explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

276: Fixed Width

2026-05-09T00:52:55Z

FrenchBread:

{{comic
| number = 276
| date = June 13, 2007
| title = Fixed Width
| image = fixed_width.png
| titletext = I wish I knew how to quit this so I wouldn't have to quit you.
}}

==Explanation==
Fixed width or {{w|monospaced font}} refers to the font used in old teletype terminals and some {{w|instant messaging}} clients (often {{w|Courier (typeface)|Courier}}).

For two text lines to have the same length, it's easier if they are in a monospaced font. For example, the following sentences are the same length in a monospaced font, but since we are using a {{w|proportional font}}, those lengths are not exact (the third line is noticeably wider):
<font face="Times New Roman, Times">
:<rob> last night was nice
:<emily> the best i've had
:<rob> yeah it was AMAZING
</font>

The title is possibly a double reference, both to a monospaced font and to lines of the same length. Initially, by mere chance, Emily's and [[Rob]]'s lines were exactly the same length. This made Rob want to continue the pattern. That Rob feels forced to change what he wants to type to continue the pattern could be a symptom of {{w|obsessive–compulsive disorder}}. Because of the monospaced font, any reply with nineteen characters (including space) would have continued the pattern. For example, "definitely for real" or "i'm in love with you" would have worked, but Rob didn't seem to think about them.

In the title text Rob continues to write a sentence: "I wish I knew how to quit this so I wouldn't have to quit you." He acknowledges that he has a problem, since he cannot quit his desire to keep the fixed width. If he could have quit this desire, then he would not have had to quit Emily. But since he felt he had to keep the fixed width, he involuntarily wrote something that felt for Emily as if he quit her. And he was too late out with his apology for her to read it.

==Transcript==
:[A man, Rob, is sitting at a computer. The text is an IRC-style transcript of a conversation, in a fixed-width font. He is text-messaging a girl he slept with named Emily; their messages read as follows:]
<pre>
<rob> hi
<emily> hey you
<rob> last night was nice
<emily> the best i've had
<rob> yeah it was AMAZING
<emily> ok, i have to ask
<emily> is this for real?
<emily> or is it just sex
<rob> definitely just sex
<emily> holy shit
<emily> are you serious?
<emily> you don't know how much that made
my stomach hurt
<emily> i want to cry
<rob> i'm sorry
<rob> i wanted to type 'i love you'
<rob> but our line lengths were syncing up
<emily> ...
<rob> and it would have broken the pattern
* emily has disconnected
</pre>

==Trivia==
This is the first xkcd comic featuring [[Rob]].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Rob]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Sex]]
[[Category:Social interactions]]
[[Category:Comics with a Spanish translation]]

3242: Aperiodic Table

2026-05-06T20:42:14Z

FrenchBread: Grammar

{{comic
| number = 3242
| date = May 6, 2026
| title = Aperiodic Table
| image = aperiodic_table_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x464px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Scientists occasionally invent alternative periodic table layouts, which is usually a sign that they don't have enough enrichment in their enclosures.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created APERIODICALLY. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
The {{w|Periodic Table of the Elements}} is a diagam often used to show the properties of the elements that make up the world. Its structure represents several properties of the elements- for example, all elements in a single column will have similar chemical properties, and the elements increase in size when reading it left-to-right and top-to-bottom (like a book).

Randall spoofs this concept by creating a similar, but useless, diagram. The original table is "periodic" because it has consistent, repeating patterns that are represented by the horizontal position of the elements- Randall's table is "aperiodic", meaning it has no consistent, repeating patterns. Instead, it is just a line in order by {{w|atomic number}}. To fit in the same space as a normal periodic table, the sequence snakes back and forth and down the page. The diagram is not actually helpful, since it contains next-to-no information other than the atomic number of each element, plus faint colouring on each box to show its category, though due to the dull colours that is also quite inconvenient to use, and it depicts this information in an unnecessarily unhelpful and hard-to-read format.

Chemistry and the periodic table is a common theme on xkcd, with there being many comics featuring humorous variations and "fixes" of it, such as [[2639: Periodic Table Changes]] and [[2975: Classical Periodic Table]].

The title text might be a reference to [[3052: Archive Request]], or maybe some real attempts at inventing alternative representation such as periodic snail that was created by {{w|Otto Theodor Benfey}}.

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

The Aperiodic Table of the Elements

[Rectangles showing the atomic symbols and atomic numbers from H 1 through Og 118 are arranged in a serpentine chain. The color of each rectangle matches the the pattern of a standard periodic table. For example, the noble elements all have a red background.]

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

3153: Hot Water Balloon

2026-02-03T14:33:37Z

FrenchBread: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3153
| date = October 10, 2025
| title = Hot Water Balloon
| image = hot_water_balloon_2x.png
| imagesize = 484x232px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Despite a reputation for safety, the temperatures and surprisingly high pressures make them even more dangerous than the air kind, but the NTSB refuses to investigate accidents because they insist there is no 'transportation' involved.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Hot air balloon}}s are an [[2940|inconvenient and dangerous]] form of transport in which riders float into the sky in a basket suspended from a large balloon filled with hot air. Considering that the majority of passenger-carrying balloons use hot air, the specificity of the term “air balloon” could be taken to imply that there is another variant that uses something hot other than air. ("Hot air" should rather be considered as a compound term, in contrast to, for example, hydrogen or helium-filled balloons.) {{w|Water balloons}} are typically relatively small, sealed (unlike hot air balloons, which are open at the base), full of cold water, and intended to be thrown in a water balloon fight, a common way to have fun and cool down during hot weather. This comic combines the hot air balloon and the water balloon to create a “vehicle” consisting of a basket attached to a large balloon of heated water.

Such a balloon would float in cooler water, but not in air, unless its contents were heated so strongly that the balloon was filled with steam (i.e. water in gaseous form). A balloon filled with superheated steam could work, in principle, and, in fact could theoretically produce more air lift than a hot air balloon, as steam is less dense than air at the same temperature and pressure, but there are many practical reasons why such a balloon would be difficult to build and operate, and multiple safety concerns are involved when working with steam.{{Actual citation needed}}

The title text clarifies that the hot water balloon is not just useless, but actually dangerous, as it has a large container full of hot, pressurized water, naturally leading to accidents. However, the {{w|National Transportation Safety Board}} (NTSB) doesn’t consider the stationary hot water balloon to be a form of {{w|transportation}}, since it doesn't move, and thus they claim any hot water balloon accidents should not fall under their purview. Considering that it is probably a business, hot water accidents would be usually reported to {{w|Occupational Safety and Health Administration}} (OSHA) instead, under criteria for [https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2016-106/pdfs/2016-106.pdf Occupational Exposure to Heat and Hot Environments]. This title text is similar to that of [[3131|3131: Cesium]] which also expressed a goal of causing an agency to investigate outside their usual purview.

This comic could have been inspired by the {{w|Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta}}, which was being held in New Mexico during the time of posting.

==Transcript==
:[A large water balloon is sitting on the ground, with cords connected to a basket nearby with Cueball and Megan inside. The water balloon's color patterns are like a hot air balloon's. Ponytail is poking the balloon with a finger, and a squirrel is on the ground looking at the basket.]
:[There are squiggly heat lines ({{w|The_Lexicon_of_Comicana#Examples|indotherms}}) emanating from the balloon, as well as movement lines ({{w|The_Lexicon_of_Comicana#Examples|agitrons}}) above the balloon. Above them it says:]
:bloop bloop

:[Caption below panel:]
:Hot water balloon rides turn out to be significantly less romantic than the air kind.
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]