explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:3195: International Station

2026-01-17T07:17:22Z

Inexplicable: Add comment.

Holy refresh pull exclamation mark! tilde tilde tilde tilde --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]]''''' 14:55, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

Should the "not-earth" "space" be changed to something like "the void between astronomical bodies"? I'm not sure if, say, the surface of the Moon or Mars or {{w|A Taste of Armageddon|Eminiar VII}} count as being "in space". [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 15:27, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

I initially interpreted the cartoon as showing the people and objects floating within something gloopy, and the wrench as a bone, and that the joke was about an "internal space station". Here we are, inside a gelatinous cube, or possibly a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Immunity_Syndrome_(Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series) gigantic space amoeba]... [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 15:43, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

'''New Category: Weightless''' There are a few strips that take place demonstrating micro-gravity, right? Is that worthy of a category? The 'space' tag could be used for comics ''about'' space or comics ''in'' space (or, I guess, comics on planets?). [[Special:Contributions/191.101.157.82|191.101.157.82]] 17:08, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

I think the ISS was originally called start quote Alpha end quote period tilde tilde tilde tilde [[Special:Contributions/134.173.108.120|134.173.108.120]] 18:23, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

I'm early! [[Special:Contributions/2603:7083:8700:E02:FE51:837E:B6F:327|2603:7083:8700:E02:FE51:837E:B6F:327]] 18:24, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

It took me a moment to get it, but when I did this xkcd made me capitals LOL which doesn't happen often [[Special:Contributions/2401:D005:D402:7A00:7FE1:F042:B839:91B8|2401:D005:D402:7A00:7FE1:F042:B839:91B8]] 21:23, 16 January 2026 (UTC)
:You forgot tilde tilde tilde tilde tilde tilde tilde tilde --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]]''''' 21:31, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

At least it's not the International Ampersand En Bee Ess Pee Semicolon Station ellipsis tilde tilde tilde tilde [[Special:Contributions/174.142.148.226|174.142.148.226]] 21:42, 16 January 2026 (UTC)
::Speaking of Ampersand Aa Em Pee Semicolon, that's a real life example of this effect actually happening. It was at the end of the alphabet where they would say "X, Y, Z, and, per sé, 'and'". Tilde tilde tilde tilde. Not sure if that is relevant enough to the comic though. [[User:Tharkon|Tharkon]] ([[User talk:Tharkon|talk]]) 02:26, 17 January 2026 (UTC)

Dear Bot, don't get this Irishperson started on apostrophes. [[Special:Contributions/205.175.118.102|205.175.118.102]] 22:57, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

From John Littlewood's "A Mathematician's Miscellany": A minute I wrote (about 1917) for the Ballistic Office ended with the sentence 'Thus a should be made as small as possible'. This did not appear in the printed minute. But P. J. Grigg said, 'what is that?' A speck in a blank space at the end proved to be the tiniest a I have ever seen (the printers must have scoured London for it).[[User:Lordpishky|Lord Pishky]] ([[User talk:Lordpishky|talk]]) 03:59, 17 January 2026 (UTC)

International Space Space Space Station? [[User:Inexplicable|Inexplicable]] ([[User talk:Inexplicable|talk]]) 07:17, 17 January 2026 (UTC)

409: Electric Skateboard (Double Comic)

2025-08-27T10:50:58Z

Inexplicable: /* Explanation */ like --> such as

{{comic
| number = 409
| date = April 11, 2008
| title = Electric Skateboard (Double Comic)
| image = electric_skateboard_double_comic.png
| titletext = Unsafe vehicles, hills, and philosophy go hand in hand.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is an affectionate parody of ''{{w|Calvin and Hobbes}}'', a newspaper comic drawn by {{w|Bill Watterson}} that ran for ten years from November 1985 to December 1995. Calvin and Hobbes follows the daily life of a rambunctious, precocious six-year-old named Calvin and his sarcastic stuffed tiger Hobbes. The artwork in the second strip is distinctly Wattersonian as well. This comic could be referencing the typical {{w|Comic strip formats#Variation|Sunday strip format}} of having a top line of "throwaway panels" that had a one-off gag before the rest of the strip, which was more detailed. This was an effect of Sunday strip formatting in newspapers, where individual newspaper often lopped off the top one-third of the comic to save space. Thus, strip creators had to use the top panels on throwaway gags or else the readers of a space-saving newspaper would be missing key parts of the strip.

