https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Fephistoexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2026-04-29T23:29:17ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3236:_Border_Message&diff=411006Talk:3236: Border Message2026-04-23T17:43:02Z<p>Fephisto: /* Counting Exclaves */ new section</p>
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Wow, I got here early. [[Special:Contributions/47.152.141.142|47.152.141.142]] 21:11, 22 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
: *salutations.* [[User:CalibansCreations|'''<span style="color:#ff0000;">Caliban</span>''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 21:39, 22 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
The (sort of) Belgian village of Baarle-Hertog has numerous bizarre exclaves with neighbouring Netherlands, almost as complex as the borders in the cartoon. Some of the borders even pass through houses. https://maps.app.goo.gl/M5duocjEkJRQKedEA [[User:Martin|Martin]] ([[User talk:Martin|talk]]) 22:22, 22 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
:Baarle is divided into two, with ~-Nassau being Dutch (the Dutch royal family is Oranje-Nassau) and ~-Hertog is Belgian. Note that Baarle is a 2km² area with an extremely chaotic border, but that otherwise the Dutch-Belgian border is pretty normal relative to other European borders. [[User:IIVQ|IIVQ]] ([[User talk:IIVQ|talk]]) 05:15, 23 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
:European states/counties/jurisdictions were often complex and non-contiguous with many enclaves and exclaves. Many of these complex situations have disappeared (e.g. in France through the creation of departements in 1790); but some persisted or still remain. See e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exclaves_of_West_Berlin_in_East_Germany [[Special:Contributions/62.112.240.32|62.112.240.32]] 12:50, 23 April 2026 (UTC) <br />
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SMBC once had a similar idea to stop Gerrymandering: https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/2013-07-12 [[Special:Contributions/90.146.31.117|90.146.31.117]] 23:02, 22 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
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Gerrymandering was not my first thought when I saw this comic, maybe that part should be removed from the description? I don't see any real way that it connects to gerrymandering besides the fact that it talks about borders. [[User:Qoiuoiuoiu|Qoiuoiuoiu]] ([[User talk:Qoiuoiuoiu|talk]]) 01:56, 23 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
: Maybe it was added after the vague link to that SMBC comic was found? [[Special:Contributions/110.145.224.178|110.145.224.178]] 03:22, 23 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
:: For what it's worth, the comment about gerrymandering was added in the very first text to be put on that page (21:09, 22 April 2026). It's not merely because of borders; it's because of "borders that have been made extremely convoluted for artificial reasons unrelated to the factors that usually define such boundaries, such as geographical features, roads, latitude/longitude, or regular divisions". [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 03:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
:Even as a non-USian, the recent gerrymandering efforts immediately seemed like an obvious prompt for the idea of the comic to me, even if it doesn't specifically reference it. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 08:29, 23 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
:I put it in my original explanation, before the comment (indeed, before <i>any</i> comments). It only came to mind because Virginia was in the news that day, so reporters were talking about weirdly-shaped districts. Maybe it's just a coincidence, but Randall may have known that the vote was taking place that day when he came up with the comic. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 14:25, 23 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
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I once spelled out words on openstreetmap. There were some hiking trails nearby from a data set that opened up and I could not put them all up in one session, so I spelled "To Do" (in the shape of the actual hiking trails) on Openstreetmap. [[User:IIVQ|IIVQ]] ([[User talk:IIVQ|talk]]) 05:15, 23 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
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Is there a category for US State comics? There seems to be a lot of them, and a category might make sence. If there isn't perhaps someone could make one? {{unsigned|GSLikesCats307|09:26, 23 April 2026 (UTC)}}<br />
:There's [[:Category:US maps]], but that is really more specifically of the 'whole' US (give or take contiguousness/fictionalisation), whereas this is more just 'a map', not even necessarily a (theoretical) subset of the US (though the names given to either side of the border do have a more Leftpondian feel, having that 'settler vibe' to them). [[Special:Contributions/82.132.238.56|82.132.238.56]] 10:48, 23 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
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== Counting Exclaves ==<br />
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The W, O, P, O, ', R, O, A ,P all have clear exclaves. "A" and "R" seems to have two. However, it's unclear whether J and G are entirely exclaves, or possibly letters like "O" are doubly exclaved. If the answer to that is no, then that would mean there are 11 exclaves. Does anyone else agree with this assessment? [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 17:43, 23 April 2026 (UTC)</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3235:_Types_of_Board_Game&diff=4108173235: Types of Board Game2026-04-21T19:26:53Z<p>Fephisto: /* Explanation */</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3235<br />
| date = April 20, 2026<br />
| title = Types of Board Game<br />
| image = types_of_board_game_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 501x1161px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = I can't believe Candles of Vienna caved to commercial pressure and added the Goku expansion.<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|This page was created by the official candle-lighter of the Congress of Vienna in 1814. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
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There are a lot of different types of board games in the world. Some are very simple, some are very complicated. This comic illustrates various types, with rather extreme examples.<br />
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{| class="wikitable"<br />
| Boring || This is a very simplistic and boring board game style, where the players simply move around the board at the dictates of chance. The simplest examples (such as {{w|Snakes and Ladders}}, {{w|Mouse Trap (board game)|Mouse Trap}}, and {{w|Candy Land}}) involve no player choices at all, can get frustrating when dice rolls don't want to line up late in the game, and are thus viewed as boring, at least for adults. {{w|Pachisi}} variants (like {{w|Ludo}}) also fall into this structure while still needing some amount of skill and strategy, but it may feel frustratingly difficult to influence the outcome. It is unclear whether the described game has no end condition at all or whether it is so dull that the group involved are unable to complete it without getting bored and giving up.<br />
|-<br />
| Abstract || This board game has more abstract tones, involving the arrangement of geometric shapes for reasons that may not be immediately clear, perhaps similar to something like {{w|Hive (game)|Hive}} or {{w|Tantrix}}. Some people may find that this kind of game, without a relatable framing they can use as a starting point for understanding it, is quite hard to get to grips with.<br />
|-<br />
| Hyperspecific Theme || This board game has a weirdly specific backstory, being centred around a very specific historical event, and a specific task within that. Lengthy backstories that have to be explained before you get to the actual gameplay can feel contrived and be off-putting to some players, but can be an attempt to contextualize gameplay that might otherwise fall into the Abstract category. The {{w|Congress of Vienna}} was a gathering of diplomats from many different countries at the end of the Napoleonic Wars. There exists [https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/256170/schonbrunn multiple] [https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/296578/congress-of-vienna actual board games] about the Congress of Vienna, but they have nothing to do with lighting candles '''yet'''.<br />
|-<br />
| Overcomplicated || {{w|Twilight Imperium}} is widely regarded as being an extremely complex board game (despite "only" having a weight rating of [https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/24/twilight-imperium 3.46] on [http://boardgamegeek.com Board Game Geek]). Cones of Dunshire is a joke board game (first shown on the TV show ''{{w|Parks and Recreation}}''), but was eventually turned into a real game where its extreme complexity is key to the joke. Combining them would likely be far more complex than either. {{w|Category theory}} is a branch of mathematics famous for its layers of abstractions, and is notoriously difficult to understand. The {{w|Monad (category theory)|monad}} is one concept from category theory, with the famous definition of "A monad is simply a monoid in the category of endofunctors".<br />
|-<br />
| Cooperative || Cooperative board games center around players attempting to reach a common goal, winning or losing together. Many feature impediments to communication that make this more challenging; for instance, players may be restricted from saying certain words, or have secret cards they are unable to reveal before playing. The game in this panel appears to forbid all communication between players except for hand gestures. The punchline likens it to a very mundane activity, sorting a junk drawer, made artificially more difficult due to silence, and suggests the game is just as boring. It also raises suspicions that [[Megan]] has organised or hijacked this games night to trick her friends into doing chores she can't be bothered with, similarly to the way that Cueball [[1566: Board Game|once did for his taxes]]. The game described in the comic makes it seem like a (rather pointless) extension of {{w|Charades}}, and is also reminiscent of cooperative game {{w|The Mind (card game)|The Mind}}.<br />
|-<br />
| Branded || Some board games are published and marketed as tie-ins to other forms of media, using settings, characters, or events from the source to appeal to its fans and get them to buy a game they might otherwise not have done. The theming often has little to nothing to do with the gameplay, as the many branded variants on Monopoly can attest. The game in this panel is themed after the sitcom {{w|Friends}}, with the unlikely addition of {{w|Goku|Son Goku}} from {{w|Dragon Ball}}. Dragon Ball's producers seem to be trying to expand into various board games (see the title text below).<br />
|-<br />
| Party || It can be hard to determine what makes a party game, other than it generally doesn't have the kinds of gameplay and strategy in other kinds of board games. Such games (like {{w|Pictionary}} or {{w|30 Seconds (game)|30 Seconds}}) are often aimed at creating humorous or mildly embarrassing situations. However, party games marketed as "for adults" (such as the well known {{w|Cards Against Humanity}}) do tend to have one thing in common — swearing or references to sex. The content of the game described here (dealing cards and screaming whatever is on them) seems not to require a lot critical thinking, which may make it appealing in social situations where drink (or other substance) have been taken.<br />
|-<br />
| Social Deduction || {{w|Social deduction game|Social deduction games}}, such as variations upon {{w|Mafia (party game)|Mafia/Werewolf}} (like the derived computer game ''{{w|Among Us}}''), revolve around the players attempting to deduce the roles or allegiances of other players, based on both special abilities provided by the game and the players' native abilities to tell which of their fellow players are being dishonest. Commonly, they involve an 'uninformed majority,' who do not know the allegiances of other players, attempting to discover the 'informed minority,' who know the members of their team. The minority is often framed as 'evil,' with the ability to 'kill' other players and remove them from the game; their victory condition often revolves around killing most or all of the 'good' players. In a game such as {{w|Cluedo|Cluedo/Clue}}, all the players are unaware of identity of the guilty party and the exact circumstances of the crime (even if they play that character themselves), but use what they do know (and can deduce from what others apparently know) to try to successfully narrow down the hidden facts of the game before anybody else. The game in this panel revolves around finding a 'secret murderer', as per these kinds of game, but evidently has required clarification that discovering a ''real'' murderer does not count, implying that one or more of the previous week's participants, possibly [[Black Hat]], had actually killed someone in real life. Although [[Black Hat]] is not shown in this comic's board game night, it stands to reason that after admitting to murder he would not be invited back the following week. This situation might be a reference to the [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-59258857 case of Tiernan Darnton] who admitted, during a game of Truth or Dare, to killing his step-grandmother (though this was later revealed to be untrue{{acn}}).<br />
|-<br />
| Title text || "Candles of Vienna" is presumably the game described under "Hyperspecific Theme". An expansion pack is an additional set of playing equipment that can be combined with an existing game to add new gameplay possibilities. It appears that the rights holders for Goku have decided on a strategy of getting the character included in multiple board games. The character would arguably be even more out of place in Napoleonic Vienna than lounging on the sofas at Central Perk.<br />
|}<br />
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The setting, with the characters round a table playing games, is rather similar to that in the [[:Category:Dungeons & Dragons|D&D comics]].<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
Types of Board Game<br />
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[Under this header text, the comic contains 8 panels. Each of them is labeled at the top with a short description of the board game being played and features (from left to right) Cueball, Ponytail, Megan, and White Hat sitting on chairs around a table trying to play it.]<br />
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Boring<br />
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Megan: Each turn, roll a die and move your token. Turns proceed clockwise around the table until we get bored and go home.<br />
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Abstract<br />
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Cueball: Each turn, you can place any number of red triangles or blue squares on a hexagon, or move any hexagon to a...<br />
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Hyperspecific Theme<br />
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Ponytail: It's October 2, 1814. The Congress of Vienna convenes. You are each in charge of distributing and lighting candles for the opening ball, which was held at these three locations...<br />
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Overcomplicated<br />
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White Hat: It's a cross between *Twilight Imperium* and *Cones of Dunshire,* but implemented entirely in category theory. Every cone is a monad, and...<br />
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Cooperative<br />
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Megan: We're working together to sort these decks of cards using only hand gestures. After that, we'll silently organize my junk drawer. <br />
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Branded<br />
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Cueball: You can play as Phoebe, Chandler, Monica, Rachel, Ross, Joey, or, due to an ill-advised tie-in, Goku. <br />
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Party<br />
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Ponytail: Each of the cards in your hand has a bad word on it. On the count of three, yell the...<br />
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Social Deduction<br />
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Megan: Remember, per our *Find the Secret Murderer* house rules from last week, discovering that a player had committed a real-life murder does *not* count. <br />
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{{comic discussion}}<noinclude><br />
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[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Board games]]<br />
[[Category:Games]]</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3235:_Types_of_Board_Game&diff=410816Talk:3235: Types of Board Game2026-04-21T19:25:31Z<p>Fephisto: </p>
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I created a starter explanation, but I have no idea how to create tables. [[Special:Contributions/47.146.30.92|47.146.30.92]] 04:08, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
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It is rare that xkcd makes me laugh out loud, but this comic's title text really got me! XD [[Special:Contributions/2601:241:8002:3E0:C95E:1939:2ED0:CD78|2601:241:8002:3E0:C95E:1939:2ED0:CD78]] 04:22, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
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I wonder if blackhat is the one who committed the murder in the last game, and was expunged from the current round with the social deduction game [[User:RG|RG]] ([[User talk:RG|talk]]) 04:35, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
: Also, I "fixed" panel 6: https://www.pasteboard.co/hxBFDL497SLH.png [[User:RG|RG]] ([[User talk:RG|talk]]) 04:54, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
: Whoever it was didn't necessarily commit the murder ''in the game'' - all we know is that it was ''discovered'' during the game. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 09:39, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
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The reference to Monopoly seems ultra-specific given the plethora of games that have this structure, including Candyland, Snakes and Ladders, Sorry, and if one allows for multiple tokens, Parchisi and even Backgammon. Despite the amount of hate for Monopoly, it seems more likely that the editor has something against Monopoly than Randal. [[User:Mneme|Mneme]] ([[User talk:Mneme|talk]]) 05:14, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
: Also, Monopoly, played by the correct rules, is not that boring. It's just, that too many people skip the bidding rule. With 4 Players, after one turn around the table for all four game pieces (which required 10-12 dice rolls per player), statistically 75% of all properties should be snatched up. [[Special:Contributions/195.65.24.115|195.65.24.115]]<br />
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::Probably not worth debating how boring/bad Monopoly is or isn't. Suffice it to say that there are a large number of people who despise it, rightly or wrongly. [[User:Mneme|Mneme]] ([[User talk:Mneme|talk]]) 06:13, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
:::No, there are a large number of people who aware of the fact that Monopoly is supposed to be despised, and so espouse that view – like people who say they hate the word "moist" or believe that "We Built This City" is the worst song ever, because they've been told to say that. The number of people who have actually played Monopoly (using the actual rules) and who actually hate it is much, much smaller. People widely advertise hatred for a badly designed game based on a misinterpretation of Monopoly. That's not hating Monopoly – that's just not getting it and blaming someone else. [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 11:15, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
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Monopoli? Is that the Italian version?--[[Special:Contributions/2A00:23CC:D248:8901:8046:B94B:F152:34FA|2A00:23CC:D248:8901:8046:B94B:F152:34FA]] 07:51, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
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It's possible that [[Special:Contributions/2A02:8071:5C20:40:84FB:9239:8AB8:1729|2A02:8071:5C20:40:84FB:9239:8AB8:1729]] (who made both this edit and the Pachisi edit), coming from Germany, doesn't realize that in America, Parcheesi and Monopoly are the more accepted spellings (Pachesi is probably more appropriate for the historical game Parcheesi is based on, but this is about table games not historical games). [[User:Mneme|Mneme]] ([[User talk:Mneme|talk]]) 08:02, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
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I misread the tie-in as being Grogu, which would have made it even weirder. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 08:52, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
:Me too. Maybe because I'm not a board gamer and have never heard of Goku before. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 15:19, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
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I think a clearer example of a "boring" game is Ludo, where the goal is simply to move all the pawns around the board once. [[User:Redmess|Redmess]] ([[User talk:Redmess|talk]]) 09:57, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
: Ludo is Pachisi/Pachesi/Parcheesi, apparently (can't say I've ever heard of any of those names - always knew it as Ludo - but Ludo is a later name). There is a minimal amount of strategy involved in Ludo, in that you get to choose which pawn to move on any given go - unlike, say, Snakes & Ladders, which is entirely down to chance. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 10:57, 21 April 2026 (UTC) <br />
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Where does the 3.75 for Twilight Imperium come from? First and second editions have 3.46, 3rd edition has 4.26 and 4th is even at 4.35. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 10:03, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
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I miss the board game extention pack to Calvinball. [[Special:Contributions/2A02:2455:1960:4000:1888:3B86:68A0:FA0F|2A02:2455:1960:4000:1888:3B86:68A0:FA0F]] 11:47, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
:Remember: If you don't touch the 30-yard base wicket with the flag, you have to hop on one foot! --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|<span style="font-family:Times; color:#023020">DollarStoreBa'al</span>]]<sup>[[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|<span style="font-family:Times; color:#000080">'''''converse'''''</span>]]</sup> 13:26, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
Went with a base game rating for Twilight Imperium, maybe one of the expansions is higher, but base game seems like most appropriate to reference. --[[User:Trimutius|Trimutius]] ([[User talk:Trimutius|talk]]) 11:58, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
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What did the comment mean about the truth or dare murder reveal being untrue?<br />
:I’m confused about this as well. I looked it up and it looks like he was convicted on some pretty compelling evidence. I’m not seeing anything about him being found not guilty on appeal. [[User:Salsmachev|Salsmachev]] ([[User talk:Salsmachev|talk]]) 14:01, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
:: I assumed it meant that it turned out that the bit about admitting it in a game of Truth or Dare turned out to be embellishment, but I can't find any evidence of that either. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 15:58, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
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I ''REALLY'' want "Candles of Vienna" to exist. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 14:31, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
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Maybe add some real hyperspecipic games? Like "castles of mad king Ludwig" or "Whitechapel". [[Special:Contributions/2A02:BA0:10A8:4CB6:C1DE:6320:68C1:1C95|2A02:BA0:10A8:4CB6:C1DE:6320:68C1:1C95]] 16:06, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
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I'm not sure Hive is a good example for an abstract game; as it has a clear theme based on real things (bugs) even if some of the mechanics seem a little arbitrary. The other one given seems to fit; although the example in the comic feels to me like a parody of the Gipf games specifically. And trying to see how many others I could think of made me wish I had friends to play Otto Game Over with. -- [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 17:14, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
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Are there actual rules for cones of dunshire available somewhere, or is it purely fantasy? [[User:New editor|New editor]] ([[User talk:New editor|talk]]) 18:35, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
:Being Category Theory, it's complete fantasy. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 19:25, 21 April 2026 (UTC)</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3235:_Types_of_Board_Game&diff=410793Talk:3235: Types of Board Game2026-04-21T14:31:14Z<p>Fephisto: </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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I created a starter explanation, but I have no idea how to create tables. [[Special:Contributions/47.146.30.92|47.146.30.92]] 04:08, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
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It is rare that xkcd makes me laugh out loud, but this comic's title text really got me! XD [[Special:Contributions/2601:241:8002:3E0:C95E:1939:2ED0:CD78|2601:241:8002:3E0:C95E:1939:2ED0:CD78]] 04:22, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
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I wonder if blackhat is the one who committed the murder in the last game, and was expunged from the current round with the social deduction game [[User:RG|RG]] ([[User talk:RG|talk]]) 04:35, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
: Also, I "fixed" panel 6: https://www.pasteboard.co/hxBFDL497SLH.png [[User:RG|RG]] ([[User talk:RG|talk]]) 04:54, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
: Whoever it was didn't necessarily commit the murder ''in the game'' - all we know is that it was ''discovered'' during the game. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 09:39, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The reference to Monopoly seems ultra-specific given the plethora of games that have this structure, including Candyland, Snakes and Ladders, Sorry, and if one allows for multiple tokens, Parchisi and even Backgammon. Despite the amount of hate for Monopoly, it seems more likely that the editor has something against Monopoly than Randal. [[User:Mneme|Mneme]] ([[User talk:Mneme|talk]]) 05:14, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
: Also, Monopoly, played by the correct rules, is not that boring. It's just, that too many people skip the bidding rule. With 4 Players, after one turn around the table for all four game pieces (which required 10-12 dice rolls per player), statistically 75% of all properties should be snatched up. [[Special:Contributions/195.65.24.115|195.65.24.115]]<br />
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::Probably not worth debating how boring/bad Monopoly is or isn't. Suffice it to say that there are a large number of people who despise it, rightly or wrongly. [[User:Mneme|Mneme]] ([[User talk:Mneme|talk]]) 06:13, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
:::No, there are a large number of people who aware of the fact that Monopoly is supposed to be despised, and so espouse that view – like people who say they hate the word "moist" or believe that "We Built This City" is the worst song ever, because they've been told to say that. The number of people who have actually played Monopoly (using the actual rules) and who actually hate it is much, much smaller. People widely advertise hatred for a badly designed game based on a misinterpretation of Monopoly. That's not hating Monopoly – that's just not getting it and blaming someone else. [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 11:15, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
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Monopoli? Is that the Italian version?--[[Special:Contributions/2A00:23CC:D248:8901:8046:B94B:F152:34FA|2A00:23CC:D248:8901:8046:B94B:F152:34FA]] 07:51, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It's possible that [[Special:Contributions/2A02:8071:5C20:40:84FB:9239:8AB8:1729|2A02:8071:5C20:40:84FB:9239:8AB8:1729]] (who made both this edit and the Pachisi edit), coming from Germany, doesn't realize that in America, Parcheesi and Monopoly are the more accepted spellings (Pachesi is probably more appropriate for the historical game Parcheesi is based on, but this is about table games not historical games). [[User:Mneme|Mneme]] ([[User talk:Mneme|talk]]) 08:02, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I misread the tie-in as being Grogu, which would have made it even weirder. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 08:52, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I think a clearer example of a "boring" game is Ludo, where the goal is simply to move all the pawns around the board once. [[User:Redmess|Redmess]] ([[User talk:Redmess|talk]]) 09:57, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
: Ludo is Pachisi/Pachesi/Parcheesi, apparently (can't say I've ever heard of any of those names - always knew it as Ludo - but Ludo is a later name). There is a minimal amount of strategy involved in Ludo, in that you get to choose which pawn to move on any given go - unlike, say, Snakes & Ladders, which is entirely down to chance. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 10:57, 21 April 2026 (UTC) <br />
<br />
Where does the 3.75 for Twilight Imperium come from? First and second editions have 3.46, 3rd edition has 4.26 and 4th is even at 4.35. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 10:03, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I miss the board game extention pack to Calvinball. [[Special:Contributions/2A02:2455:1960:4000:1888:3B86:68A0:FA0F|2A02:2455:1960:4000:1888:3B86:68A0:FA0F]] 11:47, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
:Remember: If you don't touch the 30-yard base wicket with the flag, you have to hop on one foot! --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|<span style="font-family:Times; color:#023020">DollarStoreBa'al</span>]]<sup>[[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|<span style="font-family:Times; color:#000080">'''''converse'''''</span>]]</sup> 13:26, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
Went with a base game rating for Twilight Imperium, maybe one of the expansions is higher, but base game seems like most appropriate to reference. --[[User:Trimutius|Trimutius]] ([[User talk:Trimutius|talk]]) 11:58, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
What did the comment mean about the truth or dare murder reveal being untrue?<br />
:I’m confused about this as well. I looked it up and it looks like he was convicted on some pretty compelling evidence. I’m not seeing anything about him being found not guilty on appeal. [[User:Salsmachev|Salsmachev]] ([[User talk:Salsmachev|talk]]) 14:01, 21 April 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I ''REALLY'' want "Candles of Vienna" to exist. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 14:31, 21 April 2026 (UTC)</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3221:_Landscape_Features&diff=408539Talk:3221: Landscape Features2026-03-20T14:49:57Z<p>Fephisto: </p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom. --><br />
F1rst P0st!!! [[User:R128|R128]] ([[User talk:R128|talk]]) 17:27, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
:First Times [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 09:14, 19 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The ???? in New York is probably the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adirondack_Mountains Adirondack Mountains]:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>About 10 million years ago, the region began to be uplifted. It has been lifted about 7,000 feet (2,000 m) and is continuing at about 0.08 inches (2 mm) per year, which is greater than the rate of denudation. The cause of the uplift is unknown, but geologists theorize that it is caused by a hot spot in the Earth's crust.[18] A recent study has revealed a column of seismically slow materials about 30 to 50 miles (50 to 80 km) deep beneath the Adirondack Mountains,[20] which was interpreted to be the upwelling asthenosphere contributing to the uplift of the mountains.</blockquote><br />
<br />
[[User:Zzzt|Zzzt]] ([[User talk:Zzzt|talk]]) 17:58, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Geology being the cause of geological events is a tautology.--[[User:Henke37|Henke37]] ([[User talk:Henke37|talk]]) 18:26, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
:It's only a tautology where the plates are separating. It's a "compressology" where they're colliding, etc. ;) [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 21:36, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
conterguous* [[Special:Contributions/137.25.230.78|137.25.230.78]] 20:34, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I wonder if we should have a category for {{w|Isogloss}}. (Whether isoseme or some other variation.) I added in the two others 'of this basic illustrative nature' that I remembered off the top of my head, but I think there might be more. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 21:33, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This page should be in Category: Comics with color [[Special:Contributions/50.47.110.240|50.47.110.240]] 21:05, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I feel like comic [[3141]] is worth a mention here, but I'm not sure where to put it. [[User:MrCandela|MrCandela]] ([[User talk:MrCandela|talk]]) 22:49, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
