explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2525: Air Travel Packing List

2021-10-07T17:01:25Z

Hamjudo: Note on ballast.

I'll work on this one, so I don't get edit conflicted. {{User:PoolloverNathan/Signature}} 23:16, 6 October 2021 (UTC)

A lot of these items that are listed as needed during a crash are not that related to crashing but some things that paranoid potential passengers feel they should have anyway. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 02:04, 7 October 2021 (UTC)

I had a teacher that was a retired engineer. He complained about working on an airplane and he wanted to design a lightweight floor, but the heel of high heeled shoes would pierce through so he had to make it heaver than he wanted. One can imagine an alternate world where the lighter floors were chosen, where airplane shoes would be some kind of pressure distributing shoe.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.42.125|172.69.42.125]] 02:32, 7 October 2021 (UTC)
:I thought airplane shoes was a play on boat shoes, which are a thing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boat_shoe [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 14:34, 7 October 2021 (UTC)

I think that the Flag for international flights is referring to a national flag not to a flag used for signaling messages. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.187.208|162.158.187.208]] 03:20, 7 October 2021 (UTC)

Pedantry corner: parachutes don't keep you from falling out of the sky - they help you land safer when you do. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.95|162.158.159.95]] 08:21, 7 October 2021 (UTC)
:Like the old joke about falling out of a building: It's not the fall that kills you, it's the sudden stop at the end. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 14:32, 7 October 2021 (UTC)

The mouthpiece may be a COVID-19 slur, referring to the requirement to cover your mouth -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.83|162.158.90.83]] 09:02, 7 October 2021 (UTC)

Part of the joke may be that this list isn't for those who have travelled via plane but flown from cockpit.
"so you can attract birds, and use THEM to fly the plane in case of crash" - What does that even mean? [[User:Bischoff|Bischoff]] ([[User talk:Bischoff|talk]]) 11:01, 7 October 2021 (UTC)

Some of those items could be from the computer game "Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zak_McKracken_and_the_Alien_Mindbenders
Seat Cushion, Birdseed, Parachute.

My first interpretation of the mouthpiece and trumpet was an early style telephone that had a separate mouthpiece and trumpet style earpiece.

Ballast is routinely used on aircraft. The baggage handlers that load the plane will usually add temporary ballast as needed. The manufacturer and aircraft mechanics may install permanent ballast blocks in order to ensure that the center of gravity is within limits.

I will edit the main text shortly. It will be my very first non-comment edit on this site.
https://www.flightliteracy.com/ballast/[[User:Hamjudo|Hamjudo]] ([[User talk:Hamjudo|talk]]) 17:01, 7 October 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2393: Presidential Middle Names

2020-12-03T20:44:28Z

Hamjudo: Does this go in rankings?

I wonder where Hussein comes in in the official rankings. [[User:Orion205|Orion205]] ([[User talk:Orion205|talk]]) 04:16, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

Gamaliel sounds like an Elvish name...[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.128|108.162.216.128]] 05:03, 3 December 2020 (UTC)
: No, it's a {{w|Gamaliel_Ratsey|highwayman}}. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.24|162.158.155.24]] 10:54, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

: I would assume his parents were thinking about someone a bit nicer. Perhaps {{w|Gamaliel|Raban Gamaliel}}, a famous Jewish sage, major contributor to the Talmud and Christian saint (in some churches). [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 13:57, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

For the record, this was his paternal grandmother's maiden name. [[User:RAGBRAIvet|RAGBRAIvet]] ([[User talk:RAGBRAIvet|talk]]) 09:18, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

My understanding of the title text is that Hayes was previously in 3rd position, but has been demoted to 4th and no longer appears in the top 3, not that he is at the bottom of the list.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.243|141.101.99.243]] 09:39, 3 December 2020 (UTC)
:The title text literally says "The bottom of the list". How can you read that as not meaning "the bottom of the list"??? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.69.153|141.101.69.153]] 10:44, 3 December 2020 (UTC)
::Though I don't read it as this, you ''could'' take it as two separate statements:
::"The bottom of the list remains unchanged." <- there has been no shuffling at the 'worst' end.
::"Poor Rutherford Birchard Hayes." <- alas! For he has been shuffled out of the top three!
::Looking at the entire list of middle names with an arbitrary eye for 'Prettiness', I would definitely put "Birchard" in the bottom half, probably bottom handful, possibly indeed the bottom slot. But then I'd do much the same for "Fitzgerald" too. (That's on a 'prettiest' scale that is pleasant/ugly, not a decorative/plain axis, just so you know. And does contain subjectivities like Werty22's interpretation of "Delano".) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.155|162.158.158.155]] 14:27, 3 December 2020 (UTC)
:::The list also literally only includes the top three, so my initial interpretation of the title text was that Hayes was previously in the 2nd position but is now off the list... perhaps due to a re-evaluation of the 'prettiness' of "Birchard". This would leave the bottom of the list (i.e. No. 3) unchanged.

