07, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

Not a chemistry grad student, but is it possible that Randall intended "lure campus squirrels into laundry hampers in the hope that it ''sparks'' inspiration" as a humorous method of investigating the triboelectric effect? [[Special:Contributions/129.222.87.163|129.222.87.163]] 13:25, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

Talk:3125: Snake-in-the-Box Problem

2025-08-07T13:25:28Z

Darth Vader:

The math problem in question is https://oeis.org/A099155 [[User:Mei|Mei]] ([[User talk:Mei|talk]]) 21:57, 6 August 2025 (UTC)

why is d>8 unsolved? stevethenoob 21:59, 6 August 2025 (UTC)
:Computational power, I guess, although I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that for N=9 snake=196. [[Special:Contributions/94.73.52.245|94.73.52.245]] 23:18, 6 August 2025 (UTC)
:It's not that hard to imagine: if you were to try a brute force search it would take time that's exponential in the path length, which itself is exponential in d. There are evidently methods to do it slightly better, but not enough to make solving d=9 feasible yet. [[User:Zmatt|Zmatt]] ([[User talk:Zmatt|talk]]) 10:03, 7 August 2025 (UTC)
:To give an impression of the rate at which these get solved: d=6 was solved in 1988, d=7 in 1996, d=8 in 2014. [[User:Zmatt|Zmatt]] ([[User talk:Zmatt|talk]]) 10:32, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

I would argue that computer science has one as well with the China room problem. [[User:Ctinsman|Ctinsman]] ([[User talk:Ctinsman|talk]]) 22:14, 6 August 2025 (UTC)

: Humans aren't cute animals (mostly), so I propose a variant of the problem called the Chinese Red Panda Room [[Special:Contributions/177.12.49.23|177.12.49.23]] 22:38, 6 August 2025 (UTC)

Interesting. Just a few days ago I was investigating a very similar idea (looking at a path that transitioned between adjacent ''faces'' of a polyhedron, which was effectively going from vertex to connected vertex upon that chosen polyhedron's ''dual''), but for the opposite reason, i.e. looking for the paths that actually maximised proximity (along the path) between neighbouring faces (upon the polyhedra), so that it actually minimised the search back/forth along the path-chain to establish what value the adjacent polyhedron faces (beyond the ones automatically at ±1 positions on the chain) inherited.
 As to solving this one (basically disallowing visiting of any nodes adjacent to prior visits ''other'' than the single one that the +1 position of the chain has to first go to), I've got a basic idea of how I'd N-dimensionally space-search the possible routes (after all, visiting any given node at {0,1} value for dimensions [a, b, c, ...] rules out now visiting all of [!a, b, c, ...], [a, !b, c, ...], [a, b, !c, ...], etc, ''except'' whichever one of these was chosen for the next step of onward travel), for valid foldings across the appropriate N-polytype cuboidal analogue. Though I suspect that the exponental (or greater!) growth in the potential search-trees you'd use would be the sticking point. No point in setting off an exhaustive algorithm if it seemed likely to take three years to check just 1% of possibilities, and no doubt more dedicated analysis than my own brute-forcing method has already hit other problems in trying a more nuanced extrapolation between each level of added dimensionality, which is where the unsolved nature of this starts to bite.
 But also think it'd be far more interesting to investigate the possibilities in the N>3-Dimensional extensions of non-cubic platonic solids, like the {{w|600-cell}} and beyond, and establish what allowable lengths of traversal ''they'' would allow, under similar stipulations.
 Great! I love getting things like this to think about. If I can spare the time needed... [[Special:Contributions/82.132.245.59|82.132.245.59]] 22:22, 6 August 2025 (UTC)
: I think you've been nerd-sniped. [[Special:Contributions/177.12.49.23|177.12.49.23]] 22:42, 6 August 2025 (UTC)
::So far, I've personally got as far as:
::*For any given number of dimensions, N, there are always N adjacent points (point, zero dimensions, zero neighbours; line, one dimension, one neighbour; square, two dimension, two neighbours, etc).
::*In total, there are 2N points (0d=1, 1d=2, 2d=4, etc)
::*A maximum possible length, L, has a ''lower'' lower limit of starting at any particular vortex and only taking directions that are perpendicular to all prior directions (for a cube, only go by x, y and z directions once), and this would be eaual to N.
::*But that's overly-lazy, as you're ruling out (as you gain enough dimensions) revisiting a dimensional plane, even though you're allowed to revisit a point on that plane that's shifted by at least ''two'' other dimensions of offset. e.g. the top right of a cube's facing face when you started at the bottom left of it (went 'deep' to the rear face, took two steps from the rear-lower-left to rear-upper-right then back).
::*For the first step, you have N choices from your starting position. You take one and cannot later visit any of the ones you did not choose to go to. For the second step onwards, you have N-1 basic choices (every direction but backwards to the prior step) and should choose one and rule out ever visiting the rest.
::*This gives a new (at least for N>2) lower limit to L whereby the sum of starting, taken and not-taken nodes that you count can be added to by new steps until you would end up with have a total greater than 2N. (Line: start on one (of two), choice of one (taken), two points 'marked', only two points possible; Square: start on one (of four), two choices, take one, reserve one, three points 'marked', still the fourth point available for L=2, but then five points would be marked (the untaken-from-start being the only non-backwards choice) so can't go further.
::*But this is also wasteful as (in increasingly higher dimensions) there's nothing to stop an unvisited neighbour of a past step from being a(n enforced) unvisited neighbour from a later step, as you 'choose' to go only to a valid further point. So clever "near-neighbour" backtracking can reduce the number of ''freshly'' eaten-up points and thus maintain more future points for more steps.
::**Noting that past-step no-go-neighbours that can possibly 'fold into' the current-step's not-going-neighbours list only become such after ''at least'' two intervening steps (for 'square-based' hypercubic domains, whereas triangle-based hypernets (e.g. tetra-, octa- and icosohedrons, in 3-space) happen after just one step, and pentagon-based ones (dodecahedrons in 3-space) can't take advantage of this in less than three. (This seems to share some of the mathematics with the 'classical' rabbit-population problem, whereby new offspring only become viable breeding population after a step or two since their generation.)
::*Optimally, in fact, you should aim to double-back in such a way as leave yourself with ''all but one'' onward neighbour unavailable (thus only eating up potential points at a rate of one per step, at that point).
::*Heading vaguely back 'towards' past snake-lengths, in higher-dimensional hypernets, seems like the best(/longest) space-filling strategy. It's a bit like coil-built pottery, but with more undulations (and dimensions) to it. But with care to make sure you don't burrow yourself into a dead-end with ''no'' viable onward choices while still having maybe half of the potential visitable/neighbourable points untouched, or avoiding filling 'voids' to guaranteeing accessing a majority of the potential future visits, but unwisely not exploiting all the phase-space of vertices optimally.
::**I can mentally visualise doing this successfully in 3-, 4- and 5-cube situations, elegantly enough (it's like , but N>=6 versions get increasingly hard to do in my head with certainty. After I've slept on it, I might have to break out the pencil and paper.
::So, yeah, I've set a lower-limit to L, for various Ns, and can construct a ''possible'' upper-limit to L, but I haven't even checked these L(N)s vs. the values stated in the comic. Or what progress (and more advanced logical reasoning) has already been made in the field. I suspect I'm just reinventing the (hyper-)wheel, of course, rather than have the key to the problem that everyone else had failed to spot, but that's not the point. If I get even half way close to what the 'professionals' in this field have managed, I'll be smug and self-satisfied enough for myself. And, anyway, I've explained myself enough tolet any ''other'' similarly-minded nerd the ability to get at least as far as I've got with this problem. Which is as good an outcome, as far as I'm concerned, as getting this done entirely on my own. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.41|82.132.244.41]] 00:33, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

