explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3193: Sailing Rigs

2026-01-15T21:14:16Z

Gbisaga: /* The Rigs */ Added Sunfish link

{{comic
| number = 3193
| date = January 12, 2026
| title = Sailing Rigs
| image = sailing_rigs_2x.png
| imagesize = 508x822px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I wanted to make the world's fastest yawl, so I made the aft sail bigger, but apparently that means it's not a yawl anymore! It's a real ketch-22.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by the birds flying in my kite. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This comic shows the side profiles of a variety of different sailing boat/ship rigs, starting with six real ones, but then moving mostly into ones imagined by [[Randall]], with varying levels of absurdity. The [[#The Rigs|table below]] explains each type depicted.

The title text is a pun on {{w|Catch-22 (logic)|Catch-22}}, a term taken from the {{w|Catch-22|novel of the same name}} for a situation where success is impossible because it requires meeting self-contradictory conditions. For example, the novel introduces the term for a pilot who requests mental evaluation for insanity, hoping to be found not sane enough to fly and thereby escape dangerous missions, but who demonstrates his own sanity by creating the request and thus cannot be declared insane. Per the main panel, a ketch is similar to a yawl but has a larger aft sail, so increasing the aft sail of a yawl effectively turns the yawl into a ketch, effectively making it impossible to build a faster yawl. (This is not technically true, as the distinction between a {{w|yawl}} and {{w|ketch}} is based on whether the aft sail is mounted forward or aft of the rudder post, although a yawl with a large aft sail [https://www.woodenboatstore.com/products/hand-reef-and-steer-2nd-edition would probably be difficult to control.])

==The Rigs==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Type
!Image
!Real?
!Description 
!Explanation 
|-
|{{w|Lateen}}
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Lateen.png|x75px]]
|{{Yes}}
|A single triangular sail.
|The triangular sail is affixed to a long yard or crossbar, mounted at its middle to the top of the mast and angled to extend aft far above the mast and forward down nearly to the deck. The sail, its free corner secured near the stern, is capable of taking the wind on either side, and, by enabling the vessel to tack into the wind, the [https://www.britannica.com/technology/lateen-sail lateen] immensely increases the potential of the sailing ship.  The best known Lateen sail boat is also the {{W|Sunfish_(sailboat)|most popular fiberglass boat}}, the Sunfish.
|-
|{{W|Bermuda rig|Bermuda rigged sloop}}
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Bermuda.png|x86px]]
|{{Yes}}
|A front and rear triangular sail share a mast.
|A {{w|sloop}} has one mast, typically with two sails mounted on the mast — one ahead and one behind.
|-
|{{w|Ketch}}
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Ketch.png|x101px]]
|{{Yes}}
|A sailboat with two masts, where the main mast is taller than the mizzen (or aft mast), and the mizzen is forward of the rudder post
|Similar to a yawl (below), but with the mizzen (aft) mast mounted forward of the rudder post and its sail typically larger.
|-
|{{w|Gaff rig|Gaff rigged sloop}}
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Gaff Sloop.png|x87px]]
|{{Yes}}
|A front triangular sail shares a mast with a rear quadrilateral sail.
|A sloop is a sailboat with one mast, typically with two sails mounted on it — one ahead and one behind. A [https://nauticalknowhow.mysailingcourse.com/glossary/gaff-rig/ gaff rig] is a sailing rig where one sail is four-sided and controlled by a spar (the gaff) at its top, which is hoisted at an angle to the mast.
|-
|{{w|Yawl}}
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Yawl.png|x100px]]
|{{Yes}}
|Two triangular sails share a front mast, and a much smaller aft mast holds a small aft sail.
|A yawl is sailboat with two masts, where the main mast has two sails (one in front of the mast and one behind, known as {{w|Fore-and-aft rig|fore-and-aft rigging}}), and the mizzen (aft) mast is mounted aft of the rudder post, leading the mizzen sail to typically be small. Similar to a ketch.
|-
|{{w|Schooner}}
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Schooner.png|x102px]]
|{{Yes}}
|A sailboat with two or more masts, where all have {{w|Fore-and-aft rig|fore-and-aft rigging}}, and where the foremast is typically smaller than the main mast
|-
|Ketch-rigged gaff
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Ketch Gaff.png|x98px]]
|{{No}}
|Resembles a gaff, with the aft sail reduced and two triangular sails mounted above. The resulting shape resembles a vertical ketch.
|The first fictional rig. It might be capable of functioning like a sloop, but its rigging would be more complicated and it is likely less efficient at catching the wind.
|-
|Kloop-rigged sketch
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Kloop.png|x100px]]
|{{No}}
|Four or five sails mounted in a nonsensical configuration, with elements from the schooner, ketch, and gaff
| A mixture of the names of {{w|ketch}} and {{w|sloop}}, poking fun at the unfamiliar and odd-sounding names of some rigs. Adding to the absurdity, the kloop-rigged sketch is neither a sloop nor a ketch. However it is technically a {{w|Sketch (drawing)|sketch}}, as "sketch" can mean "drawing"
|-
|Bunkbed rig
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 100% more boat.png|x118px]]
|{{No}}
|A gaff-rigged sloop mounted on top of a second hull.
|The name refers to a {{w|bunkbed}}, where one bed is mounted directly above another. Bunk-style sleeping arrangements are sometimes used on boats for reasons of space efficiency. It applies this idea to the whole ship, mounting one hull directly above another. While {{w|Multihull|boats with multiple hulls}} do exist, these are commonly mounted side-by-side to guarantee stability. Mounting one hull above another, however, is a design aspect used in the '{{w|small-waterplane-area twin hull}}' concept, usually ''along with'' side-by-side multihulling. It's possible that this 'bunk hulled' design normally floats with the upper hull astride the water-level, though needing a greater depth of water for the 'keel hull', but that {{w|hydrofoil|at speed}} (and/or by carefully pumping ballast water out of the two hulls, and increasing overall buoyancy) it can rise up to present only the thin connectors to the sea surface. Though the stability of such a system, in an otherwise singular bunk-hull, would seem to be a problem when running with any amount of side-wind, {{w|Foilboard|in principle}} it seems more than managable with the right design and use.
Notably, this ship's ''rigging'' is mundane; the connection between hulls seems to be structural. It may be more accurate to refer to it as a bunkbed ''hull''.
|-
|Flettner rig
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Flettner.png|x94px]]
|{{Yes}}, though not typically called a rig
|The rectangular outline of a cylinder with motion lines around it, indicating a {{w|Flettner rotor}}
|A Flettner rotor is a right circular cylinder with disc end plates which is spun along its long axis. As air passes across it the {{w|Magnus effect}} causes an aerodynamic lift force to be generated in the direction perpendicular to both the long axis and the direction of airflow. In a {{w|rotor ship}}, the rotors stand vertically and lift is generated at right angles to the wind, to drive the ship forwards.

Flettner rotors were previously mentioned in [[3119]]
|-
|Oops, all spinnakers
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Spinnakers.png|x78px]]
|{{No}}
|Three masts each with a sail billowing in front
|A {{w|spinnaker}} is a real type of sail, where a boat is propelled by a large sail directly pulled by the wind, similar in principle to a parachute. However, "Oops, all spinnakers" is not real, as spinnakers are only practical for smaller craft, and if multiple spinnakers are mounted in a row the earlier ones may disrupt the airflow to the later ones. It does not appear that there are any real boats propelled by more than one spinnaker.
The name of the rig is a reference to the {{w|Cap'n Crunch}} cereal type that became a meme, [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/oops-all-berries-box-parodies ''Oops! All Berries''], which has also been referenced in [[2256]] and [[2719]].
|-
|Keel rig
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Keel.png|x98px]]
|{{No}}
|Three sails in a ketch arrangement, but mounted to the keel, which would typically put the ''sails underwater''.
|The book {{w|Heaven (Stewart and Cohen novel)|''Heaven''}}, by Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen, features an aquatic protagonist who is introduced as sailing a surface craft with underwater 'sails' (and above-water 'keel'), due to the switched nature of his usual environment.
|-
|Kite rig
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Kite.png|x109px]]
|{{Maybe|Kind of}}
|All sails are replaced by two groups of kites, each tied to the mast with their own independent line.
|A {{w|kite rig}} is a real thing, where a kite is deployed from a boat or ship to catch the wind and pull the vessel along. This rigging is used in various types of vessel, most commonly {{w|kite surfing}}, but occasionally other vessels too, up to [https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/30/travel/airseas-giant-kites-ships-slash-carbon-emissions-scn-climate-spc trials with cargo ships].
However, the real kite riggings typically use one large kite optimised for catching the wind, rather than many small kites optimised for flying (as depicted) which would likely get tangled and not pull much on the ship.
|-
|Longsail rig
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Longsail.png|x93px]]
|{{Maybe|Kind of}}
|A Bermuda rigged sloop with the aft sail extending ~5 times as far back, well beyond the end of the hull.
|While not technically impossible, such a long sail would likely be susceptible to damage from the wind, as well as potentially making it hard to control the boat.
This is reminiscent of the Sandbagger sloops of the mid- to late-1800s. The foresail was on a very long bowsprit and the boom extended past the stern by up to the length of the boat.

This design could be a reference to "{{w|Cargo bike#Longtail bicycle|long-tail bikes}}", a type of cargo bicycle useful for hauling heavy or voluminous charges at the cost of higher weight and reduced maneuverability.
|-
|Deckhand obliterator
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Deckhand Obliterator.png|x86px]]
|{{No}}
|All sails replaced by an anchor that swings from the mast on a chain.
|Any deckhands (crew) on the deck could be knocked off or fatally hurt if the anchor passes through their space and collides with them. While most captains would consider this counterproductive, it might be effective at its stated purpose.
There is a risk that the anchor might damage the mast in a collision or get wrapped around it. It would most likely be of little use as propulsion.
|-
|Offset rig
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Offset.png|x108px]]
|{{No}}
|Gaff rigged sloop sails are mounted on a mast that is offset (forward) from the hull via an underwater extension of the keel.
|The extreme mechanical advantage of the sail, potentially combined with the uneven weight, would make this rigging hard if not impossible to control. 
There are in fact [https://junkrigassociation.org/technical_forum/470838 sail configurations] called [https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/gaffs-balanced-lugs-hoyt-offset-rig-etc.53504/ offset rigs] but they aren't like the one shown here.
|-
|Mastless rig
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Mastless.png|x59px]]
|{{Maybe|Kind of}}
|A single sail is attached directly to the hull of the boat, without any mast to give it form.
|As depicted, the sail would provide little to no useful propulsion, as it would not be high enough to effectively catch the wind, and would, in any case, flap unpredictably.
However, ships do exist without masts, such as ships not powered by wind or, more rarely, inflatable sails (e.g. [http://inflatedwingsails.com/en/concept/ this concept]), which use air, rather than a mast, for rigidity. While not intentional, it is conceivable that the drawing depicts an inflatable sail in its deflated state.
|-
|Unclassifiable chaos rig
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Unclassifiable Chaos.png|x86px]]
|{{Maybe|Arguably}}
|Includes elements of the schooner, yawl, lateen, and possibly others, including a sail mounted in an unusual position beneath the prow.
|While this specific rig is almost certainly fictional, there are many ways to rig a ship, some of which are chaotic and difficult to classify.
|}

==Transcript==
:[The comic shows five rows of silhouettes of different sail boats as seen from the side. In total 18 different boats are shown, three rows with four each and three in each of the two bottom rows. Each boat has a different sailing rig. All boats are oriented to the left of the comic, and beneath each boat there is a label. At the top of the panel there is a large heading:]
:<big>Common Sailing Rigs</big>

:[Here follows a list of the 18 boats with a description and then their label:]

:[A single triangular sail.]
:Lateen

:[A front and rear triangular sail share a mast.]
:Bermuda rigged sloop

:[Two triangular sails as above, with an additional triangular sail on a second rear mast.]
:Ketch

:[Front triangular sail shares mast with rear quadrilateral sail.]
:Gaff rigged sloop

:[Two triangular sails share front mast and a much smaller aft mast holds a small aft.]
:Yawl

:[Two triangular front sails share forward mast with quadrilateral center sail. An aft mast supports a quadrilateral aft sail.]
:Schooner

:[Resembles a gaff, with the aft sail reduced and two triangular sails mounted above. The resulting shape resembles a vertical ketch.]
:Ketch-rigged gaff

:[Includes elements of ketch and sloop.]
:Kloop-rigged sketch

:[A gaff-rigged sloop is mounted on top of a second hull.]
:Bunkbed rig

:[The rectangular outline of a cylinder with motion lines around it.]
:Flettner rig

:[Three masts each with a sail only attached to the top.]
:Oops, all spinnakers

:[Three sails in a ketch arrangement, but mounted to the keel.]
:Keel rig

:[All sails are replaced by two groups of kites, each tied to the mast with an independent line.]
:Kite rig

:[Bermuda rigged sloop with the aft sail extending ~5 times as far back, well beyond the end of the hull.]
:Longsail rig

:[All sails replaced by an anchor that swings around the mast on a chain, similar to tetherball.]
:Deckhand obliterator

:[Gaff rigged sloop sails are mounted on a mast that is offset (forward) from the hull via an underwater extension of the keel.]
:Offset rig

:[A single sail is attached where the mast would normally be mounted, flapping around freely.]
:Mastless rig

:[Includes elements of the schooner, yawl, lateen, and possibly others.]
:Unclassifiable chaos rig

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Sailboats]]
[[Category:Kites]]
[[Category:Puns]]

3167: Car Size

2025-11-17T19:41:34Z

Gbisaga: Clubs

{{comic
| number = 3167
| date = November 12, 2025
| title = Car Size
| image = car_size_2x.png
| imagesize = 348x754px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'They really shouldn't let those small cars drive in traffic. I worry I'm going to kill someone if I hit one! They should have to drive on the sidewalk, safely out of the way.'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created BY A CAR WITH AN ICBM. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This comic demonstrates one reason why vehicles have gotten progressively larger and more powerful, due to a type of {{w|arms race}} between drivers. When vehicles of different sizes share the road, passengers in the smaller ones will usually be more at risk in collisions, since the body construction and lower inertia generally provide less protection. So, for safety reasons, people have an incentive to buy larger cars. According to the comic, this causes a cycle of cars for increasingly selfish owners, which reaches a point of absurdity due to the cost and mass of giant cars, implying a never-ending vicious cycle.

In the "Soon" panel, Randall has extrapolated this to adding spiked armor and weaponry to large cars, and other drivers will need to outdo this to compete on the road. This scenario is reminiscent of the vehicles from the {{w|Mad Max}} franchise, and of the [https://wackyraces.fandom.com/wiki/The_Slag_Brothers Slag Brothers] from Wacky Races. Unfortunately, the whirling spike club scenario is problematic (not just in terms of injury or death but even in the happy path): if all the cars on the road have whirling spike clubs, as soon as your car comes in contact, your club will be destroyed or at least damaged. This will make you prey for the cars who have not yet been in an accident.

The title text views this from the opposite perspective. The owner of a large car is worried that they'll kill people in small cars, so believes that small car drivers shouldn't drive on the road at all and should be restricted to the sidewalk for their own safety. Driving the smallest cars in pedestrian spaces is obviously absurd, but follows the prior trend of separating bikes from car traffic 'for cyclists' safety' and often having them share pedestrian spaces due to 'practical' constraints. While this reduces conflicts between cyclists and drivers of motor vehicles, it results in cyclists and pedestrians becoming an inconvenience and danger to each other instead. In the car-centric view, it is not worth creating separate infrastructure for bicycles and similar small vehicles, so the title text's extension of the trend is to classify small cars as bike-like vehicles, even though this endangers both smaller vehicles and pedestrians.

Biking on sidewalks is illegal in some jurisdictions, with a greater number banning small powered vehicles like e-bikes. Where either kind of bike is allowed, laws generally require that the rider take precautions like riding at reasonable speeds when near pedestrians, alerting pedestrians when passing, and yielding to pedestrians when needed. Small, low-speed carts do routinely share some larger pedestrian spaces, such as golf courses and large airports, but even these would have trouble safely passing on regular sidewalks. Smaller single-occupant electric vehicles (mobility scooters) frequently share pedestrian spaces, but their limited speeds reduce the frequency and potential severity of impacts.

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

:[The comic is made up of four panels, each featuring Cueball talking to Megan or vice versa, both of them surrounded by progressively larger vehicles.]
:[Panel one is labeled "100 years ago." Cueball and Megan are standing with a bicycle to the left of them and an old-fashioned car to their right.]
:Cueball: It's too dangerous riding a bike with these cars around. I should get a car, too.

:[Panel two is labeled "50 years ago." Cueball and Megan are standing between a small hatchback (right) and a slightly larger sedan (left).]
:Megan: Small cars are less safe in collisions with larger vehicles, so I should get a bigger one.

:[Panel three is labeled "Today." Cueball and Megan are standing between a large SUV (left) and an even larger SUV (right).]
:Cueball: Everyone has huge SUVs now. If I don't get the biggest one, I'm putting my family at risk.

:[Panel four is labeled "Soon." Cueball and Megan are standing to the left of a massive SUV with metal plates bolted to its side, spiked panels attached to the front and back, and two giant spiked clubs hanging from a rotor on top of the car. Another massive spiked club is visible coming from the left of the panel, presumably attached to a similar car. Megan has both arms on her side.]
:Megan: If I don't install more whirling spike clubs, I'll be destroyed by all the other drivers who...

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

Talk:3130: Predicament

2025-08-19T19:48:57Z

Gbisaga: deep dive time

Those are some pretty dang tall stilts ... oh yeah, and F1RST P0ST! [[User:RadiantRainwing|RadiantRainwing]] ([[User talk:RadiantRainwing|talk]]) 20:59, 18 August 2025 (UTC)

There's a not entirely tenuous link with [[1660: Captain Speaking]], methinks... [[Special:Contributions/92.23.2.228|92.23.2.228]] 21:31, 18 August 2025 (UTC)

Is unlocking the phone with stilts even possible? Aren't phone touchscreens based on electrical conductivity? What are these stilts made of? [[Special:Contributions/160.39.41.182|160.39.41.182]] 21:33, 18 August 2025 (UTC)
:Ah, I just added a paragraph about that! Great minds think alike/fools never differ...
:Probably capacitative (which is what I linked), and indeed I was thinking that wooden/other-structural-material wouldn't get any response unless you put a pad of special material (such as seen on the tips of "iPhone gloves") that emulates the electrical qualities of bare skin. Which is probably not what you usually get, there, even if they're given "little rubber boots/soles" for grip purposes. [[Special:Contributions/92.23.2.228|92.23.2.228]] 21:44, 18 August 2025 (UTC)

So... is there a special procedure for getting off stilts? If so, it should be mentioned in the explanation. [[Special:Contributions/2A01:36D:104:47E3:7D15:7369:B5C7:C18D|2A01:36D:104:47E3:7D15:7369:B5C7:C18D]] 22:56, 18 August 2025 (UTC)
:Gravity being what it is, I always found it easier to get down than to stay up. {{unsigned ip|98.5.115.49|23:39, 18 August 2025 (UTC)}}
::I think the trick is getting down without hurting yourself. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 04:59, 19 August 2025 (UTC)
:You don’t get down from stilts, you get down from an elephant! [[Special:Contributions/2607:FB90:8B0C:94F1:95A5:B4D0:D3A3:4420|2607:FB90:8B0C:94F1:95A5:B4D0:D3A3:4420]] 06:54, 19 August 2025 (UTC)
::I'm sure you could get down from {{w|stilt}}s if you really wanted to. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 09:48, 19 August 2025 (UTC)
::Heh. Nice! ("You don't get down from an elephant, you get down from a duck.") [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 14:34, 19 August 2025 (UTC)

Why did he make this comic? Is he running out of ideas? [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 15:23, 19 August 2025 (UTC)
:Because it was an idea that amused him? Why did he make any of the previous 3129? [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 16:10, 19 August 2025 (UTC)
:Obviously because he is currently stuck on stilts and hopes to be able to check this website for ideas on how to get off of them. [[User:Tharkon|Tharkon]] ([[User talk:Tharkon|talk]]) 18:02, 19 August 2025 (UTC)
:I rather like this comic. It led me into a deep dive with Copilot about how stilt walkers stay safe. Next time I see a parade with stilts, I'm going to watch for the spotters on the ground. [[User:Gbisaga|Gbisaga]] ([[User talk:Gbisaga|talk]]) 19:48, 19 August 2025 (UTC)

Talk:3124: Grounded

2025-08-07T19:01:38Z

Gbisaga: AI-generated

I don't get the joke at all {{unsigned ip|2601:646:9d00:4bb8:39c8:4f9d:f1c0:978f|20:49, 4 August 2025 (UTC)}}
:The idea is to simply drive the plane on the ground to the destination. {{unsigned ip|129.2.89.185|21:02, 4 August 2025 (UTC)}}
::Ok, should we mention this is because they mention the taxing speed {{unsigned ip|2601:646:9d00:4bb8:39c8:4f9d:f1c0:978f|21:11, 4 August 2025 (UTC)}}
:::Taxiing speed, not taxing speed. The pilots are not mulling how quickly they can file their 1040s. [[Special:Contributions/136.226.19.75|136.226.19.75]] 21:23, 4 August 2025 (UTC)

Even if a plane could taxi at around 60 MPH (car highway speed), 2 hours is only 120 miles. Not many flights on commercial jets are so short. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 21:37, 4 August 2025 (UTC)

I would hope that Randall was aware of John Finnemore's radio sitcom "Cabin Pressure", as a very compatible sense of intelligent humour (with the 'u', 'cos British!). Though maybe not ('cos British radio, might be too fringe a taste), and so the fact that one of the episodes has a somewhat similar plotpoint to it (not saying which, and how, as anyone who'd like to start listening might just appreciate not knowing "this is the one where..." before it happens) probably isn't worth fully analysing (with an 's', 'cos British! :p ) in the explanation. But just mentioning it here, in passing, given that it reminds me of it.
 ...also, as well as bridge heights, I hope they have a good idea about carriageway widths, for the undercarriage, and road furniture (like lampposts/roadsigns, and telegraph/powerline poles) ''plus'' structures (buildings, and bridge-spans, and even groundworks like cuttings through an overlying grade) , for the wings. Though maybe a flight(/taxi) between two places in a relatively undeveloped landscape, having just wide surfaced roads and nothing more immediately prominent than relatively sliceable giant saguaro cactii. Which I can imagine (for the sake of the joke) in the US, but would probably rule out absolutely every possible road route here in the Uk, for any aircraft bigger than a microlight. (Or an autogyro, with the rotors tied front/back, or doing a Mad Max 2 because of prior damage, but that was also in feature-sparse desert...) [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.251|82.132.244.251]] 22:22, 4 August 2025 (UTC)
:: I'm pretty sure the episode of Cabin Pressure involved taxing an aircraft down a desert road in the Sahara, so very few obstructions to worry about. Definitely very few, if any, roads it would work in the UK. [[Special:Contributions/2A01:4B00:BB19:1900:5850:2A83:2F71:20F0|2A01:4B00:BB19:1900:5850:2A83:2F71:20F0]] 09:09, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

American Airlines is already making their flights from Chicago O'Hare and Philadelphia do this! On busses. Yes, busses at the airport boarding gates. They're calling it American [https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/experience/landline.jsp Landline]. [[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 22:48, 4 August 2025 (UTC)
:KLM does this as well, with [https://www.klm.nl/information/ticket-services/air-rail trains] between Brussels (ZYR) and Antwerp (ZYR) and Schiphol Airport (AMS). However, it is a "normal" Eurostar (formerly Thalys) train journey on your flight ticket: you check in your luggage between the train and flight and you're mixed with "normal" train passengers. Annoyingly, you can not count this trip towards your Eurostar miles. There used to be a train service from Brussels Central to Zaventem Airport where you checked in at Brussels Central. [[User:IIVQ|IIVQ]] ([[User talk:IIVQ|talk]]) 07:24, 5 August 2025 (UTC)
:: Antwerp is ZWE 😉 --[[User:Coconut Galaxy|Coconut Galaxy]] ([[User talk:Coconut Galaxy|talk]]) 09:33, 5 August 2025 (UTC)

I'm reminded of Douglas Adams's comments on the l2th radio episode of HHGttG, about how delays in getting a flight off the ground (for reasons that were almost entirely pointless) made it slower than making the trip by train would have been, in addition to the plane travel being less comfortable and less convenient. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 23:01, 4 August 2025 (UTC)
: All the more telling, seeing as the Late Great Douglas Adams later died of complications caused by deep vein thrombosis after a flight. [[Special:Contributions/124.150.67.115|124.150.67.115]] 22:45, 5 August 2025 (UTC)

Continuing on the ground is occasionally done when a flight is diverted to somewhere reasonably close (a few 100km). Of course, they don't take the plane, they get some buses or hand out some train tickets. --[[User:Coconut Galaxy|Coconut Galaxy]] ([[User talk:Coconut Galaxy|talk]]) 09:33, 5 August 2025 (UTC)

Massachusetts RMV frowns at the idea of allowing anything bigger than a roller skate on Memorial Drive or Storrow Drive. Stuck trucks at the nine-foot zero inches MIT bridge (oops, HARVARD Bridge) are a regular feature of Boston driving. Airplane wouldn't fit through the Boston motorway tunnels, either. Randall will have to use alternate transport. Perhaps the airplane would fit inside a Tardis? [[Special:Contributions/174.130.100.64|174.130.100.64]] 12:30, 5 August 2025 (UTC)
:Huh? This seems…not even wrong? The Mass RMV doesn't have jurisdiction over Memorial Drive or Storrow Drive. Both are DCR roadway, not MassDOT/MassHighway, but even if they were normal state or local roads, the Mass RMV wouldn't have authority? And it's…not even right?…because bicycles are not prohibited from Memorial Drive, although many people think it's pretty inadvisible (probably worse on Storrow, though). Maybe I'm misunderstanding, though, since obviously cars are bigger than rollerskates. So perhaps the intention was to comment on trucks and planes being disallowed. Still, there are Massachusetts airports that are not near these two DCR roadways that seem a much better fit for the desired transit. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 15:07, 6 August 2025 (UTC)

Is this still an incomplete summary {{unsigned|Mathmaster|23:37, 5 August 2025 (UTC)}}
:Is this an incomplete answer? [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 15:56, 6 August 2025 (UTC)

I find the idea that this is Logan Airport a little presumptuous. Surely there are some airports in the Midwest where you could, theoretically, taxi from one to the other without encountering any major obstacles? --[[User:Coconut Galaxy|Coconut Galaxy]] ([[User talk:Coconut Galaxy|talk]]) 07:33, 6 August 2025 (UTC)

The whole bullet list under "motives and feasibility" seems very out of place, and the sentence preceding it is completely vacuous. I mean, "a number of factors contribute to the dilemma"? Which dilemma? There's no dilemma here, only a joke. And what dilemma does ''not'' have more than one contributing factor? This communicates nothing and just takes up space. The items in the bullet list itself just seem off topic; a comparison between on-plane and off-plane ground transport does not belong in a section titled "motives and feasibility". That belongs in a table, with rows for every aspect impacted by each choice and columns for every mode of transport. [[Special:Contributions/2A02:A466:A997:0:74BA:2E0:D85C:CED1|2A02:A466:A997:0:74BA:2E0:D85C:CED1]] 17:36, 6 August 2025 (UTC)
:Oh great... our first AI-generated explainxkcd. You knew it had to happen. [[User:Gbisaga|Gbisaga]] ([[User talk:Gbisaga|talk]]) 19:01, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

3059: Water Damage

2025-03-07T14:25:18Z

Gbisaga: /* Explanation */ period not comma

{{comic
| number = 3059
| date = March 5, 2025
| title = Water Damage
| image = water_damage_2x.png
| imagesize = 612x329px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Your homeowner's insurance might cover it, but be sure to check the subductible.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by VOLCANIC ACTIVITY - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic became the second in a series about absurd results of [[:Category:Home Inspections|home inspections]]. The first, [[3037: Radon]] came out less than two months before this one.

