explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1207: AirAware

2026-01-04T02:14:10Z

Eptin:

{{comic
| number = 1207
| date = May 3, 2013
| title = AirAware
| image = airaware.png
| titletext = It ships with a version of Google Now that alerts you when it's too late to leave for your appointments.
}}

==Explanation==
Upon being asked by [[Cueball]], [[Black Hat]] reveals his new 'business', AirAware. He explains it uses a {{w|Quadrotor}} Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ({{w|UAV}}) that flies and records a person's daily schedule. If that person either deviates, forgets an appointment, or tells somebody incorrect information, the drone alerts the 'client' with an annoying "WRONG!".

Cueball is skeptical of the 'business plan' and questions its potential. Black Hat expands, saying that his intention is not personal profit, and he is simply releasing them himself. Cueball starts to argue that it is not a business, since there is no monetary gain, before being abruptly interrupted by the AirAware drone, declaring that his previous sentence was incorrect. This implies that Black Hat's business is not for profit; it's just another one of his sadistic schemes to torture people, and Cueball is his latest victim.

Although the Wikipedia page for {{w|business}} states that a business "may also be not-for-profit", this isn't really relevant, as 'making money' and 'making a profit' are different things. It would be better classified as a different type of organization, or even as a [[:Category:My Hobby|hobby]].

{{w|Google Now}} is software by Google, shipped with newer Android devices. It shows you important information when you need it, like traffic on your way to work or home and upcoming events from your calendar. It also reminds you when to leave in order to reach an appointment in time. In the title text, Black Hat has modified this to tell you when you're too ''late'' to get there, instead.

It can also refer to a [http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/92305/why-does-google-now-never-think-that-i-will-arrive-on-time bug in Google Now], which is that Google Now incorrectly calculates the time you have to leave, and it always calculates that what it calculated will be 1 minute too late, so it shows "The transportation mode you selected will not let you arrive on time" almost always, unless you refresh.

An alternate explanation for the pronouncement of "WRONG!" by the quadcopter in the last panel is that it is referring to the plethora of companies in the electronic era, and even today, that don't actually make much (or any) money, but are still considered successful businesses.

The words unexpectedly shouted from something floating in the sky is reminiscent of the balloon surprising people in [[1226: Balloon Internet]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Black Hat looking at a remote-controlled flying object.]
:Cueball: What's that?
:Black Hat: It's a drone for my new business, ''AirAware''.

:Black Hat (narrating): Our UAVs follow you and learn your schedule. If you miss a turn, forget an appointment, or give someone inaccurate information, they alert you.
:Megan (on phone): I'll be there in five.
:Booming voice from the sky: <big>'''''WRONG!'''''</big>
:Megan: Augh!

:Cueball: That sounds annoying. Who would ''pay'' for that?
:Black Hat: Huh? Nobody pays. I'm just making these and releasing them.

:Cueball: That's not a business. You're just yelling at strangers from the sky.
:Cueball: A business has to make money somehow.
:Booming voice from the sky: <big>'''''WRONG!'''''</big>
:Cueball: Augh!!

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Drones]]
[[Category:Google]]

1226: Balloon Internet

2026-01-04T02:13:34Z

Eptin: Added the link to 1207: AirAware

{{comic
| number = 1226
| date = June 17, 2013
| title = Balloon Internet
| image = balloon_internet.png
| titletext = I run a business selling rural internet access. My infrastructure consists of a bunch of Verizon wifi hotspots that I sign up for and then cancel at the end of the 14-day return period.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic references Google's {{w|Project Loon}}, a balloon powered Internet service which was officially announced June 14, 2013 (3 days before this comic was published) and was in proof-of-concept testing stages by that time. A test above New Zealand, involving about 30 balloons and about 50 users, was successfully conducted on June 16. The project, taglined "Internet for Everyone", was intended to eventually provide Internet access to people in rural areas and in disaster areas that have limited or no access to land-based Internet services.
As of 2019 Loon LLC was an individual Google subsidiary instead of a mere project and was present in multiple places across the world for either Internet in rural areas, full coverage of a country or disaster relief.

In March of 2021, {{w|Alphabet Inc.|Alphabet}}, Google's parent company, announced the closure of Loon, LLC.