Calvin and Hobbes is also referenced in [[529|529: Sledding Discussion]].

[[Randall]] has a special fascination with {{w|Electric skateboard|motorized skateboards}}. A {{w|Longboard (skateboard)|longboard}} is a skateboard that is longer, used for downhill races, and skating through less urban areas (college campuses, for example).

''{{w|Mario Kart}}'' is a game series for {{w|Nintendo}} game consoles that allows four players to race each other while having good spirited fun like at [[290: Fucking Blue Shells]] while throwing items at each other. The objects in the fourth panel are Koopa shells, items in the game. They can be thrown like projectiles to crash into foes: green in a straight line, red homing onto the racer directly in front. They also come in single and triple varieties. In ''Mario Kart: Double Dash!!'', two racers occupy the same vehicle, with each possessing their own item slot (in contrast with most games in the series, in which a single vehicle can only have a single item ready, and must use it to obtain another). This is reflected in the drawing of Cueball and Megan together on the electric longboard, with Megan using a Red Shell and Cueball holding the triple Green Shells.

Calvin and Hobbes frequently involves heavy philosophical discussions. In one recurring theme, they ride down a dangerous hill in a red wagon or toboggan while discussing the nature of morality, usually ending in a crash (examples [http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2013/04/21] [http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2012/05/20] [http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1987/01/11]). This comic inverts that by having [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] go uphill while discussing philosophy. Naturally, they collide with Calvin and Hobbes' wagon - which prompts the title text.

Cueball uses the {{w|C (programming language)|C}} and {{w|Python (programming language)|Python}} programming languages as analogies for their ride. In general, Python is easier than C and abstracts a lot of C's hairier features ("boring parts," as Randall calls them). Moving from C to Python is quite a [[353|freeing experience]]; programmers no longer have to worry about pointers and memory allocation, and it just lets the code flow through the programmer until they are one with the Force. Erm, computer. Although, it seems that - before the crash - the idea that programming in C (and skating without electricity) building character is about to be explored philosophically (building character is also a recurring theme in Calvin and Hobbes, as documented delightfully in the [http://www.calvinandhobbes.wikia.com/wiki/Building_character Calvin and Hobbes wiki]).

Electric skateboards have been the subject of several other comics such as [[139: I Have Owned Two Electric Skateboards]], a panel in [[442: xkcd Loves the Discovery Channel]], and the entire [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:The_Race The Race] five part comic series.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball showing off electric skateboard to Megan reading something.]
:Cueball: Check it out! An electric longboard!
:Megan: Sweet!

:[Cueball riding longboard with Megan sitting onboard — people in background.]
:Longboard: ''RRRR''

:[Megan turned around on longboard.]
:Megan: I feel like we're missing something...
:Cueball: Yeah...

:[Cueball holding 3 green Koopa Troopa shells; Megan throwing 1 red Koopa Troopa shell - like Mario Kart.]
:''Music Playing''
:Longboard: ''RRRR''

:[Cueball and Megan still on longboard, going up an incline.]
:Cueball: Skating uphill like this is amazing. Years of gliding downhill and pushing uphill, and now suddenly it's gliding both ways.
:Longboard: ''RRRRRRR''

:[Cueball and Megan after passing an S-curve and boulder.]
:Cueball: It's like going from C to Python. You don't realize how much time you were spending on the boring parts until you don't have to do them anymore.
:Megan: But coding C or assembly makes you a better programmer. Maybe the boring parts build character.