I think someone needs to do a survey; maybe run a bracket or something, to see if public opinion matches Randall's list. [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 11:33, 3 December 2020 (UTC)
:This is a great idea.

Anyone anything meaningful to add? I think we can remove the incomplete-tag, no? [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 12:21, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

I just wanted to say that Delano in Spanish sounds like "del ano" which means "from the anus". Not sure that was intended, but it's pretty funny. [[User:Werty22|Werty22]] ([[User talk:Werty22|talk]]) 13:00, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

Does anyone else think Randall's jumping the gun a bit? I mean, I acknowledge that President-Elect Biden becoming President next month is by far more likely than any other scenario, but it still feels wrong to assume it's going to happen. (Also, I believe "Quincy", "Ulysses", and "Baines" should round out the current top five.) [[User:Mathmannix|Mathmannix]] ([[User talk:Mathmannix|talk]]) 13:55, 3 December 2020 (UTC)
:lol [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.152|162.158.255.152]] 20:00, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

I figured it was important to add Harry Truman, since he does in fact have a middle name, even though it is only one letter long. [[User:Easwaran|Easwaran]] ([[User talk:Easwaran|talk]]) 18:23, 3 December 2020 (UTC)
: That probably makes his the coolest, even if it's not the prettiest. [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 18:30, 3 December 2020 (UTC)
Should this comic be added to the "rankings" category? [[User:Hamjudo|Hamjudo]] ([[User talk:Hamjudo|talk]]) 20:44, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2286: 6-Foot Zone

2020-03-28T13:15:39Z

Hamjudo: This probably isn't a reference to the US Forest Service Equestrian Design Guidebook for Trails, Trailheads, and Campgrounds?

Ok... 34 feet, in total, but how many hands? (All of which you should wash!) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.210|162.158.34.210]] 23:34, 27 March 2020 (UTC)

: Love it. Given the extra 1.7 feet for the person, a radius of 20.53 hands. If it were just 6 feet, 18 hands -- brad --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.122|108.162.216.122]] 00:55, 28 March 2020 (UTC)

So Randall is figuring about 1.7 feet diameter for the person. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.174.70|172.68.174.70]] 00:40, 28 March 2020 (UTC)

The 190,000 people / mile^2 assumes (I'm guessing) flat ground. Skyscrapers make a difference [citation needed] -- brad --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.122|108.162.216.122]] 00:55, 28 March 2020 (UTC)

Interesting that the population density he gives ignores circle packing. Population should be 174,000. -- coyne -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.122.156|162.158.122.156]] 04:06, 28 March 2020 (UTC)
: Circle packing is unimportant since he's just giving the population of this one circle. He's taking a radius of 6 foot ''around'' that person without specifying what he considers to be the radius of the person, but it can be inferred from the numbers: <br>from area: <math>\sqrt{145/\pi} \approx 6.8</math>, <br>from circumference: <math>43/(2\pi) \approx 6.8</math>, <br>from population density: <math>\sqrt{1/190000/\pi} \cdot 5280 \approx 6.8</math>,<br>so apparently he considers a person to have a radius of 0.8 ft, or about 0.5 m diameter, which seems reasonable. [[User:Zmatt|Zmatt]] ([[User talk:Zmatt|talk]]) 05:11, 28 March 2020 (UTC)
: Note that even if you want to know the population of optimally packed people, your number is still wrong since the circles overlap: your circle is supposed to exclude other people, it doesn't exclude other people's circles. Optimally you'd have a triangular lattice of people with a lattice distance of 7.6 ft (assuming we want 6 ft between people and we consider people to be circles of radius 0.8 ft). This yields a population density of 1 person per <math>\tfrac{1}{4}\sqrt{3} \cdot 7.6^2 \text{ ft}^2</math>, which is about 1.1 million people per square mile. [[User:Zmatt|Zmatt]] ([[User talk:Zmatt|talk]]) 05:24, 28 March 2020 (UTC)

Possibly a play on the fact that horses are measured in hands? --orbitalbuzzsaw--

Page 207 of [https://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/pubs/pdfpubs/pdf07232816/pdf07232816dpi72pt10.pdf US Forest Service Equestrian Design Guidebook for Trails, Trailheads, and Campgrounds] says minimum corral size is 12x12 feet. I didn't find a more likely sounding Forest Service publication. So I assume the ''handbook'' in the comic is a fictional publication. [[User:Hamjudo|Hamjudo]] ([[User talk:Hamjudo|talk]]) 13:15, 28 March 2020 (UTC)