[[Randall]] is poking fun at the tagline "Internet for Everyone" — meant to mean anyone could have Internet access regardless of location — by instead literally bringing the Internet to [[Cueball]], who sits in a deserted area, away from all technology, to read a standard paper book. In the comic, one of the balloons sneaks up on Cueball before speaking and startling Cueball, effectively becoming a nuisance, interrupting Cueball's reading of a book and leaving Cueball wondering what has happened. In Randall's world, the tagline could be restated as "Internet for Everyone — whether they want it or not".

The title text describes Randall's own plan to provide rural internet. He will operate in a region where {{w|Verizon}} cellular data service already exists, and take advantage of their 14-day return policy to effectively obtain internet access for free, which he will then sell under his own brand.

The words unexpectedly spoken from something floating in the sky is reminiscent of the drone shouting at people in [[1207: AirAware]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits on a hill reading a book.]
:[Cueball remains engrossed in the book. A balloon with a box at the end of the string begins to descend behind him.]
:[Cueball continues reading. The balloon is getting lower.]
:[The balloon's box is now right behind Cueball's ear.]
:Balloon box: ''Internet''.
:Cueball: Augh!
:[Cueball throws the book in surprise.]
:[The balloon ascends rapidly, while the startled Cueball looks up.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Google]]

1207: AirAware

2026-01-04T02:12:45Z

Eptin: Added the link to 1226: Balloon Internet

{{comic
| number = 1207
| date = May 3, 2013
| title = AirAware
| image = airaware.png
| titletext = It ships with a version of Google Now that alerts you when it's too late to leave for your appointments.
}}

==Explanation==
Upon being asked by [[Cueball]], [[Black Hat]] reveals his new 'business', AirAware. He explains it uses a {{w|Quadrotor}} Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ({{w|UAV}}) that flies and records a person's daily schedule. If that person either deviates, forgets an appointment, or tells somebody incorrect information, the drone alerts the 'client' with an annoying "WRONG!".

Cueball is skeptical of the 'business plan' and questions its potential. Black Hat expands, saying that his intention is not personal profit, and he is simply releasing them himself. Cueball starts to argue that it is not a business, since there is no monetary gain, before being abruptly interrupted by the AirAware drone, declaring that his previous sentence was incorrect. This implies that Black Hat's business is not for profit; it's just another one of his sadistic schemes to torture people, and Cueball is his latest victim.

Although the Wikipedia page for {{w|business}} states that a business "may also be not-for-profit", this isn't really relevant, as 'making money' and 'making a profit' are different things. It would be better classified as a different type of organization, or even as a [[:Category:My Hobby|hobby]].

{{w|Google Now}} is software by Google, shipped with newer Android devices. It shows you important information when you need it, like traffic on your way to work or home and upcoming events from your calendar. It also reminds you when to leave in order to reach an appointment in time. In the title text, Black Hat has modified this to tell you when you're too ''late'' to get there, instead.

It can also refer to a [http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/92305/why-does-google-now-never-think-that-i-will-arrive-on-time bug in Google Now], which is that Google Now incorrectly calculates the time you have to leave, and it always calculates that what it calculated will be 1 minute too late, so it shows "The transportation mode you selected will not let you arrive on time" almost always, unless you refresh.

An alternate explanation for the pronouncement of "WRONG!" by the quadcopter in the last panel is that it is referring to the plethora of companies in the electronic era, and even today, that don't actually make much (or any) money, but are still considered successful businesses.

The words unexpectedly shouted from something floating in the sky is reminiscent of the balloon surprising at people in [[1226: Balloon Internet]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Black Hat looking at a remote-controlled flying object.]
:Cueball: What's that?
:Black Hat: It's a drone for my new business, ''AirAware''.

:Black Hat (narrating): Our UAVs follow you and learn your schedule. If you miss a turn, forget an appointment, or give someone inaccurate information, they alert you.
:Megan (on phone): I'll be there in five.
:Booming voice from the sky: <big>'''''WRONG!'''''</big>
:Megan: Augh!

:Cueball: That sounds annoying. Who would ''pay'' for that?
:Black Hat: Huh? Nobody pays. I'm just making these and releasing them.

:Cueball: That's not a business. You're just yelling at strangers from the sky.
:Cueball: A business has to make money somehow.
:Booming voice from the sky: <big>'''''WRONG!'''''</big>
:Cueball: Augh!!