::: I've got the 50 length one for 7D, lets see if I can go further :) --[[User:Darth Vader|Darth Vader]] ([[User talk:Darth Vader|talk]]) 13:25, 7 August 2025 (UTC)
::: I'm still having trouble getting hold of long enough snakes. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 08:31, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

Psychology is way ahead of y'all, they've been putting actual mice in weird boxes for ''decades''. [[Special:Contributions/177.12.49.23|177.12.49.23]] 22:45, 6 August 2025 (UTC)
:Psychology might have been putting animals in boxes for decades, but zoology has been doing it for centuries! [[Special:Contributions/97.118.209.207|97.118.209.207]] 00:36, 7 August 2025 (UTC)
::Gastronomy has been doing it for as long as people have been storing food. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 03:41, 7 August 2025 (UTC)
:: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/284912743/--[[Special:Contributions/2001:4450:8178:2200:D1C2:8DED:F6FE:E93C|2001:4450:8178:2200:D1C2:8DED:F6FE:E93C]] 04:01, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

Reading (just) the [comments] of the underlying research suggests that 98 is the longest found snake. Perhaps that means a longer one has not been explicitly eliminated (making 8 also not solved to some extent) [[Special:Contributions/2A02:A45B:8867:0:BED8:F2BA:838E:765|2A02:A45B:8867:0:BED8:F2BA:838E:765]] 22:52, 6 August 2025 (UTC)
:a(8)=98 was proven by: Östergård, P.R.J., Pettersson, V.H. Exhaustive Search for Snake-in-the-Box Codes. Graphs and Combinatorics 31, 1019–1028 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00373-014-1423-3
:[[User:Zmatt|Zmatt]] ([[User talk:Zmatt|talk]]) 09:46, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

I suppose Randall doesn't consider [[beetles]] cute, or else [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophical_Investigations#Wittgenstein's_beetle philosophy of language] would be included. [[Special:Contributions/137.25.230.78|137.25.230.78]] 23:15, 6 August 2025 (UTC)
: that's a great example [[Special:Contributions/177.12.49.23|177.12.49.23]] 01:46, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

In simultaneous interpreting, humans are the cute animal in the box. {{unsigned|DrInterpreter|07:35, 7 August 2025 (UTC)}}

I don't believe an explanation of the Schrödinger's cat thought experiment is necessary to understand this comic. However, people keep editing the page to include an incorrect description of the experiment, by saying the cat is either dead or alive and you don't know which until you open the box. That's wrong and misses the point of quantum superposition. The cat is not dead or alive, it's literally both, due to its fate being linked to radioactive decay, a process that is subject to quantum superposition. Since it does seem inevitable that someone will keep editing this to add an explanation, I've added one myself. [[Special:Contributions/177.12.49.23|177.12.49.23]] 10:29, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

The link in the mail newsletter lead to "http://https//xkcd.com/3125/", not sure if that's worth documenting here. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 13:07, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

Not a chemistry grad student, but is it possible that Randall intended "lure campus squirrels into laundry hampers in the hope that it ''sparks'' inspiration" as a humorous method of investigating the triboelectric effect? [[Special:Contributions/129.222.87.163|129.222.87.163]] 13:25, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

Talk:3122: Bad Map Projection: Interrupted Spheres

2025-07-31T09:42:53Z

Darth Vader:

Where's Greenland? [[User:SubtrEM|SubtrEM]] ([[User talk:SubtrEM|talk]]) 20:00, 30 July 2025 (UTC)
:It is on the backside of North America globe of course. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:49, 31 July 2025 (UTC)

My first edit! Hope it's ok! [[User:Jkusa.jr| Jkusa.jr]] 08:12, 30 July 2025 (UTC)

Wait, maybe I'm crazy, but I feel like there's actually a good map idea here? If you made proper globes centered on each continent.... Does this exist? [[Special:Contributions/2601:241:8002:3E0:CE5:D9D:CF64:76FD|2601:241:8002:3E0:CE5:D9D:CF64:76FD]] 21:36, 30 July 2025 (UTC)
:Well... that is what a globe is. You just turn it until it is on the continent you wish and look from the right angel ;-) Drawing a globe on a paper does nothing to remove the distortion from normal flat maps. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:49, 31 July 2025 (UTC)

Not sure what the joke is! Another dis of the concept of continents? [[Special:Contributions/2A09:BAC3:9C1B:1955:0:0:286:B1|2A09:BAC3:9C1B:1955:0:0:286:B1]] 22:01, 30 July 2025 (UTC)
:It is a bad map projection. That is a joke in it self. Another way to badly draw a map, that is the ongoing joke. Of course there is also the silly joke in the title text like the Earth is actually spread over 7 spheres. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:50, 31 July 2025 (UTC)