[[Cueball]] is thus once again getting his home inspected by [[Ponytail]], using the exact same device as in the first comic and also making the same introductory comment: "Oof. I was afraid of that." This time, she alerts Cueball for {{w|water damage}}, normally caused by leaky pipes or roofs. Water damage is hazardous to homes due to its ability to instigate mold and its negative impact on structural stability of the home. Instead of "regular water damage", she claims that the crust under Cueball's home suffers from water damage. The Earth's crust typically {{w|groundwater|contains water}}; she could be referring to {{w|erosion}}, which is one cause of {{w|subsidence}} and even {{w|sinkhole}}s, a concern to homeowners, but it soon becomes clear that she has different effects in mind.

Upon further investigation, Ponytail discovers that Cueball's home is near a {{w|subduction|subduction zone}}, a place where two {{w|tectonic plate}}s meet and one pushes beneath the other and descends deep into the Earth. This leads to the formation of magma as the descending plate heats up. The expulsion of fluids, originally from seawater, from hydrated materials simultaneously lowers the melting point of the rock and allows magma to rise to the surface to [https://www.bgs.ac.uk/discovering-geology/earth-hazards/volcanoes/how-volcanoes-form-2/ form volcanoes] as Ponytail alludes to (though does not entirely explain, making it seem that it is the water itself that is rising ''in the form'' of magma). However, there is nothing that Cueball can actually do about this.{{Citation needed}}

An example of an area with many volcanoes caused by subduction is the {{w|Ring of Fire}} along the coasts of the Pacific Ocean. In the contiguous 48 states, the {{w|Cascade Volcanoes}} of the Pacific Northwest are the result of this type of subduction.

Ponytail suggests "{{w|lithospheric}} {{w|dehumidifier}}s" as a solution, which would presumably dry out the Earth's crust, but this is not realistically possible. In waterlogged ground, {{w|continuous flight augering}} or the {{w|Pressure grouting|injection of grouting}} can assist in isolating the foundations from the surrounding {{w|water table}}, but this has little use below the {{w|pedosphere}} and near-surface rock, such as down to the base of the upper plate involved in the subduction (well below the {{w|Mohorovičić discontinuity}}, tens of kilometers down). In addition, by drying out the crust, they might {{w|Groundwater-related subsidence|cause further subsidence}} and present additional hazards to the home.

The title text is a pun making a portmanteau of ''subduction'', explained above, and the ''{{w|deductible}}'', the amount an insurance policy requires you to pay before it starts to contribute to the cost of the losses or expenses it covers. The title text may also be a critique of the [https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2791 homeowners insurance crisis] in the United States at the time of the comic's posting.

Subduction has been the topic of a few comics, see other examples in the explanation for the recent comic [[3021: Seismologists]] that mentions it in the title text.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Ponytail stands to the left of Cueball. She is looking down at a meter of some sort in one hand, and is holding a clipboard in the other hand.]
:Ponytail: The crust under your house shows signs of water damage. Is there a subduction zone nearby?
:Cueball: Uh, I think there's one off the coast.
:Ponytail: Oof. I was afraid of that.

:[Closeup on Ponytail who is pointing to a diagram of subducting faults.]
:Ponytail: Subducting hydrous minerals carry water down into the mantle, causing melting in the overlying crust. If you let this go, you'll have volcanoes everywhere.

:[Cueball, with his hand to his chin, looks at the diagram. Ponytail, holding her equipment, is standing behind him.]
:Cueball: Is there any solution?
:Ponytail: Giant lithospheric dehumidifiers. But the installation won't be cheap.
:Cueball: ''Oh no...''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Home Inspections]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Volcanoes]]
[[Category:Subduction]]
[[Category:Portmanteau]]

3059: Water Damage

2025-03-07T14:24:44Z

Gbisaga: /* Explanation */ oof

{{comic
| number = 3059
| date = March 5, 2025
| title = Water Damage
| image = water_damage_2x.png
| imagesize = 612x329px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Your homeowner's insurance might cover it, but be sure to check the subductible.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by VOLCANIC ACTIVITY - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic became the second in a series about absurd results of [[:Category:Home Inspections|home inspections]]. The first, [[3037: Radon]] came out less than two months before this one.

[[Cueball]] is thus once again getting his home inspected by [[Ponytail]], using the exact same device as in the first comic and also making the same introductory comment: "Oof, I was afraid of that." This time, she alerts Cueball for {{w|water damage}}, normally caused by leaky pipes or roofs. Water damage is hazardous to homes due to its ability to instigate mold and its negative impact on structural stability of the home. Instead of "regular water damage", she claims that the crust under Cueball's home suffers from water damage. The Earth's crust typically {{w|groundwater|contains water}}; she could be referring to {{w|erosion}}, which is one cause of {{w|subsidence}} and even {{w|sinkhole}}s, a concern to homeowners, but it soon becomes clear that she has different effects in mind.

Upon further investigation, Ponytail discovers that Cueball's home is near a {{w|subduction|subduction zone}}, a place where two {{w|tectonic plate}}s meet and one pushes beneath the other and descends deep into the Earth. This leads to the formation of magma as the descending plate heats up. The expulsion of fluids, originally from seawater, from hydrated materials simultaneously lowers the melting point of the rock and allows magma to rise to the surface to [https://www.bgs.ac.uk/discovering-geology/earth-hazards/volcanoes/how-volcanoes-form-2/ form volcanoes] as Ponytail alludes to (though does not entirely explain, making it seem that it is the water itself that is rising ''in the form'' of magma). However, there is nothing that Cueball can actually do about this.{{Citation needed}}

An example of an area with many volcanoes caused by subduction is the {{w|Ring of Fire}} along the coasts of the Pacific Ocean. In the contiguous 48 states, the {{w|Cascade Volcanoes}} of the Pacific Northwest are the result of this type of subduction.

Ponytail suggests "{{w|lithospheric}} {{w|dehumidifier}}s" as a solution, which would presumably dry out the Earth's crust, but this is not realistically possible. In waterlogged ground, {{w|continuous flight augering}} or the {{w|Pressure grouting|injection of grouting}} can assist in isolating the foundations from the surrounding {{w|water table}}, but this has little use below the {{w|pedosphere}} and near-surface rock, such as down to the base of the upper plate involved in the subduction (well below the {{w|Mohorovičić discontinuity}}, tens of kilometers down). In addition, by drying out the crust, they might {{w|Groundwater-related subsidence|cause further subsidence}} and present additional hazards to the home.

The title text is a pun making a portmanteau of ''subduction'', explained above, and the ''{{w|deductible}}'', the amount an insurance policy requires you to pay before it starts to contribute to the cost of the losses or expenses it covers. The title text may also be a critique of the [https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2791 homeowners insurance crisis] in the United States at the time of the comic's posting.

Subduction has been the topic of a few comics, see other examples in the explanation for the recent comic [[3021: Seismologists]] that mentions it in the title text.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Ponytail stands to the left of Cueball. She is looking down at a meter of some sort in one hand, and is holding a clipboard in the other hand.]
:Ponytail: The crust under your house shows signs of water damage. Is there a subduction zone nearby?
:Cueball: Uh, I think there's one off the coast.
:Ponytail: Oof. I was afraid of that.

:[Closeup on Ponytail who is pointing to a diagram of subducting faults.]
:Ponytail: Subducting hydrous minerals carry water down into the mantle, causing melting in the overlying crust. If you let this go, you'll have volcanoes everywhere.

:[Cueball, with his hand to his chin, looks at the diagram. Ponytail, holding her equipment, is standing behind him.]
:Cueball: Is there any solution?
:Ponytail: Giant lithospheric dehumidifiers. But the installation won't be cheap.
:Cueball: ''Oh no...''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Home Inspections]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Volcanoes]]
[[Category:Subduction]]
[[Category:Portmanteau]]

Talk:3050: Atom

2025-02-12T15:11:08Z

Gbisaga:

...admittedly very barebones but at least it isn't blank. Someone smarter than me can expand it. Anyways, the Higgs boson feels like fuzzy dice you can't convince me otherwise [[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.143|172.69.71.143]] 13:51, 12 February 2025 (UTC)
:Well, if they want to test that theory, they're going to have to find it [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1437:_Higgs_Boson again] [[User:RadiantRainwing|RadiantRainwing]] ([[User talk:RadiantRainwing|talk]]) 14:46, 12 February 2025 (UTC)
:I just added a little about wetness. I don't have time to look into this more, but perhaps the idea is the outer electrons have a low enough energy level they pull heat from the skin, and that sensation of coldness along with the little bumps the electrons would do against your skin would lead your brain to think they're wet. That's all I got for now. [[User:Gbisaga|Gbisaga]] ([[User talk:Gbisaga|talk]]) 15:11, 12 February 2025 (UTC)

I want fanart of the muons on my talk page by tomorrow. Do I make myself clear?! /j --[[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 14:58, 12 February 2025 (UTC)

3050: Atom

2025-02-12T15:08:15Z

Gbisaga: /* Explanation */ Wetness?

{{comic
| number = 3050
| date = February 12, 2025
| title = Atom
| image = atom_2x.png
| imagesize = 281x385px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = What's weirder is that muons turned out to be INCREDIBLY cute.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a wobbly and wet BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Atoms are typically very, very small, and cannot be seen with the naked eye nor felt with human hands. The humor here comes from the fact that atoms, normally intangible, apparently feel gross and nonsensical. The characters in the comic have found this out using a so-called "quantum expander device" which would be huge advance in modern physics if it existed, but unfortunately it does not.

Wetness is apparently a lot more complicated than we might think. Everybody knows what something wet feels like {{Citation needed}}, but there are no "wetness" cells in the skin. Apparently the brain uses various clues like temperature and pressure, along with past experiences, to determine when something feels "wet". [https://issuu.com/university_of_southampton/docs/reaction_magazine_winter_2021/s/14454287]

Also, scientists generally wear latex gloves when touching subjects of study, perhaps [[Ponytail]] and [[Cueball]] should be doing that here.

The title text expands on this, claiming that muons, a type of subatomic particle, apparently are "cute" despite being...subatomic particles.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[Cueball is holding, away from himself, an atom approximately the size of his head. Ponytail has her hand near the atom. Hairy stands to the right of Ponytail.]
:Cueball: Ugh, the electron cloud is so weird and wobbly! I hate it!
:Ponytail: Why is it so wet? How can it even ''be'' wet?
:Hairy: I don't want to do physics anymore.
:[Caption below the panel:]
:When our lab was building the quantum expander device, we didn't expect our first discovery to be "atoms are really gross."

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]

Talk:3040: Chemical Formulas

2025-01-21T16:25:22Z

Gbisaga: More nackle

I believe the diagram on the left incorrectly shows a double-bond between the carbon and the OH pair. -- [[User:Dtgriscom|Dtgriscom]] ([[User talk:Dtgriscom|talk]]) 03:13, 21 January 2025 (UTC)
:: ''"incorrectly shows a double-bond"'' This may be more correct (there are many ways to draw it):
:: https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/formic-acid-molecule-structure-260nw-1359283460.jpg [[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 03:42, 21 January 2025 (UTC)
:::what’s a double bond? '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 04:25, 21 January 2025 (UTC)
:::: if a hydrogen atom had hands it would have one and could only hold other atoms with one hand. Some atoms have more than one hand and in the case of a double bond can hold another atom with two hands. I almost recall something about electron orbits and spaces. I hope this isn't to unhelpful.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.58|108.162.242.58]] 05:08, 21 January 2025 (UTC)
:::::ohhhh, i think i get it now. thanks! '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 05:19, 21 January 2025 (UTC)
::::::For the molecules concerned (and ignoring some more exotic situations), you just need to know that;
::::::*Hydrogen should have only one bond in total (H-C... or H-O..., in whatever direction. An H-H would be H2, or hydrogen (probably!) gas unbonded to anything else).
::::::*Oxygen should have two bonds (...X-O-Y... as part of a link between X and Y, like the (acceptibly abbreviated) -OH ('hydroxy') group attached to a carbon; or ...C=O, as oxygen double-bonded to a carbon with those two bonds available). H-O-H would be water (H2O), O=O would be the pure oxygen molecule (O2).
::::::*Carbon has ''four'' bonds, which can be:
::::::**Four singles, often with alkane links, ...C-C... with three things (more carbons, hydrogens or hydroxys/etc) hanging off as well, as part of a hydrocarbon/similar, starting with CH4 which has ''only'' hydrogens hanging directly off the one and only carbon, longer chained alkanes string carbons together with two hydrogens off of each mid-carbon (in three-or-more chains) and a third completing each end.
::::::**Two singles and a double, like the ...C=O with two further off-shoots, or else an ...C=C... as an alkene link (with two things/continuations of carbon hanging off each of the ends of that carbon-pair),
::::::**''Two'' doubles (cumulenes, like ...C=C=C..., are rare, but O=C=O is the really common CO2/carbon dioxide molecule in its entirety), or
::::::**A single and a triple, typically back-to-back as alkynes, ...-C≡C-..., ''or'' something like -C≡N (nitrogen has exactly three bonds!) for a cyano-group, but it's often a strained group.
::::::**A quadruple-bond would be... beyond this basic overview.
::::::**(Benzene rings effectively have 1.5 shared links between the adjacent carbons, or alternating single/double three times round the six Carbon-Carbon links, leaving one "hang off" bond from each of them, without bothering which ring-bonds are single or double.)
::::::**(Graphene sheets effectively have three singles, plus "two halves" weakly bonding to adjacent graphene sheets, in actual graphite; or whatever else fun thing you're doing with graphene/nanotubes/buckyballs ''singly''...)
::::::If you check the "Hackoo", the C has ''five'' bonds (at least until and unless Randall corrects it!), the error most obviously (just from the above knowledge!) because the O in the -OH (i.e. -O-H) has three bonds (...C=O-H) where it should only have two (...C-O-H).
:::::::If I still had access to the university and its DFT calculator, I'd be tempted to do a run how stable the ion HC+=O=O+H would be (HCOOH with two electrons removed, charge at C and O), the only way to make sense of the formula. And write an April article for the regular column of the German Chemists Society Newsletter. Here is the data of the monocation: https://atct.anl.gov/Thermochemical%20Data/version%201.140/species/?species_number=731 ...wait, did I just nerdsnipe myself?[[Special:Contributions/172.71.148.103|172.71.148.103]] 08:48, 21 January 2025 (UTC)
::::::It can perhaps be explained as an interestingly radical-enhanced number of bonds, though you'd notate it differently (in diagram ''and'' formula) and it wouldn't really be the ethanoic/formic acid that Cueball(/Randall) clearly intends it to be. Simple slip of the stylus, maybe, from someone more a physical scientist who [[520: Cuttlefish|isn't always affiliated to chemical sciences]], so may not have realised when glancing at the 'finished' comic. (Or it's yet another (too?) subtle dig at the Cueball character that he's set up to fail/be creatively-wrong.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.108|172.70.90.108]] 07:01, 21 January 2025 (UTC)

Similar to 2492 [[User:Chakra|Chakra]] ([[User talk:Chakra|talk]]) 03:18, 21 January 2025 (UTC)

My favorite hydrocarbons are C6H6 (Bouba) and C5H12 (Kiki) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.105|172.69.70.105]] 03:21, 21 January 2025 (UTC)

I assume 'Nackle' is NaCl (Sodium Chloride, aka salt) [[User:Pvnic|Pvnic]] ([[User talk:Pvnic|talk]]) 03:30, 21 January 2025 (UTC)
: for blood pressure reasons I use fake salt = potassium chloride. Note to self: don't say "please pass the kackle" because at best at best I'd get a funny look and a chicken nugget. (Thinking) Or do. Chicken nuggets are good.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.245.179|172.68.245.179]] 04:41, 21 January 2025 (UTC)
::Wouldn't that be more like "kickle" or "keckle"? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.212.173|162.158.212.173]] 07:10, 21 January 2025 (UTC)
And in the meta-humor department, the explanation message "Created by a BORON-OXYGEN-TANTALUM-URANIUM-TITANIUM-MOLYBDENUM-TITANIUM-CARBON-ALUMINUM-LITHIUM" abbreviates to "B O Ta U Ti Mo Ti C Al Li", or "BOT aUTiMoTiCaLLi". [[User:Jordan Brown|Jordan Brown]] ([[User talk:Jordan Brown|talk]]) 04:27, 21 January 2025 (UTC)
: OH! Thank you. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.245.179|172.68.245.179]] 04:41, 21 January 2025 (UTC)
:: In my family, we actually do (occasionally) call it "nackle", so I updated the explanation accordingly. [[User:Gbisaga|Gbisaga]] ([[User talk:Gbisaga|talk]]) 16:25, 21 January 2025 (UTC)

Guilty as charged! (And I got a Ph.D. in chemistry...) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.195.130|172.68.195.130]] 08:35, 21 January 2025 (UTC)

The 'put it on a plate' and 'take with a pinch of salt' stuff all seems a bit of a stretch.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.59|172.69.194.59]] 10:08, 21 January 2025 (UTC)
:I don't see any sign that anybody would anyone be literally requiring salt, so more probably is one or other figurative use. "Are you upset? I don't ''care'' you're upset. Pass the salt... Mmmmm..." from our Cueball or "Yeah, so I'm hearing what you're telling me, but I'm gonna ignore your inane mutterings, so pass the salt...". Or maybe from a similar sort of vein as "Are you salty about that? I think you're salty, boo-hoo!" sarcastic response. There are plenty of possible phrases using the substance in analogy, and I'm sure others could be imagined by anyone worth their salt. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.246|172.70.91.246]] 14:45, 21 January 2025 (UTC)

2791: Bookshelf Sorting

2023-06-20T14:34:34Z

Gbisaga: /* Explanation */ Title text clarify

{{comic
| number = 2791
| date = June 19, 2023
| title = Bookshelf Sorting
| image = bookshelf_sorting_2x.png
| imagesize = 425x255px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Of course, I sort all my bookshelves the normal way, alphabetically (by first sentence).
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOOKSHELF SORTED THE NORMAL WAY. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Some people like to sort their bookshelves by the visible color of the book's spine, for example by hue to create a rainbow effect. This is pleasing to the eye, but unhelpful when [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYxmPHLU9oA trying to find a specific book]. For literary enthusiasts (AKA "Book People"), this arrangement could be seen as annoying, as they would like to be able to find specific books when they need them, and would more likely sort them by the author's last name, or by a more rigorous organizational scheme such as the {{w|Dewey Decimal Classification}}.

Unfortunately, [[Randall]] has found a ''much'' worse method of book organization - instead of sorting the books as discrete units, he has sorted their individual ''pages'' by number. This would require physically dissecting each book into its individual pages, and then organizing them into groups by page number. This organization method has a number of significant drawbacks. Firstly, it would be rather time-consuming to take each book apart. Adding a book to the shelf would also be extremely inefficient, as Randall would have to locate the correct group to insert each page into. Since books can be hundreds of pages long, there could easily be hundreds of page groups on the shelf. The reverse operation - taking a book from the shelf - would also now be significantly more difficult since one would have to locate all of the book's individual pages - if the pages have no identifying marker to indicate which book they originally came from, it may even be impossible, especially since no secondary sorting has been specified, so, for example page 1 of a book could appear early in the group of page 1s, while page 2 of the same book could appear towards the end of the group of page 2s. In practice, though, Randall appears to have sorted secondarily by book, since there seem to be repeating patterns in the size of the pages.

Taking books apart also effectively destroys the book, losing all of the physical benefits of having pages bound as a single unit, such as portability and durability. Without their protective cover, the pages would be more susceptible to damage, loss, or disruptions such as drafts. It would also reduce the resale value of the book.

It should be noted that the term "page" has an ambiguous meaning when referring to physical pages - "page" can refer both to the numbered page, and to the sheet of paper that the page is printed on. For books, this distinction is important as most books print on both sides of the paper - thus, a single sheet actually comprises ''two'' numbered pages. This is significant to Randall's sorting scheme, as he will need a mechanism to decide which of the numbered pages on each sheet will be the one that he sorts by (unless he is slicing every sheet in half, which would be immensely difficult and even more destructive).

All the front covers are on the left side, being effectively the sheet that contains pages 1 and 2, then all the pages 3 and 4, the pages 5 and 6, etcetera, with the back covers mixed in depending on the length of the (now-dismembered) book. Sorting by color has no practical use (beyond possibly that of making an aesthetic appearance), but this distribution of books, makes them useless in all situations and makes for an erratic display potentially susceptible to disordering knocks and drafts.

There are a lot of different-sized front covers on the left side of the shelf (meaning they start with low numbers on the left). Progressing rightward, there are then repeating patterns of taller and shorter loose-leaf pages, having gathered together each a page of the same number from a different book, tracking the proportions of each cover.
After a while, the first back cover is sorted in, as the shortest book's page-count runs out, and then additional runs of pages (less those of each 'finished' book) and end-covers as necessary. At the end, there are only the last pages of the longest book left, now all uniformly in size, and its rear cover. These are either books left without any un-numbered {{w|Book design#Front matter|front matter}} (also the corresponding back matter) or the sorting and collating goes by absolute page count, not by the numbers printed on pages.

The covers matches in reverse so the longest book has the first cover and thus also the last. the second longest books cover is number two and second last etc. If this should be used to give an indication the longest books page 1 would be first and the shortest books page 1 would be last. So it the shortest book has for instance 200 pages, then its back cover would be the last of those with number 200 so the the longest books page 201 would come right after that books back cover.

The caption claims that this is a way of sorting that "book people" hate, even more so than sorting by color of the cover/spine. It is not clear if the spine part is thrown away or just not visible, maybe being sorted towards the wall. This would make it a sort of antithesis to color sorting, not only is it not sorted by color, but the spines that usually define the color sorting are either to the back or fully removed. It might be the intent to have "the absolute opposite" of color sorting and follow this idea ad absurdum.

In the title text Randall begins by saying that he of course sorts his bookshelf alphabetically, like book people, but then he states that he sorts books by first '''sentence''' instead of the book author or book title. This is somewhat impractical for many purposes of finding, as people then cannot find a book they haven't read (and remembered the first sentence). But at least it doesn't destroy the books and can also be accomplished by a quick glance inside each book (which bibliophiles should certainly enjoy, if it does not distract them from the task at hand) rather than having to pay much attention to exactly how you shuffle and collate many loose-leafs. You can use something like a simple {{w|merge sort}} to arrange the shelf from scratch, or do a {{w|binary search algorithm|binary search}} to find where to insert individual new books.

In addition, some books have very well-known first lines, such as "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" ({{w|A Tale of Two Cities}}) and "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife" ({{w|Pride and Prejudice}}). So, sorting by first line would not only be practical in some cases, but it could used to demonstrate a level of literary sophistication on the part of the bookshelf owner.

==Transcript==
:[A bookshelf hanging on a wall is shown. It is covered almost from left to right but not with ordinary books. To the left there are 11 covers next to each other without any paper between them. They have different heights and shades of gray. After the last of these there follows many leaves of paper of differing heights similarly to that of the covers. The top of the papers thus form a wave shape with more than twenty peaks before they reach another cover. After that there follows similar patterns with paper in different height and then a cover in between more papers. But there is a much shorter distance between the first and second cover than before the first cover, after the initial 11 covers. The next two covers are close to the first, then there is a longer stretch of paper to the fourth, much less to the fifth, and then the next three covers comes very close. There is again quite long distance to the ninth and tenth cover, and here the number of different heights for the paper are clearly less than the previous paper stretches. Finally before the last and 11th cover all the paper, not much of it though, are of the same height, and just a bit lower than the final cover. The 11 covers at the start matches the 11 covers later and they comes in reverse order throughout the paper stretches as they are sorted to begin with, so the first and last cover matches, as does number 2 and the second last etc. There is a caption beneath the panel:]
:Book people hate seeing books sorted by colors, but it turns out they get ''way'' more angry if you sort the pages by number.

{{comic discussion}}

2791: Bookshelf Sorting

2023-06-20T14:32:49Z

Gbisaga: /* Explanation */ Well-known first lines

{{comic
| number = 2791
| date = June 19, 2023
| title = Bookshelf Sorting
| image = bookshelf_sorting_2x.png
| imagesize = 425x255px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Of course, I sort all my bookshelves the normal way, alphabetically (by first sentence).
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOOKSHELF SORTED THE NORMAL WAY. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Some people like to sort their bookshelves by the visible color of the book's spine, for example by hue to create a rainbow effect. This is pleasing to the eye, but unhelpful when [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYxmPHLU9oA trying to find a specific book]. For literary enthusiasts (AKA "Book People"), this arrangement could be seen as annoying, as they would like to be able to find specific books when they need them, and would more likely sort them by the author's last name, or by a more rigorous organizational scheme such as the {{w|Dewey Decimal Classification}}.

Unfortunately, [[Randall]] has found a ''much'' worse method of book organization - instead of sorting the books as discrete units, he has sorted their individual ''pages'' by number. This would require physically dissecting each book into its individual pages, and then organizing them into groups by page number. This organization method has a number of significant drawbacks. Firstly, it would be rather time-consuming to take each book apart. Adding a book to the shelf would also be extremely inefficient, as Randall would have to locate the correct group to insert each page into. Since books can be hundreds of pages long, there could easily be hundreds of page groups on the shelf. The reverse operation - taking a book from the shelf - would also now be significantly more difficult since one would have to locate all of the book's individual pages - if the pages have no identifying marker to indicate which book they originally came from, it may even be impossible, especially since no secondary sorting has been specified, so, for example page 1 of a book could appear early in the group of page 1s, while page 2 of the same book could appear towards the end of the group of page 2s. In practice, though, Randall appears to have sorted secondarily by book, since there seem to be repeating patterns in the size of the pages.

Taking books apart also effectively destroys the book, losing all of the physical benefits of having pages bound as a single unit, such as portability and durability. Without their protective cover, the pages would be more susceptible to damage, loss, or disruptions such as drafts. It would also reduce the resale value of the book.

It should be noted that the term "page" has an ambiguous meaning when referring to physical pages - "page" can refer both to the numbered page, and to the sheet of paper that the page is printed on. For books, this distinction is important as most books print on both sides of the paper - thus, a single sheet actually comprises ''two'' numbered pages. This is significant to Randall's sorting scheme, as he will need a mechanism to decide which of the numbered pages on each sheet will be the one that he sorts by (unless he is slicing every sheet in half, which would be immensely difficult and even more destructive).

All the front covers are on the left side, being effectively the sheet that contains pages 1 and 2, then all the pages 3 and 4, the pages 5 and 6, etcetera, with the back covers mixed in depending on the length of the (now-dismembered) book. Sorting by color has no practical use (beyond possibly that of making an aesthetic appearance), but this distribution of books, makes them useless in all situations and makes for an erratic display potentially susceptible to disordering knocks and drafts.

There are a lot of different-sized front covers on the left side of the shelf (meaning they start with low numbers on the left). Progressing rightward, there are then repeating patterns of taller and shorter loose-leaf pages, having gathered together each a page of the same number from a different book, tracking the proportions of each cover.
After a while, the first back cover is sorted in, as the shortest book's page-count runs out, and then additional runs of pages (less those of each 'finished' book) and end-covers as necessary. At the end, there are only the last pages of the longest book left, now all uniformly in size, and its rear cover. These are either books left without any un-numbered {{w|Book design#Front matter|front matter}} (also the corresponding back matter) or the sorting and collating goes by absolute page count, not by the numbers printed on pages.

The covers matches in reverse so the longest book has the first cover and thus also the last. the second longest books cover is number two and second last etc. If this should be used to give an indication the longest books page 1 would be first and the shortest books page 1 would be last. So it the shortest book has for instance 200 pages, then its back cover would be the last of those with number 200 so the the longest books page 201 would come right after that books back cover.

The caption claims that this is a way of sorting that "book people" hate, even more so than sorting by color of the cover/spine. It is not clear if the spine part is thrown away or just not visible, maybe being sorted towards the wall. This would make it a sort of antithesis to color sorting, not only is it not sorted by color, but the spines that usually define the color sorting are either to the back or fully removed. It might be the intent to have "the absolute opposite" of color sorting and follow this idea ad absurdum.