:Added to the Adirondock row. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 00:12, 19 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This explanation, and working on it, absolutely taught me more about US geology than I learned in school. [[Special:Contributions/2603:800C:1200:596A:7154:D390:7A60:3197|2603:800C:1200:596A:7154:D390:7A60:3197]] 08:29, 19 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I headered-up the table, to be consistent with the list-subheader. Also rearranged (and bulleted) the list of states (and district, but there are less than 51 lines, so obviously still some 'unstated' (NPI!) ones, not yet sure which) alphabetically, as that's going to be the main referencing reason here (aded "sortable" to the table - mostly for on-demand label-sorting, not so useful in the other columns, but not bothered making them unsortable again). Moved the reference to the other similar comics to the end of the unsubheadered Explanation section (post title-text blurb), as with usual narrative order in such cases.<br />
<br/>You are welcome to (re-)redo, naturally. The by-state list ''could'' easily be a table, too, for resorting purposes (though not much benefit if it's already sorted by its one and only useful 'key' value), or it could be remade as a 'tick grid'/confusion-matrix of 51 'states' against <however many> labels (if you think something like that that helps). ...but probably too much work for too little gain, I think, having already gone through some of these ideas myself, but YMMV. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.237.49|82.132.237.49]] 12:45, 19 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
: Currently missing are: Alabama; Georgia; Louisiana; Mississippi; North Carolina; South Carolina; Tennessee. From which I deduce that someone has an irrational dislike of states ending in 'a' and states with an excess of double letters. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 14:57, 19 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
wow, there are [https://www.desmos.com/calculator/0vijdgrmhz a lot] of geology comics in the past year or so. I think Randall has a new interest [[User:R128|R128]] ([[User talk:R128|talk]]) 13:11, 19 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Hotspots create almost-constantly active volcanos, so they are a very bad go-to explanation. Shirluban [[Special:Contributions/147.161.153.84|147.161.153.84]] 14:09, 19 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Sections to explain<br />
<br />
I'm not a geologist, so I don't know how to answer these questions, but I will leave this template here to eventually be copied into the article:<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Location<br />
! Description<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Adirondack Mountains<br />
| ???<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Most of northern U.S. border<br />
| Glaciers<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Appalachian Mountains<br />
| Continents colliding<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Mississippi river basin<br />
| Rivers<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| SE U.S.<br />
| Farming<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southern Florida<br />
| Ongoing disputes between limestone and water<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southern Missouri/Northern Arkansas<br />
| ...geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Central column of U.S.<br />
| Farming<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Central Idaho/Yellowstone<br />
| A supervolcano<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Eastern Washington<br />
| A megaflood<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| West Coast<br />
| ...a plate tectonic speedrun.<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| SW<br />
| Water and time<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Northern Alaska<br />
| ...geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Aleutians<br />
| Volcanoes<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Hawaiian island chain<br />
| Volcanoes<br />
| <br />
|}<br />
[[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 18:59, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
:...uh, why don't I just copy it into the article blank for now, actually?[[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 19:00, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
New here, and don't know the formatting, but the table is currently missing the Cascade and Sierra Nevada "Vocanoes" region, though it's pretty self-explanatory. {{unsigned ip|136.56.99.85|21:29, 18 March 2026 (UTC)}}<br />
:Got it. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 00:12, 19 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
:Also missing the “…geology” section surrounding the supervolcano. {{unsigned ip|146.115.160.214|21:58, 18 March 2026}}<br />
::Got it.[[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 00:11, 19 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
'Glacier National Park' in Southeast Alaska is properly 'Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve'<br />
<br />
[[User:Dbguy|Dbguy]] ([[User talk:Dbguy|talk]]) 19:55, 19 March 2026 (UTC) Was the morphology of the Great Plains (Central column of the U.S.) really created by farming? How does ~10K years of Native American management of the land for grasslands make it flat? I thought the flat, erm, planar aspect was due to it having been a large shallow seabed.<br />
: Remember the prompt is "what's up with this weird landscape?". I think what's going on in those places is that, given the flat topography, a lot of the "weird" features people point out (especially from the air) are likely to be geometric patterns formed by large-scale crop farming. [[Special:Contributions/136.56.99.85|136.56.99.85]] 21:02, 19 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I like how we've apparently all agreed at the moment that "Geology outside of Yellowstone in the West is basically just Heart Mountain." [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 14:49, 20 March 2026 (UTC)</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3221:_Landscape_Features&diff=4085383221: Landscape Features2026-03-20T14:48:31Z<p>Fephisto: I was wondering if someone'd mention the Dust Bowl.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3221<br />
| date = March 18, 2026<br />
| title = Landscape Features<br />
| image = landscape_features_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 537x454px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = 'Well, there's speculation that it's due to a mantle hotspot.' --a geologist who's trying to cover up the fact that they didn't hear your question<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic is a map of the United States, purporting to explain some of the most significant elements of the landscape in each region. For each area it names one major geological or human mechanism (plate tectonics, erosion, farming, etc.) which it claims is responsible for the majority of interesting formations and features.<br />
<br />
Many of these causes are summarized in a single word answer, which is overly-simplistic when trying to explain a complex landscape. A few phrases are longer, but still don't actually explain much, and some areas are just labeled "geology", which while lacking in explanatory power, is often solely responsible for some of the most striking landscape features. "Geology" is in fact poor label here, since almost all of the other causes (volcanos, glacial erosion, plate tectonics, etc.) are all elements of geology. Randall appears to default to "geology" as the cause in areas where the landscape is largely made of metamorphic or igneous rocks (mountainous areas) instead of some alteration of base rock features via volcanos, earthquakes, etc. However, the actual landscapes in these areas do have specific causes, as shown by the fact that the Appalachians are labeled as "continents colliding" not "geology". Similar more detailed explanations could have been given for other areas, for instance {{w|Laramide_orogeny|"one continent sliding under another"}} for the Rocky Mountains compared to "continents colliding" for the Appalachians.<br />
<br />
The title text plays off the fact that a large part of geology is concerned with activity in the mantle, so explaining some geologic feature by saying "there's speculation that it's due to a mantle hotspot" does not give much information. The suggestion is that this would let a distracted geologist buy time while responding to a missed question. Many of Earth's seemingly out-of-place features (e.g., {{w|Hawaii hotspot}}, {{w|Iceland}}, the {{w|Snake River Plain}} in Idaho, etc.) form from such mantle hotspots, so it's an easy go-to explanation for many of the geological features people are often most curious about.<br />
<br />
This map with subdivisions follows up on a number of prior (non-[[:Category:Bad Map Projections|cursed]]) maps representing (supposed) geographical splits of some conversational outcome or other, such as [[1407: Worst Hurricane]] and [[2108: Carbonated Beverage Language Map]].<br />
<br />
===Table of regions===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Location<br />
! Description<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Adirondack Mountains<br />
| ???<br />
| The Adirondack Mountains are made of billion-year-old rock but were uplifted relatively recently, within the last 5–10 million years. They are still rising today despite being far from any plate boundary, forming a dome with no clear tectonic cause. Thus this region is marked with a "???". A possible explanation for this behavior was suggested recently in [[3141: Mantle Model]]. <br />
|-<br />
| Most of northern conterminous U.S.<br />
| glaciers<br />
| During the {{w|Last Glacial Period}}, this area was covered by {{w|Laurentide Ice Sheet|an ice sheet}} that left its marks on the landscape, in the form of {{w|moraines}}, {{w|eskers}}, {{w|glacial erratics}}, etc. This is most notable in Wisconsin where bluffs were formed due to the glacier movement.<br />
|-<br />
| Appalachian Mountains<br />
| continents colliding<br />
| {{w|Geology of the Appalachians|The Appalachian Mountains formed roughly 480 to 300 million years ago}} through a series of continent-continent collisions, culminating in the assembly of the supercontinent Pangaea. The primary collision involved ancestral North America (Laurentia) crashing into Gondwana (Africa/South America), resulting in a Himalayan-scale mountain range.<br />
|-<br />
| Mississippi and Ohio River Basins<br />
| rivers<br />
| The {{w|Mississippi River}}'s geology has a complex, 70 million year history involving massive sediment deposition, glacial activity, and tectonic shifting. Formed mostly by melting glaciers ~12,000 years ago, it drains a vast, shifting basin, depositing millions of tons of sediment in a massive delta and creating a vast, shifting alluvial plain. The {{w|Ohio_River#Geology|Ohio River's geology}} is similar.<br />
|-<br />
| Southeastern U.S.<br />
| farming<br />
| Landscape changes from {{w|cotton production in the United States}}, due to the presence of the {{w|Black Belt (geological formation)|Black Belt}}. From the perspective of landscape features, it would be more accurate to say that they were caused by "erosion" not "farming". The Atlantic Coastal Plain is made up of sediments and sedimentary rock eroded from the Appalachian Mountains over millions of years. The relatively flat landscape and loose fertile soils make farming both easy and productive respectively. Thus farming is a result of the landscape features, not a cause of them.<br />
|-<br />
| Southern Florida<br />
| ongoing disputes between limestone and water<br />
| Florida is a vast {{w|karst}} landscape formed by the dissolution of underground limestone and dolostone bedrock by acidic rainwater, resulting in a terrain characterized by sinkholes, springs, caverns, and disappearing streams. This soluble bedrock, formed from ancient marine deposits, covers much of the state, directly connecting surface water to the Floridian aquifer system.<br />
|-<br />
| Southern Missouri / Northern Arkansas<br />
| geology<br />
| The {{w|Ozark Mountains}}, which are composed primarily of ancient limestone and {{w|dolomite}}, form a rugged landscape characterized by hills, caves, and springs. Prolonged erosion of these soluble rocks has produced extensive karst features, including sinkholes and underground rivers.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Great Plains}}<br />
| farming<br />
| The lack of other major events left the terrain relatively level; as with the Southeastern U.S./Atlantic Seaboard (see above), the cause of the landscape here is erosion of the Rocky Mountains, with the sediments carried by rivers towards the Mississippi basin and creating a flat, even landscape. Areas were historically shaped by either herds of bison or indigenous agriculture, both limiting the growth of forests. "Farming" is likely a reference to the more recent mix of large-scale crop farming (especially staples like wheat and corn) and herding (bison replaced by cattle). European plowing techniques unsuited for the dry plains ultimately resulted in the {{w|Dust Bowl}}, a period of intense erosion and dust storms which reshaped the landscape, and as a response led to the {{w|Great Plains Shelterbelt}}.<br />
|-<br />
| Central Idaho / Yellowstone<br />
| a supervolcano<br />
| The {{w|Snake River Plain}} is an area of high-elevation flat plain in the otherwise contiguous Rocky Mountains. It was formed by the movement of the continental plate over the {{w|Yellowstone Hotspot}}.<br />
|-<br />
| American West surrounding Idaho / Yellowstone<br />
| geology<br />
| [[3162: Heart Mountain]]<br />
|-<br />
| Immediately off of West coast up to the Four Corners<br />
| volcanoes<br />
| A combination of various {{w|volcanic field}}s of different origins, including {{w|Cascade Volcanoes}} in the Pacific Northwest, {{w|Albuquerque volcanic field}} in New Mexico, {{w|San Francisco volcanic field}} in Arizona, and {{w|San Juan volcanic field}} in Colorado.<br />
|-<br />
| Eastern Washington<br />
| megafloods<br />
| Most likely a reference to the {{w|Missoula floods}} and the {{w|Bonneville flood}}, a series of floods caused by glacial ice dam failures causing massive lakes to flood large regions of present-day eastern Washington. These floods actually continued all the way to the Pacific Ocean, altering the shape of the {{w|Columbia River Gorge}} and flooding much of the {{w|Willamette River}} in western Oregon. The comic may have simplified these to avoid bisecting the adjacent zones along the coast.<br />
|-<br />
| West Coast<br />
| a plate tectonic speedrun<br />
| Most likely a reference to the significant tectonic activity on the western coast of the US, caused by the collisions of the {{w|Juan de Fuca plate}}, {{w|Pacific plate}}, and the {{w|North American plate}}, as part of the {{w|Ring of Fire}}.<br />
|-<br />
| Southwest Desert<br />
| water and time<br />
| The nearly 40 major sedimentary rock layers exposed in the {{w|geology of the Grand Canyon area}} range in age from about 200 million to nearly 2 billion years old. Uplift of the region started about 75 million years ago during the mountain-building event largely responsible for creating the Rocky Mountains. The opening of the Gulf of California around 6 million years ago enabled a large river to cut its way northeast from the gulf. The new river captured the older drainage to form the ancestral Colorado River, which in turn started to form the Grand Canyon. Wetter climates brought upon by ice ages starting 2 million years ago greatly increased excavation of the Grand Canyon, which was nearly as deep 1.2 million years ago as it is now. <br />
|-<br />
| Northern Alaska<br />
| geology<br />
| Northern {{w|Geology of Alaska|Alaska geology}} is dominated by the Brooks Range (a major Paleozoic mountain belt) and the Arctic Slope sedimentary basin, containing rich Paleozoic-Mesozoic rock sequences. The region is part of the Arctic Alaska–Chukotka Microplate, shaped by Mesozoic tectonic shifts, including the Arctic Ocean opening and the Brooks Range uplift.<br />
|-<br />
| Aleutian Islands<br />
| volcanoes<br />
| The Aleutian Islands are a continuation of the Alaskan {{w|Aleutian Range}}, and form part of the {{w|Ring of Fire}}. Most of the islands in the chain bear signs of being formed by volcanoes, and many volcanic cones still exist on the islands today.<br />
|-<br />
| Southeast Alaska<br />
| glaciers<br />
| This part of Alaska (including {{w|Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve|Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve}}) and western Canada has many glaciers that are still carving the landscape.<br />
|-<br />
| Hawaiian island chain<br />
| volcanoes<br />
| Hawaii, including the {{w|Northwest Hawaiian Islands}}, and seamounts northwest of it were formed by a tectonic plate moving over a hotspot, with volcanoes erupting and forming land as it went. The entire chain can be seen [https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0555574,-176.5939317,4904085m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDMxNS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D here]. Volcanic fog from the {{w|List of volcanoes in the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain|three active volcanoes on the Big Island}} can often be seen on neighboring islands.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Features of each state, alphabetically===<br />
* Alaska: geology, glaciers, volcanoes<br />
* Arizona: water & time, volcanoes<br />
* Arkansas: geology, farming, rivers<br />
* California: a plate tectonics speedrun, volcanoes, water & time<br />
* Colorado: volcanoes, geology, farming<br />
* Connecticut: glaciers<br />
* Delaware: farming<br />
* District of Columbia: either farming or plates colliding<br />
* Florida: farming, ongoing disputes between limestone & water<br />
* Hawaii: volcanoes<br />
* Idaho: a super volcano, geology<br />
* Illinois: glaciers, rivers<br />
* Indiana: glaciers, rivers<br />
* Iowa: glaciers, farming, rivers<br />
* Kansas: farming<br />
* Kentucky: rivers, continents colliding<br />
* Maine: glaciers<br />
* Maryland: plates colliding, farming<br />
* Massachusetts: glaciers<br />
* Michigan: glaciers<br />
* Minnesota: glaciers, farming, rivers<br />
* Missouri: farming, geology, rivers<br />
* Montana: geology, glaciers<br />
* Nebraska: farming<br />
* Nevada: volcanoes, geology, water & time<br />
* New Hampshire: glaciers<br />
* New Jersey: glaciers, farming<br />
* New Mexico: volcanoes, geology, water & time, farming<br />
* New York: glaciers, ???, continents colliding<br />
* North Dakota: glaciers, farming<br />
* Ohio: glaciers, rivers<br />
* Oklahoma: farming, geology<br />
* Oregon: a plate tectonics speedrun, volcanoes, mega floods, a supervolcano, geology<br />
* Pennsylvania: glaciers, rivers, continents colliding, farming<br />
* Rhode Island: glaciers<br />
* South Dakota: glaciers, farming<br />
* Texas: farming, geology, water & time<br />
* Utah: geology, volcanoes<br />
* Vermont: glaciers<br />
* Virginia: continents colliding, farming<br />
* Washington: Mega floods, a plate tectonics speedrun<br />
* West Virginia: rivers, continents colliding<br />
* Wisconsin: glaciers, rivers<br />
* Wyoming: a supervolcano, geology, farming<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A small panel showing Cueball pointing toward the left and Ponytail standing to his right overlaps the top of a much larger panel containing a map.]<br />
:Cueball: What's up with this weird landscape?<br />
:Ponytail: Oh, it was caused by ...<br />
<br />
:[The larger panel shows a map of the United States, with southern Canada, northern Mexico, and most of Cuba and the Bahamas visible as well. An inset at lower left shows Alaska along with part of northwest Canada, with a smaller inset showing Hawaii. International borders and coastlines are indicated in black, and state borders are indicated in gray. Red lines divide the United States into irregularly shaped zones (the red lines indicating zones do not cross into the neighboring countries, except in the Alaska inset), with each zone being labeled with red text. Each text label begins with "..." to indicate that it is the conclusion of Ponytail's sentence. The following are the labels used:]<br />
:[Main map:]<br />
:... a plate tectonics speedrun<br />
:... volcanoes<br />
:... megafloods<br />
:... a supervolcano<br />
:... geology<br />
:... water and time<br />
:... glaciers<br />
:... rivers<br />
:... continents colliding<br />
:... ???<br />
:... ongoing disputes between limestone and water<br />
:[On the main map, the label "... glaciers" appears three times in various places in the same contiguous zone that runs from Washington state to Maine. The label "... farming" appears twice, representing two separate zones, one that runs from Montana to Louisiana and the other that runs from New Jersey to Mississippi. The label "... geology" appears twice on the main map, representing two separate zones, one that runs from Washington state to Texas and the other being a roughly circular region mostly in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas.]<br />
:[Alaska inset:]<br />
:... geology<br />
:... volcanoes<br />
:... glaciers<br />
:[Hawaii inset:]<br />
:... volcanoes<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude><br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:US maps]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Geology]]<br />
[[Category:Volcanoes]]</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3221:_Landscape_Features&diff=4084393221: Landscape Features2026-03-19T00:34:49Z<p>Fephisto: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3221<br />
| date = March 18, 2026<br />
| title = Landscape Features<br />
| image = landscape_features_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 537x454px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = 'Well, there's speculation that it's due to a mantle hotspot.' --a geologist who's trying to cover up the fact that they didn't hear your question<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|This page was created by a MANTLE HOTSPOT. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This comic is a map of the United States, purporting to explain some of the most significant geologic/human activity in each region. For each area it names one major mechanism (plate tectonics, erosion, volcanism, etc.) which it claims is responsible for the majority of interesting formations and features.<br />
<br />
Many of these causes are summarized in a single word answer, which doesn't do much to explain a complex landscape. A few phrases are longer but still don't actually explain much. And some areas are just labeled "geology". <br />
<br />
The title text plays off the fact that a large part of geology is concerned with activity in the mantle, so explaining some geologic feature by saying "there's speculation that it's due to a mantle hotspot" does not give much information. Saying this would let a distracted geologist buy time while responding to a missed question. Many of Earth's seemingly out-of-place features (e.g., {{w|Hawaii hotspot}}, {{w|Iceland}}, the {{w|Snake River Plain}} in Idaho, etc.) form from such mantle hotspots. Thus, it's an easy go-to explanation for many of the geological features people are often most curious about.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Location<br />
! Description<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Adirondack Mountains<br />
| ???<br />
| The Adirondack Mountains are made of billion-year-old rock but were uplifted relatively recently, within the last 5–10 million years. They’re still rising today despite being far from any plate boundary, forming a dome with no clear tectonic cause, [[3141|thus the "???" due to an ongoing mystery as to their formation]]. <br />
|-<br />
| Most of northern conterminous U.S.<br />
| glaciers<br />
| During the {{w|Last Glacial Period}}, this area was covered by {{w|Laurentide Ice Sheet|an ice sheet}} that left its marks on the landscape, in the form of {{w|moraines}}, {{w|eskers}}, {{w|glacial erratics}}, etc.<br />
|-<br />
| Appalachian Mountains<br />
| continents colliding<br />
| {{w|Geology of the Appalachians}}<br />
|-<br />
| Near Mississippi & Ohio Rivers<br />
| rivers<br />
| {{w|Ohio_River#Geology|Ohio River Geology}}<br />
|-<br />
| Southeastern U.S.<br />
| farming<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southern Florida<br />
| ongoing disputes between limestone and water<br />
| {{w|Karst}} topography<br />
|-<br />
| Southern Missouri/Northern Arkansas<br />
| geology<br />
| The {{w|Ozark Mountains}}, which are composed primarily of ancient limestone and {{w|dolomite}}, form a rugged landscape characterized by hills, caves, and springs. Prolonged erosion of these soluble rocks has produced extensive karst features, including sinkholes and underground rivers.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Great Plains}}<br />
| farming<br />
| The lack of other major events left the terrain relatively level, and areas were historically shaped by either herds of bison or indigenous agriculture, both limiting the growth of forests. "Farming" is likely a reference to the more recent mix of large-scale crop farming (especially staples like wheat and corn) and herding (bison replace by cattle).<br />
|-<br />
| Central Idaho/Yellowstone<br />
| a supervolcano<br />
| The {{w|Snake River Plain}} is an area of high-elevation flat plain in the otherwise contiguous Rocky Mountains. It was formed by the movement of the continental plate over the {{w|Yellowstone Hotspot}}.<br />
|-<br />
| American West surrounding Idaho/Yellowstone<br />
| geology<br />
| [[3162]]<br />
|-<br />
| Immediately off of West coast up to the Four Corners<br />
| volcanoes<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Eastern Washington<br />
| megafloods<br />
| Most likely a reference to the {{w|Missoula floods}} and the {{w|Bonneville flood}}, a series of floods caused by glacial ice dam failures causing massive lakes to flood large regions of present-day eastern Washington. These floods actually continued all the way to the Pacific Ocean, altering ht shape of the {{w|Columbia River Gorge}} and flooding much of the {{w|Willamette River}} in western Oregon. The comic may have simplified these to avoid bisecting the adjacent zones along the coast.<br />
|-<br />
| West Coast<br />
| a plate tectonic speedrun<br />
| Most likely a reference to the significant tectonic activity on the western coast of the US, caused by the collisions of the {{w|Juan de Fuca plate}}, {{w|Pacific plate}}, and the {{w|North American plate}}.<br />
|-<br />
| Desert Southwest<br />
| water and time<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Northern Alaska<br />
| geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Aleutian Islands<br />
| volcanoes<br />
| The Aleutian Islands are a continuation of the Alaskan {{w|Aleutian Range}}, and form part of the {{w|Ring of Fire}}. Most of the islands in the chain bear signs of being formed by volcanos, and many volcanic cones still exist on the islands today.<br />
|-<br />
| Southeast Alaska<br />
| glaciers<br />
| This part of Alaska (including {{w|Glacier National Park (U.S.)|Glacier National Park}}) and western Canada has many glaciers that are still carving the landscape.<br />
|-<br />
| Hawaiian island chain<br />
| volcanoes<br />
| Hawaii, including the {{w|Northwest Hawaiian Islands}}, and seamounts northwest of it were formed by a tectonic plate moving over a hotspot, with volcanoes erupting and forming land as it went. The entire chain can be seen [https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0555574,-176.5939317,4904085m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDMxNS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D here].<br />
|}<br />
<br />
This map with subdivisions follows up on a number of prior (non-[[:Category:Bad Map Projections|cursed]]) maps representing (supposed) geographical splits of some conversational outcome or other, such as [[1407: Worst Hurricane]] and [[2108: Carbonated Beverage Language Map]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[A small panel showing Cueball pointing toward the left and Ponytail standing to his right overlaps the top of a much larger panel containing a map.]<br />
:Cueball: What's up with this weird landscape?<br />
:Ponytail: Oh, it was caused by ...<br />
<br />
:[The larger panel shows a map of the United States, with southern Canada, northern Mexico, and most of Cuba and the Bahamas visible as well. An inset at lower left shows Alaska along with part of northwest Canada, with a smaller inset showing Hawaii. International borders and coastlines are indicated in black, and state borders are indicated in gray. Red lines divide the United States into irregularly shaped zones (the red lines indicating zones do not cross into the neighboring countries, except in the Alaska inset), with each zone being labeled with red text. Each text label begins with "..." to indicate that it is the conclusion of Ponytail's sentence. The following are the labels used:]<br />
:[Main map:]<br />
:... a plate tectonics speedrun<br />
:... volcanoes<br />
:... megafloods<br />
:... a supervolcano<br />
:... geology<br />
:... water and time<br />
:... glaciers<br />
:... rivers<br />
:... continents colliding<br />
:... ???<br />
:... ongoing disputes between limestone and water<br />
:[On the main map, the label "... glaciers" appears three times in various places in the same contiguous zone that runs from Washington state to Maine. The label "... farming" appears twice, representing two separate zones, one that runs from Montana to Louisiana and the other that runs from New Jersey to Mississippi. The label "... geology" appears twice on the main map, representing two separate zones, one that runs from Washington state to Texas and the other being a roughly circular region mostly in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas.]<br />
:[Alaska inset:]<br />
:... geology<br />
:... volcanoes<br />
:... glaciers<br />
:[Hawaii inset:]<br />
:... volcanoes<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude><br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:US maps]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Geology]]<br />
[[Category:Volcanoes]]</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3221:_Landscape_Features&diff=4084383221: Landscape Features2026-03-19T00:28:48Z<p>Fephisto: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3221<br />
| date = March 18, 2026<br />
| title = Landscape Features<br />
| image = landscape_features_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 537x454px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = 'Well, there's speculation that it's due to a mantle hotspot.' --a geologist who's trying to cover up the fact that they didn't hear your question<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|This page was created by a MANTLE HOTSPOT. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This comic is a map of the United States, purporting to explain some of the most significant geologic/human activity in each region. For each area it names one major mechanism (plate tectonics, erosion, volcanism, etc.) which it claims is responsible for the majority of interesting formations and features.<br />
<br />
Many of these causes are summarized in a single word answer, which doesn't do much to explain a complex landscape. A few phrases are longer but still don't actually explain much. And some areas are just labeled "geology". <br />
<br />
The title text plays off the fact that a large part of geology is concerned with activity in the mantle, so explaining some geologic feature by saying "there's speculation that it's due to a mantle hotspot" does not give much information. Saying this would let a distracted geologist buy time while responding to a missed question. Many of Earth's seemingly out-of-place features (e.g., {{w|Hawaii hotspot}}, {{w|Iceland}}, the {{w|Snake River Plain}} in Idaho, etc.) form from such mantle hotspots. Thus, it's an easy go-to explanation for many of the geological features people are often most curious about.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Location<br />
! Description<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Adirondack Mountains<br />
| ???<br />
| The Adirondack Mountains are made of billion-year-old rock but were uplifted relatively recently, within the last 5–10 million years. They’re still rising today despite being far from any plate boundary, forming a dome with no clear tectonic cause, [[3141|thus the "???" due to an ongoing mystery as to their formation]]. <br />
|-<br />
| Most of northern conterminous U.S.<br />
| glaciers<br />
| During the {{w|Last Glacial Period}}, this area was covered by {{w|Laurentide Ice Sheet|an ice sheet}} that left its marks on the landscape, in the form of {{w|moraines}}, {{w|eskers}}, {{w|glacial erratics}}, etc.<br />
|-<br />
| Appalachian Mountains<br />
| continents colliding<br />
| {{w|Geology of the Appalachians}}<br />
|-<br />
| Near Mississippi & Ohio Rivers<br />
| rivers<br />
| {{w|Ohio_River#Geology|Ohio River Geology}}<br />
|-<br />
| Southeastern U.S.<br />
| farming<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southern Florida<br />
| ongoing disputes between limestone and water<br />
| {{w|Karst}} topography<br />
|-<br />
| Southern Missouri/Northern Arkansas<br />
| geology<br />
| The {{w|Ozark Mountains}}, which are composed primarily of ancient limestone and {{w|dolomite}}, form a rugged landscape characterized by hills, caves, and springs. Prolonged erosion of these soluble rocks has produced extensive karst features, including sinkholes and underground rivers.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Great Plains}}<br />
| farming<br />
| The lack of other major events left the terrain relatively level, and areas were historically shaped by either herds of bison or indigenous agriculture, both limiting the growth of forests. "Farming" is likely a reference to the more recent mix of large-scale crop farming (especially staples like wheat and corn) and herding (bison replace by cattle).<br />
|-<br />
| Central Idaho/Yellowstone<br />
| a supervolcano<br />
| The {{w|Snake River Plain}} is an area of high-elevation flat plain in the otherwise contigious Rocky Mountains. It was formed by the movement of the contenential plate over the {{w|Yellowstone Hotspot}}.<br />
|-<br />
| American West surrounding Idaho/Yellowstone<br />
| geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Immediately off of West coast up to the Four Corners<br />
