explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1436: Orb Hammer

2014-10-22T12:55:23Z

HeliumSquid: Added image.

{{comic
| number = 1436
| date = October 20, 2014
| title = Orb Hammer
| image = orb_hammer.png
| titletext = Ok, but make sure to get lots of pieces of rock, because later we'll decide to stay in a room on our regular orb and watch hammers hold themselves and hit rocks for us, and they won't bring us very many rocks.
}}
[[File:Apollo_program_insignia.png|thumb|upright=1.5| Apollo program insignia. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
This conversation suggests doing something that sounds absurd and not useful at all for the daily activities of a regular human. Yet it refers in simple English words to the {{w|Apollo_program|Apollo human spaceflight program}} which sent people to the Moon to bring geological samples back to Earth to study them. The use of such simple language contributes to the effect of the suggestion sounding absurd, even though the numerous side-products of the effort to realize the project have in fact had many benefits for regular people.

No person has been on the Moon since the final Apollo mission, Apollo 17, in 1972. Occasional lunar rocks can still be collected on Earth. They are formed when a celestial body impacts the Moon's surface, forming a crater and launching small rocks into the space. Some of them will eventually reach Earth, see {{w|Lunar_meteorite|lunar meteorites}}.

The title text refers to the current Mars missions ({{w|Mars_Pathfinder|Pathfinder}}, {{w|Spirit_(rover)|Spirit}}, {{w|Opportunity_(rover)|Opportunity}}, {{w|Curiosity_(rover)|Curiosity}}) where, instead of traveling to Mars ourselves, we stay on Earth ("our regular orb") and control rovers by remote. The rovers collect geological samples and test them for life, but have no way to send the samples back to Earth.

The idea of using simple language in highly technical fields began with [[547: Simple]] and was revisited in [[722: Computer Problems]] and [[1133: Up Goer Five]]. It should be noted however, that in this case [[Randall]] didn't use the 1000 most basic words in the English language, because that {{w|simple:Wikipedia:List_of 1000 basic words|list}} does not contain the words "glowing" or "orb," but does contain "moon," "earth," "bright," and "ball."

The idea of using simple language to create humour highlighting the absurdity of normal activities has previously been explored with [[203: Hallucinations]].

==Transcript==
Person 1: You know that glowing orb in the night sky?

Person 2: Yeah?

Person 1: Let's go hit it with a hammer until little pieces break off, then bring the pieces back and lock them in a closet.

Person 2: Sounds good!

Text under panel: The Apollo program was weird.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Simplified language]]

1437: Higgs Boson

2014-10-22T12:53:37Z

HeliumSquid: Added image.

{{comic
| number = 1437
| date = October 22, 2014
| title = Higgs Boson
| image = higgs_boson.png
| titletext = 'Can't you just use the LHC you already built to find it again?' 'We MAY have disassembled it to build a death ray.' 'Just one, though.' 'Nothing you should worry about.' 'The death isn't even very serious.'
}}
[[File:Candidate_Higgs_Events_in_ATLAS_and_CMS.png|thumb|upright=1.5| Candidate Higgs boson events from collisions between protons in the LHC. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
{{incomplete|More detailed explanation required}}
Cueball and Ponytail claim that they have "lost" the {{w|Higgs boson}}. They are therefore applying for further grant money to find it again. This is a humorous play on the term "finding" when applied to fundamental particles. The common usage means to discover or observe the existence of a class of particles, rather than to play 'hide and seek' with an individual particle.

''The Higgs boson'' is an {{w|elementary particle}} that is predicted by a physical model of the universe (the '{{w|Standard Model}}'). Observing evidence that Higgs bosons really exist is a key test of this model: if a search for the Higgs boson had failed to find evidence confirming its existence then the Standard Model would have been shown to be an incorrect description of reality. Finding the Higgs boson was one of the main reasons why the {{w|Large Hadron Collider}} (LHC) was built: to create energies high enough for the Higgs boson to become manifest. The point is, once evidence for its existence has been observed it is not possible to 'lose' the Higgs boson in a way implied by Cueball and Ponytail.

In the title text, the off-screen questioner wonders why Cueball and Ponytail can't use the LHC to find the particle again. The implication is that this would avoid spending another $3 billion. Their responses imply that the pair have already dismantled the LHC and converted its components into a death ray. The ostensibly reassuring platitudes offered mimic those used to placate those who were worried about possible apocalyptic consequences of commissioning the LHC, for instance the creation of {{w|black hole}}s, {{w|strange matter}}, a {{w|vacuum bubble}} or proton-eating {{w|magnetic monopole}}s.

==Transcript==
Voice Offscreen: Tell us about your proposal. 
Ponytail: We're requesting $3 billion in funding to find the Higgs boson.

Voice Offscreen: ...wait. Didn't you already find it a year or two ago? 
Cueball: Yes, well, um.

Ponytail: ...OK, this is embarrassing. 
Cueball: See, the thing is —

Voice Offscreen: Don't tell us you lost it already. 
Ponytail: Look. 
Ponytail: In our defense, it's ''really'' small.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Physics]]

896: Marie Curie

2014-10-18T18:18:00Z

HeliumSquid: Added image.

{{comic
| number = 896
| date = May 9, 2011
| title = Marie Curie
| image = marie curie.png
| titletext = Although not permanently.
}}
[[File:Marie_Curie_c1920.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5| Portrait of Marie Curie. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
[[Ponytail]] is standing (possibly by herself and talking to herself) and looking at a picture of {{w|Marie Curie}}. When she mentions Marie Curie's name, Zombie Marie Curie comes forth to give some life lessons and inspiration.

Marie Curie pioneered research on radioactivity and as it says in the comic she earned two Nobel prizes. She died from {{w|aplastic anemia}} contracted from exposure to radiation — although in the title text it says that it does not kill you permanently, because you come back as a zombie.

Everything that Zombie Marie Curie says about {{w|Emmy Noether}} and {{w|Lise Meitner}} above is true as well.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail is looking at a picture of Marie Curie.]
:Ponytail: My teacher always told me that if I applied myself, I could become the next Marie Curie.
:Zombie Marie Curie (off-screen): You know, I wish they'd get over me.

:[Ponytail turns around.]
:Ponytail: Zombie Marie Curie!

:[Zombie Marie Curie is walking towards Ponytail.]
:Zombie Marie Curie: Not that I don't deserve it. These two Nobels ain't decorative. But I make a sorry role model if girls just see me over and over as the one token lady scientist.

:Zombie Marie Curie: Lise Meitner figured out that nuclear fission was happening, while her colleague Otto was staring blankly at their data in confusion, and proved Enrico Fermi wrong in the process. Enrico and Otto both got Nobel Prizes. Lise got a National Women's Press Club award.
:Zombie Marie Curie: They finally named an element after her, but not until 60 years later.

:Zombie Marie Curie: Emmy Noether fought past her Victorian-era finishing-school upbringing, pursued mathematics by auditing classes, and, after finally getting a Ph.D, was permitted to teach only as an unpaid lecturer (often under male colleagues' names).
:Ponytail: Was she as good as them?
:Zombie Marie Curie: She revolutionized abstract algebra, filled gaps in relativity, and found what some call the most beautiful, deepest result in theoretical physics.
:Ponytail: Oh.

:Zombie Marie Curie: But you don't become great by trying to be great. You become great by wanting to do something, and then doing it so hard that you become great in the process.

:Zombie Marie Curie: So don't try to be the next me, Noether, or Meitner. Just remember that if you want to do this stuff, you're not alone.
:Ponytail: Thanks.
:Zombie Marie Curie: Also, avoid radium. Turns out it kills you.
:Ponytail: I'll try.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Zombies]]
[[Category:Science]]

351: Trolling

2014-10-18T18:16:08Z

HeliumSquid: Added image.

{{comic
| number = 351
| date = November 30, 2007
| title = Trolling
| image = trolling.png
| titletext = And I was really impressed with how they managed to shock the Goatse guy.
}}
[[File:Rick_Astley_-_Pepsifest_2009.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5| Rick Astley. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
The term ''{{w|Trolling}}'' is used to describe provocative, destructive or annoying behavior on the {{w|Internet}}. Especially common are Internet pranks of the {{w|bait-and-switch}} type, an example of which is {{w|Rickrolling}}. It involves placing a {{w|hyperlink|link}} that is supposed to contain interesting or funny material, but instead directs to the music video of the 1987 {{w|Rick Astley}} song ''{{w|Never Gonna Give You Up}}''. The prank first occurred in May 2007 on the popular {{w|imageboard}} {{w|4chan}} and has since become a widespread {{w|internet meme}}.

The comic has [[Black Hat]] and [[Cueball]] digging into the ground and splicing Black Hat's computer into the TV cables of {{w|Rick Astley}}'s house. They are feeding the video of ''{{w|Never Gonna Give You Up}}'' into Astley's TV signal, who can be seen sitting in his living room and wondering why CNN has been replaced by his own video. The act of Rickrolling Rick Astley himself is declared to be a "great moment in trolling".

The title text mentions {{w|Goatse.cx}} (pronounced ''goat sex''), a former {{w|shock site|shock website}} that was used in a similar prank. People clicking on the feigned link would instead see the disturbing picture of a practitioner of anal stretching. The title text suggests that Black Hat and Cueball somehow made the (unknown) founder of the site click on an even more shocking link.

Rick Astley was actually Rickrolled on Tout le Monde en parle, a French Canadian television show. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh5bxY1Radk]

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat and Cueball are in Rick Astley's yard, hacking into his cable TV connection and replacing the signal. Rick Astley is sitting in a chair in his house, watching TV.]
:TV: CNN has obtained this exclusive footage of the riot-torn-- ''*CZZZHT*'' ♫ Never gonna give you up... ♪
:Rick Astley: What the hell?

:GREAT MOMENTS in TROLLING:
:Rick Astley is successfully Rickrolled

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]

712: Single Ladies

2014-10-18T17:56:29Z

HeliumSquid:

{{comic
| number = 712
| date = March 10, 2010
| title = Single Ladies
| image = single_ladies.png
| titletext = Using a ring to bind someone you covet into your dark and twisted world? Wow, just got the subtext there. Also, the apparently eager Beyoncé would've made one badass Nazgûl.
}}

==Explanation==
The character in armor is {{w|Sauron}}, the main villain in ''{{w|The Lord of the Rings}}'' trilogy. In the backstory, he takes control of Middle-earth by giving several {{w|Rings of Power}} as "gifts" to the great kings of dwarves, men, and teaches elves how to make their own. However, he also forged a master ring, the {{w|One Ring}}, to control the {{w|Rings of Power}} and ultimately rule over the kings. However, the elves were not deceived by his plan and Sauron is eventually defeated by a human who cuts off his ring finger. The books tell the story of a small group of adventurers who rediscover the lost Ring and attempt to destroy it, as Sauron's army gathers its forces to attempt to reclaim the Ring for their master.

{{w|Gil-galad}} is a high Elven-king, and {{w|Galadriel}} is an Elf of royal blood who serves as a matriarch of sorts to the remnants of the Elven race. Lindon is a location on the westernmost side of the continent, serving as the final transition point for Elves passing on to the Undying lands. Sauron refers to an actual event in the first panel, when he tried to gain control of Lindon through deceit; Galadriel and Gil-galad saw through his disguise and cast him out.

The song playing in the background is "All the Single Ladies" by Beyoncé, which includes the line "If you liked it then you should have put a ring on it," referring to ''wedding'' rings. This, evidently, is what inspired Sauron to devise his plan to control others through the gift of rings.

The title text refers to an often-suggested fan theory that the One Ring ''is'' actually meant to be symbolic of marriage. The {{w|Nazgûl}}, also known as ringwraiths, are the former nine human kings who were bound by the rings, now a band of nine servants to Sauron who constantly seek out the Ring for him.

==Transcript==
:[Beret Guy is talking to Sauron; Sauron is wearing his trademark helmet, but his head is downcast. Music plays in the background.]
:''Music: All the single ladies, All the single ladies''
:Beret Guy: Hey Sauron, why so glum?
:Sauron: Gil-galad saw through me and threw me out of Lindon. Galadriel as well. I'll never rule ''anyone'' at this rate.

:''Music: All the single ladies, All the single ladies''
:Sauron: Eru created such beautiful creatures - Elves and men and dwarves - and all I've got are these stupid orcs.

:''Music: 'Cause if you liked it then you should have put a ring on it''
:Sauron: I mean, I-

:[Sauron is suddenly quiet.]
:''Music: If you liked it then you should have put a ring on it''

==Trivia==
* Randall used the wrong "û" character when editing the title text; the character he used was U+0217 LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH INVERTED BREVE, but the correct character is U+00FB LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH CIRCUMFLEX. They look very similar at standard font sizes, but the inverted breve is curved, while the circumflex is pointed.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:LOTR]]

712: Single Ladies

2014-10-18T17:56:14Z

HeliumSquid: Added image.

{{comic
| number = 712
| date = March 10, 2010
| title = Single Ladies
| image = single_ladies.png
| titletext = Using a ring to bind someone you covet into your dark and twisted world? Wow, just got the subtext there. Also, the apparently eager Beyoncé would've made one badass Nazgûl.
}}
[[File:Sauron.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5| An image of Sauron, as seen in the film, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
The character in armor is {{w|Sauron}}, the main villain in ''{{w|The Lord of the Rings}}'' trilogy. In the backstory, he takes control of Middle-earth by giving several {{w|Rings of Power}} as "gifts" to the great kings of dwarves, men, and teaches elves how to make their own. However, he also forged a master ring, the {{w|One Ring}}, to control the {{w|Rings of Power}} and ultimately rule over the kings. However, the elves were not deceived by his plan and Sauron is eventually defeated by a human who cuts off his ring finger. The books tell the story of a small group of adventurers who rediscover the lost Ring and attempt to destroy it, as Sauron's army gathers its forces to attempt to reclaim the Ring for their master.

{{w|Gil-galad}} is a high Elven-king, and {{w|Galadriel}} is an Elf of royal blood who serves as a matriarch of sorts to the remnants of the Elven race. Lindon is a location on the westernmost side of the continent, serving as the final transition point for Elves passing on to the Undying lands. Sauron refers to an actual event in the first panel, when he tried to gain control of Lindon through deceit; Galadriel and Gil-galad saw through his disguise and cast him out.

The song playing in the background is "All the Single Ladies" by Beyoncé, which includes the line "If you liked it then you should have put a ring on it," referring to ''wedding'' rings. This, evidently, is what inspired Sauron to devise his plan to control others through the gift of rings.

The title text refers to an often-suggested fan theory that the One Ring ''is'' actually meant to be symbolic of marriage. The {{w|Nazgûl}}, also known as ringwraiths, are the former nine human kings who were bound by the rings, now a band of nine servants to Sauron who constantly seek out the Ring for him.

==Transcript==
:[Beret Guy is talking to Sauron; Sauron is wearing his trademark helmet, but his head is downcast. Music plays in the background.]
:''Music: All the single ladies, All the single ladies''
:Beret Guy: Hey Sauron, why so glum?
:Sauron: Gil-galad saw through me and threw me out of Lindon. Galadriel as well. I'll never rule ''anyone'' at this rate.

:''Music: All the single ladies, All the single ladies''
:Sauron: Eru created such beautiful creatures - Elves and men and dwarves - and all I've got are these stupid orcs.

:''Music: 'Cause if you liked it then you should have put a ring on it''
:Sauron: I mean, I-

:[Sauron is suddenly quiet.]
:''Music: If you liked it then you should have put a ring on it''

==Trivia==
* Randall used the wrong "û" character when editing the title text; the character he used was U+0217 LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH INVERTED BREVE, but the correct character is U+00FB LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH CIRCUMFLEX. They look very similar at standard font sizes, but the inverted breve is curved, while the circumflex is pointed.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:LOTR]]

985: Percentage Points

2014-10-18T17:46:32Z

HeliumSquid: Added image.

{{comic
| number = 985
| date = December 2, 2011
| title = Percentage Points
| image = percentage_points.png
| titletext = Grayton also proposed making college scholarships available exclusively to sexually active teens, amnesty for illegal immigrants who create room for themselves by killing a citizen, and a graduated income tax based on penis size. He has been endorsed by Tracy Morgan, John Wilkes Booth's ghost, and the Time Cube guy.
}}
[[File:MQ-1_Predator_unmanned_aircraft.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5| An MQ-1 Predator unmanned aircraft. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
Senator Grayton is a fictional character, made up for this comic, which is unusual for xkcd, which typically uses real-world references.

The issues that Grayton supports:

*Tax Breaks to Drunk Drivers: Grayton proposes giving those who have been convicted of a {{w|DUI}} or DWI (i.e. Driving Under the Influence or Driving While Intoxicated) money back on their taxes, when those infractions are typically severely penalized, as drunk driving has resulted in numerous deaths.
*{{w|Predator Drones}} and the {{w|Christmas controversy|War on Christmas}}: The War on {{w|Christmas}} is not a real war; it is simply the perception by some {{w|Christian}}s that non-Christians are trying to replace traditional Christmas imagery with more inclusive and generic holiday customs. No politicians have explicitly announced their support of the "War on Christmas," and the idea that one would not only do so, but would also want to use drones —ostensibly to harm or possibly kill people— in the effort is an absurd exaggeration of a relatively harmless culture war.

The caption's issue with "percentage" versus "percentage points" is that if Grayton's 20% approval rating drops by 19%, that means that his support has only dropped 3.8 percentage points since 19% of 20% is only 3.8%. That would mean that even after all his outrageous statements, his support dropped only from 20% to 16.2%. However, if the news reports that his 20% approval rating dropped 19 ''percentage points'', that means his support has dropped to 1%, which appears to be more accurate given Grayton's egregious policy decisions and the description of his campaign as having "imploded."

References in the title text:

*{{w|Tracy Morgan}} is an actor who plays himself in the TV Show {{w|30 Rock}}. He has been reprimanded for controversial comments on homosexuals and {{w|Sarah Palin}} (in separate incidents).
*{{w|John Wilkes Booth}} is the person who assassinated {{w|Abraham Lincoln}}. He was a {{w|Confederate}} sympathizer and supported slavery.
*"The {{w|Time Cube}} Guy" would be Gene Ray, also known as Otis E. Ray. He has a website known as Time Cube where he sets out his personal model of reality, which he calls Time Cube. He suggests that all of modern physics is wrong, in addition to claiming that religion is evil, specifically Christianity, and that the idea of family is poisoning children.
*College Scholarships to Sexually Active Teens: Many people think adolescents should not engage in sexual activity, let alone encouraged to do so by college scholarships. This is the opposite of {{w|Abstinence-only sex education|abstinence programs}}, which encourage teens not to be sexually active until marriage.
*Illegal immigrants who create room for themselves by killing a citizen: {{w|Illegal immigration to the United States|Illegal immigration}} is a highly controversial topic in the United States. One argument against illegal immigration is that illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from American citizens. Proponents of immigration assert that this is not the case, since more people in the overall economy creates jobs and brings in more sales tax revenue. Neither group would be in favor of illegal immigrants murdering citizens even though it would not result in a net gain or loss in population.
*Graduated income tax based on penis size: Many men are sensitive about their penis size and would probably consider the measurement of their penises for tax assessment purposes an enormous embarrassment and invasion of privacy. Even the scenario in which those with relatively smaller penises would be levied less tax than those with larger penises would probably not be sufficient for them to accept this policy, and even if they did, those with larger penises would probably consider this policy to be unfair. And the alternative - a scenario in which ''larger'' penises pay less taxes - would be both unfair and incredibly demeaning.

==Transcript==
:[An average news anchor reading news copy of below average intelligence appears on a TV, with Cueball watching it in utter disgust.]

:News Anchor: Senator Grayton's campaign has imploded following the candidate's promise to give tax breaks to drunk drivers and to authorize the use of unmanned Predator drones in the War On Christmas. Grayton had been polling at 20%, but his support has since plunged by 19%.

:I hate the ambiguity created when people don't distinguish between percentages and percentage points.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Penis]]

271: Powers of One

2014-10-18T16:05:24Z

HeliumSquid: Added link to documentary.

