explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2131: Emojidome

2019-04-01T18:48:11Z

Gtb: comment

I've checked the network tab and console - nothing really seems to happen when you vote, which may be something we want to put on the explanation tomorrow - Myxoh

I suspect the real april fools joke is going to come on Wednesday when xkdc posts an app showing us our psychological profiles that they are now selling to marketing companies after data-mining our emotional preferences to marketing firms - Nosajimiki

@Nosajimiki: psychological profiles of xkcd fans. That might be some interesting marketing. - 5Cincinatus

@Myxoh: I came here to see if anyone else had noticed this! But, I do also see a websocket connection to emojidome.xkcd.com, I bet it's counting votes that way.

There is a websocket connection. A message is sent every time you vote. It looks like there are also status update messages every second (saying which emoji currently has exactly how many votes, i suspect this changes the amount of hearts that show up), and "bracket start" messages every so often. The bracket start message seems to contain hundreds of upcoming emoji pairs. Edit: a bracket start is sent at the start of every match (so every ~30 seconds). It also contains logs of which messages to show for previous matches, and which emoji are currently battling.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.138.10|172.69.138.10]] 16:30, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

There seems to be nothing stopping me from clicking multiple times. Do you think it actually counts it all those times? Can I click-spam to say "this is much better"? [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 16:48, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

Well this is fun. Look like there are 512 symbols, meaning 256 first-round contests. The first round would take (at 38 seconds / round) ~2.7 hours. The remaining rounds, from an estimate of geometric progression, would just under double this, meaning this comic will run for ~ 5 hours until we have our winner... ~alexandicity [[Special:Contributions/172.69.226.177|172.69.226.177]] 16:51, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

Did he just add a scroll bar to the previous matches? I didn't notice it earlier [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.148|162.158.255.148]] 18:17, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
:Nope, you were able to scroll before, too. At least about 2 hours ago. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 18:20, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

While some of the recaps of past battles are generic (taco vs sandwich: "One for the history books"), many seem to be specifically written for the battle (light bulb vs candle: "Some would argue that this one was settled in the 1800s"). I wonder if/how much this will continue into round 2.

Round two has just begun, and the timeout has been bumped to 60 seconds. --[[User:Anarcat|Anarcat]] ([[User talk:Anarcat|talk]]) 18:41, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
:If that trend continues, the full competition will take pretty close to 24 hours. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 18:45, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

And while the match-ups winners are typically colored, and underlined, the losers are endgame grey.

1637: Salt Mine

2016-02-01T19:11:42Z

Gtb: /* Trivia */

{{comic
| number = 1637
| date = February 1, 2016
| title = Salt Mine
| image = salt_mine.png
| titletext = This one is a little bland. Pass the saltshaker?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This is a summary, not an explanation}}
Ponytail has built a particle detector (An expensive device used in experimental physics) in a salt mine. Hair Bun Girl assumes that this is to block out cosmic rays, as is the case with the real life {{w|Irvine-Michigan-Brookhaven (detector)|Irvine-Michigan-Brookhaven detector}} (IMB), started in Lake Erie in 1979. Ponytail affirms Hair Bun Girl's assumption; however, based on the wording of her response, it is clear that Ponytail and her colleagues have an ulterior motive of using the mine to get access to an enormous supply of salt for eating. This is absurd, since salt is already plentifully available in grocery stores, the cost of the particle detector far exceeds the value of the salt and their intake appears to be ''far'' beyond any medically-advised healthy limit (and likely to be sickening in other regards).

The IMB detector was initially used to search for proton decay in very pure water kept in the mine. Although the IMB became famous for detecting neutrinos from a supernova 1987a, it never observed a single proton decay out of 10^31 protons. At the time, even a single observation would have contributed to the Grand Unified Theory, predicting that protons eventually decay. In the comic, when Ponytail says "Yes, That's definitely why" it could refer to the large expectations that such detectors had promised.

The title text is intended to be absurd, and thus humorous. Salt is normally used to add flavor to otherwise bland foods. However, the "bland" food that the speaker is eating is itself a chunk of salt, and they wish to season their salt with yet more salt. The substance they are eating could be bland salt rock (a mixture of rock and salt in raw form resulting in a lower salt content).