:[Cueball and Megan on longboard.]
:Cueball: Yeah... but it depends how you want to spend your life. See, my philosophy is-
:[Longboard gets into an accident.]
:'''WHAM'''

:[Calvin and Hobbes lying down in the grass near Cueball and Megan lying down in the grass - Calvin and Hobbes's wagon is on the path, as is the longboard - all characters seeing stars.]
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Electric skateboard]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Calvin and Hobbes]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Mario Kart]]

665: Prudence

2025-05-03T15:59:28Z

Inexplicable: /* Explanation */ comics --> comic's

{{comic
| number = 665
| date = November 20, 2009
| title = Prudence
| image = prudence.png
| titletext = Moments later, the White Witch rolls up and, confused, tries to tempt the probe with a firmware upgrade.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic references the fantasy novel series ''{{w|The Chronicles of Narnia}}'' by {{w|C. S. Lewis}}. In the first published book (second chronologically), ''{{w|The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe}}'', Lucy discovers the fictional world of Narnia which can be accessed through a wardrobe, and she walks into it without ever considering the risks. Her three older siblings do not believe her, so she travels back alone again. But this second time her brother Edmund follows her, and he is seduced by the White Witch in order for her to be able to kill him and his three siblings (see title text explanation below). Thus proving that it was a rather dangerous move to just walk into the wardrobe.

The comic mocks the imprudent behavior shown by the protagonist Lucy of the novel, who enters the world of Narnia without knowing anything about its dangers. In the comic, Lucy (drawn as a child version of [[Megan]], clearly not adult as she only just reaches the wardrobes handles with her head), discovers the magical wardrobe while playing {{w|hide-and-seek}}, like in the book. Unlike in the original book, Lucy does not precipitately set foot into Narnia. Instead, she fetches her technical equipment and sends a remote-controlled probe through the wardrobe door in order to sound the situation first.

The probe encounters {{w|Mr. Tumnus}} the faun with his umbrella at a lamppost in a snowy wood on the last panel. This picture is the first impression of Narnia in the novels and was apparently Lewis' original idea for the series.

The probe is clearly modeled after Mars rovers such as Spirit and Opportunity, which [[Randall]] depicted for the first time only a few comics later in [[681: Gravity Wells]] and then in [[695: Spirit]]. The probe looks even more like the one in [[1504: Opportunity]]. This also explains the title of the comic, as it is the name of Lucy's probe. The naming scheme is similar to the two probes mentioned above that were already on Mars at the time of this comic's release. And even more so like the upcoming {{w|Curiosity_(rover)|Curiosity rover}} which was first launched two years after this comic, but had {{w|Curiosity_(rover)#The_name:_Curiosity|been named}} earlier in the year this comic was released. Lucy was ''curious'' in the first Narnia book, but in this comic she is ''[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/prudent prudent]''.

The {{w|White Witch}} mentioned in the title text is the main antagonist in the novel. She originally lures Edmund with a hot drink and magical {{w|Turkish delight}} after her sleigh passes right by him. In the scenario mentioned in the title text, she is confused when she rolls up to the rover and then tries to tempt the probe with a firmware update accordingly.

The procedure of sending a probe first through a portal has also been used in the early {{w|Stargate}} episodes. This draws a parallel between the wardrobe in Narnia and the Stargate, both connecting two distant worlds. The stargate probe can be seen [http://stargate.wikia.com/wiki/Mobile_Analytic_Laboratory_Probe here].

Megan (or Lucy) also takes a scientific approach to Narnia in one of the comics of [[821: Five-Minute Comics: Part 3]]. In that comic she uses the different passage of time in Narnia to her advantage (it usually runs much faster than on Earth). That effect would have been a problem with controlling the rover in this comic.

==Transcript==
:[A small girl, with hair like Megan, is running towards a closed wardrobe.]
:Voice (off-panel): Everyone hide! 99... 98... 97...

:[The girl opens one of the two doors on the wardrobe.]
:Wardrobe: click

:[The girl is looking inside the wardrobe through the fully opened door.]
:Girl: !!!

:[The girl puts a hand to her chin.]

:[The girl walks away.]

:[The girl returns with an armful of electronics including lots of wires and a rover with wheels.]

:[The girl is kneeling, typing on a laptop, which has a cord extending into the wardrobe.]