{{comic
| number = 271
| date = June 6, 2007
| title = Powers of One
| image = powers_of_one.png
| titletext = It's kinda Zen when you think about it, if you don't think too hard.
}}

==Explanation==
This is a parody of the short documentary {{w|Powers of Ten (film)|"Powers of 10"}}: the original one can be found at http://www.powersof10.com/film.[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0]

Like in the documentary, the comic features a man and a woman on a blanket, during a picnic. Then, the zoom level of the image should change... but, while in the documentary it changes by 10 times at every frame (hence the name "Powers of 10": 1x, 10x, 100x ...), in the comic powers of 1 are used: since every power of 1 is always 1, the image doesn't change at all.

So, a series of identical images is shown.

The title text says that while this idea may seem profound (or "{{w|Zen}}", which is commonly used in American slang to mean "profound") but quickly loses any pretensions to actually being profound when you take a second look.

==Transcript==
:[A sequence, presumably continuing endlessly in both directions, of identical images of a couple lying on a chequered blanket, with a picnic basket, on grass. Each image has a rule at the bottom giving measurements in meters, with the scale in terms of 1 to a particular power. The powers visible are the -1th (part), 0th-2nd, and 3rd (part).]

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

1435: Presidential Alert

2014-10-17T09:54:48Z

HeliumSquid: Added image.

{{comic
| number = 1435
| date = October 17, 2014
| title = Presidential Alert
| image = presidential_alert.png
| titletext = When putting his kids to bed, after saying 'Goodnight', Obama has to stop himself from saying 'God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.'
}}
[[File:Eas_new.svg|thumb|upright=1.5| Current EAS logo. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Second draft}}
The {{w|System}} allows the U.S. President to address the country in the event of a national emergency, by broadcasting a message over all television and radio channels. Despite the system's having existed in various forms for over 60 years, no president has ever used it, even during the {{w|September 11 attacks}}.

In this comic, President [[Cueball]] accidentally activates the system by pressing a button, apparently located on the {{w|Resolute Desk|''Resolute'' Desk}} in the {{w|Oval Office}}. Surprised by being on television, he tries to think of something important to say on the spot, but cannot think of anything other than a piece of generic dental-hygiene advice—a rather non-urgent message.

The concept of the President mistakenly hitting an important button has long been a source for jokes, often somewhat morbidly involving the {{w|nuclear football}}.

The title text references the typical conclusion to presidential speeches: "Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America," or some variation thereof. As "goodnight" is the typical conclusion to a day, the title text jokes that {{w|Barack Obama|President Obama}} must sometimes confuse the two statements.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

{{comic discussion}}

User:HeliumSquid

2014-10-15T16:52:58Z

HeliumSquid:

'''I'm [[wikipedia:meta:user:HeliumSquid|User:HeliumSquid]] and I'm a huge fan of xkcd.'''

[[File:Webcomic_xkcd_-_Wikipedian_protester.png]]

I too make comics. (http://neowucomics.tumblr.com/)

Here are some of my comics featuring XKCD:

http://38.media.tumblr.com/db1df942e356135acc4457f8d384a1ec/tumblr_ndhvygTA341tm7sx9o1_1280.png

http://neowucomics.tumblr.com/post/99995988232/slenderman-ft-xkcd

User:HeliumSquid

2014-10-15T16:52:08Z

HeliumSquid: Added more info.

1408: March of the Penguins

2014-10-15T16:30:07Z

HeliumSquid:

{{comic
| number = 1408
| date = August 15, 2014
| title = March of the Penguins
| image = march_of_the_penguins.png
| titletext = You ARE getting older, though.
}}

==Explanation==
Several of the xkcd comics outline ways to make people feel older by referencing various pieces of popular culture which feel ingrained and "recent", and revealing the time that has elapsed since their release to be longer than expected (for instance, [[1393: Timeghost]] and [[891: Movie Ages]]). This appears to be what [[Black Hat]] is doing as he walks in on [[Megan]] to announce that all the penguins from a 2005 documentary ''{{w|March of the Penguins}}'' about {{w|emperor penguins}} are dead. Megan is familiar with these sorts of antics and assumes Black Hat is indicating that the film is so old that the lifespan of emperor penguins is less than the time since the documentary was released. Frustrated, Megan simply acknowledges Black Hat's statement by agreeing that everyone is aging. Black Hat, however, reveals that he is not trying to make her feel old; rather, he is announcing that he is "trying to apologize". The obvious inference being that he killed the penguins. This gives the situation a much darker tone; especially since Black Hat likely is not truly apologizing, as he is very unapologetic in his [[72: Classhole|"classhole"]] tendencies.

Emperor penguins actually live about 20 years on average, so presumably, barring any intervention by Black Hat, most of the younger penguins and many of the older penguins in the movie are still alive as of this comic.

The title text emphasizes that whatever the penguins' fate, we do get and are getting older. The text may also be a further jab by Black Hat as he departs just to make Megan feel a bit worse.

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat walks in, Megan is at a desk]
:Black Hat: All the birds from ''March of the Penguins'' are now dead.

:Megan: OK, I ''get'' it. We're all aging.
:Black Hat: What? No.

:Black Hat: I'm not trying to make you feel old. They were alive last night. I'm trying to apologize.
:[Megan turned around in her office chair and is facing Black Hat.]
:Megan : Oh God

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

1408: March of the Penguins

2014-10-15T16:29:18Z

HeliumSquid: Added image.

{{comic
| number = 1408
| date = August 15, 2014
| title = March of the Penguins
| image = march_of_the_penguins.png
| titletext = You ARE getting older, though.
}}
[[File:March_of_the_penguins_poster.jpgg|thumb|upright=1.5| March of the penguins poster. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
Several of the xkcd comics outline ways to make people feel older by referencing various pieces of popular culture which feel ingrained and "recent", and revealing the time that has elapsed since their release to be longer than expected (for instance, [[1393: Timeghost]] and [[891: Movie Ages]]). This appears to be what [[Black Hat]] is doing as he walks in on [[Megan]] to announce that all the penguins from a 2005 documentary ''{{w|March of the Penguins}}'' about {{w|emperor penguins}} are dead. Megan is familiar with these sorts of antics and assumes Black Hat is indicating that the film is so old that the lifespan of emperor penguins is less than the time since the documentary was released. Frustrated, Megan simply acknowledges Black Hat's statement by agreeing that everyone is aging. Black Hat, however, reveals that he is not trying to make her feel old; rather, he is announcing that he is "trying to apologize". The obvious inference being that he killed the penguins. This gives the situation a much darker tone; especially since Black Hat likely is not truly apologizing, as he is very unapologetic in his [[72: Classhole|"classhole"]] tendencies.

Emperor penguins actually live about 20 years on average, so presumably, barring any intervention by Black Hat, most of the younger penguins and many of the older penguins in the movie are still alive as of this comic.

The title text emphasizes that whatever the penguins' fate, we do get and are getting older. The text may also be a further jab by Black Hat as he departs just to make Megan feel a bit worse.

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat walks in, Megan is at a desk]
:Black Hat: All the birds from ''March of the Penguins'' are now dead.

:Megan: OK, I ''get'' it. We're all aging.
:Black Hat: What? No.

:Black Hat: I'm not trying to make you feel old. They were alive last night. I'm trying to apologize.
:[Megan turned around in her office chair and is facing Black Hat.]
:Megan : Oh God

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

1415: Ballooning

2014-10-15T16:26:42Z

HeliumSquid: Added video of spiders ballooning.

{{comic
| number = 1415
| date = September 1, 2014
| title = Ballooning
| image = ballooning.png
| titletext = Time to dance in front of Mary Jane! If I'm lucky, she'll turn out not to practice pre-copulatory sexual cannibalism!
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Spider-Man}} is a fictional superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics, and has been the star of a number of television shows and film. The {{w|Spider-Man theme song}}, first used for the 1967 cartoon show, includes the words, "Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can". However, at other points, the theme song explains some things Spider-Man can do that a real spider obviously couldn't, such as crime-fighting. Randall is pointing out that while the abilities attributed to Spider-Man make a good superhero story{{Citation needed}}, they are not real abilities of a spider.

This comic depicts [[Cueball]] as a far more realistic Spider-Man, behaving and thinking much more closely to a real spider than the Spider-Man from the comics. Cueball is shown {{w|Ballooning (spider)|ballooning}}[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ai3gTAwssxQ], a trait used by spiders to move between locations, rather than swinging on web cords as in the comics and films. As he is floating, he sees a good spot to land, eat some bugs and make an egg sac. Again this contrasts the real life of a spider with Spider-Man, who would doubtless be rushing to fight crime or save a pretty girl.

Only female spiders create an egg sac. Male spiders spin a sperm web in order to transfer their sperm from their {{w|epigastric furrow}} into their {{w|pedipalp}}s (reproductive organ located on the front two appendages, in the position where a scorpion would have pincers), which will then be used to transfer the sperm into the female during copulation. Cueball/Spider-Man, being nominally male, should in fact be looking for a place to create a sperm web, not an egg sac. However, thanks to being featured in childrens books, the actions of female spiders are much more widely known.

The title text refers to the mating ritual of some spiders, in which the male performs a dance to court the female. Mary-Jane is the love interest throughout the Spider-Man stories, and so Cueball is planning to court her by dancing in front of her. In doing so he hopes that he is lucky, and she doesn't eat him before copulating with him, as {{w|sexual cannibalism}} is a trait associated with spiders. The female spider's name is a reference to a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers song, {{w|Mary Jane's Last Dance}}. If the male spider is cannibalized, this in fact would be his last dance with Mary-Jane.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is shown floating on the wind, attached to a large balloon. The balloon is made of spider silk.]
:Cueball: Ooh, that looks like a good spot to land, eat some bugs, and make an egg sac!
:♫ ''Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can'' ♪
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

1421: Future Self

2014-10-15T16:21:49Z

HeliumSquid: Removed a space.

{{comic
| number = 1421
| date = September 15, 2014
| title = Future Self
| image = future_self.png
| titletext = Maybe I haven't been to Iceland because I'm busy dealing with YOUR crummy code.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic presumably shows part of a computer software file from an old project written by [[Cueball]]. The part shown in the comic consists entirely of comments. A number of computer languages, including several popular ones, use "#" to indicate "the remainder of this line is a comment". A comment is a line, or a portion of a line, of code which should not be executed. The comment symbol tells the compiler to skip to the next line, ignoring everything after the symbol. Programmers make use of comments to leave notes about what a particular line or section of code is meant to do, places that require debugging, ideas for future revisions, etc.

These comments were written with apparent foresight by Cueball's "younger self" in anticipation of being read by his "older self" at some point in the future. The language in the comments is similar to how people address themselves in personal {{w|Time_capsule|time capsules}}, in which they put letters away to read years later to see how much they've changed.

A "{{w|Parsing#Parser|parse}} {{w|Subroutine|function}}" is code that interprets some form of input and makes sense of it in a way that enables functionality in some other part of the code. Parsers are commonly used to to extract useful information from the text of a web-page that has been "{{w|Web scraping|scraped}}" off the web, or to understand the command-line arguments of a program, or in an interpreter which runs computer code. Parsing can be a difficult problem to solve, and programmers will often take shortcuts based on assumptions on the kinds of input that the parsing function will have to handle. If the programmer does not have control over the input, such as reading a page from someone else's web-site, then any changes to the input syntax in the future can cause the parser to spontaneously break even if the parsing function has not changed. In the case of a web page, the difference may be in the structure of the page and not even visible to someone looking at the page in a web browser, or it could be the result of a "site refresh" where the look and feel of the entire web-site is changed to avoid appearing dated, or the website may no longer exist, or any number of other possible differences.

Programmers often don't spend much time looking at previously written code that is working, so the younger self has made the assumption that the parsing function, which worked at one point in time, has 'failed'. Possibly it was originally {{w|kludge|kludged}} together with no expectation that it would handle future changes, since the comments indicate a firm belief that the parsing function could not be easily "re-kludged" to handle the new situation but instead would need to be re-written. This may be because the parsing function was written using {{w|Regular_expression|regular expressions}} or in some other {{w|Write-only_language|write-only language}} style, where the program is typically created through means of trial-and-error, and it is considered easier to start from scratch than try to determine how the original program worked. Or it could be that the new situation has "mightier" inputs that can not be parsed by regular expressions, for example when a {{W|regular grammar}} is replaced by a {{W|context-free grammar}}.

The parsing function has held up to the younger Cueball's expectations as it has lasted a year past 2013 (comic published in September 2014). So he has correctly judged how external factors would affect the parsing function.

Current-day Cueball feels the need to rhetorically reply to his younger self's commentary, and then notices a forward-looking, mean-spirited remark that is both prescient and emotionally hard-hitting. Past Cueball has the advantage that it is easy to predict that his future self might not follow through with aspirations or resolutions. But in the title-text current-day Cueball is refusing to accept any blame, preferring to blame someone else (his past self), a form of {{w|Psychological projection|projection}} that is very common human behavior.

A similar theme occurs in http://catb.org/~esr/writings/unix-koans/prodigy.html

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting at a laptop, reading code. The two separate parts of code as well as the two comments by Cueball is connected with "speak" lines, with the line from the code going down to the computer screen.]

:<nowiki>#</nowiki> Dear Future Self,
:<nowiki>#</nowiki>
:<nowiki>#</nowiki> You're looking at this file because
:<nowiki>#</nowiki> the parse function finally broke.
:<nowiki>#</nowiki>
:<nowiki>#</nowiki> It's not fixable. You have to rewrite it.
:<nowiki>#</nowiki> Sincerely, Past Self

:Cueball: Dear Past Self, it's kinda creepy how you do that.

:<nowiki>#</nowiki> Also, it's probably at least
:<nowiki>#</nowiki> 2013. Did you ever take
:<nowiki>#</nowiki> that trip to Iceland?

:Cueball: Stop judging me!
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Programming]]

1424: En Garde

2014-10-15T16:20:17Z

HeliumSquid: Added image.

{{comic
| number = 1424
| date = September 22, 2014
| title = En Garde
| image = en_garde.png
| titletext = 'Touch!' 'Nope, I sighed and stared at you with resignation, so I regained emotional right-of-way.'
}}
[[File:TIPIF_2013_ts152625.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5| En guard stance. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
{{incomplete|How guarded is Cueball really?}}

The left participant says "en garde!", a {{w|fencing}} call literally meaning "be on your guard" (from French). The call is used to order the participants to take their position, in a similar way to the “on your mark” command in racing. The other two commands are ''“[tireurs, êtes-vous] prêts?”'' (“[combattants, are you] ready?”) and ''“allez”'' (“go”). The right participant takes this to mean being "guarded" emotionally.

"What are you thinking?" is a common question used to deepen a conversation, typically between close friends or lovers. The person being asked may take a moment to consider what they are thinking and whether or not it would be appropriate to share with the asker. If the person being asked is emotionally comfortable with the asker, they may answer immediately without fear of judgment or ridicule. Such a level of comfort between two people generally takes a long time to develop.

The title text takes this further with the "touch" call, used to indicate to a participant that they have been "touched" by their opponent's blade, and therefore the attacker receives a point. The right participant counters this claim by saying his emotions have "priority" (or right-of-way), implying he was blocking out ("parrying") the touching feelings. {{w|Fencing practice and techniques|Fencing right-of-way rules}} can make a move invalid when another move has priority, but generally refer to physical actions on the participant's part.

==Transcript==
[Two fencers are standing together as if to fight]
:Fencer 1: ''En Garde!''
:Fencer 2: Ok.
:Fencer 2: No matter how long we know each other, when you ask "What are you thinking," I will always pause before answering.
:Fencer 1: Maybe a little ''less'' guarded?
:Fencer 2: No way. I've been hurt before.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

1426: Reduce Your Payments

2014-10-15T16:18:37Z

HeliumSquid: Added image.

{{comic
| number = 1426
| date = September 26, 2014
| title = Reduce Your Payments
| image = reduce_your_payments.png
| titletext = I tried oxidizing them, but your bank uses some really weird paper and it wouldn't light.
}}
[[File:Sodium_borohydride.svg|thumb|upright=1.5| Sodium borohydride, structural formula. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
{{incomplete|What effect does sodium borohydride have on the "properties" of paper?}}

[[Black Hat]] walks into a room where [[Cueball]] sits in an armchair. Black Hat says to Cueball that he can reduce his mortgage payments, while holding a docket of paper, presumably Cueball's payment check, that looks like it has been dipped into a liquid of some kind. Black Hat uses the same formulation many Internet advertisements use: "Discover this (strange/new/amazing...) trick to (lose weight/reduce your mortgage payments/meet amazing women)" known as {{w|clickbait}}. Cueball wants to know how and Black Hat responds by mentioning {{w|Sodium_borohydride|sodium borohydride (NaBH4)}}. Since Cueball fell for Black Hat's bait he exclaims, "I hate you."

{{w|Sodium borohydride}} is a strong {{w|Reducing_agent|reducing agent}}, meaning in a chemical reaction it will "{{w|redox|reduce}}" another substance. It is in fact used during the [http://www.borax.com/library/articles/news-and-events/news-release/paper's-tiger manufacture of paper], in order to bleach the pulp and improve the resulting paper's properties.

This comic is a typical switcharound pun. Cueball expects the value (on a bill) paid to be reduced, while Black Hat uses the chemical meaning of reducing [http://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reduction_(chemistry)].

The complementary chemical reaction to reduction is oxidation, which is what happens if the paper mortgage payment is burned, as referred to in the title text. They go together in {{w|redox}} reactions, which generally involve electron transfer from the {{w|chemical species}} which is oxidized to the one which is reduced. In that case, the pun about light (to start a fire) is that a reduced financial weight may seem light (not heavy).

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits on a sofa and Blackhat walks into the frame from behind.]
:Blackhat: I discovered this weird trick for reducing your mortgage payments!
:Cueball: What?
:Blackhat: Sodium borohydride.
:Cueball: ...I hate you.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]

1199: Silence

2014-10-15T16:13:33Z

HeliumSquid: Corrected.

{{comic
| number = 1199
| date = April 15, 2013
| title = Silence
| image = silence.png
| titletext = All music is just performances of 4'33" in studios where another band happened to be playing at the time.
}}
[[File:John_Cage_and_Michael_Bach_in_Assissi_1992.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5| John Cage (left). (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
''{{w|4'33"}}'' is a 1952 composition by American avant-garde composer {{w|John Cage}} consisting of four minutes and thirty-three seconds of silence. More specifically, 4'33" consists entirely of faint ambient sounds coming from the environment, while all the players silently hold their instruments. The noise of the audience is considered part of the composition. It is Cage's most famous work, and the subject of many music jokes. Note that John Cage wrote plenty of other [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fPSz-o4zzY non-silent things].

[[Megan]] is using an app on her smartphone that analyzes music that is playing and uses an online database to figure out what it is; popular real-world examples include {{w|Shazam (service)|Shazam}} and {{w|SoundHound}}. She does this in an empty room, correctly matching ''4'33"''. [[Cueball]] attempted to use the same app in [[1192: Humming]], but Megan hacked it there.

The title text refers to the fact that since 4'33" is composed of the ambient sounds in an environment, if that environment is a recording studio, the ambient sound is a band playing another song.

==Transcript==
:[Megan is walking with a phone in her hand.]

:[Megan stops.]

:[Megan raises her phone.]
:Phone: Identify song recorded
:Phone: > LIVE [Beta]

:[Megan is in an empty room.]
:Phone: Listening...

:[The phone screen.]
:Positive match:
:'''4'33"'''
:'''John Cage'''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Music]]

1199: Silence

2014-10-15T16:13:27Z

HeliumSquid: Corrected.

{{comic
| number = 1199
| date = April 15, 2013
| title = Silence
| image = silence.png
| titletext = All music is just performances of 4'33" in studios where another band happened to be playing at the time.
}}
[[File:John_Cage_and_Michael_Bach_in_Assissi_1992.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5| John Cage (left), (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
''{{w|4'33"}}'' is a 1952 composition by American avant-garde composer {{w|John Cage}} consisting of four minutes and thirty-three seconds of silence. More specifically, 4'33" consists entirely of faint ambient sounds coming from the environment, while all the players silently hold their instruments. The noise of the audience is considered part of the composition. It is Cage's most famous work, and the subject of many music jokes. Note that John Cage wrote plenty of other [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fPSz-o4zzY non-silent things].

[[Megan]] is using an app on her smartphone that analyzes music that is playing and uses an online database to figure out what it is; popular real-world examples include {{w|Shazam (service)|Shazam}} and {{w|SoundHound}}. She does this in an empty room, correctly matching ''4'33"''. [[Cueball]] attempted to use the same app in [[1192: Humming]], but Megan hacked it there.