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Drones]]
[[Category:Google]]

3106: Farads

2025-06-25T04:01:35Z

Eptin: Separated out the title text explanation

{{comic
| number = 3106
| date = June 23, 2025
| title = Farads
| image = farads_2x.png
| imagesize = 677x253px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'This HAZMAT container contains radioactive material with activity of one becquerel.' 'So, like, a single banana slice?'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created recently by one Katal. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
The first three units are in fairly common usage, and one can become accustomed to how much they represent.

The first panel shows the stick, representing 1 meter.

The second panel shows a stone, weighing 1 pound.

The third panel shows a battery, being one volt. While reasonable, the lowest voltage commercially available is 1.5V, usually for button-batteries.

The fourth panel shows a capacitor, with 1 Farad. Unlike the other units, 1 farad is really goddamn big. In common use, even millifarads are quite large, and most consumer electronics use at most a nanofarad. A 1-farad capacitor is considered a supercapacitor.

The title text refers to a becquerel, which amounts to one radioactive decay per second on the atomic level. This is a really low level of radioactivity. Hence, it is both impractical and unnecessary to contain whatever it is inside a HAZMAT container unless it is dangerous for other reasons. The human body itself [https://web.archive.org/web/20200220103556/https://radioactivity.eu.com/site/pages/Activity_Doses.htm has an activity of 8000 bq.]
==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
: [Cueball holds a stick while talking with Megan and White Hat]
: Cueball: This stick is one meter long.
: Megan: Cool.
: White Hat: That's a nice stick.
:
: [Cueball holds a smallish rock]
: Cueball: This rock weighs one pound.
: Megan: I'd believe it.
: White Hat: Looks like a normal rock.
:
: [Cueball holds a small battery]
: Cueball: This battery is one volt.
: Megan: Seems fine.
: White Hat: Might need a recharge.
:
: [Cueball holds a capacitor while Megan and White Hat panic]
: Cueball: This capacitor is one farad.
: Megan: <b><em>Aaaaa! Be careful!!</em></b>
: White Hat: Put it down!!

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

1345: Answers

2024-03-25T22:26:43Z

Eptin: Fixed link-rot

{{comic
| number = 1345
| date = March 21, 2014
| title = Answers
| image = answers.png
| titletext = Stanford sleep researcher William Dement said that after 50 years of studying sleep, the only really solid explanation he knows for why we do it is 'because we get sleepy'.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] claims that humans are driven by their curiosity, which is never-ending. [[Megan]] responds by noting that everyone spends approximately eight hours per day in an unconscious state of {{w|sleep}}, but no one has yet pinned down the biological purpose of sleep. Despite this obvious mystery, most people aren't "losing sleep over it." This implies that Cueball's observed curiosity has a perceptible and proximate limit.

This is not to suggest that scientists ''aren't'' researching sleep; scientists frequently conduct {{w|Sleep study|sleep studies}} — we just haven't found any satisfactory answers yet. Some popular hypotheses are to allow the brain a period to consolidate memories and to give the body a chance to repair itself.

The title text quotes {{w|William Dement}}: people sleep "because we get sleepy." ([https://web.archive.org/web/20160618161328/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/05/sleep/max-text Secrets of sleep]). This of course is dodging the underlying issue. That this non-explanation is the best answer that a leading sleep researcher can provide, shows how little anyone knows about the subject. This may be an oblique reference to the [[:wikt:dormitive principle|dormitive principle]] of the French playwright Molière, who created a satirical character who claimed to have discovered the answer to a popular question: The reason opium makes someone sleepy, said the character, a doctor, was that it contained a "dormitive principle" (i.e., something that makes someone sleepy).

In [[203: Hallucinations]], Randall expressed similar surprise at the lack of interest in the nature of sleep.

The phrase "and nobody knows why" is commonly appended to urban legends, as in [http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/duckecho.asp A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why]. The implication is that something mysterious is going on and scientists are puzzled. [[1186: Bumblebees]] is another "nobody knows why" example.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are talking.]
:Cueball: Humans are defined by our curiosity, our hunger for answers.
:Megan: We all spend a third of our lives lying down with our eyes closed and '''''NOBODY KNOWS WHY.'''''
:Cueball: Touché.