In the title text Randall begins by saying that he of course sorts his bookshelf alphabetically, like book people, but then he states that he sorts books by first '''sentence''' instead of the book author or book title. This is just as impractical, for most purposes of finding, as sorting by color as people then cannot find a book they haven't read (and remembered the first sentence). But at least it doesn't destroy the books and can also be accomplished by a quick glance inside each book (which bibliophiles should certainly enjoy, if it does not distract them from the task at hand) rather than having to pay much attention to exactly how you shuffle and collate many loose-leafs. You can use something like a simple {{w|merge sort}} to arrange the shelf from scratch, or do a {{w|binary search algorithm|binary search}} to find where to insert individual new books.

In addition, some books have very well-known first lines, such as "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" ({{w|A Tale of Two Cities}}) and "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife" ({{w|Pride and Prejudice}}). So, sorting by first line would not only be practical in some cases, but it could used to demonstrate a level of literary sophistication on the part of the bookshelf owner.

==Transcript==
:[A bookshelf hanging on a wall is shown. It is covered almost from left to right but not with ordinary books. To the left there are 11 covers next to each other without any paper between them. They have different heights and shades of gray. After the last of these there follows many leaves of paper of differing heights similarly to that of the covers. The top of the papers thus form a wave shape with more than twenty peaks before they reach another cover. After that there follows similar patterns with paper in different height and then a cover in between more papers. But there is a much shorter distance between the first and second cover than before the first cover, after the initial 11 covers. The next two covers are close to the first, then there is a longer stretch of paper to the fourth, much less to the fifth, and then the next three covers comes very close. There is again quite long distance to the ninth and tenth cover, and here the number of different heights for the paper are clearly less than the previous paper stretches. Finally before the last and 11th cover all the paper, not much of it though, are of the same height, and just a bit lower than the final cover. The 11 covers at the start matches the 11 covers later and they comes in reverse order throughout the paper stretches as they are sorted to begin with, so the first and last cover matches, as does number 2 and the second last etc. There is a caption beneath the panel:]
:Book people hate seeing books sorted by colors, but it turns out they get ''way'' more angry if you sort the pages by number.

{{comic discussion}}

2680: Battery Life

2022-10-04T12:20:20Z

Gbisaga: /* Explanation */ comment on bulk

{{comic
| number = 2680
| date = October 3, 2022
| title = Battery Life
| image = battery_life_2x.png
| imagesize = 264x251px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It's okay, I'm at 10%, so I'm good for another month or two.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT WITH ONE MONTH OF BATTERY LIFE LEFT. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Smartphones run on batteries that require frequent charging; they are also often regularly replaced with a newer model by their user. In this comic, instead of charging his phone every day for a few years and then buying a new phone, [[Cueball]] has obtained a phone with a battery big enough to last supposedly until the phone will be replaced after a few years. This appears to make for a phone of cumbersome weight and size. According to the caption, 10% of battery life correspondents to 1–2 months; this suggests a total battery life and hence product life of 10–20 months, which is not a few years.{{Citation needed}} However, [https://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2013/09/07/how-much-energy-does-your-iphone-and-other-devices-use-and-what-to-do-about-it/?sh=6f8e6fed2f70 a smartphone requires around 1 kWh per year], so this 12 kWh battery could have been expected to last longer. A 12 kWh battery weighing 100 pounds has an energy density of 272 Wh/kg, slightly above the high-estimate of the energy density of {{w|Lithium-ion battery|lithium-ion batteries}} of 100–265 Wh/kg. However, it is well below the practically achievable energy densities of (non-rechargeable, as befits the application) {{w|Zinc-air battery|zinc-air batteries}} at around 400 Wh/kg.

This may be a commentary on very large external portable charging devices. At present (October, 2022) the largest cell-phone sized charging devices [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09H4GLZXT/ hold almost 40000mAh and can weigh almost a pound]. Even [https://www.amazon.com/Jackery-Explorer-Portable-capacity-Emergency/dp/B0B8ZLZ53M larger devices are available weighing over 40 lbs] in different form factors. We buy cell phones because of their small size and convenience, and end up buying extra external battery power for them that adds significant extra weight and bulk.

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Phones]]

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[Cueball carries a gigantic battery with a phone in it in three different positions in frame.]

[Caption:] Plugging in my phone is a pain, so I got one with a 100lb battery, and when it runs out of charge every few years I just upgrade.

[Text on battery:] 12 kWh

{{comic discussion}}

2680: Battery Life

2022-10-04T12:18:25Z

Gbisaga: /* Explanation */ Portable charging devices

{{comic
| number = 2680
| date = October 3, 2022
| title = Battery Life
| image = battery_life_2x.png
| imagesize = 264x251px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It's okay, I'm at 10%, so I'm good for another month or two.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT WITH ONE MONTH OF BATTERY LIFE LEFT. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Smartphones run on batteries that require frequent charging; they are also often regularly replaced with a newer model by their user. In this comic, instead of charging his phone every day for a few years and then buying a new phone, [[Cueball]] has obtained a phone with a battery big enough to last supposedly until the phone will be replaced after a few years. This appears to make for a phone of cumbersome weight and size. According to the caption, 10% of battery life correspondents to 1–2 months; this suggests a total battery life and hence product life of 10–20 months, which is not a few years.{{Citation needed}} However, [https://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2013/09/07/how-much-energy-does-your-iphone-and-other-devices-use-and-what-to-do-about-it/?sh=6f8e6fed2f70 a smartphone requires around 1 kWh per year], so this 12 kWh battery could have been expected to last longer. A 12 kWh battery weighing 100 pounds has an energy density of 272 Wh/kg, slightly above the high-estimate of the energy density of {{w|Lithium-ion battery|lithium-ion batteries}} of 100–265 Wh/kg. However, it is well below the practically achievable energy densities of (non-rechargeable, as befits the application) {{w|Zinc-air battery|zinc-air batteries}} at around 400 Wh/kg.

This may be a commentary on very large external portable charging devices. At present (October, 2022) the largest cell-phone sized charging devices [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09H4GLZXT/ hold almost 40000mAh and can weigh almost a pound]. Even [https://www.amazon.com/Jackery-Explorer-Portable-capacity-Emergency/dp/B0B8ZLZ53M larger devices are available weighing over 40 lbs] in different form factors.

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Phones]]

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[Cueball carries a gigantic battery with a phone in it in three different positions in frame.]

[Caption:] Plugging in my phone is a pain, so I got one with a 100lb battery, and when it runs out of charge every few years I just upgrade.

[Text on battery:] 12 kWh

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2663: Tetherball Configurations

2022-08-25T11:42:04Z

Gbisaga: my id

Is anyone else reminded of the "classes of a lever" sort of classification? Where the load, fulcrum, and force are permuted. I know that's not explicitly connected to this comic, but it feels like a similar vibe, since you've got 4 (or 3 out of the 4) elements, and you're just changing the order they're oriented relative to each other. Also, tempted to delete the above comment because it's neither relevant nor signed. [[User:Dextrous Fred|Dextrous Fred]] ([[User talk:Dextrous Fred|talk]]) 03:52, 25 August 2022 (UTC)

Ground-rope-ball is arguably a playable cooperative configuration. Player 1 whirls the ball above her head like a bola; Player 2 attempts to hit the ball and get it to reverse direction. Play continues until the ball hits the ground. The final score is equal to the number of reversals. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.93.43|172.70.93.43]] 06:29, 25 August 2022 (UTC)
: Ground-rope-ball is actually quite legit - I have one of these somewhere in the basement... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FT0Z95kN4w [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 06:59, 25 August 2022 (UTC)
:: How does that base stay on the ground? --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 07:52, 25 August 2022 (UTC)
::: It's quite heavy. You could have the same result by somehow connecting the rope directly to the ground. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:35, 25 August 2022 (UTC)
: Ground-rope-ball (GRB) definitely looks good. If you just place it in a playground and let some kids mess around, I guarantee they will eventually come up with rules that make for a fun game. It might not be Tetherball, but it's gotta be worthy of at least 4 stars. --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 07:52, 25 August 2022 (UTC)
::Not agreeing that it would work in any way related to Tetherball. But a call stuck in the ground like this would definitely get kicked by kids. So as a game it might be used, gut not as Tetherball. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:27, 25 August 2022 (UTC)

In Denmark I never played this game, but often played {{w|Totem tennis}} (tether tennis or swingball). Had to find out what it was called in English first before I could write it here. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:27, 25 August 2022 (UTC)
:I always assumed that tetherball/swingball was effectively the same whether entirely freely pivoting/rolling-over or as the helical-track system (which just automated the 'scoring' system, and undeniably triggered the top to pop up when either limit of travel was reached) that I recall from my teen years. Not sure if it was branded to Mookie Toys, but was definitely more than a decade before the 1993 date that this article appears to suggest the helix-version was created (by some interpretations*) so it could have been amongst the properties it says they bought at that time.
:(* - I'd check exactly what it should mean and rewrite that article accordingly, but my mobile IP at any given moment is almost always on Wikipedia's no-editting list, so I'd need to wait to be tethered to a landline broadband again, and by then I'll have forgotten...)
:I also recall a 'ground weight'-tethered version (with optional peg-holes for further immobilisation if placed upon peggable ground, like your average lawn) in the box of sports equipment taken on cub-/scout-camps, which was full of many other (and often not very Health-And-Safety-compatible) outdoor 'toys' and sports equipment like lawn-darts and several rather antique-looking boxing gloves. Can't recall any branding. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.78|172.70.91.78]] 09:03, 25 August 2022 (UTC)
:In wikipedia it mentions something I think which is similar: "An early variant described in Jessie H. Bancroft's 1909 book Games for the Playground... involves a tethered tennis ball hit by racquets, with similar rules of the game." It sounds like this would be a rather dangerous version, with kids swinging racquets wildly in close quarters. Are there a lot of racquet-related injuries? [[User:Gbisaga|Gbisaga]] ([[User talk:Gbisaga|talk]]) 11:42, 25 August 2022 (UTC)

In France, we have "Jokari" which is pretty similar to the first scenario, except that the rope is a rubber band, played by two people. It's a bit like tennis but without the net and with a ball that comes back. Totally playable. The article on English Wikipedia is not the same thing. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.130.29|172.71.130.29]] 10:17, 25 August 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2663: Tetherball Configurations

2022-08-25T11:41:20Z

Gbisaga: Racquets?

Is anyone else reminded of the "classes of a lever" sort of classification? Where the load, fulcrum, and force are permuted. I know that's not explicitly connected to this comic, but it feels like a similar vibe, since you've got 4 (or 3 out of the 4) elements, and you're just changing the order they're oriented relative to each other. Also, tempted to delete the above comment because it's neither relevant nor signed. [[User:Dextrous Fred|Dextrous Fred]] ([[User talk:Dextrous Fred|talk]]) 03:52, 25 August 2022 (UTC)

Ground-rope-ball is arguably a playable cooperative configuration. Player 1 whirls the ball above her head like a bola; Player 2 attempts to hit the ball and get it to reverse direction. Play continues until the ball hits the ground. The final score is equal to the number of reversals. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.93.43|172.70.93.43]] 06:29, 25 August 2022 (UTC)
: Ground-rope-ball is actually quite legit - I have one of these somewhere in the basement... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FT0Z95kN4w [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 06:59, 25 August 2022 (UTC)
:: How does that base stay on the ground? --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 07:52, 25 August 2022 (UTC)
::: It's quite heavy. You could have the same result by somehow connecting the rope directly to the ground. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:35, 25 August 2022 (UTC)
: Ground-rope-ball (GRB) definitely looks good. If you just place it in a playground and let some kids mess around, I guarantee they will eventually come up with rules that make for a fun game. It might not be Tetherball, but it's gotta be worthy of at least 4 stars. --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 07:52, 25 August 2022 (UTC)
::Not agreeing that it would work in any way related to Tetherball. But a call stuck in the ground like this would definitely get kicked by kids. So as a game it might be used, gut not as Tetherball. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:27, 25 August 2022 (UTC)

In Denmark I never played this game, but often played {{w|Totem tennis}} (tether tennis or swingball). Had to find out what it was called in English first before I could write it here. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:27, 25 August 2022 (UTC)
:I always assumed that tetherball/swingball was effectively the same whether entirely freely pivoting/rolling-over or as the helical-track system (which just automated the 'scoring' system, and undeniably triggered the top to pop up when either limit of travel was reached) that I recall from my teen years. Not sure if it was branded to Mookie Toys, but was definitely more than a decade before the 1993 date that this article appears to suggest the helix-version was created (by some interpretations*) so it could have been amongst the properties it says they bought at that time.
:(* - I'd check exactly what it should mean and rewrite that article accordingly, but my mobile IP at any given moment is almost always on Wikipedia's no-editting list, so I'd need to wait to be tethered to a landline broadband again, and by then I'll have forgotten...)
:I also recall a 'ground weight'-tethered version (with optional peg-holes for further immobilisation if placed upon peggable ground, like your average lawn) in the box of sports equipment taken on cub-/scout-camps, which was full of many other (and often not very Health-And-Safety-compatible) outdoor 'toys' and sports equipment like lawn-darts and several rather antique-looking boxing gloves. Can't recall any branding. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.78|172.70.91.78]] 09:03, 25 August 2022 (UTC)
:In wikipedia it mentions something I think which is similar: "An early variant described in Jessie H. Bancroft's 1909 book Games for the Playground... involves a tethered tennis ball hit by racquets, with similar rules of the game." It sounds like this would be a rather dangerous version, with kids swinging racquets wildly in close quarters. Are there a lot of racquet-related injuries?

In France, we have "Jokari" which is pretty similar to the first scenario, except that the rope is a rubber band, played by two people. It's a bit like tennis but without the net and with a ball that comes back. Totally playable. The article on English Wikipedia is not the same thing. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.130.29|172.71.130.29]] 10:17, 25 August 2022 (UTC)

2661: Age Milestone Privileges

2022-08-22T16:00:41Z

Gbisaga: Add "True?" column

{{comic
| number = 2661
| date = August 19, 2022
| title = Age Milestone Privileges
| image = age_milestone_privileges.png
| titletext = If you reach 122, you get complete unrevertible editorial control over Jeanne Calment's Wikipedia article.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BABY GOD-EMPRESS MAKING THE PRESIDENT'S LETTER R-RATED - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This is a list of "age milestones" in the United States. As usual for Randall, he has added many fictional entries to supplement some real life ones. The real milestones are the ages at which Americans are generally allowed to do certain things for the first time. These are a mix of legal restrictions (such as the age for driving and voting), rules from private companies (such as movie theaters and car rental companies) and medical guidance (like the shingles vaccine).

{| class="wikitable"
! Age || Privilege || Real? || Description
|-
| 16 || Drive || Yes || Legal driving age in the US is set by the individual states, but the general rule is that Americans are allowed to begin driving on public roads at age 16. There are various levels of restrictions on this privilege, however. In Randall's state of Massachusetts, {{w|Driver%27s_licenses_in_the_United_States|and in 8 other states}}, 16 is the minimum age to apply for a learner's permit.
|-
| 17 || Attend R-Rated movies alone || Yes || In the US, the Motion Picture Association assigns {{w|Motion_Picture_Association_film_rating_system|ratings}} to movies based on whether they consider the film's content to be suitable for children. In this classification, "R" stands for "restricted", and the guidance from the MPAA is that no one under the age of 17 should be allowed to see it if not accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. It should be noted that this guidance does not have force of law, but is sufficiently accepted that nearly all US theaters adopt it as a policy.
|-
| 18 || Vote || Yes || The Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution prevents a minimum age of voting from being set above eighteen, meaning that eighteen-year-olds are old enough to legally vote anywhere in the country. Some states allow 17-year-olds to vote in primaries if they will turn 18 before the general election, but Randall's state of Massachusetts is not one of them.
|-
| 21 || Buy Alcohol || Yes || While individual states have official power over the drinking age, the {{w|National_Minimum_Drinking_Age_Act}} restricts federal funding from states that do not enforce a drinking age of 21 years. This has resulted in a ''de facto'' national drinking age of 21 in the US, which is higher than most countries. It should be noted that some states allow minors to drink alcohol under certain circumstances, but no state allows anyone under 21 to buy alcohol.
|-
| 25 || Rent a car || Generally || Car rental companies set their own age restrictions on renting cars. The industry standard in the US is to charge a higher rate for drivers under the age of 25.
|-
| 30 || Run for Senate || Almost || This entry is slightly incorrect: According to {{w|Article_One_of_the_United_States_Constitution|Article 1, clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution}}, one must be at least 30 years old in order to ''become'' Senator, not ''run'' for Senate. Joe Biden was 29 years old when he was first elected to Senate but turned 30 before being sworn in.
|-
| 32 || Rent a Senator's Car || No || This is the first joke entry in the table. For one thing, most Senators do not rent out their cars, which they probably need to use regularly themselves because they have jobs{{Citation needed}} to commute to, and it would be a security hazard to allow random strangers access to their vehicle.

This could also be a reference to the Ambassador, a now defunct car brand.
|-
| 35 || Run for president || Almost || In the United States, according to {{w|Article_Two_of_the_United_States_Constitution|Article 2, clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution}}, a person must be at least 35 years old to be eligible to hold the Office of President.
|-
| 40 || Rent a flying car || No || A 25-year-old might be able to rent a non-flying car today, but not a flying car, because the technology is not mature enough to the point where they're available to rent. The joke is that by the time a 25-year-old reader becomes 40, the technology will exist and they'll be able to rent a flying car. Unlike the earlier lines, the limitation has nothing to do with their age, just technological development.
Alternatively, even once flying cars are developed, their usage will be more restricted. For example, young people are perceived to be more reckless and/or otherwise dangerous.

This whole issue may be virtually negated if the newly developed flying cars are introduced only as ''self-''flying cars (an off-shoot of self-driving technology but devoid of many of the dangers of navigating roads, i.e. person-controlled vehicles, pedestrians and other ground-based hazards), in which case the age (or even presence) of the renter may be very much more irrelevant than the nature of any route/destination the guidance computer is tasked to fulfill. The question would then be how much a potential passenger would trust pure electronics to avoid all the actual dangers for what is essentially a flying taxi, compared to a human controller who may be fallible but presumably at least has their own fully developed common sense and a degree of self-preservation as well as any requisite training.
|-
| 45 || Learn about the God-Empress || No || Obviously, the God-Empress does not actually exist because this comic is visible to people under 45 years old.{{Citation needed}} According to [[1413]], she will be public knowledge by 2040 anyway.
|-
| 50 || Join AARP || Yes || Full AARP (formerly called the American Association of Retired Persons) membership is available to anyone age 50 and over. {{w|AARP}}
|-
| 50 || Get a shingles vaccine || Recommendation || At the time of the comic, the [https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/shingles/public/shingrix/index.html CDC recommended] that adults 50 years and older get the shingles vaccine called Shingrix (this line was not in the original version of the comic, corrected later)
|-
| 52 || Click to skip captchas || No || Older people might have more difficulty understanding captchas. Also, they could be more inconvenienced because some older people move more slowly, so it would take them longer to move the mouse, and people would care more about older people anyway. However, this would be impractical to implement because if the computer knew the person's age, it would know that the user is a person, not a bot, so there would be no point in a captcha anyway.
|-
| 55 || Vote for God-Empress || No || It appears that a person must have knowledge of the existence of the God-Empress for ten years before they are sufficiently qualified to elect a new one. Since the God-Empress is (presumably) in power for life, it is likely that most people would have to wait much longer than ten years.
|-
| 62 || $80 national parks lifetime pass || Yes || https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm
|-
| 65 || Eligible for Medicare || Yes || Medicare is a US government-run health insurance for older people.
|-
| 67 || Collect Social Security || Yes || U.S. individuals may collect reduced Social Security benefits starting at age 62, and they can collect increased Social Security benefits if they wait until age 70. 67 is considered "Full Retirement Age." There is some debate about whether one would be better off waiting or taking it right away, but for most people Full Retirement Age (67) is at least close to optimal.
|-
| 68 || See "Skip ads" button on live tv || No || Some DVRs and streaming applications have a feature to skip over commercial breaks in recorded programs, but this could not be available in live TV, since it would require jumping forward in time. Time travel is currently impossible.{{citation needed}} ||
|-
| 70 || Run for God-Empress || No || The name suggests that this would also only be available to women.
|-
| 75 || Ride any animal in a national park || No || The National Parks Service probably could institute this relatively safely because most people over 75 would not be able to run fast enough to outrun/catch up to an animal and mount it{{Citation needed}} and would not have the rebellious/risk-taking/adventurous streak that would incline them to try.{{Citation needed}}
|-
| 80 || Eligible for Megacare || No || This is based on becoming eligible for Medicare at age 65.
|-
| 85 || Click to toggle whether an ad is positive or negative about the product ||
|-
| 90 || Click to make any movie R-rated || No || It is unclear whether this would actually make the movie less appropriate or change the Motion Picture Association's rating to be erroneous. Also, what if the rating was previously NC-17?
|-
| 100 || Get a letter from the president || No || In the US (which other milestones, such as running for president starting at age 35, indicate is the country being referred to), you instead get congratulated by the weatherman on the {{w|Today (American TV program)|Today Show}}. However, the United Kingdom is much closer. People there receive a card (formerly a telegram, later a TeleMessage) from the Queen on their 100th birthday. (This is not automatic, but must be applied for.)
|-
| 102 || (35+67) Collect a presidential pension || No || The idea behind this joke is that it is the minimum age of presidency plus the minimal age to collect Social Security. There are several reasons why this must be a joke. Two are that Social Security begins 67 years after the person was born, not 67 years after the person's job started, and that the United States government would not bother to set up such a system because the vast majority of people, including former presidents, do not live to 102 years old. In fact, as of 2022, no former United States president has ever lived to 102 years old. The current oldest former U.S. President is Jimmy Carter at 97. Good luck Jimmy, only 5 more years!
|-
| 105 || Get a birthday card from the God-Empress || No || Being a God-Empress would be more important than being the leader of a single country. This would make the God-Empress's time more valuable, so she only has to send a birthday card to the few people who reach the age of 105. Contrariwise, the God-Empress is presumptively all-powerful and furthermore capable of delegation of ministerial tasks such as card transmission, so the utilitarian fact that the scarcity of 105-year-old people reduces workload is not a plausible justification.
|-
| 111 || Leave your own birthday party early by putting on a magic ring || No || This is a reference to the Lord of the Rings where Bilbo leaves his eleventy-first birthday party (the Bilbo Baggins Farewell Birthday Party) invisibly by using The One Ring.
|-
| 118 || Vote 100 times || No || Presumably a joke meaning the person can vote 100 times in each election. If there were one election at the same time each year, this would actually be the 101st vote the person is eligible to cast in their lifetime. If the sole election of each year were held at a different time of each year, someone who voted in every election might vote for the 100th time at either age 116, 117, or 118. However this milestone would happen earlier because there are often multiple elections per year, e.g., primaries, general elections, and possibly runoffs.
|-
| 120 || Collect the pensions of all elected officials || No ||
|-
| 125 || Drink alcohol in an R-rated movie while getting a shingles vaccine from the president || No || This entry references four earlier milestones (attending an R-rated movie, drinking alcohol, becoming President, and getting the shingles vaccine) whose corresponding ages (17, 21, 35, and 50) sum to 123. While not exactly 125, this may have contributed to the inspiration or age selection of this milestone.
|-
| 128 || Age rolls over, become a baby again || No || {{w|Integer overflow}} happens in computers when there are not enough bits (binary digits) to store the result of a calculation, and typically happens in computers at a given power of two, such as 128. An unsigned 7-bit number can hold the values 0 to 127 (127 being 27 - 1) and an attempt to go beyond 127 will overflow, also called rollover, back to zero. 7-bit numbers are not common native values in today's computers. For the more usual unsigned integers of one byte (8 bits), the correct rollover number would be 256.

A signed 8-bit number uses the first bit to allow the value from the remaining seven to be negative, the value 128 would become either -128 or -0, depending upon implementation. In its most practical form, a signed 8-bit number can hold values from -128 to 127 and when calculating 127+1 (the binary value 01111111 changing to 10000000) the value is -128 due to the {{w|Two's Complement}} method of having the sign-bit represent the most negative value possible, wgich is generally a more utilitarian method than the 'simpler' method of using it to indicate the positivity/negativity of the value. Either way, though, this means you could have a weird experience of your next phase of life, as your age now is interpretted as successive negative values if the incrementing algorithm and the interpreting algorithm are not thinking about the raw bits in the same way, or at least flagging up the overflow as having happened.

However, maybe the system uses just 7 bits (the 8th bit often used to be reserved for parity, or other flagging purposes, and otherwise stripped/ignored) if it has never before needed an eighth bit and this had once seemed like a sufficient form of data-packing with no expectation that this limit would be reached. Computers using such systems would have a Y2K-analogous bug once someone actually reached 128 years old, where anomalous processing might indicate the person to be a baby (or fail in other ways). But that would not have happened yet.

|}

The title text mentions {{w|Jeanne Calment}}, who holds the record for the oldest person ever (there are biblical references to older people, such as {{w|Methuselah}}, who supposedly lived to 969, but their ages haven't been verified). She reportedly was age 122 when she died in 1997. There's some controversy whether Calment actually claimed her mother's records, including birth certificate, as her own. "Editing wars" have been fought over her Wikipedia page. Randall claims that if you match her age you get sole editorial control over that article. However, if anyone managed to exceed her achieved age, presumably they would get their own page (albeit that they should not be encouraged to {{w|Wikipedia:Editing Your Own Page|edit it}} themselves) and hers would cease to be as interesting - although that might depend on what use is made of the unparalleled editorial control now granted.

==Transcript==

<big>Age Milestones</big> 
and associated privileges

16  Drive 
17  Attend R-rated movies alone 
18  Vote 
21  Buy alcohol 
25  Rent a car 
32  Run for senate 
35  Run for president 
40  Rent a flying car 
45  Learn about the God-Empress 
50  Join AARP 
50  Get a shingles vaccine 
52  Click to skip captchas 
55  Vote for God-Empress 
62  $80 National parks lifetime pass 
65  Eligible for Medicare 
67  Collect Social Security 
68  See "Skip Ads" button on live TV 
70  Run for God-Empress 
75  Ride any animal in a national park 
80  Eligible for MegaCare 
85  Click to toggle whether any ad is positive or negative about the product 
90  Click to make any movie R-rated 
100  Get a letter from the president 
102  (35+67) Collect a presidential pension 
105  Get a birthday card from the God-Empress 
111  Leave your own birthday party early by putting on a magic ring 
118  Vote 100 times 
120  Collect the pensions of all elected officials 
125  Drink alcohol in an R-rated movie while getting a shingles vaccine from the president 
128  Age rolls over, become a baby again

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]] 
[[Category:Wikipedia]]

2588: Party Quadrants

2022-03-03T13:23:27Z

Gbisaga: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2588
| date = March 2, 2022
| title = Party Quadrants
| image = party_quadrants.png
| titletext = Single-elimination might provide more drama, but I think we can all agree that a comprehensive numerical scoring system will let us better judge the party's winner.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by THE TOP LEFT QUADRANT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this comic there is a graph divided into quadrants to visualize the range of possibilities of fun for [[Randall]] and for guests at parties hosted by Randall. The top and bottom halves are labeled as "fun for guests" with "no" in the top quadrant and "yes" in the bottom quadrant. The left and right halves labeled as "fun for me", i.e. fun for the host Randall, with "no" in the left quadrant and "yes" in the right quadrant.

In the bottom right quadrant (which indicates fun for everyone), are two separately outlined but largely overlapping regions, like a [[:Category:Venn diagrams|Venn diagram]]. One is the appropriate zone for a party (in general) and the other other applies to Randall's own birthday party. They are both vaguely ellipsoid and both enclose a reasonable to nearly maximal amount of fun in both dimensions. The key difference is that the range of the birthday party is skewed towards being marginally more for Randall's enjoyment, as the person the attendees to the party might wish to honor/humor on this occasion, whilst any other type of party is geared slightly more towards the enjoyment of the other attendees, where the host (i.e. Randall) probably should work at ensuring the enjoyment of the various guests. Omitting the extreme edges may indicate that there are no points there because it's impossible to completely please everybody, or it may be a warning that a party should not be such extreme fun that it gets out of hand nor let the balance of fun stray too far from equal. There are no specific points labeled in this quadrant.

