explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1472: Geography

2015-01-13T22:58:31Z

Garemoko:

Anybody notice that he drew an isthmus but didn't label it? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.94|108.162.221.94]] 05:49, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

Does Randall play Dwarf Fortress? Because the perfect map to build your fort on looks about like this. Volcano near the sea is especially neat luxury. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.121|141.101.80.121]] 06:57, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

:[[1223: Dwarf Fortress]] suggests he does. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 09:00, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

Would be nice if there could be an example of the sort of map that Randall is referring to from a textbook for people who've never seen them or don't remember. {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.91}}
Yeah, shame that there isn't one in the comic itself... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.109|108.162.216.109]] 12:58, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

I'd be interested to hear where in the world people claim matches this best. Boston...? I ain't buying that one. {{unsigned ip|108.162.225.44}}
:Southern California. We don't have glaciers. But we do have alpine permafrost. We also have no active volcanoes. Otherwise this is essentially my house on the map. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.91|173.245.48.91]] 20:00, 13 January 2015 (UTC) BLuDgeons

Examples like Randall was talking about that I found on Google images.
[http://www.aparisgarcia.net/advwebdesign/LandandWaterFeaturesmap.jpg 1]
[https://ts-cdn-teachstarterptyl.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/TeachingResources_GeographicFeatures_Poster_US.jpg 2]
These appear to be two pages of the same picture: [http://secageography.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/8/8/24881589/2206129_orig.jpg 3] [http://secageography.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/8/8/24881589/9094980_orig.jpg 4]
I'm not sure if they're good enough quality to add to the main article, but if someone thinks they are, feel free. For someone who's never seen them before, they're fairly common in elementary school social studies or geography textbooks; I remember seeing them multiple times in mine. [[User:Tomari7|Tomari7]] ([[User talk:Tomari7|talk]]) 11:10, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

:I like the second one, if only for the iceberg sitting at the bottom. [[User:Okofish|Okofish]] ([[User talk:Okofish|talk]]) 09:30, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

Also, no Valley or Fjord. Damn insensitve tropical geography.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.98|108.162.254.98]] 11:21, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

The Region around Vancouver has a lot of the items in the picture. (Sandy) deserts and Mesas are the only missing. {{unsigned ip|141.101.64.137}}

Anyone else noticing the distinct lack of any buildings? I'd call that a reason not to live there...{{unsigned ip|108.162.216.109}}
:...well, there's My House.;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.191|141.101.98.191]] 13:55, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

Or maybe a good reason TO live there! [[User:Mwburden|mwburden]] ([[User talk:Mwburden|talk]]) 14:02, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

Please delete these useless musings
:Some people, when seeing paintings or pictures of landscapes, tend to dream away thinking ‘Imagine I lived there…’ This may happen even (or perhaps especially) to school children looking at schematic depictions with educational purposes, as in this case one that summarizes as many as possible geographic features on a limited area.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.201|108.162.221.201]] 16:27, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

;Penninsula: intentional?

Since I can hardly imagine Randall doesn't know how
it's written, the n too much may be a subtle gag.
(Just think of what happens in the opposite case ;-){{unsigned ip|108.162.230.221}}
:I think it's a misspelling. However, the Penninsula would certainly be in Pennsylvania. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.201|108.162.221.201]] 14:41, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

''"Randall notes that he would least like to live in the farm typically depicted in the background of such diagrams [how tornadoes form]. This is likely because the farm is depicted as being on a vast, featureless stretch of flat prairie, the opposite of the rich landscape in the comic."''

Well, perhaps.... Or perhaps it's because tornadoes keep forming there!! --[[User:Ab78|Ab78]] ([[User talk:Ab78|talk]]) 08:57, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

I think the point is that in the book the farm is very close to the actual Tornado that is there right now and about to hit said farm, quick get into the basement!, not that he objects to the type of area where tornadoes might form. [[User:Garemoko|Garemoko]] ([[User talk:Garemoko|talk]]) 22:58, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

No one has yet mentioned how conveniently named everything in this locality is. The forest is named "Forest" and so on. Someone moving there would have no difficulty when asking for directions! [[User:Jim E|Jim E]] ([[User talk:Jim E|talk]]) 17:23, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

1472: Geography

2015-01-13T13:24:58Z

Garemoko: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1472
| date = January 12, 2015
| title = Geography
| image = geography.png
| titletext = The place I'd least like to live is the farm in the background of those diagrams showing how tornadoes form.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic is a map showing examples of {{w|geographical feature}}s as they would be presented in a {{w|geography}} textbook. May be based on the first page of the book [http://nicksharratt.com/books/other_authors/you_choose.html You Choose] which displays a map of locations similar in style to the one used in the comic and asks the reader "If you could go anywhere, where would you go?".

[[Randall]] notes that he would like to live in the middle of this region. These maps include an unusual density of different land forms, leading to an interesting environment in which to live. In the real world, these geographical features might take up far more space, and the geologic forces that shape them might create far different patterns than those shown. This kind of {{w|Neverland}} of geographical feature would offer a range of outdoor activities and landscapes that would make it a very nice place to live (as long as the volcano does not erupt <strike>too violently</strike> at all).

Some of the geographic features do have a (very) loose similarity to the area around {{w|Boston}}, where Randall lives. Also near Boston is one geographical feature that Randall has included in this map but has refrained from labeling, the {{w|isthmus}} between the peninsula and the forest.