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
[Hair Bun Girl, Ponytail, Cueball, and Megan are in a salt mine. Cueball and Megan are eating salt, while Hair Bun Girl and Ponytail talk in front of what appears to be a control console for a particle detector.]

Hair Bun Girl: So you've built this particle detector in a salt mine to block out cosmic rays?

Ponytail: Yes. That is definitely why.

Cueball and Megan [eating salt]: Homf Nomf Nomf

==Trivia==
*In real life salt mines are also used for exotic restaurants, such as the 'Wieliczka' Salt Mine, in Poland - a use for mines which is more rare than particle detectors. The Wieliczka mine contains a complete bar, hardwood seating, and gourmet chefs located 125m below ground. Dishes are seasoned with Wieliczka salt mine salt, and is used liberally in the selections. In the comic, Cueball and Megan and show as possible employees of the particle detector, but are instead eating something with salt, which could be a humorous reference to the lack of proton decay results.
* In the video game {{w|Portal 2}}, the facility, which is used "for science" is in a salt mine.
* This might be a reference to the STTOS episode "The Man Trap" where species M-113 requires salt to survive. It could also be a reference to the Star Trek Online "Mine Trap" mission where species M-113 also is referenced

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Hair Bun Girl]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Science]]

1637: Salt Mine

2016-02-01T19:08:03Z

Gtb: /* Trivia */

{{comic
| number = 1637
| date = February 1, 2016
| title = Salt Mine
| image = salt_mine.png
| titletext = This one is a little bland. Pass the saltshaker?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This is a summary, not an explanation}}
Ponytail has built a particle detector (An expensive device used in experimental physics) in a salt mine. Hair Bun Girl assumes that this is to block out cosmic rays, as is the case with the real life {{w|Irvine-Michigan-Brookhaven (detector)|Irvine-Michigan-Brookhaven detector}} (IMB), started in Lake Erie in 1979. Ponytail affirms Hair Bun Girl's assumption; however, based on the wording of her response, it is clear that Ponytail and her colleagues have an ulterior motive of using the mine to get access to an enormous supply of salt for eating. This is absurd, since salt is already plentifully available in grocery stores, the cost of the particle detector far exceeds the value of the salt and their intake appears to be ''far'' beyond any medically-advised healthy limit (and likely to be sickening in other regards).

The IMB detector was initially used to search for proton decay in very pure water kept in the mine. Although the IMB became famous for detecting neutrinos from a supernova 1987a, it never observed a single proton decay out of 10^31 protons. At the time, even a single observation would have contributed to the Grand Unified Theory, predicting that protons eventually decay. In the comic, when Ponytail says "Yes, That's definitely why" it could refer to the large expectations that such detectors had promised.

The title text is intended to be absurd, and thus humorous. Salt is normally used to add flavor to otherwise bland foods. However, the "bland" food that the speaker is eating is itself a chunk of salt, and they wish to season their salt with yet more salt. The substance they are eating could be bland salt rock (a mixture of rock and salt in raw form resulting in a lower salt content).

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
[Hair Bun Girl, Ponytail, Cueball, and Megan are in a salt mine. Cueball and Megan are eating salt, while Hair Bun Girl and Ponytail talk in front of what appears to be a control console for a particle detector.]

Hair Bun Girl: So you've built this particle detector in a salt mine to block out cosmic rays?

Ponytail: Yes. That is definitely why.

Cueball and Megan [eating salt]: Homf Nomf Nomf

==Trivia==
*In real life salt mines are also used for exotic restaurants, such as the 'Wieliczka' Salt Mine, in Poland - a use for mines which is more rare than particle detectors. The Wieliczka mine contains a complete bar, hardwood seating, and gourmet chefs located 125m below ground. Dishes are seasoned with Wieliczka salt mine salt, and is used liberally in the selections. In the comic, Cueball and Megan and show as possible employees of the particle detector, but are instead eating something with salt, which could be a humorous reference to the lack of proton decay results.
* In the video game {{w|Portal 2}}, the facility, which is used "for science" is in a salt mine.
* This might be a reference to the STTOS episode "The Man Trap" where species M-113 requires salt to survive. It could also be a reference to the STSTO "Mine Trap" mission where species M-113 also is referenced

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Hair Bun Girl]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Science]]