The title text refers to the fact that since 4'33" is composed of the ambient sounds in an environment, if that environment is a recording studio, the ambient sound is a band playing another song.

==Transcript==
:[Megan is walking with a phone in her hand.]

:[Megan stops.]

:[Megan raises her phone.]
:Phone: Identify song recorded
:Phone: > LIVE [Beta]

:[Megan is in an empty room.]
:Phone: Listening...

:[The phone screen.]
:Positive match:
:'''4'33"'''
:'''John Cage'''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Music]]

1199: Silence

2014-10-15T16:12:16Z

HeliumSquid: Added image.

{{comic
| number = 1199
| date = April 15, 2013
| title = Silence
| image = silence.png
| titletext = All music is just performances of 4'33" in studios where another band happened to be playing at the time.
}}
[[File:John_Cage_portrait.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5| John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992), American composer, philosopher, poet, music theorist, artist, printmaker. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
''{{w|4'33"}}'' is a 1952 composition by American avant-garde composer {{w|John Cage}} consisting of four minutes and thirty-three seconds of silence. More specifically, 4'33" consists entirely of faint ambient sounds coming from the environment, while all the players silently hold their instruments. The noise of the audience is considered part of the composition. It is Cage's most famous work, and the subject of many music jokes. Note that John Cage wrote plenty of other [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fPSz-o4zzY non-silent things].

[[Megan]] is using an app on her smartphone that analyzes music that is playing and uses an online database to figure out what it is; popular real-world examples include {{w|Shazam (service)|Shazam}} and {{w|SoundHound}}. She does this in an empty room, correctly matching ''4'33"''. [[Cueball]] attempted to use the same app in [[1192: Humming]], but Megan hacked it there.

The title text refers to the fact that since 4'33" is composed of the ambient sounds in an environment, if that environment is a recording studio, the ambient sound is a band playing another song.

==Transcript==
:[Megan is walking with a phone in her hand.]

:[Megan stops.]

:[Megan raises her phone.]
:Phone: Identify song recorded
:Phone: > LIVE [Beta]

:[Megan is in an empty room.]
:Phone: Listening...

:[The phone screen.]
:Positive match:
:'''4'33"'''
:'''John Cage'''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Music]]

1198: Geologist

2014-10-15T16:11:06Z

HeliumSquid: Added image.

{{comic
| number = 1198
| date = April 12, 2013
| title = Geologist
| image = geologist.png
| titletext = 'It seems like it's still alive, Professor.' 'Yeah, a big one like this can keep running around for a few billion years after you remove the head.'
}}
[[File:Alces_alces_elan_trophee_chateau_Tanlay.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5| Moose head and deers antlers mounted as hunting trophies. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
{{w|Geology}} is the study of the physical and chemical makeup of the Earth and geologists are called rock hunters, sometimes derisively.

Hunters, after killing an especially difficult or rare beast, sometimes remove its head and hang it up on a wall as a {{w|Trophy hunting|trophy}}. [[Cueball]], as a geologist, "kills the Earth" by shooting at it. He removes its "head," a chunk of rock, and hangs it up on his office wall.

The title text is probably a reference to a chicken running around with its head cut off. A few billion years (7,600,000,000 years) is also about how much longer the Earth is expected to last, assuming {{w|Future of the Earth#Red giant stage|it gets swallowed up by the expanding Sun}} at the {{w|Sun#After core hydrogen exhaustion|end of the Sun's life}}.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is wearing earmuffs and goggles, armed with a gun and a rock hammer. There are rocks nearby. There is a van in the background labeled "Dept. of Geology".]

:[Cueball shoots three holes in the ground.]
:BLAM BLAM BLAM

:[Cueball hacks away at the top of a nearby rock.]
:Clink Clink

:[Cueball in his office. Behind him on a wall is a rock, labeled "Earth" and "4,500,000,000 BCE - April 12, 2013".]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

392: Making Rules

2014-10-15T16:09:28Z

HeliumSquid: Added image.

{{comic
| number = 392
| date = March 5, 2008
| title = Making Rules
| image = making_rules.png
| titletext = I never understood why someone would expect me to accept their rules right after they'd punched me. I'm sure it's all very symbolic or something.
}}
[[File:Fusca_estacionado.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5| Volkswagen Beetle (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
"{{w|Punch Buggy}}" is a game played by two people with a view of traffic (often, but not here, during a car ride). For each Volkswagen Beetle that passes nearby, the first player to see it is entitled to punch the other player, while calling "Punch Buggy" followed by the colour of the spotted Beetle. Traditionally the other player is permitted to return the punch, unless the first player also calls "no punch back".

Many people will just assume that the game is always being played and punch you out of the blue, giving you no chance to opt out. Implicit in this game is the idea that you can make rules just by declaring them (e.g. "no punch back") even if those rules are ridiculously unfair. When [[Cueball]] realizes this, he decides to make the game stakes more desirable than just the right to punch someone, and (seemingly successfully) uses the same principle to secure the right to sleep with the other man's girlfriend.

The title text describes how silly these games are.

In the UK, a common variant uses a yellow {{w|Mini}} rather than the VW Beetle. Other examples of this type of game are the {{w|Car numberplate game}} and {{w|Padiddle}}.

==Transcript==
:[Two men are sitting. A yellow buggy passes by.]
:Man: Punch buggy yellow. No punch back!
:[Man punches Cueball, Cueball punches man back, with seemingly greater force, causeing the Man to fall of the bench they are sitting on.]
:Cueball: ''Punch''
:Man: I said no punch back!
:Cueball: You can do that?
:Cueball: Man, this changes everything.
:Soon...
:[A blue buggy passes by, and Cueball is holding Megan's hand.]
:Cueball: Sleep with your girlfriend buggy blue!
:Man: Hey!
:Cueball: No complaining back!
:Man: Aww...

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Sex]]

User:HeliumSquid

2014-10-15T16:06:39Z

HeliumSquid:

I'm [[wikipedia:meta:user:HeliumSquid|User:HeliumSquid]] and I'm a huge fan of xkcd.

[[File:Webcomic_xkcd_-_Wikipedian_protester.png]]

1204: Detail

2014-10-15T14:23:29Z

HeliumSquid: Added image.

{{comic
| number = 1204
| date = April 26, 2013
| title = Detail
| image = detail.png
| titletext = 2031: Google defends the swiveling roof-mounted scanning electron microscopes on its Street View cars, saying they 'don't reveal anything that couldn't be seen by any pedestrian scanning your house with an electron microscope.'
}}
[[File:Google_maps_auto.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5| Google Streetview Car in Amsterdam, Netherlands. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
{{w|Google Earth}} is a mapping software service provided by Google that allows people to view the Earth from above. If zoomed in to maximum magnification, one can obtain clear views of individual streets and homes.

An image's {{w|Optical resolution|resolution}} is the smallest length detectable in that image. In terms of Google Earth, this refers to the real-life distance corresponding to one pixel in an aerial image. [[Randall]] points out that the level of detail in Google Earth's images has been increasing exponentially since its introduction, as aerial imaging technology improves and better ways of collecting the data are found. Each tick in the scale represents a resolution improvement by 1000 times.

In {{w|quantum mechanics}}, the {{w|Planck length}} is (in layman's terms) the smallest measurable distance, defined as approximately 1.6×10−35 meters, or around 1020 times smaller than the diameter of a proton. As the graph indicates, this may be called the "resolution" of the universe.

Randall extrapolates the exponential trend of Google Earth's increasing resolution, 'revealing' that by the year 2120 or so, Google Earth's resolution will approach and even possibly exceed the Planck length, an obviously fanciful and impossible idea. Current laboratory instruments cannot even get close to measuring the Planck length, barely able to reach the level of the atom.

Other comics exploring unwarranted extrapolation include [[605: Extrapolating]], [[1007: Sustainable]] and [[1281: Minifigs]].

The title text refers to controversy that Google received at one point regarding their use of vehicle-mounted {{w|Google Street View|Street View}} cameras to take images of streets and houses, and how such photography could constitute an invasion of privacy. Google defended itself by stating that the cameras can see nothing more than a pedestrian walking by. Given the trendline in this comic however, Google would need to produce resolution in the nanometer range by 2031, which (using today's technology) would require the use of {{w|scanning electron microscope}}s. The same 'invasion of privacy' defense would obviously not work here, as 1) current scanning electron microscopes in labs can only be used with small specimens at very close range, and are completely unsuitable for observing something as large as a house or for observations from a passing car, and 2) it is probably not too likely for the average pedestrian to be equipped with such a microscope.

==Transcript==
:My Neighborhood's Resolution in:
:[A two-axis graph with years from 2000 to 2100 plotted on the x-axis and resolution from 1 meter to the Planck length plotted on a logarithmic scale on the y-axis. Three points in a line close to (~2010, 1 meter) are plotted at the bottom left of the graph; they have a strong positive correlation. Two trendlines are drawn on the graph; one is labeled "Earth" and remains constant at the Planck length over time; the other is labeled "Google Earth" and connects the aforementioned three points, extending upward in a straight line and approaching the Planck length around 2100. Both trendlines break up into question marks before the point they would intersect.]

==Trivia==
* An earlier version of this comic misspelled "neighborhood" as "neghborhood". This has since been corrected.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Extrapolation]]
[[Category:Google Maps]]

1268: Alternate Universe

2014-10-15T14:18:51Z

HeliumSquid:

{{comic
| number = 1268
| date = September 23, 2013
| title = Alternate Universe
| image = alternate_universe.png
| titletext = As best as I can tell, I was transported here from Earth Prime sometime in the late 1990s. Your universe is identical in every way, except for the lobster thing and the thing where some of you occasionally change your clocks for some reason.
}}
[[File:Lobster_meal.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5| Lobster meal. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
Randall is trying to make the point that eating {{w|Lobster|lobsters}} is as weird as eating spiders. {{w|Crustacean|Crustaceans}} and {{w|Arachnid|arachnids}} are both {{w|Arthropod|arthropods}}, members of the same phylum, so his comparison isn't too far off (then again, humans are in the same phylum ({{w|Chordate|chordates}}) as {{w|Ascidiacea|sea squirts}}, so any perceived similarities are not exactly rooted in a close biological relationship). In addition, lobsters were once considered the "cockroaches of the sea", and a captain trying to feed his crew with lobster would often be seen as cruel. On the other side, {{w|Spider#Benefits_to_humans|cooked tarantula spiders are considered a delicacy in Cambodia}}.

"{{w|Earth Prime}}" means the original Earth in a {{w|multiverse}}, a multitude of universes. Earth Prime is typically the Earth on which the narrative begins, simply out of convenience. The title text also references changing clocks to and from {{w|Daylight Saving Time}}, which Randall has [[1061: EST|made clear]] he is not a fan of.

==Transcript==
:Imagine you were transported to an alternate universe just like your own, except people occasionally ate spiders.
:You can't convince anyone this is weird.

:[Megan is holding a spider, with another on the ground, and Cueball is standing behind her, shocked.]
:Megan: Mmm...
:Cueball: ''No!'' What are you ''doing!?''

:This is how I feel about lobster.

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

1384: Krypton

2014-10-15T14:15:40Z

HeliumSquid: Removed picture.

{{comic
| number = 1384
| date = June 20, 2014
| title = Krypton
| image = krypton.png
| titletext = Their Sun and gravity will make you, uh, something, I guess. Out of earshot from Earth, mostly.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is an [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/InvertedTrope inverse] version of the {{w|origin story}} of the {{w|superhero}} character {{w|Superman}}.

In the Superman story, {{w|Jor-El}} and his wife {{w|Lara (comics)|Lara}} notice that their home planet {{w|Krypton (comics)|Krypton}} is about to be destroyed in a giant explosion, so they decide to send their baby {{w|Superman|Kal-El}} to {{w|Earth}} to save him - and there he becomes Superman.

In this comic, [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] also notice that the planet Krypton is about to explode, but instead of attempting to save a baby from Krypton, they decide to send a baby to Krypton from Earth so that he'll stop annoying them with his crying.

In the fourth panel both spaceships can be seen. The rocket containing the Earth baby arrives at planet Krypton, while the crystal star shaped spaceship containing Kal-El leaves Krypton towards Earth - this is a reference to the [http://collectingsuperman.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/stmstoryboard1a.jpg version of the spaceship] depicted in the 1978 {{w|Superman_(1978_film)|Superman movie}}, (see [[#Trivia|trivia section]]).

In the fifth and last panel we see Krypton explode.

In the Superman movie, Kal-El carries with him a lot of information pre-recorded by his parents. During the very long trip he listens to the recordings, one of which explains that the Sun and gravity of Earth will give him (Kal-El) great powers (this is the way he becomes Superman). The '''title text''' is a satirical version of this information, given to the Earth baby during his trip: That Megan & Cueball do not have the faintest idea (or care about) what the sun and gravity of Krypton will do to him - but their best guess at what these ''mostly'' will do to him is to "make you out of earshot from Earth", which was their original reason for shipping the baby off in the first place.

While this may seem like an extreme reaction to a crying baby, people who have never experienced a child crying for a whole night may have no idea about what types of fantasies could go through one's head. During the long hours of the night, shipping the crying thing in to space may seem like a great idea. This comic could be seen as an illustration of this.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are standing near a telescope.]
:Cueball: The distant planet Krypton is becoming unstable!
:Baby crying (from outside the panel): Waaaaaa
:Megan: That crying baby is really annoying.

:[Cueball and Megan looking at each other]

:[Spaceship taking off]

:[Spaceship passing another spaceship on route to distant planet]

:[Planet exploding]

==Trivia==
*Whereas the Kal-El rocket clearly looks like the one in the 1978 Superman, a movie which is also the origin of the title text joke, the Earth baby rocket looks like any nondescript rocket. It has some features in common with the one used in [[1350: Lorenz]] as can be seen here under the [[1350:_Lorenz#Rocket launch|Rocket launch theme]] (color scheme the same, but different body of the rocket). One could also argue that it resembles some of the [http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_M7D1hE_0cz0/TS88t-Rs2vI/AAAAAAAAEMY/EnIOj3AGFu8/s800/SupermanOrigins.jpg various] [http://thecomicmuseum.com/superman146.jpg versions] of the rocket that brought Superman to earth as depicted in early {{w|List of Superman comics|comic books}} (Not that big a resemblance though, due to the very different tip and fins).
*As the nearest stars are several light years away, this comic does of course not make any sense if you look at it from a scientific point of view. (But can still do if you don't!).
**First of all - how would Cueball be able to see that Krypton is unstable in a telescope - as we at the moment can only just detect planets around other stars.
**And even if he did detect this and immediately shipped his baby away in a close to light-speed rocket, then it would take several years to reach Krypton (at best - more likely to be somewhere between a hundred to a thousand years...)
***Plus, because light takes time to travel, Cueball was seeing the planet as it was many years ago, meaning it had been unstable for some time already. So even for the closest star (exclusive of the earth's sun), it would be 4.3 years to see the instability and then over 4.3 more years (even with close to light speed travel) for the ship to travel, for a total of over 8.6 years from when the light left the planet until the rocket arrived there.
**As faster than light-speed travel is impossible according to the current model of our universe this option is not really relevant here.
**During all those years, the unstable planet should still keep together - in spite of being so unstable that Cueball can determine this instability with his telescope on Earth.
**And then the rocket arrives just when Kal-El is being shipped the other way a few moments before the planet explodes. Of course if the arrival of the rocket causes the explosion this would explain the last two events. Kal-El is shipped off at the last moment when his parents realizes an incoming rocket will destroy their planet... That would actually be funny!
** The previous remarks assume that Cueball and Megan are standing on Earth. The comic could be plausible if they are standing on a different planet in the same planetary system.

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

1384: Krypton

2014-10-15T14:13:03Z

HeliumSquid: Added image.

{{comic
| number = 1384
| date = June 20, 2014
| title = Krypton
| image = krypton.png
| titletext = Their Sun and gravity will make you, uh, something, I guess. Out of earshot from Earth, mostly.
}}
[[File:Kryton.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5| Krypton exploding. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
This comic is an [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/InvertedTrope inverse] version of the {{w|origin story}} of the {{w|superhero}} character {{w|Superman}}.

In the Superman story, {{w|Jor-El}} and his wife {{w|Lara (comics)|Lara}} notice that their home planet {{w|Krypton (comics)|Krypton}} is about to be destroyed in a giant explosion, so they decide to send their baby {{w|Superman|Kal-El}} to {{w|Earth}} to save him - and there he becomes Superman.

In this comic, [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] also notice that the planet Krypton is about to explode, but instead of attempting to save a baby from Krypton, they decide to send a baby to Krypton from Earth so that he'll stop annoying them with his crying.

In the fourth panel both spaceships can be seen. The rocket containing the Earth baby arrives at planet Krypton, while the crystal star shaped spaceship containing Kal-El leaves Krypton towards Earth - this is a reference to the [http://collectingsuperman.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/stmstoryboard1a.jpg version of the spaceship] depicted in the 1978 {{w|Superman_(1978_film)|Superman movie}}, (see [[#Trivia|trivia section]]).

In the fifth and last panel we see Krypton explode.

In the Superman movie, Kal-El carries with him a lot of information pre-recorded by his parents. During the very long trip he listens to the recordings, one of which explains that the Sun and gravity of Earth will give him (Kal-El) great powers (this is the way he becomes Superman). The '''title text''' is a satirical version of this information, given to the Earth baby during his trip: That Megan & Cueball do not have the faintest idea (or care about) what the sun and gravity of Krypton will do to him - but their best guess at what these ''mostly'' will do to him is to "make you out of earshot from Earth", which was their original reason for shipping the baby off in the first place.

While this may seem like an extreme reaction to a crying baby, people who have never experienced a child crying for a whole night may have no idea about what types of fantasies could go through one's head. During the long hours of the night, shipping the crying thing in to space may seem like a great idea. This comic could be seen as an illustration of this.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are standing near a telescope.]
:Cueball: The distant planet Krypton is becoming unstable!
:Baby crying (from outside the panel): Waaaaaa
:Megan: That crying baby is really annoying.

:[Cueball and Megan looking at each other]

:[Spaceship taking off]

:[Spaceship passing another spaceship on route to distant planet]

:[Planet exploding]

==Trivia==
*Whereas the Kal-El rocket clearly looks like the one in the 1978 Superman, a movie which is also the origin of the title text joke, the Earth baby rocket looks like any nondescript rocket. It has some features in common with the one used in [[1350: Lorenz]] as can be seen here under the [[1350:_Lorenz#Rocket launch|Rocket launch theme]] (color scheme the same, but different body of the rocket). One could also argue that it resembles some of the [http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_M7D1hE_0cz0/TS88t-Rs2vI/AAAAAAAAEMY/EnIOj3AGFu8/s800/SupermanOrigins.jpg various] [http://thecomicmuseum.com/superman146.jpg versions] of the rocket that brought Superman to earth as depicted in early {{w|List of Superman comics|comic books}} (Not that big a resemblance though, due to the very different tip and fins).
*As the nearest stars are several light years away, this comic does of course not make any sense if you look at it from a scientific point of view. (But can still do if you don't!).
**First of all - how would Cueball be able to see that Krypton is unstable in a telescope - as we at the moment can only just detect planets around other stars.
**And even if he did detect this and immediately shipped his baby away in a close to light-speed rocket, then it would take several years to reach Krypton (at best - more likely to be somewhere between a hundred to a thousand years...)
***Plus, because light takes time to travel, Cueball was seeing the planet as it was many years ago, meaning it had been unstable for some time already. So even for the closest star (exclusive of the earth's sun), it would be 4.3 years to see the instability and then over 4.3 more years (even with close to light speed travel) for the ship to travel, for a total of over 8.6 years from when the light left the planet until the rocket arrived there.
**As faster than light-speed travel is impossible according to the current model of our universe this option is not really relevant here.
**During all those years, the unstable planet should still keep together - in spite of being so unstable that Cueball can determine this instability with his telescope on Earth.
**And then the rocket arrives just when Kal-El is being shipped the other way a few moments before the planet explodes. Of course if the arrival of the rocket causes the explosion this would explain the last two events. Kal-El is shipped off at the last moment when his parents realizes an incoming rocket will destroy their planet... That would actually be funny!
** The previous remarks assume that Cueball and Megan are standing on Earth. The comic could be plausible if they are standing on a different planet in the same planetary system.