| volcanoes<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Eastern Washington<br />
| megafloods<br />
| Most likely a reference to the {{w|Missoula floods}} and the {{w|Bonneville flood}}, a series of floods caused by glacial ice dam failures causing massive lakes to flood large regions of present-day eastern Washington. These floods actually continued all the way to the Pacific Ocean, altering ht shape of the {{w|Columbia River Gorge}} and flooding much of the {{w|Willamette River}} in western Oregon. The comic may have simplified these to avoid bisecting the adjacent zones along the coast.<br />
|-<br />
| West Coast<br />
| a plate tectonic speedrun<br />
| Most likely a reference to the significant tectonic activity on the western coast of the US, caused by the collisions of the {{w|Juan de Fuca plate}}, {{w|Pacific plate}}, and the {{w|North American plate}}.<br />
|-<br />
| Desert Southwest<br />
| water and time<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Northern Alaska<br />
| geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Aleutian Islands<br />
| volcanoes<br />
| The Aleutian Islands are a continuation of the Alaskan {{w|Aleutian Range}}, and form part of the {{w|Ring of Fire}}. Most of the islands in the chain bear signs of being formed by volcanos, and many volcanic cones still exist on the islands today.<br />
|-<br />
| Southeast Alaska<br />
| glaciers<br />
| This part of Alaska (including {{w|Glacier National Park (U.S.)|Glacier National Park}}) and western Canada has many glaciers that are still carving the landscape.<br />
|-<br />
| Hawaiian island chain<br />
| volcanoes<br />
| Hawaii, including the {{w|Northwest Hawaiian Islands}}, and seamounts northwest of it were formed by a tectonic plate moving over a hotspot, with volcanoes erupting and forming land as it went. The entire chain can be seen [https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0555574,-176.5939317,4904085m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDMxNS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D here].<br />
|}<br />
<br />
This map with subdivisions follows up on a number of prior (non-[[:Category:Bad Map Projections|cursed]]) maps representing (supposed) geographical splits of some conversational outcome or other, such as [[1407: Worst Hurricane]] and [[2108: Carbonated Beverage Language Map]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[A small panel showing Cueball pointing toward the left and Ponytail standing to his right overlaps the top of a much larger panel containing a map.]<br />
:Cueball: What's up with this weird landscape?<br />
:Ponytail: Oh, it was caused by ...<br />
<br />
:[The larger panel shows a map of the United States, with southern Canada, northern Mexico, and most of Cuba and the Bahamas visible as well. An inset at lower left shows Alaska along with part of northwest Canada, with a smaller inset showing Hawaii. International borders and coastlines are indicated in black, and state borders are indicated in gray. Red lines divide the United States into irregularly shaped zones (the red lines indicating zones do not cross into the neighboring countries, except in the Alaska inset), with each zone being labeled with red text. Each text label begins with "..." to indicate that it is the conclusion of Ponytail's sentence. The following are the labels used:]<br />
:[Main map:]<br />
:... a plate tectonics speedrun<br />
:... volcanoes<br />
:... megafloods<br />
:... a supervolcano<br />
:... geology<br />
:... water and time<br />
:... glaciers<br />
:... rivers<br />
:... continents colliding<br />
:... ???<br />
:... ongoing disputes between limestone and water<br />
:[On the main map, the label "... glaciers" appears three times in various places in the same contiguous zone that runs from Washington state to Maine. The label "... farming" appears twice, representing two separate zones, one that runs from Montana to Louisiana and the other that runs from New Jersey to Mississippi. The label "... geology" appears twice on the main map, representing two separate zones, one that runs from Washington state to Texas and the other being a roughly circular region mostly in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas.]<br />
:[Alaska inset:]<br />
:... geology<br />
:... volcanoes<br />
:... glaciers<br />
:[Hawaii inset:]<br />
:... volcanoes<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude><br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:US maps]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Geology]]<br />
[[Category:Volcanoes]]</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3221:_Landscape_Features&diff=4084373221: Landscape Features2026-03-19T00:25:32Z<p>Fephisto: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3221<br />
| date = March 18, 2026<br />
| title = Landscape Features<br />
| image = landscape_features_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 537x454px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = 'Well, there's speculation that it's due to a mantle hotspot.' --a geologist who's trying to cover up the fact that they didn't hear your question<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|This page was created by a MANTLE HOTSPOT. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This comic is a map of the United States, purporting to explain some of the most significant geologic/human activity in each region. For each area it names one major mechanism (plate tectonics, erosion, volcanism, etc.) which it claims is responsible for the majority of interesting formations and features.<br />
<br />
Many of these causes are summarized in a single word answer, which doesn't do much to explain a complex landscape. A few phrases are longer but still don't actually explain much. And some areas are just labeled "geology". <br />
<br />
The title text plays off the fact that a large part of geology is concerned with activity in the mantle, so explaining some geologic feature by saying "there's speculation that it's due to a mantle hotspot" does not give much information. Saying this would let a distracted geologist buy time while responding to a missed question. Many of Earth's seemingly out-of-place features (e.g., {{w|Hawaii hotspot}}, {{w|Iceland}}, the {{w|Snake River Plain}} in Idaho, etc.) form from such mantle hotspots. Thus, it's an easy go-to explanation for many of the geological features people are often most curious about.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Location<br />
! Description<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Adirondack Mountains<br />
| ???<br />
| The Adirondack Mountains are made of billion-year-old rock but were uplifted relatively recently, within the last 5–10 million years. They’re still rising today despite being far from any plate boundary, forming a dome with no clear tectonic cause, [[3141|thus the "???" due to an ongoing mystery as to their formation]]. <br />
|-<br />
| Most of northern conterminous U.S.<br />
| glaciers<br />
| During the {{w|Last Glacial Period}}, this area was covered by {{w|Laurentide Ice Sheet|an ice sheet}} that left its marks on the landscape, in the form of {{w|moraines}}, {{w|eskers}}, {{w|glacial erratics}}, etc.<br />
|-<br />
| Appalachian Mountains<br />
| continents colliding<br />
| {{w|Geology of the Appalachians}}<br />
|-<br />
| Near Mississippi & Ohio Rivers<br />
| rivers<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southeastern U.S.<br />
| farming<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southern Florida<br />
| ongoing disputes between limestone and water<br />
| {{w|Karst}} topography<br />
|-<br />
| Southern Missouri/Northern Arkansas<br />
| geology<br />
| The {{w|Ozark Mountains}}, which are composed primarily of ancient limestone and {{w|dolomite}}, form a rugged landscape characterized by hills, caves, and springs. Prolonged erosion of these soluble rocks has produced extensive karst features, including sinkholes and underground rivers.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Great Plains}}<br />
| farming<br />
| The lack of other major events left the terrain relatively level, and areas were historically shaped by either herds of bison or indigenous agriculture, both limiting the growth of forests. "Farming" is likely a reference to the more recent mix of large-scale crop farming (especially staples like wheat and corn) and herding (bison replace by cattle).<br />
|-<br />
| Central Idaho/Yellowstone<br />
| a supervolcano<br />
| The {{w|Snake River Plain}} is an area of high-elevation flat plain in the otherwise contigious Rocky Mountains. It was formed by the movement of the contenential plate over the {{w|Yellowstone Hotspot}}.<br />
|-<br />
| American West surrounding Idaho/Yellowstone<br />
| geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Immediately off of West coast up to the Four Corners<br />
| volcanoes<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Eastern Washington<br />
| megafloods<br />
| Most likely a reference to the {{w|Missoula floods}} and the {{w|Bonneville flood}}, a series of floods caused by glacial ice dam failures causing massive lakes to flood large regions of present-day eastern Washington. These floods actually continued all the way to the Pacific Ocean, altering ht shape of the {{w|Columbia River Gorge}} and flooding much of the {{w|Willamette River}} in western Oregon. The comic may have simplified these to avoid bisecting the adjacent zones along the coast.<br />
|-<br />
| West Coast<br />
| a plate tectonic speedrun<br />
| Most likely a reference to the significant tectonic activity on the western coast of the US, caused by the collisions of the {{w|Juan de Fuca plate}}, {{w|Pacific plate}}, and the {{w|North American plate}}.<br />
|-<br />
| Desert Southwest<br />
| water and time<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Northern Alaska<br />
| geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Aleutian Islands<br />
| volcanoes<br />
| The Aleutian Islands are a continuation of the Alaskan {{w|Aleutian Range}}, and form part of the {{w|Ring of Fire}}. Most of the islands in the chain bear signs of being formed by volcanos, and many volcanic cones still exist on the islands today.<br />
|-<br />
| Southeast Alaska<br />
| glaciers<br />
| This part of Alaska (including {{w|Glacier National Park (U.S.)|Glacier National Park}}) and western Canada has many glaciers that are still carving the landscape.<br />
|-<br />
| Hawaiian island chain<br />
| volcanoes<br />
| Hawaii, including the {{w|Northwest Hawaiian Islands}}, and seamounts northwest of it were formed by a tectonic plate moving over a hotspot, with volcanoes erupting and forming land as it went. The entire chain can be seen [https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0555574,-176.5939317,4904085m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDMxNS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D here].<br />
|}<br />
<br />
This map with subdivisions follows up on a number of prior (non-[[:Category:Bad Map Projections|cursed]]) maps representing (supposed) geographical splits of some conversational outcome or other, such as [[1407: Worst Hurricane]] and [[2108: Carbonated Beverage Language Map]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[A small panel showing Cueball pointing toward the left and Ponytail standing to his right overlaps the top of a much larger panel containing a map.]<br />
:Cueball: What's up with this weird landscape?<br />
:Ponytail: Oh, it was caused by ...<br />
<br />
:[The larger panel shows a map of the United States, with southern Canada, northern Mexico, and most of Cuba and the Bahamas visible as well. An inset at lower left shows Alaska along with part of northwest Canada, with a smaller inset showing Hawaii. International borders and coastlines are indicated in black, and state borders are indicated in gray. Red lines divide the United States into irregularly shaped zones (the red lines indicating zones do not cross into the neighboring countries, except in the Alaska inset), with each zone being labeled with red text. Each text label begins with "..." to indicate that it is the conclusion of Ponytail's sentence. The following are the labels used:]<br />
:[Main map:]<br />
:... a plate tectonics speedrun<br />
:... volcanoes<br />
:... megafloods<br />
:... a supervolcano<br />
:... geology<br />
:... water and time<br />
:... glaciers<br />
:... rivers<br />
:... continents colliding<br />
:... ???<br />
:... ongoing disputes between limestone and water<br />
:[On the main map, the label "... glaciers" appears three times in various places in the same contiguous zone that runs from Washington state to Maine. The label "... farming" appears twice, representing two separate zones, one that runs from Montana to Louisiana and the other that runs from New Jersey to Mississippi. The label "... geology" appears twice on the main map, representing two separate zones, one that runs from Washington state to Texas and the other being a roughly circular region mostly in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas.]<br />
:[Alaska inset:]<br />
:... geology<br />
:... volcanoes<br />
:... glaciers<br />
:[Hawaii inset:]<br />
:... volcanoes<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude><br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:US maps]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Geology]]<br />
[[Category:Volcanoes]]</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3221:_Landscape_Features&diff=4084343221: Landscape Features2026-03-19T00:17:43Z<p>Fephisto: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3221<br />
| date = March 18, 2026<br />
| title = Landscape Features<br />
| image = landscape_features_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 537x454px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = 'Well, there's speculation that it's due to a mantle hotspot.' --a geologist who's trying to cover up the fact that they didn't hear your question<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|This page was created by a MANTLE HOTSPOT. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This comic is a map of the United States, explaining some of the most significant geologic/human activity in each region. It claims that, in each area, there is one major mechanism (plate tectonics, erosion, volcanism, etc.) which is responsible for the majority of interesting formations and features.<br />
<br />
The title text plays off the fact that a large part of geology is concerned with activity in the mantle, so explaining some geologic feature by saying "there's speculation that it's due to a mantle hotspot" does not give much information. Saying this would let a distracted geologist buy time while responding to a missed question. Many of Earth's seemingly out-of-place features (e.g., {{w|Hawaii hotspot}}, {{w|Iceland}}, the {{w|Snake River Plain}} in Idaho, etc.) form from such mantle hotspots. Thus, it's an easy go-to explanation for many of the geological features people are often most curious about.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Location<br />
! Description<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Adirondack Mountains<br />
| ???<br />
| The Adirondack Mountains are made of billion-year-old rock but were uplifted relatively recently, within the last 5–10 million years. They’re still rising today despite being far from any plate boundary, forming a dome with no clear tectonic cause, [[3141|thus the "???" due to an ongoing mystery as to their formation]]. <br />
|-<br />
| Most of northern conterminous U.S.<br />
| glaciers<br />
| During the {{w|Last Glacial Period}}, this area was covered by {{w|Laurentide Ice Sheet|an ice sheet}} that left its marks on the landscape, in the form of {{w|moraines}}, {{w|eskers}}, {{w|glacial erratics}}, etc.<br />
|-<br />
| Appalachian Mountains<br />
| continents colliding<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Near Mississippi & Ohio Rivers<br />
| rivers<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southeastern U.S.<br />
| farming<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southern Florida<br />
| ongoing disputes between limestone and water<br />
| {{w|Karst}} topography<br />
|-<br />
| Southern Missouri/Northern Arkansas<br />
| geology<br />
| The {{w|Ozark Mountains}}, which are composed primarily of ancient limestone and {{w|dolomite}}, form a rugged landscape characterized by hills, caves, and springs. Prolonged erosion of these soluble rocks has produced extensive karst features, including sinkholes and underground rivers.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Great Plains}}<br />
| farming<br />
| The lack of other major events left the terrain relatively level, and areas were historically shaped by either herds of bison or indigenous agriculture, both limiting the growth of forests. "Farming" is likely a reference to the more recent mix of large-scale crop farming (especially staples like wheat and corn) and herding (bison replace by cattle).<br />
|-<br />
| Central Idaho/Yellowstone<br />
| a supervolcano<br />
| The {{w|Snake River Plain}} is an area of high-elevation flat plain in the otherwise contigious Rocky Mountains. It was formed by the movement of the contenential plate over the {{w|Yellowstone Hotspot}}.<br />
|-<br />
| American West surrounding Idaho/Yellowstone<br />
| geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Immediately off of West coast up to the Four Corners<br />
| volcanoes<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Eastern Washington<br />
| megafloods<br />
| Most likely a reference to the {{w|Missoula floods}} and the {{w|Bonneville flood}}, a series of floods caused by glacial ice dam failures causing massive lakes to flood large regions of present-day eastern Washington. These floods actually continued all the way to the Pacific Ocean, altering ht shape of the {{w|Columbia River Gorge}} and flooding much of the {{w|Willamette River}} in western Oregon. The comic may have simplified these to avoid bisecting the adjacent zones along the coast.<br />
|-<br />
| West Coast<br />
| a plate tectonic speedrun<br />
| Most likely a reference to the significant tectonic activity on the western coast of the US, caused by the collisions of the {{w|Juan de Fuca plate}}, {{w|Pacific plate}}, and the {{w|North American plate}}.<br />
|-<br />
| Desert Southwest<br />
| water and time<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Northern Alaska<br />
| geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Aleutian Islands<br />
| volcanoes<br />
| The Aleutian Islands are a continuation of the Alaskan {{w|Aleutian Range}}, and form part of the {{w|Ring of Fire}}. Most of the islands in the chain bear signs of being formed by volcanos, and many volcanic cones still exist on the islands today.<br />
|-<br />
| Southeast Alaska<br />
| glaciers<br />
| This part of Alaska (including {{w|Glacier National Park (U.S.)|Glacier National Park}}) and western Canada has many glaciers that are still carving the landscape.<br />
|-<br />
| Hawaiian island chain<br />
| volcanoes<br />
| Hawaii, including the {{w|Northwest Hawaiian Islands}}, and seamounts northwest of it were formed by a tectonic plate moving over a hotspot, with volcanoes erupting and forming land as it went. The entire chain can be seen [https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0555574,-176.5939317,4904085m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDMxNS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D here].<br />
|}<br />
<br />
This map with subdivisions follows up on a number of prior (non-[[:Category:Bad Map Projections|cursed]]) maps representing (supposed) geographical splits of some conversational outcome or other, such as [[1407: Worst Hurricane]] and [[2108: Carbonated Beverage Language Map]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[A small panel showing Cueball pointing toward the left and Ponytail standing to his right overlaps the top of a much larger panel containing a map.]<br />
:Cueball: What's up with this weird landscape?<br />
:Ponytail: Oh, it was caused by ...<br />
<br />
:[The larger panel shows a map of the United States, with southern Canada, northern Mexico, and most of Cuba and the Bahamas visible as well. An inset at lower left shows Alaska along with part of northwest Canada, with a smaller inset showing Hawaii. International borders and coastlines are indicated in black, and state borders are indicated in gray. Red lines divide the United States into irregularly shaped zones (the red lines indicating zones do not cross into the neighboring countries, except in the Alaska inset), with each zone being labeled with red text. Each text label begins with "..." to indicate that it is the conclusion of Ponytail's sentence. The following are the labels used:]<br />
:[Main map:]<br />
:... a plate tectonics speedrun<br />
:... volcanoes<br />
:... megafloods<br />
:... a supervolcano<br />
:... geology<br />
:... water and time<br />
:... glaciers<br />
:... rivers<br />
:... continents colliding<br />
:... ???<br />
:... ongoing disputes between limestone and water<br />
:[The label "... glaciers" appears three times in various places in the same contiguous zone that runs from Washington state to Maine. The label "... farming" appears twice, representing two separate zones, one that runs from Montana to Louisiana and the other that runs from New Jersey to Mississippi. The label "... geology" appears twice, representing two separate zones, one that runs from Washington state to Texas and the other being a roughly circular region mostly in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas.]<br />
:[Alaska inset:]<br />
:... geology<br />
:... volcanoes<br />
:... glaciers<br />
:[Hawaii inset:]<br />
:... volcanoes<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude><br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:US maps]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Geology]]<br />
[[Category:Volcanoes]]</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3221:_Landscape_Features&diff=408431Talk:3221: Landscape Features2026-03-19T00:12:48Z<p>Fephisto: </p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom. --><br />
<br />
F1rst P0st!!! [[User:R128|R128]] ([[User talk:R128|talk]]) 17:27, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The ???? in New York is probably the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adirondack_Mountains Adirondack Mountains]:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>About 10 million years ago, the region began to be uplifted. It has been lifted about 7,000 feet (2,000 m) and is continuing at about 0.08 inches (2 mm) per year, which is greater than the rate of denudation. The cause of the uplift is unknown, but geologists theorize that it is caused by a hot spot in the Earth's crust.[18] A recent study has revealed a column of seismically slow materials about 30 to 50 miles (50 to 80 km) deep beneath the Adirondack Mountains,[20] which was interpreted to be the upwelling asthenosphere contributing to the uplift of the mountains.</blockquote><br />
<br />
[[User:Zzzt|Zzzt]] ([[User talk:Zzzt|talk]]) 17:58, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Geology being the cause of geological events is a tautology.--[[User:Henke37|Henke37]] ([[User talk:Henke37|talk]]) 18:26, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
:It's only a tautology where the plates are separating. It's a "compressology" where they're colliding, etc. ;) [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 21:36, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
conterguous* [[Special:Contributions/137.25.230.78|137.25.230.78]] 20:34, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I wonder if we should have a category for {{w|Isogloss}}. (Whether isoseme or some other variation.) I added in the two others 'of this basic illustrative nature' that I remembered off the top of my head, but I think there might be more. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 21:33, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Sections to explain ==<br />
<br />
I'm not a geologist, so I don't know how to answer these questions, but I will leave this template here to eventually be copied into the article:<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Location<br />
! Description<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Adirondack Mountains<br />
| ???<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Most of northern U.S. border<br />
| Glaciers<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Appalachian Mountains<br />
| Continents colliding<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Mississippi river basin<br />
| Rivers<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| SE U.S.<br />
| Farming<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southern Florida<br />
| Ongoing disputes between limestone and water<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southern Missouri/Northern Arkansas<br />
| ...geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Central column of U.S.<br />
| Farming<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Central Idaho/Yellowstone<br />
| A supervolcano<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Eastern Washington<br />
| A megaflood<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| West Coast<br />
| ...a plate tectonic speedrun.<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| SW<br />
| Water and time<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Northern Alaska<br />
| ...geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Aleutians<br />
| Volcanoes<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Hawaiian island chain<br />
| Volcanoes<br />
| <br />
|}<br />
[[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 18:59, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:...uh, why don't I just copy it into the article blank for now, actually?[[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 19:00, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This page should be in Category: Comics with color [[Special:Contributions/50.47.110.240|50.47.110.240]] 21:05, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
New here, and don't know the formatting, but the table is currently missing the Cascade and Sierra Nevada "Vocanoes" region, though it's pretty self-explanatory. {{unsigned ip|136.56.99.85|21:29, 18 March 2026}}<br />
<br />
:Got it. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 00:12, 19 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Also missing the “…geology” section surrounding the supervolcano. {{unsigned ip|146.115.160.214|21:58, 18 March 2026}}<br />
<br />
:Got it.[[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 00:11, 19 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I feel like comic [[3141]] is worth a mention here, but I'm not sure where to put it. [[User:MrCandela|MrCandela]] ([[User talk:MrCandela|talk]]) 22:49, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Added to the Adirondock row. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 00:12, 19 March 2026 (UTC)</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3221:_Landscape_Features&diff=408430Talk:3221: Landscape Features2026-03-19T00:12:33Z<p>Fephisto: /* Sections to explain */</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom. --><br />
<br />
F1rst P0st!!! [[User:R128|R128]] ([[User talk:R128|talk]]) 17:27, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The ???? in New York is probably the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adirondack_Mountains Adirondack Mountains]:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>About 10 million years ago, the region began to be uplifted. It has been lifted about 7,000 feet (2,000 m) and is continuing at about 0.08 inches (2 mm) per year, which is greater than the rate of denudation. The cause of the uplift is unknown, but geologists theorize that it is caused by a hot spot in the Earth's crust.[18] A recent study has revealed a column of seismically slow materials about 30 to 50 miles (50 to 80 km) deep beneath the Adirondack Mountains,[20] which was interpreted to be the upwelling asthenosphere contributing to the uplift of the mountains.</blockquote><br />
<br />
[[User:Zzzt|Zzzt]] ([[User talk:Zzzt|talk]]) 17:58, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Geology being the cause of geological events is a tautology.--[[User:Henke37|Henke37]] ([[User talk:Henke37|talk]]) 18:26, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
:It's only a tautology where the plates are separating. It's a "compressology" where they're colliding, etc. ;) [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 21:36, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
conterguous* [[Special:Contributions/137.25.230.78|137.25.230.78]] 20:34, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I wonder if we should have a category for {{w|Isogloss}}. (Whether isoseme or some other variation.) I added in the two others 'of this basic illustrative nature' that I remembered off the top of my head, but I think there might be more. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 21:33, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Sections to explain ==<br />
<br />
I'm not a geologist, so I don't know how to answer these questions, but I will leave this template here to eventually be copied into the article:<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Location<br />
! Description<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Adirondack Mountains<br />
| ???<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Most of northern U.S. border<br />
| Glaciers<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Appalachian Mountains<br />
| Continents colliding<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Mississippi river basin<br />
| Rivers<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| SE U.S.<br />
| Farming<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southern Florida<br />
| Ongoing disputes between limestone and water<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southern Missouri/Northern Arkansas<br />
| ...geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Central column of U.S.<br />
| Farming<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Central Idaho/Yellowstone<br />
| A supervolcano<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Eastern Washington<br />
| A megaflood<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| West Coast<br />
| ...a plate tectonic speedrun.<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| SW<br />
| Water and time<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Northern Alaska<br />
| ...geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Aleutians<br />
| Volcanoes<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Hawaiian island chain<br />
| Volcanoes<br />
| <br />
|}<br />
[[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 18:59, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:...uh, why don't I just copy it into the article blank for now, actually?[[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 19:00, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This page should be in Category: Comics with color [[Special:Contributions/50.47.110.240|50.47.110.240]] 21:05, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
New here, and don't know the formatting, but the table is currently missing the Cascade and Sierra Nevada "Vocanoes" region, though it's pretty self-explanatory. {{unsigned ip|136.56.99.85|21:29, 18 March 2026}}<br />
<br />
:Got it. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 00:12, 19 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Also missing the “…geology” section surrounding the supervolcano. {{unsigned ip|146.115.160.214|21:58, 18 March 2026}}<br />
<br />
:Got it.[[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 00:11, 19 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I feel like comic [[3141]] is worth a mention here, but I'm not sure where to put it. [[User:MrCandela|MrCandela]] ([[User talk:MrCandela|talk]]) 22:49, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Added to the Adirondock row. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 00:12, 19 March 2026 (UTC)</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3221:_Landscape_Features&diff=4084293221: Landscape Features2026-03-19T00:11:57Z<p>Fephisto: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3221<br />
| date = March 18, 2026<br />
| title = Landscape Features<br />
| image = landscape_features_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 537x454px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = 'Well, there's speculation that it's due to a mantle hotspot.' --a geologist who's trying to cover up the fact that they didn't hear your question<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|This page was created by a MANTLE HOTSPOT. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This comic is a map of the United States, explaining some of the most significant geologic/human activity in each region. It claims that, in each area, there is one major mechanism (plate tectonics, erosion, volcanism, etc.) which is responsible for the majority of interesting formations and features.<br />
<br />
The title text plays off the fact that a large part of geology is concerned with activity in the mantle, so explaining some geologic feature by saying "there's speculation that it's due to a mantle hotspot" does not give much information. Saying this would let a distracted geologist buy time while responding to a missed question. Many of Earth's seemingly out-of-place features (e.g., {{w|Hawaii hotspot}}, {{w|Iceland}}, the {{w|Snake River Plain}} in Idaho, etc.) form from such mantle hotspots. Thus, it's an easy go-to explanation for many of the geological features people are often most curious about.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Location<br />
! Description<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Adirondack Mountains<br />
| ???<br />
| The Adirondack Mountains are made of billion-year-old rock but were uplifted relatively recently, within the last 5–10 million years. They’re still rising today despite being far from any plate boundary, forming a dome with no clear tectonic cause, [[3141|thus the "???" due to an ongoing mystery as to their formation]]. <br />
|-<br />
| Most of northern conterminous U.S.<br />
| glaciers<br />
| During the {{w|Last Glacial Period}}, this area was covered by {{w|Laurentide Ice Sheet|an ice sheet}} that left its marks on the landscape, in the form of {{w|moraines}}, {{w|eskers}}, {{w|glacial erratics}}, etc.<br />
|-<br />
| Appalachian Mountains<br />
| continents colliding<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Near Mississippi & Ohio Rivers<br />
| rivers<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southeastern U.S.<br />