Yet another map that ignores/erases New Zeeland.
:No it doesn't ignore it. Just like Greenland is on the other side of the globe in North America so is NZ on the other side of Australias globe. You cannot either see Sydney or Tasmania or LA or other Western states in the US. In Europe you cannot see most of Scandinavia (although the important part is there ... Denmark ;-) and Madagascar is also left our near Africa as is the entire middle east and most of Russia. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:49, 31 July 2025 (UTC)

Thought Randall was becoming political leaving out N.Korea, Middle east, and Russia; then noticed the colossal China...--[[User:Darth Vader|Darth Vader]] ([[User talk:Darth Vader|talk]]) 09:42, 31 July 2025 (UTC)

3121: Kite Incident

2025-07-30T12:45:27Z

Darth Vader: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 3121
| date = July 28, 2025
| title = Kite Incident
| before = [[#Explanation|↓ Skip to explanation ↓]]
| image = kite_incident_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x1610px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Detectives say the key to tracking down the source of the kites was a large wall map covered in thumbtacks and string. 'It's the first time that method has ever actually worked,' said a spokesperson.
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic [[Megan]] is setting up a kite as [[Cueball]] arrives. Megan sets up the kite using a fishing line, which is unorthodox but not unheard of. Because the connection between the holding point and the lofted kite will form a {{w|catenary}} hanging down, after paying out sufficient line toward a kite increasingly far downwind, the line starts to dip and possibly touch the ground. Cueball suggests adding another kite at that point, after which they can then pay out more line and keep the line raised off the ground for additional distance.

They then get into a loop of adding more line to accommodate a stock of kites, and then more kites to support the line, until the kite chain reaches ludicrous proportions. The kites become so numerous and high-flying that they eventually blow in a circle around a significant part of the planet, following a {{w|jet stream}}. A circle on the surface of the Earth that follows the line of latitude where Randall lives is about 18,500 miles long, though a circumpolar jet-stream would curve into higher and lower latitudes to possibly add a lot more distance (as well as being at a higher altitude, which would add a more predictable fraction to its length). Alternatively, the kites may have been dragged into a circle as the result of a kite and/or its string getting caught by an airplane. Modelling the line as a straight line stretching 15 degrees above the horizon, Megan has spent over 38km of fishing line by the time the first kite reaches the jet stream at 10km high.

The sirens in the second-to-last panel refer to a visit by some law-enforcement agency. The string of kites circling the Earth has interfered with international air travel. Although the mass of any given kite and the presence of such a relatively light and fragile tether should not cause too much difficulty for the majority of airliners if their wing or body collides with the kite-chain, the danger of a kite being ingested into the engine would ''preferably'' be avoided out of an abundance of caution. This is true even if the presence of kites is known to be not a more solid danger rather than a mystery and/or {{w|2023 Chinese balloon incident|perceived threat}} which can lead to {{w|Air travel disruption after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption|air travel to be shut down}}. Regardless of the actual degree of danger, the authorities react accordingly, and events culminate in Megan and Cueball being forced to issue a formal apology. Having their lawyer there might indicate they won't get away with just an apology, but maybe this is to show they meant no harm, to decrease the penalty they will face.

The title text alludes to an investigation technique seen in many types of media where the investigator {{tvtropes|StringTheory|pins text and photo evidence to a board}}, connecting related evidence with string. This technique is also made fun of in [[2244: Thumbtacks And String]]. Though often good enough for fictional purposes, at least to the extent that the plot demands, the text indicates that real-world uses of 'string on a map' to discover a useful result have not actually been successful. But in this case, the string on the map would be there to indicate the actual extent to the string ''in the air'', probably from various reports received from around the world, and apparently it had successfully led to the discovery of the location from which the string originated on the ground and the subsequent intervention against the duo's excessive kite-deployment activity.

Kites have been a [[:Category:Kites|recurring topic]] on xkcd since the early days.

==Transcript==

:[Cueball approaches Megan from the left. Megan is flying a kite, with the line attached to a spool.]
:Cueball: Ooh, flying a kite?
:Megan: Yeah. I found this big spool of fishing line in a closet.

:[In a silent panel, Cueball and Megan are seen from further away, indicating that the kite is flying higher.]

:[Cueball and Megan are seen from yet further away, indicating that the kite is flying still higher.]
:Cueball: Are we allowed to fly a kite this high? Should we Google whether there are rules?
:Megan: Eh, it's probably fine.

:[The line held by Megan leaves her hand almost horizontally before curving up. Cueball stands a little way downwind his hand up to the string, above head-height, as if supporting/stabilising it or testing its tendency to stay up.]
:Megan: The string is really starting to sag.
:Cueball: Maybe we could attach another kite? I'll go get one.

:[A new kite is attached just above the line, supporting it higher in the air, Megan's held end now leading up to the point it is joined.]
:Cueball: It worked!
:Megan: Nice!

:[Megan is feeding out line from a partly depleted spool, via a peg/ground anchor, with a knot visible a short way up the rising cord. Two further empty spoole are seen on the ground. Cueball is approaching with a box.]
:Cueball: I bought another package of string.
:Megan: Oh good, these spools are almost empty.
:Megan: I think we're in the jet stream.

:[Three empty spools, one spool in use and one unused spool surround Megan and Cueball, with one supporting kite visible on the line that Megan is still feeding out.]
:Cueball: How many kites are on there now?
:Megan: I've lost count.

:[Another silent panel, zoomed out to see at least a half self-supporting "kite-length" about ready to have a new kite added at the ground end, and almost the same amount of curve leading off-panel to the next (previously attached) kite, unseen. There are flat items (presumably kites), spools (one being the current one being fed out) and boxes (assumed to contain more kite material and/or spools behind and around the two small figures.]

:[A much larger panel with the same ground details but a wider view. Above the ascending line of kites there is now a second, horizontal line of kites, dangling furves of connecting chord, leading from off-panel left to off-panel right.]
:Cueball: Uhh...