The joke is that the only data point, presumably Randall's latest idea for a party, is in the upper right quadrant, signifying that it is only fun for Randall! It is very far right and fairly close to the top, indicating extreme fun for Randall and not fun at all for anyone else. The point is labeled "Sporcle geography tournament with snacks! Live-updating scoreboard, no distracting music". The elements of Randall's "fun" party include:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Element
!Comment
|-
|Sporcle
|{{w|Sporcle}} is a trivia website. Trivia games are a lot of fun for certain types of people, while others get bored by their "trivial" nature and would rather spend time talking, dancing, etc.
|-
|Geography trivia
|Randal is a geography geek (as evidenced by his obvious fascination with map projections). Needless to say, many people are not, so a geography trivia quiz would be one of the worst types for many people.
|-
|Tournament
|Many people might prefer not to have competition at the party, especially since a host that provided it might be a little too interested in winning. See title text for further elaboration.
|-
|No music
|Music is usual to include in a party and is enjoyed by many people, so excluding it is part of what makes this idea less fun for guests (although some people prefer a quiet gathering over a loud party).
|-
|Snacks
|At least there would be snacks, which is also usual to include in a party. It's hard to imagine why people would object to snacks, so this is perhaps the only item that would be enjoyable both for Randall and his guests.
|-
|Live-updating scoreboard
|To a software geek, this would be something that would be fascinating, both to develop and watch in action. To most people, not so much.
|}

In the caption it is mentioned that for some reason, Randall keeps "accidentally" planning parties in the Top Right Quadrant (fun for him, not for guests). Presumably he is so caught up in what is fun for himself that he doesn't realize it isn't fun for anyone else. This is regardless of which party-context, and well outside either of the appropriate zones. This diagram though indicates that he know this is the case, but maybe he is first able to place the point on the diagram after the party, when he realizes that his guest leaves early (again) out of boredom.

The title text elaborates on the Sporcle trivia game night that Randall has planned in the upper right quadrant. It makes mention of a comprehensive, and perhaps overly complicated, scoring system to determine who is the party's winner. That he's talking about "winning the party" suggests he is fundamentally misunderstanding the point of parties -- they're supposed to be fun for everyone attending, not (exclusively) a competition.

Seems like he plans for a complicated system, but that will not be a problem as long as he adds the words "For the Sake of Simplicity" now and then. See the previous comic [[2587: For the Sake of Simplicity]], which seems to be a bit related to what Randall thinks is fun, whereas other might not.

==Transcript==
:[A solid black lined square chart is divided into four quadrants with two light gray lines. Above the chart the left and right column are labeled, and above the labels there is a bracket with a label written on the bracket. Similarly there is labels to the left, of the top and bottom rows, with a bracket indicating those also with a label written on the bracket:]
:Top: Fun for me
:Top: No Yes
:Left: Fun for guests
:Left: No Yes

:[The top left quadrant is empty. The same goes for the bottom left quadrant, except labels for items in the bottom right quadrant is written in the bottom left quadrant. In the top right quadrant, there is a single black point which is almost touching the right edge of the chart, and lies about a quarter of the way down from the top towards the gray line. The point is labeled:]
:Label: Sporcle geography tournament
:Label: with snacks!
:Label: Live-updating scoreboard, no distracting music

:[In the bottom left quadrant there is a Venn diagram. It consist of two skewed ellipsoids, one with a solid line overlapping the other with a dotted line. The solid lined region goes further to the left, and the dotted line region goes further to the top, but both are mainly in the bottom right region, and the bottom right section is completely overlapping. Both regions are indicated with an arrow that goes to them from a label. The solid lined regions label is written to the left and it is entirely inside the bottom left quadrant. The dotted lined regions label is written in both of the lower quadrants, thoug mainly above the Venn diagram in the bottom right quadrant.]
:Solid lined label: Appropriate zone for a party
:Dotted lined label: Appropriate for my birthday party

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Venn diagrams]]
[[Category:Geography]]

2588: Party Quadrants

2022-03-03T13:21:10Z

Gbisaga: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2588
| date = March 2, 2022
| title = Party Quadrants
| image = party_quadrants.png
| titletext = Single-elimination might provide more drama, but I think we can all agree that a comprehensive numerical scoring system will let us better judge the party's winner.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by THE TOP LEFT QUADRANT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this comic there is a graph divided into quadrants to visualize the range of possibilities of fun for [[Randall]] and for guests at parties hosted by Randall. The top and bottom halves are labeled as "fun for guests" with "no" in the top quadrant and "yes" in the bottom quadrant. The left and right halves labeled as "fun for me", i.e. fun for the host Randall, with "no" in the left quadrant and "yes" in the right quadrant.

In the bottom right quadrant (which indicates fun for everyone), are two separately outlined but largely overlapping regions, like a [[:Category:Venn diagrams|Venn diagram]]. One is the appropriate zone for a party (in general) and the other other applies to Randall's own birthday party. They are both vaguely ellipsoid and both enclose a reasonable to nearly maximal amount of fun in both dimensions. The key difference is that the range of the birthday party is skewed towards being marginally more for Randall's enjoyment, as the person the attendees to the party might wish to honor/humor on this occasion, whilst any other type of party is geared slightly more towards the enjoyment of the other attendees, where the host (i.e. Randall) probably should work at ensuring the enjoyment of the various guests. Omitting the extreme edges may indicate that there are no points there because it's impossible to completely please everybody, or it may be a warning that a party should not be such extreme fun that it gets out of hand nor let the balance of fun stray too far from equal. There are no specific points labeled in this quadrant.

The joke is that the only data point, presumably Randall's latest idea for a party, is in the upper right quadrant, signifying that it is only fun for Randall! It is very far right and fairly close to the top, indicating extreme fun for Randall and not fun at all for anyone else. The point is labeled "Sporcle geography tournament with snacks! Live-updating scoreboard, no distracting music". The elements of Randall's "fun" party include:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Element
!Comment
|-
|Sporcle
|{{w|Sporcle}} is a trivia website. Trivia games are a lot of fun for certain types of people, while others get bored by their "trivial" nature and would rather spend time talking, dancing, etc.
|-
|Geography trivia
|Randal is a geography geek (as evidenced by his obvious fascination with map projections). Needless to say, many people are not, so a geography trivia quiz would be one of the worst types for many people.
|-
|No music
|Music is usual to include in a party and is enjoyed by many people, so excluding it is part of what makes this idea less fun for guests (although some people prefer a quiet gathering over a loud party).
|-
|Snacks
|At least there would be snacks, which is also usual to include in a party. It's hard to imagine why people would object to snacks, so this is perhaps the only item that would be enjoyable both for Randall and his guests.
|}

In the caption it is mentioned that for some reason, Randall keeps "accidentally" planning parties in the Top Right Quadrant (fun for him, not for guests). Presumably he is so caught up in what is fun for himself that he doesn't realize it isn't fun for anyone else. This is regardless of which party-context, and well outside either of the appropriate zones. This diagram though indicates that he know this is the case, but maybe he is first able to place the point on the diagram after the party, when he realizes that his guest leaves early (again) out of boredom.

The title text elaborates on the Sporcle trivia game night that Randall has planned in the upper right quadrant. It makes mention of a comprehensive, and perhaps overly complicated, scoring system to determine who is the party's winner. That he's talking about "winning the party" suggests he is fundamentally misunderstanding the point of parties -- they're supposed to be fun for everyone attending, not (exclusively) a competition.

Seems like he plans for a complicated system, but that will not be a problem as long as he adds the words "For the Sake of Simplicity" now and then. See the previous comic [[2587: For the Sake of Simplicity]], which seems to be a bit related to what Randall thinks is fun, whereas other might not.

==Transcript==
:[A solid black lined square chart is divided into four quadrants with two light gray lines. Above the chart the left and right column are labeled, and above the labels there is a bracket with a label written on the bracket. Similarly there is labels to the left, of the top and bottom rows, with a bracket indicating those also with a label written on the bracket:]
:Top: Fun for me
:Top: No Yes
:Left: Fun for guests
:Left: No Yes

:[The top left quadrant is empty. The same goes for the bottom left quadrant, except labels for items in the bottom right quadrant is written in the bottom left quadrant. In the top right quadrant, there is a single black point which is almost touching the right edge of the chart, and lies about a quarter of the way down from the top towards the gray line. The point is labeled:]
:Label: Sporcle geography tournament
:Label: with snacks!
:Label: Live-updating scoreboard, no distracting music

:[In the bottom left quadrant there is a Venn diagram. It consist of two skewed ellipsoids, one with a solid line overlapping the other with a dotted line. The solid lined region goes further to the left, and the dotted line region goes further to the top, but both are mainly in the bottom right region, and the bottom right section is completely overlapping. Both regions are indicated with an arrow that goes to them from a label. The solid lined regions label is written to the left and it is entirely inside the bottom left quadrant. The dotted lined regions label is written in both of the lower quadrants, thoug mainly above the Venn diagram in the bottom right quadrant.]
:Solid lined label: Appropriate zone for a party
:Dotted lined label: Appropriate for my birthday party

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Venn diagrams]]
[[Category:Geography]]

Talk:2507: USV-C

2021-08-27T13:03:03Z

Gbisaga: Just guess

I just did my first edit! It'll definitely get changed, but I guess this is good enough for a start

[[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.204|162.158.89.204]] 16:30, 25 August 2021 (UTC)

that's not as absurd as it sounds. there are optical usb cables which work by converting the usb signals to and from light signals.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.83|162.158.92.83]] 16:48, 25 August 2021 (UTC)

I bet this is going to be an xkcd that gets recreated in real life.

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.87|108.162.215.87]] 17:01, 25 August 2021 (UTC)

There are ultraviolet LED lamps that are powered at 5V with an USB connector. xkcd in real life it's already done.
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.27|141.101.105.27]] 17:57, 25 August 2021 (UTC)
: I've been unable to find one with a hardwired male USB-C plug in a quick Google search. Though, there are many portable UV-C lamps which would count as USB-C socket to UV-C, so you could add on a USB-C plug-plug adapter and emulate this XKCD with two chained adapters. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.69|172.69.71.69]] 19:20, 25 August 2021 (UTC)

Am I the only one to think "from C to shining C"? And I'm not even American. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.209|141.101.76.209]] 20:00, 25 August 2021 (UTC)

It could be as simple as a UV lightbox integrated into a USB EPROM programmer. Have a few in the back erasing while you're programming a few in the front. --[[User:Tepples|Tepples]] ([[User talk:Tepples|talk]]) 22:42, 25 August 2021 (UTC)

It could be that the light flashes on and off for data or something. --[[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.51|198.41.238.51]] 05:35, 26 August 2021 (UTC)

Regarding getting it backwards the first time: an old engineer I worked with back at the beginning of my career 40 years ago used to say (speaking of serial cable pins, but applicable here also): always just try connecting it at random. That way you'll have a 50% chance of being right. If you try to figure it out first, your odds go way down. [[User:Gbisaga|Gbisaga]] ([[User talk:Gbisaga|talk]]) 13:03, 27 August 2021 (UTC)

2482: Indoor Socializing

2021-06-29T14:38:55Z

Gbisaga: /* Explanation */ Gross

{{comic
| number = 2482
| date = June 28, 2021
| title = Indoor Socializing
| image = indoor_socializing.png
| titletext = The problem with learning about biology is that everyone you meet is it.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a RESPIRATORY DROPLET. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Cueball]] is meeting [[White Hat]], who is probably not in the same household. White Hat asks how Cueball is, which is normal small talk, but Cueball responds by expressing his awareness that they're inhaling one another's "gross lung air". When White Hat is taken aback, Cueball backtracks, switching to a more socially acceptable "fine".

"Gross" here may be a pun on the term {{w|gross anatomy}} (i.e. anatomy at the macroscopic level) and "gross" as a synonym for "disgusting."

A recurring theme in XKCD is characters expressing an uncomfortable awareness of realities that most people tend to ignore, particularly for experts in a particular field (examples include [[2057]], [[913]], [[203]], and [[1839]]). In this strip, likely as a result of being primed by awareness of the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}, Cueball finds it difficult to be in the same building with other people without being aware of the fact that they're breathing the same air, meaning that particles of biological material are being freely exchanged. In an earlier era, such concerns might have been dismissed as being extreme, but the pandemic has demonstrated that there's very real reason to be concerned. Even if everyone involved is vaccinated, that doesn't entirely remove the risk, nor does it protect against other diseases, which can spread in similar ways.

The title text reinforces the idea that knowing more about any subject increases the likelihood that you'll become disturbed by some constant and basic reality of life. In this case, studying biology tends to be disturbing, since the field involves in depth knowledge of our own bodies, as well as all other organisms we encounter, and which makes one uncomfortably aware of all the risks and flaws basic to being alive.

==Transcript==
:[White Hat and Cueball are having a conversation.]
:White Hat: How are you?
:Cueball: Excruciatingly aware of how much of each other's gross lung air we're breathing.
:Cueball: I mean, fine! How are you?

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Social interactions]]
[[Category:Biology]]

2481: 1991 and 2021

2021-06-28T16:05:40Z

Gbisaga: /* Explanation */ more 1991

{{comic
| number = 2481
| date = June 25, 2021
| title = 1991 and 2021
| image = 1991_and_2021.png
| titletext = "Oh, and our computers all have cameras now, which is nice during the pandemic lockdowns." "The WHAT."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an ILLEGAL LASER POINTER. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic shows a Cueball from 2021 discussing the future's technology with White Hat, who is apparently living in 1991. White Hat is awed by the advances in technology, but is not expecting that the law combating laser attacks on passenger aircraft is not the most important thing mentioned.

"Laser attacks on airliners" ''sounds'' dramatic and important, and White Hat probably thinks that {{w|laser weapon}}s have been developed and have been used to attack aircraft. Given that "a [US] federal law" has been passed to combat such attacks, White Hat may be envisioning a future where US citizens have access to laser guns, and some reckless individuals have been firing them at airplanes. (If it were some other group like terrorists or foreign militaries, a federal law would be unlikely to dissuade them.)

In reality, the "lasers" in question are low-powered laser pointers, which some people aim at passenger airliners as a (dangerous) prank. When the beam hits the airplane, it cannot damage the plane itself, much less shoot it from the sky;{{citation needed}} it can, however, blind the pilot, which poses a threat to them and their passengers. A law ([https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/39A 18 USC §39A]) was thus passed in 2012 to criminalize this. (A moment of thought would make it clear that the "laser attack" is unlikely to damage the plane directly, because if it did, no new law would be needed.)

The robot fighting TV shows mentioned include ''{{w|BattleBots}}'', {{w|Robot Wars (TV series)|''Robot Wars''}}, and {{w|MegaBots Inc.|''MegaBots''}}, the earliest of which started in 1998. In them, machines armed with a variety of weapons fight in an arena. These are not technically robots in the traditional sense; for the most part, they are either remote controlled or piloted by humans, and have only rudimentary on board computer systems. They are certainly not controlled by AI. Also, while these shows have been popular enough to return to the air after periods of hiatus, they are not nearly as popular as sports involving humans.

In this comic, "cordless phone" may be meant literally, meaning any wireless phone without a cord. That's distinct from common parlance where "cordless phone" is distinct from a cellular phone, and is a wireless extension of a landline, typically of limited range, i.e. within a home. It seems likely that Cueball was using a term he knew a 1991 citizen would more easily relate to. Although cell phones did exist in 1991, they were not in common usage, and "cell phone" probably wouldn't have made much sense to the average person in 1991. Describing a cell phone as "a cordless phone [where you can] send news stories to your friends" would be a reasonable way of describing a cell phone to a person of that era.

Additionally, cellular phones today do not have much longer range than cellular phones of 1991 (in fact most have less range, due to their lower transmission power & use of higher frequencies, as well as indirectly due to increasing crowding on most wireless frequencies). Cordless phones reliant on a land-line, may exhibit somewhat longer range than they did in 1991, due to improvements in digital error correction & audio compression, although the effective range of a single transmission at a given power & frequency would otherwise be reduced by interference from the proliferation of other wireless devices outside functional range &\or operating independently. Satellite phones also offer more terrestrial range than cellular or cordless landline phones, however their functional range has not greatly increased since 1991 either (being already sufficient to reach a satellite within line-of-sight above). A possible explanation for a perceived "longer range" is that cellular phone towers are much more omnipresent than in 1991, granting cellular devices much greater functional area even though their functional range from ''one'' tower is typically less than in 1991.

Sharing on social media has distorted what news stories people encounter. Instead of a curated selection of important {{Citation needed}} news fact-checked by a newspaper or tv/radio broadcast, we see only what people similar to us found interesting.

By most reasonable measures, the most important technologies on the list could be seen as the rise of mobile phones, and the ability to easily share news stories (aside of course, from any perceived advent of high-powered laser weapons or televised robotic warfare). The first of these, mobile phone usage (& smartphones in particular) has led to a dramatic change in how people communicate, with a large amount of communication now remote, which was not as convenient in the 90s (requiring, for example, setting up {{w|roaming}} at the carrier's office before taking the phone to another city) and impossible for most people a few decades prior: Low frequency wireless for personal communication was relatively uncommon in the early '90s & remains so today. Sharing of news stories person-to-person is partly blamed for the spread of {{w|fake news}}; misinformation has become more and more politically, legally, & socially significant in the past few years. While wireless communication has certainly had enormous & wide-ranging effects, the factuality of the data communicated is arguably of greater importance than the means of its communication. The joke is that the impact of a technology on society isn't really about how exciting or dangerous it might look at first glance.

The title text {{tvtropes|ParrotExpowhat|horrifies 90s White Hat}}, who is blissfully unaware of [[:Category:COVID-19|COVID-19]]. At the time, the {{w|Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS|spread of HIV/Aids}} was regularly in the news, though because it was predominantly sexually-transmitted, thereby giving it a comparatively low {{w|Basic reproduction number|R-nought}}, there was debate on whether to consider it a pandemic. For this reason, a lockdown was never considered to contain it and dealing with a similar outbreak using one could be seen as very extreme indeed.

On release, the title text was not actually included as such. It was instead included as the text of a "see also" link, which is often invisible to readers and is activated by clicking the comic. Such links have been used in the past for larger versions of the comic or for related information on other sites. Here, it linked back to the comic itself, and was evidently a mistake.

==Transcript==

:[Cueball (with a time travel aura) is talking to White Hat]

:White Hat: Welcome to 1991!
:White Hat: So you're from 2021? What happens with technology over the next 30 years?

:Cueball: We passed a federal law to combat laser attacks on airliners, and there are TV shows where robots battle.
:Cueball: Also, cordless phones are longer range now, and it's really easy to send news stories to your friends.
:White Hat: Wow, okay.

:Cueball: Now, try to guess which of those things turn out to be important.
:White Hat: ...is it not the lasers?
:Cueball: It is not the lasers.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Time travel]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]

2481: 1991 and 2021

2021-06-28T16:02:11Z

Gbisaga: /* Explanation */ "Cell phones" in 1991

{{comic
| number = 2481
| date = June 25, 2021
| title = 1991 and 2021
| image = 1991_and_2021.png
| titletext = "Oh, and our computers all have cameras now, which is nice during the pandemic lockdowns." "The WHAT."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an ILLEGAL LASER POINTER. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic shows a Cueball from 2021 discussing the future's technology with White Hat, who is apparently living in 1991. White Hat is awed by the advances in technology, but is not expecting that the law combating laser attacks on passenger aircraft is not the most important thing mentioned.

"Laser attacks on airliners" ''sounds'' dramatic and important, and White Hat probably thinks that {{w|laser weapon}}s have been developed and have been used to attack aircraft. Given that "a [US] federal law" has been passed to combat such attacks, White Hat may be envisioning a future where US citizens have access to laser guns, and some reckless individuals have been firing them at airplanes. (If it were some other group like terrorists or foreign militaries, a federal law would be unlikely to dissuade them.)

In reality, the "lasers" in question are low-powered laser pointers, which some people aim at passenger airliners as a (dangerous) prank. When the beam hits the airplane, it cannot damage the plane itself, much less shoot it from the sky;{{citation needed}} it can, however, blind the pilot, which poses a threat to them and their passengers. A law ([https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/39A 18 USC §39A]) was thus passed in 2012 to criminalize this. (A moment of thought would make it clear that the "laser attack" is unlikely to damage the plane directly, because if it did, no new law would be needed.)

The robot fighting TV shows mentioned include ''{{w|BattleBots}}'', {{w|Robot Wars (TV series)|''Robot Wars''}}, and {{w|MegaBots Inc.|''MegaBots''}}, the earliest of which started in 1998. In them, machines armed with a variety of weapons fight in an arena. These are not technically robots in the traditional sense; for the most part, they are either remote controlled or piloted by humans, and have only rudimentary on board computer systems. They are certainly not controlled by AI. Also, while these shows have been popular enough to return to the air after periods of hiatus, they are not nearly as popular as sports involving humans.

In this comic, "cordless phone" may be meant literally, meaning any wireless phone without a cord. That's distinct from common parlance where "cordless phone" is distinct from a cellular phone, and is a wireless extension of a landline, typically of limited range, i.e. within a home. It seems likely that Cueball was using a term he knew a 1991 citizen would more quickly relate to: although cell phones did exist in 1991, they were not in common usage, and "cell phone" probably wouldn't make much sense to the average person.

Additionally, cellular phones do not have much longer range than cellular phones of 1991 (in fact most have less range, due to their lower transmission power & use of higher frequencies, as well as indirectly due to increasing crowding on most wireless frequencies). Cordless phones reliant on a land-line, may exhibit somewhat longer range than they did in 1991, due to improvements in digital error correction & audio compression, although the effective range of a single transmission at a given power & frequency would otherwise be reduced by interference from the proliferation of other wireless devices outside functional range &\or operating independently. Satellite phones also offer more terrestrial range than cellular or cordless landline phones, however their functional range has not greatly increased since 1991 either (being already sufficient to reach a satellite within line-of-sight above). One likely explanation for a perceived "longer range" is that cellular phone towers are much more omnipresent than in 1991, granting cellular devices much greater functional area even though their functional range from ''one'' tower is typically less than in 1991.

Sharing on social media has distorted what news stories people encounter. Instead of a curated selection of important {{Citation needed}} news fact-checked by a newspaper or tv/radio broadcast, we see only what people similar to us found interesting.

By most reasonable measures, the most important technologies on the list could be seen as the rise of mobile phones, and the ability to easily share news stories (aside of course, from any perceived advent of high-powered laser weapons or televised robotic warfare). The first of these, mobile phone usage (& smartphones in particular) has led to a dramatic change in how people communicate, with a large amount of communication now remote, which was not as convenient in the 90s (requiring, for example, setting up {{w|roaming}} at the carrier's office before taking the phone to another city) and impossible for most people a few decades prior: Low frequency wireless for personal communication was relatively uncommon in the early '90s & remains so today. Sharing of news stories person-to-person is partly blamed for the spread of {{w|fake news}}; misinformation has become more and more politically, legally, & socially significant in the past few years. While wireless communication has certainly had enormous & wide-ranging effects, the factuality of the data communicated is arguably of greater importance than the means of its communication. The joke is that the impact of a technology on society isn't really about how exciting or dangerous it might look at first glance.

The title text {{tvtropes|ParrotExpowhat|horrifies 90s White Hat}}, who is blissfully unaware of [[:Category:COVID-19|COVID-19]]. At the time, the {{w|Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS|spread of HIV/Aids}} was regularly in the news, though because it was predominantly sexually-transmitted, thereby giving it a comparatively low {{w|Basic reproduction number|R-nought}}, there was debate on whether to consider it a pandemic. For this reason, a lockdown was never considered to contain it and dealing with a similar outbreak using one could be seen as very extreme indeed.

On release, the title text was not actually included as such. It was instead included as the text of a "see also" link, which is often invisible to readers and is activated by clicking the comic. Such links have been used in the past for larger versions of the comic or for related information on other sites. Here, it linked back to the comic itself, and was evidently a mistake.

==Transcript==

:[Cueball (with a time travel aura) is talking to White Hat]

:White Hat: Welcome to 1991!
:White Hat: So you're from 2021? What happens with technology over the next 30 years?

:Cueball: We passed a federal law to combat laser attacks on airliners, and there are TV shows where robots battle.
:Cueball: Also, cordless phones are longer range now, and it's really easy to send news stories to your friends.
:White Hat: Wow, okay.

:Cueball: Now, try to guess which of those things turn out to be important.
:White Hat: ...is it not the lasers?
:Cueball: It is not the lasers.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Time travel]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]

2473: Product Launch

2021-06-08T15:20:40Z

Gbisaga: Threatening

{{comic
| number = 2473
| date = June 7, 2021
| title = Product Launch
| image = product_launch.png
| titletext = "Okay, that was weird, but the product reveal was normal. I think the danger is pas--" "One more thing." "Oh no."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a NON-THREATENING SMART DEVICE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Three people are discussing the upcoming public announcement of their company's new product, apparently an electronic device shown on the pedestal between them. Hairy mentions that such devices can make people uncomfortable. Common reasons include:

* It is impossible for consumers to know what the device is really doing (since it is a "black box" with inaccessible software).
* The device could stop working in the future due to poor quality or software problems;
* The device could be used by the company to spy on people, including ones who did not consent to this by purchasing the device.
* The device could represent a security or even safety risk by allowing hackers or other groups access to the network or any systems that the device controls.

To allay these concerns, the device should be presented as non-threatening. Cueball asks to confirm the '''non''', implying that this was not clear to him before. In fact, it even appears he thought he was being asked to put together a ''threatening'' presentation, but does not explain.

Later, Cueball presents the device on-stage, with statements that have been styled to sound positive but carry double meanings.

* He confirms that the product can "change the world for good or evil" (most would merely claim that their new product is good).
* The "plaintive cries of [the company's] customers" may be because of the company rather than requests for its product.
* The company wants to "give [customers] what they deserve," a phrase often associated with judgments that are as likely to punish as to reward.
* Instead of being merely uncovered, the product is being exposed to the atmosphere (implying a chemical or physical reaction) and is to affect customers within five city blocks (nearly 1 km). This is further than common smart devices (using wireless technologies such as WiFi or Bluetooth) would reach. Worse, this event is supposed to be surprising, unlike, for example, the sudden availability of a new long-distance radio network.
* When someone in the audience decides to leave in the middle of the presentation, Cueball reassures them that a surprisingly large number of people will survive (not all, and never claiming that the product is safe).

In the title text, someone is saying that the actual reveal was uneventful. Cueball interrupts, implying that there is one last feature to demonstrate, at which point the first speaker assumes the worst (that the product's most threatening aspect was saved for last).

Besides the main joke of a product that is likely so unsafe as to be illegal, the comic could also be poking fun at the desire of tech companies to make their products sound important, which can undermine the message of benign safety.

This comic was released on the day of Apple's 2021 WWDC (Worldwide Developer Conference) keynote, at which the company traditionally announces new features and products. "One more thing" is a tagline famously associated with Steve Jobs' product announcements and something of an Apple tradition.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[Hairy and Ponytail are standing to the left of a wrapped object. Cueball is standing on the right.]
:Hairy: The press is here for the product launch!
:Hairy: Remember, people are wary of smart devices, so we want to strike a non-threatening tone.

:[Pan over to just Cueball; Hairy and Ponytail are off of the left side of the panel.]
:Cueball: Hang on, did you say '''''non'''''-threatening?
:Hairy: Yes. Why-
:Cueball: Nothing. It's probably fine.

:[Caption: Soon...]
:[Cueball is standing on a platform next to the previously seen wrapped object.]
:Cueball: They say technology can change the world, for good or for evil. Our new product will show how true that is.
:Cueball: We hear the plaintive cries of our customers. We want to give them what they deserve.

:[Zoom in on Cueball, who has his hand up in a gesture.]
:Cueball: Now, let us expose our product to the atmosphere for the first time, surprising and delighting customers within a five-block radius.
:(Voice off-panel): I'm leaving.
:Cueball: No, don't worry! A staggering number of people will survive!