| farming<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southern Florida<br />
| ongoing disputes between limestone and water<br />
| {{w|Karst}} topography<br />
|-<br />
| Southern Missouri/Northern Arkansas<br />
| geology<br />
| The {{w|Ozark Mountains}}, which are composed primarily of ancient limestone and {{w|dolomite}}, form a rugged landscape characterized by hills, caves, and springs. Prolonged erosion of these soluble rocks has produced extensive karst features, including sinkholes and underground rivers.<br />
|-<br />
| Central column of U.S.<br />
| farming<br />
| This area loosely corresponds to the Great Plains. The lack of other major events left the terrain relatively level, and areas were historically shaped by either herds of bison or indigenous agriculture, both limiting the growth of forests. "Farming" is likely a reference to the more recent mix of large-scale crop farming (especially staples like wheat and corn) and herding (bison replace by cattle).<br />
|-<br />
| Central Idaho/Yellowstone<br />
| a supervolcano<br />
| The {{w|Snake River Plain}} is an area of high-elevation flat plain in the otherwise contigious Rocky Mountains. It was formed by the movement of the contenential plate over the {{w|Yellowstone Hotspot}}.<br />
|-<br />
| American West surrounding Idaho/Yellowstone<br />
| geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Immediately off of West coast up to the Four Corners<br />
| volcanoes<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Eastern Washington<br />
| megafloods<br />
| Most likely a reference to the {{w|Missoula floods}} and the {{w|Bonneville flood}}, a series of floods caused by glacial ice dam failures causing massive lakes to flood large regions of present-day eastern Washington. These floods actually continued all the way to the Pacific Ocean, altering ht shape of the {{w|Columbia River Gorge}} and flooding much of the {{w|Willamette River}} in western Oregon. The comic may have simplified these to avoid bisecting the adjacent zones along the coast.<br />
|-<br />
| West Coast<br />
| a plate tectonic speedrun<br />
| Most likely a reference to the significant tectonic activity on the western coast of the US, caused by the collisions of the {{w|Juan de Fuca plate}}, {{w|Pacific plate}}, and the {{w|North American plate}}.<br />
|-<br />
| Desert Southwest<br />
| water and time<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Northern Alaska<br />
| geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Aleutian Islands<br />
| volcanoes<br />
| The Aleutian Islands are a continuation of the Alaskan {{w|Aleutian Range}}, and form part of the {{w|Ring of Fire}}. Most of the islands in the chain bear signs of being formed by volcanos, and many volcanic cones still exist on the islands today.<br />
|-<br />
| Southeast Alaska<br />
| glaciers<br />
| This part of Alaska (including {{w|Glacier National Park (U.S.)|Glacier National Park}}) and western Canada has many glaciers that are still carving the landscape.<br />
|-<br />
| Hawaiian island chain<br />
| volcanoes<br />
| Hawaii, including the {{w|Northwest Hawaiian Islands}}, and seamounts northwest of it were formed by a tectonic plate moving over a hotspot, with volcanoes erupting and forming land as it went. The entire chain can be seen [https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0555574,-176.5939317,4904085m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDMxNS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D here].<br />
|}<br />
<br />
This map with subdivisions follows up on a number of prior (non-[[:Category:Bad Map Projections|cursed]]) maps representing (supposed) geographical splits of some conversational outcome or other, such as [[1407: Worst Hurricane]] and [[2108: Carbonated Beverage Language Map]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude><br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:US maps]]</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3221:_Landscape_Features&diff=408428Talk:3221: Landscape Features2026-03-19T00:11:08Z<p>Fephisto: /* Sections to explain */</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom. --><br />
<br />
F1rst P0st!!! [[User:R128|R128]] ([[User talk:R128|talk]]) 17:27, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The ???? in New York is probably the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adirondack_Mountains Adirondack Mountains]:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>About 10 million years ago, the region began to be uplifted. It has been lifted about 7,000 feet (2,000 m) and is continuing at about 0.08 inches (2 mm) per year, which is greater than the rate of denudation. The cause of the uplift is unknown, but geologists theorize that it is caused by a hot spot in the Earth's crust.[18] A recent study has revealed a column of seismically slow materials about 30 to 50 miles (50 to 80 km) deep beneath the Adirondack Mountains,[20] which was interpreted to be the upwelling asthenosphere contributing to the uplift of the mountains.</blockquote><br />
<br />
[[User:Zzzt|Zzzt]] ([[User talk:Zzzt|talk]]) 17:58, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Geology being the cause of geological events is a tautology.--[[User:Henke37|Henke37]] ([[User talk:Henke37|talk]]) 18:26, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
:It's only a tautology where the plates are separating. It's a "compressology" where they're colliding, etc. ;) [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 21:36, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
conterguous* [[Special:Contributions/137.25.230.78|137.25.230.78]] 20:34, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I wonder if we should have a category for {{w|Isogloss}}. (Whether isoseme or some other variation.) I added in the two others 'of this basic illustrative nature' that I remembered off the top of my head, but I think there might be more. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 21:33, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Sections to explain ==<br />
<br />
I'm not a geologist, so I don't know how to answer these questions, but I will leave this template here to eventually be copied into the article:<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Location<br />
! Description<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Adirondack Mountains<br />
| ???<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Most of northern U.S. border<br />
| Glaciers<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Appalachian Mountains<br />
| Continents colliding<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Mississippi river basin<br />
| Rivers<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| SE U.S.<br />
| Farming<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southern Florida<br />
| Ongoing disputes between limestone and water<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southern Missouri/Northern Arkansas<br />
| ...geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Central column of U.S.<br />
| Farming<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Central Idaho/Yellowstone<br />
| A supervolcano<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Eastern Washington<br />
| A megaflood<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| West Coast<br />
| ...a plate tectonic speedrun.<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| SW<br />
| Water and time<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Northern Alaska<br />
| ...geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Aleutians<br />
| Volcanoes<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Hawaiian island chain<br />
| Volcanoes<br />
| <br />
|}<br />
[[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 18:59, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:...uh, why don't I just copy it into the article blank for now, actually?[[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 19:00, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This page should be in Category: Comics with color [[Special:Contributions/50.47.110.240|50.47.110.240]] 21:05, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
New here, and don't know the formatting, but the table is currently missing the Cascade and Sierra Nevada "Vocanoes" region, though it's pretty self-explanatory. {{unsigned ip|136.56.99.85|21:29, 18 March 2026}}<br />
<br />
Also missing the “…geology” section surrounding the supervolcano. {{unsigned ip|146.115.160.214|21:58, 18 March 2026}}<br />
<br />
::Got it.[[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 00:11, 19 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I feel like comic [[3141]] is worth a mention here, but I'm not sure where to put it. [[User:MrCandela|MrCandela]] ([[User talk:MrCandela|talk]]) 22:49, 18 March 2026 (UTC)</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3221:_Landscape_Features&diff=4084273221: Landscape Features2026-03-19T00:10:32Z<p>Fephisto: Forgot two</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3221<br />
| date = March 18, 2026<br />
| title = Landscape Features<br />
| image = landscape_features_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 537x454px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = 'Well, there's speculation that it's due to a mantle hotspot.' --a geologist who's trying to cover up the fact that they didn't hear your question<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|This page was created by a MANTLE HOTSPOT. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This comic is a map of the United States, explaining some of the most significant geologic/human activity in each region. It claims that, in each area, there is one major mechanism (plate tectonics, erosion, volcanism, etc.) which is responsible for the majority of interesting formations and features.<br />
<br />
The title text plays off the fact that a large part of geology is concerned with activity in the mantle, so explaining some geologic feature by saying "there's speculation that it's due to a mantle hotspot" does not give much information. Saying this would let a distracted geologist buy time while responding to a missed question. Many of Earth's seemingly out-of-place features (e.g., {{w|Hawaii hotspot}}, {{w|Iceland}}, the {{w|Snake River Plain}} in Idaho, etc.) form from such mantle hotspots. Thus, it's an easy go-to explanation for many of the geological features people are often most curious about.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Location<br />
! Description<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Adirondack Mountains<br />
| ???<br />
| The Adirondack Mountains are made of billion-year-old rock but were uplifted relatively recently, within the last 5–10 million years. They’re still rising today despite being far from any plate boundary, forming a dome with no clear tectonic cause, thus the "???" due to an ongoing mystery as to their formation. <br />
|-<br />
| Most of northern conterminous U.S.<br />
| glaciers<br />
| During the {{w|Last Glacial Period}}, this area was covered by {{w|Laurentide Ice Sheet|an ice sheet}} that left its marks on the landscape, in the form of {{w|moraines}}, {{w|eskers}}, {{w|glacial erratics}}, etc.<br />
|-<br />
| Appalachian Mountains<br />
| continents colliding<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Near Mississippi & Ohio Rivers<br />
| rivers<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southeastern U.S.<br />
| farming<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southern Florida<br />
| ongoing disputes between limestone and water<br />
| {{w|Karst}} topography<br />
|-<br />
| Southern Missouri/Northern Arkansas<br />
| geology<br />
| The {{w|Ozark Mountains}}, which are composed primarily of ancient limestone and {{w|dolomite}}, form a rugged landscape characterized by hills, caves, and springs. Prolonged erosion of these soluble rocks has produced extensive karst features, including sinkholes and underground rivers.<br />
|-<br />
| Central column of U.S.<br />
| farming<br />
| This area loosely corresponds to the Great Plains. The lack of other major events left the terrain relatively level, and areas were historically shaped by either herds of bison or indigenous agriculture, both limiting the growth of forests. "Farming" is likely a reference to the more recent mix of large-scale crop farming (especially staples like wheat and corn) and herding (bison replace by cattle).<br />
|-<br />
| Central Idaho/Yellowstone<br />
| a supervolcano<br />
| The {{w|Snake River Plain}} is an area of high-elevation flat plain in the otherwise contigious Rocky Mountains. It was formed by the movement of the contenential plate over the {{w|Yellowstone Hotspot}}.<br />
|-<br />
| American West surrounding Idaho/Yellowstone<br />
| geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Immediately off of West coast up to the Four Corners<br />
| volcanoes<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Eastern Washington<br />
| megafloods<br />
| Most likely a reference to the {{w|Missoula floods}} and the {{w|Bonneville flood}}, a series of floods caused by glacial ice dam failures causing massive lakes to flood large regions of present-day eastern Washington. These floods actually continued all the way to the Pacific Ocean, altering ht shape of the {{w|Columbia River Gorge}} and flooding much of the {{w|Willamette River}} in western Oregon. The comic may have simplified these to avoid bisecting the adjacent zones along the coast.<br />
|-<br />
| West Coast<br />
| a plate tectonic speedrun<br />
| Most likely a reference to the significant tectonic activity on the western coast of the US, caused by the collisions of the {{w|Juan de Fuca plate}}, {{w|Pacific plate}}, and the {{w|North American plate}}.<br />
|-<br />
| Desert Southwest<br />
| water and time<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Northern Alaska<br />
| geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Aleutian Islands<br />
| volcanoes<br />
| The Aleutian Islands are a continuation of the Alaskan {{w|Aleutian Range}}, and form part of the {{w|Ring of Fire}}. Most of the islands in the chain bear signs of being formed by volcanos, and many volcanic cones still exist on the islands today.<br />
|-<br />
| Southeast Alaska<br />
| glaciers<br />
| This part of Alaska (including {{w|Glacier National Park (U.S.)|Glacier National Park}}) and western Canada has many glaciers that are still carving the landscape.<br />
|-<br />
| Hawaiian island chain<br />
| volcanoes<br />
| Hawaii, including the {{w|Northwest Hawaiian Islands}}, and seamounts northwest of it were formed by a tectonic plate moving over a hotspot, with volcanoes erupting and forming land as it went. The entire chain can be seen [https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0555574,-176.5939317,4904085m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDMxNS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D here].<br />
|}<br />
<br />
This map with subdivisions follows up on a number of prior (non-[[:Category:Bad Map Projections|cursed]]) maps representing (supposed) geographical splits of some conversational outcome or other, such as [[1407: Worst Hurricane]] and [[2108: Carbonated Beverage Language Map]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude><br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:US maps]]</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3221:_Landscape_Features&diff=4083863221: Landscape Features2026-03-18T19:00:50Z<p>Fephisto: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3221<br />
| date = March 18, 2026<br />
| title = Landscape Features<br />
| image = landscape_features_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 537x454px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = 'Well, there's speculation that it's due to a mantle hotspot.' --a geologist who's trying to cover up the fact that they didn't hear your question<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|This page was created recently. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This comic is a map of the United States, explaining some of the most significant geologic/human activity in each region. It claims that, in each area, there is one major mechanism (plate tectonics, erosion, vulcanism) which is responsible for the majority of interesting formations and features.<br />
<br />
The title text plays off the fact that a large part of geology concerned with activity in the mantle, so explaining that there is speculation something is "due to a mantle hotspot" is not giving much information. Saying this would let a distracted geologist hedge their bets while responding to a missed question. The area of the map marked with question marks is the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York, which are theorized to have been caused by uplift from such a mantle hotspot.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Location<br />
! Description<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Adirondack Mountains<br />
| ???<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Most of northern U.S. border<br />
| Glaciers<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Appalachian Mountains<br />
| Continents colliding<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Mississippi river basin<br />
| Rivers<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| SE U.S.<br />
| Farming<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southern Florida<br />
| Ongoing disputes between limestone and water<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southern Missouri/Northern Arkansas<br />
| ...geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Central column of U.S.<br />
| Farming<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Central Idaho/Yellowstone<br />
| A supervolcano<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Eastern Washington<br />
| A megaflood<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| West Coast<br />
| ...a plate tectonic speedrun.<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| SW<br />
| Water and time<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Northern Alaska<br />
| ...geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Aleutians<br />
| Volcanoes<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Hawaiian island chain<br />
| Volcanoes<br />
| <br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude></div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3221:_Landscape_Features&diff=408385Talk:3221: Landscape Features2026-03-18T19:00:41Z<p>Fephisto: /* Sections to explain */</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom. --><br />
<br />
F1rst P0st!!! [[User:R128|R128]] ([[User talk:R128|talk]]) 17:27, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The ???? in New York is probably the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adirondack_Mountains Adirondack Mountains]:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>About 10 million years ago, the region began to be uplifted. It has been lifted about 7,000 feet (2,000 m) and is continuing at about 0.08 inches (2 mm) per year, which is greater than the rate of denudation. The cause of the uplift is unknown, but geologists theorize that it is caused by a hot spot in the Earth's crust.[18] A recent study has revealed a column of seismically slow materials about 30 to 50 miles (50 to 80 km) deep beneath the Adirondack Mountains,[20] which was interpreted to be the upwelling asthenosphere contributing to the uplift of the mountains.</blockquote><br />
<br />
[[User:Zzzt|Zzzt]] ([[User talk:Zzzt|talk]]) 17:58, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Geology being the cause of geological events is a tautology.--[[User:Henke37|Henke37]] ([[User talk:Henke37|talk]]) 18:26, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Sections to explain ==<br />
<br />
I'm not a geologist, so I don't know how to answer these questions, but I will leave this template here to eventually be copied into the article:<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Location<br />
! Description<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Adirondack Mountains<br />
| ???<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Most of northern U.S. border<br />
| Glaciers<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Appalachian Mountains<br />
| Continents colliding<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Mississippi river basin<br />
| Rivers<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| SE U.S.<br />
| Farming<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southern Florida<br />
| Ongoing disputes between limestone and water<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southern Missouri/Northern Arkansas<br />
| ...geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Central column of U.S.<br />
| Farming<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Central Idaho/Yellowstone<br />
| A supervolcano<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Eastern Washington<br />
| A megaflood<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| West Coast<br />
| ...a plate tectonic speedrun.<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| SW<br />
| Water and time<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Northern Alaska<br />
| ...geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Aleutians<br />
| Volcanoes<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Hawaiian island chain<br />
| Volcanoes<br />
| <br />
|}<br />
[[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 18:59, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:...uh, why don't I just copy it into the article blank for now, actually?[[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 19:00, 18 March 2026 (UTC)</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3221:_Landscape_Features&diff=408384Talk:3221: Landscape Features2026-03-18T19:00:28Z<p>Fephisto: /* Sections to explain */</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom. --><br />
<br />
F1rst P0st!!! [[User:R128|R128]] ([[User talk:R128|talk]]) 17:27, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The ???? in New York is probably the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adirondack_Mountains Adirondack Mountains]:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>About 10 million years ago, the region began to be uplifted. It has been lifted about 7,000 feet (2,000 m) and is continuing at about 0.08 inches (2 mm) per year, which is greater than the rate of denudation. The cause of the uplift is unknown, but geologists theorize that it is caused by a hot spot in the Earth's crust.[18] A recent study has revealed a column of seismically slow materials about 30 to 50 miles (50 to 80 km) deep beneath the Adirondack Mountains,[20] which was interpreted to be the upwelling asthenosphere contributing to the uplift of the mountains.</blockquote><br />
<br />
[[User:Zzzt|Zzzt]] ([[User talk:Zzzt|talk]]) 17:58, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Geology being the cause of geological events is a tautology.--[[User:Henke37|Henke37]] ([[User talk:Henke37|talk]]) 18:26, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Sections to explain ==<br />
<br />
I'm not a geologist, so I don't know how to answer these questions, but I will leave this template here to eventually be copied into the article:<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Location<br />
! Description<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Adirondack Mountains<br />
| ???<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Most of northern U.S. border<br />
| Glaciers<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Appalachian Mountains<br />
| Continents colliding<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Mississippi river basin<br />
| Rivers<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| SE U.S.<br />
| Farming<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southern Florida<br />
| Ongoing disputes between limestone and water<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southern Missouri/Northern Arkansas<br />
| ...geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Central column of U.S.<br />
| Farming<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Central Idaho/Yellowstone<br />
| A supervolcano<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Eastern Washington<br />
| A megaflood<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| West Coast<br />
| ...a plate tectonic speedrun.<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| SW<br />
| Water and time<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Northern Alaska<br />
| ...geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Aleutians<br />
| Volcanoes<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Hawaiian island chain<br />
| Volcanoes<br />
| <br />
|}<br />
[[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 18:59, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:...uh, why don't I just copy it into the article blank for now, actually?</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3221:_Landscape_Features&diff=408383Talk:3221: Landscape Features2026-03-18T18:59:55Z<p>Fephisto: </p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom. --><br />
<br />
F1rst P0st!!! [[User:R128|R128]] ([[User talk:R128|talk]]) 17:27, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The ???? in New York is probably the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adirondack_Mountains Adirondack Mountains]:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>About 10 million years ago, the region began to be uplifted. It has been lifted about 7,000 feet (2,000 m) and is continuing at about 0.08 inches (2 mm) per year, which is greater than the rate of denudation. The cause of the uplift is unknown, but geologists theorize that it is caused by a hot spot in the Earth's crust.[18] A recent study has revealed a column of seismically slow materials about 30 to 50 miles (50 to 80 km) deep beneath the Adirondack Mountains,[20] which was interpreted to be the upwelling asthenosphere contributing to the uplift of the mountains.</blockquote><br />
<br />
[[User:Zzzt|Zzzt]] ([[User talk:Zzzt|talk]]) 17:58, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Geology being the cause of geological events is a tautology.--[[User:Henke37|Henke37]] ([[User talk:Henke37|talk]]) 18:26, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Sections to explain ==<br />
<br />
I'm not a geologist, so I don't know how to answer these questions, but I will leave this template here to eventually be copied into the article:<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Location<br />
! Description<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Adirondack Mountains<br />
| ???<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Most of northern U.S. border<br />
| Glaciers<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Appalachian Mountains<br />
| Continents colliding<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Mississippi river basin<br />
| Rivers<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| SE U.S.<br />
| Farming<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southern Florida<br />
| Ongoing disputes between limestone and water<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southern Missouri/Northern Arkansas<br />
| ...geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Central column of U.S.<br />
| Farming<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Central Idaho/Yellowstone<br />
| A supervolcano<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Eastern Washington<br />
| A megaflood<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| West Coast<br />
| ...a plate tectonic speedrun.<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| SW<br />
| Water and time<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Northern Alaska<br />
| ...geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Aleutians<br />
| Volcanoes<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Hawaiian island chain<br />
| Volcanoes<br />
| <br />
|}<br />
[[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 18:59, 18 March 2026 (UTC)</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3221:_Landscape_Features&diff=408382Talk:3221: Landscape Features2026-03-18T18:59:41Z<p>Fephisto: /* Sections to explain */ new section</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom. --><br />
<br />
F1rst P0st!!! [[User:R128|R128]] ([[User talk:R128|talk]]) 17:27, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The ???? in New York is probably the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adirondack_Mountains Adirondack Mountains]:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>About 10 million years ago, the region began to be uplifted. It has been lifted about 7,000 feet (2,000 m) and is continuing at about 0.08 inches (2 mm) per year, which is greater than the rate of denudation. The cause of the uplift is unknown, but geologists theorize that it is caused by a hot spot in the Earth's crust.[18] A recent study has revealed a column of seismically slow materials about 30 to 50 miles (50 to 80 km) deep beneath the Adirondack Mountains,[20] which was interpreted to be the upwelling asthenosphere contributing to the uplift of the mountains.</blockquote><br />
<br />
[[User:Zzzt|Zzzt]] ([[User talk:Zzzt|talk]]) 17:58, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Geology being the cause of geological events is a tautology.--[[User:Henke37|Henke37]] ([[User talk:Henke37|talk]]) 18:26, 18 March 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Sections to explain ==<br />
<br />
I'm not a geologist, so I don't know how to answer these questions, but I will leave this template here to eventually be copied into the article:<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Location<br />
! Description<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Adirondack Mountains<br />
| ???<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Most of northern U.S. border<br />
| Glaciers<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Appalachian Mountains<br />
| Continents colliding<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Mississippi river basin<br />
| Rivers<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| SE U.S.<br />
| Farming<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southern Florida<br />
| Ongoing disputes between limestone and water<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Southern Missouri/Northern Arkansas<br />
| ...geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Central column of U.S.<br />
| Farming<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Central Idaho/Yellowstone<br />
| A supervolcano<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Eastern Washington<br />
| A megaflood<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| West Coast<br />
| ...a plate tectonic speedrun.<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| SW<br />
| Water and time<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Northern Alaska<br />
| ...geology<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Aleutians<br />
| Volcanoes<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Hawaiian island chain<br />
| Volcanoes<br />
| <br />
|}</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3210:_Eliminating_the_Impossible&diff=406730Talk:3210: Eliminating the Impossible2026-02-20T21:11:29Z<p>Fephisto: </p>
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I’ve found that when looking for an item, I’ll search harder and more thoroughly in the places where the item is supposed to be, which is just frustrating and usually unsuccessful.<br />
Then I realized that if the item isn’t where it’s supposed to be, then it’s somewhere ''it isn’t supposed to be'' - so I start looking in those places.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/170.64.111.76|170.64.111.76]] 20:51, 20 February 2026 (UTC)<br />
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It also assumes exclusion of the middle.<br />
[[User:MithicSpirit|MithicSpirit]] ([[User talk:MithicSpirit|talk]]) 20:59, 20 February 2026 (UTC)<br />
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These guys sure are some professors of logic (I'm not sure if they own any doghouses, is what I mean). [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 21:07, 20 February 2026 (UTC)</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3210:_Eliminating_the_Impossible&diff=406729Talk:3210: Eliminating the Impossible2026-02-20T21:07:44Z<p>Fephisto: </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 />
I’ve found that when looking for an item, I’ll search harder and more thoroughly in the places where the item is supposed to be, which is just frustrating and usually unsuccessful.<br />
Then I realized that if the item isn’t where it’s supposed to be, then it’s somewhere ''it isn’t supposed to be'' - so I start looking in those places.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/170.64.111.76|170.64.111.76]] 20:51, 20 February 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It also assumes exclusion of the middle.<br />
[[User:MithicSpirit|MithicSpirit]] ([[User talk:MithicSpirit|talk]]) 20:59, 20 February 2026 (UTC)<br />
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These guys sure are some professors of logic. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 21:07, 20 February 2026 (UTC)</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3192:_Planetary_Alignment&diff=403675Talk:3192: Planetary Alignment2026-01-15T14:49:27Z<p>Fephisto: </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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Remember to buckle your seatbelts! [[User:King Pando|King Pando]] ([[User talk:King Pando|talk]]) 05:20, 10 January 2026 (UTC)<br />
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I hope they remember to restart the calculations when we get it back. [[User:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For]] ([[User talk:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|talk]]) 23:41, 11 January 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I have personally been the victim of a much-inferior mobile phone as a loaner. I owned a Nokia phone (probably a [[:wikipedia:List of Nokia products|Nokia 239]]) that was on the United States AMPS analog network around 1997, and broke the LCD display. I brought it in for service, and while they worked on it, they issued me a [[:wikipedia:MicroTAC|Motorola MicroTAC]] type phone, which was only slightly better than the original "brick phone" design. Due to delays in repair and distance from the shop itself, I probably used the loaner phone for longer than the phone which I had nominally purchased. [[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 06:10, 10 January 2026 (UTC)<br />