:[Some kites, spools and boxes are around the two figures, now seen again in close-up.]
:Cueball: ...Did it blow in a circle?
:Megan: I don't know. Lemme look at a map of where the jet stream goes.
:Cueball: Hey, do you hear sirens?

:[A CNN logo is at the upper right of the panel. Megan stands at a lectern, with Cueball on one side and Ponytail, holding a briefcase, on the other. Illegible subtitle/sub-banner text appears at the lower left, lower right, and below them.]
:[A banner with white text on a black background:]
:Breaking: Kite Incident Duo Speaks
:Megan: On the advice of our lawyer, we would like to apologize for the events that shut down global air travel last week...

==Trivia==
Kites have been a [[:Category:Kites|recurring topic]] on xkcd since the early days. It has been three years since the last comic with kites, [[2632: Greatest Scientist]], six years since Cueball put one up in [[2208: Drone Fishing]], and 10 years since Megan did so in [[1614: Kites]].

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Kites]]
[[Category:Aviation]]

3120: Geologic Periods

2025-07-28T07:18:41Z

Darth Vader:

{{comic
| number = 3120
| date = July 25, 2025
| title = Geologic Periods
| image = geologic_periods_2x.png
| imagesize = 611x557px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Geologists claim it's because the earlier Cenozoic used to be called the Tertiary, but that's just a ruse to hide the secret third geologic period, between the Neogene and the Quaternary, that they won't tell us about.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|
*The article was missing a {{w|lead paragraph}}; an attempt has been made.
*The explanation for the title text was missing; an attempt has been made.}}
This comic depicts a table representing planet Earth's geological time scale. The table lists the 12 geological periods of the {{w|Phanerozoic}} Eon, plus the informal 'catchall' term {{w|Precambrian}}, which encompasses the {{w|Hadean}}, {{w|Archaean}}, and {{w|Proterozoic}} Eons that preceded the Phanerozoic. The names are listed in chronological order, with the most ancient time period ("Precambrian"), at the top. The first six formal Periods (Cambrian through Permian) belong to the {{w|Palaeozoic}} Era, the next three to the {{w|Mesozoic}} Era, and the final three to the {{w|Cenozoic}} Era. The joke is that the table, instead of accompanying each geological name with facts pertinent to it, such as the onset, close, and duration of the period represented (typically in Years Ago or years Before Present), the state of the Earth (e.g. glaciated) during the period, or the flora and fauna most commonly associated with the period, accompanies each name with the cartoonist's likes ("My Favorite Part") and dislikes ("My Biggest Complaint") among the (factual) characteristics of the period.
{| class="wikitable"
!Period
!Date range ({{abbr|{{w|Million years ago|MYA}}|Millions of years ago}})
!Randall's favorite part
!Randall's biggest complaint
!Explanation
|-
! {{w|Precambrian}}
|4500⁠–⁠539
|Life develops
|Snowball Earth episodes
|The {{w|Precambrian}} (italicized in the comic since it's not a {{w|Period (geology)|geologic period}}) is the first 88% of Earth's history, including the time 4.1 to 3.4 billion years ago when life on Earth began. The {{w|Snowball Earth}} hypothesis says that during some time spans in the past, Earth became nearly or entirely frozen, with no liquid water on the surface. It's related to the idea of the {{w|Greenhouse_and_icehouse_Earth#Icehouse_Earth|icehouse Earth}}, times when the planet fluctuates between glacial and interglacial periods (such as now).
|-
! {{w|Cambrian}}
|539⁠–⁠487
|Trilobites!
|Evolution could stand to calm down a little
|The {{w|Cambrian explosion}} was a sudden radiation of complex life forms when nearly all important animal phyla, or precursors to them, appeared. {{w|Trilobite|Trilobites}}, a lineage of {{w|Arthropod|arthropods}} (related to present-day insects and spiders), was one of the groups that appeared during the Cambrian. Fossil trilobite specimens are abundant and charismatic, and attract the attention of amateur and professional enthusiasts.
|-
! {{w|Ordovician}}
|487⁠–⁠443
|Earth might have had rings
|Scary volcanic eruption in North America
|Due to the non-random location of impact of one type of meteorite, {{w|Rings_of_Earth|it is proposed}} that those have formed a planetary ring system around Earth before colliding with it. The volcanic eruption(s) that deposited the {{w|Deicke_and_Millbrig_bentonite_layers|Deicke and Millbrig ashfall layers}} during the Late Ordovician are thought to have been among the largest in the last 600 million years of Earth history. The volcano(es) involved may have been among those formed during the mountain-building event in what is now northeastern North America that is called the {{w|Taconic_orogeny|Taconic orogeny}}.
|-
! {{w|Silurian}}
|443⁠–⁠420
|First land animals
|Earth's newfound mold problem
|Green plants first became established on land during the Ordovician period, after having evolved ways to protect themselves from desiccation and ultraviolet light. During the Silurian, land animals (mostly arthropods resembling {{w|Kampecaris|millipedes}}) followed the plants and mycelial fungi ("mold") evolved to attack them and decompose their remains.
|-
! {{w|Devonian}}
|420⁠–⁠359
|Big mountains in Boston
|Yeah, sure, what those giant killer fish needed was ''armor''
|A series of mountain-building events, during the middle to late Devonian, that are collectively termed the {{w|Acadian orogeny}} resulted in a section of the present-day Appalachian Range from the Canadian maritimes to the Carolinas, including what is now the Boston area of Massachusetts. (At the time, Boston was in the tropics, just south of the equator.) {{w|Placoderm}} fishes, which were common in but did not survive the Devonian, were characterized by plates of {{w|Dermal_bone|dermal bone}} in the head and thoracic portions of the body. Not all placoderms were giants, or apex predators. The best guess as to why placoderm fishes had these bony plates is that they helped protect the fishes from predation by other placoderms.
|-
! {{w|Carboniferous}}
|359⁠–⁠299
|Cool forests
|Bugs too big
|Forests in the Carboniferous lacked the flowering plants, cycads, and conifers that dominate present-day forests; flowering plants, in particular, would not appear as fossils in any significant numbers until the Cretaceous, more than 150 million years later. Forests were, instead, dominated by giant versions of today's {{w|Lycopodiaceae|club mosses}}, {{w|Equisetidae|horsetails}}, and {{w|Marattiaceae|ferns}}, as well as by several plant lineages that are now extinct. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carboniferous#/media/File:Meyers_b15_s0272b.jpg Artist's depictions] of such forests are exotic-looking and "cool". The {{w|Carboniferous#Terrestrial_invertebrates|'bugs' in this period}} included the largest-ever known land invertebrate, a {{w|Arthropleura|2.6 m (8.5 ft) millipede-like animal}}; the largest-ever known flying insect, resembling a {{w|Meganeura|dragonfly with a wingspan of ~75 cm (30 in)}}; and a {{w|Pulmonoscorpius|70 cm (2 ft 4 in) scorpion}}.
|-
! {{w|Permian}}
|299⁠–⁠252
|Pangea
|Google "The Great Dying"
|{{w|Pangaea}} was the most recent supercontinent containing nearly all of Earth's landmass. The Great Dying, more formally known as the {{w|Permian-Triassic extinction event}}, occurred at the end of the Permian and is the most severe of Earth's {{w|Extinction_event#The_"Big_Five"_mass_extinctions|'Big Five' mass extinction events}}. In it, 81% of marine species and 70% of terrestrial vertebrate species were wiped out.
|-
! {{w|Triassic}}
|252⁠–⁠201
|Tanystropheus
|Damage to Canada still visible from space at Manicouagan
|''{{w|Tanystropheus}}'' was a basal archosaur (not a dinosaur) with a disproportionally long neck. {{w|Manicouagan Reservoir}} is a ring-shaped lake, the remains of the crater caused by a 5 km (3 mi) asteroid hitting {{w|Quebec}}.
|-
! {{w|Jurassic}}
|201⁠–⁠143
|Birds
|Parasitoid wasps
|Birds are cool.{{Citation needed}} Parasitoid wasps are not; their reproduction cycle is such a grisly process that it caused a {{w|Ichneumonidae#Darwin_and_the_Ichneumonidae|crisis of faith}} among 19th-century European scholars.
|-
! {{w|Cretaceous}}
|143⁠–⁠66
|Raptors
|Raptors
|[[:Category:Velociraptors|Raptors]]
|-
! {{w|Paleogene}}
|66⁠–⁠23
|Pretty horseys!!!
|Paleocene-eocene thermal maximum
|Fossils of members of the horse family ({{w|Equidae}}) first appear during this period. Horses, fossil and extant, are prime examples of {{w|Charismatic_megafauna|charismatic megafauna}} ("Pretty horseys!"). The rapid diversification of horses from a presumed single common ancestor is an oft-cited example of mammalian adaptive radiation in the time period immediately following the {{w|Cretaceous–Paleogene_extinction_event|Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event}}. {{w|Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum}} was a time where the global average temperature rose by around 5-8 °C in a relatively short period of time.
|-
! {{w|Neogene}}
|23⁠–⁠2.6
|Forests of ''Dracaena'' dragonblood trees
|Zanclean flood
|''{{w|Dracaena draco}}'' and ''{{w|Dracaena cinnabari}}'' trees are a source of {{w|dragon's blood}}, a naturally occurring bright red resin with uses including as a varnish and a dye.
The {{w|Zanclean flood}} is theorized to be the flood that refilled the Mediterranean Sea.
|-
! {{w|Quaternary}}
|2.6⁠–⁠present
|Burrito invented
|Whoever picked the name for the third period of the Cenozoic
|Randall jokes that, in the last 2.6 million years, his favorite moment was the invention of the {{w|burrito}}, rather than many other, much more significant discoveries. The precise origin of the burrito is not known, but the {{w|Maya civilization}} used to make food resembling burritos as early as 1500 BC.
The (NB) third period of the {{w|Cenozoic}} Era is the Quaternary ("Fourth"), named by Jules Desnoyers in 1829. Randall is riffing on the cognitive disconnect between "third" and "fourth", for which the current geological naming conventions offer no explanation.
|}