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

834: Wikileaks

2014-10-15T14:11:33Z

HeliumSquid: Added image.

{{comic
| number = 834
| date = December 15, 2010
| title = Wikileaks
| image = wikileaks.png
| titletext = STUDENTS ARE CALLING PRESIDENT JOHNSON EN MASSE TO PROTEST THE BOMBING AND IT'S JAMMED THE WHITE HOUSE SWITCHBOARD. COULD THEY COLLAPSE OUR CRITICAL PHONE SYSTEMS? HAS THE FIRST TELEPHONE WAR BEGUN? STAY TUNED FOR MORE ON THIS DANGEROUS NEW TECHNOLOGY.
}}
[[File:Anonymous_emblem.svg|thumb|upright=1.5| Anonymous' emblem. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
This comic references {{w|WikiLeaks}}, a site to which classified data can be sent for publication, while nobody would know who leaked the data. Many people dislike WikiLeaks, but proponents claim that, since government is supposed to work for the people, all government information should be available to anyone who wants to see it. WikiLeaks' actions are illegal in most countries, and the people maintaining WikiLeaks stay anonymous, with the notable exception of {{w|Julian Assange}}, the spokesperson. Among the supporters of Wikileaks are the 4chan-based hacker group Anonymous, who, for the week or so prior to this comic's release, used DDoS attacks to take down servers for companies that aided the governments of the world in taking down Wikileaks and its CEO, Julian Assange. Amazon, PayPal and MasterCard were all targets of Anonymous. The claim 'We are legion' is a reference to Mark chapter 5 in the Bible, in which Jesus throws out a group of demons that call themselves Legion, [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%205:1-10&version=NIV|"for we are many."]

The comic shows WikiLeaks releasing all Anonymous members' private information, thereby unmasking them to the world. The joke in the comic notes a contradiction in Anonymous's position, relying on strict secrecy of its members' private information while supporting an anti-secrecy organization like WikiLeaks.

This could be Randall's criticism of Wikileaks for betraying the United States Government. Such a criticism would imply that Wikileaks gains allies, but needs betrayal and secrets in order to continue working. Randall could be implying that Wikileaks can only survive by betraying its supporters, as total declassification of the Government would render them useless. Equally, it could be just for laffs or a reflection on the risks of allying with a dispassionate organisation with a single agenda that could be as readily used against you as against its current target of the government.

The title text appears to be a news wire from during the {{w|Vietnam War}} when {{w|Lyndon B. Johnson}} was President in the United States. The students were calling to protest the War, in what xkcd implicates as the first {{w|DDoS}} attack. A DDoS attack is a Distributed Denial of Service attack, one of Anonymous' favorite tactics, in which the attackers send vast quantities of traffic from many different points to take down a web server, or, in the case of the title text, a phone network. Taken as a whole, the title text satirizes news reports in which a DDoS attack is confused with an actual hack, as only in the latter does the attacker gain (partial) access to the system itself.

==Transcript==
:[A black formal suit with no head is talking.]
:Suit: We are Anonymous.
:We are legion.
:We are no one
:and everyone.
:And we are here to fight for WikiLeaks.

:[The panel is presented as the front page of WikiLeaks, in a browser.]
:New Leak:
:Names, addresses, IPs, and phone numbers of everyone in Anonymous.
:Download Now

:Suit: ...Dammit, Julian.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Internet]]

845: Modern History

2014-10-15T14:05:08Z

HeliumSquid: Added an image.

{{comic
| number = 845
| date = January 10, 2011
| title = Modern History
| image = modern history.png
| titletext = During the week, I research my character by living in his house and raising his children.
}}
[[File:Civil_war_reenactment_2_edit2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5| Confederate artillery reenactors fire on Union troops during a Battle of Chickamauga reenactment in Danville, Illinois. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
War reenactment is a hobby in which people act out a battle from some previous time period. Theoretical "real-time" war reenactment takes this one step further by having someone act out a war that is actually happening at the time.

The title text refers to how someone would research the character that someone would play in a normal war reenactment in order for a more enjoyable reenactment. Once again, the title text makes a real-time version of this, having someone actually live the life of the real-time fighter.

==Transcript==
:[Warzone. Cueball is dressed as and following a soldier.]
:Soldier: Will you ''please'' stop imitating everything I do?
:Cueball: Will you ''please'' stop...
:My Hobby: real time war reenactment.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

1434: Where Do Birds Go

2014-10-15T13:01:59Z

HeliumSquid: Added an image of a bird in the rain.

{{comic
| number = 1434
| date = October 15, 2014
| title = Where Do Birds Go
| image = where_do_birds_go.png
| titletext = Water/ice has a lot of weird phases. Maybe asking 'where do birds go when it rains' is like asking 'where does Clark Kent go whenever Superman shows up?'
}}
[[File:Wet_kookaburra_6674_Crop_Edit.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5| A wet bird sitting in the rain. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
{{incomplete|List websites shown in image. Decide on title text explanation. More detail on the actual joke.}}
Cueball searches [http://lmgtfy.com/?q=where+do+birds+go+when+it+rains%3F Google] to find out where birds go when it rains. He finds that the question is asked worldwide, across different languages and websites, and that everyone wants to know the answer. A variety of screenshots are shown of different websites and forums with users asking where birds go when it rains, with at least seven languages shown. The bottom of this panel fades to white, suggesting that the occurrence of these questions stretches on and on.

{| class="wikitable"
!Websites shown in image (English)
|-
|http://www.enature.com/expert/expert_show_question.asp?questionID=23847
|-
|-
|http://activerain.trulia.com/blogsview/1452078/where-do-birds-go-when-it-rains-
|-
|-
|http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message979308/pg1
|-
|-
|http://randomthoughtsfrommidlife.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/where-do-the-birds-go-when-it-rains/
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable"
! Language
! Question
! Translation
|-
|French
|[https://fr.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110327100813AAMj2hy Où se cachent les oiseaux quand il pleut?]
|Where do the birds hide themselves when it rains?
|-
|rowspan="3"|German
|[http://www.gutefrage.net/frage/was-passiert-jetzt-eigentlich-mit-den-voegeln-die-bei-dem-wetter-in-den-baeumen-sitzen Was passiert jetzt eigentlich mit den vögeln, die bei dem wetter in den bäumen sitzen?]
|What really happens with the birds that are sitting in the trees in this weather?
|-
|[http://www.vogel.info/schlechtes_wetter.htm Was machen Vögel bei schlechtem Wetter?]
|What do birds do in bad weather?
|-
|[http://www.gutefrage.net/frage/wohin-gehen-voegel Wohin gehen Vögel?]
|Where do birds go?
|-
|rowspan="2"|Spanish
|[http://noticias.lainformacion.com/ciencia-y-tecnologia/ciencias-meteorologicas/que-pasa-con-las-aves-durante-un-huracan_g1DV8AL9LSG6Bzy7q5G8s7/ Qué pasa con las aves durante un huracán?]
|What happens to the birds during a hurricane?
|-
|[https://espanol.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120525145152AABvmOq ¿A donde se van los pajaritos cuando llueve?]
|Where do the little birds go when it rains?
|-
|Dutch
|[http://www.willemwever.nl/vraag_antwoord/dieren-en-planten/waar-blijven-de-vogels-als-het-heel-hard-stormt Waar blijven de vogels als het heel hard stormt?]
|Where do birds stay when it is storming very hard?
|-
|Finnish
|[http://ihmepuu.vuodatus.net/lue/2014/05/minne-linnut-menevat-sateella Minne linnut menevät sateella?]
|Where do the birds go when it rains?
|-
|rowspan="3"|Chinese (simplified)
|[http://wenwen.sogou.com/z/q55741469.htm 下雨时鸟儿往哪躲]
|Where do birds hide when it rains?
|-
|[http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/270774126.html 下雨的时候小鸟住在哪里？]
|Where do birds live while it rains?
|-
|[http://wenwen.sogou.com/z/q145038794.htm 为什么鸟儿下雨的时候在天上飞不会因为淋湿掉下来?]
|Why isn't birds falling to the ground for getting wet while it rains?
|}

As it starts to rain around the bird in the lower panels, he flies down to a smartphone on the ground, and begins searching the same thing. This seems to imply that even birds don't know where to go when it rains, or that it was birds looking for shelter asking this question on the World Wide Web.

In reality birds, just like humans, seek shelter when it rains. Getting wet is not a problem for birds, but it does complicate flying. On a rainy day you can usually find birds in leafy trees, caves or other kinds of cover.

In the title text, the question itself is considered - In the {{w|Superman}} comics Clark Kent ''*is*'' Superman so you couldn't observe Clark Kent and Superman at the same time. Although the {{w|State_of_matter|common states}} of solid, liquid and gas are widely known, water is observed at multiple phases ({{w|Ice#Phases|low and high pressure ices}}, {{w|Supercritical_fluid|supercritical gases}} etc.) and Randall is theorizing that one of the hitherto undiscovered states of water is "bird" which would explain why birds and rains are apparently never seen together.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
[The comic is separated into three sections, with Cueball and Megan having a discussion in the first section, websites found through Google search results depicted in the second, and a bird depicted in the third]

;[First Section - Cueball is sitting at his computer]:
Cueball: "Where do birds go when it rains?" is my new favorite Google search.
Megan [off screen]: Why?
Cueball: It gives the answer, but also shows you an endless torrent of other people asking the same question. Pages and pages of them across regions and cultures.
[Megan enters the frame and shows interest in the computer]
Cueball: I love the idea that somehow this is the universal question, the thing that unites us. When it rains, we wonder where the birds go, and hope they're staying dry.

;[Second Section - A collage of screen snippets]:

Where do the birds go when it rains?

Where do the birds go when it rains?

Where do the birds go when it rains really hard?

Where do birds go when it rains?

A donde se van los pajaritos cuando llueve?

[..several similar questions...]

;[Third section - A bird on a wire fence]:
[A bird sits on a wire fence with no rain falling]
[Zoomed in on the bird as it looks at a rain drop splashing on the fence wire]
[Zoomed out on the bird looking at the rain as it increases in intensity]
[The bird flies down to an small smart-phone-shaped object lying on the ground, as the rain increases in intensity even more]
[The bird lands on the object, with puddles increasing in size around the object]
[The bird pecks at the object, ostensibly typing] W... H... E... R... E... D... O... B... I... R... D... S...

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Animals]]

1434: Where Do Birds Go

2014-10-15T12:37:21Z

HeliumSquid:

1434: Where Do Birds Go

2014-10-15T12:35:16Z

HeliumSquid: Added some of the websites.

1014: Car Problems

2014-10-14T17:53:52Z

HeliumSquid: Added a picture.

{{comic
| number = 1014
| date = February 8, 2012
| title = Car Problems
| image = car_problems.png
| titletext = Or if you replace your car, we'll be happy to set it on fire again so you can take another crack at getting that shot.
}}
[[File:Chromatic_aberration_(comparison).jpg|thumb|upright=1.5| The lower image has lateral chromatic aberration (seen as a blur and a green edge in areas of contrast.) (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
[[Megan|Megan's]] car appears to have combusted at some point while she left it unattended. Suspecting her friends and acquaintances [[Cueball]], [[Black Hat]] and [[Danish]] of perhaps having something to do with it, she gathers them in front of a couch and draws attention to the fact that something is just a little bit wrong with the two juxtaposed images she shows them. When she asks ''What is wrong with this picture'', they all three take this question literally and start critiquing the picture quality, and not the subject, feigning complete ignorance about the car being on fire. When Megan exasperatedly tells them what is wrong with the picture —that her car is on fire!— they continue to act evasive by telling her that she should buy a better camera.

To some, the title text and the dialogue suggest that they were the ones who collectively set her car on fire, probably in the middle of some nightly exploit. But if you're an engineer or a scientist, you realize that Megan's friends aren't being intentionally evasive, they are just doing exactly what they were told. They patiently and correctly describe what is wrong with the picture. If Megan had wanted to know what was wrong with her car, than she would have asked that. Her friends are just being friendly when they offer to help her recreate the scene so that she can shoot the picture correctly.

As for the particular details of the digital photography terms mentioned:

*{{w|White balance}}: Artificial indoor light is more yellow, outdoor light is more blue. The light colour can also depend on weather or time of day. The human eye is a very good judge of whiteness under a variety of lighting conditions, digital cameras often have difficulty automatically correcting for this which can cause images to look too blue or orange. Professional cameras and image editing software allow you to adjust the white balance manually, which Megan probably has not done.
*{{w|Focus (optics)|Focus}} is a bit too close: As light passes through a camera lens, it is bent until the rays converge on the film or sensor. If the focus is too close, it implies that point of convergence from the light of the subject is slightly in front of the sensor (i.e. that Megan has accidentally focused on something closer than the car). This will result in near objects being (too) sharp, and the car being slightly blurry.
*{{w|Chromatic aberration}}: This causes coloured artifacts in an image, typically caused by cheap lenses, which do not focus light of different wavelengths (and thus different colours) in the same way. It is usually visible as a blueish or reddish outline around objects.
*{{w|Megapixels}}: This is the number of image sensor elements of digital cameras or the pixels on digital displays. More pixels improve the resolution but can also result in less overall quality for the pictures, due in part to the reduced size of each pixel sensor (because the total sensor size is typically the same for a given class of camera), and because for consumer-targeted products the total engineering budget is limited, so that extra money spent on a high megapixel sensor ends up reducing the money spent on other elements such as the lenses.

While this comic focuses on misunderstandings by people viewing pictures this could be also a reference to the [http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchResults?searchType=ID&targetCategory=I&searchCriteria.nhtsa_ids=PE11037 battery fire] in a stored, damaged {{w|Chevrolet Volt}} automobile. During a side-impact safety test, which the car passed with a five star rating at [http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/alternative-fuel/hybrids/the-straight-story-on-the-chevy-volt-battery-fire-6601217 Popular Mechanics], its high voltage battery pack was damaged. Part of the test procedure includes rolling the vehicle over after the impact to check for leaking fluids; during the rollover check, the vehicle electronics were flooded with coolant. The damaged vehicle was then put into storage where its high voltage battery remained energized; three weeks later the battery spontaneously caught fire, potentially due to corrosion, and destroyed the car. GM subsequently made design changes to address the causes of the fire.

==Transcript==
:[Megan stands in front of a projection of a car, with an audience of 3 people. One of the people is Black Hat, the others are Danish and Cueball.]
:Megan: Attention Please. This is a photo of my car as of two weeks ago.

:[Megan in front of a new projection of the same car engulfed in flames.]
:Megan: And ''this'' is my car as I found it this morning. Can anyone tell me what's wrong with this picture?

:[The audience ponders.]

:Cueball: The white balance, for one.
:Danish: Focus is a bit too close.
:Black Hat: The chromatic aberration suggests you bought your camera because it had "The most megapixels".

:Megan: '''''THE CAR IS ON FIRE!'''''
:Comment from audience: Maybe you should use the insurance money to get a better camera.
:Comment from different person: yeah.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Danish]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

1338: Land Mammals

2014-10-14T17:47:56Z

HeliumSquid: Corrected "worlds population" to "world's population".

{{comic
| number = 1338
| date = March 5, 2014
| title = Land Mammals
| image = land_mammals.png
| titletext = Bacteria still outweigh us thousands to one--and that's not even counting the several pounds of them in your body.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|The division of animal blocks are clear but only 6 are labeled. Some qualified guesses as to how the other (at least the largest) blocks are divided should be possible... What about the layout of the blocks?}}

This comic is a [[Nerd Sniping|nerd snipe]] from [[Randall]] at his viewers. This explanation tries to figure out the missing parts.

The comic shows the total weight of mankind and all other land mammals. Only a few centuries ago humans, and their pets and livestock, come to occupy such a great proportion of the earth's land mammal mass.

Per the diagram, there are 358 million tons of humans, 864 million tons of pets and livestock, of which 520 million tons comes from cattle, and 34 million tons of wild animals; for a total of 1.3 billion tons.

As of March 2014, the world population was about 7.16 billion people[https://www.census.gov/popclock/ 1] and so the comic assumes an ''average human'' weighs 50 kg: 7.16 billion people × 50 kg = 358 billion kg = 358 million tons. The BMC Public Health 2012 (12:439) article "[http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2458-12-439.pdf The weight of nations: an estimation of adult human biomass]" estimated the average ''adult'' weighed 62.0 kg ([http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2458-12-439.pdf#page=3 Table 3]), but the authors noted that their work "did not estimate the bio-mass in children who comprise a significant proportion of the population in many countries". The 50 kg estimate in this comic includes the 25% or more of the [http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/world-population-gender-age.php world's population below 15 years of age] making the 12 kg reduction a credible adjustment.

Cattle, in aggregate, are much heavier than the human population, but we do manage to outweigh both sheep and pigs - which may come as a surprise - as these animals probably by far outweigh the population in the countries that produce the main part of the world's meat from such animals.

It is interesting to note that the world's heaviest land dwelling animal - the elephant - only takes up one square! It is the only type of wild animal to be singled out in the comic.

There are 8 distinct blocks of wild animal (elephants and 7 others). There are 13 distinct blocks of pets and live stock; only the top 5 are labeled - in order of weight they are: Cattle, Sheep, Pigs, Goats and Horses. Dogs would properly also take up a large part - but how detailed are the division of species...?

{{W|Water buffalo|Water buffaloes}} seem to be missing completely. According to Wikipedia, there are {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|172 million}} of them with a weight of 300–550 kg each. With an average between 300–400 kg (depending on the number of calves) there is 50-70 million tons of them - giving them a much larger weight than goats, which would put them in fifth place in the table below.

The comic references the book [http://vaclavsmil.com/the-earths-biosphere-evolution-dynamics-and-change/ The Earth's Biosphere: Evolution, Dynamics, and Change] by {{W|Vaclav Smil}} as the source for most of the data - although a few other sources has also been used. These other sources are not referenced.

Note that only land dwelling mammals are taken into account - thus no whales. It is not clear as to where, for instance, seals, sea lions and walruses belong - although they could belong to land mammals as they spend a lot of time on land - as opposed to whales.

All other types of animals are not included. For instance, the weight of insects would outweigh us by far. Although not as much as the bacteria mentioned in the title text - they outweigh us thousands to one.

And that is without counting the part of our body weight that consist of bacteria: Several pounds. A fact that most people would properly like to ignore - which is a good reason to mention it here. These pounds are already counted as part of the total human weight.

There has been some speculation about the design of the blocks. They could be seen as resembling a cell, a bacterium. An extra joke in this could be that a little more than a thousand blocks representing mammal weight has been used to sketch this bacterium and bacteria outweighs the mammals on this order.

==Table of the block sizes==
*The table below ranks each group of blocks from 1 to 22 according to the size of the group = the number of blocks. The number of blocks represents the weight of the group in millions of tons = billions of kg.
*The comic contains a total of 1256 blocks in three colors representing the 1.256 billion tons of land dwelling mammals.
**358 million tons from humans - dark grey color
**864 million tons from mammalian pets and livestock - light grey color
**34 million tons of wild land dwelling mammals - green color

:Feel free to enter a comment on the groups especially those that are not already identified.

