explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

522: Google Trends

2025-10-07T02:11:58Z

Dexcube: /* Explanation */ Add possible explanation concerning Palin's abortion policy

{{comic
| number = 522
| date = December 26, 2008
| title = Google Trends
| image = google_trends.png
| titletext = Obama has been writing Lincoln/Obama erotic fan fiction on his secret livejournal. Excerpt: Lincoln lay back on the bed, nude save for his trademark stovepipe hat. 'Tell me,' he purred seductively, as he and Obama formed a more perfect union. 'When you come, is it 10% ethanol?'
}}

==Explanation==

{{w|Google Search|Google}} keeps track of which searches are most popular in which regions as part of more general data mining to improve their service. For the enjoyment/education of others, they release select, non-personal parts of this data under the banner "[http://www.google.com/trends/ Google Trends]."

The first statistic – that "Men kissing" was popular in {{w|Utah}}, a state known for possessing a large population with very conservative social values, including opposition to homosexuality – is real.{{acn}} The others are made up for the sake of the joke. In order:

; Installing Ubuntu" – Redmond, WA
: {{w|Ubuntu}} is a {{w|Linux}} distribution; {{w|Redmond, Washington}} is home to {{w|Microsoft}}, the company that makes the rival operating system {{w|Microsoft Windows|Windows}}.
; Running for President in 2010" – Wasilla, AK
: 2010 was not a presidential election year in the United States; {{w|Wasilla, Alaska}} is home to {{w|Sarah Palin}}, a politician known for making such gaffes and who was {{w|John McCain}}'s {{w|running mate}} in the {{w|United States presidential election, 2008|2008 election}} that occurred a few weeks before this comic.
; Lincoln Fan Fiction" – Chicago, IL
: {{w|Abraham Lincoln}} was the US president from 1861 to his assassination in 1865; {{w|Chicago, Illinois}} is home to {{w|Barack Obama}}, who apparently reads (presumably {{w|erotic}}) {{w|fanfiction}} about the former president.
; Raptors on Hoverboards" – Somerville, MA
: {{w|Velociraptors}} are a favorite xkcd topic; there are also frequently references to ''{{w|Back to the Future}}'' as with the {{w|hoverboards}} here. {{w|Somerville, Massachusetts}} is home to [[Randall Munroe]]. The speed of a ''Raptor on Hoverboard'' is given in [[526: Converting to Metric]].
; How is babby formed" – Wasilla, AK
: "How is babby formed?" was the title (and most of the content) of an infamous Yahoo! Answers question (see the title text of [[481: Listen to Yourself]] and [[550: Density]]). Wasilla, Alaska is, again, home to {{w|Sarah Palin}}; a few months prior to this comic's release, Sarah Palin revealed that her daughter, {{w|Bristol Palin}}, was pregnant out of wedlock. Ironically, before her pregnancy, Bristol Palin advocated sexual abstinence before marriage as pointed out in this [https://time.com/archive/6914503/in-defense-of-bristol-palin-abstinence-spokeswoman/ Time article]; as well as banning sex education in schools.{{Actual citation needed}} Ignorance of common contraceptives like condoms can cause unplanned pregnancies to happen. Additionally, Sarah Palin has been a consistent opponent of {{w|Political Positions of Sarah Palin#Abortion|abortion}}; this search may imply Palin is making policy bout pregnancy while lacking a basic scientific understanding of how pregnancy works.
; I hate this website" – Mountain View, CA
: {{w|Mountain View, California}} is home to {{w|Google}}'s headquarters. The implication is that Google employees are putting "I hate this website" into Google.

With regards to the excerpt Randall provides in the title text:
*{{w|Slash fiction}} is a genre of fan fiction that focuses on homosexual behavior.
*Lincoln/Obama (pronounced Lincoln slash Obama) fan fiction normally should be between Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama.
*The "more perfect union" line comes from the preamble to the US Constitution: "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union...". However, it seems to have a sexual connotation in this case.
*{{w|orgasm|Come}} (sometimes spelled cum) might be a reference to Obama orgasming and/or ejaculating.
*{{w|Ethanol}} is the more scientific name for drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol.
*"{{w|Common ethanol fuel mixtures#E10_or_less|10% ethanol}}" refers to automotive gasoline that includes 10% ethanol (usually made from corn or other vegetables), with the hopes of reducing the dependence on oil for fuel. The Obama administration [https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/nov/15/obama-lower-quotas-ethanol-gasoline adopted a policy in 2013] that mandated ethanol to make up 10% of the US’s fuel supply.