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]]

2464: Muller's Ratchet

2021-05-18T16:52:46Z

Gbisaga: It's a caaaaaaat

{{comic
| number = 2464
| date = May 17, 2021
| title = Muller's Ratchet
| image = mullers_ratchet.png
| titletext = Who knew you could learn so much about sexual reproduction from looking at pictures on the internet!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Made with SWORDAPP. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this comic, Randall reviews a passage explaining the internet with terms associated with evolution, comparing the constant resharing and changing of popular photos to evolutionary processes, namely {{w|Muller's ratchet}} and {{w|Genetic recombination|recombination}}.

The original image is altered in various ways:
* A caption is added to the photo as a whole, possibly using an online "meme maker" tool. Many memes are made in this manner, such as the Office Space [https://imgflip.com/meme/That-Would-Be-Great "that would be great"] memes.
* Individual labels are placed on the participants (which include the cat). These labels may be literal, but often they are metaphorical. A common metaphorical example is the {{w|Distracted-boyfriend meme}}.
* This seems to be unmodified from the original, except being a bit fuzzy
* A caption is added at the top and bottom of the picture, again possibly by an online meme maker, and the photo cropped
* A sword has been added to the picture, held in a comical position by a participant who wouldn't usually have one (the cat). These are typically just done as a joke.
* The aspect ratio has been changed and the photo cropped a bit
* Individual labels are placed on the participants here as well
* Individual labels are placed on the main (human) participants only. This might be used to only apply metaphorical meanings to the people and not to the object being held (the cat).

Recombination is the combination of genetic material from chromosomes, shuffling genes during meiosis. In this case, it is being compared to shuffling and recombining aspects of an edited digital image.

Sometimes, genetic mutation can create better genes - like the sword being given to the cat in the image. Other changes remove or degrade from the genetic history, without apparent detriment, just because the circumstances do not currently confer any significant advantage to it. If the 'lost' ability is perhaps useful in dealing with an infrequent environmental stress then the loss of its utility might be felt a generation or two later.

With recombination, useful novel changes can be shuffled into the population without necessarily bringing in a less useful mutation, creating descendents with both the obvious advantages (a sword) and the previously more established resilience (the fuller frame).

The degradation of digital images has previously been explored in [[1683: Digital Data]].

The title text has a double meaning, referring both to the ways these particular images on the Internet illustrate these evolutionary processes (which are driven by the mechanisms of biological reproduction, including sexual reproduction) and to {{tvtropes|TheInternetIsForPorn|the amount of erotic imagery illustrating the mechanics of sexual activity one might find on the Internet}}.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A caption sits above a slightly greyed-out photo of Hairbun holding out a cat to Cueball, who has his hand over his face and is leaning away. Below are arrows leading to much smaller variations of the photo, all altered in some way.]
:[From left to right: Image with the sides cropped and black text bordered by white in the bottom center; image with black text in white box with black border above cat, on Hairbun, and on Cueball; image identical to the original but with softer edges; image cropped around all sides to exclude all negative space around frame, with white text bordered by black near the top and bottom center; image cropped to cut out half of Hairbun and Cueball's legs and featuring the cat holding a sword out at Cueball; image same as the original except with black text bordered by white on top of the cat, Hairbun, and Cueball; and image blurred out and at low resolution with black text in white oval on top of Hairbun and Cueball.]
:Caption: When a photo goes around on social media, people create lots of new versions of it.

:[A larger depiction of an image altered to cut out some of Hairbun and Cueball's legs and the cat holding a sword to the left of a caption, with a faint, shadowed wordmark saying "Made with ''SwordApp'']
:Caption: Sometimes, one of the edited versions becomes more popular and supplants the original. But often, the new version isn't made from the best copy of the image. It may be pixelated, cropped, or watermarked.
:[The same image appears with a grey box around it showing the cropped-out areas and an arrow pointing into it saying "lost". To the left is a caption.]
:Caption: As long as those flaws are minor enough that they don't cancel out the big change, the new version can still win out. Each good change brings with it random background damage. The degradation only goes one way. Once an image is cropped, its descendents will be, too. This steady loss of information is called '''''Muller's Ratchet'''''.
:[The original photo and the edited replacement are side-by-side, with the original on the right and the replacement on the left. The area above the cat where the sword is shown in the replacement is circled with a dotted line in both images. In the original, the area inside is greyed out, and in the replacement, the entire image is greyed out except for that area.]
:[Arrows point from the emphasized parts of both images to a new photo below that combines the original image with the sword from the replacement. A caption sits to the left.]
:Caption: But there's a solution. The old versions are still around, so if you have an image editor that lets you splice together parts of two images, you can make a new version with the best parts of both. This process is called '''''recombination...''''']
:[All previous panels are grouped in one big box, with a caption below the entire frame]
:Caption: People use evolutionary metaphors to explain the spread of internet content, but at this point we have so much more experience with the internet that I feel like it often makes more sense the other way around.

{{comic discussion}}

2464: Muller's Ratchet

2021-05-18T16:50:23Z

Gbisaga: Fuller explanations of the pictures than can be provided in the transcript

{{comic
| number = 2464
| date = May 17, 2021
| title = Muller's Ratchet
| image = mullers_ratchet.png
| titletext = Who knew you could learn so much about sexual reproduction from looking at pictures on the internet!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Made with SWORDAPP. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this comic, Randall reviews a passage explaining the internet with terms associated with evolution, comparing the constant resharing and changing of popular photos to evolutionary processes, namely {{w|Muller's ratchet}} and {{w|Genetic recombination|recombination}}.

The original image is altered in various ways:
* A caption is added to the photo as a whole, possibly using an online "meme maker" tool. Many memes are made in this manner, such as the Office Space [https://imgflip.com/meme/That-Would-Be-Great "that would be great"] memes.
* Individual labels are placed on the participants (which include the squirrel). These labels may be literal, but often they are metaphorical. A common metaphorical example is the {{w|Distracted-boyfriend meme}}.
* This seems to be unmodified from the original, except being a bit fuzzy
* A caption is added at the top and bottom of the picture, again possibly by an online meme maker, and the photo cropped
* A sword has been added to the picture, held in a comical position by a participant who wouldn't usually have one (the squirrel). These are typically just done as a joke.
* The aspect ratio has been changed and the photo cropped a bit
* Individual labels are placed on the participants here as well
* Individual labels are placed on the main (human) participants only. This might be used to only apply metaphorical meanings to the people and not to the object being held (the squirrel).

Recombination is the combination of genetic material from chromosomes, shuffling genes during meiosis. In this case, it is being compared to shuffling and recombining aspects of an edited digital image.

Sometimes, genetic mutation can create better genes - like the sword being given to the cat in the image. Other changes remove or degrade from the genetic history, without apparent detriment, just because the circumstances do not currently confer any significant advantage to it. If the 'lost' ability is perhaps useful in dealing with an infrequent environmental stress then the loss of its utility might be felt a generation or two later.

With recombination, useful novel changes can be shuffled into the population without necessarily bringing in a less useful mutation, creating descendents with both the obvious advantages (a sword) and the previously more established resilience (the fuller frame).

The degradation of digital images has previously been explored in [[1683: Digital Data]].

The title text has a double meaning, referring both to the ways these particular images on the Internet illustrate these evolutionary processes (which are driven by the mechanisms of biological reproduction, including sexual reproduction) and to {{tvtropes|TheInternetIsForPorn|the amount of erotic imagery illustrating the mechanics of sexual activity one might find on the Internet}}.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A caption sits above a slightly greyed-out photo of Hairbun holding out a squirrel to Cueball, who has his hand over his face and is leaning away. Below are arrows leading to much smaller variations of the photo, all altered in some way.]
:[From left to right: Image with the sides cropped and black text bordered by white in the bottom center; image with black text in white box with black border above squirrel, on Hairbun, and on Cueball; image identical to the original but with softer edges; image cropped around all sides to exclude all negative space around frame, with white text bordered by black near the top and bottom center; image cropped to cut out half of Hairbun and Cueball's legs and featuring the squirrel holding a sword out at Cueball; image same as the original except with black text bordered by white on top of the squirrel, Hairbun, and Cueball; and image blurred out and at low resolution with black text in white oval on top of Hairbun and Cueball.]
:Caption: When a photo goes around on social media, people create lots of new versions of it.

:[A larger depiction of an image altered to cut out some of Hairbun and Cueball's legs and the squirrel holding a sword to the left of a caption, with a faint, shadowed wordmark saying "Made with ''SwordApp'']
:Caption: Sometimes, one of the edited versions becomes more popular and supplants the original. But often, the new version isn't made from the best copy of the image. It may be pixelated, cropped, or watermarked.
:[The same image appears with a grey box around it showing the cropped-out areas and an arrow pointing into it saying "lost". To the left is a caption.]
:Caption: As long as those flaws are minor enough that they don't cancel out the big change, the new version can still win out. Each good change brings with it random background damage. The degradation only goes one way. Once an image is cropped, its descendents will be, too. This steady loss of information is called '''''Muller's Ratchet'''''.
:[The original photo and the edited replacement are side-by-side, with the original on the right and the replacement on the left. The area above the squirrel where the sword is shown in the replacement is circled with a dotted line in both images. In the original, the area inside is greyed out, and in the replacement, the entire image is greyed out except for that area.]
:[Arrows point from the emphasized parts of both images to a new photo below that combines the original image with the sword from the replacement. A caption sits to the left.]
:Caption: But there's a solution. The old versions are still around, so if you have an image editor that lets you splice together parts of two images, you can make a new version with the best parts of both. This process is called '''''recombination...''''']
:[All previous panels are grouped in one big box, with a caption below the entire frame]
:Caption: People use evolutionary metaphors to explain the spread of internet content, but at this point we have so much more experience with the internet that I feel like it often makes more sense the other way around.

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2462: NASA Award

2021-05-13T13:27:01Z

Gbisaga: Mt Rushmore

Possibly a reference to this? (I'm sure there are other examples, though.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cydonia_(Mars) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.34.100|172.70.34.100]] 04:25, 13 May 2021 (UTC)
:More likely it's this recent nonsense: https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/moon-mars/a36356445/mushrooms-on-mars-nasa-photos-life-on-mars/ [[Special:Contributions/162.158.187.229|162.158.187.229]] 05:42, 13 May 2021 (UTC)

Ironically, while many of us are still holding out for visible space fauna, practically every test we've constructed to check for the biochemical ''signs'' of life has returned positive results. Even as far back as the Viking landers, we've been sending out probes & conducting tests, designed to detect trace compositions ''only known to form via biological processes'', & over & over we find those traces right where one would expect. From otherwise inexplicably high methane production, to complex sugars forming around a distant star, it often appears that the universe may be ''teeming'' with life, & we simply haven't collected it somewhere so observable as a petri dish, yet. As near as I can tell, the only reason we haven't declared "extraterrestrial life confirmed" is because we keep raising the bar for proving it. At this rate, I feel like we could discover martian sunflowers & honeybees, & somehow there would still be some question of "Yeah, but are they really truly technically & inarguably ''alive'', exactly? What is life, anyway?" ... So far, I'm not aware of many chemical tests performed to check for signs of life in space which ''didn't'' detect signs of life?
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 08:12, 13 May 2021 (UTC)

Ponytail gives a rock as a prize, but tells Hairy that from an angle it can look like a Nobel. She is using the same semantics when people look at Mars photos and recognize structures or figures in oddly shape rocks. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.131|162.158.158.131]] 09:30, 13 May 2021 (UTC)
:I'm surprised there's no wikilink to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareidolia yet, in the explanation (or straight to the #Mimetoliths section, even, though that's a slightly different aspect of the same coin as the comic intends). But the rewrite I'd want to do to the Explanation is far more extensive (shuffling, mostly, with only minor editorialising and 'correction') than the time I have right now, if I want to do it well, so I'll leave this until later or let someone else grasp the nettle and perhaps add Pareidolia/similar references themselves? (Honestly, I keep getting YouTube 'recommendations' of stuff like "We've found a pipe* on Mars!" (*i.e. the tobacco kind) which is basically just someone doing the equivalent of saying that a particular cloud in the (Earthly) sky looks like an elephant. Sorta-maybe-for-a-few-seconds-before-it-doesn't-again.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.61|141.101.98.61]] 12:39, 13 May 2021 (UTC)

When I was a kid I thought Mount Rushmore was a natural formation. Actually, I'm ashamed to admit how old I was when I realized it _wasn't_ one. Now I know that I can blame "Pareidolia." [[User:Gbisaga|Gbisaga]] ([[User talk:Gbisaga|talk]]) 13:27, 13 May 2021 (UTC)

2381: The True Name of the Bear

2020-11-04T15:10:43Z

Gbisaga: Consistency, round 2

{{comic
| number = 2381
| date = November 4, 2020
| title = The True Name of the Bear
| image = the_true_name_of_the_bear.png
| titletext = Thank you to Gretchen McCulloch for fielding this question, and sorry that as a result the world's foremost internet linguist has been devoured by the brown one. She will be missed.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by THE BEAR WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED. Sir, madam, or variation thereupon under the username Gbisaga, your linguistic speculations are honestly interesting. However, they’re original research. Please find a citation. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The Canadian Internet linguist {{w|Gretchen McCulloch}} [https://twitter.com/gretchenamcc/status/1113195661275611137 tweeted] about [https://www.charlierussellbears.com/LinguisticArchaeology.html the theory] that the word for bear became taboo in some branches of Indoeuropean languages - notably the Germanic one - and it was replaced by euphemisms. In the Germanic branch, the euphemism may have been like "the brown one" and words for bear derive from words for "brown".

The Indoeuropean root for bears is *rkto-, which has been inferred from languages that use words derived from it. In the comic, Gretchen McCulloch applies {{w|Sound change|sound shifting}} laws to it to guess how it would have evolved into English, but pronouncing it seems to actually summon a bear, showing that abandoning that word was a fairly wise move for the Germanic language family. Interestingly enough, the hypothesized word “arth” is the same as the Welsh and Cornish for the word “bear.” Welsh belongs to the Celtic language family, which is one of the Indoeuropean branches that still uses a word derived from *rkto-, as the Italic (Romance), Greek and Indoarian (Sanscrit) branches do, while Germanic, Slavic and Baltic branches abandoned it for different euphemisms.

However, there seems to be a consistency problem with the comic. If saying the "true" name (or any name derived from that name) summons the bear, how is it that the Welsh and most Romance language speakers (e.g. Italians saying Orso, Spaniards saying Oso, etc) get away without being constantly mauled? The only explanations might be if the bears only understand certain languages, but that seems unlikely since the languages that the bears would understand would have developed thousands of years apart in time.

Use of true names appears to be [[1013: Wake Up Sheeple|highly effective in the xkcd universe, rather like a fairy tale.]]

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[Megan is looking down at her phone.]
:Megan: Wow - according to the internet, we don't know the true name of the bear.
:Cueball: What?

:[Gretchen comes on-panel.]
:Megan: Apparently there was a superstition that saying its name would summon it. "Bear" and "bruin" mean "the brown one." Its actual name has been lost.
:Cueball: Wow.
:Ponytail: Gretchen, is this for real?

:[Zoom-in on Gretchen.]
:Gretchen: Well, sort of
:Gretchen: The Proto-Indo-European root was *rkto-
:Gretchen: It was lost in the Germanic languages like English, but survived elsewhere, e.g. Greek "arktos" and Latin "ursus"

:[Back to the second panel, with Megan holding her phone down, Ponytail with her hands in the air, and Gretchen with his hand on his chin.]
:Megan: So could we figure out what the word would have been in English?
:Gretchen: Hmm. I mean, we'll never know, but given Germanic sound shifts, a reasonable guess might be "arth"?
:Ponytail: ''No!!''

:[The panel zooms in again to Gretchen.]
:Ponytail (off-panel): ''Stop! AAAAA!''
:Gretchen: What??
:Ponytail (off-panel): Don't ''say'' it!

:[Ponytail is holding her palms out. Megan is no longer in the panel.]
:Ponytail: What have you ''done''?
:Off-panel noise: <big>'''''ROAR'''''</big>
:Gretchen: Oh
:Gretchen: Oh no

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Animals]]

User talk:Lightcaller

2020-11-04T15:07:48Z

Gbisaga:

Hi! [[User:BlackHat|BlackHat]] ([[User talk:BlackHat|talk]]) 23:48, 31 October 2020 (UTC)

== Revert changes on Name of the Bear ==

You reverted my change on Name of the Bear attempting to work thru the language inconsistency, but you didn't write anything on the talk page to say why. I don't want to get into an edit war, just wondering why you deleted the explanation. It doesn't seem bad to have. [[User:Gbisaga|Gbisaga]] ([[User talk:Gbisaga|talk]]) 14:27, 4 November 2020 (UTC)

: I mean, I don’t object to the speculation as such. I am interested in your theory, and, knowing little about linguistics myself, would be glad to hear from someone more schooled in it. It’s just that the theory of a single user doesn’t belong on the main page. If multiple long discussions occurred, we could feasibly cite them, but as it stands now, it’s not a source. Sorry. [[User:Lightcaller|Lightcaller]] ([[User talk:Lightcaller|talk]]) 14:35, 4 November 2020 (UTC)

:: Hmm, I guess I don't see this as a serious theory, but rather pointing out the inconsistency of the comic and several attempted (hopefully humorous, but maybe not) explanations for the inconsistency. Surely this is not the first time such an explanation has been tried? Regardless, it seems like at a minimum the inconsistency can be pointed out. I'll make an attempt to do that. [[User:Gbisaga|Gbisaga]] ([[User talk:Gbisaga|talk]]) 15:07, 4 November 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2381: The True Name of the Bear

2020-11-04T14:29:03Z

Gbisaga:

This one is ridiculously early. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.120|172.69.22.120]] 05:22, 4 November 2020 (UTC)

Let’s try this again, hopefully won’t get stepped on this time... I know I’ve seen Gretchen on various YouTube channels but is she really “the world's foremost internet linguist” as Randal claims?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.87|162.158.79.87]] 05:29, 4 November 2020 (UTC)
:Probably as a linguist studying internet culture, which she is indeed one of the most famous in that area. Most popular linguist on the internet? It's everyone's guess. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.118.116|162.158.118.116]] 05:48, 4 November 2020 (UTC)
Well, after being mentioned by Randall she totally might become the most known one.

"Arth" is Welsh for bear.

Hmm... I find Ponytail's behaviour strange. At first she asks for explanation/verification of Megan's claim and when she recieves it she yells "NO!" as if she already knew it would be true... [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 09:14, 4 November 2020 (UTC)
:She gets confirmation that the name is lost in panel 3 (and assumes it also confirms the summoning part). So she indeed knew by panel 4.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.68.66|141.101.68.66]] 10:51, 4 November 2020 (UTC)
:: Why isn't the bear's name summoning it after its name being said out loud in panel 3, though? Or is the name only "true" in English (in which the name didn't exist until Gretchen reconstructed it)? Doesn't make sense. /edit: I know we are talking about myths and superstition here and thus it might be all somewhat hazy but this comic is imho not self-consistent. I'm not used to inconsistent comics on XKCD (unless it's done on purpose for humorous effect which in this case seems not to be true). Thus my irritation. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 11:13, 4 November 2020 (UTC)
:::They are clearly in England (or the Anglosphere in general, though English isn't the official language in the US, merely customary) and by the Rules Of Summoning an English/etc 'bear' ''must'' only respond to the locality-sanctioned word (said with intent, not a coincidentally homophonic collection of syllables, not saying the exact same word but in the sense of being actually quoting a different language that uses the same word).
:::I theorise that the Welsh are saying ''their'' bear-name in slightly the wrong accent for being useful to summon a Welsh bear (maybe it should be more "Ardd"?) due to excessive Anglicisation. Or the Celtic way of not-saying-the-true-Celtic-word is to habitually say the Anglic one, which thus does not count. Or the Welsh bears are just confused by the current trend for dual-language signage and expect/require both. (Welsh then English in one half of the country, English followed by Welsh in the other part of the nation.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.208|141.101.98.208]] 12:55, 4 November 2020 (UTC)
:::If we're worried about consistency here, how is it that all the Romance language speakers (e.g. Orso for Italians, Oso for Spaniards, etc) get away without being constantly mauled? Perhaps it's only the *true* name of the bear, -rkto, that summons the animal. I suppose that would give an explanation of why we don't see any Indo-European speakers around nowadays... [[User:Gbisaga|Gbisaga]] ([[User talk:Gbisaga|talk]]) 13:37, 4 November 2020 (UTC)
:::*NOTE* I've added an explanation that attempts to summarize this consistency discussion. But somebody reverted it. Why? It doesn't seem out of line, compared to a lot of what I read on explainxkcd. [[User:Gbisaga|Gbisaga]] ([[User talk:Gbisaga|talk]]) 14:29, 4 November 2020 (UTC)

Fascinating! In Russian, the word for bear is also euphemistic, pronounced as ''medved'', which roughly means "knowledgeable about honey". But until today, I thought that something like "ber" is in fact its true name. Turns out it's not even that. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.236|162.158.238.236]] 14:02, 4 November 2020 (UTC)

User talk:Lightcaller

2020-11-04T14:27:22Z

Gbisaga: /* Revert changes on Name of the Bear */ new section

Talk:2381: The True Name of the Bear

2020-11-04T14:13:39Z

Gbisaga: note

This one is ridiculously early. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.120|172.69.22.120]] 05:22, 4 November 2020 (UTC)

Let’s try this again, hopefully won’t get stepped on this time... I know I’ve seen Gretchen on various YouTube channels but is she really “the world's foremost internet linguist” as Randal claims?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.87|162.158.79.87]] 05:29, 4 November 2020 (UTC)
:Probably as a linguist studying internet culture, which she is indeed one of the most famous in that area. Most popular linguist on the internet? It's everyone's guess. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.118.116|162.158.118.116]] 05:48, 4 November 2020 (UTC)
Well, after being mentioned by Randall she totally might become the most known one.

"Arth" is Welsh for bear.

Hmm... I find Ponytail's behaviour strange. At first she asks for explanation/verification of Megan's claim and when she recieves it she yells "NO!" as if she already knew it would be true... [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 09:14, 4 November 2020 (UTC)
:She gets confirmation that the name is lost in panel 3 (and assumes it also confirms the summoning part). So she indeed knew by panel 4.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.68.66|141.101.68.66]] 10:51, 4 November 2020 (UTC)
:: Why isn't the bear's name summoning it after its name being said out loud in panel 3, though? Or is the name only "true" in English (in which the name didn't exist until Gretchen reconstructed it)? Doesn't make sense. /edit: I know we are talking about myths and superstition here and thus it might be all somewhat hazy but this comic is imho not self-consistent. I'm not used to inconsistent comics on XKCD (unless it's done on purpose for humorous effect which in this case seems not to be true). Thus my irritation. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 11:13, 4 November 2020 (UTC)
:::They are clearly in England (or the Anglosphere in general, though English isn't the official language in the US, merely customary) and by the Rules Of Summoning an English/etc 'bear' ''must'' only respond to the locality-sanctioned word (said with intent, not a coincidentally homophonic collection of syllables, not saying the exact same word but in the sense of being actually quoting a different language that uses the same word).
:::I theorise that the Welsh are saying ''their'' bear-name in slightly the wrong accent for being useful to summon a Welsh bear (maybe it should be more "Ardd"?) due to excessive Anglicisation. Or the Celtic way of not-saying-the-true-Celtic-word is to habitually say the Anglic one, which thus does not count. Or the Welsh bears are just confused by the current trend for dual-language signage and expect/require both. (Welsh then English in one half of the country, English followed by Welsh in the other part of the nation.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.208|141.101.98.208]] 12:55, 4 November 2020 (UTC)
:::If we're worried about consistency here, how is it that all the Romance language speakers (e.g. Orso for Italians, Oso for Spaniards, etc) get away without being constantly mauled? Perhaps it's only the *true* name of the bear, -rkto, that summons the animal. I suppose that would give an explanation of why we don't see any Indo-European speakers around nowadays... [[User:Gbisaga|Gbisaga]] ([[User talk:Gbisaga|talk]]) 13:37, 4 November 2020 (UTC) *NOTE* I've added an explanation that attempts to summarize this consistency discussion.

Fascinating! In Russian, the word for bear is also euphemistic, pronounced as ''medved'', which roughly means "knowledgeable about honey". But until today, I thought that something like "ber" is in fact its true name. Turns out it's not even that. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.236|162.158.238.236]] 14:02, 4 November 2020 (UTC)

2381: The True Name of the Bear

2020-11-04T14:13:03Z

Gbisaga: Arth and -rkto

{{comic
| number = 2381
| date = November 4, 2020
| title = The True Name of the Bear
| image = the_true_name_of_the_bear.png
| titletext = Thank you to Gretchen McCulloch for fielding this question, and sorry that as a result the world's foremost internet linguist has been devoured by the brown one. She will be missed.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by THE BEAR WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The Canadian Internet linguist {{w|Gretchen McCulloch}} [https://twitter.com/gretchenamcc/status/1113195661275611137 tweeted] about [https://www.charlierussellbears.com/LinguisticArchaeology.html the theory] that the word for bear became taboo in some branches of Indoeuropean languages - notably the Germanic one - and it was replaced by euphemisms. In the Germanic branch, the euphemism may have been like "the brown one" and words for bear derive from words for "brown".

The Indoeuropean root for bears is *rkto-, which has been inferred from languages that use words derived from it. In the comic, Gretchen McCulloch applies {{w|Sound change|sound shifting}} laws to it to guess how it would have evolved into English, but pronouncing it seems to actually summon a bear, showing that abandoning that word was a fairly wise move for the Germanic language family. Interestingly enough, the hypothesized word Arth is the same as the Welsh for the word bear. Welsh belongs to the Celtic language family, which is one of the Indoeuropean branches that still uses a word derived from *rkto-, as the Italic (Romance), Greek and Indoarian (Sanscrit) branches do, while Germanic, Slavic and Baltic branches abandoned it for different euphemisms.

However, there seems to be a consistency problem with the situation. If saying the "true" name summons the bear, how is it that the Welsh and most Romance language speakers (e.g. Italians saying Orso, Spaniards saying Oso, etc) get away without being constantly mauled? One possible explanation for the Welsh is that it's possible that the Welsh are saying their bear-name in slightly the wrong accent for being useful to summon a Welsh bear (maybe it should be more "Ardd"?) due to excessive Anglicisation. Or the Celtic way of not-saying-the-true-Celtic-word is to habitually say the Anglic one, which thus does not count. Or the Welsh bears are just confused by the current trend for dual-language signage and expect/require both. (Welsh then English in one half of the country, English followed by Welsh in the other part of the nation.) However, it seems explanations like this are hard to generalize to all the languages that *do* use a *rkto- derivation. Another explanation is that it is only certain forms of the name of the bear, -rkto and the hypothesized "arth", that summons the animal, perhaps due to the bears all understanding only certain languages. That would also give an explanation of why we don't see any Indo-European speakers around nowadays.

Use of true names appears to be [[1013: Wake Up Sheeple|highly effective in the xkcd universe, rather like a fairy tale.]]

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[Megan is looking down at her phone.]
:Megan: Wow - according to the internet, we don't know the true name of the bear.
:Cueball: What?

:[Gretchen comes on-panel.]
:Megan: Apparently there was a superstition that saying its name would summon it. "Bear" and "bruin" mean "the brown one." Its actual name has been lost.
:Cueball: Wow.
:Ponytail: Gretchen, is this for real?

:[Zoom-in on Gretchen.]
:Gretchen: Well, sort of
:Gretchen: The Proto-Indo-European root was *rkto-
:Gretchen: It was lost in the Germanic languages like English, but survived elsewhere, e.g. Greek "arktos" and Latin "ursus"

:[Back to the second panel, with Megan holding her phone down, Ponytail with her hands in the air, and Gretchen with his hand on his chin.]
:Megan: So could we figure out what the word would have been in English?
:Gretchen: Hmm. I mean, we'll never know, but given Germanic sound shifts, a reasonable guess might be "arth"?
:Ponytail: ''No!!''

:[The panel zooms in again to Gretchen.]
:Ponytail (off-panel): ''Stop! AAAAA!''
:Gretchen: What??
:Ponytail (off-panel): Don't ''say'' it!