:[In a forest with many tall leafless trees the Mars rover is approaching a lamppost with a lit candle. Behind it stands a faun with horns, goatee beard and hooves holding an umbrella.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Chronicles of Narnia]]
[[Category:Mars rovers]]

665: Prudence

2025-05-03T15:58:44Z

Inexplicable: /* Explanation */ like --> such as

{{comic
| number = 665
| date = November 20, 2009
| title = Prudence
| image = prudence.png
| titletext = Moments later, the White Witch rolls up and, confused, tries to tempt the probe with a firmware upgrade.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic references the fantasy novel series ''{{w|The Chronicles of Narnia}}'' by {{w|C. S. Lewis}}. In the first published book (second chronologically), ''{{w|The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe}}'', Lucy discovers the fictional world of Narnia which can be accessed through a wardrobe, and she walks into it without ever considering the risks. Her three older siblings do not believe her, so she travels back alone again. But this second time her brother Edmund follows her, and he is seduced by the White Witch in order for her to be able to kill him and his three siblings (see title text explanation below). Thus proving that it was a rather dangerous move to just walk into the wardrobe.

The comic mocks the imprudent behavior shown by the protagonist Lucy of the novel, who enters the world of Narnia without knowing anything about its dangers. In the comic, Lucy (drawn as a child version of [[Megan]], clearly not adult as she only just reaches the wardrobes handles with her head), discovers the magical wardrobe while playing {{w|hide-and-seek}}, like in the book. Unlike in the original book, Lucy does not precipitately set foot into Narnia. Instead, she fetches her technical equipment and sends a remote-controlled probe through the wardrobe door in order to sound the situation first.

The probe encounters {{w|Mr. Tumnus}} the faun with his umbrella at a lamppost in a snowy wood on the last panel. This picture is the first impression of Narnia in the novels and was apparently Lewis' original idea for the series.

The probe is clearly modeled after Mars rovers such as Spirit and Opportunity, which [[Randall]] depicted for the first time only a few comics later in [[681: Gravity Wells]] and then in [[695: Spirit]]. The probe looks even more like the one in [[1504: Opportunity]]. This also explains the title of the comic, as it is the name of Lucy's probe. The naming scheme is similar to the two probes mentioned above that were already on Mars at the time of this comics release. And even more so like the upcoming {{w|Curiosity_(rover)|Curiosity rover}} which was first launched two years after this comic, but had {{w|Curiosity_(rover)#The_name:_Curiosity|been named}} earlier in the year this comic was released. Lucy was ''curious'' in the first Narnia book, but in this comic she is ''[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/prudent prudent]''.

The {{w|White Witch}} mentioned in the title text is the main antagonist in the novel. She originally lures Edmund with a hot drink and magical {{w|Turkish delight}} after her sleigh passes right by him. In the scenario mentioned in the title text, she is confused when she rolls up to the rover and then tries to tempt the probe with a firmware update accordingly.

The procedure of sending a probe first through a portal has also been used in the early {{w|Stargate}} episodes. This draws a parallel between the wardrobe in Narnia and the Stargate, both connecting two distant worlds. The stargate probe can be seen [http://stargate.wikia.com/wiki/Mobile_Analytic_Laboratory_Probe here].

Megan (or Lucy) also takes a scientific approach to Narnia in one of the comics of [[821: Five-Minute Comics: Part 3]]. In that comic she uses the different passage of time in Narnia to her advantage (it usually runs much faster than on Earth). That effect would have been a problem with controlling the rover in this comic.

==Transcript==
:[A small girl, with hair like Megan, is running towards a closed wardrobe.]
:Voice (off-panel): Everyone hide! 99... 98... 97...

:[The girl opens one of the two doors on the wardrobe.]
:Wardrobe: click

:[The girl is looking inside the wardrobe through the fully opened door.]
:Girl: !!!

:[The girl puts a hand to her chin.]

:[The girl walks away.]

:[The girl returns with an armful of electronics including lots of wires and a rover with wheels.]

:[The girl is kneeling, typing on a laptop, which has a cord extending into the wardrobe.]