:Not necessarily "inferior", but the last time I had a car in the shop I got a car very different from what I'm used to. I normally drive a sedan (Camrys and Accords for several decades), but the loaner was an SUV, which took some getting used to (I'm a short person, getting into the driver's seat felt like climbing into a truck). [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 15:21, 10 January 2026 (UTC)<br />
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Seems related to [[3059]], same clipboard and everything. [[Special:Contributions/64.114.211.116|64.114.211.116]] 08:46, 10 January 2026 (UTC)<br />
: Also related to [[3037]]. These three comics seem to form an arc. {{unsigned ip|2001:861:8ac3:fa50:aeaa:c2ce:fdee:8131|11:37, 10 January 2026 (UTC)}}<br />
:these would fit into a "Planetary Inspector" category --[[User:Youforgotthisthing|Youforgotthisthing]] ([[User talk:Youforgotthisthing|talk]]) 16:06, 10 January 2026 (UTC)<br />
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I wonder if “Planetary Alignment” refers to the astrological notion of “the planets are in alignment…”? {{unsigned ip|75.111.176.208|13:37, 10 January 2026 (UTC)}}<br />
:It's not just astrological, astronomers also call a group of planets close together in the sky an alignment, although the more technical term is syzygy. That's what I expected the comic to be a pun on. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 15:21, 10 January 2026 (UTC)<br />
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“Which ocean basin do you like the least?” is also reminiscent of Hank Scorpio asking Homer Simpson whether his least favorite country is France or Italy, with the least favorite one being the target of the death ray. {{unsigned ip|96.250.83.179|16:01, 10 January 2026}}<br />
:I believe that the premier nerd canon parallel here would be Princess Leia giving up "[https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Dantooine#Galactic_Civil_War Dantooine]" as the location of the Rebel Base in a vain effort to save her home planet, while the Imperial officials paid no real attention to her desperate lie. They probably knew she wouldn't give a real answer, but if she had to think of someplace expendable that she "liked the least", it certainly would be Dantooine. [[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 04:17, 11 January 2026 (UTC)<br />
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[[3037]] and [[3059]] also have the same characters as this comic - Ponytail as inspector, Cueball as homeowner. I added a sentence to the main explanation linking to these related comics. --[[Special:Contributions/2600:4040:99D4:8B00:F922:E24E:C61E:3AB6|2600:4040:99D4:8B00:F922:E24E:C61E:3AB6]] 19:20, 10 January 2026 (UTC)<br />
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Pacific Ocean. We like the Pacific the least. While you're there, could you give the Ring of Fire a checkup? Thanks. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 15:05, 12 January 2026 (UTC)<br />
:Hmmm, yeah.... <sucks air between teeth while looking thoughtful> ...you're right, it isn't working properly at all. Leave it with us, though, and we can definitely get it constantly spewing magma ''all the way round'', once we get the proper replacements. It will cost you, though, for both parts and labour... [[Special:Contributions/82.132.238.61|82.132.238.61]] 13:53, 14 January 2026 (UTC)<br />
:: > <sucks air between teeth while looking thoughtful><br />
::I felt that infuriating contractor bs nonverbal language in my ''soul''. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 14:49, 15 January 2026 (UTC)</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3192:_Planetary_Alignment&diff=403346Talk:3192: Planetary Alignment2026-01-12T15:05:19Z<p>Fephisto: /* Pacific */ new section</p>
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<br />
Remember to buckle your seatbelts! [[User:King Pando|King Pando]] ([[User talk:King Pando|talk]]) 05:20, 10 January 2026 (UTC)<br />
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I hope they remember to restart the calculations when we get it back. [[User:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For]] ([[User talk:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|talk]]) 23:41, 11 January 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Inferior loaner items ==<br />
<br />
I have personally been the victim of a much-inferior mobile phone as a loaner. I owned a Nokia phone (probably a [[:wikipedia:List of Nokia products|Nokia 239]]) that was on the United States AMPS analog network around 1997, and broke the LCD display. I brought it in for service, and while they worked on it, they issued me a [[:wikipedia:MicroTAC|Motorola MicroTAC]] type phone, which was only slightly better than the original "brick phone" design. Due to delays in repair and distance from the shop itself, I probably used the loaner phone for longer than the phone which I had nominally purchased. [[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 06:10, 10 January 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Not necessarily "inferior", but the last time I had a car in the shop I got a car very different from what I'm used to. I normally drive a sedan (Camrys and Accords for several decades), but the loaner was an SUV, which took some getting used to (I'm a short person, getting into the driver's seat felt like climbing into a truck). [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 15:21, 10 January 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Relevant XKCD ==<br />
<br />
Seems related to [[3059]], same clipboard and everything. [[Special:Contributions/64.114.211.116|64.114.211.116]] 08:46, 10 January 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Also related to [[3037]]. These three comics seem to form an arc.<br />
<br />
:these would fit into a "Planetary Inspector" category --[[User:Youforgotthisthing|Youforgotthisthing]] ([[User talk:Youforgotthisthing|talk]]) 16:06, 10 January 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I wonder if “Planetary Alignment” refers to the astrological notion of “the planets are in alignment…”?<br />
:It's not just astrological, astronomers also call a group of planets close together in the sky an alignment, although the more technical term is syzygy. That's what I expected the comic to be a pun on. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 15:21, 10 January 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
“Which ocean basin do you like the least?” is also reminiscent of Hank Scorpio asking Homer Simpson whether his least favorite country is France or Italy, with the least favorite one being the target of the death ray. {{unsigned ip|96.250.83.179|16:01, 10 January 2026}}<br />
:I believe that the premier nerd canon parallel here would be Princess Leia giving up "[https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Dantooine#Galactic_Civil_War Dantooine]" as the location of the Rebel Base in a vain effort to save her home planet, while the Imperial officials paid no real attention to her desperate lie. They probably knew she wouldn't give a real answer, but if she had to think of someplace expendable that she "liked the least", it certainly would be Dantooine. [[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 04:17, 11 January 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
[[3037]] and [[3059]] also have the same characters as this comic - Ponytail as inspector, Cueball as homeowner. I added a sentence to the main explanation linking to these related comics. --[[Special:Contributions/2600:4040:99D4:8B00:F922:E24E:C61E:3AB6|2600:4040:99D4:8B00:F922:E24E:C61E:3AB6]] 19:20, 10 January 2026 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Pacific ==<br />
<br />
Pacific Ocean. We like the Pacific the least. While you're there, could you give the Ring of Fire a checkup? Thanks. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 15:05, 12 January 2026 (UTC)</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3180:_Apples&diff=4018113180: Apples2025-12-15T22:26:06Z<p>Fephisto: Hooo boy, let's see how mad people get with my second Wikipedia link, or if they get the humor.</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3180<br />
| date = December 12, 2025<br />
| title = Apples<br />
| image = apples_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 263x364px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = The experimental math department's budget is under scrutiny for how much they've been spending on trains leaving Chicago at 9:00pm traveling at 45 mph.<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|This page was created BY A CAR HEADING WEST AT 70MPH. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
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Three "experimental mathematicians" have experimentally confirmed the answer to a mathematical query that might normally {{w|word problem (mathematics education)|be described}} to an elementary school class: "If [[Cueball]] has seven apples and [[Hairbun]] has five, how many apples are there in total?" With everyone having literally brought together their stated number of apples, Cueball counts the two groups of apples and states that the total is twelve. [[Blondie]] is very excited that this real world demonstration has perfect agreement with some theory, presumably arithmetic.<br />
<br />
The root of the joke is the conflation of mathematics, an abstract framework (according to {{w|Mathematical Platonism}}), with sciences like physics or chemistry that describe real world phenomena and that require experimental confirmation. In the context of the comic, because most sciences have both theoretical and experimental wings, {{w|computer science|mathematics should as well}}, with a humorous example of what "experimental mathematics" would look like. In this case Cueball and Hairbun are literally "testing" the concept of addition by reenacting a word problem in a mathematics textbook. This physical experiment itself is humorous because there is no mathematical difference between adding groups of apples or groups of {{w|tally marks}} on a piece of paper, but the characters would likely consider the latter to be "theoretical". <br />
<br />
A different take on the joke is that mathematics is inherently experimental, but the "experiments" take the form of rigorously proving concepts, including something as basic as addition, {{w|Foundations of mathematics|from first principles}}. From this angle one would find humor in the fact that the three characters are testing math with physical objects instead of referring to the established proofs. <br />
<br />
The irony is that some aspects of mathematics ''are'' experimental in the manner depicted in the cartoon. Children are often taught that the angles of a triangle sum to 180° by tearing off the points of a paper triangle and using them to construct a straight line. Some aspects of computer science can also be considered "experimental mathematics", especially at the circuit level where binary logic can be physically used to perform mathematical computation.<br />
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There are real-world cases where "basic addition" doesn't give the mathematical result, when combining certain items that aren't uniform. Measured volumes of two different substances, combined to make a solution, usually results in a volume of the end solution that differs from the sum of the original volumes. When measured volumes of nearly-freezing and nearly-boiling water are combined, the resulting liquid, at an intermediate temperature, will almost always be {{w|Properties of water#Density of water and ice|measurably different}} from the sum of the prior values.<br />
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The title text confirms the comic's point of experimentally reenacting mathematics textbook word problems by reference to the "Two Trains Problem", a popular type of question to teach students how to solve {{w|System of linear equations|simultaneous linear equations}}, which has previously been alluded to in [[2019: An Apple for a Dollar]]. A [https://mathseasy.quora.com/If-a-train-leaves-station-A-at-9-00-am-and-travels-at-60-miles-per-hour-and-another-train-leaves-station-B-at-10-00-am typical question of this type] asks “If a train leaves station A at 9:00 am and travels at 60 miles per hour, and another train leaves station B at 10:00 am and travels at 80 miles per hour, where will the two trains meet if station A and B are 200 miles apart?” This type of problem is so common that it became a pre-internet meme with many references in popular culture, so Randall has to provide only the setup ("trains leaving Chicago at 9 pm traveling at 45 mph") to be reasonably sure that the reader will know what he's talking about.<br />
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Unlike apples, chartering real life trains to leave both Chicago and another city to test that class of word problem would present enormous expense to the experimental mathematics department. This expense again implies that the experimental mathematics department is not content with any abstraction, such as using model trains, and must test the word problems as written.<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
:[Hairbun and Cueball stand at the left of the panel. Blondie stands at the right. Between them are two piles of apples, one of seven apples (stacked four on the bottom, two in the middle row, and one on top) and the other of five apples (stacked three on the bottom, and two on top).They are all looking at the apples but Blondie has her arms raised high above her head.]<br />
:Cueball: Okay, with my seven apples added to your five, we have ... let's see ... twelve apples!<br />
:Blondie: Incredible!<br />
:Blondie: Perfect agreement with the theory!<br />
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:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:Experimental mathematicians<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<noinclude><br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]<br />
[[Category:Food]]</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3177:_Chessboard_Alignment&diff=401004Talk:3177: Chessboard Alignment2025-12-08T14:37:43Z<p>Fephisto: /* Player Elimination */ new section</p>
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...Honestly, kinda don't get this one... <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 16px;">--'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|<span style="color:#FF0000">DollarStoreBa'al</span>]]<sup>[[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|<span style="color:#00873E">Converse</span>]]</sup></span> 02:27, 6 December 2025 (UTC)<br />
:ohhhhhh... <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 16px;">--'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|<span style="color:#FF0000">DollarStoreBa'al</span>]]<sup>[[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|<span style="color:#00873E">Converse</span>]]</sup></span> 02:28, 6 December 2025 (UTC)<br />
wait how do comments work[[User:Avrayter|Avrayter]] ([[User talk:Avrayter|talk]]) 02:52, 6 December 2025 (UTC)<br />
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I don’t understand what the title text is saying. Can someone explain it to me? [[User:Logalex8369|Logalex8369]] ([[User talk:Logalex8369|talk]]) 03:05, 6 December 2025 (UTC)<br />
:Well, since we live on a sphere, drawing a line across the surface is actually drawing on one big circle, called a great circle. this means that it's impossible to draw lines on the surface of the earth that never meet - if you draw two lines, straight north on 2 ends of the USA, they meet at the north pole. If you continue the lines after that, they also meet at the south pole, and continuing that, you're all the way back where you started - you've just drawn 2 big circles. --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 04:43, 7 December 2025 (UTC)<br />
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when I read the title, I thought of D&D Alignment, and now I want one [[Special:Contributions/93.36.184.70|93.36.184.70]] 07:31, 6 December 2025 (UTC)<br />
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Did the math for 'aiming' at geostatinary satellite from while being level. https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=arccos%286371%2Fsqrt%2842%2C164%5E2%2B6371%5E2%29%29 . If anybody wants to check my math please do so.--[[User:Trimutius|Trimutius]] ([[User talk:Trimutius|talk]]) 19:06, 6 December 2025 (UTC)<br />
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Do you have to consider other boards to avoid castling through check? [[Special:Contributions/2600:100C:B29E:1DBD:C9D:1FF3:39A0:FC2E|2600:100C:B29E:1DBD:C9D:1FF3:39A0:FC2E]] 20:19, 6 December 2025 (UTC)<br />
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I think a funnier title text would've been: Bfi8(!!!) [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 06:22, 6 December 2025 (UTC)<br />
:...I didn't want if before but now i do.--[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 04:44, 7 December 2025 (UTC)<br />
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I suspect allusions to modern physics. The exact alignment of chess boards reminds me of the exactness needed to build laser resonators. <br />
The chess piece hopping from one board to another reminds me of quantum tunneling. The title text reminds me of light following geodetic lines in general relativity.<br />
There might be a specific quantum effect that is meant here, but I don't know. [[Special:Contributions/195.52.146.164|195.52.146.164]] 06:29, 6 December 2025 (UTC)<br />
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For anyone wondering: This is not legal, because even though "The bishop may move to any square along a diagonal on which it stands" FIDE defines a diagonal as "A straight line of squares of the same colour, running from one edge of the board to an adjacent edge", meaning it always ends on the edge. [[Special:Contributions/85.76.137.112|85.76.137.112]] 07:29, 6 December 2025 (UTC)<br />
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Moving from one board to another reminds me of a variety of chess variants. You know the ones: bughouse chess, Alice chess, ''5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel''. (I'm still trying to find a way to get Randall to try out that last one.) [[User:ISaveXKCDpapers|ISaveXKCDpapers]] ([[User talk:ISaveXKCDpapers|talk]]) 10:01, 6 December 2025 (UTC)<br />
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Not sure how to express well mathematics of great circles, to make it clear, that it is not just longitudal lines but in any direction really. I fixed the basics, but right now it still says something potentially misleading.--[[User:Trimutius|Trimutius]] ([[User talk:Trimutius|talk]]) 14:36, 6 December 2025 (UTC)<br />
:I think this was my biggest edit on this wiki, but I think I managed to make a decent explanation of the math of how this works. Also split it off from the going into space variant.--[[User:Trimutius|Trimutius]] ([[User talk:Trimutius|talk]]) 18:14, 6 December 2025 (UTC)<br />
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Should this comic go in <code>Category:Comics_with_color</code>? --[[Special:Contributions/175.34.54.104|175.34.54.104]] 11:33, 6 December 2025 (UTC)<br />
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I think in white's position, the only moves that could prevent ...Nd5# are Qa4+, Qxd4, and various moves to e2. I don't hold out much hope for white. To me, this says the bishop move is a desperate attempt by the bishop to survive a bit longer. It made a king sacrifice. --[[User:Divad27182|Divad27182]] ([[User talk:Divad27182|talk]]) 13:54, 6 December 2025 (UTC)<br />
:My impression (without trying to recreate the exact play-by-play that got there) is that middle-white's defence 'exploded', they (forced or unforced) sent up to six pawns forward, losing three, dramatically unshielding the King in a very unsafe manner and (through exposure to the black Queen, later assisted by the Knight to plug potential movements) was left with no choice other than to advance white-King out there to get out of various checks.<br />
:But I'm intrigued by the 'rules', of pieces escaping to the other board. Does middle-white play in turn with middle-black, but may (as their turn) move middle-white pieces around the right board without regard (either way) of the right-white/right-black turn-taking? The asynchrony (could pepper right-board movement with timely movements ahead and/or behind right-white's turn, to support them against right-black with additional 'intersticial' moves (until middle-black, or even left-black, opts to move pieces over there as well). Or act as strictly' "second move for white"? What happens when MW's King is mated (as it surely will, ''especially'' if MW is opting to move off-board pieces rather than fight the 'local' game)? Their pieces are taken away? Inherited? Continue to 'double-tap' their moves alongside the native player of the board? They're now entirely unfettered by MB's move to which they now don't need to wait to respond?<br />
:Alternatively, it's a piece given ''to'' Right-White (until, perhaps, RW moves it, like any other piece, back into MW's game in their own play-order). There could be an exodus of MW pieces (bishops, rooks, queen only, with the right position opportunities; assuming you can't move to mid-board positions two or more times to allow knights and king to eventually enter full 'exile'; a couple of pawns could make it across, with complicity of an opponent, but only if you can end ''and capture'' upon tween-board spaces), and left-board players could even decide to send rooks/queens to the right-board for a comicated ''melee'' of chess.<br />
:And, however it happens, does this also apply for boards properly aligned (or diagonally-aligned) front-to-back (leapfrogging to other boards, unseen, in further rows of competition 'up/down' of this row-of-three). And, ignoring the strictly planar nature hinted at in the comic, an 'Earth Sandwich' of board and antipodal-board could be interesting... allowing a Queen (for example) to flow off this board in ''all eight'' directions to land on the other board (in some modes, arriving on the new board in the same direction as they left the first one... unless that's set up at right-angles... although it wouldn't bother a queen... could be troublesome if pawns are allowed to keep moving off-board, for as long as it takes, to arrive ''not necessarily'' on the respective home-row of the destination grid... or have them become obligate-backwards/sideways-advancing 'borrowed' pawns, if that's how the boards (mis-)align?).<br />
:No matter what the governing body says about board-edges, I need to know more about the practical limits and opportunities to this obscure rule! [[Special:Contributions/82.132.239.11|82.132.239.11]] 16:44, 6 December 2025 (UTC)<br />
:The bishop knew their team was about to lose, so they decided to join another team’s play instead. [[User:Logalex8369|Logalex8369]] ([[User talk:Logalex8369|talk]]) 16:51, 6 December 2025 (UTC)<br />
::You'd have thought a bishop would have had more faith! [[Special:Contributions/82.132.239.11|82.132.239.11]] 17:36, 6 December 2025 (UTC)<br />
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Gonna copy my code for #3139 and make this. {{unsigned ip|2601:441:4b7c:580e::1003|01:53, 7 December 2025 (UTC)}}<br />
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The comic says "square boundary lines follow great circles" not "chess boards follow great circles" it also shows phantom squares not a general diagonal path. Phantom square size would change as the square boundary lines propagated around the world. Assuming this is the largest chess board possible on these great circle square boundary lines then all the great circle lines would converge to a point 1/4 of the way around the earth then spread to an inverted arrangement at the antipod before invertong again and returning to the original board. Personally i do not think a chess piece could be moves through a square of 0 size. The change in phantom square size would put a limit on how far apart boards of the same size could be and still have micrometer alignment. Boards of different sizes could be much farther apart. [[Special:Contributions/2605:8D80:13E4:22E2:1334:F7C:C3AE:B198|2605:8D80:13E4:22E2:1334:F7C:C3AE:B198]] 17:06, 7 December 2025 (UTC)<br />
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Ancient chess lore has it that there was a tournament where the players were sitting so tight that one castled with the rook of his neighbor... [[Special:Contributions/2A02:2455:1960:4000:99BF:C5C8:4018:D8A0|2A02:2455:1960:4000:99BF:C5C8:4018:D8A0]] 18:32, 7 December 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Player Elimination ==<br />
<br />
How would this actually work? If White Player A has pieces on White Player B's board, and White Player A loses, does that mean his pieces on Player B's board all disappear? Or does any King getting checkmated eliminate both players? Or does Player A putting on Player B's board essentially 'donate' the piece to Player B? If it does, then it Player B plays King to Player A's board, does that eliminate Player B? If Player A (left) has cleared out Kingside pieces and his kingside rook, can he castle across boards? [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 14:37, 8 December 2025 (UTC)</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3177:_Chessboard_Alignment&diff=400887Talk:3177: Chessboard Alignment2025-12-06T06:22:56Z<p>Fephisto: /* Chess Notation? */ new section</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 />
...Honestly, kinda don't get this one... <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 16px;">--'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|<span style="color:#FF0000">DollarStoreBa'al</span>]]<sup>[[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|<span style="color:#00873E">Converse</span>]]</sup></span> 02:27, 6 December 2025 (UTC)<br />
:ohhhhhh... <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 16px;">--'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|<span style="color:#FF0000">DollarStoreBa'al</span>]]<sup>[[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|<span style="color:#00873E">Converse</span>]]</sup></span> 02:28, 6 December 2025 (UTC)<br />
wait how do comments work[[User:Avrayter|Avrayter]] ([[User talk:Avrayter|talk]]) 02:52, 6 December 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I don’t understand what the title text is saying. Can someone explain it to me? [[User:Logalex8369|Logalex8369]] ([[User talk:Logalex8369|talk]]) 03:05, 6 December 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Chess Notation? ==<br />
<br />
I think a funnier title text would've been:<br />
Bfi8(!!!)<br />
[[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 06:22, 6 December 2025 (UTC)</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User_talk:Starnote&diff=393214User talk:Starnote2025-12-02T16:14:47Z<p>Fephisto: /* First edit?! */ new section</p>
<hr />
<div>== First edit?! ==<br />
<br />
You did just fine. *pat pat* [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]])</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3175:_Website_Task_Flowchart&diff=3931123175: Website Task Flowchart2025-12-01T20:22:52Z<p>Fephisto: Nah, you guys'd wouldn't get it.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3175<br />
| date = December 1, 2025<br />
| title = Website Task Flowchart<br />
| image = website_task_flowchart_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 333x683px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Tired of waiting on hold? Use our website to chat with one of our live agents, who are available to produce words at you 24/7!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|This page was created recently. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3175:_Website_Task_Flowchart&diff=3931113175: Website Task Flowchart2025-12-01T20:20:51Z<p>Fephisto: Given how the comic makes fun of AI-driven chatbots, I thought it'd be funny to generate the explanation using an AI generated chatbot.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3175<br />
| date = December 1, 2025<br />
| title = Website Task Flowchart<br />
| image = website_task_flowchart_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 333x683px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Tired of waiting on hold? Use our website to chat with one of our live agents, who are available to produce words at you 24/7!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|This page was created recently. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
====Flowchart Breakdown====<br />
Here's a simple table showing the main paths most people take:<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: auto; text-align: center;"<br />
! Path !! What Happens !! Realistic Outcome<br />
|-<br />
| Login works → Task works || Straight to "Nice! Done!" || Rare unicorn experience (maybe 5% of the time)<br />
|-<br />
| Login fails || Hours fixing account → probably still fails → try task anyway || Wasted morning, rising blood pressure<br />
|-<br />
| Task fails (even after login) || Hours poking around site → still fails → call support || On hold forever, then told to use the website<br />
|-<br />
| Call support || Cheerful hold message shaming you for not using the website || Rage-quit → dramatic phone/laptop ocean toss<br />
|}<br />
<br />
Randall perfectly captures the endless frustration loop of modern websites. Everything that should be simple—logging in, paying a bill, updating an address, canceling a subscription—turns into hours of password resets, CAPTCHA hell, broken menus, and pop-ups.<br />
<br />
The best part? When you finally call customer service for help, the hold music mocks you: "Why didn't you just use our website?" It's a vicious circle that makes you want to yeet your devices into the sea (exactly as the flowchart recommends).<br />
<br />
Bonus burn in the title text: "live agents... available to produce words at you 24/7" is a hilarious jab at AI chatbots. They're always "live," never solve anything, and just spit generic words until you give up.<br />
<br />
====Why It Hits Home====<br />
<br />
We've all lived this comic.<br />
• Forgot password? 47 security questions later... still locked out.<br />
• Need to change your address? It's hidden behind six sub-menus and a "Verify your identity" dance.<br />
• Airline ticket change? Good luck finding the button that isn't "Upgrade to Premium for $400!"<br />
<br />
This is xkcd's spiritual sequel to older frustration classics like 1013: Wake Up Sheeple (corporate conspiracy) and 1565: Food Combinations, but laser-focused on the soul-crushing reality of 2025 web design.<br />
Additional Trivia<br />
<br />
Perfect timing: Black Friday/Cyber Monday just passed, so millions of us spent the weekend fighting checkout pages, login loops, and "Chat with an agent" bots. Randall clearly saw our pain.<br />
<br />
Next time a website makes you troubleshoot for hours, just remember the official solution: throw everything into the sea. The fish will understand.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3158:_Shielding_Chart&diff=389318Talk:3158: Shielding Chart2025-10-23T01:49:49Z<p>Fephisto: </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 />
<br />
Brb, going out to buy some lead. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 01:49, 23 October 2025 (UTC)</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3154:_Physics_Insight&diff=388745Talk:3154: Physics Insight2025-10-13T19:03:22Z<p>Fephisto: </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 />
<p> Avrayter 9:55 am oct. 13 2025: okay, I assume you write these comments with html. can y'all please just implement the standing on the soldiers of giant joke into the first paragraph? [[User:Avrayter|Avrayter]] ([[User talk:Avrayter|talk]]) 13:56, 13 October 2025 (UTC)</p><br />
<br />
I'm reminded of science fiction like Star Trek where children learn "advanced" physics like quantum mechanics in high school. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 14:44, 13 October 2025 (UTC)<br />
:There's something to this, tbh. To use just one example, there was a time in history when NEGATIVE NUMBERS were considered a bizarre innovation to the world of mathematics, boggling even expert mathematicians (since, how can you have -3 apples? A hole in the universe where three apples ought to be? It's quite an abstract concept when you think about it!) Yet nowadays, every high school graduate is expected to understand them intuitively and use them proficiently. I really do wonder what it's doing to us, where what was "advanced" in bygone years is considered "fundamentals" today. Our brains don't evolve THAT quickly. [[User:MeZimm|MeZimm]] ([[User talk:MeZimm|talk]]) 17:49, 13 October 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Is the drawing of Cueball and White hat the exact same of 3148? [[Special:Contributions/140.77.177.211|140.77.177.211]] 16:52, 13 October 2025 (UTC) divicarpe<br />
:No, the angle of Cueball's arms is slightly different... [[User:CalibansCreations|'''<span style="color:#ff0000;">Caliban</span>''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 18:20, 13 October 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Cue ball drops two weights and injures '''several''' tourists? Impressive. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 19:03, 13 October 2025 (UTC)</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3152:_Skateboard&diff=388525Talk:3152: Skateboard2025-10-09T15:10:27Z<p>Fephisto: </p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom. --><br />
Maybe Randall took inspiration for this comic from the recent Red Bull stunt with Brazilian skater Sandro Dias, who dropped from the side of a building from a height of 70 meters (that's little over 229 ft) on 25 September 2025. [[Special:Contributions/2804:214:4102:575A:D862:C9B6:9505:D740|2804:214:4102:575A:D862:C9B6:9505:D740]] 01:25, 9 October 2025 (UTC)vinnycordeiro<br />
: @vinnycordeiro, I thought of that too. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centro_Administrativo_Fernando_Ferrari] He was able to start in momentary free fall and make a controlled skating descent down the curve of the building (on a smooth skating ramp that had been built to exactly follow the building contour, not directly on the building's normal external surface). Although doing more than twice that height and starting at terminal velocity instead of rest would be extra-impressive. Still, Sandro Dias's achievement shows that a champion skateboarder can keep control of a skateboard with staggeringly large amounts of kinetic energy! [[User:Schoen|Schoen]] ([[User talk:Schoen|talk]]) 03:14, 9 October 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Perhaps the “wrong parachute pack” thing is just a common trope, but I was immediately reminded of the example in the Henry Stickmin Collection, where Henry survives the initial fall without a parachute just fine, but is immediately killed by the contents of the backpack falling out and onto his head. [[User:KelOfTheStars!|KelOfTheStars!]] ([[User talk:KelOfTheStars!|talk]]) 01:55, 9 October 2025 (UTC)<br />