:[Ponytail is holding her palms out. Megan is no longer in the panel.]
:Ponytail: What have you ''done''?
:Off-panel noise: <big>'''''ROAR'''''</big>
:Gretchen: Oh
:Gretchen: Oh no

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Animals]]

Talk:2381: The True Name of the Bear

2020-11-04T13:37:08Z

Gbisaga: Consistency

2374: 10,000 Hours

2020-10-20T18:20:14Z

Gbisaga: /* Explanation */ block quote

{{comic
| number = 2374
| date = October 19, 2020
| title = 10,000 Hours
| image = 10000_hours.png
| titletext = I'm proud to announce that as of this year I've become a world-class expert at chewing.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic references an urban myth that [https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2019/8/23/20828597/the-10000-hour-rule-debunked one must do something for 10,000 hours] to become an expert on it. Worse, the myth implies that anybody can reach the status of a world-class expert by spending that 10,000 hours. The linked article states:

<blockquote>Practice matters, yes. But at the same time, it’s unlikely to bridge the gap between natural superstars and your average player.</blockquote>

In this comic, [[Cueball]]'s phone tells him that, assuming that idea is correct, he is now a master of a task, because the amount of time he spends on his phone. It is not clear exactly what set of tasks Cueball is supposed to have mastered, however.

The title text refers to the fact that people eat a lot, [https://www.statista.com/chart/13226/where-people-spend-the-most-time-eating-drinking/ 1-2 hours a day], though not all of this time is spent chewing. At the time of this comic's publication, [[Randall]] was just over 36 years old (13,151 days), so he has spent a large amount of time eating, well over 10,000 hours.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is staring at his phone. A report is shown above his head]
:If you buy into the "10,000 hours" thing, you are now a world-class expert!

:[Caption below comic]
:My screen time reports have started trying to put a positive spin on things.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Screen Time]]

Talk:2374: 10,000 Hours

2020-10-20T17:25:43Z

Gbisaga: More commentary!

Sorry for the kinda bad explanation, this is my first time editing on this wiki [[Special:Contributions/162.158.119.71|162.158.119.71]] 00:45, 20 October 2020 (UTC)
:Its fine! [[User:Donthaveusername|Donthaveusername]] ([[User talk:Donthaveusername|talk]]) 00:53, 20 October 2020 (UTC)

Usually when I wake up and open this site, I am greeted with atleast 5 paragraphs of writing, but this time I got to see only 2. So that gave me an idea. Let's make this the smallest explanation in the entire site! To make that record, let's condense the sentences to make it even shorter! — [[User:Sqrt-1|The 𝗦𝗾𝗿𝘁-𝟭]] [[User talk:Sqrt-1|talk]] [[Special:Contributions/Sqrt-1|stalk]] 03:09, 20 October 2020 (UTC)
:I'm all for short explanations to the point. Most of the most recent (ie the 1000 or so) are far too long. I even once saw some "incomplete" explanation where the reason for it being inclomplete was "it's too short". What gives... [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:04, 20 October 2020 (UTC)
::That being said, I agree. The current explanation seems to be pretty much complete. Maybe some citation for the "2 hours eating" thing is missing but that's it. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:09, 20 October 2020 (UTC)
:::Done. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:13, 20 October 2020 (UTC)
::::Kinda spoilt it. Wanted to change "several things" to "some task" (without haing read this Talk aim) but ended up going for "some possibly trivial task" which is longer yet again. With my edit-explanation of "No indication that this is for anything more than one thing (Candy Crush? Twitter? Reading election updates that won't affect your actions in any way..?) or the true importance of his mastery." which might not count but definitely aint laconic. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.215|162.158.154.215]] 10:38, 20 October 2020 (UTC)

:I'm also all for short explanations that are concise and clear and agree some can get rather lengthy, but I don't agree with the goal to see how short we can make this explanation. I guess if it was somehow meta-related to the comic itself, it might be justifiable, but just making it really short solely for that purpose is going to jeopardize the "clear" part of the goal. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 16:12, 20 October 2020 (UTC)
:: It seems to me that a bit more commentary is needed, because it seems like there are two aspects to the myth: (1) it takes 10,000 hours to become and expert; (2) anybody can become an expert by spending those 10,000 hours. The comic seems to be commenting more on the latter aspect. [[User:Gbisaga|Gbisaga]] ([[User talk:Gbisaga|talk]]) 17:25, 20 October 2020 (UTC)

If Randall is 36 years old, he estimates he's averaged about 45 minutes/day chewing. This is significantly less than the 2 hours mentioned in the explanation, even if you account for the fact that you aren't chewing the entire time you're eating (it's probably still more than half the time). [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 17:09, 20 October 2020 (UTC)

2374: 10,000 Hours

2020-10-20T17:24:04Z

Gbisaga: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2374
| date = October 19, 2020
| title = 10,000 Hours
| image = 10000_hours.png
| titletext = I'm proud to announce that as of this year I've become a world-class expert at chewing.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic references an urban myth that [https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2019/8/23/20828597/the-10000-hour-rule-debunked one must do something for 10,000 hours] to become an expert on it. Worse, the myth implies that anybody can reach the status of a world-class expert by spending that 10,000 hours. The linked article states:

Practice matters, yes. But at the same time, it’s unlikely to bridge the gap between natural superstars and your average player.

In this comic, [[Cueball]]'s phone tells him that, assuming that idea is correct, he is now a master of a task, because the amount of time he spends on his phone. It is not clear exactly what set of tasks Cueball is supposed to have mastered, however.

The title text refers to the fact that people eat a lot, [https://www.statista.com/chart/13226/where-people-spend-the-most-time-eating-drinking/ 1-2 hours a day]. At the time of this comic's publication, [[Randall]] was just over 36 years old (13,151 days), so he has spent a large amount of time eating, well over 10,000 hours.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is staring at his phone. A report is shown above his head]
:If you buy into the "10,000 hours" thing, you are now a world-class expert!

:[Caption below comic]
:My screen time reports have started trying to put a positive spin on things.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Screen Time]]

2372: Dialect Quiz

2020-10-15T13:43:50Z

Gbisaga: Uranus pronunciation

{{comic
| number = 2372
| date = October 14, 2020
| title = Dialect Quiz
| image = dialect_quiz.png
| titletext = Do you make a distinction between shallots, scallops, and scallions? If you use all three words, do they all have different meanings, all the same, or are two the same and one different?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a LIGHTBULB EATER. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is a parody of online quizzes that offer to compare the user's dialect of American English with others around the country. These quizzes generally contain questions about word usage, names for certain objects, and pronunciations that vary between different regions of the US. There are also quizzes about broader English dialects, but this comic focuses on commonly cited differences between American dialects.

The earliest quiz of this type to be widely disseminated online was the [http://dialect.redlog.net/ Harvard Dialect Survey], conducted in the early 2000s by Bert Vaux and Scott Golder. The survey created maps of the distribution of various word usage (such as pop/soda/Coke for a fizzy drink) and was a relatively early example of widely shared Internet "viral" content. In 2013, Josh Katz of the New York Times created [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/dialect-quiz-map.html a new version] based on the Harvard survey, which became the Times' [https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/01/-em-the-new-york-times-em-most-popular-story-of-2013-was-not-an-article/283167/ most popular content of 2013] and spread the idea to many more people. Many of the questions in this comic directly derive from entries in those surveys.

Randall's previous two comics have been about election predictions, leading up to the 2020 US General Presidential Election. A prominent predictor of the election results is Nate Silver, who runs the FiveThirtyEight website. [https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1315348221565206530 @NateSilver538 posted his results] of taking the New York Times version of the survey on October 11, 2020... just three days before this comic was posted. [[2371: Election Screen Time]] specifically suggests that Randall may be spending too much time obsessing over new posts and content from the election predictors. It's coincidental, but likely, that Nate Silver's tweet inspired Randall's post: he was reminded of the 2013 feature from the Times.

{| border =1 width=100% cellpadding=5 class="wikitable"
! # !! Question !! Answers !! Explanation
|-
! 1
| How do you address a group of two or more people?
|
* A) You
* B) Y'all
* C) I have not been around two or more people for so long that I can't remember
| Reference to the first question of the Times quiz: "How would you address {{w|You#Informal_plural_forms|a group of two or more people}}?" (with options including "you all", "you guys", "y'all", etc.). Option C may reference the significant decrease in human interaction and social contact during the COVID-19 pandemic.
|-
! 2
| How do you pronounce "Penelope"?
|
* A) Rhymes with "Antelope"
* B) Rhymes with "Develop"
| Both the options for this are wrong, making it the first of many quiz questions it is impossible to answer correctly.

Neither Option A's "PEN-e-lohp" and Option B's "pe-NELL-up" are a typical pronunciation of this name (beyond mispronunciations). In English, the only correct way to pronounce this name is "pe-NELL-o-pee," which is not listed.
|-
! 3
| What do you call the scientific field that studies the stars?
|
* A) Astrology
* B) Agronomy
* C) Cosmetology
| The actual answer is {{w|Astronomy}}, which is not listed. {{w|Astrology}} is the pseudo-scientific "study" of the influence of the stars and planets on our lives, including horoscopes (often confused with Astronomy due to its similar name), {{w|Agronomy}} ''is'' scientific but instead studies agriculture, and {{w|Cosmetology}} is the study of cosmetics and makeup (with a name close to {{w|Cosmology}}, a branch of Astronomy). The last may also be referring to the (occasionally heavily made-up) faces of movie and television "stars".
|-
! 4
| How do you pronounce "genre"?
|
* A) Gone-ra
* B) Juh-neer
* C) Jen-er-uh
| Reference to a question found on some quizzes: "How do you pronounce ''genre''? ZHAHN-ruh, or JAHN-ruh?"

A majority of (American) English speakers pronounce "genre" as either "'''ZH'''AHN-ruh" (beginning with the "zh" sound found in "trea'''s'''ure") or "'''J'''AHN-ruh" (beginning with the "j" sound in "justice"). Neither of these are listed, and none of the quiz's pronunciation options are common. However, they are close to other words: ''Gone-ra'' sounds like {{w|gonorrhea}}, ''Juh-neer'' is the way the second and third syllables of ''engineer'' are are pronounced, and ''Jen-er-uh'' is a word (genera), the plural of {{w|genus}}.
|-
! 5
| You pronounce "Google" with a high-pitched yelp on the...
|
* A) First syllable
* B) Second syllable
| Reference to general questions regarding differences in pronunciation of words. "Google" is not generally pronounced with a high-pitched yelp on either syllable.{{Citation needed}} Yahoo! [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahoo!], on the other hand, has advertised its services with a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm5FE0x9eY0 high-pitched yodeling jingle.]
|-
! 6
| What do you call the thing on the wall at school that you drink water from?
|
* A) Gutter pipe
* B) Drainpipe
| Reference to a quiz question in the Harvard and Times quizzes, "What do you call the thing from which you might drink water in a school?" Answers included "drinking fountain", "water fountain", and "bubbler". However, the question in this comic implies that school children (or at least the quiz maker) drink out of gutter pipes or drain pipes, which are used to collect rainwater and should not be drunk from.{{Citation needed}}
|-
! 7
| How do you pronounce the name for a short silent video file?
|
* A) Animated give
* B) Animated gift
| Reference to the "{{w|Gif}}" pronunciation debate, with people split between pronouncing it "gif" (with the hard G sound in "graphics") or "jif" (with the soft G sound in "giraffe"). However, both options presented in this quiz use the hard G sound.
|-
! 8
| What do you call the baseball-sized garden bugs that, when poked, glow brightly and emit a warbling scream?
|
* A) What?
* B) Lawn buddies
| Reference to a question in the Harvard and Times quizzes: "What do you call the {{w|Armadillidiidae|small gray bug}} that curls up into a ball when it’s touched?" (options include "roly-poly," "pill-bug", "potato bug", "doodle bug", etc.). However, there are no common "baseball-sized garden bugs".{{Citation needed}} May also be a reference to what "potato bug" means to people in the eastern part of the United States and {{w|Jerusalem cricket|what it means}} to people in the western part of the United States.
|-
! 9
| What do you call the misleading lines painted by disgruntled highway workers to trick cars into driving off the road?
|
* A) Prank lines
* B) Devil's Marks
* C) Fool-me lines
* D) Fauxguides
* E) Delaware lines
| Reference to the fact that some quiz questions ask about road features, such as "verge/berm/parking strip/curb strip" and "roundabout/traffic circle". However, these particular road lines, if they have ever been made, aren't common enough to warrant different names. The Delaware Line was a formation within the Continental Army. May also just be a dig at Delaware.

Misleading lines on the road were also mentioned in [[1958: Self-Driving Issues]].
|-
! 10
| What do you call the blue-green planet in the outer Solar System?
|
* A) Uranus
* B) Neptune
| This question references the two common pronunciations of Uranus: "YURR-ə-nəss" and "yoo-RAY-nəss" (which sounds like the phrase "{{tvtropes|UranusIsShowing|Your anus}}", a favorite joke of little kids). The original pronunciation is "oo-ra-noos", both u's pronounced the same way, but this is not a common pronunciation among the general public. It also references the fact that Uranus and Neptune are both blue-ish colored planets in the outer solar system and are often confused by people who don't know much about them. Uranus is closer to being the correct answer - it could plausibly be described as cyan, a color intermediate between blue and green - while Neptune is a deep, unambiguous blue.
|-
! 11
| What do you call this tool?
[[File:CloveHammer.png|150px]] (image of a claw hammer)
|
* A) Banger
* B) Nail axe
* C) Wood mage wand
* D) I'm familiar with this tool but have no specific word for it
* E) I have never seen it before
| The only name most people would ever call this tool is a "hammer".

The last two options reference options in many quiz questions along the lines of "I'm familiar with this but have no specific word for it" and "I am not familiar with this" (such as on the pill-bug/roly-poly question on the real quiz). These may appear as options to questions that ask about something that might not exist everywhere, or something which many may not have a word for (for example, some areas of the United States have a name for "sunshowers," while most don't). However, it's a bit absurd for these options to be present for this question (and this question alone), as most users would be expected to know what a hammer is.
|-
! 12
| What do you call a long sandwich with meats and lettuce and stuff?
|
* A) A long sandwich with meats and lettuce and stuff
* B) A longwich
* C) A salad hot dog
| Reference to a common dialect quiz question: "What do you call a {{w|Submarine sandwich|long sandwich}}?" with options typically including "sub", "hoagie", "hero", etc.

The hot dog answer could refer to the common online discussion: "Is a hot dog a sandwich?"
|-
! 13
| What do you call the scaly many-legged animal often found in attics?
|
* A) Lightbulb eater
* B) I have no special name for them
* C) I've never looked in my attic
| Another reference to the frequent appearance of quiz questions asking what users call various creepy crawlies.

{{w|Millipedes}} best fit the description. They have many legs, though rarely if ever a thousand of them, as their name (from the Greek for "thousand feet") suggests. The hard rings that separate an individual's body into segments give the animal a scaly appearance. And of the thousands of species, only a few have common names, hence "no special name for them". The reference to "lightbulb eater" is obscure, but may refer to the tendency of millipedes to congregate in large numbers in dark crevices. Perhaps Randall found some in empty (no bulb) light fixtures in his attic.
|-
! 14
| What do you say when someone around you sneezes?
|
* A) "What was that?"
* B) "Oh, wow."
* C) [Quietly] "Yikes."
| Reference to a question on some quizzes about which of several words/phrases you say in response to a sneeze, with usual answers including "bless you", "God bless you", and "{{w|Gesundheit}}" (from the German word for 'health').

This question may also be referencing the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}} in answer C (and possibly answer B). Sneezing isn't a primary symptom of COVID-19, but most people are hyper-aware of possibly contracting the disease from the people around them so sneezes are treated with suspicion and it's seen as rude to sneeze openly.

It is also possible that a person who has been able to catch a sneeze-producing condition has also caught COVID-19 and, while the sneeze itself isn't ''caused'' by it, the air and various airway fluids so forcefully projected are a possible infective vector with that little extra frisson of concern, given the current situation.
|-
! Title Text
| colspan=2 | Do you make a distinction between shallots, scallops, and scallions? If you use all three words, do they all have different meanings, all the same, or are two the same and one different?
| Phrased similarly to questions like, on the Times quiz, "How do you pronounce the words Mary, merry, and marry?" Options included "all three are pronounced the same", "all three are pronounced differently," or all three combinations of two being the same and one different.

{{w|Shallots}} and {{w|scallions}} are both types of onions (the former somewhat resembling garlic cloves, the latter being long green/white stalks also called spring onions). {{w|Scallops}} (either pronounced
''skollops'' or ''skallops'') are invertebrate marine animals similar to oysters and clams, frequently harvested for food (also what potato fritters are called in some regions of the UK and Australia). The three sound somewhat similar, but are quite different.
|}

==Transcript==

[Box with title at the top]
:<big>Dialect Quiz</big>
[Smaller subtitle underneath]
:Compare answers with your friends!

[Quiz is divided into two columns. Answers to questions are indicated by a letter followed by a closed parentheses, such as A). These letters are greyed out]

[Column 1:]
 
How do you address a group of two or more people?
:A) You
:B) Y'all
:C) I have not been around two or more people for so long that I can't remember

How do you pronounce "Penelope"?
:A) Rhymes with "Antelope"
:B) Rhymes with "Develop"

What do you call the scientific field that studies the stars?
:A) Astrology
:B) Agronomy
:C) Cosmetology

How do you pronounce "genre"?
:A) Gone-ra
:B) Juh-neer
:C) Jen-er-uh

You pronounce "Google" with a high-pitched yelp on the...
:A) First syllable
:B) Second syllable

What do you call the thing on the wall at school that you drink water from?
:A) Gutter pipe
:B) Drainpipe

How do you pronounce the name for a short silent video file?
:A) Animated give
:B) Animated gift

What do you call the baseball-sized garden bugs that, when poked, glow brightly and emit a warbling scream?
:A) What?
:B) Lawn buddies

[Column 2:]
 
What do you call the misleading lines painted by disgruntled highway workers to trick cars into driving off the road?
:A) Prank lines
:B) Devil's Marks
:C) Fool-me lines
:D) Fauxguides
:E) Delaware lines

What do you call the blue-green planet in the outer Solar System?
:A) Uranus
:B) Neptune

What do you call this tool?
 
[Image of a claw hammer]
:A) Banger
:B) Nail axe
:C) Wood mage wand
:D) I'm familiar with this tool but have no specific word for it
:E) I have never seen it before

What do you call a long sandwich with meats and lettuce and stuff?
:A) A long sandwich with meats and lettuce and stuff
:B) A longwich
:C) A salad hot dog

What do you call the scaly many-legged animal often found in attics?
:A) Lightbulb eater
:B) I have no special name for them
:C) I've never looked in my attic

What do you say when someone around you sneezes?
:A) "What was that?"
:B) "Oh, wow."
:C) [Quietly] "Yikes."

==Trivia==

*The xkcd Twitter account posted a [https://twitter.com/xkcd/status/1316484953480323072 series of Twitter polls] asking the questions in this comic.
*Shallots, scallops, and scallions ran against each other in [[1529: Bracket]]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]

2361: Voting

2020-09-22T15:11:44Z

Gbisaga: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2361
| date = September 18, 2020
| title = Voting
| image = voting.png
| titletext = 'Wait, our state has mail voting. The forms are literally on the kitchen table.' 'Not now, I'm busy researching which channels have sharks in them.'
}}
==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by SHARK-FILLED BROKEN GLASS. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The run-up to the {{w|2020 United States elections}}, occurring on November 3, 2020 (less than 2 months from the time of the comic's publication), has been fraught with various overlapping worries about the legitimacy of the forthcoming result. The {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}} has created a new interest in {{w|postal voting|voting by mail}}, at a historically large scale. See {{w|Postal voting in the United States}} for more detail. Cueball, however, is in a very patriotic mood and makes a series of hyperbolic statements to Megan about the trials he would be willing to endure in order to vote in the upcoming elections, none of which would (hopefully), in reality, apply to his or anyone else's circumstance.

Crawling across broken glass might have actually been necessary at some polling sites of the {{w|2001 New York City mayoral election}} primary, which had begun on September 11, 2001, and would have continued had it not been postponed two weeks due to the {{w|September 11 attacks|terrorist attacks}} of that day. However, as Megan states, their polling sites, unlike those of the 2001 election, don't even feature any especially large windows or other such structures from which broken glass could be derived. The idea of being so intent on doing something (in this case, voting) that a person claims to be willing to crawl across broken glass to do so is a common expression.

The Sun, currently a yellow dwarf star on the main sequence, will eventually expand into a red giant, then collapse down to a white dwarf when its fuel is exhausted; this will not happen for billions of years, as Megan points out. Because of this, waiting until the sun burns out would result in Cueball's vote not being counted at all, both because it would be after the official deadline for ballots to be cast and because there would no longer be anyone alive on Earth.

As Megan observes, hot coals would most likely not even be present at their polling stations, and although some states have been accused of trying to make voting inconvenient or unsafe, this comic has not yet led any states to prohibit wearing shoes at polling places.

According to Megan, her and Cueball's municipality does not even include a single shark-infested body of water that Cueball would be able to swim through in order to cast his vote. Cueball's solution to this problem is to simply swim back to their location after swimming in his shark-filled channel.

Megan tries in vain to convince Cueball that his proposed actions are unnecessary or even impossible in their area, but, unable to bring him back to reality, she closes the final panel by asking if he'd be willing to put off all of this dangerous stuff until after voting, perhaps so that he will be alive long enough to vote in the first place.

Broken glass, the extinction of humanity, hot coals, and sharks aside, though, Cueball faces the risk of contracting COVID-19 from being in such close proximity to so many other voters, as he seems to plan on voting in person (his words show his desire for activities only possible by way of physical action; in the title text, he also ignores Megan when she says that mail-in voting is available).

In the title text, Megan tells Cueball that he does not need to go to such lengths to vote, as their state has mail-in voting and already sent forms either to cast a ballot or to apply for mail-in ballots. Cueball ignores her and continues looking online for shark-filled channels to swim through. In doing so, he completely negates his professed desire to vote, as he is ignoring the easy path and going after paths that would end up making it impossible to cast his vote. Alternatively, he may just be caught in the normal rabbit hole of doing Internet research, where you start researching one thing (voting locations) and end up reading about another (locations of shark-infested channels).

Randall is making the point that, despite apparent obstruction tactics and threats and attempts to de-legitimize the process, voting is very important (Cueball is using {{w|hyperbole}} to illustrate the importance), and relatively easy (as Megan keeps reminding him). He is also expressing an opinion that the increased danger of government worker corruption or system compromise harming the legitimacy of the voting process due to massive mail-in voting, appears less worrisome than the coronavirus issue from in-person voting, to him.

Randall lives in Massachusetts, a state with majority Democrat media, voters, and government.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[Cueball walks in from right, staring at his phone and talking to Megan.]
:Cueball: I will crawl across broken glass to vote this year if I have to.
:Megan: ...Why would there be broken glass?
:Megan: There aren't even any big windows at our polling place.

:[Cueball raising a finger triumphantly.]
:Cueball: I will wait in line till the sun burns out.
:Megan: Ok, some places have lines, which is awful, but it's usually pretty quick here?
:Megan: Definitely not 5 billion years.

:[Cueball raising a fist.]
:Cueball: I will walk barefoot across hot coals to cast my ballot!
:Megan: Where would you even '''''find''''' coals?
:Megan: You can wear shoes to vote. This scenario makes no sense.

:[Cueball raising a finger, and walking back off-panel to the left]
:Cueball: I will swim across a shark-filled channel!
:Megan: That'll take you '''''way''''' outside our precinct.
:Cueball: '''''Then I'll swim back!'''''
:Megan: Can you do all this stuff '''''after''''' voting?

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

Talk:2361: Voting

2020-09-22T15:09:54Z

Gbisaga: time delay

To current and future readers: Ruth Bader Ginsburg died today. The timing of this comic may even coincide with this fact.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.67|162.158.74.67]] 03:54, 19 September 2020 (UTC)
: Maybe, but [[Randall]] has posted tons of election articles before, especially expressing his love for Hillary (and thus dislike for Trump). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.228|108.162.216.228]] 04:41, 19 September 2020 (UTC)
:I read it as a "just vote, don't even care who you vote for, but vote" thing. Maybe Randall will show his own ideas later (though I can only imagine the one way that he'll lean, having ruled out ruling ''everyone'' out) but this is only actually anti-Trump insofar as Trump undeniably courts anti-voting (in his favour), more than pretty much any of the ideological-opposites do (in theirs). Don't read much more into this. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.116|162.158.159.116]] 10:36, 19 September 2020 (UTC)
:I {{w|Ruth Bader Ginsburg|looked who she is}} but I'm still unsure how would the comics be related to that. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 03:08, 20 September 2020 (UTC)
:@Hkmaly RBG was one of nine Supreme Court judges. She, like three others, leaned left ("Progressive"). Four lean right ("Conservative"), and one is centrist. Supreme Court judges hold their office for life. They are nominated by the current U.S. President, who historically nominates judges who lean the way they do. In the US, the Supreme Court, as the "Highest Court in the Land", can effectively overturn legislation or otherwise change society - for example, "Roe v Wade" is the Supreme Court ruling that made abortion legal in every State. If you want to change U.S. society to be more like you want, you'll vote for a President who leans your way -- not least because they will take the opportunity to stack the Supreme Court with "your" kind of judge. In early 2016, the majority Republican Senate refused to vote on the Democratic President's nomination because "it was an election year; we'll wait for the next President to be voted in." In late 2020, the majority Republic Senate will apparently fast-track the vote on whomever the Republican President nominates despite the election in less than six weeks. [[User:John.Adriaan|John.Adriaan]] ([[User talk:John.Adriaan|talk]]) 01:42, 21 September 2020 (UTC)
:It seems unlikely to me to be related, since there is normally a time delay between when a comic is written and when it's published. [[User:Gbisaga|Gbisaga]] ([[User talk:Gbisaga|talk]]) 15:09, 22 September 2020 (UTC)

The election isn't two months from now; more like six weeks.
:It's also two months away. Not next month, but the one after that. Just, but it is. (I suppose I wouldn't have said this without also deciding I could remind people to sign the posts with the four tildes.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.36|162.158.155.36]] 15:09, 19 September 2020 (UTC) It's also "less than 2 months from the time of the comic's publication" so there's that. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.53|162.158.74.53]] 10:52, 20 September 2020 (UTC)

"I will brave mobs of vigilantes armed with pistols, rifles and machine guns, to vote this year, if I have to." "OK, now you're just being ridicu... wait, I take that back." [http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/08/trump-wants-to-station-armed-guards-at-2020-polls Trump Wants to Station Armed Guards at the 2020 Polls] [https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/gop-recruits-army-poll-watchers-fight-voter-fraud-no-can-n1217391 GOP recruits army of poll watchers to fight voter fraud no one can prove exists] [[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]]) 05:05, 20 September 2020 (UTC)
: This is missing from the article. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.145|173.245.52.145]] 15:42, 21 September 2020 (UTC)

== Images not loading ==

Images on xkcd are failing to load with error 503 certificate has expired. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.6|162.158.238.6]] 00:32, 21 September 2020 (UTC)

And what-if.xkcd.com too. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.183.197|162.158.183.197]] 00:34, 21 September 2020 (UTC)

:xkcd seems to have fixed itself, although uniXKCD and What-If are still 503-ing. [[User:Bubblegum|bubblegum]]-[[User_talk:Bubblegum|talk]]|[[Special:Contributions/Bubblegum|contribs]] 03:33, 21 September 2020 (UTC)

2333: COVID Risk Chart

2020-07-16T16:05:28Z

Gbisaga: /* Red (high risk) */ mask over your eyes

{{comic
| number = 2333
| date = July 15, 2020
| title = COVID Risk Chart
| image = covid_risk_chart.png
| titletext = First prize is a free ticket to the kissing booth.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by THE WINNER OF A TEST-TUBE EATING CONTEST. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is a graph showing the risk of {{w|COVID-19}} infection of numerous activities on the horizontal axis, while showing the other (i.e. safety) risks of the activity on the vertical axis. The activities are also color coded green, yellow, orange, or red, presumably indicating whether engaging in them is a good idea. All the activities are green in the upper left corner (no COVID-19 danger and no other dangers), but change to yellow, orange, and red as you go right or down. This presentation and color progression is similar to a common presentation of a {{w|risk matrix}}.
One-dimensional charts showing the COVID-19 risk of common activities were popular at the time of this comic, when businesses and schools were re-opening after the first wave of COVID-19.