:[In a forest with many tall leafless trees the Mars rover is approaching a lamppost with a lit candle. Behind it stands a faun with horns, goatee beard and hooves holding an umbrella.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Chronicles of Narnia]]
[[Category:Mars rovers]]

Talk:2906: Earth

2024-03-14T19:11:57Z

Inexplicable: Hair comment

I originally read the caption as "how badly ''we'd'' messed up", which... changes Sagan's tone somewhat. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.155.54|172.71.155.54]] 08:02, 14 March 2024 (UTC)

At first I thought the joke was that the rocket firing had somehow gone so catastrophically badly that the entire Earth had literally been reduced to dust. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 08:37, 14 March 2024 (UTC)
:I also had this notion at first. That after the failed burn Earth had been destroyed... But I think not so anymore. So thx explain xkcd. ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:43, 14 March 2024 (UTC)

So, according to explainxkcd, that’s a ''square'' “spacecraft window”?? Why have we never seen a square spacecraft window in any other context, ever? Did Randall screw up that badly in the original comic, or was it a previous explainxkcd editor who screwed up here? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.60|172.70.214.60]] 08:58, 14 March 2024 (UTC)
:I'm not sure what you're on about and why anyone has to have screwed up. Why can't it be a rectangular (we don't know it's square) spacecraft window? [[User:Bischoff|Bischoff]] ([[User talk:Bischoff|talk]]) 09:53, 14 March 2024 (UTC)
::This is very clearly a triangle shaped window in a very elongated spaceship [[User:Whimsical|Whimsical]] ([[User talk:Whimsical|talk]]) 11:24, 14 March 2024 (UTC)
::: Maybe it is part of a huge spider-shaped window? (I home people here will remember that meta-reference to What If) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.94.208|172.71.94.208]] 12:28, 14 March 2024 (UTC)
::::This picture from the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupola_(ISS_module)#/media/File:Tracy_Caldwell_Dyson_in_Cupola_ISS.jpg Cupola] module of the ISS has trapeze like windows. But the one behind the astronaut could easily have been a rectangle from what can be seen in the picture. So to argue that this window could not have been shot the same is just silly. Of course it was important to the joke that you did not realize it was a window until reading the caption. Also if this space craft has held up to go so far form Earth with living inhabitants it is obviously not a space ship in use today! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:43, 14 March 2024 (UTC)
:::::There is precedent with the [https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/990677/view/crew-at-window-of-space-shuttle-discovery-2006 Space Shuttle] (aft flight-deck window, others were round, the 'forward flight-deck' ones were of course the main flight/piloting ones with awkward quadrilateral shapes and pesky instrument panels where none are in the comic). The windows in the Shuttle were actually a weight issue (certainly, at first, they were plain (chunky!) glass, and added a ''lot'' of weight to the design.
:::::Also look at {{w|File:Blue Origin M7.jpg|Blue Origin's capsule}} for more current design that could end up eventually on an orbital/extra-orbital vessel. Although Crew Dragon is more conservative, and {{w|File:MACES in Orion mock-up.jpg|Orion's interior}} looks like it isn't so big (while Starship's eventual window configuration might eventually be vastly more conservative than the Dan Dare/Flash Gordon aesthetic of the concept imagery).
:::::So... Possible, but depends upon the design needs for the craft (fully space-capable whilst ''intended'' to undergo re-entry, is all we really know). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.92|172.70.90.92]] 16:13, 14 March 2024 (UTC)