The title text expands on the "third" v "fourth" Quaternary Period complaint by postulating the existence of an unnamed Period within the Cenozoic Era "that geologists won't tell us about". In fact, the use of "Quaternary" (and "Tertiary") in recent/current geological nomenclature is a relict of four centuries of the history of geological studies in Western Europe, complicated by the religiously-inspired acceptance, among European scholars, of a 6000-year-old Earth until the beginning of the 19th century. The matter is summarized {{w|Geologic_time_scale#Formulation_of_a_modern_geologic_time_scale|here}}. Briefly, "Primary" rocks were those considered to have been present, in solid formations such as mountains, before the "Great Deluge" ({{w|Genesis_flood_narrative|Noah's Flood}}), while "Secondary" rocks represented the rubble from the Flood. Igneous and metamorphic rocks came to be understood as "primary", and eldest (within the context of a 6000-year-old Earth), and sedimentary rocks as "secondary". Demonstrably more recent geological formations came to be known as "tertiary" (relatively older) and "quaternary" (relatively very recent). As the idea of Earth being billions of years old gained acceptance, and tools for accurately dating rocks became available, "primary" and "secondary" fell away as descriptors for both rock types and rock ages, replaced by terms that convey information about the rocks more precisely and accurately. "Tertiary" was applied to "Cenozoic minus Quaternary", and survived in formal nomenclature into the 21st century. No similar replacement for the term "Quaternary" has yet been accepted, and so the name persists as fodder for cartoonists who wonder, not without cause, how a "third" element in Earth history could be labeled a "fourth" element.