:The population should only be stated (in millions) if it can found through references - the XKCD average weight (in kg) is then given from the number of blocks in the group.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: auto; text-align: center; font-size: 95%; table-layout: fixed; line-height:1.25"
|-
! Rank
! # Blocks
! Type
! Text
!Population (millions)
!Weight (kg)
!Notes/comments
|-
| {{sort|00001|1}}
| {{sort|00520|520}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Cattle
| {{sort|01000|1000}}
| {{sort|00520|520}}
| They only outweigh us by weight (not by numbers), and there has been a stable [http://www.statista.com/statistics/263979/global-cattle-population-since-1990/ population] of about {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|1 billion cattle}} since 2007.
|-
| {{sort|00002|2}}
| {{sort|00358|358}}
| Humans
|
| {{sort|07152|7152}}
| {{sort|00050.1|50.1}}
| According to the U.S. Census Bureau's [http://www.census.gov/popclock/ population counter], there were 7.1516 billion people in the world as of March 4, 2014.
|-
| {{sort|00003|3}}
| {{sort|00135|135}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Sheep
| {{sort|01000|1000}}
| {{sort|00135|135}}
|There are about {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|1 billion sheep}} according to Wikipedia. The {{W|Domestic sheep#Description and evolution|average sheep}} weight of 135 kg seems highly exaggerated as only the rams can weigh more than that.
|-
| {{sort|00004|4}}
| {{sort|00090|90}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Pigs
| {{sort|01500|1000/2100?}}
| {{sort|00065|43/90?}}
| According to Wikipedia, the {{W|Pig#Distribution_and_evolution|population of pigs}} is about {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|1 billion}}. According to the [http://apps.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/psdReport.aspx?hidReportRetrievalName=Swine+Summary+Selected+Countries&hidReportRetrievalID=1649&hidReportRetrievalTemplateID=7 2nd reference] given for this in the wiki article, there are, however, 1.3 billion, and then 0.8 billion more (probably piglets) for a total of 2.1 billion? The piglets will not weigh much, though.
|-
| {{sort|00005|5}}
| {{sort|00039|39}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Goats
| {{sort|00864|864}}
| {{sort|00045|45}}
| The goat population can be estimated as 864 million from {{W|Goat#Worldwide_goat_population_statistics|Wikipedia's goat article}}. According to this list, there are {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|850 million goats}}.
|-
| {{sort|00006|6}}
| {{sort|00029|29}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Horses
| {{sort|00058|58}}
| {{sort|00500|500}}
| According to Wikipedia there is a population of {{W|List of odd-toed ungulates by population|58 million}} horses. Horses can {{W|Horse#Size_and_measurement|weigh from 400-1000 kg}}. There are probably not that many foals compared to adults, relative to (for instance) cattle and pigs.
|-
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| {{sort|00013|13}}
| Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00008|8}}
| {{sort|00010|10}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
| The largest grouping of wild animals, less than 1/50 of the weight of cattle - although representing almost a third of all the wild land mammals.
|-
| {{sort|00009|9}}
| {{sort|00008|8}}
| Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00010|T10}}
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Camel?
| {{sort|00017|17}}
| {{sort|00412|412}}
|Wikipedia lists the number of camels as 17 million. An average weight, based on Wikipedia's numbers for male and female, is about 500 kg. So, including the non-adult camels, an average around 400 kg seems to be a realistic estimate.
|-
| {{sort|00010|T10}}
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00010|T10}}
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00013|13}}
| {{sort|00006|6}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Dogs?
| {{sort|00400|400}}
| {{sort|00015|15}}
|According to Wikipedia, there are 400 million dogs worldwide. Assuming their average weight is 15 kg there should be 6 blocks.
|-
| {{sort|00014|T14}}
| {{sort|00005|5}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Donkeys?
| {{sort|00041|41}}
| {{sort|00122|122}}
| There are roughly 41 million {{w|Donkey#Present status|donkeys}} on Earth, with an average weight of about 125 kg.
|-
| {{sort|00014|T14}}
| {{sort|00005|5}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00016|16}}
| {{sort|00004|4}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00017|T17}}
| {{sort|00003|3}}
| Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00017|T17}}
| {{sort|00003|3}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00019|T19}}
| {{sort|00002|2}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Cats?
| {{sort|00500|500}}
| {{sort|00004|4}}
| According to Wikipedia, there are 500 million domestic cats worldwide, with an average weight of 4.5 kg. So, counting kittens, 4 kg is realistic.
|-
| {{sort|00019|T19}}
| {{sort|00002|2}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00019|T19}}
| {{sort|00002|2}}
| Wild animals
| Rats
| {{sort|04000|4000}}
| {{sort|000005|0.5}}
|A rat in the wild {{W|Rat#Species and description|seldom weighs over 500 g}}. The {{W|World Health Organization}} estimates 4 billion rats (citation needed) and a comparable number of mice. The {{W|House mouse#Characteristics|house mouse}} weighs only about 20 g on average and mice would thus only fill 8 hundredths of a block.
|-
| {{sort|00022|22}}
| {{sort|00001|1}}
| Wild animals
| Elephants
| {{sort|00000.75|0.75}}
| {{sort|01300|1300}}
| The only wild animal to be singled out with text and the heaviest land dwelling animal, elephants only take up one block. According to Wikipedia, the wild population of the {{W|African elephant}} is around 700,000 (down from 1.3 million in the 90s). The population of the {{W|Asian elephant}} is as low as 40 to 50 thousand, for a total of approximately 750,000 individuals. Any animals in the zoo or domesticated Asian elephants should not be counted. As adult African female elephants (who is probably the most abundant) weigh 2-3 tons, the figure of 1.3 tons seems a little low, especially since there is not a lot of calves as elephants have long lifespans. However, even with an average weight of 2 ton, the total weight would only be 1.5 million tons, and could be rounded down to 1 block.
|-
|}

==Transcript==
:'''Earth's LAND MAMMALS by weight'''

:[A block indicating the value of each block:] = 1,000,000 tons

:[Dark gray block:] Humans
:[Light gray block:] Our pets and livestock
:[Green block:] Wild animals

:[The rest of the comic consist of blocks representing the weight of mammals. Some of the blocks are labeled:]
:*Cattle
:*Pigs
:*Goats
:*Sheep
:*Elephants
:*Horses

:Data from Vaclav Smil's ''The Earth's Biosphere: Evolution, Dynamics, and Change'', plus a few other sources.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Charts]]

1338: Land Mammals

2014-10-14T17:47:24Z

HeliumSquid: Corrected "worlds meat" to "world's meat".

{{comic
| number = 1338
| date = March 5, 2014
| title = Land Mammals
| image = land_mammals.png
| titletext = Bacteria still outweigh us thousands to one--and that's not even counting the several pounds of them in your body.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|The division of animal blocks are clear but only 6 are labeled. Some qualified guesses as to how the other (at least the largest) blocks are divided should be possible... What about the layout of the blocks?}}

This comic is a [[Nerd Sniping|nerd snipe]] from [[Randall]] at his viewers. This explanation tries to figure out the missing parts.

The comic shows the total weight of mankind and all other land mammals. Only a few centuries ago humans, and their pets and livestock, come to occupy such a great proportion of the earth's land mammal mass.

Per the diagram, there are 358 million tons of humans, 864 million tons of pets and livestock, of which 520 million tons comes from cattle, and 34 million tons of wild animals; for a total of 1.3 billion tons.

As of March 2014, the world population was about 7.16 billion people[https://www.census.gov/popclock/ 1] and so the comic assumes an ''average human'' weighs 50 kg: 7.16 billion people × 50 kg = 358 billion kg = 358 million tons. The BMC Public Health 2012 (12:439) article "[http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2458-12-439.pdf The weight of nations: an estimation of adult human biomass]" estimated the average ''adult'' weighed 62.0 kg ([http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2458-12-439.pdf#page=3 Table 3]), but the authors noted that their work "did not estimate the bio-mass in children who comprise a significant proportion of the population in many countries". The 50 kg estimate in this comic includes the 25% or more of the [http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/world-population-gender-age.php worlds population below 15 years of age] making the 12 kg reduction a credible adjustment.

Cattle, in aggregate, are much heavier than the human population, but we do manage to outweigh both sheep and pigs - which may come as a surprise - as these animals probably by far outweigh the population in the countries that produce the main part of the world's meat from such animals.

It is interesting to note that the world's heaviest land dwelling animal - the elephant - only takes up one square! It is the only type of wild animal to be singled out in the comic.

There are 8 distinct blocks of wild animal (elephants and 7 others). There are 13 distinct blocks of pets and live stock; only the top 5 are labeled - in order of weight they are: Cattle, Sheep, Pigs, Goats and Horses. Dogs would properly also take up a large part - but how detailed are the division of species...?

{{W|Water buffalo|Water buffaloes}} seem to be missing completely. According to Wikipedia, there are {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|172 million}} of them with a weight of 300–550 kg each. With an average between 300–400 kg (depending on the number of calves) there is 50-70 million tons of them - giving them a much larger weight than goats, which would put them in fifth place in the table below.

The comic references the book [http://vaclavsmil.com/the-earths-biosphere-evolution-dynamics-and-change/ The Earth's Biosphere: Evolution, Dynamics, and Change] by {{W|Vaclav Smil}} as the source for most of the data - although a few other sources has also been used. These other sources are not referenced.

Note that only land dwelling mammals are taken into account - thus no whales. It is not clear as to where, for instance, seals, sea lions and walruses belong - although they could belong to land mammals as they spend a lot of time on land - as opposed to whales.

All other types of animals are not included. For instance, the weight of insects would outweigh us by far. Although not as much as the bacteria mentioned in the title text - they outweigh us thousands to one.

And that is without counting the part of our body weight that consist of bacteria: Several pounds. A fact that most people would properly like to ignore - which is a good reason to mention it here. These pounds are already counted as part of the total human weight.

There has been some speculation about the design of the blocks. They could be seen as resembling a cell, a bacterium. An extra joke in this could be that a little more than a thousand blocks representing mammal weight has been used to sketch this bacterium and bacteria outweighs the mammals on this order.

==Table of the block sizes==
*The table below ranks each group of blocks from 1 to 22 according to the size of the group = the number of blocks. The number of blocks represents the weight of the group in millions of tons = billions of kg.
*The comic contains a total of 1256 blocks in three colors representing the 1.256 billion tons of land dwelling mammals.
**358 million tons from humans - dark grey color
**864 million tons from mammalian pets and livestock - light grey color
**34 million tons of wild land dwelling mammals - green color

:Feel free to enter a comment on the groups especially those that are not already identified.

:The population should only be stated (in millions) if it can found through references - the XKCD average weight (in kg) is then given from the number of blocks in the group.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: auto; text-align: center; font-size: 95%; table-layout: fixed; line-height:1.25"
|-
! Rank
! # Blocks
! Type
! Text
!Population (millions)
!Weight (kg)
!Notes/comments
|-
| {{sort|00001|1}}
| {{sort|00520|520}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Cattle
| {{sort|01000|1000}}
| {{sort|00520|520}}
| They only outweigh us by weight (not by numbers), and there has been a stable [http://www.statista.com/statistics/263979/global-cattle-population-since-1990/ population] of about {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|1 billion cattle}} since 2007.
|-
| {{sort|00002|2}}
| {{sort|00358|358}}
| Humans
|
| {{sort|07152|7152}}
| {{sort|00050.1|50.1}}
| According to the U.S. Census Bureau's [http://www.census.gov/popclock/ population counter], there were 7.1516 billion people in the world as of March 4, 2014.
|-
| {{sort|00003|3}}
| {{sort|00135|135}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Sheep
| {{sort|01000|1000}}
| {{sort|00135|135}}
|There are about {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|1 billion sheep}} according to Wikipedia. The {{W|Domestic sheep#Description and evolution|average sheep}} weight of 135 kg seems highly exaggerated as only the rams can weigh more than that.
|-
| {{sort|00004|4}}
| {{sort|00090|90}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Pigs
| {{sort|01500|1000/2100?}}
| {{sort|00065|43/90?}}
| According to Wikipedia, the {{W|Pig#Distribution_and_evolution|population of pigs}} is about {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|1 billion}}. According to the [http://apps.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/psdReport.aspx?hidReportRetrievalName=Swine+Summary+Selected+Countries&hidReportRetrievalID=1649&hidReportRetrievalTemplateID=7 2nd reference] given for this in the wiki article, there are, however, 1.3 billion, and then 0.8 billion more (probably piglets) for a total of 2.1 billion? The piglets will not weigh much, though.
|-
| {{sort|00005|5}}
| {{sort|00039|39}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Goats
| {{sort|00864|864}}
| {{sort|00045|45}}
| The goat population can be estimated as 864 million from {{W|Goat#Worldwide_goat_population_statistics|Wikipedia's goat article}}. According to this list, there are {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|850 million goats}}.
|-
| {{sort|00006|6}}
| {{sort|00029|29}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Horses
| {{sort|00058|58}}
| {{sort|00500|500}}
| According to Wikipedia there is a population of {{W|List of odd-toed ungulates by population|58 million}} horses. Horses can {{W|Horse#Size_and_measurement|weigh from 400-1000 kg}}. There are probably not that many foals compared to adults, relative to (for instance) cattle and pigs.
|-
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| {{sort|00013|13}}
| Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00008|8}}
| {{sort|00010|10}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
| The largest grouping of wild animals, less than 1/50 of the weight of cattle - although representing almost a third of all the wild land mammals.
|-
| {{sort|00009|9}}
| {{sort|00008|8}}
| Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00010|T10}}
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Camel?
| {{sort|00017|17}}
| {{sort|00412|412}}
|Wikipedia lists the number of camels as 17 million. An average weight, based on Wikipedia's numbers for male and female, is about 500 kg. So, including the non-adult camels, an average around 400 kg seems to be a realistic estimate.
|-
| {{sort|00010|T10}}
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00010|T10}}
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00013|13}}
| {{sort|00006|6}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Dogs?
| {{sort|00400|400}}
| {{sort|00015|15}}
|According to Wikipedia, there are 400 million dogs worldwide. Assuming their average weight is 15 kg there should be 6 blocks.
|-
| {{sort|00014|T14}}
| {{sort|00005|5}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Donkeys?
| {{sort|00041|41}}
| {{sort|00122|122}}
| There are roughly 41 million {{w|Donkey#Present status|donkeys}} on Earth, with an average weight of about 125 kg.
|-
| {{sort|00014|T14}}
| {{sort|00005|5}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00016|16}}
| {{sort|00004|4}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00017|T17}}
| {{sort|00003|3}}
| Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00017|T17}}
| {{sort|00003|3}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00019|T19}}
| {{sort|00002|2}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Cats?
| {{sort|00500|500}}
| {{sort|00004|4}}
| According to Wikipedia, there are 500 million domestic cats worldwide, with an average weight of 4.5 kg. So, counting kittens, 4 kg is realistic.
|-
| {{sort|00019|T19}}
| {{sort|00002|2}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00019|T19}}
| {{sort|00002|2}}
| Wild animals
| Rats
| {{sort|04000|4000}}
| {{sort|000005|0.5}}
|A rat in the wild {{W|Rat#Species and description|seldom weighs over 500 g}}. The {{W|World Health Organization}} estimates 4 billion rats (citation needed) and a comparable number of mice. The {{W|House mouse#Characteristics|house mouse}} weighs only about 20 g on average and mice would thus only fill 8 hundredths of a block.
|-
| {{sort|00022|22}}
| {{sort|00001|1}}
| Wild animals
| Elephants
| {{sort|00000.75|0.75}}
| {{sort|01300|1300}}
| The only wild animal to be singled out with text and the heaviest land dwelling animal, elephants only take up one block. According to Wikipedia, the wild population of the {{W|African elephant}} is around 700,000 (down from 1.3 million in the 90s). The population of the {{W|Asian elephant}} is as low as 40 to 50 thousand, for a total of approximately 750,000 individuals. Any animals in the zoo or domesticated Asian elephants should not be counted. As adult African female elephants (who is probably the most abundant) weigh 2-3 tons, the figure of 1.3 tons seems a little low, especially since there is not a lot of calves as elephants have long lifespans. However, even with an average weight of 2 ton, the total weight would only be 1.5 million tons, and could be rounded down to 1 block.
|-
|}

==Transcript==
:'''Earth's LAND MAMMALS by weight'''

:[A block indicating the value of each block:] = 1,000,000 tons

:[Dark gray block:] Humans
:[Light gray block:] Our pets and livestock
:[Green block:] Wild animals

:[The rest of the comic consist of blocks representing the weight of mammals. Some of the blocks are labeled:]
:*Cattle
:*Pigs
:*Goats
:*Sheep
:*Elephants
:*Horses

:Data from Vaclav Smil's ''The Earth's Biosphere: Evolution, Dynamics, and Change'', plus a few other sources.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Charts]]

1338: Land Mammals

2014-10-14T17:46:27Z

HeliumSquid: Correct "water buffalos" to "water buffaloes".

{{comic
| number = 1338
| date = March 5, 2014
| title = Land Mammals
| image = land_mammals.png
| titletext = Bacteria still outweigh us thousands to one--and that's not even counting the several pounds of them in your body.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|The division of animal blocks are clear but only 6 are labeled. Some qualified guesses as to how the other (at least the largest) blocks are divided should be possible... What about the layout of the blocks?}}

This comic is a [[Nerd Sniping|nerd snipe]] from [[Randall]] at his viewers. This explanation tries to figure out the missing parts.

The comic shows the total weight of mankind and all other land mammals. Only a few centuries ago humans, and their pets and livestock, come to occupy such a great proportion of the earth's land mammal mass.

Per the diagram, there are 358 million tons of humans, 864 million tons of pets and livestock, of which 520 million tons comes from cattle, and 34 million tons of wild animals; for a total of 1.3 billion tons.

As of March 2014, the world population was about 7.16 billion people[https://www.census.gov/popclock/ 1] and so the comic assumes an ''average human'' weighs 50 kg: 7.16 billion people × 50 kg = 358 billion kg = 358 million tons. The BMC Public Health 2012 (12:439) article "[http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2458-12-439.pdf The weight of nations: an estimation of adult human biomass]" estimated the average ''adult'' weighed 62.0 kg ([http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2458-12-439.pdf#page=3 Table 3]), but the authors noted that their work "did not estimate the bio-mass in children who comprise a significant proportion of the population in many countries". The 50 kg estimate in this comic includes the 25% or more of the [http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/world-population-gender-age.php worlds population below 15 years of age] making the 12 kg reduction a credible adjustment.

Cattle, in aggregate, are much heavier than the human population, but we do manage to outweigh both sheep and pigs - which may come as a surprise - as these animals probably by far outweigh the population in the countries that produce the main part of the worlds meat from such animals.

It is interesting to note that the world's heaviest land dwelling animal - the elephant - only takes up one square! It is the only type of wild animal to be singled out in the comic.

There are 8 distinct blocks of wild animal (elephants and 7 others). There are 13 distinct blocks of pets and live stock; only the top 5 are labeled - in order of weight they are: Cattle, Sheep, Pigs, Goats and Horses. Dogs would properly also take up a large part - but how detailed are the division of species...?

{{W|Water buffalo|Water buffaloes}} seem to be missing completely. According to Wikipedia, there are {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|172 million}} of them with a weight of 300–550 kg each. With an average between 300–400 kg (depending on the number of calves) there is 50-70 million tons of them - giving them a much larger weight than goats, which would put them in fifth place in the table below.

The comic references the book [http://vaclavsmil.com/the-earths-biosphere-evolution-dynamics-and-change/ The Earth's Biosphere: Evolution, Dynamics, and Change] by {{W|Vaclav Smil}} as the source for most of the data - although a few other sources has also been used. These other sources are not referenced.

Note that only land dwelling mammals are taken into account - thus no whales. It is not clear as to where, for instance, seals, sea lions and walruses belong - although they could belong to land mammals as they spend a lot of time on land - as opposed to whales.

All other types of animals are not included. For instance, the weight of insects would outweigh us by far. Although not as much as the bacteria mentioned in the title text - they outweigh us thousands to one.

And that is without counting the part of our body weight that consist of bacteria: Several pounds. A fact that most people would properly like to ignore - which is a good reason to mention it here. These pounds are already counted as part of the total human weight.

There has been some speculation about the design of the blocks. They could be seen as resembling a cell, a bacterium. An extra joke in this could be that a little more than a thousand blocks representing mammal weight has been used to sketch this bacterium and bacteria outweighs the mammals on this order.

==Table of the block sizes==
*The table below ranks each group of blocks from 1 to 22 according to the size of the group = the number of blocks. The number of blocks represents the weight of the group in millions of tons = billions of kg.
*The comic contains a total of 1256 blocks in three colors representing the 1.256 billion tons of land dwelling mammals.
**358 million tons from humans - dark grey color
**864 million tons from mammalian pets and livestock - light grey color
**34 million tons of wild land dwelling mammals - green color

:Feel free to enter a comment on the groups especially those that are not already identified.