In my mind is the scene in C.S. Lewis's religious novel Out of the Silent Planet, where an English philologist, Ransom, is abducted by criminals into outer space and meets aliens. In chapter fifteen, a wise sorn tries to figure out which planet Ransom is from. Probably Thulcandra, the garbage planet of the Solar System. Ransom doesn't like the sound of that, but the sorn gets out something that isn't a telescope and he shows Thulcandra to Ransom, and yup, that's us. Lewis writes it better. I don't know if Carl Sagan had read this. --Robert Carnegie rja.carnegie@gmail.com [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.75|141.101.99.75]] 13:12, 14 March 2024 (UTC)
:Hoo boy, yep that book (and its sequel) are beyond even Narnia in their religious symbolism (though the later environmentalist movements could definitely find an allegory in them, too, not sure how intended that was, in CSL's time, some time before a practical Gaia Hypothesis/etc). I can imagine Randall knows of the book (though clearly more influenced by Sagan in a direct lineage). Not entirely sure Sagan will have taken interest in that genre, nor taken the above to heart. Probably no more than his genuine scientific and rhetoric interests, which may be sufficient genesis for his own coined meme. But that's just my gut feeling. i.e. Worthy of note, but not directly (or singly-indirectly) connected. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.153|172.70.85.153]] 14:20, 14 March 2024 (UTC)

The color for the blue dot seems to be around #B6C8EB. --[[User:1234231587678|1234231587678]] ([[User talk:1234231587678|talk]]) 15:18, 14 March 2024 (UTC)

I'd say he nailed Sagan's hair... [[User:Inexplicable|Inexplicable]] ([[User talk:Inexplicable|talk]]) 19:11, 14 March 2024 (UTC)

2853: Redshift

2023-11-11T12:03:05Z

Inexplicable: /* Explanation */ Minor wording changes.

{{comic
| number = 2853
| date = November 10, 2023
| title = Redshift
| image = redshift_2x.png
| imagesize = 223x264px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = So do you have any plans for z=-0.000000000000045?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SHIFTY RED MATTER BALL - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In {{w|cosmology}}, {{w|redshift}} refers to the way that light from distant objects in the universe is stretched out, making it appear more red than it would otherwise. This occurs because the universe is expanding, and as a result, light waves are stretched as they travel through space. The {{w|Redshift#Redshift formulae|"z" value}} is a dimensionless measure of the redshift. A higher "z" value, or redshift, corresponds to earlier times in the history of the universe. This is because as the universe expands, light from distant galaxies is stretched to longer, redder wavelengths as it travels towards us. The further away a galaxy is, the longer its light has been traveling, and thus the more the universe has expanded since that light began its journey. Therefore, a higher redshift indicates a galaxy that is further away and that the light we see from it left when the universe was younger. Conversely, a lower redshift means the light has traveled a shorter distance and time, indicating a more recent epoch in the history of the universe. Negative values of "z" indicate a blueshift, which indicate objects that are approaching the observer, generally used in cosmological work to calculate rotation speeds of nearby objects.

The joke here is that Cueball is asking Ponytail when she became interested in cosmology, and instead of giving a time such as "in college" or "as a kid," she responds with a redshift value "z=0.00000000038." This very small number is corresponds to a very recent event compared to the start of the universe; indeed, within the cosmologist's lifetime. The negative blueshift question in the title text is a playful way of asking about a future event, as it is approaching the speakers. Specifically it is a closer event to present day to when the cosmologist became interested in her field of study as the absolute value of z is 10^4 smaller and indicates a closer albeit future event.

Assuming a particular cosmology, and in particular values for the Hubble constant (H₀) and the curvature of the universe, it is possible to specify a particular look-back time. For z = 0.00000000038, and a flat Lambda CDM cosmology, with H₀ = 69.32 km / (Mpc s), a value of Ω₀ of 0.2865, a cosmic background temperature of 2.725 K, the look-back time is of around 1960 days, or five and a half years, which could suggest that Ponytail started studying cosmology as part of a Ph.D. program.

Negative numbers of z would indicate a "look-forward" time, or a time in the future, and the same model indicates that z = -0.000000000000045 corresponds to about 5.5 hours in the future.

The use of non-standard units of measurement has also been seen in [[2707: Astronomy Numbers]], with (higher) redshift values previously visited as a part of [[2764: Cosmological Nostalgia Content]].

Redshift and blueshift have been mentioned before in [[1852: Election Map]]

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Ponytail and Cueball are sitting at a table, eating dinner. The table has two cups of wine and a different dish for each person.]
:Cueball: So, when did you first get interested in early universe cosmology?
:Ponytail: Sometime around z=0.00000000038.

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