On the other hand, the map actually looks quite a bit like the area around southwestern {{w|Washington (State)|Washington}} and northwestern {{w|Oregon}}, with the reader facing south so the {{w|High Desert (Oregon)|high desert}} is on the upper left. The volcano could be {{w|Mount Rainier|Rainier}} or {{w|Mount St. Helens|St. Helens}}. Real-world outdoor enthusiasts do indeed appreciate the Neverlandish landscape. (Having little Spanish influence, locals would refer to a "mesa" as a {{w|butte}}.)

The title text discusses a different type of diagram usually found in geography textbooks, the one [http://scied.ucar.edu/sites/default/files/images/large_image_for_image_content/tornado_fmn_lg_0.gif showing the mechanism of tornado formation]. Randall notes that he would least like to live in the farm typically depicted in the background of such diagrams. This is likely because the farm is depicted as being on a vast, featureless stretch of flat prairie, the opposite of the rich landscape in the comic. The monotonous landscape would reflect that of {{w|Tornado Alley}}, an area of the central United States where a large number of tornadoes form, and which makes up a large portion of the {{w|Great Plains}}. His dislike for this type of area may also simply be due to the damage created when a tornado hits. (That said, chances of a ''direct'' tornado hit on any given house are slim compared to simply the risk of property damage. Living near an active volcano may be much more dangerous than living in Tornado Alley.)

==Transcript==
:[A map shows the various land forms listed, from top and clockwise:]
:{{w|Mountains}}
:{{w|Sea}}
:{{w|Plain}}
:{{w|Island}}
:{{w|River delta|Delta}}
:{{w|Strait}}
:{{w|River}}
:{{w|Bay}}
:{{w|Lagoon}}
:{{w|Penninsula}}
:{{w|Forest}}
:{{w|Mesa}}
:{{w|Hills}}
:{{w|Volcano}}
:{{w|Lake}}
:{{w|Glacier}}
:{{w|Desert}}

:[In the middle of these, between the lake and the lagoon there is a dot with an arrow pointing it out. The arrow is labeled:]
:My house

:[Caption below:]
:If I could live anywhere, I would choose
:the example map from geography books
:that explains what everything is called.

==Trivia==
*Randall has misspelled ''peninsula'' with an extra "n" as pe'''nn'''insula.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:Maps]]

1472: Geography

2015-01-13T13:23:38Z

Garemoko: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1472
| date = January 12, 2015
| title = Geography
| image = geography.png
| titletext = The place I'd least like to live is the farm in the background of those diagrams showing how tornadoes form.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic is a map showing examples of {{w|geographical feature}}s as they would be presented in a {{w|geography}} textbook. May be based on the first page of the book [You Choose](http://nicksharratt.com/books/other_authors/you_choose.html) which displays a map of locations similar in style to the one used in the comic and asks the read "If you could go anywhere, where would you go?".

[[Randall]] notes that he would like to live in the middle of this region. These maps include an unusual density of different land forms, leading to an interesting environment in which to live. In the real world, these geographical features might take up far more space, and the geologic forces that shape them might create far different patterns than those shown. This kind of {{w|Neverland}} of geographical feature would offer a range of outdoor activities and landscapes that would make it a very nice place to live (as long as the volcano does not erupt <strike>too violently</strike> at all).

Some of the geographic features do have a (very) loose similarity to the area around {{w|Boston}}, where Randall lives. Also near Boston is one geographical feature that Randall has included in this map but has refrained from labeling, the {{w|isthmus}} between the peninsula and the forest.

On the other hand, the map actually looks quite a bit like the area around southwestern {{w|Washington (State)|Washington}} and northwestern {{w|Oregon}}, with the reader facing south so the {{w|High Desert (Oregon)|high desert}} is on the upper left. The volcano could be {{w|Mount Rainier|Rainier}} or {{w|Mount St. Helens|St. Helens}}. Real-world outdoor enthusiasts do indeed appreciate the Neverlandish landscape. (Having little Spanish influence, locals would refer to a "mesa" as a {{w|butte}}.)

The title text discusses a different type of diagram usually found in geography textbooks, the one [http://scied.ucar.edu/sites/default/files/images/large_image_for_image_content/tornado_fmn_lg_0.gif showing the mechanism of tornado formation]. Randall notes that he would least like to live in the farm typically depicted in the background of such diagrams. This is likely because the farm is depicted as being on a vast, featureless stretch of flat prairie, the opposite of the rich landscape in the comic. The monotonous landscape would reflect that of {{w|Tornado Alley}}, an area of the central United States where a large number of tornadoes form, and which makes up a large portion of the {{w|Great Plains}}. His dislike for this type of area may also simply be due to the damage created when a tornado hits. (That said, chances of a ''direct'' tornado hit on any given house are slim compared to simply the risk of property damage. Living near an active volcano may be much more dangerous than living in Tornado Alley.)

==Transcript==
:[A map shows the various land forms listed, from top and clockwise:]
:{{w|Mountains}}
:{{w|Sea}}
:{{w|Plain}}
:{{w|Island}}
:{{w|River delta|Delta}}
:{{w|Strait}}
:{{w|River}}
:{{w|Bay}}
:{{w|Lagoon}}
:{{w|Penninsula}}
:{{w|Forest}}
:{{w|Mesa}}
:{{w|Hills}}
:{{w|Volcano}}
:{{w|Lake}}
:{{w|Glacier}}
:{{w|Desert}}

:[In the middle of these, between the lake and the lagoon there is a dot with an arrow pointing it out. The arrow is labeled:]
:My house

:[Caption below:]
:If I could live anywhere, I would choose
:the example map from geography books
:that explains what everything is called.

==Trivia==
*Randall has misspelled ''peninsula'' with an extra "n" as pe'''nn'''insula.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:Maps]]