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

:[A table with 3 columns, labelled: "Period", "My favorite part" and "My biggest complaint". There are 13 rows below the labels]
:[Row 1: Period:] ''Precambrian'' [My favorite part:] Life develops [My biggest complaint:] Snowball Earth episodes
:[Row 2: Period:] Cambrian [My favorite part:] Trilobites! [My biggest complaint:] Evolution could stand to calm down a little
:[Row 3: Period:] Ordovician [My favorite part:] Earth might have had rings [My biggest complaint:] Scary volcanic eruption in North America
:[Row 4: Period:] Silurian [My favorite part:] First land animals [My biggest complaint:] Earth's newfound mold problem
:[Row 5: Period:] Devonian [My favorite part:] Big mountains in Boston [My biggest complaint:] Yeah, sure, what those giant killer fish needed was '''''armor'''''
:[Row 6: Period:] Carboniferous [My favorite part:] Cool forests [My biggest complaint:] Bugs too big
:[Row 7: Period:] Permian [My favorite part:] Pangea [My biggest complaint:] Google "The Great Dying"
:[Row 8: Period:] Triassic [My favorite part:] Tanystropheus [accompanying the text in this cell is an image of a ''Tanystropheus'' and its characteristic elongated neck, with Cueball standing next to it for scale] [My biggest complaint:] Damage to Canada still visible from space at Manicouagan
:[Row 9: Period:] Jurassic [My favorite part:] Birds [My biggest complaint:] Parasitoid wasps
:[Row 10: Period:] Cretaceous [My favorite part:] Raptors [My biggest complaint:] Raptors
:[Row 11: Period:] Paleogene [My favorite part:] Pretty horseys!!! [My biggest complaint:] Paleocene-eocene thermal maximum
:[Row 12: Period:] Neogene [My favorite part:] Forests of ''Dracaena'' dragonblood trees [My biggest complaint:] Zanclean flood
:[Row 13: Period:] Quaternary [My favorite part:] Burrito invented [My biggest complaint:] Whoever picked the name for the third period of the Cenozoic

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

Talk:3120: Geologic Periods

2025-07-26T09:18:37Z

Darth Vader:

Discovered this explanation fresh off the griddle. The transcript doesn't even exist yet wow. Also, hi! This is my first time commenting! Did I do it right? [[User:Giraffequeries|Giraffequeries]] ([[User talk:Giraffequeries|talk]]) 22:54, 25 July 2025 (UTC)
:(Yes, looks like you did.)
:A couple of hours on, and nobody's attempted the Transcript yet. If you're still around right now-ish and you've got more time than everyone elses seems to have (including me, sorry), that could be your next thing.
:Check prior Transcripts for the right kind of way (and a few wrongs, but hey?), and imagine the words+'markup' being read through the hypothetical screen-readers. That might not know how to 'audible' a table, may at best shout/stress '''bold-strong'''/''italics-emphasis'', but perhaps not correctly.
:But just getting the words down helps the next soul with a few more minutes at hand. Any normal weekend, I'd be happy to do it right now, but I've got to be up in five hours, and I mildly regret just checking right now to see if I might have missed the latest comic popping up when it was a bit earlier and I was prepping my weekend bags. :) [[Special:Contributions/82.132.236.123|82.132.236.123]] 01:49, 26 July 2025 (UTC)
:Darn, forgot to say my intended actual personal comment I was just going to add. i.e.: Looks like Randall hasn't forgotten about Raptors! Anyway, goodnight/early-morning (my time).... [[Special:Contributions/82.132.236.123|82.132.236.123]] 01:53, 26 July 2025 (UTC)

I've done my part. Also, Raptors [[User:TPS|TPS]] ([[User talk:TPS|talk]]) 02:20, 26 July 2025 (UTC)

Did anyone else google "The Great Dying"? How about "Manicouagan"? How about "Picture of a dinosaur eating a burrito" (just to prove Randall wrong)? [[Special:Contributions/70.115.234.146|70.115.234.146]] 03:28, 26 July 2025 (UTC)

Given that this wiki doesn't really like tables, and this one is formatted rather simply, maybe we should just transfer its content to the transcript and retain only explanations in the main part, as separate paragraphs? [[User:Cock|The Rooster]] ([[User talk:Cock|talk]]) 08:41, 26 July 2025 (UTC)

Yeah I'm not sure what to do for transcript, comic 2627 is in similar style but not sure if we necessarily want it like that.--[[User:Darth Vader|Darth Vader]] ([[User talk:Darth Vader|talk]]) 09:18, 26 July 2025 (UTC)

3120: Geologic Periods

2025-07-26T09:13:42Z

Darth Vader:

3117: Replication Crisis

2025-07-19T06:56:27Z

Darth Vader:

{{comic
| number = 3117
| date = July 18, 2025
| title = Replication Crisis
| image = replication_crisis_2x.png
| imagesize = 367x492px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Maybe encouraging the publication of null results isn't enough--maybe we need a journal devoted to publishing results the study authors find personally annoying.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by an UNREPLICATED RESULT. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

The {{w|replication crisis}} in science refers to the existence of a number of published scientific results that others are unable to reproduce. One aspect of the scientific method is the replication of results, so the failure to replicate some results casts doubt on the validity of the results and scientific knowledge built on them.

Research into the replication crisis itself has been done, with a number of studies being redone and the results compared with the original studies. Many of these redone studies failed to reproduce the results of the original.

In this comic, a research team is looking to see if the situation has improved. Unfortunately as the team had discovered, it had not improved, and in fact they had found many of the same issues as they did in the 2010s.

The fourth panel shows a newspaper stating that the replication crisis has been solved. Given the findings of the team this couldn't be further from the truth. However while the study the team did was not a replication study (such a study would look at the same papers as they did in the 2010s, while this study was likely looking at newer papers), they did get the same result, which could count as a "replication" in scientific reporting (which has a tendency to distort scientific findings, as seen in [[882: Significant]]). This "replication" was then taken to mean that the crisis had been solved.

The title text refers to one suggested remedy of encouraging the publication of null results to counteract {{w|publication bias}}, however given the findings of the team this does not appear to have helped. A suggestion is made to create a journal devoted to "personally annoying results", which supposedly would counteract the bias to only publish results that the study authors do not consider "annoying". What annoying means in this instance is unclear, and the impact of such a suggestion is also unclear.

[[1574: Trouble for Science]] explores a similar issue.

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

: [Megan, Ponytail, and Cueball are standing at a lectern. Ponytail is talking into the microphone.]
: Ponytail: In the early 2010s, researchers found that many major scientific results couldn't be reproduced.

: [Ponytail turns slightly to look around the room.]
: Ponytail: Over a decade into the replication crisis, we wanted to see if today's studies have become more robust.

: Ponytail: Unfortunately, our replication analysis has found exactly the same problems that those 2010s researchers did.