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

Talk:2366: Amelia's Farm Fresh Cookies

2024-02-02T23:25:02Z

Eptin: Nothing but the dead and dying [from my grandma's cookie recipe]

Personally, I think the most likely digit there is 4, followed by 6. I'm pretty sure it can't be a 9 given the angles, so I wouldn't say that's likelier than other alternatives in the explanation. (Very trivial point, so I won't bother editing.) It's most likely intended to be a generic nonsense squiggle (similar to the lines of text, but for just one character), purposely illegible to leave the actual location within Orlando ambiguous. It just happened to come out as a very 4ish squiggle.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.189|162.158.79.189]] 16:25, 2 October 2020 (UTC)

32841 is not a valid zip code. I'm also dubious that the town/city name is Orlando. Sure, it probably does start with an O (and not a cursive A, since the street name has a capital A to show the way the letter should look), but it certainly doesn't continue on long enough to be Orlando, especially with no ascending stroke for the 'd' and not appearing to end with a round shape for a letter like 'o'. It appears to me to be more of an n/m/r final letter. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.14|162.158.75.14]] 23:19, 30 September 2020 (UTC)

:Ah, that's what I get for just punching "32841 zip code" into Google and seeing Orlando FL come up. The closest-looking valid zip code I can find that's still in Orlando is 32891; fixed the transcript. The end of the word Orlando just seems intended to be generic squiggles not actually matching any letters, like almost everything after the Ingredients label. If you can find another town/city in FL that starts with O and has a similar-looking enough zip code, go for it. [[User:Zowayix|Zowayix]] ([[User talk:Zowayix|talk]]) 23:59, 30 September 2020 (UTC)

::All zip codes that begin 328 are in Orlando. 32841 specifically is not in use. [[User:Silverpie|Silverpie]] ([[User talk:Silverpie|talk]]) 02:12, 1 October 2020 (UTC)

:::It seems impossible to read the zip code as anything other than [3][2 or 4][6 or 8][squiggle][1], where the squiggle is different from the other 4 digits and probably isn't a 0. Under these constraints, there are 20 possible zip codes, but if the zip has to be valid and the city name has to be one word that starts with O and in Florida, the only possible choices are Orlando and 32891 or 32861. To keep the transcript faithful to the actual appearance, I'll let it stay as "O[illegible], FL 328#1" and put the city and zip deduction in the explanation. [[User:Zowayix|Zowayix]] ([[User talk:Zowayix|talk]]) 01:45, 2 October 2020 (UTC)

I don't see that the mouse-over suggests an escalation as described. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 00:23, 1 October 2020 (UTC)
:I saw it as "had address on packaging, just so; grandma starts campaign of complaints to give granddaughter a similar experience; granddaughter suggests stopping original action if that would stop granny's retalation; (but apparently an armistice purely on those terms is not acceptable to Big-G)" - But there's other interpretations, I'll admit. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.154|141.101.98.154]] 00:45, 1 October 2020 (UTC)
::That's how I saw it too -- no suggestion that the package didn't originally have the address. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 01:17, 1 October 2020 (UTC)

Isn't this a reference to the Annie's brand?
:"Annie Withey believed it was possible to build a socially conscious and successful business. This was her mission in 1989, when she wrote her name, address, and phone number on the very first boxes of Annie’s Mac and Cheese. Her legacy lives on as Annie’s strives to change the future for our kids, starting with food." per https://www.annies.com/our-mission/ . So maybe? [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 03:59, 1 October 2020 (UTC)
:I am pretty sure Annie's brand has a story on the label

I didn't get the clues pointing that it's a package and mistakenly thought it was a cooking recipe web page. Many sites feel obliged to precede the recipe with a personal story on the food, which distracts from what the reader wants -- the recipe itself. I'd been a good comic as well if it was a pun on that. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.94.50|172.68.94.50]] 03:44, 1 October 2020 (UTC)
: I didn't interpret it as a package of the cookies, either. To me it looked like the company's ("Amelia's Farm") website and I interpreted the "nutrition facts" table as the site's menu. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 10:35, 1 October 2020 (UTC)
::For readers in the USA, it's more obviously a Nutritional Facts box - the varied weight of horizontal lines and the Percentage (%) symbol at the end of each line is standard.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.250|108.162.216.250]] 21:04, 1 October 2020 (UTC)
:Tip: the word you're looking for is "parody" rather than pun. [[User:Zowayix|Zowayix]] ([[User talk:Zowayix|talk]]) 01:52, 2 October 2020 (UTC)

Anyone else think the additional squiggles at the bottom left include a circle K (Kosher) and Parve (containing neither meat nor milk) which would be plausible for cookies (and could easily anger some grandmothers)? If so, is it worth adding to the transcript?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.212|108.162.219.212]] 12:10, 1 October 2020 (UTC)
: On magnification, it just looks like random squiggles to me. The letter in the circle looks like a lowercase "i", which is not (as far as I know) the symbol for any kosher certification. [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 13:42, 1 October 2020 (UTC)
:It could just as easily be some impression of a trademark or copyright or any other of the many circle-like designations on food packages.