:The population should only be stated (in millions) if it can found through references - the XKCD average weight (in kg) is then given from the number of blocks in the group.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: auto; text-align: center; font-size: 95%; table-layout: fixed; line-height:1.25"
|-
! Rank
! # Blocks
! Type
! Text
!Population (millions)
!Weight (kg)
!Notes/comments
|-
| {{sort|00001|1}}
| {{sort|00520|520}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Cattle
| {{sort|01000|1000}}
| {{sort|00520|520}}
| They only outweigh us by weight (not by numbers), and there has been a stable [http://www.statista.com/statistics/263979/global-cattle-population-since-1990/ population] of about {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|1 billion cattle}} since 2007.
|-
| {{sort|00002|2}}
| {{sort|00358|358}}
| Humans
|
| {{sort|07152|7152}}
| {{sort|00050.1|50.1}}
| According to the U.S. Census Bureau's [http://www.census.gov/popclock/ population counter], there were 7.1516 billion people in the world as of March 4, 2014.
|-
| {{sort|00003|3}}
| {{sort|00135|135}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Sheep
| {{sort|01000|1000}}
| {{sort|00135|135}}
|There are about {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|1 billion sheep}} according to Wikipedia. The {{W|Domestic sheep#Description and evolution|average sheep}} weight of 135 kg seems highly exaggerated as only the rams can weigh more than that.
|-
| {{sort|00004|4}}
| {{sort|00090|90}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Pigs
| {{sort|01500|1000/2100?}}
| {{sort|00065|43/90?}}
| According to Wikipedia, the {{W|Pig#Distribution_and_evolution|population of pigs}} is about {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|1 billion}}. According to the [http://apps.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/psdReport.aspx?hidReportRetrievalName=Swine+Summary+Selected+Countries&hidReportRetrievalID=1649&hidReportRetrievalTemplateID=7 2nd reference] given for this in the wiki article, there are, however, 1.3 billion, and then 0.8 billion more (probably piglets) for a total of 2.1 billion? The piglets will not weigh much, though.
|-
| {{sort|00005|5}}
| {{sort|00039|39}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Goats
| {{sort|00864|864}}
| {{sort|00045|45}}
| The goat population can be estimated as 864 million from {{W|Goat#Worldwide_goat_population_statistics|Wikipedia's goat article}}. According to this list, there are {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|850 million goats}}.
|-
| {{sort|00006|6}}
| {{sort|00029|29}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Horses
| {{sort|00058|58}}
| {{sort|00500|500}}
| According to Wikipedia there is a population of {{W|List of odd-toed ungulates by population|58 million}} horses. Horses can {{W|Horse#Size_and_measurement|weigh from 400-1000 kg}}. There are probably not that many foals compared to adults, relative to (for instance) cattle and pigs.
|-
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| {{sort|00013|13}}
| Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00008|8}}
| {{sort|00010|10}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
| The largest grouping of wild animals, less than 1/50 of the weight of cattle - although representing almost a third of all the wild land mammals.
|-
| {{sort|00009|9}}
| {{sort|00008|8}}
| Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00010|T10}}
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Camel?
| {{sort|00017|17}}
| {{sort|00412|412}}
|Wikipedia lists the number of camels as 17 million. An average weight, based on Wikipedia's numbers for male and female, is about 500 kg. So, including the non-adult camels, an average around 400 kg seems to be a realistic estimate.
|-
| {{sort|00010|T10}}
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00010|T10}}
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00013|13}}
| {{sort|00006|6}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Dogs?
| {{sort|00400|400}}
| {{sort|00015|15}}
|According to Wikipedia, there are 400 million dogs worldwide. Assuming their average weight is 15 kg there should be 6 blocks.
|-
| {{sort|00014|T14}}
| {{sort|00005|5}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Donkeys?
| {{sort|00041|41}}
| {{sort|00122|122}}
| There are roughly 41 million {{w|Donkey#Present status|donkeys}} on Earth, with an average weight of about 125 kg.
|-
| {{sort|00014|T14}}
| {{sort|00005|5}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00016|16}}
| {{sort|00004|4}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00017|T17}}
| {{sort|00003|3}}
| Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00017|T17}}
| {{sort|00003|3}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00019|T19}}
| {{sort|00002|2}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Cats?
| {{sort|00500|500}}
| {{sort|00004|4}}
| According to Wikipedia, there are 500 million domestic cats worldwide, with an average weight of 4.5 kg. So, counting kittens, 4 kg is realistic.
|-
| {{sort|00019|T19}}
| {{sort|00002|2}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00019|T19}}
| {{sort|00002|2}}
| Wild animals
| Rats
| {{sort|04000|4000}}
| {{sort|000005|0.5}}
|A rat in the wild {{W|Rat#Species and description|seldom weighs over 500 g}}. The {{W|World Health Organization}} estimates 4 billion rats (citation needed) and a comparable number of mice. The {{W|House mouse#Characteristics|house mouse}} weighs only about 20 g on average and mice would thus only fill 8 hundredths of a block.
|-
| {{sort|00022|22}}
| {{sort|00001|1}}
| Wild animals
| Elephants
| {{sort|00000.75|0.75}}
| {{sort|01300|1300}}
| The only wild animal to be singled out with text and the heaviest land dwelling animal, elephants only take up one block. According to Wikipedia, the wild population of the {{W|African elephant}} is around 700,000 (down from 1.3 million in the 90s). The population of the {{W|Asian elephant}} is as low as 40 to 50 thousand, for a total of approximately 750,000 individuals. Any animals in the zoo or domesticated Asian elephants should not be counted. As adult African female elephants (who is probably the most abundant) weigh 2-3 tons, the figure of 1.3 tons seems a little low, especially since there is not a lot of calves as elephants have long lifespans. However, even with an average weight of 2 ton, the total weight would only be 1.5 million tons, and could be rounded down to 1 block.
|-
|}

==Transcript==
:'''Earth's LAND MAMMALS by weight'''

:[A block indicating the value of each block:] = 1,000,000 tons

:[Dark gray block:] Humans
:[Light gray block:] Our pets and livestock
:[Green block:] Wild animals

:[The rest of the comic consist of blocks representing the weight of mammals. Some of the blocks are labeled:]
:*Cattle
:*Pigs
:*Goats
:*Sheep
:*Elephants
:*Horses

:Data from Vaclav Smil's ''The Earth's Biosphere: Evolution, Dynamics, and Change'', plus a few other sources.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Charts]]

1338: Land Mammals

2014-10-14T17:45:17Z

HeliumSquid: Corrected "little more than thousand blocks" to "little more than a thousand blocks".

{{comic
| number = 1338
| date = March 5, 2014
| title = Land Mammals
| image = land_mammals.png
| titletext = Bacteria still outweigh us thousands to one--and that's not even counting the several pounds of them in your body.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|The division of animal blocks are clear but only 6 are labeled. Some qualified guesses as to how the other (at least the largest) blocks are divided should be possible... What about the layout of the blocks?}}

This comic is a [[Nerd Sniping|nerd snipe]] from [[Randall]] at his viewers. This explanation tries to figure out the missing parts.

The comic shows the total weight of mankind and all other land mammals. Only a few centuries ago humans, and their pets and livestock, come to occupy such a great proportion of the earth's land mammal mass.

Per the diagram, there are 358 million tons of humans, 864 million tons of pets and livestock, of which 520 million tons comes from cattle, and 34 million tons of wild animals; for a total of 1.3 billion tons.

As of March 2014, the world population was about 7.16 billion people[https://www.census.gov/popclock/ 1] and so the comic assumes an ''average human'' weighs 50 kg: 7.16 billion people × 50 kg = 358 billion kg = 358 million tons. The BMC Public Health 2012 (12:439) article "[http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2458-12-439.pdf The weight of nations: an estimation of adult human biomass]" estimated the average ''adult'' weighed 62.0 kg ([http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2458-12-439.pdf#page=3 Table 3]), but the authors noted that their work "did not estimate the bio-mass in children who comprise a significant proportion of the population in many countries". The 50 kg estimate in this comic includes the 25% or more of the [http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/world-population-gender-age.php worlds population below 15 years of age] making the 12 kg reduction a credible adjustment.

Cattle, in aggregate, are much heavier than the human population, but we do manage to outweigh both sheep and pigs - which may come as a surprise - as these animals probably by far outweigh the population in the countries that produce the main part of the worlds meat from such animals.

It is interesting to note that the world's heaviest land dwelling animal - the elephant - only takes up one square! It is the only type of wild animal to be singled out in the comic.

There are 8 distinct blocks of wild animal (elephants and 7 others). There are 13 distinct blocks of pets and live stock; only the top 5 are labeled - in order of weight they are: Cattle, Sheep, Pigs, Goats and Horses. Dogs would properly also take up a large part - but how detailed are the division of species...?

{{W|Water buffalo|Water buffalos}} seem to be missing completely. According to Wikipedia, there are {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|172 million}} of them with a weight of 300–550 kg each. With an average between 300–400 kg (depending on the number of calves) there is 50-70 million tons of them - giving them a much larger weight than goats, which would put them in fifth place in the table below.

The comic references the book [http://vaclavsmil.com/the-earths-biosphere-evolution-dynamics-and-change/ The Earth's Biosphere: Evolution, Dynamics, and Change] by {{W|Vaclav Smil}} as the source for most of the data - although a few other sources has also been used. These other sources are not referenced.

Note that only land dwelling mammals are taken into account - thus no whales. It is not clear as to where, for instance, seals, sea lions and walruses belong - although they could belong to land mammals as they spend a lot of time on land - as opposed to whales.

All other types of animals are not included. For instance, the weight of insects would outweigh us by far. Although not as much as the bacteria mentioned in the title text - they outweigh us thousands to one.

And that is without counting the part of our body weight that consist of bacteria: Several pounds. A fact that most people would properly like to ignore - which is a good reason to mention it here. These pounds are already counted as part of the total human weight.

There has been some speculation about the design of the blocks. They could be seen as resembling a cell, a bacterium. An extra joke in this could be that a little more than a thousand blocks representing mammal weight has been used to sketch this bacterium and bacteria outweighs the mammals on this order.

==Table of the block sizes==
*The table below ranks each group of blocks from 1 to 22 according to the size of the group = the number of blocks. The number of blocks represents the weight of the group in millions of tons = billions of kg.
*The comic contains a total of 1256 blocks in three colors representing the 1.256 billion tons of land dwelling mammals.
**358 million tons from humans - dark grey color
**864 million tons from mammalian pets and livestock - light grey color
**34 million tons of wild land dwelling mammals - green color

:Feel free to enter a comment on the groups especially those that are not already identified.

:The population should only be stated (in millions) if it can found through references - the XKCD average weight (in kg) is then given from the number of blocks in the group.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: auto; text-align: center; font-size: 95%; table-layout: fixed; line-height:1.25"
|-
! Rank
! # Blocks
! Type
! Text
!Population (millions)
!Weight (kg)
!Notes/comments
|-
| {{sort|00001|1}}
| {{sort|00520|520}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Cattle
| {{sort|01000|1000}}
| {{sort|00520|520}}
| They only outweigh us by weight (not by numbers), and there has been a stable [http://www.statista.com/statistics/263979/global-cattle-population-since-1990/ population] of about {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|1 billion cattle}} since 2007.
|-
| {{sort|00002|2}}
| {{sort|00358|358}}
| Humans
|
| {{sort|07152|7152}}
| {{sort|00050.1|50.1}}
| According to the U.S. Census Bureau's [http://www.census.gov/popclock/ population counter], there were 7.1516 billion people in the world as of March 4, 2014.
|-
| {{sort|00003|3}}
| {{sort|00135|135}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Sheep
| {{sort|01000|1000}}
| {{sort|00135|135}}
|There are about {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|1 billion sheep}} according to Wikipedia. The {{W|Domestic sheep#Description and evolution|average sheep}} weight of 135 kg seems highly exaggerated as only the rams can weigh more than that.
|-
| {{sort|00004|4}}
| {{sort|00090|90}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Pigs
| {{sort|01500|1000/2100?}}
| {{sort|00065|43/90?}}
| According to Wikipedia, the {{W|Pig#Distribution_and_evolution|population of pigs}} is about {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|1 billion}}. According to the [http://apps.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/psdReport.aspx?hidReportRetrievalName=Swine+Summary+Selected+Countries&hidReportRetrievalID=1649&hidReportRetrievalTemplateID=7 2nd reference] given for this in the wiki article, there are, however, 1.3 billion, and then 0.8 billion more (probably piglets) for a total of 2.1 billion? The piglets will not weigh much, though.
|-
| {{sort|00005|5}}
| {{sort|00039|39}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Goats
| {{sort|00864|864}}
| {{sort|00045|45}}
| The goat population can be estimated as 864 million from {{W|Goat#Worldwide_goat_population_statistics|Wikipedia's goat article}}. According to this list, there are {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|850 million goats}}.
|-
| {{sort|00006|6}}
| {{sort|00029|29}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Horses
| {{sort|00058|58}}
| {{sort|00500|500}}
| According to Wikipedia there is a population of {{W|List of odd-toed ungulates by population|58 million}} horses. Horses can {{W|Horse#Size_and_measurement|weigh from 400-1000 kg}}. There are probably not that many foals compared to adults, relative to (for instance) cattle and pigs.
|-
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| {{sort|00013|13}}
| Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00008|8}}
| {{sort|00010|10}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
| The largest grouping of wild animals, less than 1/50 of the weight of cattle - although representing almost a third of all the wild land mammals.
|-
| {{sort|00009|9}}
| {{sort|00008|8}}
| Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00010|T10}}
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Camel?
| {{sort|00017|17}}
| {{sort|00412|412}}
|Wikipedia lists the number of camels as 17 million. An average weight, based on Wikipedia's numbers for male and female, is about 500 kg. So, including the non-adult camels, an average around 400 kg seems to be a realistic estimate.
|-
| {{sort|00010|T10}}
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00010|T10}}
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00013|13}}
| {{sort|00006|6}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Dogs?
| {{sort|00400|400}}
| {{sort|00015|15}}
|According to Wikipedia, there are 400 million dogs worldwide. Assuming their average weight is 15 kg there should be 6 blocks.
|-
| {{sort|00014|T14}}
| {{sort|00005|5}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Donkeys?
| {{sort|00041|41}}
| {{sort|00122|122}}
| There are roughly 41 million {{w|Donkey#Present status|donkeys}} on Earth, with an average weight of about 125 kg.
|-
| {{sort|00014|T14}}
| {{sort|00005|5}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00016|16}}
| {{sort|00004|4}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00017|T17}}
| {{sort|00003|3}}
| Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00017|T17}}
| {{sort|00003|3}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00019|T19}}
| {{sort|00002|2}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Cats?
| {{sort|00500|500}}
| {{sort|00004|4}}
| According to Wikipedia, there are 500 million domestic cats worldwide, with an average weight of 4.5 kg. So, counting kittens, 4 kg is realistic.
|-
| {{sort|00019|T19}}
| {{sort|00002|2}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00019|T19}}
| {{sort|00002|2}}
| Wild animals
| Rats
| {{sort|04000|4000}}
| {{sort|000005|0.5}}
|A rat in the wild {{W|Rat#Species and description|seldom weighs over 500 g}}. The {{W|World Health Organization}} estimates 4 billion rats (citation needed) and a comparable number of mice. The {{W|House mouse#Characteristics|house mouse}} weighs only about 20 g on average and mice would thus only fill 8 hundredths of a block.
|-
| {{sort|00022|22}}
| {{sort|00001|1}}
| Wild animals
| Elephants
| {{sort|00000.75|0.75}}
| {{sort|01300|1300}}
| The only wild animal to be singled out with text and the heaviest land dwelling animal, elephants only take up one block. According to Wikipedia, the wild population of the {{W|African elephant}} is around 700,000 (down from 1.3 million in the 90s). The population of the {{W|Asian elephant}} is as low as 40 to 50 thousand, for a total of approximately 750,000 individuals. Any animals in the zoo or domesticated Asian elephants should not be counted. As adult African female elephants (who is probably the most abundant) weigh 2-3 tons, the figure of 1.3 tons seems a little low, especially since there is not a lot of calves as elephants have long lifespans. However, even with an average weight of 2 ton, the total weight would only be 1.5 million tons, and could be rounded down to 1 block.
|-
|}

==Transcript==
:'''Earth's LAND MAMMALS by weight'''

:[A block indicating the value of each block:] = 1,000,000 tons

:[Dark gray block:] Humans
:[Light gray block:] Our pets and livestock
:[Green block:] Wild animals

:[The rest of the comic consist of blocks representing the weight of mammals. Some of the blocks are labeled:]
:*Cattle
:*Pigs
:*Goats
:*Sheep
:*Elephants
:*Horses

:Data from Vaclav Smil's ''The Earth's Biosphere: Evolution, Dynamics, and Change'', plus a few other sources.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Charts]]

1338: Land Mammals

2014-10-14T17:44:18Z

HeliumSquid: Corrected "only be be" to "only be".

{{comic
| number = 1338
| date = March 5, 2014
| title = Land Mammals
| image = land_mammals.png
| titletext = Bacteria still outweigh us thousands to one--and that's not even counting the several pounds of them in your body.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|The division of animal blocks are clear but only 6 are labeled. Some qualified guesses as to how the other (at least the largest) blocks are divided should be possible... What about the layout of the blocks?}}

This comic is a [[Nerd Sniping|nerd snipe]] from [[Randall]] at his viewers. This explanation tries to figure out the missing parts.

The comic shows the total weight of mankind and all other land mammals. Only a few centuries ago humans, and their pets and livestock, come to occupy such a great proportion of the earth's land mammal mass.

Per the diagram, there are 358 million tons of humans, 864 million tons of pets and livestock, of which 520 million tons comes from cattle, and 34 million tons of wild animals; for a total of 1.3 billion tons.

As of March 2014, the world population was about 7.16 billion people[https://www.census.gov/popclock/ 1] and so the comic assumes an ''average human'' weighs 50 kg: 7.16 billion people × 50 kg = 358 billion kg = 358 million tons. The BMC Public Health 2012 (12:439) article "[http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2458-12-439.pdf The weight of nations: an estimation of adult human biomass]" estimated the average ''adult'' weighed 62.0 kg ([http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2458-12-439.pdf#page=3 Table 3]), but the authors noted that their work "did not estimate the bio-mass in children who comprise a significant proportion of the population in many countries". The 50 kg estimate in this comic includes the 25% or more of the [http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/world-population-gender-age.php worlds population below 15 years of age] making the 12 kg reduction a credible adjustment.

Cattle, in aggregate, are much heavier than the human population, but we do manage to outweigh both sheep and pigs - which may come as a surprise - as these animals probably by far outweigh the population in the countries that produce the main part of the worlds meat from such animals.

It is interesting to note that the world's heaviest land dwelling animal - the elephant - only takes up one square! It is the only type of wild animal to be singled out in the comic.

There are 8 distinct blocks of wild animal (elephants and 7 others). There are 13 distinct blocks of pets and live stock; only the top 5 are labeled - in order of weight they are: Cattle, Sheep, Pigs, Goats and Horses. Dogs would properly also take up a large part - but how detailed are the division of species...?

{{W|Water buffalo|Water buffalos}} seem to be missing completely. According to Wikipedia, there are {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|172 million}} of them with a weight of 300–550 kg each. With an average between 300–400 kg (depending on the number of calves) there is 50-70 million tons of them - giving them a much larger weight than goats, which would put them in fifth place in the table below.

The comic references the book [http://vaclavsmil.com/the-earths-biosphere-evolution-dynamics-and-change/ The Earth's Biosphere: Evolution, Dynamics, and Change] by {{W|Vaclav Smil}} as the source for most of the data - although a few other sources has also been used. These other sources are not referenced.

Note that only land dwelling mammals are taken into account - thus no whales. It is not clear as to where, for instance, seals, sea lions and walruses belong - although they could belong to land mammals as they spend a lot of time on land - as opposed to whales.

All other types of animals are not included. For instance, the weight of insects would outweigh us by far. Although not as much as the bacteria mentioned in the title text - they outweigh us thousands to one.

And that is without counting the part of our body weight that consist of bacteria: Several pounds. A fact that most people would properly like to ignore - which is a good reason to mention it here. These pounds are already counted as part of the total human weight.

There has been some speculation about the design of the blocks. They could be seen as resembling a cell, a bacterium. An extra joke in this could be that a little more than thousand blocks representing mammal weight has been used to sketch this bacterium and bacteria outweighs the mammals on this order.

==Table of the block sizes==
*The table below ranks each group of blocks from 1 to 22 according to the size of the group = the number of blocks. The number of blocks represents the weight of the group in millions of tons = billions of kg.
*The comic contains a total of 1256 blocks in three colors representing the 1.256 billion tons of land dwelling mammals.
**358 million tons from humans - dark grey color
**864 million tons from mammalian pets and livestock - light grey color
**34 million tons of wild land dwelling mammals - green color

:Feel free to enter a comment on the groups especially those that are not already identified.