==Transcript==
:Bloggers were recently amused to discover that,
:according to Google Trends, the search term:
:"men kissing" is most popular in conservative Utah.
:A few other embarrassing correlations:

:[A two-column table]
:[On the left side of the table:]
:;<u>Search Term</u>

:;Installing Ubuntu

:;Running for President in 2010

:;Lincoln Fan Fiction

:;Raptors on Hoverboards

:;How is babby formed?

:;I hate this website

:[On the right side of the table:]
:;<u>Top City</u>

:;Redmond, WA

:;Wasilla, AK

:;Chicago, IL

:;Somerville, MA

:;Wasilla, AK

:;Mountain View, CA

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Linux]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Google Search]]
[[Category:Homosexuality]]
[[Category:Sex]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

2968: University Age

2024-08-06T03:35:47Z

Dexcube: Fix small mistakes

{{comic
| number = 2968
| date = August 5, 2024
| title = University Age
| image = university_age_2x.png
| imagesize = 317x388px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = This only makes it more urgent that we adopt my roadmap for the next 10 years, which should put us solidly in the lead.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by the HR HEAD OF THE OLDEST UNIVERSITY DESTRUCTION DEPARTMENT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this comic, Cueball tries to make their university older than another university, but due to the laws of time, it doesn't work.

In Cueball's speech, they reveal that, in the 5 years since they took change of the University, they have increased the university's age by five years, a rate of one year per year. This is, of course, the same rate that everything ages, including the rival university.

The final line of Cueball's speech, “Unfortunately, I have terrible news,” presumably precedes the announcement that the rival university has also aged 5 years and is therefore just as far ahead as they were before.

The program that Cueball mentions could and most likely was simply keeping the university due to a failure to grasp the concept of time. Alternatively, it could be a plan of subterfuge to cause the rival university to shutter, one of simply waiting for an expected university collapse, or a naive push to simply make their university so superior that the other would simply give up.

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

[Cueball is standing at a podium on a stage.]

When I took the helm five years ago, our university was 213 years old – the second oldest in the state, just behind our 215-year-old rival.

Under my leadership, we've funded an intensive program to increase our age to 218, overtaking our rival by 3.

Unfortunately, I have terrible news.

{{comic discussion}}

2968: University Age

2024-08-06T03:34:00Z

Dexcube: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2968
| date = August 5, 2024
| title = University Age
| image = university_age_2x.png
| imagesize = 317x388px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = This only makes it more urgent that we adopt my roadmap for the next 10 years, which should put us solidly in the lead.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by the DEAN OF THE TIME TRAVEL DEPARTMENT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this comic, Cueball tries to make their university older than another university, but due to the laws of time, it doesn't work.

In Cueball's speech, they reveal that, in the 5 years since they took change of the University, they have increased the university's age by five years, a rate of one year per year. This is, of course, the same rate that everything ages, including the rival university.

The final line of Cueball's speech, “Unfortunately, I have terrible news,” presumably precedes the announcement that the rival university has also aged 5 years and is therefore just as far ahead as they were before.

The program that Cueball mentions could and most likely was simply keeping the university due to a failure to grasp the concept of time. Alternatively, it could be a plan of subterfuge to cause the rival university to shutter, one of simply waiting for an expected university collapse, or a naive push to simply their university so superior that the other would simply give up.

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

[Cueball is standing at a podium on a stage.]

When I took the helm five years ago, our university was 213 years old – the second oldest in the state, just behind our 215-year-old rival.

Under my leadership, we've funded an intensive program to increase our age to 218, overtaking our rival by 3.

Unfortunately, I have terrible news.

{{comic discussion}}