Upon reading the address I immediately thought that the city was Orlando and that granny's name was "Wanda Munroe". [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.43|162.158.74.43]] 13:16, 1 October 2020 (UTC)

Per the editing FAQ, we use the smaller version of the comic here. But perhaps we should always include a link to the high-res version when one is available? Though it doesn't quite fit under either "Transcript" or "Explanation". [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 19:44, 1 October 2020 (UTC)

I think the city's actually Ocala and Randal didn't even try to match the city to the zip code. (Too many L's!) [[User:RandalSchwartz|RandalSchwartz]] ([[User talk:RandalSchwartz|talk]]) 21:16, 1 October 2020 (UTC)
:This seems unlikely given how everything after the O is squiggled and there's another much more well-known candidate with a zip code that's much closer to matching. [[User:Zowayix|Zowayix]] ([[User talk:Zowayix|talk]]) 01:45, 2 October 2020 (UTC)

Just what was her grandmother doing to get cookies like that? To get cookies that are crumbly and brittle, Grandma cooked her cookies for too long at too high a temperature, driving too much water out. The gritty texture can be achieved by not using enough water in the batter to start with; put the dry ingredients into the mixer bowl set at too high a speed, add the water all at once (but not enough to hydrate all the flour particles) and mix it for too long. This should form lots of fine lumps to give a gritty texture. To get the crispy middle and gooey outside, use ''way'' too much fats, like the butter, and don't let it evenly distribute in the batter, so that when it melts in the oven, the fats ooze out and soften the edges, but Grandma would have had to add extra water after the initial mixing, so the conversion of steam will dry out the middle and put the fat out. Okay, I am reaching a bit with the last one. You have got to do a lot of things wrong to make cookies that bad. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 03:17, 2 October 2020 (UTC)
:Using specialty flours can do some of it. I tried using non-wheat flours to make gluten-free cookies a couple of decades ago, with mixed success. They tended to come out brittle and crumbly, and if I recall correctly, tapioca flour gave them a certain grittiness. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 03:44, 2 October 2020 (UTC)
:You'd get a gritty quality if you also made sure you used only the finest farmyard grit... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.247|162.158.158.247]] 14:12, 2 October 2020 (UTC)

Finally, the first xkcd to address the issue of GMO antibacterials head on

First question, is oatmeal involved? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.96|172.69.22.96]] 03:23, 2 October 2020 (UTC)

Reference to "Cookie Clicker" seems unlikely to me. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 15:00, 3 October 2020 (UTC)
:I agree and removed that part. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 11:35, 5 October 2020 (UTC)

When I first read the comic, I read the first paragraph, thought "oh, another story about happy evenings and healthy ingredients and so on", read the last paragraph, which confirmed my expectation, and didn't even realize the rest of the story. Anyone else was reading the text like this? [[User:Bolisom|Bolisom]] ([[User talk:Bolisom|talk]]) 07:53, 5 October 2020 (UTC)
:Hm... no. I (and I guess most others) have read the text completely becaus, you know, that is only place where the joke could have been. ;) But now that you mention it this should/could be added to the explanation since besides of the part that you accidently skipped it's like any other text of its sort. While it might not be Amelia's intention that you don't read the middle part it could have been Randall's intention just to fool the reader. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 11:35, 5 October 2020 (UTC)

Double size image for 4K shows more detail. I accidentally discovered it when I got a 4K monitor. If you have hidpi set (150%+ scaling in Windows), xkcd will default to double sized comics. The one for this is: https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/amelias_farm_fresh_cookies_2x.png
You can open the double size images by opening the picture itself in the browser, then appending "_2x" to the filename (before the file extension portion).
The zip code is pretty clearly 32841, which is apparently invalid (it makes sense to prevent an accidental actual address).

This comic is much like [https://open.spotify.com/track/3obrfotpr4kLCKiOu2GZ4Q?si=ac533b0acae14512 Simon & Garfunkel's My Little Town], but for cookies. Some real anti-nostalgia going on here. --[[User:Eptin|Eptin]] ([[User talk:Eptin|talk]]) 23:25, 2 February 2024 (UTC)