:The population should only be stated (in millions) if it can found through references - the XKCD average weight (in kg) is then given from the number of blocks in the group.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: auto; text-align: center; font-size: 95%; table-layout: fixed; line-height:1.25"
|-
! Rank
! # Blocks
! Type
! Text
!Population (millions)
!Weight (kg)
!Notes/comments
|-
| {{sort|00001|1}}
| {{sort|00520|520}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Cattle
| {{sort|01000|1000}}
| {{sort|00520|520}}
| They only outweigh us by weight (not by numbers), and there has been a stable [http://www.statista.com/statistics/263979/global-cattle-population-since-1990/ population] of about {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|1 billion cattle}} since 2007.
|-
| {{sort|00002|2}}
| {{sort|00358|358}}
| Humans
|
| {{sort|07152|7152}}
| {{sort|00050.1|50.1}}
| According to the U.S. Census Bureau's [http://www.census.gov/popclock/ population counter], there were 7.1516 billion people in the world as of March 4, 2014.
|-
| {{sort|00003|3}}
| {{sort|00135|135}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Sheep
| {{sort|01000|1000}}
| {{sort|00135|135}}
|There are about {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|1 billion sheep}} according to Wikipedia. The {{W|Domestic sheep#Description and evolution|average sheep}} weight of 135 kg seems highly exaggerated as only the rams can weigh more than that.
|-
| {{sort|00004|4}}
| {{sort|00090|90}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Pigs
| {{sort|01500|1000/2100?}}
| {{sort|00065|43/90?}}
| According to Wikipedia, the {{W|Pig#Distribution_and_evolution|population of pigs}} is about {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|1 billion}}. According to the [http://apps.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/psdReport.aspx?hidReportRetrievalName=Swine+Summary+Selected+Countries&hidReportRetrievalID=1649&hidReportRetrievalTemplateID=7 2nd reference] given for this in the wiki article, there are, however, 1.3 billion, and then 0.8 billion more (probably piglets) for a total of 2.1 billion? The piglets will not weigh much, though.
|-
| {{sort|00005|5}}
| {{sort|00039|39}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Goats
| {{sort|00864|864}}
| {{sort|00045|45}}
| The goat population can be estimated as 864 million from {{W|Goat#Worldwide_goat_population_statistics|Wikipedia's goat article}}. According to this list, there are {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|850 million goats}}.
|-
| {{sort|00006|6}}
| {{sort|00029|29}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Horses
| {{sort|00058|58}}
| {{sort|00500|500}}
| According to Wikipedia there is a population of {{W|List of odd-toed ungulates by population|58 million}} horses. Horses can {{W|Horse#Size_and_measurement|weigh from 400-1000 kg}}. There are probably not that many foals compared to adults, relative to (for instance) cattle and pigs.
|-
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| {{sort|00013|13}}
| Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00008|8}}
| {{sort|00010|10}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
| The largest grouping of wild animals, less than 1/50 of the weight of cattle - although representing almost a third of all the wild land mammals.
|-
| {{sort|00009|9}}
| {{sort|00008|8}}
| Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00010|T10}}
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Camel?
| {{sort|00017|17}}
| {{sort|00412|412}}
|Wikipedia lists the number of camels as 17 million. An average weight, based on Wikipedia's numbers for male and female, is about 500 kg. So, including the non-adult camels, an average around 400 kg seems to be a realistic estimate.
|-
| {{sort|00010|T10}}
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00010|T10}}
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00013|13}}
| {{sort|00006|6}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Dogs?
| {{sort|00400|400}}
| {{sort|00015|15}}
|According to Wikipedia, there are 400 million dogs worldwide. Assuming their average weight is 15 kg there should be 6 blocks.
|-
| {{sort|00014|T14}}
| {{sort|00005|5}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Donkeys?
| {{sort|00041|41}}
| {{sort|00122|122}}
| There are roughly 41 million {{w|Donkey#Present status|donkeys}} on Earth, with an average weight of about 125 kg.
|-
| {{sort|00014|T14}}
| {{sort|00005|5}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00016|16}}
| {{sort|00004|4}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00017|T17}}
| {{sort|00003|3}}
| Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00017|T17}}
| {{sort|00003|3}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00019|T19}}
| {{sort|00002|2}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Cats?
| {{sort|00500|500}}
| {{sort|00004|4}}
| According to Wikipedia, there are 500 million domestic cats worldwide, with an average weight of 4.5 kg. So, counting kittens, 4 kg is realistic.
|-
| {{sort|00019|T19}}
| {{sort|00002|2}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00019|T19}}
| {{sort|00002|2}}
| Wild animals
| Rats
| {{sort|04000|4000}}
| {{sort|000005|0.5}}
|A rat in the wild {{W|Rat#Species and description|seldom weighs over 500 g}}. The {{W|World Health Organization}} estimates 4 billion rats (citation needed) and a comparable number of mice. The {{W|House mouse#Characteristics|house mouse}} weighs only about 20 g on average and mice would thus only fill 8 hundredths of a block.
|-
| {{sort|00022|22}}
| {{sort|00001|1}}
| Wild animals
| Elephants
| {{sort|00000.75|0.75}}
| {{sort|01300|1300}}
| The only wild animal to be singled out with text and the heaviest land dwelling animal, elephants only take up one block. According to Wikipedia, the wild population of the {{W|African elephant}} is around 700,000 (down from 1.3 million in the 90s). The population of the {{W|Asian elephant}} is as low as 40 to 50 thousand, for a total of approximately 750,000 individuals. Any animals in the zoo or domesticated Asian elephants should not be counted. As adult African female elephants (who is probably the most abundant) weigh 2-3 tons, the figure of 1.3 tons seems a little low, especially since there is not a lot of calves as elephants have long lifespans. However, even with an average weight of 2 ton, the total weight would only be 1.5 million tons, and could be rounded down to 1 block.
|-
|}

==Transcript==
:'''Earth's LAND MAMMALS by weight'''

:[A block indicating the value of each block:] = 1,000,000 tons

:[Dark gray block:] Humans
:[Light gray block:] Our pets and livestock
:[Green block:] Wild animals

:[The rest of the comic consist of blocks representing the weight of mammals. Some of the blocks are labeled:]
:*Cattle
:*Pigs
:*Goats
:*Sheep
:*Elephants
:*Horses

:Data from Vaclav Smil's ''The Earth's Biosphere: Evolution, Dynamics, and Change'', plus a few other sources.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Charts]]

1338: Land Mammals

2014-10-14T17:43:39Z

HeliumSquid: Corrected "poulation" to "population".

{{comic
| number = 1338
| date = March 5, 2014
| title = Land Mammals
| image = land_mammals.png
| titletext = Bacteria still outweigh us thousands to one--and that's not even counting the several pounds of them in your body.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|The division of animal blocks are clear but only 6 are labeled. Some qualified guesses as to how the other (at least the largest) blocks are divided should be possible... What about the layout of the blocks?}}

This comic is a [[Nerd Sniping|nerd snipe]] from [[Randall]] at his viewers. This explanation tries to figure out the missing parts.

The comic shows the total weight of mankind and all other land mammals. Only a few centuries ago humans, and their pets and livestock, come to occupy such a great proportion of the earth's land mammal mass.

Per the diagram, there are 358 million tons of humans, 864 million tons of pets and livestock, of which 520 million tons comes from cattle, and 34 million tons of wild animals; for a total of 1.3 billion tons.

As of March 2014, the world population was about 7.16 billion people[https://www.census.gov/popclock/ 1] and so the comic assumes an ''average human'' weighs 50 kg: 7.16 billion people × 50 kg = 358 billion kg = 358 million tons. The BMC Public Health 2012 (12:439) article "[http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2458-12-439.pdf The weight of nations: an estimation of adult human biomass]" estimated the average ''adult'' weighed 62.0 kg ([http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2458-12-439.pdf#page=3 Table 3]), but the authors noted that their work "did not estimate the bio-mass in children who comprise a significant proportion of the population in many countries". The 50 kg estimate in this comic includes the 25% or more of the [http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/world-population-gender-age.php worlds population below 15 years of age] making the 12 kg reduction a credible adjustment.

Cattle, in aggregate, are much heavier than the human population, but we do manage to outweigh both sheep and pigs - which may come as a surprise - as these animals probably by far outweigh the population in the countries that produce the main part of the worlds meat from such animals.

It is interesting to note that the world's heaviest land dwelling animal - the elephant - only takes up one square! It is the only type of wild animal to be singled out in the comic.

There are 8 distinct blocks of wild animal (elephants and 7 others). There are 13 distinct blocks of pets and live stock; only the top 5 are labeled - in order of weight they are: Cattle, Sheep, Pigs, Goats and Horses. Dogs would properly also take up a large part - but how detailed are the division of species...?

{{W|Water buffalo|Water buffalos}} seem to be missing completely. According to Wikipedia, there are {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|172 million}} of them with a weight of 300–550 kg each. With an average between 300–400 kg (depending on the number of calves) there is 50-70 million tons of them - giving them a much larger weight than goats, which would put them in fifth place in the table below.

The comic references the book [http://vaclavsmil.com/the-earths-biosphere-evolution-dynamics-and-change/ The Earth's Biosphere: Evolution, Dynamics, and Change] by {{W|Vaclav Smil}} as the source for most of the data - although a few other sources has also been used. These other sources are not referenced.

Note that only land dwelling mammals are taken into account - thus no whales. It is not clear as to where, for instance, seals, sea lions and walruses belong - although they could belong to land mammals as they spend a lot of time on land - as opposed to whales.

All other types of animals are not included. For instance, the weight of insects would outweigh us by far. Although not as much as the bacteria mentioned in the title text - they outweigh us thousands to one.

And that is without counting the part of our body weight that consist of bacteria: Several pounds. A fact that most people would properly like to ignore - which is a good reason to mention it here. These pounds are already counted as part of the total human weight.

There has been some speculation about the design of the blocks. They could be seen as resembling a cell, a bacterium. An extra joke in this could be that a little more than thousand blocks representing mammal weight has been used to sketch this bacterium and bacteria outweighs the mammals on this order.

==Table of the block sizes==
*The table below ranks each group of blocks from 1 to 22 according to the size of the group = the number of blocks. The number of blocks represents the weight of the group in millions of tons = billions of kg.
*The comic contains a total of 1256 blocks in three colors representing the 1.256 billion tons of land dwelling mammals.
**358 million tons from humans - dark grey color
**864 million tons from mammalian pets and livestock - light grey color
**34 million tons of wild land dwelling mammals - green color

:Feel free to enter a comment on the groups especially those that are not already identified.

:The population should only be be stated (in millions) if it can found through references - the XKCD average weight (in kg) is then given from the number of blocks in the group.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: auto; text-align: center; font-size: 95%; table-layout: fixed; line-height:1.25"
|-
! Rank
! # Blocks
! Type
! Text
!Population (millions)
!Weight (kg)
!Notes/comments
|-
| {{sort|00001|1}}
| {{sort|00520|520}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Cattle
| {{sort|01000|1000}}
| {{sort|00520|520}}
| They only outweigh us by weight (not by numbers), and there has been a stable [http://www.statista.com/statistics/263979/global-cattle-population-since-1990/ population] of about {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|1 billion cattle}} since 2007.
|-
| {{sort|00002|2}}
| {{sort|00358|358}}
| Humans
|
| {{sort|07152|7152}}
| {{sort|00050.1|50.1}}
| According to the U.S. Census Bureau's [http://www.census.gov/popclock/ population counter], there were 7.1516 billion people in the world as of March 4, 2014.
|-
| {{sort|00003|3}}
| {{sort|00135|135}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Sheep
| {{sort|01000|1000}}
| {{sort|00135|135}}
|There are about {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|1 billion sheep}} according to Wikipedia. The {{W|Domestic sheep#Description and evolution|average sheep}} weight of 135 kg seems highly exaggerated as only the rams can weigh more than that.
|-
| {{sort|00004|4}}
| {{sort|00090|90}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Pigs
| {{sort|01500|1000/2100?}}
| {{sort|00065|43/90?}}
| According to Wikipedia, the {{W|Pig#Distribution_and_evolution|population of pigs}} is about {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|1 billion}}. According to the [http://apps.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/psdReport.aspx?hidReportRetrievalName=Swine+Summary+Selected+Countries&hidReportRetrievalID=1649&hidReportRetrievalTemplateID=7 2nd reference] given for this in the wiki article, there are, however, 1.3 billion, and then 0.8 billion more (probably piglets) for a total of 2.1 billion? The piglets will not weigh much, though.
|-
| {{sort|00005|5}}
| {{sort|00039|39}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Goats
| {{sort|00864|864}}
| {{sort|00045|45}}
| The goat population can be estimated as 864 million from {{W|Goat#Worldwide_goat_population_statistics|Wikipedia's goat article}}. According to this list, there are {{W|List of even-toed ungulates by population|850 million goats}}.
|-
| {{sort|00006|6}}
| {{sort|00029|29}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Horses
| {{sort|00058|58}}
| {{sort|00500|500}}
| According to Wikipedia there is a population of {{W|List of odd-toed ungulates by population|58 million}} horses. Horses can {{W|Horse#Size_and_measurement|weigh from 400-1000 kg}}. There are probably not that many foals compared to adults, relative to (for instance) cattle and pigs.
|-
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| {{sort|00013|13}}
| Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00008|8}}
| {{sort|00010|10}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
| The largest grouping of wild animals, less than 1/50 of the weight of cattle - although representing almost a third of all the wild land mammals.
|-
| {{sort|00009|9}}
| {{sort|00008|8}}
| Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00010|T10}}
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Camel?
| {{sort|00017|17}}
| {{sort|00412|412}}
|Wikipedia lists the number of camels as 17 million. An average weight, based on Wikipedia's numbers for male and female, is about 500 kg. So, including the non-adult camels, an average around 400 kg seems to be a realistic estimate.
|-
| {{sort|00010|T10}}
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00010|T10}}
| {{sort|00007|7}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00013|13}}
| {{sort|00006|6}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Dogs?
| {{sort|00400|400}}
| {{sort|00015|15}}
|According to Wikipedia, there are 400 million dogs worldwide. Assuming their average weight is 15 kg there should be 6 blocks.
|-
| {{sort|00014|T14}}
| {{sort|00005|5}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Donkeys?
| {{sort|00041|41}}
| {{sort|00122|122}}
| There are roughly 41 million {{w|Donkey#Present status|donkeys}} on Earth, with an average weight of about 125 kg.
|-
| {{sort|00014|T14}}
| {{sort|00005|5}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00016|16}}
| {{sort|00004|4}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00017|T17}}
| {{sort|00003|3}}
| Pets/Livestock
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00017|T17}}
| {{sort|00003|3}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00019|T19}}
| {{sort|00002|2}}
| Pets/Livestock
| Cats?
| {{sort|00500|500}}
| {{sort|00004|4}}
| According to Wikipedia, there are 500 million domestic cats worldwide, with an average weight of 4.5 kg. So, counting kittens, 4 kg is realistic.
|-
| {{sort|00019|T19}}
| {{sort|00002|2}}
| Wild animals
|
|
|
|
|-
| {{sort|00019|T19}}
| {{sort|00002|2}}
| Wild animals
| Rats
| {{sort|04000|4000}}
| {{sort|000005|0.5}}
|A rat in the wild {{W|Rat#Species and description|seldom weighs over 500 g}}. The {{W|World Health Organization}} estimates 4 billion rats (citation needed) and a comparable number of mice. The {{W|House mouse#Characteristics|house mouse}} weighs only about 20 g on average and mice would thus only fill 8 hundredths of a block.
|-
| {{sort|00022|22}}
| {{sort|00001|1}}
| Wild animals
| Elephants
| {{sort|00000.75|0.75}}
| {{sort|01300|1300}}
| The only wild animal to be singled out with text and the heaviest land dwelling animal, elephants only take up one block. According to Wikipedia, the wild population of the {{W|African elephant}} is around 700,000 (down from 1.3 million in the 90s). The population of the {{W|Asian elephant}} is as low as 40 to 50 thousand, for a total of approximately 750,000 individuals. Any animals in the zoo or domesticated Asian elephants should not be counted. As adult African female elephants (who is probably the most abundant) weigh 2-3 tons, the figure of 1.3 tons seems a little low, especially since there is not a lot of calves as elephants have long lifespans. However, even with an average weight of 2 ton, the total weight would only be 1.5 million tons, and could be rounded down to 1 block.
|-
|}

==Transcript==
:'''Earth's LAND MAMMALS by weight'''

:[A block indicating the value of each block:] = 1,000,000 tons

:[Dark gray block:] Humans
:[Light gray block:] Our pets and livestock
:[Green block:] Wild animals

:[The rest of the comic consist of blocks representing the weight of mammals. Some of the blocks are labeled:]
:*Cattle
:*Pigs
:*Goats
:*Sheep
:*Elephants
:*Horses

:Data from Vaclav Smil's ''The Earth's Biosphere: Evolution, Dynamics, and Change'', plus a few other sources.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Charts]]

155: Search History

2014-10-14T17:38:25Z

HeliumSquid: Added a wiki article.

{{comic
| number = 155
| date = September 11, 2006
| title = Search History
| image = search_history.png
| titletext = SomethingAwful has a wonderful compilation of crazy AOL searches in their Weekend Web archives, 2006-08-13.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic references the {{w|AOL search data leak}}, where users had potentially identifying and embarrassing search histories published. Randall thus publishes his own potentially embarrassing searches. All of his search relate to his fear of dinosaurs as a consequence of Jurassic Park. The search "{{w|Utahraptor}}" may be a reference to Dinosaur Comics, which XKCD has parodied in comic 145.

The title text refers to a document posted on a humor site: [http://www.somethingawful.com/d/weekend-web/aol-search-log.php link (part 1)] [http://www.somethingawful.com/d/weekend-web/aol-search-log-2.php link (part 2)], [http://www.somethingawful.com/d/weekend-web/aol-search-log-3.php link (part 3]).

==Transcript==
:Cueball: In solidarity with the many AOL users whose often embarrassing web searches were released to the public, I offer a sample of my own search history:
:[There is a screencap of Google's front page with the following entries suggested for autocompletion in the search box:
:velociraptors
:site:imdb.com "jurassic park"
:raptors
:dromaeosaurids
:utahraptor
:"home depot" deadbolts
:security home improvement
:surviving a raptor attack
:robert bakker paleontologist
:robert bakker "possible raptor sympathizer"
:site:en.wikipedia.org surviving a raptor attack
:learning from mistakes in jurassic park
:big-game rifles
:tire irons
:treating raptor wounds
:do raptors fear fire
:how to make a molotov cocktail
:do raptors fear death
:can raptors pick locks
:how to tell if my neighbors are raptors.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Google Search]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

460: Paleontology

2014-10-14T17:36:45Z

HeliumSquid: Added a picture of an Acrocanthosaurus.

{{comic
| number = 460
| date = August 8, 2008
| title = Paleontology
| image = paleontology.png
| titletext = Dinosaurs totally jumped the ichthyosaur when they got rid of Brontosaurus.
}}
[[File:Acrocanthosaurus_skeleton_(1).jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.5|alt=Remains of an {{w|Acrocanthosaurus}}.]]
==Explanation==
This comic is essentially a set up for a pun: "Underground" can mean "under the ground" (buried in the dirt) or "non-mainstream." In this case, [[Ponytail]] is whining that she had been doing paleontology before {{w|Jurassic Park}} kicked paleontology into the mainstream with living reproductions of dinosaurs, thus apparently undermining the hard work paleontologists had done. In other words, this comic is also poking fun at hipsters.

Of note is the fact that {{w|Acrocanthosaurus}} is misspelled in the third panel as "'''arco'''canthosaur." Assuming this isn't merely a spelling mistake on [[Randall]]'s part, Ponytail's incorrect pronunciation further undermines her self-proclaimed superiority over all the Jurassic Park-inspired "bandwagon" paleontologists.