: [This panel shows a newspaper, with title "NEWS" surrounded by flourishes. There is a photo of the three researches at the lectern taking up about half the front page. The headline reads: "REPLICATION CRISIS SOLVED".]

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

3116: Echo Chamber

2025-07-17T07:10:13Z

Darth Vader:

{{comic
| number = 3116
| date = July 16, 2025
| title = Echo Chamber
| image = echo_chamber_2x.png
| imagesize = 383x296px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = This is almost as bad as the time I signed up for a purely partisan fishing expedition.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by an echoing cat video. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

An {{w|echo chamber}} is a structure designed to maximise acoustic reverberation, in which echos occur excessively well. However, in social media, a ''metaphorical'' {{w|Echo chamber (media)|echo chamber}} reverberates the opinions of a group of individuals so that those individuals perceive those opinions as being the social norm. This has resulted in disastrous situations such as {{w|Pizzagate conspiracy theory|Pizzagate}}, the {{w|The dress|war over the gold dress}}, and the election of possibly at least one US President.

The audio playing on the phone possibly references the common occurance of cat videos on social media, as "Mittens" is often associated with a cat name. However, it is unknown whether the intended spelling is "mittens" with bad grammar, or "Mittens" the name. If the spelling was "mittens", it would imply that there are mittens (for wearing on hands) falling into the laundry hamper, which would generally be considered poor content, especially with the grammar, which would be annoying for Cueball indeed.

The title text references a "partisan fishing expedition". In general, a "fishing expedition" is an investigation begun on flimsy or no evidence to try to find unsavory or incriminating behavior. When such an investigation is motivated by political considerations in favor of one particular political party, it may be referred to as a "partisan fishing expedition". The joke here is similar to the joke about the "echo chamber": he is going on an actual "purely partisan fishing expedition" - a trip to catch actual fish where all the people on the fishing trip are either {{w|partisan (politics)|committed members of just one political party}}, or are all {{w|partisan (military)|members of domestic irregular military forces}}. Quite possibly, it could also refer to fishing poles fashioned out of {{w|partisan (weapon)|polearms}}. Like the joke about the echo chamber, this is the literal realization of something that is usually a mere figure of speech.

There's also a chance that {{w|Partisan (weapon)|"partisan"}} might refer to a polearm, which is a type of spear weapon. Thus there could be a very subtle additional "spearfishing" pun here.

In this comic, Cueball builds an actual echo chamber (the acoustic structure), and discovers that it's very annoying when amplifying the noise of social media (as played on his phone). Of course, this is not the echo chamber complained about in the media, which often reports on the dangers of figurative echo chambers which amplify extreme views.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
[Cueball is sitting on a chair with his hands covering his ears. He is in a circular room with a phone on a stand. All words coming out of the phone are repeated everywhere, getting larger and less opaque]

Cueball: Here's Mittens falling into the laundry hamper for the third time today!

[Caption below panel:] Now that I've built one, I finally get why people complain about social media echo chambers.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

3116: Echo Chamber

2025-07-17T06:32:12Z

Darth Vader:

{{comic
| number = 3116
| date = July 16, 2025
| title = Echo Chamber
| image = echo_chamber_2x.png
| imagesize = 383x296px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = This is almost as bad as the time I signed up for a purely partisan fishing expedition.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by an echoing cat video. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

An {{w|echo chamber}} is a structure designed to maximise acoustic reverberation, in which echos occur excessively well. However, in social media, a ''metaphorical'' {{w|Echo chamber (media)|echo chamber}} reverberates the opinions of a group of individuals so that those individuals perceive those opinions as being the social norm. This has resulted in disastrous situations such as {{w|Pizzagate conspiracy theory|Pizzagate}}, the {{w|The dress|war over the gold dress}}, and the election of possibly at least one US President.

The audio playing on the phone possibly references the common occurance of cat videos on social media, as "Mittens" is often associated with a cat name. However, it is unknown whether the intended spelling is "mittens" with bad grammar, or "Mittens" the name. If the spelling was "mittens", it would imply that there are mittens (for wearing on hands) falling into the laundry hamper, which would generally be considered poor content, especially with the grammar, which would be annoying for Cueball indeed.

The title text references a "partisan fishing expedition". In general, a "fishing expedition" is an investigation begun on flimsy or no evidence to try to find unsavory or incriminating behavior. When such an investigation is motivated by political considerations in favor of one particular political party, it may be referred to as a "partisan fishing expedition". The joke here is similar to the joke about the "echo chamber": he is going on an actual "purely partisan fishing expedition" - a trip to catch actual fish where all the people on the fishing trip are either {{w|partisan (politics)|committed members of just one political party}}, or are all {{w|partisan (military)|members of domestic irregular military forces}}. Quite possibly, it could also refer to fishing poles fashioned out of {{w|partisan (weapon)|polearms}}. Like the joke about the echo chamber, this is the literal realization of something that is usually a mere figure of speech.

There's also a chance that {{w|Partisan (weapon)|"partisan"}} might refer to a polearm, which is a type of spear weapon. Thus there could be a very subtle additional "spearfishing" pun here.

In this comic, Cueball builds an actual echo chamber (the acoustic structure), and discovers that it's very annoying when amplifying the noise of social media (as played on his phone). Of course, this is not the echo chamber complained about in the media, which often reports on the dangers of figurative echo chambers which amplify extreme views.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
[Cueball is sitting on a chair with his hands covering his ears. He is in a circular room with a phone on a stand. All words coming out of the phone are repeated everywhere, getting larger and less opaque]

Here's Mittens falling into the laundry hamper for the third time today!

Now that I've built one, I finally get why people complain about social media echo chambers.
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

3115: Unsolved Physics Problems

2025-07-15T13:35:22Z

Darth Vader:

{{comic
| number = 3115
| date = July 14, 2025
| title = Unsolved Physics Problems
| image = unsolved_physics_problems_2x.png
| imagesize = 699x422px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'Tin pest' makes more sense to me. Tin just doesn't want to be locked down in a shape like that. I get it. But why would any metal want to grow hair??
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by A CURSED METAL FIGURE OF HAIRY. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

This comic is a sequel to comic [[2529: Unsolved Math Problems]], which follows the same format.