The top of the graph contains activities that people are likely to engage in during the pandemic, beginning (from left to right) with staying at home, hanging out with friends at the park, grocery shopping, attending in-person classes, and singing in church. The first few activities are common and not very dangerous (colored green and yellow), but the last two come with significant risks of infection due to COVID-19 (they are colored orange and red). Lower on the graph the activities become more and more dangerous (though these dangers are not related to COVID-19, i.e.: they are non-covid risks) and then non-sensical, a trend often seen in xkcd comics. Some activities are grouped together, being variations of the same thing (such as going down a waterslide, going down a waterslide with a stranger, and going down a waterside on an electric scooter). The last row contains extremely dangerous activities such as (from left to right, or from low COVID-19 danger to high) bungee jumping while doing sword tricks, going down a waterslide on an electric scooter, (participating in an) axe catching contest, racing a scooter through a hospital with a mask over your eyes, and winning a test-tube-eating contest at a COVID testing lab. All these activities are likely to result in undesirable outcomes.

Part of the humor comes from the increasing ridiculousness of the "red" activities, some of which are unlikely combinations or escalations of other less-risky activities (e.g. renting an electric scooter is a "green" activity, but riding that scooter with a stranger carries more risk, and then still more from racing that scooter through a hospital, with or without a mask).

This comic strip is similar in presentation to [[2282: Coronavirus Worries]].

The '''title text''' suggests a ticket to "the" kissing booth as a prize. (Presumably, the kissing booth mentioned in the comic, "a kissing booth at a COVID testing site"). A kissing booth, is a kind of sideshow sometimes seen at carnivals, where members of the public can pay a small fee to kiss someone, usually an attractive woman. Winning a ticket would normally be positively received. However, since kissing is a very high risk activity for COVID-19 transmission, it would now be perceived as a kind of punishment.

=== Green (low risk) ===

The lowest-risk category of activities has very low COVID risk and also very low non-COVID risk.

;Staying home
:The lowest-risk activity of all, as long as the home itself is safe, and your family members do not have COVID-19.
;Video chats
:Video chatting carries a slightly higher non-COVID risk than simply staying at home, because you might get into an upsetting argument or accidentally expose something embarrassing. As long as the person you're chatting with is not within your personal space, the risk of catching COVID from them is still zero.
;Hanging out with friends in the park
:Physically interacting with others creates an increased risk COVID transmission, but the major risk of transmission seems to come from sharing enclosed spaces, not the outdoors, and as long as everyone keeps to themselves, they can still safely enjoy the social interaction (as long as [[2330: Acceptable Risk|they aren't prone to overthinking everyday decisions]]).
;Going for walks
:Going for walks carries very little COVID risk as long as you stay by yourself. It is slightly more dangerous than staying home though, as you might fall or hurt yourself in some way.
;Hanging out with friends on the beach
:This has a similar COVID risk as hanging out with friends in the park, but has slightly more safety concerns due to possible unpleasant encounters with crabs, jellyfish, and other ocean-going animals[cetacean needed] as well as the risks posed by extended UV exposure. There are also negligible risks of tsunamis, shark attacks, and encounters with other rare and deadly animals[cetacean needed].
;Riding an electric scooter
:Electric scooters are scooters powered by electricity. They have increased in popularity recently, representing a form of lightweight transportation. If done by one’s self, riding one has essentially no risk of coronavirus, but it is relatively easy to injure one’s self when riding an electric scooter. Electric scooters have already been mentioned in [[E Scooters]].
;Renting an electric scooter
:This has a slightly higher COVID risk than riding your own scooter, as a previous renter could have left traces of the virus on the handle bars. In terms of general safety, it is the equivalent of riding your own scooter.
;Going down a waterslide
:Waterslides are common attractions at water parks. They are simply slides made faster by running water down them. They are not extremely dangerous, though it is definitely possible to injure yourself on one. The COVID risk is near zero if the slide belongs to you and you are using it by yourself.

=== Yellow (medium risk) ===

;Grocery shopping
:Going shopping for groceries involves entering a building in which others are present, including many workers who are present for hours-long shifts. The risk of catching COVID can be reduced by wearing face masks, barriers between staff areas and customer areas, and limiting customer densities.
;Grocery shopping while hungry
:Shopping for groceries ''while hungry'' does not carry any greater risk of catching COVID, but it is said to have a slightly increased non-COVID risk because people who go shopping while hungry tend to buy foods that are more expensive and less healthy. (Be advised that a study that popularized this "common sense" result [https://media.jamanetwork.com/news-item/jama-network-retracts-6-articles-that-included-dr-brian-wansink-as-author/ has been retracted] due to academic misconduct by its author, {{w|Brian Wansink}}.)
;Grocery shoplifting
:Shoplifting means stealing, so this activity is stealing groceries. It would expose you to the same amount of COVID risk as regular grocery shopping, but might get you hurt by falling and crashing into stands, and might get you arrested. While this activity is not very risky and is colored yellow, it is probably not a good idea.
;Riding a single rental scooter with a stranger
:This is a bad idea, as most rental scooters are designed for only one person. It would also expose you to a stranger, who might have COVID. The safety concern of riding with two people on a one person scooter is not reflected in the comic.
;Going down a waterslide with a stranger
:This carries the same risks as going down a waterslide by yourself (as long as the waterslide is designed for two people), but exposes you to a stranger who could have COVID.
;Getting in a stranger’s car
:This can potentially be risky because driving is dangerous, and because murders have occurred in the past when people hitchhike. Getting into a stranger’s car would also expose you COVID, if they are carrying the virus. A car is a confined space, which is generally considered particularly bad from a COVID perspective.
;Playing {{w|lawn darts}}
:This activity poses little risk of COVID-19 transmission, as this game is usually played outdoors and players generally do not have to be close to play, so standard outdoor precautions can be taken. Lawn darts can pose a moderate risk of personal injury if played unwisely.
;Climbing a waterslide with a stranger
;Getting in a stranger’s car uninvited
;Doing skateboard tricks
:Performing tricks on a skateboard, especially if well away from other people, carries little risk of COVID-19 transmission, but carries a moderate risk of personal injury, especially when a manoeuvre does not go as intended and/or the rider unintentionally comes off the board to collide with the ground and/or obstacles.
;Riding a conveyor belt through the {{w|Transportation Security Administration|TSA}} x-ray machine
;Axe throwing contest

=== Orange (medium–high risk) ===
;Attending in-person classes
;Attending online classes while in class at a different school
;Getting a dental cleaning
;Going on a {{w|Tinder (app)|Tinder}} date
;Getting a dental cleaning from a Tinder date
;Doing skateboard tricks in a hospital
;Racing a scooter through a hospital with a mask on
;Racing a scooter through a hospital without a mask
;Setting off fireworks in your car
;Running and sliding headfirst into the pins at a bowling alley
;Stealing a stranger’s car
;Racing a scooter through a hospital with a mask on
;Racing a scooter through a hospital without a mask

=== Red (high risk) ===

;Singing in church
:While singing is normally harmless, doing so in a church, which is a high-traffic and fairly contaminated place during COVID-19 (making it easier to be infected) will significantly expose the singer to COVID due to an increased breathing rate. In addition, when singing in a church, one often dooes it in a group with others during church sessions without masks, so this increases the risk further as multiple people are in close proximity without protection.
;Going to a restaurant
:Restaurants are also high-traffic and more contaminated (of COVID-19) areas, and also contain many people in a closed space which can also be small. Also, arguments and other fights could occur in a restaurant which adds to the non-COVID risk.
;Going to a bar
:Similarly to restaurants, bars are also a place where COVID-19 spreads often. However, since the customers are more likely to be drunk and to get into a fight, the non-COVID risk is increased. Even if not engaging in violence, people who are even slightly inebriated are more likely to ignore standard precautions like social distancing.
;Going to a party / Hosting a party
:Parties involve participating in activities with (often many) others. Whether hosting a party or attending one, the risk of contracting COVID is similar, as are the non-COVID risks, since in both cases you're in the same room with others and also participating in the same (potentially dangerous) activities. The COVID risks are slightly higher for the host, as they are more likely to be touching objects or surfaces on which the virus is present as they tidy up during or after the party, and to be in proximity of all the guests during the party.
;Going on a cruise
:Cruises have been a site where many people have contracted COVID, leading to the high COVID-related risk. However, there are other risks assiciated with cruises that are non-COVID related, such as the risk of the ship sinking, or one falling overboard, etc.
;Opening a kissing booth at a COVID testing site
:This is a bad idea for COVID-related risks since many people who may not have been tested yet and are likely sick (since they are being tested, they are likely exhibiting COVID-related symptoms) will use it. Kissing is one of the easier ways to transfer COVID due to the proximity of people, and other diseases could be transferred as well. Opening a booth close to a testing site could also lead to a lot of controversy, adding to the non-COVID related risk.
;Doing skateboard tricks in a bar
:As mentioned before, bars are places where it is much more likely to contract COVID. Doing skateboard tricks in such a confined space also leads to a very large risk of injury.
;Skateboarding in a mosh pit on a cruise ship
:Mosh pits are often very densely crowded with people, so the risk of transmission is huge. Also, doing skateboard tricks with so many people means one could get trampled, knocked over, run into other people and/or things, etc.
;Getting a COVID test from a stranger at a crowded bar
:As mentioned before, bars greatly increase the risk of contracting COVID, and getting a test from a stranger means the test itself carries many non-COVID related risks coming from a malicious or incompetent stranger (such as poisoning from having the wrong materials in the syringe).
;Bungee jumping while doing sword tricks
:While bungee jumping is an activity that is often not performed in a crowded area, meaning that it is difficult to contract COVID while doing so, the act of bungee jumping while doing sword tricks could lead to a host of injuries.
;Going down a waterslide on an electric scooter
:As mentioned before, if the waterslide is not used by many people, it is not likely to contract COVID riding it. However, since waterslides contain water and electric scooters contain batteries (they don't mix well, safety-wise) many injuries may result.
;Setting off fireworks in a stranger's car
:A car is a confined space, and so the risk of contracting COVID is higher. Setting off fireworks in cars also could (will) cause many injuries to everyone in the car, and more injuries from the driver and/or other angry passengers.
;Axe catching contest
:The proximity to others during a contest means a higher risk of contracting COVID. As for the axe catching part, it is likely to get injuries form attempting to catch (presumably) flying axes, especially when the catcher is inexperienced.
;Racing a scooter through a hospital with a mask over your eyes
:A hospital is a place where COVID patients are often concentrated, meaning a higher risk of contracting the disease, and having a mask over one's eyes would do nothing to help reduce the risk. Riding a scooter while effectively blindfolded in an area that has many obstructions like a hospital can lead to many injuries.
;Winning a test-tube-eating contest at a COVID testing lab
:Eating many test tubes which potentially contain samples containing COVID will almost definitely lead to one contracting the disease, and eating glass will lead to many internal injuries.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[This comic is a graph plotting the safety risk of activities on the vertical axis and the risk of infection from COVID-19 on the horizontal axis. Lowest risks are in the upper left corner, and highest in the lower right. All activities are color coded green, yellow, orange, or red. A two way arrow labeled “non-COVID risk” points up and down to "high" and "low" labels on the left side of the graph. Another two way arrow labeled “COVID risk” points left and right to "high" and "low" labels on the top of the graph.
From left to right and top to bottom:]
:Staying home & Video chats, Hanging out with friends at the park, Grocery shopping, Attending in-person classes, Singing in church
:Going for walks, Hanging out with friends on the beach, Grocery shopping while hungry, Attending online classes while in class at a different school, Going to a restaurant
:Riding an electric scooter, Renting an electric scooter, Grocery shoplifting & Riding a single rental scooter with a stranger, Getting a dental cleaning & Going on a Tinder date, Going to a bar & Going to a party & Hosting a party & Going on a cruise
:Going down a waterslide, Going down a waterslide with a stranger, Getting in a stranger’s car, Getting a dental cleaning from a Tinder date, Opening a kissing booth at a COVID testing site
:Playing lawn darts, Climbing a waterslide with a stranger, Getting in a stranger’s car uninvited, Doing skateboard tricks in a hospital, Doing skateboard tricks in a bar
:Doing skateboard tricks, Riding a conveyor belt through the TSA x-ray machine, Axe throwing contest, Racing a scooter through a hospital with a mask on & Racing a scooter through a hospital without a mask, Skateboarding into a mosh pit on a cruise ship
:Setting off fireworks in your car, Running and sliding headfirst into the pins at a bowling alley, Stealing a stranger’s car, Racing a scooter through a hospital with a mask on & Racing a scooter through a hospital without a mask [extends from previous row], Skateboarding into a mosh pit on a cruise ship & Getting a COVID test from a stranger at a crowded bar
:Bungee jumping while doing sword tricks, Going down a waterslide on an electric scooter, Setting off fireworks in a stranger’s car & Axe catching contest, Racing a scooter through a hospital with a mask over your eyes, Winning a test-tube-eating contest at a COVID testing lab

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]

Talk:2324: Old Days 2

2020-06-25T16:13:25Z

Gbisaga: having children...

I've gotta try that, see how the ice cream truck guy reacts. Wonder where I can find an ice cream truck though? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.16|172.69.71.16]] 23:42, 24 June 2020 (UTC)
: The above is me, wasn't logged in, would I get in trouble for fixing the signature? [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 23:44, 24 June 2020 (UTC)
(@Mikemk, I recon you sorted it by adding what you did. If you'd have just changed things, probably no crime if you explained it in the edit Summary. But I'm just an IP Address, so no authority.) Anyway. The bit about a phone-call stopping all electronic business is obviously rooted in dial-up needing exclusive use of a POTS line, something that only went out with broadband piggy-backing alongside voice-calls, the respective carrier-signals now microfiltered at each end of the house-to-exchange copper cabling to let them coexist over the same circuit without blocking/overwhelming each other. Though, in this comic, it's hyperbole, overly fuzzy memory, leg-pulling and/or an alternate-history being described. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.130|141.101.98.130]] 02:06, 25 June 2020 (UTC)

In the early days (of the ARPAnet) there was actually something that today would be classed as a "cloud service" (before the term was invented) although limited. It was a computer (in Cambridge, MA) funded by ARPA with massive amounts of storage and anybody on the ARPAnet could use it for storage (primary access was through FTP). So, cloud storage but not cloud computing. If you wanted to do something with the data you had to copy the whole file to your local disk, edit it there, and then send it back. The actual bits were stored on magnetic tape and there was an elaborate X/Y mechanism to select a tape and mount it on a tape drive, and later return it to its cubby. [[User:MAP|MAP]] ([[User talk:MAP|talk]]) 02:38, 25 June 2020 (UTC)

"State landline" is reminiscent of the old sailing joke where you'd ask a n00b to bring you 100 feet of shoreline. -- brad

Hm, I'd think that "state landline" is a pun on "state line". [[User:Gvanrossum|Gvanrossum]] ([[User talk:Gvanrossum|talk]]) 04:19, 25 June 2020 (UTC)

Also, while mainframes didn't exactly knit sweaters when they ran your code, they *did* produce physical artifacts -- reams of line printer paper. [[User:Gvanrossum|Gvanrossum]] ([[User talk:Gvanrossum|talk]]) 04:21, 25 June 2020 (UTC)

"It's not even likely that any punch patterns used in computer coding would be interpretable as valid sweater-creating instructions." Is anyone up to the challenge? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 05:04, 25 June 2020 (UTC)

Wouldn't a loom produce woven textiles rather than knit garments like sweaters? Seems like an additional layer of tall tales. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.179|172.68.189.179]] 06:46, 25 June 2020 (UTC)

It seems to me that the comic is having fun with false etymologies. There is especially one article that 'explains' a lot of idiom (in the sense of making up a fanciful story), which has been debunked by Snopes
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/life-in-the-1500s/ and the comics seems to allude to a similar situation in computer science, which is now old enough that early days are shrouded in a bit of mist out of which selective trivia is remembered (punch cards had something to do with looms) and then put together into a semi-coherent story that no longer reflects reality. (With part of the joke being that many people here will actually still know or even remember what it was really like in the 'early years', but the fewer those become, the more likely it will be that made-up 'origin stories' become accepted as true.

[[Special:Contributions/141.101.69.33|141.101.69.33]] 06:54, 25 June 2020 (UTC)

Is there a pun in the title text, regarding double meaning of driver? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.226.26|172.68.226.26]] 07:59, 25 June 2020 (UTC) Eddy

The explanation about landlines needs to be reviewed. Landlines are still a thing, people are still using them, they're not a "stone age" technology.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.130|141.101.98.130]] 14:35, 25 June 2020 (UTC)

This comic is why we have children and encourage them to go into the same line of work as us: so we can tell them stories of the "good old days." My wife wants nothing to do with my stories of computers in the 70s and 80s, but my son - now also a developer like me - actually listens. [[User:Gbisaga|Gbisaga]] ([[User talk:Gbisaga|talk]]) 16:13, 25 June 2020 (UTC)

2324: Old Days 2

2020-06-25T13:50:45Z

Gbisaga: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2324
| date = June 24, 2020
| title = Old Days 2
| image = old_days_2.png
| titletext = The git vehicle fleet eventually pivoted to selling ice cream, but some holdovers remain. If you flag down an ice cream truck and hand the driver a floppy disk, a few hours later you'll get an invite to a git repo.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a GIT VAN. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A sequel to [[1755: Old Days]], in this comic, a (young) [[Cueball]] is learning about the early days of the Internet from an (old) [[Hairbun]]. Most of her description is laughably fanciful but Cueball reacts with amazed belief. So either this is an alternate universe, or else Hairbun is wickedly pulling the leg of a naive Cueball.

The claims:

* The cloud was smaller and called a "Mainframe" and was near Sacramento.
**This is a joke on many cloud services replacing mainframes. In these early days, it is true that large mainframes would handle multiple people's jobs at once, using techniques like {{w|Time-sharing}} (although they were not located specifically near Sacramento). What's more, the basic ideas behind how cloud computing are used go way back. {{w|Multics}} was an early time-sharing system designed to "support a computing utility similar to the telephone and electricity utilities" (from {{w|Multics|wikipedia}}). The idea was similar to the cloud, where anybody could just hook up and get computing service, as well as other services built into the mainframe. For this reason, many of the computer security concepts we have today - such as {{w|Kernel_(operating_system)|kernelized operating systems}} - come from early systems like Multics.
* It was on the state landline.
** This is probably meant to astonish Cueball, who in this context may associate {{w|landline}}s (i.e. hard wired telephone connections) with an imagined stone age technology, and which nobody today uses for anything at all. And of course even in the age of all landlines, there was never such a thing as "the state landline", imagined as an immense shared party line to which the governor would have priority access for making calls. This could be a reference to early {{w|dial-up modem}}s, which ''did'' use landlines, and so users would have to disconnect from the Internet for making phone calls.
* No memory protection; instead, people would call around to ask whether anyone else using an address, and Microsoft's early foothold in computing was because of Bill Gates lying about his usage of addresses.
** Memory protection is coded preventative measures designed to stop an outsider (or another thread running in the code) from accessing and editing the memory on a device unauthorized, to avoid tampering with or corrupting it. Hairbun is correct in that this sort of code was not well-developed early on, but she claims that there wasn't any centralized management of the memory at all, and the only way to check if editing a particular address in the Mainframe was safe was physically asking all the other developers if they were already making changes to it. Her implication is that Bill Gates took advantage of this honor system to restrict people not working for Microsoft from making changes, allowing the company to take ownership of a lot of code.
* "Git" was a van that drove around gathering tapes to copy, and the term "pull request" came from the van physically pulling over when signaled with an air horn.
** {{w|Git}} is a {{w|version control system}}, which employs and manages a centralized copy of a coding project to prevent and resolve conflicts from multiple people editing the project at once. It works by having individual contributors {{w|Pull request|pull}} the project onto their device, make their changes, and then push those changes back to the master copy to be integrated into it. Data used to be stored on cartridges of {{w|magnetic tape}}; in order for version control to exist at this time, there would have to be a master tape that was copied and physically distributed to each contributor, and then the edited tapes would be gathered afterward and conflicts resolved. Hairbun claims that Git provided this service back then using vans. In reality, Git did not exist until 2005, long after digital computers and networked servers became widely accessible and the "early internet" was history.
* Before terminals we all used punch cards, which were originally developed to control looms, and so the looms would produce sweaters when code was run.
** Another initial truth going into complete nonsense. It is true that looms were driven by {{w|punch card}}s (dating back to 1745), and so were early computers and at the same time ({{w|Charles Babbage}} used them around 1830 to control his Analytical Engine). However, Hairbun's statement is that because of this, the ''same'' punch card machines would run both ''simultaneously'', such that feeding a set of cards to compile code would necessarily cause a sweater to be produced by the connected loom, which was then sent to the developer. It's not even likely that any punch patterns used in computer coding would be interpretable as valid sweater-creating instructions.
* (From the title text) You can still hand in a floppy disk to an ice cream truck and get an invite to a git repo a few hours later.
** Git repo is short for Git {{w|Repository (version control)|repository}}, the place where all the files associated with a project are stored. Apparently, Hairbun believes that modern ice cream truck drivers service Git in the same way she says the vans did before and that it's still possible to give them a floppy disk (an early magnetism-based storage device) in order to gain access to a repo. The ice cream industry has no connection to computing{{Citation needed}}.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[In a slim panel, Cueball and Hairbun are walking together to the right. Hairbun has her palm raised.]
:Cueball: What was the Internet like in the olden days, for a developer?
:Hairbun: Oh, things were very different.

:[Cueball and Hairbun have stopped walking. Zoomed in on Hairbun.]
:Hairbun: The cloud was a lot smaller. It was called a "mainframe" and it was near Sacramento.
:Hairbun: It was on the state landline, so the whole industry paused when the governor had to make a phone call.

:[Zoomed back out. Hairbun has her palm raised.]
:Hairbun: There was no memory protection. If you wanted to write to an address, you would call around to ask whether anyone else was using it.
:Hairbun: Often Bill Gates would say he was, even when he wasn't. That's how Microsoft got its early foothold.
:Cueball: Wow.

:[Zoomed back in Hairbun. Cueball responds off-screen.]
:Hairbun: "Git" was originally a van that circled around gathering data tapes to copy and distribute. We all took turns driving it.
:Hairbun: When you saw it coming you'd blow an air horn to request that it pull over.
:Hairbun: That's where "pull request" came from.
:Cueball (off-screen): Oh, neat!

:[Cueball and Hairbun continue walking to the right. Hairbun has her palm raised.]
:Hairbun: Before terminals, we all used punch cards, which were originally developed to control looms.
:Hairbun: Early mainframes would produce a sweater each time you ran your code.
:Hairbun: Eventually we got them to stop. We had enough sweaters.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Old Days]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Old Days]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Version Control]]

2324: Old Days 2

2020-06-25T13:48:05Z

Gbisaga: /* Explanation */ mainframe

{{comic
| number = 2324
| date = June 24, 2020
| title = Old Days 2
| image = old_days_2.png
| titletext = The git vehicle fleet eventually pivoted to selling ice cream, but some holdovers remain. If you flag down an ice cream truck and hand the driver a floppy disk, a few hours later you'll get an invite to a git repo.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a GIT VAN. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A sequel to [[1755: Old Days]], in this comic, a (young) [[Cueball]] is learning about the early days of the Internet from an (old) [[Hairbun]]. Most of her description is laughably fanciful but Cueball reacts with amazed belief. So either this is an alternate universe, or else Hairbun is wickedly pulling the leg of a naive Cueball.

The claims:

* The cloud was smaller and called a "Mainframe" and was near Sacramento.
**This is a joke on many cloud services replacing mainframes. In these early days, it is true that large mainframes would handle multiple people's jobs at once, using techniques like {{w|Time-sharing}} (although they were not located specifically near Sacramento). What's more, the basic ideas behind how cloud computing are used go way back. {{w|Multics}} was an early time-sharing system designed to "support a computing utility similar to the telephone and electricity utilities" (from {{w|Multics}}). The idea was similar to the cloud, where anybody could just hook up and get computing service, as well as other services built into the mainframe.
* It was on the state landline.
** This is probably meant to astonish Cueball, who in this context may associate {{w|landline}}s (i.e. hard wired telephone connections) with an imagined stone age technology, and which nobody today uses for anything at all. And of course even in the age of all landlines, there was never such a thing as "the state landline", imagined as an immense shared party line to which the governor would have priority access for making calls. This could be a reference to early {{w|dial-up modem}}s, which ''did'' use landlines, and so users would have to disconnect from the Internet for making phone calls.
* No memory protection; instead, people would call around to ask whether anyone else using an address, and Microsoft's early foothold in computing was because of Bill Gates lying about his usage of addresses.
** Memory protection is coded preventative measures designed to stop an outsider (or another thread running in the code) from accessing and editing the memory on a device unauthorized, to avoid tampering with or corrupting it. Hairbun is correct in that this sort of code was not well-developed early on, but she claims that there wasn't any centralized management of the memory at all, and the only way to check if editing a particular address in the Mainframe was safe was physically asking all the other developers if they were already making changes to it. Her implication is that Bill Gates took advantage of this honor system to restrict people not working for Microsoft from making changes, allowing the company to take ownership of a lot of code.
* "Git" was a van that drove around gathering tapes to copy, and the term "pull request" came from the van physically pulling over when signaled with an air horn.
** {{w|Git}} is a {{w|version control system}}, which employs and manages a centralized copy of a coding project to prevent and resolve conflicts from multiple people editing the project at once. It works by having individual contributors {{w|Pull request|pull}} the project onto their device, make their changes, and then push those changes back to the master copy to be integrated into it. Data used to be stored on cartridges of {{w|magnetic tape}}; in order for version control to exist at this time, there would have to be a master tape that was copied and physically distributed to each contributor, and then the edited tapes would be gathered afterward and conflicts resolved. Hairbun claims that Git provided this service back then using vans. In reality, Git did not exist until 2005, long after digital computers and networked servers became widely accessible and the "early internet" was history.
* Before terminals we all used punch cards, which were originally developed to control looms, and so the looms would produce sweaters when code was run.
** Another initial truth going into complete nonsense. It is true that looms were driven by {{w|punch card}}s (dating back to 1745), and so were early computers and at the same time ({{w|Charles Babbage}} used them around 1830 to control his Analytical Engine). However, Hairbun's statement is that because of this, the ''same'' punch card machines would run both ''simultaneously'', such that feeding a set of cards to compile code would necessarily cause a sweater to be produced by the connected loom, which was then sent to the developer. It's not even likely that any punch patterns used in computer coding would be interpretable as valid sweater-creating instructions.
* (From the title text) You can still hand in a floppy disk to an ice cream truck and get an invite to a git repo a few hours later.
** Git repo is short for Git {{w|Repository (version control)|repository}}, the place where all the files associated with a project are stored. Apparently, Hairbun believes that modern ice cream truck drivers service Git in the same way she says the vans did before and that it's still possible to give them a floppy disk (an early magnetism-based storage device) in order to gain access to a repo. The ice cream industry has no connection to computing{{Citation needed}}.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[In a slim panel, Cueball and Hairbun are walking together to the right. Hairbun has her palm raised.]
:Cueball: What was the Internet like in the olden days, for a developer?
:Hairbun: Oh, things were very different.

:[Cueball and Hairbun have stopped walking. Zoomed in on Hairbun.]
:Hairbun: The cloud was a lot smaller. It was called a "mainframe" and it was near Sacramento.
:Hairbun: It was on the state landline, so the whole industry paused when the governor had to make a phone call.

:[Zoomed back out. Hairbun has her palm raised.]
:Hairbun: There was no memory protection. If you wanted to write to an address, you would call around to ask whether anyone else was using it.
:Hairbun: Often Bill Gates would say he was, even when he wasn't. That's how Microsoft got its early foothold.
:Cueball: Wow.