The title text refers to both the phenomenon called '{{w|jumping the shark}}' and the controversy having the ''Brontosaurus'''s scientific name changed to ''{{w|Apatosaurus}},'' despite that ''Brontosaurus'' had already made a name for itself in the mainstream. [[636: Brontosaurus]] also references the ''Brontosaurus'' name change. An ''Apatosaurus'' also appears in [[15: Just Alerting You]], and [[650: Nowhere]]. {{w|Ichthyosaur}}s are marine reptiles with bodies resembling sharks or dolphins, which lived alongside dinosaurs during the {{w|Mesozoic}} era.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Ponytail in a museum, near a reconstructed dinosaur fossil.]
:Ponytail: Man, paleontology sucks these days.
:Cueball: Why?
:Ponytail: Jurassic Park came out 15 years ago.
:Cueball: So?
:Ponytail: Today's grad students got into dinosaurs after seeing it as kids. They don't care about fossils. Brats.
:[A woman in a hat exploring a barren landscape.]
:Ponytail: Before they had living dinosaurs handed to them by Hollywood, I was out in Texas digging up Arcocanthosaur teeth.
:Cueball: So, you were into dinosaurs when they were still underground?
:Ponytail: Exactly!

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Apatosaurus]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]

636: Brontosaurus

2014-10-14T17:34:47Z

HeliumSquid:

{{comic
| number = 636
| date = September 14, 2009
| title = Brontosaurus
| image = brontosaurus.png
| titletext = Well, sex is like a velociraptor: despite your movie-fueled lifelong neurotic obsession, unlikely to be found in your house.
}}
[[File:Louisae.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.5|alt=Remains of an {{w|Apatosaurus}}.]]
==Explanation==
[[Megan]] describes her relationship to [[Cueball]] with the simile "our love is like a turtle," a comparison often made when referring to a shy and slowly developing yet steady sort of romance. However, Cueball thinks the {{w|Brontosaurus}} the better impersonation. His explanation refers to the fact that remains of {{w|Apatosaurus}} were by mistake believed to be a different species which the paleontologist {{w|Othniel Charles Marsh|O.C. Marsh}} named ''Brontosaurus''. It was later discovered that the two species should be classified as one, with the older name prevailing according to convention [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apatosaurus#Classification_and_species]. The term Brontosaurus is therefore a scientific redundancy.

Applied to the scenario in the comic, Cueball apparently considers the relationship without any emotional foundation and only continues it out of nostalgic motives. This conclusion counteracts the initial romantic tone adopted by the turtle simile, as comparing a romance with a falsely classified fossil is one of the least charming statements imaginable.

The title text aims at [[Randall|Randall's]] well-known enthusiasm for {{w|Velociraptors}}. Megan retorts by comparing any future sex between the two of them to be as likely as finding a velociraptor in his house.

Randall has previously mentioned the Brontosaurus name change in [[460: Paleontology]]. The Apatosaurus also appears in [[15: Just Alerting You]] and [[650: Nowhere]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are sitting at a bench. Megan is holding a turtle.]
:Megan: Our love is like a turtle.

:[Megan sets down the turtle and turns to Cueball. They hold hands.]
:Megan: Humble and simple, enduring by virtue of perfect design.

:Cueball: Our love is like a brontosaurus.

:Cueball: Recognized as a mistaken combination long ago, lingering only out of misplaced affection for an imagined past.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Apatosaurus]]

650: Nowhere

2014-10-14T17:34:19Z

HeliumSquid: Edited image.

{{comic
| number = 650
| date = October 16, 2009
| title = Nowhere
| image = nowhere.png
| titletext = I mean, seriously, NOWHERE? For starters, there are like a thousand species of dinosaur.
}}
[[File:Apatosaurus scale mmartyniuk wiki.png|thumb|right|upright=1.5|Comparison of three species of Apatosaurus and a human: ''A. louisae'' (red), ''A. excelsus'' (violet), and ''A. ajax'' (green)]]
==Explanation==
The phrase used by [[Cueball]] in the first panel is the sort of thing that many people say to their significant other, suggesting that they are so happy together that there is nowhere else anywhere that they would rather be in. [[Megan]], however, takes the saying literally and imagines herself riding a dinosaur suggesting that she would rather be doing just that. This, and the title text are saying that the likelihood that out of all the possibilities in the universe, the chances that the one single place you would most want to be is just sitting with your significant other is fairly low.

Seriously though, who wouldn't want to ride an Apatosaurus if given the chance?

Megan previously rode an Apatosaurus in [[15: Just Alerting You]]. An Apatosaurus also appears in [[460: Paleontology]] and [[636: Brontosaurus]].

==Transcript==
:Cueball: There's nowhere I'd rather be
:Cueball: than with you
:Cueball: here
:Cueball: right now.

:[Silence.]

:[Megan is imagining herself riding an apatosaurus.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Apatosaurus]]

636: Brontosaurus

2014-10-14T17:28:06Z

HeliumSquid: Replaced the image.

{{comic
| number = 636
| date = September 14, 2009
| title = Brontosaurus
| image = brontosaurus.png
| titletext = Well, sex is like a velociraptor: despite your movie-fueled lifelong neurotic obsession, unlikely to be found in your house.
}}
[[File:Louisae.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Remains of an {{w|Apatosaurus}}.]]
==Explanation==
[[Megan]] describes her relationship to [[Cueball]] with the simile "our love is like a turtle," a comparison often made when referring to a shy and slowly developing yet steady sort of romance. However, Cueball thinks the {{w|Brontosaurus}} the better impersonation. His explanation refers to the fact that remains of {{w|Apatosaurus}} were by mistake believed to be a different species which the paleontologist {{w|Othniel Charles Marsh|O.C. Marsh}} named ''Brontosaurus''. It was later discovered that the two species should be classified as one, with the older name prevailing according to convention [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apatosaurus#Classification_and_species]. The term Brontosaurus is therefore a scientific redundancy.

Applied to the scenario in the comic, Cueball apparently considers the relationship without any emotional foundation and only continues it out of nostalgic motives. This conclusion counteracts the initial romantic tone adopted by the turtle simile, as comparing a romance with a falsely classified fossil is one of the least charming statements imaginable.

The title text aims at [[Randall|Randall's]] well-known enthusiasm for {{w|Velociraptors}}. Megan retorts by comparing any future sex between the two of them to be as likely as finding a velociraptor in his house.

Randall has previously mentioned the Brontosaurus name change in [[460: Paleontology]]. The Apatosaurus also appears in [[15: Just Alerting You]] and [[650: Nowhere]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are sitting at a bench. Megan is holding a turtle.]
:Megan: Our love is like a turtle.

:[Megan sets down the turtle and turns to Cueball. They hold hands.]
:Megan: Humble and simple, enduring by virtue of perfect design.

:Cueball: Our love is like a brontosaurus.

:Cueball: Recognized as a mistaken combination long ago, lingering only out of misplaced affection for an imagined past.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Apatosaurus]]

636: Brontosaurus

2014-10-14T17:26:21Z

HeliumSquid: Added a picture of an Apatosaurus.

{{comic
| number = 636
| date = September 14, 2009
| title = Brontosaurus
| image = brontosaurus.png
| titletext = Well, sex is like a velociraptor: despite your movie-fueled lifelong neurotic obsession, unlikely to be found in your house.
}}

[[File:Louisae.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Remains of an {{w|Apatosaurus}}.]]
==Explanation==
[[Megan]] describes her relationship to [[Cueball]] with the simile "our love is like a turtle," a comparison often made when referring to a shy and slowly developing yet steady sort of romance. However, Cueball thinks the {{w|Brontosaurus}} the better impersonation. His explanation refers to the fact that remains of {{w|Apatosaurus}} were by mistake believed to be a different species which the paleontologist {{w|Othniel Charles Marsh|O.C. Marsh}} named ''Brontosaurus''. It was later discovered that the two species should be classified as one, with the older name prevailing according to convention [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apatosaurus#Classification_and_species]. The term Brontosaurus is therefore a scientific redundancy.

Applied to the scenario in the comic, Cueball apparently considers the relationship without any emotional foundation and only continues it out of nostalgic motives. This conclusion counteracts the initial romantic tone adopted by the turtle simile, as comparing a romance with a falsely classified fossil is one of the least charming statements imaginable.

The title text aims at [[Randall|Randall's]] well-known enthusiasm for {{w|Velociraptors}}. Megan retorts by comparing any future sex between the two of them to be as likely as finding a velociraptor in his house.

Randall has previously mentioned the Brontosaurus name change in [[460: Paleontology]]. The Apatosaurus also appears in [[15: Just Alerting You]] and [[650: Nowhere]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are sitting at a bench. Megan is holding a turtle.]
:Megan: Our love is like a turtle.

:[Megan sets down the turtle and turns to Cueball. They hold hands.]
:Megan: Humble and simple, enduring by virtue of perfect design.

:Cueball: Our love is like a brontosaurus.

:Cueball: Recognized as a mistaken combination long ago, lingering only out of misplaced affection for an imagined past.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Apatosaurus]]

636: Brontosaurus

2014-10-14T17:23:30Z

HeliumSquid: Added a link to a wiki article.

{{comic
| number = 636
| date = September 14, 2009
| title = Brontosaurus
| image = brontosaurus.png
| titletext = Well, sex is like a velociraptor: despite your movie-fueled lifelong neurotic obsession, unlikely to be found in your house.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Megan]] describes her relationship to [[Cueball]] with the simile "our love is like a turtle," a comparison often made when referring to a shy and slowly developing yet steady sort of romance. However, Cueball thinks the {{w|Brontosaurus}} the better impersonation. His explanation refers to the fact that remains of {{w|Apatosaurus}} were by mistake believed to be a different species which the paleontologist {{w|Othniel Charles Marsh|O.C. Marsh}} named ''Brontosaurus''. It was later discovered that the two species should be classified as one, with the older name prevailing according to convention [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apatosaurus#Classification_and_species]. The term Brontosaurus is therefore a scientific redundancy.

Applied to the scenario in the comic, Cueball apparently considers the relationship without any emotional foundation and only continues it out of nostalgic motives. This conclusion counteracts the initial romantic tone adopted by the turtle simile, as comparing a romance with a falsely classified fossil is one of the least charming statements imaginable.

The title text aims at [[Randall|Randall's]] well-known enthusiasm for {{w|Velociraptors}}. Megan retorts by comparing any future sex between the two of them to be as likely as finding a velociraptor in his house.

Randall has previously mentioned the Brontosaurus name change in [[460: Paleontology]]. The Apatosaurus also appears in [[15: Just Alerting You]] and [[650: Nowhere]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are sitting at a bench. Megan is holding a turtle.]
:Megan: Our love is like a turtle.

:[Megan sets down the turtle and turns to Cueball. They hold hands.]
:Megan: Humble and simple, enduring by virtue of perfect design.

:Cueball: Our love is like a brontosaurus.

:Cueball: Recognized as a mistaken combination long ago, lingering only out of misplaced affection for an imagined past.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Apatosaurus]]

1104: Feathers

2014-10-14T17:12:23Z

HeliumSquid: Secretarybird

{{comic
| number = 1104
| date = September 05, 2012
| title = Feathers
| image = feathers.png
| titletext = Click to see a video of a modern bird using stability flapping during predatory behavior. It all fits! Also, apparently Microraptor had *four* wings? The past keeps getting cooler! (And there's more of it every day!)
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Dinosaur}}s have been a fascinating topic in popular science and have captivated children's interest since the first fossils were discovered in modern times, around the 1700s. Prior discoveries in China were thought to be dragon bones. The success of the ''{{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park}}'' movies perpetuated an erroneous understanding of the physical characteristics of dinosaurs. Since the first movie of that series, scientific evidence has emerged suggesting that {{w|Dromaeosauridae}}, or "raptors", the main antagonists of that movie, looked quite different from their animatronic and CGI versions. In particular, they are now known to have been much smaller, and are believed to have had feathers and even wings, as evidenced by quill nobs observed on the arms of raptors.

[[File:Deinonychus (Raptor Prey Restraint).jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Artist's impression of a "raptor prey restraint" as suggested by Fowler et al. (2011), and described by the child in the comic. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
[http://denverfowler.com/ Denver W. Fowler] is among the scientists who support this hypothesis. (incidentally, a "{{w|Fowler}}" is a hunter of wildfowl/birds) The comic refers to [http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0028964 a publication by him and his colleagues] ("{{Wiktionary|et al.}}"), in the ''{{w|PLoS ONE}}'', an online scientific journal ("PLoS" stands for "Public Library of Science").

[[Megan]] believes this new model of the appearance of raptors makes them much less cool, but the way in which the child reformulates the facts to make them seem like even more vicious predators re-ignites her interest and makes the new raptors seem like even better candidates for a good action thriller movie than the original version. Thus the phrase "the past keeps getting cooler".

Clicking on the original cartoon links to [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qpdk-U8fI0 a YouTube video] of a bird of prey (in this case a {{w|Secretarybird}}) using its wings for stability while standing on top of a struggling prey, from which one can easily envision instead a raptor upon its prey — especially in case of some kind of "raptorphobia", as for [[Randall]] (see comics [[87: Velociraptors|#87]] and [[135: Substitute|#135]]). {{w|Microraptor}} was a small raptor with four wings, which lets you imagine even scarier scenes.

==Transcript==
:[Megan is walking up to a child who has a stack of books and is reading one of them on the floor.]
:Megan: What are you reading about?
:Child: Dinosaurs!
:Megan: Oh, yeah.

:Megan: They've gotten all weird since when I was a kid.
:Megan: They used to be awesome, but now they all have dorky feathers, right?
:Child: Yup!

:Child: This says they now think raptors used their wings for stability, flapping to stay on top of their prey while hanging on with their hooked claws and eating it alive.
:Footnote: *Fowler et al., PLoS ONE 6(12), 2011

:[Megan stands staring at the child.]

:[Megan is now on the floor flipping through another book from the pile.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]

758: Raptor Fences

2014-10-14T17:05:48Z

HeliumSquid: Edited the placement of the pictures.

{{comic
| number = 758
| date = June 25, 2010
| title = Raptor Fences
| image = raptor_fences.png
| titletext = If at least one person has a nightmare about being swarmed by hundreds of mouse-sized dromaeosaurids, my work will have been done.
}}
[[File:Vraptor-scale.png|thumb|upright=1.5| Velociraptors were only about 50 centimeters in height. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
[[File:Velociraptor_dinoguy2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Artist's impression of a feathered velociraptor (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
In the film ''{{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park}},'' the protagonists are menaced (some fatally) by carnivorous dinosaurs, including very large {{w|Velociraptor|velociraptors}}, which are a genus of {{w|dromaeosaurid}}. In this film the dinosaurs had been recreated via the sampling of ancient DNA recovered, primarily, from the stomachs of mosquitoes trapped in amber (fossilized tree sap).

Cueball is holding a lit cigarette, recalling the role of chain-smoking John "Ray" Arnold, the Chief Engineer of Jurassic Park, played by {{w|Samuel L. Jackson}}. He is reporting that the (veloci)raptors have escaped from their enclosure, but nobody seems overly concerned by this; they do not represent a danger. Apparently, the fear of being hunted by dinosaurs is greatly reduced if they have been genetically engineered to be small enough to gather up with a brush and dustpan.

Note that while growth is dependent on genes, it is extremely unlikely that any kind of genetic manipulation could reduce an animal in size by the factor of approximately 10,000 that is implied here. But perhaps, no less unlikely than being able to recreate the dinosaurs at all in the first place. People seem ready to ascribe almost limitless powers to DNA and genetic engineering, but there are many practical constraints.

In reality, velociraptors were only about 50 centimeters in height. It is also believed that they were covered in feathers. Together, these factors would render them less than terrifying. However, velociraptors as represented in Jurassic Park is the image that has persisted.

The title text suggests that even very small dinosaurs could be terrifying to some, if they imagined a huge number of them. The author would be pleased if this was the case.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball checks a computer terminal while a friend is running off in the opposite direction.]
:Cueball: The raptor fences are down. They're loose.
:Friend: I'll get a broom and dustpan.

:Jurassic Park got a lot less scary when the researchers discovered they could activate the gene for extreme dwarfism.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Jurassic Park]]

758: Raptor Fences

2014-10-14T17:04:37Z

HeliumSquid: Added pictures.

{{comic
| number = 758
| date = June 25, 2010
| title = Raptor Fences
| image = raptor_fences.png
| titletext = If at least one person has a nightmare about being swarmed by hundreds of mouse-sized dromaeosaurids, my work will have been done.
}}

==Explanation==
In the film ''{{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park}},'' the protagonists are menaced (some fatally) by carnivorous dinosaurs, including very large {{w|Velociraptor|velociraptors}}, which are a genus of {{w|dromaeosaurid}}. In this film the dinosaurs had been recreated via the sampling of ancient DNA recovered, primarily, from the stomachs of mosquitoes trapped in amber (fossilized tree sap).

Cueball is holding a lit cigarette, recalling the role of chain-smoking John "Ray" Arnold, the Chief Engineer of Jurassic Park, played by {{w|Samuel L. Jackson}}. He is reporting that the (veloci)raptors have escaped from their enclosure, but nobody seems overly concerned by this; they do not represent a danger. Apparently, the fear of being hunted by dinosaurs is greatly reduced if they have been genetically engineered to be small enough to gather up with a brush and dustpan.

Note that while growth is dependent on genes, it is extremely unlikely that any kind of genetic manipulation could reduce an animal in size by the factor of approximately 10,000 that is implied here. But perhaps, no less unlikely than being able to recreate the dinosaurs at all in the first place. People seem ready to ascribe almost limitless powers to DNA and genetic engineering, but there are many practical constraints.

[[File:Vraptor-scale.png|thumb|upright=1.5| Velociraptors were only about 50 centimeters in height. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
In reality, velociraptors were only about 50 centimeters in height. It is also believed that they were covered in feathers. Together, these factors would render them less than terrifying. However, velociraptors as represented in Jurassic Park is the image that has persisted.
[[File:Velociraptor_dinoguy2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Artist's impression of a feathered velociraptor (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
The title text suggests that even very small dinosaurs could be terrifying to some, if they imagined a huge number of them. The author would be pleased if this was the case.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball checks a computer terminal while a friend is running off in the opposite direction.]
:Cueball: The raptor fences are down. They're loose.
:Friend: I'll get a broom and dustpan.

:Jurassic Park got a lot less scary when the researchers discovered they could activate the gene for extreme dwarfism.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Jurassic Park]]

758: Raptor Fences

2014-10-14T16:47:17Z

HeliumSquid: Added the fact that velociraptors are a genus of dromaeosaurid.

{{comic
| number = 758
| date = June 25, 2010
| title = Raptor Fences
| image = raptor_fences.png
| titletext = If at least one person has a nightmare about being swarmed by hundreds of mouse-sized dromaeosaurids, my work will have been done.
}}

==Explanation==
In the film ''{{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park}},'' the protagonists are menaced (some fatally) by carnivorous dinosaurs, including very large {{w|Velociraptor|velociraptors}}, which are a genus of {{w|dromaeosaurid}}. In this film the dinosaurs had been recreated via the sampling of ancient DNA recovered, primarily, from the stomachs of mosquitoes trapped in amber (fossilized tree sap).

Cueball is holding a lit cigarette, recalling the role of chain-smoking John "Ray" Arnold, the Chief Engineer of Jurassic Park, played by {{w|Samuel L. Jackson}}. He is reporting that the (veloci)raptors have escaped from their enclosure, but nobody seems overly concerned by this; they do not represent a danger. Apparently, the fear of being hunted by dinosaurs is greatly reduced if they have been genetically engineered to be small enough to gather up with a brush and dustpan.

Note that while growth is dependent on genes, it is extremely unlikely that any kind of genetic manipulation could reduce an animal in size by the factor of approximately 10,000 that is implied here. But perhaps, no less unlikely than being able to recreate the dinosaurs at all in the first place. People seem ready to ascribe almost limitless powers to DNA and genetic engineering, but there are many practical constraints.

In reality, velociraptors were only about 50 centimeters in height [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Vraptor-scale.png]. It is also believed that they were covered in feathers. Together, these factors would render them less than terrifying. However, velociraptors as represented in Jurassic Park is the image that has persisted.

The title text suggests that even very small dinosaurs could be terrifying to some, if they imagined a huge number of them. The author would be pleased if this was the case.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball checks a computer terminal while a friend is running off in the opposite direction.]
:Cueball: The raptor fences are down. They're loose.
:Friend: I'll get a broom and dustpan.

:Jurassic Park got a lot less scary when the researchers discovered they could activate the gene for extreme dwarfism.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Jurassic Park]]