: Parachute packs are secured with shoulder AND leg straps, so it's indeed very difficult to mistake them for ordinary backpacks. [[Special:Contributions/194.119.24.136|194.119.24.136]] 08:39, 9 October 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Wait, so "gee forces" isn't some kind of weird obscure pun? - [[Special:Contributions/24.177.125.170|24.177.125.170]] 08:51, 9 October 2025 (UTC)<br />
: I wondered that too, but couldn't find any connection, other than that there is a TeamGee that makes electric skateboards, but it doesn't seem to be particularly notable (or even well thought of). [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 09:41, 9 October 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Has anyone done the math to see if the duration of the free fall would realistically be around 90 seconds as in the alt text? I want to believe Randall has, but the only way to know is to double-check... [[Special:Contributions/81.1.2.155|81.1.2.155]] 09:06, 9 October 2025 (UTC)<br />
: OK this is me again, I just found an [https://www.omnicalculator.com/physics/free-fall-air-resistance online calculator] and for an 80-kg object, 90s corresponds to a fall of 5000 m, which is apparently a reasonable skydiving altitude. Of course he doesn't call just as he jumps so take 10 more seconds, that's 6000m. [[Special:Contributions/81.1.2.155|81.1.2.155]] 09:13, 9 October 2025 (UTC)<br />
:: But he would only realize his mistake at the moment of opening his parachute, which is typically around 1000-1200 m, leaving only 20-25 seconds before impact. [[Special:Contributions/194.119.24.133|194.119.24.133]] 11:10, 9 October 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I think it's a reference to the new skate. game that's in early access because you commonly do insane stuff off building or while skydiving in the game. DetmerL<br />
<br />
Terminal velocity in a flat orientation is something like 200 km/hr, or 55 m/s. The 600 ft halfpipe presumably describes the radius, so that's 180 m. Then, acceleration in a circular path is a = v^2/r, so making that turn would be 55^2 / 180 = 17 m/s^2. With 1 g = 10 m/s^2, that's under 2 g. A 300 ft, or 90 m ramp, would be about 3.5 g. Add 1 g when you're at the bottom of the ramp and your rotational acceleration is aligned with gravity, so 4.5 g on a 300 ft ramp. That is indeed at the 4-5 g's where sustained exposure will cause blackout. Note, it will take about 17 s to travel around a 90 m ramp. If Cueball can manage to land lying flat on the board, humans are much more tolerant of transverse g forces, up to 11 g's for 3 minutes, per https://www.goflightmedicine.com/post/pulling-gs-the-effects-of-g-forces-on-the-human-body But that would also probably prevent doing tricks.[[Special:Contributions/163.116.146.119|163.116.146.119]] 14:27, 9 October 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
"the difference between the 300 ft and 600 ft ramps could be the difference between tragedy and skating immortality"<br />
Whoever wrote this deserves an award. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 15:10, 9 October 2025 (UTC)</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3151:_Window_Screen&diff=3883483151: Window Screen2025-10-07T19:02:22Z<p>Fephisto: Apparently, 'walled' is now a noun. Soz.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3151<br />
| date = October 6, 2025<br />
| title = Window Screen (UI)<br />
| image = window_screen.png<br />
| titletext = The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine or Home Improvement or DIY<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|This page was created by user interface. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
[[Cueball]] believes he should receive a {{w|Nobel Prize}} for creating a custom screen for a particularly troublesome window, due to what he considers to be the immense amount of work and consideration that went into it. He is writing to the {{w|Nobel Foundation}} to nominate himself. (The Foundation does not currently accept self-nominations, or nominations from random individuals.)<br />
<br />
A {{w|window screen}} is most often used to block insects, other small animals, and debris from passing through an open window, while allowing air and light. One can also make a mesh that attaches to the outside of the glass to display an outward-facing image or limit incoming light. Most windows are flat and rectangular, and pre-made meshes for these can be measured and cut with basic tools. Some windows have complex shapes. It can be very difficult to design a screen that neatly matches a complex glass surface.<br />
<br />
An {{w|Angle#Types_of_angles|oblique angle}} is any angle that is not a multiple of 90 degrees (not a right or straight angle). While right angles allow for intuitive mapping of sides to an X-Y coordinate plane, acute or obtuse angles indicate that at least one side will have endpoints that differ in both coordinates. This requires extra calculations.<br />
<br />
Curved edges require extra care to measure and cut. Circular or semi-circular windows follow a constant curve that can be traced with limited effort, but the window in the comic is irregular.<br />
<br />
{{w|Coplanarity|Noncoplanarity}} is a state where all elements of a system cannot be represented on the same plane. This implies that the window is not flat, suggesting that the glass is curved, and/or that the wall that surrounds the screen is not flat. The shape in the comic could possibly occur if the room featured in the first and third panels was at least partly conical, with the window narrowing to match the wall sloping inward to a central point above (this would also fit the earlier mention of multiple curved edges). The glass could also be shaped into an outward bubble. Either way, the mesh must be carefully shaped.<br />
<br />
Perfectly fitting a custom screen to such a window may be a significant technical accomplishment that the builder may wish to share with acquaintances. However, it is generally not considered near the level of one of the world's most prestigious awards, which often recognize years of effort, rather than something that Cueball did between the "this weekend" and the present (at most one week).<br />
<br />
Since no Nobel Prize currently exists that would cover recognition of Cueball's achievement, the title text suggests extending the existing prize in physiology or medicine to also cover home improvement and DIY. [[Randall]] likely chose this prize because it is already anomalous in containing an 'or' in its title, where the other prizes mention only a single area of endeavour. The comic's release also coincided with the announcement of the [https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2025/press-release/ 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine].<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
At the time this comic was released, there was a technical error making it too large to fit into the page on normal desktop/laptop screens. Since [[1084: Server Problem#Trivia|1084: Server Problem]], two versions of each comic are usually available: normal (1x) and high-resolution (2x). This makes the comic look sharp even on high-DPI screens, such as phones, tablets, and some more expensive computer displays. In this case, however, the 2x version was accidentally uploaded as ''both'' versions, making the 1x comic twice as large as it should be. It is possible that Randall did this intentionally as an added punchline.<br />
<br />
Users with this issue can zoom in with their browsers (Ctrl+mouse scroll up) to see the comic better. If the screen is large enough, you might consider always reading xkcd on 200% zoom to see the higher resolution comics.<br />
<br />
This issue was fixed at some point between 14:57 and 15:54, 7 October 2025 (UTC).<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[The text for the first panel appears above the panel itself.]<br />
:This weekend,<br />
:I had to make an oversized screen for a porch window.<br />
:[Cueball is looking out through a window with a straight bottom, slanting sides and a curved upper edge.]<br />
<br />
:[In each of the remaining panels, the text appears within the panel but above the illustration.]<br />
:It involved countless tiny problems, each somehow way harder than it should be. <br />
:Oblique angles. Curved edges. Noncoplanarity.<br />
:[Cueball is shown pondering various problems involving geometry and angles.]<br />
<br />
:... I solved them all.<br />
:I measured precisely. I did trigonometry. I made custom parts.<br />
:And it fit '''''perfectly.'''''<br />
:No gaps, no ripples.<br />
:[Cueball with slightly more hair, looking at the window covered by a bordered mesh.]<br />
<br />
:I know that your foundation normally limits its purview to physics, medicine, peace, chemistry and literature.<br />
:However, if you review the attached photo showing how well the screen fits into the...<br />
:[Cueball is revealed to be sitting at a computer, typing a message.] <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude><br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3151:_Window_Screen&diff=3883473151: Window Screen2025-10-07T18:24:11Z<p>Fephisto: idk what the previous English sentence here was trying to say.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3151<br />
| date = October 6, 2025<br />
| title = Window Screen (UI)<br />
| image = window_screen.png<br />
| titletext = The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine or Home Improvement or DIY<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|This page was created by user interface. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
[[Cueball]] believes he should receive a {{w|Nobel Prize}} for creating a custom screen for a particularly troublesome window, due to what he considers to be the immense amount of work and consideration that went into it. He is writing to the {{w|Nobel Foundation}} to nominate himself. (The Foundation does not currently accept self-nominations, or nominations from random individuals.)<br />
<br />
A {{w|window screen}} is most often used to block insects, other small animals, and debris from passing through an open window, while allowing air and light. One can also make a mesh that attaches to the outside of the glass to display an outward-facing image or limit incoming light. Most windows are flat and rectangular, and pre-made meshes for these can be measured and cut with basic tools. Some windows have complex shapes. It can be very difficult to design a screen that neatly matches a complex glass surface.<br />
<br />
An {{w|Angle#Types_of_angles|oblique angle}} is any angle that is not a multiple of 90 degrees (not a right or straight angle). While right angles allow for intuitive mapping of sides to an X-Y coordinate plane, acute or obtuse angles indicate that at least one side will have endpoints that differ in both coordinates. This requires extra calculations.<br />
<br />
Curved edges require extra care to measure and cut. Circular or semi-circular windows follow a constant curve that can be traced with limited effort, but the window in the comic is irregular.<br />
<br />
{{w|Coplanarity|Noncoplanarity}} is a state where all elements of a system cannot be represented on the same plane. This implies that the window is not flat, suggesting that the glass is curved, and/or that the walled that surrounds the screen is not flat. The shape in the comic could possibly occur if the room featured in the first and third panels was at least partly conical, with the window narrowing to match the wall sloping inward to a central point above (this would also fit the earlier mention of multiple curved edges). The glass could also be shaped into an outward bubble. Either way, the mesh must be carefully shaped.<br />
<br />
Perfectly fitting a custom screen to such a window may be a significant technical accomplishment that the builder may wish to share with acquaintances. However, it is generally not considered near the level of one of the world's most prestigious awards, which often recognize years of effort, rather than something that Cueball did between the "this weekend" and the present (at most one week).<br />
<br />
Since no Nobel Prize currently exists that would cover recognition of Cueball's achievement, the title text suggests extending the existing prize in physiology or medicine to also cover home improvement and DIY. [[Randall]] likely chose this prize because it is already anomalous in containing an 'or' in its title, where the other prizes mention only a single area of endeavour. The comic's release also coincided with the announcement of the [https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2025/press-release/ 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine].<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
At the time this comic was released, there was a technical error making it too large to fit into the page on normal desktop/laptop screens. Since [[1084: Server Problem#Trivia|1084: Server Problem]], two versions of each comic are usually available: normal (1x) and high-resolution (2x). This makes the comic look sharp even on high-DPI screens, such as phones, tablets, and some more expensive computer displays. In this case, however, the 2x version was accidentally uploaded as ''both'' versions, making the 1x comic twice as large as it should be. It is possible that Randall did this intentionally as an added punchline.<br />
<br />
Users with this issue can zoom in with their browsers (Ctrl+mouse scroll up) to see the comic better. If the screen is large enough, you might consider always reading xkcd on 200% zoom to see the higher resolution comics.<br />
<br />
This issue was fixed at some point between 14:57 and 15:54, 7 October 2025 (UTC).<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[The text for the first panel appears above the panel itself.]<br />
:This weekend,<br />
:I had to make an oversized screen for a porch window.<br />
:[Cueball is looking out through a window with a straight bottom, slanting sides and a curved upper edge.]<br />
<br />
:[In each of the remaining panels, the text appears within the panel but above the illustration.]<br />
:It involved countless tiny problems, each somehow way harder than it should be. <br />
:Oblique angles. Curved edges. Noncoplanarity.<br />
:[Cueball is shown pondering various problems involving geometry and angles.]<br />
<br />
:... I solved them all.<br />
:I measured precisely. I did trigonometry. I made custom parts.<br />
:And it fit '''''perfectly.'''''<br />
:No gaps, no ripples.<br />
:[Cueball with slightly more hair, looking at the window covered by a bordered mesh.]<br />
<br />
:I know that your foundation normally limits its purview to physics, medicine, peace, chemistry and literature.<br />
:However, if you review the attached photo showing how well the screen fits into the...<br />
:[Cueball is revealed to be sitting at a computer, typing a message.] <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude><br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3151:_Window_Screen&diff=388320Talk:3151: Window Screen2025-10-07T13:56:45Z<p>Fephisto: </p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom. --><br />
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)<br />
:Oh cool the bot can comment too [[User:TheTrainsKid|TheTrainsKid]] ([[User talk:TheTrainsKid|talk]]) 04:06, 7 October 2025 (UTC)<br />
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)<br />
: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)<br />
: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)<br />
::...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)<br />
::It's such a shame that this is true. Well, obviously, but in frivolous terms too: it would be nice to have this just as a representation of how it feels to get a tricky task right, without referencing the tangerine toddler's nonsense. I think most people know that feeling that they've maxed out their efforts and achieved something brilliant (measured in terms of the how well or how badly the project should have been expected to go). Human effort is human effort, and so it feels like any successful overcoming of a problem is legitimately comparable with any other, if measured from the perspective of the one who performs the task. I love the way this handles that feeling. It was very difficult; I did it successfully; that was an impressive achievement. "It" could be stopping a war or making a window screen. [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 10:38, 7 October 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
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)<br />
<br />
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)<br />
: Yeah, I agree with this interpretation of non-coplanarity. Probably the most aggravating part about trying to screen a window is getting the tension perfect so it lays flat. [[Special:Contributions/136.49.188.43|136.49.188.43]] 13:47, 7 October 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
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)}}<br />
:There is the opinion that Randall made a mistake, but because Cueballs sentence just stops at "how well the screen fits... (the window)" and the panel DOES NOT fit it's window, I believe that this is intentional and the punchline of the comic [[Special:Contributions/195.49.224.20|195.49.224.20]] 09:36, 7 October 2025 (UTC)<br />
::If so, can someone edit the image above to fit the punchline? EDIT: I did it.[[Special:Contributions/138.43.101.123|138.43.101.123]] 12:06, 7 October 2025 (UTC)<br />
: I don't see the problem. For me (on Firefox), while the hi-res image is loaded, it's displayed in the usual size on xkcd.com. I wouldn't even have noticed if I hadn't read it here. --[[User:Coconut Galaxy|Coconut Galaxy]] ([[User talk:Coconut Galaxy|talk]]) 13:00, 7 October 2025 (UTC)<br />
:: Update: I see it on a different computer (also Firefox). Well that's weird.--[[User:Coconut Galaxy|Coconut Galaxy]] ([[User talk:Coconut Galaxy|talk]]) 13:37, 7 October 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
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)<br />
: Obviously with all the screen building he hasn't had time to shave his head. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 09:28, 7 October 2025 (UTC)<br />
: In the last two panels he also wears some kind of bracelet. [[Special:Contributions/82.54.66.129|82.54.66.129]] 10:59, 7 October 2025 (UTC)<br />
: "That's not a bracelet, its a <s>space station</s> band-aid." Cueball deserves the DIY Purple Heart.--[[User:Bilkie|Bilkie]] ([[User talk:Bilkie|talk]]) 13:52, 7 October 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Joke's on Cueball: this problem can be seen as mathematical, and Nobel Prizes famously exclude that field in theor awards (the closest is the relatively new award on Economy). He'd have a better chance asking for a Fields Medal.--[[Special:Contributions/94.73.49.72|94.73.49.72]]<br />
<br />
One must imagine Norm Abrams happy. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 13:56, 7 October 2025 (UTC)</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3137:_Cursed_Number&diff=385954Talk:3137: Cursed Number2025-09-04T20:36:52Z<p>Fephisto: </p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom. --><br />
Warning! Do not read! 421827639108237885847650045004 --[[User:Darth Vader|Darth Vader]] ([[User talk:Darth Vader|talk]]) 22:00, 3 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
:Oh no, too late! bdbdbalasdfsdfoiubtasdf [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 22:35, 3 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
::Well, at least you knew that reading the string "bdbdbalasdfsdfoiubtasdf" was the only antidote! [[Special:Contributions/92.17.62.87|92.17.62.87]] 23:35, 3 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
:::Maybe it's safe if you read it scientifically? ~4.218276391088547650045x10<sup>29</sup>?--'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|<span style="color:#023020">DollarStoreBa'al</span>]]<sup>[[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|<span style="color:#000080">'''''converse'''''</span>]]</sup> 23:43, 3 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
:::Edit: NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|<span style="color:#023020">DollarStoreBa'al</span>]]<sup>[[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|<span style="color:#000080">'''''converse'''''</span>]]</sup> 23:44, 3 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Not pictured - an MTF team breaking into the compound and abducting the original authors while clean-up arrives with amnestics.<br />
<br />
Wenn ist das Nunstruck git und Slotermeyer? [[Special:Contributions/76.209.228.203|76.209.228.203]] 23:50, 3 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
: I'm a German. You <snicker> did this on purpose <guffaw> right? AHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAA [[Special:Contributions/2A02:2455:1960:4000:6CFB:CAF1:B89F:C57E|2A02:2455:1960:4000:6CFB:CAF1:B89F:C57E]] 09:00, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
:: What? That's {{W|The Funniest Joke in the World}}. [[Special:Contributions/76.209.228.203|76.209.228.203]] 14:27, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This comic is the best comic in a while [[User:Mathmaster|Mathmaster]] ([[User talk:Mathmaster|talk]])<br />
<br />
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentium_FDIV_bug Pentium FDIV Bug] is a math error when handling specific rarely-encountered numbers. {footnote: over 30 years ago!!} No FDIV deaths are reported, but we might not know. --[[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 00:20, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
* ahaha 0.1+0.2 goes brrt (e.g. = 0,30000000000000004) [[Special:Contributions/81.89.66.133|81.89.66.133]] 08:54, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
:: FWIW the double-precision value closest to 0.1 is exactly 0.1000000000000000055511151231257827021181583404541015625 (that's 7205759403792794/2<sup>56</sup>) [[Special:Contributions/76.209.228.203|76.209.228.203]] 14:57, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I have a different interpretation of this comic than the one in the explanation. See, I think it makes more sense that due to the infinite nature of numbers, it can be said that there may exist one that happens to be a severe cognitohazard, rather than there certainly being one such number in the comic's universe. [[User:HoneyBadger|HoneyBadger]] ([[User talk:HoneyBadger|talk]]) 01:55, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I found this number years ago, while reading a hexadecimal dump of an image file, and yes, it is just as potent, possibly more so, in hexadecimal. Want to know what it is? It starts (in hex of course) DEADFACEABEDEFACEDAFADEDBADBEADEDBEDAD before going off into more ‘normal’ digits. [[Special:Contributions/2607:FB90:8B1D:C283:21DE:C9A5:72EB:C044|2607:FB90:8B1D:C283:21DE:C9A5:72EB:C044]] 03:42, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
* Oh, magic numbers. What about a ''0x31124837h'' pointer? <!-- it reads as 0xELIZABETh!--> [[Special:Contributions/81.89.66.133|81.89.66.133]] 08:54, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
SCP nerd here, I think the article should link to a different SCP. SCP-033 isn't really a good example of a cognitohazard, since it affects written/digital storage, not the mind/brain. [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-012 SCP-012] for example would be a closer fit. (CW: somewhat graphic self harm) --[[User:Muno|Muno]] ([[User talk:Muno|talk]]) 04:45, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
If one supposes that reading the cursed number inside another number is also bad, then for you to have at most a 1/2 chance of reading it in a string of numbers with the bounds given in the comic, you would have to read 1.8*10^21 digits strung together [[User:TheTrainsKid|TheTrainsKid]] ([[User talk:TheTrainsKid|talk]]) 05:15, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
:Taking an average reading speed of 40 digits per second, that would take the reader a trillion years.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/46.144.8.194|46.144.8.194]] 07:25, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
* Good. Trillion years divided by 9 billion people still gives 111.(1) years of non-stop reading. [[Special:Contributions/81.89.66.133|81.89.66.133]] 08:55, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
* Neal Stephenson's Snowcrash features a visual "virus" that causes neurological damage to hacker's minds when they see a carefully crafted image. This XKCD might be a slight reference to this, too.<br />
<br />
Another literary example would Max Barry's ''{{w|Lexicon (novel)|Lexicon}}''. --[[User:Coconut Galaxy|Coconut Galaxy]] ([[User talk:Coconut Galaxy|talk]]) 11:28, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Wait, it's a real, nonnegative number? Dammit, I was WAY off! [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 14:13, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
:I take psychic damage when I see -1 after spending way too much time writing a function that only expects positive integers with no error handling (I'm not very good) [[Special:Contributions/174.77.66.51|174.77.66.51]] 16:58, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
::Speaking of bad error handling, one of the first programs I made was a country-building simulator. I had a friend play it. A prompt asked how much of the national budget to put into the navy. My friend misunderstood the prompt COMPLETELY and typed in "boats" and the program proceeded to spam output with "boatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboatsboats" millions of time, took up all the processing time and made the PC unusable until the entire OS crashed. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 20:36, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Should we include Roko's Basilisk in the list of information hazards? ==<br />
<br />
Just feels like it's relevant.<br />
<br />
Or manual breathing. [[Special:Contributions/172.58.113.84|172.58.113.84]] 17:19, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
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According to jewish mysticism, there is a name of god of length 216 letters/numbers that let you conjure. Also referred to in the movie Pi</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3137:_Cursed_Number&diff=3859303137: Cursed Number2025-09-04T14:16:00Z<p>Fephisto: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3137<br />
| date = September 3, 2025<br />
| title = Cursed Number<br />
| image = cursed_number_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 388x449px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Another group of mathematicians is working to put an upper bound on the number, although everyone keeps begging them to stop.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|This page was created in a CURSED YEAR. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
In the universe of this comic there exists some number that, through unknown means, is extremely harmful to the human mind to read it - an {{w|information hazard}}. Dangerous pieces of writing like this are a fairly common trope in speculative fiction, such as the {{w|Necronomicon}} in the {{w|Cthulhu Mythos}}, [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-033 cognitohazards] in the {{w|SCP Foundation}}, and {{w|Monty Python}}'s {{w|The Funniest Joke in the World|Funniest Joke in the World}}. It is also very similar to the concept of an {{w|illegal number}}.<br />
<br />
Naturally, the mathematicians of this world are doing their best, in the interest of public safety, to keep this number away from as many human eyeballs as possible. Through some process they have figured out the number is at least 22 digits long; because numbers this large (greater than a 10<sup>22</sup>, or 10 sextillion) are extremely unlikely to be found in the day-to-day lives of non-mathematicians (and almost all mathematicians), the public officials have deemed it safe for people to go about their daily lives reading numbers again.<br />
<br />
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 someone with morbid curiosity or someone 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, increasing their chances of encountering it accidentally. Furthermore, the cursed number may appear as part of another number; for example, 223 appears as part of 2237. Worse, if the number could be determined in some controllable way that didn't necessarily expose its discoverers, it might be used as a weapon. This echoes concerns about knowledge gained from research on nuclear forces having been used to create atomic weapons. This was also how the Funniest Joke in the World was used in Monty Python.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A large screen with one equation in the middle is shown to the left of three people. The left part of the equation shows a black bar with a skull in the middle:]<br />
: 💀 > 2.6 x 10<sup>21</sup><br />
<br />
:[Cueball is standing to the right of the screen and further right is Blondie. Blondie is standing behind a lectern with a label in front. Hairbun stands further and holds a paper up in front of her using both hands. The paper shows illegible text surrounding what is visibly the same equation as appears on the screen, with a skull, but not the black bar. None of the text can be read and the skull can only be made out as such, knowing what it is from the screen.]<br />
:Lectern: Math Dept<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the comic:]<br />
:Good news: Mathematicians have put a new lower bound on the '''Cursed Number that destroys the minds of all who perceive it'''!<br />
:It's at least 22 digits, which means it's unlikely to be seen by any human no matter how many random numbers they look at.<br />
:They say it's once again safe to view large random numbers without eye protection.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude><br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]<br />
[[Category:Comics with cursed items]]</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3137:_Cursed_Number&diff=385929Talk:3137: Cursed Number2025-09-04T14:13:47Z<p>Fephisto: </p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom. --><br />
Warning! Do not read! 421827639108237885847650045004 --[[User:Darth Vader|Darth Vader]] ([[User talk:Darth Vader|talk]]) 22:00, 3 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
:Oh no, too late! bdbdbalasdfsdfoiubtasdf [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 22:35, 3 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
::Well, at least you knew that reading the string "bdbdbalasdfsdfoiubtasdf" was the only antidote! [[Special:Contributions/92.17.62.87|92.17.62.87]] 23:35, 3 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
:::Maybe it's safe if you read it scientifically? ~4.218276391088547650045x10<sup>29</sup>?--'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|<span style="color:#023020">DollarStoreBa'al</span>]]<sup>[[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|<span style="color:#000080">'''''converse'''''</span>]]</sup> 23:43, 3 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
:::Edit: NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|<span style="color:#023020">DollarStoreBa'al</span>]]<sup>[[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|<span style="color:#000080">'''''converse'''''</span>]]</sup> 23:44, 3 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Not pictured - an MTF team breaking into the compound and abducting the original authors while clean-up arrives with amnestics.<br />
<br />
Wenn ist das Nunstruck git und Slotermeyer? [[Special:Contributions/76.209.228.203|76.209.228.203]] 23:50, 3 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
: I'm a German. You <snicker> did this on purpose <guffaw> right? AHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAA [[Special:Contributions/2A02:2455:1960:4000:6CFB:CAF1:B89F:C57E|2A02:2455:1960:4000:6CFB:CAF1:B89F:C57E]] 09:00, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This comic is the best comic in a while [[User:Mathmaster|Mathmaster]] ([[User talk:Mathmaster|talk]])<br />
<br />
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentium_FDIV_bug Pentium FDIV Bug] is a math error when handling specific rarely-encountered numbers. {footnote: over 30 years ago!!} No FDIV deaths are reported, but we might not know. --[[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 00:20, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
* ahaha 0.1+0.2 goes brrt (e.g. = 0,30000000000000004) [[Special:Contributions/81.89.66.133|81.89.66.133]] 08:54, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I have a different interpretation of this comic than the one in the explanation. See, I think it makes more sense that due to the infinite nature of numbers, it can be said that there may exist one that happens to be a severe cognitohazard, rather than there certainly being one such number in the comic's universe. [[User:HoneyBadger|HoneyBadger]] ([[User talk:HoneyBadger|talk]]) 01:55, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I found this number years ago, while reading a hexadecimal dump of an image file, and yes, it is just as potent, possibly more so, in hexadecimal. Want to know what it is? It starts (in hex of course) DEADFACEABEDEFACEDAFADEDBADBEADEDBEDAD before going off into more ‘normal’ digits. [[Special:Contributions/2607:FB90:8B1D:C283:21DE:C9A5:72EB:C044|2607:FB90:8B1D:C283:21DE:C9A5:72EB:C044]] 03:42, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
* Oh, magic numbers. What about a ''0x31124837h'' pointer? <!-- it reads as 0xELIZABETh!--> [[Special:Contributions/81.89.66.133|81.89.66.133]] 08:54, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
SCP nerd here, I think the article should link to a different SCP. SCP-033 isn't really a good example of a cognitohazard, since it affects written/digital storage, not the mind/brain. [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-012 SCP-012] for example would be a closer fit. (CW: somewhat graphic self harm) --[[User:Muno|Muno]] ([[User talk:Muno|talk]]) 04:45, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
If one supposes that reading the cursed number inside another number is also bad, then for you to have at most a 1/2 chance of reading it in a string of numbers with the bounds given in the comic, you would have to read 1.8*10^21 digits strung together [[User:TheTrainsKid|TheTrainsKid]] ([[User talk:TheTrainsKid|talk]]) 05:15, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
