https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=E%C3%A4rendilexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2026-04-18T10:48:12ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2445:_Checkbox&diff=2093682445: Checkbox2021-04-01T23:30:58Z<p>Eärendil: LS, DIR, #</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2445<br />
| date = April 1, 2021<br />
| title = Checkbox<br />
| image = checkbox.gif<br />
| titletext = Check check check ... chhecck chhecck chhecck ... check check check<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a CHECKBOX. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} <br />
This is an April Fools comic that looks similar to a loading screen. The actual comic (this “loading screen”) consists of a gif of a checkbox (hence the name). <br />
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The frame is replaced with an interactive panel. In the centre is a check box, which clears itself immediately when checked. In the bottom right is a mute button, which begins muted.<br />
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Under the checkbox is a scrolling visual representation of the timing and duration of clicks in the check box, which also produce matching beeping sounds when unmuted.<br />
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By varying between brief and long presses, and brief and long intervals between presses, it is possible to enter characters in Morse Code.<br />
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The title text hints at the use of Morse Code in the comic; interpreting the "check" as a Morse Code dot and the "chhecck" as a Morse Code dash gives ...---..., which is the Morse Code for "SOS", the international distress signal. Incidentally, inputting the SOS signal gives "YOU TOO?".<br />
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The check box then begins operating by itself, producing sounds which can be decoded as Morse Code.<br />
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For the majority of inputs, the check box responds with 'WHAT'. Some keywords have special responses.<br />
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===Special Responses===<br />
[.s are short presses, -s are long presses, and /s are spaces (just for readability)]<br />
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xkcd -> FILE NOT FOUND<br />
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[-..- -.- -.-. -..]<br />
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SOS -> YOU TOO?<br />
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[...---...]<br />
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HI -> HELLO! ANYBODY OUT THERE?<br />
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[.... ..]<br />
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HELLO -> HELLO TO YOU TOO!<br />
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[.... . .-.. .-.. ---]<br />
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WHAT -> ECHO<br />
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[.-- .... .- -]<br />
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ECHO -> ECHO<br />
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[. -.-. .... ---]<br />
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E (''repeat n times'') -> E (''repeat n times'')<br />
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[.]<br />
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T (''repeat n times'') -> T (''repeat n times'')<br />
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[-]<br />
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WHO ARE YOU -> SOJOURNER<br />
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[.-- .... --- / .- .-. . / -.-- --- ..-]<br />
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CQ -> CQD DE SOJ<br />
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[-.-. --.-]<br />
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SOJOURNER -> CFM (short for Confirm)<br />
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[... --- .--- --- ..- .-. -. . .-.]<br />
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QUIET -> (turns the volume off)<br />
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[--.- ..- .. . -]<br />
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MUTE -> (turns the volume off)<br />
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[-- ..- - .]<br />
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BEEP -> (turns the volume on)<br />
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[-... . . .--.]<br />
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QRS -> (reduces playback speed)<br />
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[--.- .-. ...]<br />
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QRQ -> (increases playback speed)<br />
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[--.- .-. --.-]<br />
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QRA -> QRA SOJOURNER<br />
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[--.- .-. .-]<br />
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QRB -> QRB 264 MILLION KM<br />
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[--.- .-. -...]<br />
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QRG -> QRG PATHFINDER<br />
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[--.- .-. --.]<br />
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QTH -> QTH ARES VALLIS<br />
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[--.- - ....]<br />
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ET -> PHONE HOME<br />
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[. -]<br />
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LS -> DID YOU MEAN DIR<br />
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DIR -> ENTER IMAGE NUMBER<br />
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(any number <=2445) -> (loads xkcd comic in new tab)<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
Loading...<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>Eärendilhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2326:_Five_Word_Jargon&diff=194075Talk:2326: Five Word Jargon2020-06-30T04:17:12Z<p>Eärendil: </p>
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<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
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Approximate nonnegative matrix factorization algorithms <br />
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That's all. -[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.119|162.158.62.119]] 22:04, 29 June 2020 (UTC)<br />
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super cali fragilistic expiali docious<br />
[[User:Bo Lindbergh|Bo Lindbergh]] ([[User talk:Bo Lindbergh|talk]]) 22:26, 29 June 2020 (UTC)<br />
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Over at [https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/ Language Log] they have fun documenting bewildering "noun piles". In the post '''[https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3341 noun pile blog post madness]''' for example<br />
: '''data bound control table row action links'''<br />
:: is a header in this page from Microsoft: '''[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/system.web.dynamicdata.dynamichyperlink?view=netframework-4.8 DynamicHyperLink Class]'''<br />
[[User:JohnB|JohnB]] ([[User talk:JohnB|talk]]) 23:59, 29 June 2020 (UTC)<br />
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All cyanobacteria are unicellular. That word is just an imposition. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 02:25, 30 June 2020 (UTC)<br />
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Cueball could be Randall copying down the phrase into his collection. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.131|173.245.54.131]] 03:10, 30 June 2020 (UTC)<br />
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I was expecting these would in fact all mean something incredibly simple. I'm a little disappointed :( [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.108|198.41.238.108]] 04:03, 30 June 2020 (UTC)<br />
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My undergraduate research was on fluxional behavior in zwitterionic isoindoline complexes, so this struck close to home.[[User:Eärendil|Eärendil]] ([[User talk:Eärendil|talk]]) 04:17, 30 June 2020 (UTC)</div>Eärendil