:[Zoomed back in Hairbun. Cueball responds off-screen.]
:Hairbun: "Git" was originally a van that circled around gathering data tapes to copy and distribute. We all took turns driving it.
:Hairbun: When you saw it coming you'd blow an air horn to request that it pull over.
:Hairbun: That's where "pull request" came from.
:Cueball (off-screen): Oh, neat!

:[Cueball and Hairbun continue walking to the right. Hairbun has her palm raised.]
:Hairbun: Before terminals, we all used punch cards, which were originally developed to control looms.
:Hairbun: Early mainframes would produce a sweater each time you ran your code.
:Hairbun: Eventually we got them to stop. We had enough sweaters.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Old Days]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Old Days]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Version Control]]

Talk:2024: Light Hacks

2018-07-30T07:19:12Z

Gbisaga: Riker pwned again

We all know what we thinking, right :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECLvFLkvY7Y
: That was certainly my first thought! Riker pwned again. ;-) [[User:Gbisaga|Gbisaga]] ([[User talk:Gbisaga|talk]]) 07:19, 30 July 2018 (UTC)

Dyson spheres are the future but we’ll never see one in our lifetime, right? Maybe we can build small ones around candles and things as practice. Great art display for your local makerspace! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.100|162.158.63.100]] 11:03, 25 July 2018 (UTC)

Here’s a real light hack: https://hackaday.com/2016/02/29/fake-window-brings-natural-light-into-basement/ [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.183|162.158.62.183]] 15:21, 25 July 2018 (UTC)

I used to think life hacks were cool. Then I read a few of them and realized they were just Hints from Heloise with a cooler, hipper name.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.59.30|172.68.59.30]] 16:17, 25 July 2018 (UTC)Pat

:Pro-tip: Use these five simple tricks to turn any Life Hack into instant click-bait!
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 17:57, 25 July 2018 (UTC)

This Ikea lamp is more sci-fi: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00311498/ [[User:CityZen|CityZen]] ([[User talk:CityZen|talk]]) 20:16, 25 July 2018 (UTC)
:I'm proud to say I actually have that lamp in my bedroom [[User:Faultwire|I'm me(citation needed)]] ([[User talk:Faultwire|talk]]) 23:33, 25 July 2018 (UTC)
::The comic's text specifically mentions that alien "Dyson lampshades" redirect 100% of their energy. By having a shell with mirror coating inside that can be closed and thus indeed reflecting a significant part of the light, they are much closer to what probably was intended[[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.76|162.158.150.76]] 19:02, 26 July 2018 (UTC)

What's the comment about infrared studies being '''inconclusive''' about? I was under the impression that infrared light was one of the big reasons we knew there weren't any Dyson Spheres nearby. Is the comic referring to a study or something I haven't heard of, or am I overthinking this? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.243|162.158.74.243]] 02:33, 26 July 2018 (UTC)

:I think she just meant infrared studies to find out if they have them at IKEA. Referencing the fact that that's what you'd use to look for real Dyson spheres. [[User:DanielLC|DanielLC]] ([[User talk:DanielLC|talk]]) 09:23, 26 July 2018 (UTC)

I figured out indirect (diffused) lighting in 1982, in McCutcheon Hall at Purdue University. The central hall had lots of light, but no observable, central light source. I discovered that the light came from hidden fluorescent tubes, diffused against a plastered ceiling. The light we saw, came from overhead, in every direction. The basic outcome is: the more quanta you have, the less precise your measurement can be. OTOH, fewer quanta cast a sharper shadow.

The frosted bulb diffuses the shadows of the filament. The bulb's reflector can be an offset to the diffusion.

Hey, did you know you can ''write comments'' down here?? Life hack! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.244|141.101.98.244]] 06:26, 27 July 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1986: River Border

2018-04-28T18:15:39Z

Gbisaga:

The title text doesn't have a typo.
[[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 16:06, 27 April 2018 (UTC)

"It then occurred to Megan that she could break Nebraska state laws and the police couldn't catch her (because the river was in the way)."
:I ''think'' it might actually be because Megan is under the mistaken impression that it's neither Nebraskan nor Missourian territory, so neither set of cops actually have jurisdiction (similar to that thing where apparently there's an area of [https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinandrews/2017/11/26/icymi-you-can-get-away-with-murder-in-part-of-yellowstone-national-park/ Yellowstone] where no one has jurisdiction).
::I believe you're right. The title text seems to confirm this.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.172|162.158.255.172]] 20:03, 27 April 2018 (UTC)
:I'd edit it myself, but I'm not entirely sure if I'm right. Thought I'd bring up the possibility so others could decide. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.47.24|172.68.47.24]] 16:33, 27 April 2018 (UTC)

::I fixed it. [[User:Grabadora304|Grabadora304]] ([[User talk:Grabadora304|talk]]) {{unsigned|Grabadora304}}
:I also read it as the river physically keeping the police out of the region so I added it back (before even reading these comments), but only as a second possibility, leaving the jurisdiction as the primary. Note that the river actually IS a physical barrier, there are no roads across the river there. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 21:07, 27 April 2018 (UTC)

This isn’t the only place in the US, or even in Nebraska, where this has happened. The town of Carter Lake, Iowa is only accessible by car by driving through Omaha.
[[Special:Contributions/172.68.143.84|172.68.143.84]] 17:08, 27 April 2018 (UTC)

'''The story of the similar situation on the Walloon (Belgian)-Dutch border, and the headless corpse.'''
There used to be a situation like this on the border between Visé, Wallonia, Belgium; and Eijsden-Margraten in the Netherlands.
The border used to follow the path of the river Maas/Meuse at the time of the Treaty of London of 1839. Between 1970 en 1979, the river was straightened, and until 2018, the border no longer followed the path of the river. That led to situations similar to the one in this comic ''on both sides of the river''. Especially the Belgian bit at the Dutch side of the river became popular for drug dealings and illicit sexual escapades. At one time, a group of Antwerpians with moustaches proclaimed the area the independent Republic of Snorravia.
In 2012, a headless corpse was discovered there. (I have heard that it was a suicide, though details are scarce.) That lead eventually to a land swap agreed in 2016–2017, effective January 1st, 2018. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/belgium-netherlands-land-swap-agreement-river-meuse-borders-a7445751.html
— [[User:Adhemar|Adhemar]] ([[User talk:Adhemar|talk]]) 21:32, 27 April 2018 (UTC)

: ''The Martian'' allusion - The joke about high seas, piracy, and maritime laws jumped out at me as echoing a joke made in ''The Martain'', which we know is xkcd-approved. Does anyone else think that it's an intentional allusion? [[User:PvOberstein|PvOberstein]] ([[User talk:PvOberstein|talk]]) 23:45, 27 April 2018 (UTC)

:How exactly can you commit suicide by beheading? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 04:46, 28 April 2018 (UTC)
::He could have committed suicide by slitting his throat, then something happened that caused his head to fall off. But who knows? [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 07:30, 28 April 2018 (UTC)

Wait, so, basically, two people buy plots of land with river flowing between them, after years the river changes course, and they go to court and hire experts to find ''why'' the river changed course and, depending on the outcome, one person can win a chunk of land the other person had paid for? And this is common in 21st century law systems? That's quite depressing. [[User:Jaalenja|Jaalenja]] ([[User talk:Jaalenja|talk]]) 09:44, 28 April 2018 (UTC)

Congrats Randy, your title text made me claw my eyes out. Thankfully, I know kung-touch-typing-fu. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.11.155|172.68.11.155]] 11:29, 28 April 2018 (UTC)

I removed the incomplete because I can't imagine how this explanation could be made any more complete than it is. In fact, this is one of most complete explains I've seen. Great job everybody! [[User:Gbisaga|Gbisaga]] ([[User talk:Gbisaga|talk]]) 18:15, 28 April 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1986: River Border

2018-04-28T18:15:15Z

Gbisaga: Removed incomplete

The title text doesn't have a typo.
[[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 16:06, 27 April 2018 (UTC)

"It then occurred to Megan that she could break Nebraska state laws and the police couldn't catch her (because the river was in the way)."
:I ''think'' it might actually be because Megan is under the mistaken impression that it's neither Nebraskan nor Missourian territory, so neither set of cops actually have jurisdiction (similar to that thing where apparently there's an area of [https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinandrews/2017/11/26/icymi-you-can-get-away-with-murder-in-part-of-yellowstone-national-park/ Yellowstone] where no one has jurisdiction).
::I believe you're right. The title text seems to confirm this.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.172|162.158.255.172]] 20:03, 27 April 2018 (UTC)
:I'd edit it myself, but I'm not entirely sure if I'm right. Thought I'd bring up the possibility so others could decide. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.47.24|172.68.47.24]] 16:33, 27 April 2018 (UTC)

::I fixed it. [[User:Grabadora304|Grabadora304]] ([[User talk:Grabadora304|talk]]) {{unsigned|Grabadora304}}
:I also read it as the river physically keeping the police out of the region so I added it back (before even reading these comments), but only as a second possibility, leaving the jurisdiction as the primary. Note that the river actually IS a physical barrier, there are no roads across the river there. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 21:07, 27 April 2018 (UTC)

This isn’t the only place in the US, or even in Nebraska, where this has happened. The town of Carter Lake, Iowa is only accessible by car by driving through Omaha.
[[Special:Contributions/172.68.143.84|172.68.143.84]] 17:08, 27 April 2018 (UTC)

'''The story of the similar situation on the Walloon (Belgian)-Dutch border, and the headless corpse.'''
There used to be a situation like this on the border between Visé, Wallonia, Belgium; and Eijsden-Margraten in the Netherlands.
The border used to follow the path of the river Maas/Meuse at the time of the Treaty of London of 1839. Between 1970 en 1979, the river was straightened, and until 2018, the border no longer followed the path of the river. That led to situations similar to the one in this comic ''on both sides of the river''. Especially the Belgian bit at the Dutch side of the river became popular for drug dealings and illicit sexual escapades. At one time, a group of Antwerpians with moustaches proclaimed the area the independent Republic of Snorravia.
In 2012, a headless corpse was discovered there. (I have heard that it was a suicide, though details are scarce.) That lead eventually to a land swap agreed in 2016–2017, effective January 1st, 2018. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/belgium-netherlands-land-swap-agreement-river-meuse-borders-a7445751.html
— [[User:Adhemar|Adhemar]] ([[User talk:Adhemar|talk]]) 21:32, 27 April 2018 (UTC)

: ''The Martian'' allusion - The joke about high seas, piracy, and maritime laws jumped out at me as echoing a joke made in ''The Martain'', which we know is xkcd-approved. Does anyone else think that it's an intentional allusion? [[User:PvOberstein|PvOberstein]] ([[User talk:PvOberstein|talk]]) 23:45, 27 April 2018 (UTC)

:How exactly can you commit suicide by beheading? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 04:46, 28 April 2018 (UTC)
::He could have committed suicide by slitting his throat, then something happened that caused his head to fall off. But who knows? [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 07:30, 28 April 2018 (UTC)

Wait, so, basically, two people buy plots of land with river flowing between them, after years the river changes course, and they go to court and hire experts to find ''why'' the river changed course and, depending on the outcome, one person can win a chunk of land the other person had paid for? And this is common in 21st century law systems? That's quite depressing. [[User:Jaalenja|Jaalenja]] ([[User talk:Jaalenja|talk]]) 09:44, 28 April 2018 (UTC)

Congrats Randy, your title text made me claw my eyes out. Thankfully, I know kung-touch-typing-fu. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.11.155|172.68.11.155]] 11:29, 28 April 2018 (UTC)

I removed the incomplete because I can't imagine how this explanation could be made any more complete than it is. In fact, this is one of most explains I've seen. Great job everybody! [[User:Gbisaga|Gbisaga]] ([[User talk:Gbisaga|talk]]) 18:15, 28 April 2018 (UTC)

1986: River Border

2018-04-28T18:14:10Z

Gbisaga: /* Explanation */ Deleted incomplete because I can't imagine how this explanation could be made any more complete than it is

{{comic
| number = 1986
| date = April 27, 2018
| title = River Border
| image = river_border.png
| titletext = I'm not a lawyer, but I believe zones like this are technically considered the high seas, so if you cut a pizza into a spiral there you could be charged with pieracy under marinaritime law.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Ponytail]] explains to [[Megan]] that the Missouri-Nebraska state border is based on the {{w|Missouri River|river}} they are watching. And because the path of rivers mostly only change slowly these borders are typically adopted to that changes. But then she explains that the river once had changed abruptly and the border didn't move with it. That meant that they were on the Missouri side of the river that in fact belongs to Nebraska.

It then occurred to Megan that she could break the law in this area because she is under the mistaken impression that she is in Nebraska but the police can't reach her over the river and Missourian cops actually don't have jurisdiction. In fact, there are no bridges linking it to Nebraska so police would have to go through Missouri in order to get to that part of Nebraska.

The final panel shows Megan saying she's going to cut a pizza into a spiral, which is by no means illegal, and she runs off to commit more crimes, likely similar acts to cutting a pizza in an uncommon way.

In the title text, [[Randall]] claims the disputed region is probably considered like the {{w|International waters|high seas}}, suggesting that no governmental jurisdiction can apply. He sets up the pizza case to be comparable to {{w|Admiralty law|maritime law}} "Pieracy" is a portmanteau of ''pie'' (another name for a pizza) and "piracy" and marinara sauce is frequently served with pizza, so "Maritime" law is rendered "Marinaritime" respectively.

The region mentioned in the comic can be seen here at [https://www.google.com/maps/@40.5270132,-95.6954944,10627m/ Google maps] and is known as {{w|McKissick Island}}. In 1904, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed in Missouri v. Nebraska that a sudden change of a river's course does not change any border. See: [https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/196/23/case.html Missouri v. Nebraska, 196 U.S. 23 (1904)].

===Riverine Boundaries in Common Law and Surveying===
This strip is alluding to the concepts of 'accretion' and 'avulsion' in boundary law.

Accretion is the gradual change of the location of a river or stream by erosion or addition of sediment through natural river processes. According to common law in the United States and elsewhere, if a river or stream location changes gradually, then the boundary line moves with the stream. In cases of pure accretion, it is possible for a parcel of land to be entirely eroded away on one side of a river, and have material be added to the opposite side of the river. In such cases, one property owner could lose all their land.

Avulsion is a sudden change in the location of a river or stream, often due to flooding. In times of flood, a river can cut a new channel through surrounding land, which can create islands and oxbow lakes. According to common law, an avulsive change will not change the boundary of the land, as it is likely that the property is unchanged except for the new channel.

In the real world, however, river systems undergo both accretion and avulsion multiple times over a period of time. This makes the determination of property lines along riverine boundaries one of the most complicated aspects of boundary surveying. An examination of a river boundary will require in-depth research of the local history of the river, including reviewing deeds, government survey plats, private survey maps, aerial photos taken over time, local landowners recollections, and local lore. In situations where there is disagreement over whether an avulsive or accretive change happened, landowners may have to go to court for a suit to quiet title.

Further in-depth reading may be found in the US Bureau of Land Management's 2009 Manual of Surveying Instructions, Chapter 8, specifically page 197-205. (See: [https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/Manual_Of_Surveying_Instructions_2009.pdf PDF (37.7 MByte)].)

=== Real-world examples ===
Often, borders defined by a river actually change. There are three methods to define a border:
*The border follows one of the river banks, often in reference to a low-water mark. The exact location of the border is defined in a clear way - but one of the territories will lose terrain through {{w|erosion}}. When the river bends, erosion occurs at the outer bank, and much less at the inner bank.
*The border follows the middle of the river.
*The most usual definition of a riverine border uses the {{w|talweg}}. The talweg (German for "valley path") always follows the line of the deepest points in the water body. Especially at river bends, the talweg is rarely in the middle of the river. Incidentally, the talweg also signifies the navigable zone of a river.

The Mexican-US-Border that follows the Rio Grande is one of the most prominent examples of an international border that needs meticulous regulation. Thus, the {{w|International Boundary and Water Commission}} was created. This commission was involved when the two nations rectified the course of the river, ceding equal amounts of land to each other. The Canada-US-Border is overseen by a similar commission.

One of the causes of the {{w|Iran-Iraq War}} was the dispute on shipping rights on the {{w|Shatt-el Arab river}}, and because the border was defined as the low water mark at the ''eastern'' side of that river, Iranian shipping was severely restricted. So the Shah of Persia announced to ignore the 1937 treaty on shipping rights, saying that most riverine borders all around the world are defined by the talweg.

Between Switzerland and Italy, the border is, at most locations, defined by the actual {{w|drainage divide}}. Because the {{w|Theodul Glacier}} between {{w|Zermatt}} (Switzerland) and {{w|Breuil-Cervinia}} (Italy) is slowly melting, the drainage divide moves southwards, thus slowly enlarging the Swiss territory.

Most other national borders in Europe are defined today as ''fiat borders'' instead of following natural landmarks like rivers. If a river changes course now, the depicted situation would occur; however, most larger rivers have been rectified more than a century ago and thus don't change course often.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail and Megan are standing next to a river.]
:Ponytail: This is a cool spot.
:Ponytail: The Missouri-Nebraska state line follows this river. If the river's path changes gradually, the border moves with it.

:[A map is shown with a river from the left to the bottom. A dotted arc is connected on both ends to the river, extending to north-east. An arrow with the text "Old riverbed" points to the arc and it's labeled Nebraska on south-west and Missouri on the other side. The text above the map reads:]
:Ponytail: But when it '''''abruptly''''' changes course, the border stays behind.
:Ponytail: This is a spot where that happened. We're on the Missouri side, but we're in Nebraska.

:[Frameless panel back to Ponytail and Megan.]
:Megan: Wow.
:Megan: So...
:Megan: We can commit all the crimes we want here and the cops can't do a thing!

:[Megan points up her finger.]
:Ponytail: What? No. Why would you even think that?
:Megan: I'm going to cut a pizza into a '''''spiral!'''''
:Ponytail: That's not even illegal!
:Megan: '''''Crimes!'''''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

1973: Star Lore

2018-03-28T16:20:47Z

Gbisaga: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1973
| date = March 28, 2018
| title = Star Lore
| image = star_lore.png
| titletext = That one is a variable star which pulses every 30 seconds. Its name comes from a Greek word meaning "smoke alarm."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT running on a COMPUTER with TOO MANY STATUS LEDs - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Computers, chargers, and other electronic items often have status lights in various colors. In a dark room, these lights appear as pinpricks of light, similar to constellations. Presumably Randall's room has many such items, though this may be like [[My Hobby]] in the sense that his room doesn't really look like that but he claims it does for humor value. It's also not clear whether this refers to Randall's bedroom (typical US usage of "my room" refers to one's bedroom) or some other room Randall spends a good deal of time in.

The comic's narrator is explaining how some of his lights remind him of stars, which gives him an opportunity to show off his knowledge of astronomic trivia.

Interestingly, there are some green stars. Stars might look green due to a neighbouring star, but {{w|Green star (astronomy)|green stars are actually impossible}} due to the principle of black body radiation.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[Assorted dots of various colors scattered around the panel, with two speech bubbles randomly placed in the panel]
:Speech bubble 1: That cluster was known to the ancients as the Five Sisters.
:The red one was a supergiant and will probably explode within the next million years.
:Speech bubble 2: Wow!

:[Caption below the panel:]
:There are too many status LEDs in my room.
{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1972: Autogyros

2018-03-27T12:56:46Z

Gbisaga:

;Land vertically?

Hi, searching 'autogyro' has led me to find autogyros can't land vertically. Could this be a mistake on Randall's part, or am I missing a joke here?

[[Special:Contributions/172.69.186.58|172.69.186.58]] 13:55, 26 March 2018 (UTC)

:I just read about them on Wikipedia and I see that they can't take off vertically, but there are kinds (possibly all) that can land vertically [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.76|108.162.219.76]] 14:01, 26 March 2018 (UTC)

::The Wikipedia article was edited this morning to claim that they could not land vertically, but the edit was short-lived and reverted. So, be careful what you trust. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 14:37, 26 March 2018 (UTC)

::It appears they can land vertically with the correct wind conditions. Here is a YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAoK9zM8FFQ - and they say "Actually it is a 'Zero GROUND Speed Landing' approx. 25 kts headwind".

::Here is a YouTube video of a zero ground speed takeoff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd7_V4pW--Q

::I think the confusion here is that yes, it can land vertically: for that matter, so can any airplane. What matters isn't ground speed but airspeed, and as long as there's as much headwind as the landing airspeed of the aircraft, it will land vertically. Now, with fixed wing airplanes the landing speed is at least 40-50 mph, and you don't often find headwinds like that. The much lower landing airspeed of an autogyro makes that feasible. [[User:Gbisaga|Gbisaga]] ([[User talk:Gbisaga|talk]]) 21:26, 26 March 2018 (UTC)

::: "Landing vertically"...having so little forward airspeed on touchdown that it is negligible[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.208|108.162.216.208]] 23:40, 26 March 2018 (UTC)
:::: I disagree with this. If that were the case, an autogyro could NOT land vertically or anything close to it. I think it's clear that "vertical" refers to movement relative to the ground, as movement relative to airflow is invisible. I'm having a hard time finding hard numbers on minimum airspeed for an autogyro (and unlike fixed wing aircraft, I've never flown one myself, so I don't have practical experience to fall back on). However I've seen a typical autogyro's best rate of climb speed is 50-50 mph, versus almost 70 for a 152; so I'll project about 30 mph for a minimum speed in landing configuration. Landing in that kind of headwind is certainly not unreasonable (though it would probably be not that much fun). [[User:Gbisaga|Gbisaga]] ([[User talk:Gbisaga|talk]]) 12:56, 27 March 2018 (UTC)

::: I'd expect an autogyro to be capable of landing the same way a helicopter with an engine malfunction lands - autorotate the rotor to store energy and then stop while relying on the rotor to slow the descent. Does not sound like the safest of procedures, but it certainly gives you a vertical landing. [[User:Mat|Mat]] ([[User talk:Mat|talk]]) 08:30, 27 March 2018 (UTC)

;Trivia
First successful flight of an autogyro was in 1923, so they have been around for close to 100 years. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 17:04, 26 March 2018 (UTC)
The 1981 movie ''Mad Max II'' prominently featured an autogyro as part of the action. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 17:04, 26 March 2018 (UTC)
Also James Bond 007 flew the autogyro 'Little Nellie' in " You Only Live Twice". Reputedly prompting a bit of an autogyro revival. [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 17:46, 26 March 2018 (UTC)

First of all, I've converted section headings to bold labels - we should avoid them in discussion content. Secondly, my take on how to order the labels around the autogyro is down the left side, then across the top, and finally down the right side. I realize it's entirely up to the reader, but that order makes the most sense to me instead of clockwise - the text on the lower-right seems to be climactic in a strange Randell-esque way. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 18:15, 26 March 2018 (UTC)
:Agree with your entire comment, and have changed the order in the transcript --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:03, 26 March 2018 (UTC)

Has Megan been seen wearing goggles before? [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 23:05, 26 March 2018 (UTC)

"Powered parachute"? Sounds to me like [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramotor this awesome thing]. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 08:50, 27 March 2018 (UTC)

1972: Autogyros

2018-03-26T21:28:52Z

Gbisaga: /* Can land vertically */

{{comic
| number = 1972
| date = March 26, 2018
| title = Autogyros
| image = autogyros.png
| titletext = I understand modern autogyros are much more stable, so I've probably angered the autogyro people by impugning their safety. Once they finish building the autogyros they've been working on in their garages for 10 years, they'll come after me.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an ANGRY AUTOGYRO MAKER. Have created sections for explaining each of the statements. Think it will be better than a table.Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[Randall]] has been looking at the facts about autogyros, hence the title of the comic. He has drawn [[Megan]] flying in such a vehicle with several statements of the facts he has unveiled.

Randall states that an autogyros is nothing like a helicopter (which it looks like), nothing like a plane (but flies like one) and works like a powered parachute (without anything looking remotely as such). He continues to make a total of 12 [[#Statements|statments]] which will be explained individually below.

The final statement at the bottom rightis the punch line of how strange these flying machines are, because they are safe, as long as you do not do what a pilot instinctively would do in a plane in case of a stall, because if you do so the autogyros will crash immediately... See the [[#Extremely safe|explanation below]]. That sentence is almost rendered unnecessary by the one above it that states that autogyros [[#Never stalls|never stalls]]!

Randall's conclusion is clear: Autogyros are '''''weird '''''.

In the title text Randall continues on the last statement by saying that today autogyros are much more stable. Which must refer to that this was not always the case. And this new stability probably means that a [[#Never stalls|stall situation]] is much less likely and the last statement is then not so relevant anymore.

Randall then goes on to suggest that ''the autogyro people'' will be angers by this comic which [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/impugn#English impugns] (i.e. attack) the safety of their bellowed machines. But he keeps on mocking them, as he states that they will come after him, once they have finished building the autogyros they have been working on in their garage for the last 10 years. By this he states that the pople who work on them do this as a home garage project so they will never get them finished and able to fly, and thus will probably never come after him.

But if a bunch of them do manage to finish their autogyros simultaneously and come after him as a pack, with very good machines for flying and landing vertically, Randall will be in trouble escaping the angry autogyros people mob.

==Statements==
*Below each of the statements in the comic are explained
**The optimal reading order is to read them in the four columns they are arranged in:
**The left with four, the two single in the middle and the six on the right.

===Nothing like a helicopter===
''Looks like a helicopter, but is nothing like a helicopter''

===Nothing like a plane===
''Flies like a plane but is nothing like a plane''

===Powered parachute===
''Sort of like a powered parachute''

===Rare in the US===
''Rare in the US, usually homemade. Common in Europe. ''

===Big blade on top===
''Big blade on top is not powered and spins freely''

===Flown without a license===
''Can often be flown without a license''

===Cheap===
Helicopters are notorious for being extremely expensive to operate. At a typical general aviation service in the US, a two-seat aircraft may rent for under $100/hr, while a helicopter runs over $200/hr. Similarly, a small used helicopter may cost almost $200,000 while a small new autogyro may cost under $25,000. Since many people home-build their autogyros, it would often be even cheaper.

===Needs a runway to take off===
''Needs a runway to take off, but not a long one''

===Can land vertically===
An autogyro can land vertically: for that matter, so can any airplane. What matters isn't ground speed but airspeed, and as long as there's as much headwind as the landing airspeed of the aircraft, it will land vertically. Now, with fixed wing airplanes the landing speed is at least 40-50 mph, and you don't often find headwinds like that. The much lower landing airspeed of an autogyro makes vertical landings feasible.

===Cannot hover===
True hovering would require the rotor to be powered. However, an autogyro must be moving forward in order for the rotor to generate lift.

===Never stalls===

===Extremely safe===
''Extremely safe, unless you do the one thing you instinctively do to escape a stall in a normal airplane, in which case it will crash immediately''

On a normal airplane, one will push the yoke forward in a stall or engine out situation, to regain airspeed and to stabilize the plane. On an{{w|autogyro}}, this leads to negative angle of attack, decelerating the rotor, which may lead to a crash. Also pushing the yoke hard forward while flying full throttle may lead to a crash.

==Transcript==

:[A picture of Megan wearing aviator goggles, sitting in an autogyro and holding the control stick. The autogyro is surrounded by sentence fragments, explaining characteristics of it. The one above the blade that concerns the blade has an arrow pointing from the text to the blade. The sentences in columns from the left (i.e. left sentences first, then the two above the autogyros body and finally the sentences to the right):]
:Looks like a helicopter, but is nothing like a helicopter
:Flies like a plane but is nothing like a plane
:Sort of like a powered parachute
:Rare in the US, usually homemade. Common in Europe.
:Big blade on top is not powered and spins freely
:Can often be flown without a license
:Cheap
:Needs a runway to take off, but not a long one
:Can land vertically
:Cannot hover
:Never stalls
:Extremely safe, unless you do the '''''one''''' thing you instinctively do to escape a stall in a normal airplane, in which case it will crash immediately.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Autogyros are '''''weird'''''.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]