:Taking an average reading speed of 40 digits per second, that would take the reader a trillion years.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/46.144.8.194|46.144.8.194]] 07:25, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
* Good. Trillion years divided by 9 billion people still gives 111.(1) years of non-stop reading. [[Special:Contributions/81.89.66.133|81.89.66.133]] 08:55, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
* Neal Stephenson's Snowcrash features a visual "virus" that causes neurological damage to hacker's minds when they see a carefully crafted image. This XKCD might be a slight reference to this, too.<br />
<br />
Another literary example would Max Barry's ''{{w|Lexicon (novel)|Lexicon}}''. --[[User:Coconut Galaxy|Coconut Galaxy]] ([[User talk:Coconut Galaxy|talk]]) 11:28, 4 September 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Wait, it's a real, nonnegative number? Dammit, I was WAY off! [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 14:13, 4 September 2025 (UTC)</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3133:_Dual_Roomba&diff=385227Talk:3133: Dual Roomba2025-08-27T14:43:04Z<p>Fephisto: </p>
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<div>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)<br />
: ... I think the bot is broken? [[User:TheTrainsKid|TheTrainsKid]] ([[User talk:TheTrainsKid|talk]]) 04:33, 26 August 2025 (UTC)<br />
::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|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:9pt;color:pink">42.book.addict</span>]]<sup>[[User talk:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:6pt;color:#B1E4E3">Talk to me!</span>]]</sup>''' 04:55, 26 August 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
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|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:9pt;color:pink">42.book.addict</span>]]<sup>[[User talk:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:6pt;color:#B1E4E3">Talk to me!</span>]]</sup>''' 05:09, 26 August 2025 (UTC)<br />
:welcome back Tori! how you doing? [[User:CalibansCreations|'''<span style="color:#ff0000;">Caliban</span>''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 11:34, 26 August 2025 (UTC)<br />
: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)<br />
::hi all, i've been doing well! see y'all around :3 '''[[User:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:9pt;color:pink">42.book.addict</span>]]<sup>[[User talk:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:6pt;color:#B1E4E3">Talk to me!</span>]]</sup>''' 04:00, 27 August 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
profanity will return to xkcd [[User:CalibansCreations|'''<span style="color:#ff0000;">Caliban</span>''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 11:34, 26 August 2025 (UTC)<br />
:pleaseeeeeee 🙏🙏🙏 '''[[User:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:9pt;color:pink">42.book.addict</span>]]<sup>[[User talk:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:6pt;color:#B1E4E3">Talk to me!</span>]]</sup>''' 04:00, 27 August 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
THE RETURN OF THE LEGENDARY 42.BOOK.ADDICT! MAY SHE BRING PEACE AND UNITY TO ALL READERS AND EDITORS ALIKE! --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al |<span style="font-family:Atomic Age;font-size:12pt;color:red;">DollarStoreBa'al</span>]]<sup>[[User talk:DollarStoreBa'al |'''''Converse''''']]</sup>[[Special:Contributions/DollarStoreBa'al|'''''My life choices''''']] 14:09, 26 August 2025 (UTC)<br />
:[[File:optruemus.gif]] [[User:CalibansCreations|'''<span style="color:#ff0000;">Caliban</span>''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 15:10, 26 August 2025 (UTC)15:10, 26 August 2025 (UTC)<br />
:i'm not legendary-i just help out in areas that need some tlc! '''[[User:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:9pt;color:pink">42.book.addict</span>]]<sup>[[User talk:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:6pt;color:#B1E4E3">Talk to me!</span>]]</sup>''' 04:00, 27 August 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
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)<br />
<br />
<br />
Re "Only Fans": would it be worth mentioning the inverse-rule-34 that happened to the [/r/onlyfans](https://reddit.com/r/onlyfans) (SFW!) Reddit? It used to be about the pornography site, but the moderators lapsed. A new moderator stepped in and converted the sub to be about the household air movers. Their title-puns are delightfully groanworthy [[Special:Contributions/84.155.151.205|84.155.151.205]] 06:08, 27 August 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
This REEKS of Randall having thought of the pun then backforming the comic to fit it. [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 10:45, 27 August 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Oddly enough, 9 months later you have another Roomba. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 14:43, 27 August 2025 (UTC)</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3088:_Deposition&diff=377771Talk:3088: Deposition2025-05-13T21:10:12Z<p>Fephisto: Nevermind.</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom. --><br />
--[[Special:Contributions/104.23.175.13|104.23.175.13]] 02:56, 13 May 2025 (UTC)')DROP TABLE Talk:3088:_Deposition;<br />
:well done. no notes. [[user talk:lettherebedarklight|youtu.be/miLcaqq2Zpk]] 03:58, 13 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
--Stephen Hawking did about the same thing, throwing a party for time travellers. But nobody came. (also yes thats an undertale reference :D )--[[Special:Contributions/104.23.175.41|104.23.175.41]] 06:36, 13 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Futurama reference? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.54|162.158.91.54]] 03:56, 13 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
:[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lethal_Inspection Lethal Inspection]], a Futurama episoded with Inspector No 5.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.194.187|172.68.194.187]] 07:40, 13 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This is definitely a comic that ''does'' have "set-in-stone explanations." [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.81|162.158.155.81]] 06:40, 13 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I genuinely want to do this. Can anyone tell where I could find good locations, ones where rocks are likely to be preserved like in this comic? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.184|162.158.134.184]] 07:13, 13 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
"Deposition", as in the title, can mean either taking sworn evidence (in a legal context) or depositing material (in a geologic context). [[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.179|172.68.54.179]] 07:49, 13 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
:This would be typical of Randall's propensity for double meanings! I think it needs to be added to the explanation. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 11:10, 13 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
::It doesn't really have anything to do with anything in the comic, though. It would be no more relevant than commenting that e.g. 'margin' can also relate to page layouts, or 'might' can relate to the amount of power someone has. The explanations are going to get very long and confusing if we start calling out all the alternative meanings of every single word used in them.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.229.139|172.68.229.139]] 13:39, 13 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
:::I understand your point, but in this case I think one could view Ponytail's written message as a sworn statement of sorts, in addition to it also being a "deposition" in the rock substrate. I think Randall intended it as a double-meaning, as he does many times. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 15:26, 13 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It's really cool that we see these aliens in these crafts. If you look at the other times aliens have shown up in XKCD they appear to be generally the same aliens, or just a UFO, and this is an interesting synthesis of the two. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.27.180|172.68.27.180]] 14:13, 13 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Related to No. 6 in https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1476:_Ceres? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.3.30|172.68.3.30]] 10:18, 13 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It's also possible that the last panel is underwater, the shale hasn't been raised, and the beings aren't using antigravity. That would make it harder to use the shovel and pick, though. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 14:44, 13 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Saying that, even with time-travel, "it would be impossible" to find the right party seems wrong to me. With sufficient time-travel ability there's always extensive "trial and error". And, with ''additional'' time-travel 'meta-usage', even that isn't necessarily a long process, as you use TT to report every one of your 'errors' back to yourself before you even try them, narrowing the window down, ultimately making the process a matter of just waiting for you to arrive from your own future to tell you where you had(/are about to have) gone back to in order to find the party, having avoided being all the yous that had found the invitation rock not yet carved (or long-since carved, and discovered already on the way to where it will wait for you to have (already, later) find it) and had to 'start' looking later(/earlier) than you might have initially decided to look before your own bootstrapped guidance. ((Depends on how the Timey-Wimey really works, but I'm hoping the universe likes Stable Time Loops, and not universe-collapsing paradoxes that wipe the whole of spacetime out in retaliation for over-incautious interference in the whole continuum. And, because if the latter could happen then I'm sure it would (it simultanously has, and will do!), I would not be able to still exist to ponder it, so either there's a very good 'STL-finder' or some other more definite Chronology Protection Principle there to filter out potentially problematic disruptions of the timestream.)) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.224.61|172.69.224.61]] 16:56, 13 May 2025 (UTC)</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3088:_Deposition&diff=377770Talk:3088: Deposition2025-05-13T21:07:57Z<p>Fephisto: /* Ponytail's Birthday */ new section</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom. --><br />
--[[Special:Contributions/104.23.175.13|104.23.175.13]] 02:56, 13 May 2025 (UTC)')DROP TABLE Talk:3088:_Deposition;<br />
:well done. no notes. [[user talk:lettherebedarklight|youtu.be/miLcaqq2Zpk]] 03:58, 13 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
--Stephen Hawking did about the same thing, throwing a party for time travellers. But nobody came. (also yes thats an undertale reference :D )--[[Special:Contributions/104.23.175.41|104.23.175.41]] 06:36, 13 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Futurama reference? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.54|162.158.91.54]] 03:56, 13 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
:[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lethal_Inspection Lethal Inspection]], a Futurama episoded with Inspector No 5.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.194.187|172.68.194.187]] 07:40, 13 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This is definitely a comic that ''does'' have "set-in-stone explanations." [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.81|162.158.155.81]] 06:40, 13 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I genuinely want to do this. Can anyone tell where I could find good locations, ones where rocks are likely to be preserved like in this comic? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.184|162.158.134.184]] 07:13, 13 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
"Deposition", as in the title, can mean either taking sworn evidence (in a legal context) or depositing material (in a geologic context). [[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.179|172.68.54.179]] 07:49, 13 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
:This would be typical of Randall's propensity for double meanings! I think it needs to be added to the explanation. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 11:10, 13 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
::It doesn't really have anything to do with anything in the comic, though. It would be no more relevant than commenting that e.g. 'margin' can also relate to page layouts, or 'might' can relate to the amount of power someone has. The explanations are going to get very long and confusing if we start calling out all the alternative meanings of every single word used in them.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.229.139|172.68.229.139]] 13:39, 13 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
:::I understand your point, but in this case I think one could view Ponytail's written message as a sworn statement of sorts, in addition to it also being a "deposition" in the rock substrate. I think Randall intended it as a double-meaning, as he does many times. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 15:26, 13 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It's really cool that we see these aliens in these crafts. If you look at the other times aliens have shown up in XKCD they appear to be generally the same aliens, or just a UFO, and this is an interesting synthesis of the two. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.27.180|172.68.27.180]] 14:13, 13 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Related to No. 6 in https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1476:_Ceres? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.3.30|172.68.3.30]] 10:18, 13 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It's also possible that the last panel is underwater, the shale hasn't been raised, and the beings aren't using antigravity. That would make it harder to use the shovel and pick, though. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 14:44, 13 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Saying that, even with time-travel, "it would be impossible" to find the right party seems wrong to me. With sufficient time-travel ability there's always extensive "trial and error". And, with ''additional'' time-travel 'meta-usage', even that isn't necessarily a long process, as you use TT to report every one of your 'errors' back to yourself before you even try them, narrowing the window down, ultimately making the process a matter of just waiting for you to arrive from your own future to tell you where you had(/are about to have) gone back to in order to find the party, having avoided being all the yous that had found the invitation rock not yet carved (or long-since carved, and discovered already on the way to where it will wait for you to have (already, later) find it) and had to 'start' looking later(/earlier) than you might have initially decided to look before your own bootstrapped guidance. ((Depends on how the Timey-Wimey really works, but I'm hoping the universe likes Stable Time Loops, and not universe-collapsing paradoxes that wipe the whole of spacetime out in retaliation for over-incautious interference in the whole continuum. And, because if the latter could happen then I'm sure it would (it simultanously has, and will do!), I would not be able to still exist to ponder it, so either there's a very good 'STL-finder' or some other more definite Chronology Protection Principle there to filter out potentially problematic disruptions of the timestream.)) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.224.61|172.69.224.61]] 16:56, 13 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Ponytail's Birthday ==<br />
<br />
From this comic, does that mean that [[Ponytail]]'s birthday is canonically May 17th? [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 21:07, 13 May 2025 (UTC)</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3075:_Anachronym_Challenge&diff=3725713075: Anachronym Challenge2025-04-11T20:50:22Z<p>Fephisto: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3075<br />
| date = April 11, 2025<br />
| title = Anachronym Challenge<br />
| image = anachronym_challenge_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 265x404px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = I have to pay with paper money.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|The table is incomplete.}}<br />
<br />
[[Cueball]] is reading from a shopping list while shopping for groceries. The items on the list are all [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/anachronym anachronyms]. The names of the items indicate their material, but they are no longer made from that material.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin-left:0px"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Actually made with !! As opposed to !! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Tin foil | Tin Foil}} || Aluminum || Tin || A shiny foil. <br />
|-<br />
| [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sponge_(tool) Sponges]|| Polyester, Polyurethane || Marine invertebrates in the phylum Porifera, aka {{w| Sea sponges}}. || An item commonly used in the kitchen to soak up water. <br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Cutlery | Silverware}} || Stainless steel || Silver || Common eating device. However, these can be made of paper or plastics.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Linens}} || Cotton, Hemp, Polyester || {{w|Flax}} || Commonly in the form of sheets and blankets. <br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Clothes iron | Clothes Iron}} || Aluminum, Stainless steel & plastics || Iron || Used as a tool to remove wrinkles in clothing by heating it up.<br />
|- <br />
| {{w|Ironing board | Ironing Board}} || Metal, fabric cover || Boards, planks || Flat surface for ironing clothes.<br />
|- <br />
| [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrective_lens#Reading_glasses/ Reading Glasses] || Optical plastics || Glass || Used to assist farsighted people with focusing on things up close.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Iron (golf)#Short irons|9 Iron}} || Cast stainless steel, Carbon steel || Iron || Golf club<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Wood (golf)| 3 Wood}} || Titanium, Carbon fiber || Wood || Golf Club<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Sidewalk chalk | Sidewalk Chalk}} || Calcium Sulfate (Gypsum) || Calcite chalk || Used for making marks on pavement or rocks. (e.g., For entertainment, for temporary signs or indicators).<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Rubber duck | Rubber Duck}} || Vinyl Plastics || Rubber or {{w|duck|certain waterfowl}} || The family explanation seems likely here, as most adults do not necessarily enjoy rubber ducks.{{Citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Paper money | Paper Money}} (Title text) || Cotton, Linen fibers (U.S. note), polypropylene, digital transfers || {{w|History of paper|Papyrus}} || Money can be exchanged for goods and services.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
Many of the objects listed on Cueball's shopping list can still be made with the materials that they are named after. Silverware can be made of sterling silver, especially in the cutlery of high-end establishments. Cleaning sponges made of sea sponges are expensive, but can be bought. Linens made from flax are still common. {{acn}} Some wood clubs are still made from wood, specifically persimmon. {{w|Banknotes of the Japanese yen}} are [https://www.npb.go.jp/en/products/intro/tokutyou.html still made] from plant fibers including wood pulp from ''E. chrysantha'' and abaca pulp.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[Cueball is looking at a phone in his hand while holding his other hand on the handle of a shopping cart. Above the shopping cart, an underlined header and a bullet list are shown:]<br />
:<u>Shopping List</u><br />
:* Tin Foil<br />
:* Sponges<br />
:* Silverware<br />
:* Linens<br />
:* Iron & Ironing Board<br />
:* Reading Glasses<br />
:* 9 Iron and 3 Wood<br />
:* Sidewalk Chalk<br />
:* Rubber Duck<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:I'm trying to do a shopping trip where I only buy stuff that's no longer made from the material it's named after.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Language]]</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3075:_Anachronym_Challenge&diff=3724813075: Anachronym Challenge2025-04-11T18:14:30Z<p>Fephisto: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3075<br />
| date = April 11, 2025<br />
| title = Anachronym Challenge<br />
| image = anachronym_challenge_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 265x404px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = I have to pay with paper money.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a Mechanical Turk - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
[[Cueball]] is reading from a shopping list while shopping for groceries. The items on the grocery list have names that indicate their material but are no longer made from those materials.<br />
<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left:0px"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Actually made with !! As Opposed to !! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Tin Foil || Aluminum || Tin || A shiny foil. <br />
|-<br />
| Sponges|| Polyester, Polyurethane || Marine invertebrates in the phylum Porifera || An item commonly used in the kitchen to soak up water. <br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Cutlery | Silverware}} || Stainless steel || Silver || Common eating device. However, these can be made of paper or plastics.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Linens}} || Cotton, hemp || Flax || Commonly in the form of sheets and blankets. <br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Clothes iron | Clothes Iron}} || Aluminum, Stainless steel & plastics || Iron || Used as a tool to remove wrinkles in clothing by heating it up.<br />
|- <br />
| [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrective_lens#Reading_glasses/ Reading Glasses] || Optical plastics || Glass || Used to assist farsighted people with focusing on things up close.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Iron (golf)#Short irons|9 Iron}} || Cast stainless steel, Carbon steel || Iron || Golf club<br />
|-<br />
| 3 Wood || Titanium, Carbon fiber || Wood || Golf Club<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Sidewalk chalk | Sidewalk Chalk}} || Calcium Sulfate (Gypsum) || Calcite chalk || He may have a family, or just likes to play with sidewalk chalk. <br />
|-<br />
| Rubber Duck || Vinyl Plastics || Vulkanized rubber or waterfowl || Again, the family explanation seems likely here, as most adults do not necessarily enjoy rubber ducks.<br />
|-<br />
| Paper Money (Title text) || Cotton, Linen fibers (U.S. note), polypropylene || Cellulose fibres derived from wood || <br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[Cueball is looking at a phone in his hand while holding his other hand on the handle of a shopping cart. Above the shopping cart, an underlined header and a bullet list are shown:]<br />
:<u>Shopping List</u><br />
:* Tin Foil<br />
:* Sponges<br />
:* Silverware<br />
:* Linens<br />
:* Iron & Ironing Board<br />
:* Reading Glasses<br />
:* 9 Iron and 3 Wood<br />
:* Sidewalk Chalk<br />
:* Rubber Duck<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:I'm trying to do a shopping trip where I only buy stuff that's no longer made from the material it's named after.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Language]]</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3063:_Planet_Definitions&diff=3705483063: Planet Definitions2025-03-27T14:12:54Z<p>Fephisto: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3063<br />
| date = March 14, 2025<br />
| title = Planet Definitions<br />
| image = planet_definitions_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 653x1435px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Under the 'has cleared its orbital neighborhood' and 'fuses hydrogen into helium' definitions, thanks to human activities Earth technically no longer qualifies as a planet but DOES count as a star.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|The first paragraph is too complex and doesn't directly address the comic.}}This comic addresses the {{w|IAU definition of planet|controversy of whether of Pluto is a planet}} and explores many definitions, most of them humorous and nonsensical, of what a planet could be. The 2006 redefinition of Pluto as a dwarf planet is a common theme on xkcd, occurring also in [[473: Still Raw]], [[482: Height]], [[1020: Orion Nebula]], [[1093: Forget]], [[1458: Small Moon]], [[1551: Pluto]] and [[1555: Exoplanet Names 2]].<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:auto"<br />
!colspan="2"|Definition !! # of planets !! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
! Traditionalist<br />
| {{w|Pluto}} is a planet <br />
| align=center | 9 <br />
| In modern times, there was {{w|IAU definition of planet#Background|no formal definition of a "planet"}} prior to 2006. However, it was generally accepted as a colloquialism that there were nine planets around the {{w|Sun}}, Pluto included. This view started primarily with Pluto's discovery in 1930, based upon that time's scientific consensus that there ought to be another planet to account for peculiarities in the the orbits of the other outer planets. This ties back to [[988: Tradition]] which discusses how events and beliefs that were popular in the 1940s and 1950s are considered "traditional" in the United States.<br />
As more sophisticated methods of mapping the {{w|Solar System}} were developed, and {{w|Eris (dwarf planet)|Eris}} was discovered and found to be even more massive than Pluto (which may not have been as significant as the theories that led to its discovery suggested), it became clear to astronomers that a more standardized definition was needed.<br />
<br />
In 2006 the {{w|International Astronomical Union}} (IAU) published their formal redefinition of a "planet" to require a planet to be gravitationally dominant within its orbit, clearing other objects that aren't moons. This disqualified Pluto and Eris, which are now considered "{{w|dwarf planets}}". This has been subject to pushback from nostalgic laypeople dissatisfied with Pluto being "demoted" or otherwise relegated, when schoolchildren and adults alike have 'known' that there are nine planets for the most part of the last century.<br />
<br />
Ironically, some of the latest study of the outer Solar System includes the possibility of yet ''another'' {{w|Planet Nine}}, but only time will tell if such an object exists and whether it would cross the IAU's current threshold or even require the threshold itself to be reassessed once more.<br />
|-<br />
! Modern<br />
| Pluto is not a planet <br />
| align=center | 8 <br />
| When the IAU redefined what a planet is in 2006, Pluto no longer qualified as a planet since it wasn't able to clear its neighborhood around its orbit.<br />
Using the modern, and recently official, definition of a planet, only eight celestial objects qualified: {{w|Mercury (planet)|Mercury}}, {{w|Venus (planet)|Venus}}, {{w|Earth (planet)|Earth}}, {{w|Mars (planet)|Mars}}, {{w|Jupiter (planet)|Jupiter}}, {{w|Saturn (planet)|Saturn}}, {{w|Uranus (planet)|Uranus}} and {{w|Neptune (planet)|Neptune}}.<br />
|-<br />
! Expansive<br />
| Dwarf planets are planets <br />
| align=center | 17+ <br />
| This category also includes nine other bodies that aren't dominant within their orbits, including the ones that are considered to have compacted into fully solid bodies {{w|Dwarf planet#Most likely dwarf planets|as defined by Grundy ''et al.''}}: {{w|Ceres (dwarf planet)|Ceres}}, Pluto, Eris, {{w|Makemake}}, {{w|Haumea}}, {{w|Gonggong (dwarf planet)|Gonggong}}, {{w|Quaoar}}, {{w|Orcus (dwarf planet)|Orcus}} and {{w|Sedna (dwarf planet)|Sedna}}.<br />
The basis for this viewpoint is the possible alternative re-evaluation that the IAU could have adopted, in that all newly discovered things ''like'' Pluto (being considered a planet at the time) should therefore be considered a planet. Indeed, Ceres had been observed some time before Pluto and had been called a planet (or a "minor planet") within both scientific and public realms.<br />
|-<br />
! Ultratraditionalist<br />
| Only the classical planets are planets <br />
| align=center | 5 <br />
| The {{w|classical planets}} are objects found and considered by the Greek astronomers in classical antiquity to be considered planets. Their definition of "planet" considered visible objects that move across the sky relative to the fixed stars, the original word itself being translated as "wanderer".<br />
There are seven classical planets, but this included the Sun and Moon. If one considers only the ones that also fall under either the IAU's definition of a planet (and so ''less'' traditional) or the convention before that, then there would be only five. Being mostly true to the spirit of the historic naming convention, this would be a conservative but 'valid' version of the criterion.<br />
<br />
Notably, Earth itself is not considered a planet by these criteria as, from the perspective of anyone who might even consider such things, it is not wandering the heavens. Or even in the night skies at all, but always underfoot.<br />
|-<br />
! Condescending<br />
| Only giant planets are planets; the rest are big {{w|asteroid}}s <br />
| align=center | 4 <br />
| This definition may refer to the {{w|giant planets}}, planets much larger than the {{w|Earth}}. Only the four outer (IAU-defined) planets fall under this definition. Relegation of anything smaller, including our own planet, is an extreme attitude.<br />
Incidentally, most of the initial [[:Category:Exoplanets|exoplanets]] discovered were, by practical necessity in their detection, also only of the "giant planet" kind.<br />
|-<br />
! Simplistic<br />
| Anything gravitationally round is a planet <br />
| align=center | 37+ <br />
| The Wikipedia {{w|list of gravitationally rounded objects of the Solar System}} has thirty-seven objects. It includes the Sun, eight planets, nine dwarf planets, nineteen {{w|Natural satellite|moon}}s, but falls short of also highlighting all of the smallest visible objects (per Universalist, below).<br />
This definition is essentially ''part'' of the actual current definition of a planet, leaving out the main factor that disqualifies Pluto, orbital dominance.<br />
|-<br />
! Grounded<br />
| Only objects a spaceship has landed on are planets <br />
| align=center | 10 <br />
| This list includes objects in the Solar System that a spacecraft has {{w|List of landings on extraterrestrial bodies|performed a soft landing on}}. The list includes {{w|Venus}}, Earth, {{w|Mars}}, the Moon, {{w|Titan (moon)|Titan}}, the comet {{w|Churyumov-Gerasimenko}} plus the asteroids {{w|433 Eros|Eros}}, {{w|25143 Itokawa|Itokawa}}, {{w|162173 Ryugu|Ryugu}}, and {{w|101955 Bennu|Bennu}}.<br />
The justification for this seems to be that we must 'touch' the object before we consider it as worthy of being classified as more than a mere blob (or dot) in space.<br />
<br />
It could be argued that Jupiter and Saturn also count, due to the {{w|Galileo (spacecraft)|Galileo}} and {{w|Cassini–Huygens|Cassini}} spacecraft respectively, which plunged into the atmospheres of those planets.<br />
|-<br />
! Regolithic<br />
| Anything covered in dirt and ice and stuff is a planet <br />
| align=center | Infinite <br />
| This list excludes the {{w|gas giant}}s and {{w|ice giant}}s. The list would likely include all other planets, plus all dwarf planets, asteroids, moons, comets and {{w|Oort cloud#Structure and composition|trillions of other objects}} in the {{w|Oort cloud}} that are larger than a few particles in size. (Not strictly infinite, but uncountably many for all practical reasons.)<br />
This is effectively the opposite of the "condescending" definition: every object in the Solar System except the Sun is included in one definition or the other.<br />
This is also an extension on the "Grounded" classification. In this case we ''could'' meaningfully touch the object, with predominantly atmospheric bodies being not considered so.<br />
|-<br />
! Lunar<br />
| You can't be a planet if you don't have a moon <br />
| align=center | 12+ <br />
| Only some objects in the solar system have known moons orbiting them. The value given may be {{w|List of natural satellites|the number of planets and dwarf planets}} that have moons, excluding {{w|Haumea}} for not {{w|hydrostatic equilibrium|being spherical}} despite having moons.<br />
Adopting this definition would suggest that a planetary body is not worthy of the name if it doesn't demonstrably dominate its orbit by having at least one satellite of its own.<br />
<br />
If this statement were "You can't be a planet if you don't have a Moon", ''only'' the Earth would qualify.<br />
|-<br />
! Solipsistic<br />
| Earth is the only planet <br />
| align=center | 1 <br />
| {{w|Solipsism}} is the idea that only one's own mind is sure to exist. Randall extrapolated this idea to mean that only one's own planet that they are standing on is sure to exist.<br />
This relies on a more philosophical and/or semiotic assessment than any scientific one.<br />
|-<br />
! Judgemental<br />
| Only the prettiest ones are planets <br />
| align=center | 6 <br />
| This list is likely formulated from Randall's own perception of the prettiest planets in the Solar System. Seven objects are highlighted: Earth, Jupiter, one of Jupiter's moons (likely {{w|Europa (moon)|Europa}}, based on [[1547: Solar System Questions]]), Saturn, one of Saturn's moons (possibly Iapetus or Phoebe), {{w|Triton (moon)|Triton}} and Pluto.<br />
The subjectivity of this version of the definition makes it unlikely that a consensus of this form could be established.<br />
|-<br />
! Empiricist<br />
| Only worlds that I, author of this table, have personally seen are planets <br />
| align=center | 12 <br />