{{w|Quantum gravity}} is the problem of determining how {{w|gravity}} interacts with {{w|Quantum_mechanics|quantum physics}}. There are {{w|General_relativity#Relationship_with_quantum_theory|seeming contradictions}} between the two theories, as currently understood. Gravity operates at large scales and is described well by {{w|General_relativity|relativity theory}}, while quantum physics is easiest to observe at very small scales. This makes it hard to conduct an experiment that includes both phenomenon. This has led to a wide range of unifying theories which are difficult to experimentally confirm or refute.

The second phenomenon, the {{w|Soviet%E2%80%93American_Gallium_Experiment#Gallium_anomaly|Gallium Anomaly}}, is an example of a precise experiment to understand a specific phenomenon. The difference between the expectation and reality is small, but significant, and indicates our models of physics are inaccurate.

The third question concerns {{w|Whisker_(metallurgy)|zinc whiskers}} — a phenomenon, that sounds extremely strange at first sight, where a piece of metal (in this case zinc) can 'grow' hair-like filaments on its surface. Hair is usually thought of as an organic property, and spontaneous change in a block of metal would not be a typical problem most people would expect. Thus [[Randall]] considers this phenomenon [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Comics_with_cursed_items cursed].

The title text mentions {{w|tin pest}} — a transformation which causes deterioration of moldable white tin into brittle powdery grey tin. Randall considers this an understandable rebellion of the tin against being forced into shapes that we want it to take, whereas he cannot understand the motivation of zinc to grow hair. In reality, metallic elements do not have motivations and intentions.{{cn}}

All of these are real phenomena.

==Transcript==

{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
: The Three Types of Unsolved Physics Problem

: Vague
: [A Feynman diagram of two particles interacting via the electromagnetic force is to the right of Cueball. The diagram is drawn on a curved surface]
: Cueball: What is the nature of time in quantum gravity? Is it a background parameter, a dynamic aspect of spacetime, or an emergent phenomenon?

: Precise
: [A scientific instrument and a nuclear reaction equation of gallium-71 becoming germanium-71 are to Megan's left]
: Megan: Why does the ''S.A.G.E.'' Gallium Neutrino Capture Experiment produce only 75% as much germanium as predicted?

: Cursed
: [A rectangular block of zinc, with whiskers growing out of it, is visible to the right of White Hat]
: White Hat: Why does some metal randomly grow hairs?
: White Hat: It keeps causing short circuits and we have no idea what's going on.
: Voice from off-panel: Is this a joke?
: White Hat: No! Please help!

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics with cursed items]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]

3113: Fix This Sign

2025-07-10T12:58:52Z

Darth Vader:

{{comic
| number = 3113
| date = July 9, 2025
| title = Fix This Sign
| image = fix_this_sign_2x.png
| imagesize = 448x405px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = We're building on our earlier success getting web developers to pay to change the backslashes in our displayed payment URL to forward slashes.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a MISALI NED CO LUM. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

[[Randall Munroe|Randall]] has created a sign with a number of issues, such as bad kerning and alignment, that {{w|graphic designer}}s might be disturbed by. Fortunately these graphic designers can donate money to have the sign's issues fixed, which is probably an improvement upon the situation invoked in the case of [[2598: Graphic Designers]].

Given the costs of printing a sign of this size, Randall may have severely underpriced his fixes and set up his business to fail, if he intends to honour the pledges. He may be relying on there being a ''lot'' of passing graphic designers, generating multiple 'doanations' for each issue.

The following paid solutions to deliberate issues are advertised:
;Fix kerning ($10) :{{w|Kerning}} refers to the spacing between letters in a {{w|typeface}}, previously addressed in [[1015: Kerning]]. Kerning issues can result in letters text appearing too far apart, as if there were a space in between, or too close as if the letters were merged. In some instances combinations of letters can appear like other letters. A well known example of this is the r and n in kerning merging into "keming", which is depicted in that comic with the R and N close together (although in uppercase this merging doesn't happen).
:In this instance, the N and I in this word are very close together in this actual item, as a self-demonstrating issue. In the sign's title, the I and S (in "THIS") are too far apart and the S and the I (in "SIGN") are too close to each other. 

;Align columns ($20) :Here the dollar amount and the text itself are not {{w|typographic alignment|aligned}} the same as with the rest of the entries.

;Fix text size ($20) :The {{w|Point_(typography)|size}} of this entry is smaller than the rest of the other entries. As with the misaligned columns, such variances could be displeasing to the eye or distracting.

;Fix typo ($50) :The title of the sign says "'''Doanate''' to fix this sign!" Someone who is easily annoyed by random typos could be compelled to donate just to get the typo fixed.

;Fix centering ($50) :The content of the sign is off-center, leaving larger gaps to the left than to the right.

;Fix rotation ($100): The content of the sign slopes slightly down from left to right. For example, in the title "doanate" is higher than "sign", and the {{w|QR code}} 'graphic' is noticeably off-square.

The relative values assigned to each 'fix' are presumably proportional to at least one observer's perceived degree of issue with each 'mistake'.

The title text refers to another common annoyance seen in signs: the use of {{w|backslash}}es in {{w|URL}}s. URLs are defined to use forward slashes (/) rather than backslashes (\), which are used in Windows {{w|Path_(computing)|pathnames}}. Due to the widespread usage of both URLs and Windows pathnames, it is not uncommon for someone to instinctively use backslashes in URLs, which isn't always supported. (Forward slashes in Windows paths, however, ''are'' supported via Win32-to-NT path conversion.) This annoyance was also discussed in [[727: Trade Expert]].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
A single panel containing a large, elevated sign with Ponytail in front of it.

The sign has a large title reading "Doanate to fix this sign!". Below that on the left is a faux QR code with a link https://[illegible].com, and on the right a list of donation requests: 
::$10 fix kerning 
:$20 align columns [this entry is mis-aligned] 
::$20 fix text size [this entry is in a smaller font than the others] 
::$50 fix typo 
::$50 fix centering 
::$100 fix rotation

Ponytail, looking at her phone, is saying "Grrr..." and possibly going to the sign's website to donate.

Text below panel: "My new company's business model is based on extorting graphic designers."

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]