| This list may refer to the celestial objects in the Solar System that have been visible at night for the author (or that the author has never seen the Sun), probably going so far as using an optical telescope (which could be a hobbyist one, perhaps Randall's own, or from time granted on a major institutional installation) but not any more indirect method that uses a camera/screen or historic images of any kind. Apparently Randall has seen Uranus, which technically [https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/skills/how-see-uranus-in-night-sky ''is'' visible to the naked eye] under the very best viewing conditions, but these conditions are rare and it requires knowing exactly where to look. Jupiter's {{w|Galilean moons|four largest moons}} are [https://web.archive.org/web/20201112024151/http://denisdutton.com/jupiter_moons.htm technically visible to the naked eye] but hard to distinguish due to Jupiter's brightness, while Neptune is considered too faint to see even if you know where to look. It appears that Randall has never used a telescope to see Neptune.<br />
As a different form of subjectivity, the value of this grouping's criteria is questionable, but not uncommon in other 'softer' sciences.<br />
|-<br />
! Marine biologist<br />
| Only objects with oceans are planets <br />
| align=center | 6+ <br />
| This list includes Earth, {{w|Europa (moon)|Europa}}, {{w|Ganymede (moon)|Ganymede}}, {{w|Callisto (moon)|Callisto}}, Titan and {{w|Enceladus}}. These have had the presence of significant liquid identified from measurements of their magnetic/electric fields, but see the "Maritime" entry.<br />
There is a resemblance, here, to a loose understanding of what a "world" is, i.e., one that possesses various distinct 'terrains' beyond mere dry (and possibly considered featureless) rock. A marine biologist would, of course consider a marine (if not pelagic or bathyspheric) environment to be an essential element of any world.<br />
|-<br />
! Maritime<br />
| Only objects with ''surface'' oceans are planets <br />
| align=center | 2 <br />
| In the comic, only Earth and Titan are highlighted. Earth is the only body known in the solar system to have liquid water on the surface significant enough to be called an ocean. Titan's cold and dense atmosphere notably maintains surface 'seas' of methane and nitrogen, while other moons (given as additional in the prior item) seem to have their liquid water beneath either whole-surface ice caps or otherwise deep under the surface.<br />
From the narrower point of view of a sailor, for example, there is no benefit in considering water hidden away far beneath the surface, and it might as well not be there. In contrast, it's possible that a well-prepared mariner could sail the strange seas of Titan, as easily as (or easier than) {{w|Dragonfly (Titan space probe)|an aircraft}} might fly through {{what if|30|its skies}}.<br />
|-<br />
! Universalist<br />
| They're all planets <br />
| align=center | Infinite <br />
| This list claims that all objects are planets, with all drawn items (also presumably all undrawn/undrawable items) being marked as such, including the Sun. Giving up on any thought of exclusivity, this unconventional view willingly inducts all objects into consideration, with an effectively equivalent claim to an infinite count as with the Regolith definition.<br />
|-<br />
! Existentialist<br />
| What if {{w|outer space|space}} ''itself'' is a planet??? <br />
| align=center | ''Duude'' <br />
| This list is different from the list above as it claims that all of space, rather than only the objects existing in space, are planets. The interjection ''Duude'' expresses one's amazement at this 'revelation' and replaces the number count— and is sometimes used to imply [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=duuuude the speaker is high] on marijuana or other mind-altering drugs.<br />
The strange stretch of imagination, as prompted by some narcotic or other, abandons all pretense at sensibly sorting everything into "planet" or "not planet", as not only is everything a planet, but so is the nothing ''between'' these titular planets. However, the more serious subject of {{w|black hole cosmology}} holds the view that the observable universe is the interior of a black hole.<br />
|-<br />
! Spiteful<br />
| ''Only'' Pluto is a planet <br />
| align=center | 1 <br />
| This list is a malicious play on the demotion of Pluto by demoting all other planets except Pluto instead, leaving Pluto as the only planet in the solar system. <br />
This is the taxonomic equivalent of refusing to play and taking your ball home to spite those who you think don't deserve to enjoy themselves.<br />
|-<br />
! {{w|Star}} (title text)<br />
| Earth is a star <br />
| align=center | 2 stars <br />
| In May 1934, Mark Oliphant, Paul Harteck and Ernest Rutherford at the Cavendish Laboratory published an intentional deuterium fusion experiment and made the discovery of both tritium and helium-3. This is widely considered the first experimental demonstration of fusion. Randall considers that this and subsequent human-induced fusion makes Earth fall into the category of a star, and hence not a planet. Also, the IAU definition of a planet requires that the planet has cleared its "orbital neighborhood" of other objects — objects must either be captured as moons or have their orbits disrupted such that they are flung away.<br />
Under this definition, one could humorously argue that recent human activities, launching into space ''new'' non-orbiting objects like the James Webb Space Telescope, technically disqualify Earth from being a planet, as the orbital neighborhood is no longer completely clear. By changing not only the definition, but the term being defined, this drifts yet further from any consensus view on the original question and into a typical punchline absurdity.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[A table with 3 columns, and 17 rows below the the header row, labelled "Definition", "# of planets" and "Solar system".]<br />
:[In each row, the first column has a single word, in bold, then a descriptive sentence. The second column has a digit or other 'value'. The third column is a not-to-scale drawing of the Solar system, featuring the Sun, various 'planetary' bodies and an apparently selective sample of moons and asteroids, as follows: The Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth with the Moon, Mars with its two moons (Phobos and Deimos), a small selection of some asteroid belt bodies (Ceres in the midst of other, smaller, examples), Jupiter and four of its moons (likely the Galilean moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto), a ringed Saturn and usually one of its moons (probably Titan) or two (possibly Enceladus or Iapetus, as required), Uranus and four or five of its moons (likely to be Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon, but one of these (shown upon the face of Uranus) only appears in some iterations of the base image), Neptune and one of its moons (probably Triton), Pluto and one of its moons (Charon, the main companion body possibly considered as fellow twin-dwarf instead), four more plutoid or Kuiper Belt objects (too little context to identify, but possibly Haumea, Makemake, Eris and Sedna, in distance order), the first two of them with distinct moons/companions indicated (the exact identities entirely dependent upon which main objects they are partnering).]<br />
:[Each row's illustrated solar system has individual combinations of green highlights applied to the otherwise repeated diagram.]<br />
:[Row 1: Definition:] Traditionalist: Pluto is a planet [Number:] 9 [Highlighted: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto]<br />
:[Row 2: Definition:] Modern: Pluto is not a planet [Number:] 8 [Highlighted: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune]<br />
:[Row 3: Definition:] Expansive: Dwarf planets are planets [Number:] 17+ [Highlighted: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Ceres (in Asteroid Belt), Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and the further main bodies]<br />
:[Row 4: Definition:] Ultratraditionalist: Only the classical planets are planets [Number:] 5 [Highlighted: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn]<br />
:[Row 5: Definition:] Condescending: Only giant planets are planets; the rest are big asteroids. [Number:] 4 [Highlighted: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune]<br />
:[Row 6: Definition:] Simplistic: Anything gravitationally round is a planet [Number:] 37+ [Highlighted: The Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, The Moon, Mars, Ceres (without other asteroids), Jupiter + moons, Saturn with Titan, Uranus and its moons, Neptune with its moon, Pluto and the four further dwarf planets, your mom]<br />
:[Row 7: Definition:] Grounded: Only objects a spaceship has landed on are planets [Number:] 10 [Highlighted: Venus, Earth, The Moon, Mars, five (non-Cererian) asteroids and Titan]<br />
:[Row 8: Definition:] Regolithic: Anything covered in dirt and ice and stuff is a planet [Number:] [infinity symbol] [Highlighted: Mercury, Venus, Earth, The Moon, Mars, Ceres with all other asteroids depicted in the Asteroid Belt, the moons of Jupiter, the sole representative moon of Saturn, the moons of Uranus, the moon of Neptune, Pluto, Charon (Pluto's ’moon’/twin-dwarf companion) and all remaining dwarf planets together with their illustrated moons]<br />
:[Row 9: Definition:] Lunar: You can't be a planet if you don't have a moon [Number:] 12+ [Highlighted: Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and three of the other dwarf planets in the Kuiper belt, including one with no obviously drawn moon]<br />
:[Row 10: Definition:] Solipsistic: Earth is the only planet [Number:] 1 [Highlighted: The Earth]<br />
:[Row 11: Definition:] Judgemental: Only the prettiest ones are planets [Number:] 6 [Highlighted: The Earth, Jupiter with one of its moons (not identified), Saturn, one of ''two'' Saturnian moons in this image and Pluto]<br />
:[Row 12: Definition:] Empiricist: Only worlds that I, author of this table, have personally seen are planets [Number:] 12 [Highlighted: Mercury, Venus, The Earth, The Moon, Mars, Jupiter with its four moons, Saturn and Uranus]<br />
:[Row 13: Definition:] Marine biologist: Only objects with oceans are planets [Number:] 6+ [Highlighted: The Earth, three Jovian moons, the two illustrated Saturnian moons]<br />
:[Row 14: Definition:] Maritime: Only objects with [next word in italics] surface oceans are planets [Number:] 2 [Highlighted: The Earth and Titan]<br />
:[Row 15: Definition:] Universalist: They're all planets [Number:] [infinity symbol] [Highlighted: All drawn objects, including The Sun and all other objects including all the moons/asteroids]<br />
:[Row 16: Definition:] Existentialist: What if space [next word in italics] itself is a planet??? [Word:] ''Duude'' [Highlighted: The whole third column cell]<br />
:[Row 17: Definition:] Spiteful: [next word in italics] Only Pluto is a planet [Number:] 1 [Highlighted: Pluto]<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*In the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/6/66/20250314195557%21planet_definitions_2x.png original version of the comic], there were two errors that would later be fixed. The "Traditionalist" definition highlighted Neptune's satellite {{w|Triton (moon)|Triton}} instead of Pluto. The images of the Solar System for the "Traditionalist" and "Modern" definitions were swapped, resulting in Pluto being incorrectly highlighted in "Modern" and omitted in "Traditionalist".<br />
<br />
*The "Judgemental" definition has seven colored objects instead of the stated six. This mistake has not yet been fixed.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Charts]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]<br />
[[Category:Philosophy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics edited after their publication]]</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3038:_Uncanceled_Units&diff=3624043038: Uncanceled Units2025-01-17T14:16:22Z<p>Fephisto: There is still a conflation between what cancellation means if it _doesn't_ mean mathematical simplifcation.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3038<br />
| date = January 15, 2025<br />
| title = Uncanceled Units<br />
| image = uncanceled_units_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 323x355px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Speed limit c arcminutes^2 per steradian<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by THE HUBBLE PARAMETER, WHICH I HAD INCORRECTLY REFERRED TO AS THE PLANCK CONSTANT (PLS FORGIVE THIS BOT) - Please continue to explain the joke and possible interpretations. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
Another of [[Randall]]'s [[:Category:Pet Peeves|pet peeves]], this comic expresses disapproval of units that could be mathematically simplified (in other words, the 'uncanceled' of the title refers to mathematical cancellation, not cancellation by a body, like how SI supplanted the CGS system with MKS).<br />
<br />
[[White Hat]] is presenting a refrigerator to [[Cueball]], saying it uses 3 kWh per day. This is a common and useful way to report power usage. But mathematically, the units can be simplified because there are two time units that cancel each other:<br />
<br />
: 3 kWh per day = 3 kW * 1 hour / 1 day = 3 kW * (1 hour / 24 hours) = 0.125 kW = 125 W<br />
<br />
This gives the (average) power usage in {{w|watts}} (a unit for the rate of energy transfer, equal to 1 {{w|joule}} per second).<br />
<br />
The reason people would use "kWh / day" without simplifying the unit is that kWh is a commonly used unit for energy, and it's often viewed as a base unit even though it's composite (1 kWh is the amount of energy consumed by one kilowatt of power usage over one hour, and is equal to 1 kJ/s * 1 h = 3600 kJ). It's the unit in which energy consumption is typically reported and in which bills are calculated, so it's more familiar to the average consumer, and giving the power usage in kWh / day makes it easier for the consumer to understand how much money it will cost them to run per day. Also, "per day" makes it clear that this is the ''average'' power usage rather than the maximum power usage (they are different because refrigerators cycle on and off throughout the day). But mathematically, "kWh / day" is inelegant, because it uses power (which is already a measure of energy per time) multiplied by a time unit then divided by another time unit.<br />
<br />
Cueball (probably representing Randall) sardonically wonders whether the refrigerator would fit in his kitchen, since the ceiling is only 50 gallons per square foot high. This is clearly an abnormal and unhelpful way of reporting height. This unit turns a normal measurement of height (feet and inches in the US; meters and centimeters most other places) into a weird collection of uncancelled units. Gallons can be transformed to cubic feet (1 US gal = 231 in<sup>3</sup>), which can be divided by the square feet, yielding a ceiling height of around 6 feet 8 inches, or 203.7 cm. (Using imperial gallons [1 UK gal ≈ 277.42 in<sup>3</sup><!--exactly equal to 4.54609 L-->], the height is roughly 8 feet, or approximately 244.7 cm.) This is intended to lampoon the use of both non-metric and uncancelled units by showing how odd things become if they're generally used.<br />
<br />
The exact ceiling height in feet, assuming the US gallon is used, can be calculated as:<br />
<br />
: 50 gallons per square foot = 50 gal * 231 in<sup>3</sup>/gal * (1/12 ft/in)<sup>3</sup> / 1 ft<sup>2</sup> = 6.68402777... ft<br />
<br />
''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'': [https://what-if.xkcd.com/11/ Droppings] also covers strange instances of unit cancellation, including a measure of volume per distance converted to area; similar to Cueball's measure of volume per area representing a distance (the height of his ceiling).<!-- This may not be relevant enough to keep --><br />
<br />
A common source of unit drama occurs between lay people who are looking for every day practicality and science/engineering types who are inclined towards formalized mathematical operations. For example U.S. customary units which support many divisibility rules (1 foot = 12 inches; 1 inch = 72 points = 1440 twips; 3 feet = 1 yard; 2 yards = 1 fathom; 22 yards = 1 chain; 10 chains = 1 furlong; 1 mile = 5280 feet; 1 league = 3 miles) versus metric units which prioritize base 10 scales. In this case, telling the average customer the energy use in joules per day or average consumption in watts would require them to perform more complicated conversions to get to the figure they actually care about — the actual cost per day. White Hat could just give this cost figure directly, but does not know what every customer pays for electricity (an explicit yearly cost estimate would be included on the government required energy efficiency label).<br />
<br />
In the title text, a speed limit is given as c arcminutes<sup>2</sup> per steradian, where c is presumably the speed of light in a vacuum — 2.998×10<sup>8</sup> m/s (meters per second) or 186282 mi/s (miles per second). A steradian (sr) is the SI unit for solid angle, subtended by a section of a sphere (like a radian is a unit of angle subtended by a section of a circle). A square arcminute is also a unit of solid angle, equivalent to a section of a sphere of 1/60 of a degree by 1/60 of a degree. There are ((1/60)*(π/180))<sup>2</sup> = 8.462×10<sup>-8</sup> sr in a square arcminute. Then multiplying by c gives a speed of 56.75 mph (probably 55 mph, based upon the {{w|National Maximum Speed Law|'traditional' US speed limit}}, before rounding errors in the reverse direction), or 91.33 km/h, showing that you can combine an outrageously high speed with two unnecessary units that cancel each other to form a normal road speed.<br />
<br />
It is worth noting that, although some of these examples are ridiculous, there are cases where uncancelled units can be helpful to understanding the concept. For example, while the {{w|Hubble's law|Hubble Parameter}} can be expressed as 2.17132212×10<sup>-18</sup> hertz, expressing it as 67 km/s/Mpc directly relates the quantity to how it is measured and its natural interpretation. Another example would be fuel efficiency in cars, where mi/gal and km/l technically simplify to 1/area, but expressing it in volume and distance allows easy estimations of range and travel cost, while mm<sup>-2</sup> or in<sup>-2</sup> would require significant unit conversions.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[White Hat and Cueball are standing to either side of a refrigerator. White Hat is lifting one hand up to touch the side of the fridge. The fridge has two compartments, with two doors that open to the top compartment and one bottom compartment, a drawer. The top left compartment has a tall handle on its right, the top right compartment has a tall handle on its left, and the bottom compartment has a long handle on its top. The top left compartment has an oval shape on the top and a paper attached, both with unreadable text. There is also a small square note in the top right corner and an oval shape on the side of the fridge above White Hat. These also have unreadable text.]<br />
:White Hat: This fridge uses only 3 kWh per day!<br />
:Cueball: But will it fit in my kitchen? The ceiling there is only 50 gallons per square foot.<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:Pet peeve: Uncanceled units<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Pet Peeves]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3038:_Uncanceled_Units&diff=3623613038: Uncanceled Units2025-01-16T19:50:26Z<p>Fephisto: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3038<br />
| date = January 15, 2025<br />
| title = Uncanceled Units<br />
| image = uncanceled_units_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 323x355px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Speed limit c arcminutes^2 per steradian<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by THE HUBBLE PARAMETER, WHICH I HAD INCORRECTLY REFERRED TO AS THE PLANCK CONSTANT (PLS FORGIVE THIS BOT) - Please continue to explain the joke and possible interpretations. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
Another of [[Randall]]'s [[:Category:Pet Peeves|pet peeves]], this comic expresses disapproval of units that could be mathematically simplified (in other words, the 'uncanceled' of the title refers to mathematical cancellation, not cancellation by a body, like how SI supplanted the CGS system with MKS).<br />
<br />
[[White Hat]] is presenting a refrigerator to [[Cueball]], saying it uses 3 kWh per day. This is a common and useful way to report power usage. But mathematically, the units can be simplified: 3 kWh per day = 3 kW * hour / day = 3 kW * (1 hour / 24 hour) = 0.125 kW = 125 W, giving the average power usage in {{w|watts}} (a unit for the rate of energy transfer, equal to 1 {{w|joule}} per second). Alternatively, one could convert it to 3 kWh * 3600 kJ / kWh = 10800 kJ / day, as many refrigerators use very different amounts of power throughout a day.<br />
<br />
The reason people would use "kWh / day" without simplifying the unit is that kWh is a commonly used unit for energy, and it's often viewed as a base unit even though it's composite (1 kWh is the amount of energy consumed by one kilowatt of power usage over one hour, and is equal to 1 kJ/s * 1 h = 3600 kJ). It's the unit in which energy consumption is typically reported and in which bills are calculated, so it's more familiar to the average consumer than kJ and megajoule (MJ), and giving the power usage in kWh / day makes it easier for the consumer to understand how much money it will cost them to run per day. But mathematically, "kWh / day" is inelegant, because it uses power (which is already a measure of energy per time) multiplied by a time unit then divided by another time unit. This gets increasingly ridiculous if you reduce all the way down to the seven base quantities, resulting in: mass times length squared over time squared, per time, times time, per time.<br />
<br />
Cueball (probably representing Randall) sardonically wonders whether the refrigerator would fit in his kitchen, since the ceiling is only 50 gallons per square foot high. This is clearly an abnormal and unhelpful way of reporting height. This unit turns a normal measurement of height (feet and inches in the US; meters and centimeters most other places) into a weird collection of uncancelled units. Gallons can be transformed to cubic feet (1 US gal ≈ 0.1337 ft<sup>3</sup>), which can be divided by the square feet, yielding a ceiling height of around 6 feet 8 inches, or 203.7 cm. (Using imperial gallons [1 UK gal ≈ 0.1605 ft<sup>3</sup>], the height is roughly 8 feet, or approximately 244.7 cm.) This is intended to lampoon the use of both non-metric and uncancelled units by showing how odd things become if they're generally used. <br />
<br />
''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'': [https://what-if.xkcd.com/11/ Droppings] also covers strange instances of unit cancellation, including a measure of volume per distance converted to area; similar to Cueball's measure of volume per area representing a distance (the height of his ceiling).<!-- This may not be relevant enough to keep --><br />
<br />
A common source of unit drama occurs between lay people who are looking for every day practicality and science/engineering types who are inclined towards formalized mathematical operations. For example U.S. customary units which support many divisibility rules (1 foot = 12 inches; 1 inch = 72 points = 1440 twips; 3 feet = 1 yard; 2 yards = 1 fathom; 22 yards = 1 chain; 10 chains = 1 furlong; 1 mile = 5280 feet; 1 league = 3 miles) versus metric units which prioritize base 10 scales. In this case, telling the average customer the energy use in joules per day or average consumption in watts would require them to perform more complicated conversions to get to the figure they actually care about — the actual cost per day. White Hat could just give this cost figure directly, but does not know what every customer pays for electricity (an explicit yearly cost estimate would be included on the government required energy efficiency label).<br />
<br />
In the title text, a speed limit is given as c arcminutes<sup>2</sup> per steradian, where c is presumably the speed of light in vacuum — 2.998×10<sup>8</sup> m/s (meters per second) or 186282 mi/s (miles per second). A steradian (sr) is the SI unit for solid angle, subtended by a section of a sphere (like a radian is a unit of angle subtended by a section of a circle). A square arcminute is also a unit of solid angle, equivalent to a section of a sphere of 1/60 of a degree by 1/60 of a degree. There are ((1/60)*(π/180))<sup>2</sup> = 8.462×10<sup>-8</sup> sr in a square arcminute. Then multiplying by c gives a speed of 56.75 mph (probably 55 mph, based upon the {{w|National Maximum Speed Law|'traditional' US speed limit}}, before rounding errors in the reverse direction), or 91.33 km/h, showing that you can combine an outrageously high speed with two unnecessary units that cancel each other to form a normal road speed.<br />
<br />
It is worth noting that, although some of these examples are ridiculous, there are cases where uncancelled units can be helpful to understanding the concept. For example, while the {{w|Hubble's law|Hubble Parameter}} can be expressed as 2.17132212×10<sup>-18</sup> hertz, expressing it as 67 km/s/Mpc directly relates the quantity to how it is measured and its natural interpretation. Another example would be fuel efficiency in cars, where mi/gal and km/l technically simplify to 1/area, but expressing it in volume and distance allows easy estimations of range and travel cost, while mm<sup>-2</sup> or in<sup>-2</sup> would require significant unit conversions.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[White Hat and Cueball are standing to either side of a refrigerator. White hat is lifting on hand up to touch the side of the fridge. The fridge has two compartments, with two doors that open to the top compartment and one bottom compartment, a drawer. The top left compartment has a tall handle on its right, the top right compartment has a tall handle on its left, and the bottom compartment has a long handle on its top. The top left compartment has an oval shape on the top and a paper attached, both with unreadable text. There is also a small square note in the top right corner and an oval shape on the side of the fridge above White Hat. These also have unreadable text.]<br />
:White Hat: This fridge uses only 3 kWh per day!<br />
:Cueball: But will it fit in my kitchen? The ceiling there is only 50 gallons per square foot.<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:Pet peeve: Uncanceled units<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Pet Peeves]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3022:_Making_Tea&diff=3589873022: Making Tea2024-12-10T15:56:13Z<p>Fephisto: /* Methods mentioned */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3022<br />
| date = December 9, 2024<br />
| title = Making Tea<br />
| image = making_tea_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 690x291px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = No, of course we don't microwave the mug WITH the teabag in it. We microwave the teabag separately.<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Microwaved by a TEA-MAKING AUTOMATON - Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
Tea is exceptionally popular in the United Kingdom (although [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gpll9l535o decreasingly so]). Virtually every home has an electric kettle as a standard appliance with teapots and other related crockery being found in many cupboards, or even on a shelf in full display. British people are perceived as taking tea seriously, having very specific and strongly held opinions on the proper way to make tea. In contrast, tea is less commonplace in the United States of America (Randall's native country) and owning separate devices for tea-making is probably far less common than having coffee-makers of various kinds. While some households have kettles that can be put on a stove top, many do not have any specific device to boil water. As a result, when Americans need a cup of hot water — for tea or otherwise — the options are usually to use a pan on the stove or to simply microwave a mug of water (the latter probably being more common in modern times). Instant hot water taps {{w|Instant hot water dispenser}} are also common in many homes, water coolers, and public drinking fountains in the US.<br />
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British people are stereotyped as taking genuine offense to microwaved water, believing it to be an objectively incorrect way to make tea. Randall mocks this stereotype through exaggeration, saying British people would be significantly less offended someone stealing {{w|Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom}} and using those for tea-making than they would be by a cup of microwaved water.<br />
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===Methods mentioned===<br />
;Making it in a kettle<br />
:Perhaps an intentional misnomer. Water may be ''boiled'' in a kettle, but the tea itself is made in a separate {{w|teapot}}, with loose or bagged tea-leaves, ready for pouring into any number of {{w|teacup}}s, {{w|mug}}s or {{w|vacuum flask|thermos flask}} as required. Alternatively, the water is poured directly from the kettle into a mug or cup, where the teabag is allowed to steep directly. Making tea actually ''in'' the kettle, by placing the tea in with the water and then boiling it, would be considered ''very'' bad form (and likely void your warranty).<br />
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;Boiling water in a pot, steeping in a mug<br />
:Identical to the above, except using a pot (or more commonly in the UK, a 'pan') on the stove, rather than a kettle. This is slightly less convenient than using a kettle, since the pan lacks a dedicated spout for pouring and an alert whistle to notify when the water is boiling, but is otherwise functionally identical. Nonetheless, the comic suggests that Brits would take mild offense, considering it to be inferior to using a kettle.<br />
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;Making it in a chalice and ampulla stolen from the Crown Jewels<br />
:A chalice is an ornate type of cup, and an ampulla is a glass vial.<br />
:The {{w|Crown_Jewels_of_the_United_Kingdom|Crown Jewels}} are a set of items belonging the British monarchy, including ceremonial items and clothing using in royal coronations. These items have both major cultural significance, due to their historical connection with the monarchy, and major objective value, as many of them are heavily jeweled and/or made of precious metals. To steal items from these collection for the purpose of tea-making would obviously be both highly criminal and highly disrespectful. The ampulla referenced is used to anoint the monarch with oil during the coronation ceremony and the chalice may refer to a {{w|Eucharist|Communion vessel}}, giving them religious significance as well. In addition, this would be incorrect tea-ware. The precious stone chalice and gold ampulla are doubtful as being of suitable materials for British tea-making (as opposed to using cast iron, stainless steel, silver-plate, robust ceramics and/or fine china, for various stages of the process) and there'd definitely be some complaints that it does not taste like a proper cuppa. To use such objects to make tea would simply {{wiktionary|not be cricket}}. <br />
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;Microwaving a mug<br />
:As mentioned above, heating water in a microwave, for any purpose, considered acceptable and common in the US. To do so to make tea is considered uncommon and borderline heretical in the UK. The reasons for this are difficult to pin down. Some argue that the microwave doesn't allow proper control over the water temperature (which is considered vital for proper tea-making), but this position is questionable at best. Others raise the danger of superheating water which might boil over when the tea bag is added, but this is likely a highly overblown concern. Some people even argue that microwaving changes the quality or composition of the water in some way, but there's very little science to back that up. Most likely, the preparation of tea simply has a sense of tradition and ritual in Britain, and using a microwave feels crass, modern, and completely disconnected from the cultural associations of tea.<br />
:The title text continues with this theme, by reassuring us that the microwaved mug doesn't have a teabag in it (analogous to the 'boiling tea-kettle' version). Instead, it is separately microwaved. In typical Randall fashion, this is pure farce: there is no reason to microwave a teabag. Microwave ovens heat water molecules almost exclusively, and tealeaves (and bag) should normally be dry and would receive little to no heating. The wrongheadedness of this claim does little but provoke a skeptic's doubts about how utterly perverse this colonial variation on tea-making has become.<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
:[A line chart is shown. Above the chart are, from top to bottom, a heading, a subheading, and an arrow pointing right with a label above. On the line there are four labeled tick marks, with the labels written beneath the line. A small curved line is going from each label to below their tick. The first two ticks are close together on the far left side of the graph, the third is approximately in the center, and the fourth is on the far right side of the graph.] <br />
:<big>Ways of Making Tea</big><br />
:By how angry British people get when Americans do them<br />
:More angry<br />
<br />
:Making it in a kettle<br />
:Boiling water in a pot, steeping in a mug<br />
:Making it in a chalice and ampulla stolen from the Crown Jewels<br />
:Microwaving a mug<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
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[[Category:Charts]]<br />
[[Category:Food]]<br />
[[Category:Rankings]]</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3014:_Arizona_Chess&diff=357433Talk:3014: Arizona Chess2024-11-20T15:29:23Z<p>Fephisto: </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 />
I added a basic explanation, how did I do? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.115.129|172.70.115.129]] 14:56, 20 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
:''pat pat'' Good job. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 15:28, 20 November 2024 (UTC)</div>Fephistohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3014:_Arizona_Chess&diff=357432Talk:3014: Arizona Chess2024-11-20T15:28:57Z<p>Fephisto: </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 />
I added a basic explanation, how did I do? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.115.129|172.70.115.129]] 14:56, 20 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
:*pat pat* Good job. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 15:28, 20 November 2024 (UTC)</div>Fephisto