explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1560: Bubblegum

2015-08-05T10:15:21Z

JellyBaby100: Improved the transcript

{{comic
| number = 1560
| date = August 5, 2015
| title = Bubblegum
| image = bubblegum.png
| titletext = I came here to chew bubblegum and say no more than eighteen words ... and I'm all out of
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First draft.}}

This comic spoofs the iconic line from the action movie "{{w|They Live}}", where the armed protagonist, upon entering a bank, states that "I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass, and I'm all out of bubblegum." This implies that the protagonist will soon fight the inhabitants of the bank, as he cannot do the other objective he came there for (chewing bubble gum). This phrase was also used by the title character of the video game ''{{w|Duke Nukem 3D}}'' and is often mistakenly believed to have originated in it.

Former wrestler Rowdy {{w|Roddy Piper}}, who played the protagonist in "They Live," recently died. This comic is a tribute to him.

In the comic, [[Beret Guy]] stands in the open doorway with a strong light behind him, a typical pose in action movies when someone is dramatically entering somewhere. However, in this instance, Beret Guy claims that he is here to "chew bubble gum and make friends". He then offers a stick of gum to both [[Megan]] and [[Cueball]], making it clear he intends to do both of his stated objectives.

The title text is another variation of the line, with meta-humor. The speaker states that he is here to say 18 words and chew bubble gum, but reaches 18 words before he is able to finish his sentence. Thus, readers are left in ambiguity as to whether or not he is also out of bubble gum, as the line could either end "and I'm all out of words", or "and I'm all out of both".

The title text seems to be a slight dig at the trope of a laconic hero who utters only a few gnomic words, as in the They Live scene. Strangely, though, Randall has not preserved the number of words in the quote: there are 16. There would be 18 if 'bubble gum' were taken as two words, but in the comic, it is clear that Randall takes it as one.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:[Beret Guy is dramatically standing silhouetted in a doorway.]
:Beret Guy: I came here to chew bubblegum and make friends!

:[Inside the room Beret Guy entered with Megan and Cueball]
:(pause)
:Beret Guy: Want some gum?
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]

1475: Technically

2015-01-19T22:12:17Z

JellyBaby100: The Chart was unnecessary.

{{comic
| number = 1475
| date = January 19, 2015
| title = Technically
| image = technically.png
| titletext = "Technically that sentence started with 'well', so--" "Ooh, a rock with a fossil in it!"
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First Draft}}

[[Cueball]] has decided that any sentence beginning with the word "technically" is highly likely to be completely worthless for him to listen to, so he allows himself to be distracted by anything which happens to be around.

The particular sentence uttered by White Hat is of the fourth type, due to his incorrect interpretation of the word "drug" and lack of understanding of the role of food in human physiology. Indeed, the word drug is defined as "a substance used to treat an illness, relieve a symptom, or modify a chemical process in the body for a specific purpose", followed by a secondary definition of "a psychoactive substance, especially one which is illegal and addictive". Food, on the other hand, is defined as "any substance that can be consumed by living organisms, especially by eating, in order to sustain life". In other words, food is consumed in order to sustain the normal, innate state of the body, while the drug is consumed in order to alter certain states.

The title text starts to pedantically over apply Cueball's rule to the comic panel, noting that technically [[White Hat]]'s sentence started with the word 'well' instead of the word 'technically', and thus Cueball is wrong to have ignored it. This makes the title text a sentence of the third type. Halfway through the sentence, this argument is cut off by the discovery of a rock with a fossil in it, correctly applying the rule to a sentence that began with the word "technically".

==Transcript==
:[White Hat talks to Cueball who looks at a flying insect]
:White Hat: Well, technically, food is a "drug", since it's a substance that alters how your body works, so yes, I'm —
:Cueball: Hey, look at that weird bug!

:[Caption below the frame:]
:My life improved when I realized I could just ignore any sentence that started with "technically."

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

1473: Location Sharing

2015-01-14T17:43:31Z

JellyBaby100: This article was too long and tedious, making it difficult to find the information you want. I've trimmed it a bit.

{{comic
| number = 1473
| date = January 14, 2015
| title = Location Sharing
| image = location_sharing.png
| titletext = Our phones must have great angular momentum sensors because the compasses really suck.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First draft.}}

In this comic, [[Megan]] is visiting a website on her mobile phone. After loading it, the website {{w|Location-based service|asks for her location}}, which Megan permits the phone to give. The choice between allowing or denying a website or app access to certain information is common among smartphones. The term "location sharing" specifically refers to when a smartphone user shares their location with such an entity. An example is a weather app which would need your location in order to automatically find the correct forecast.

Megan is then asked her {{w|momentum}}, which she denies. The joke is based off of the Heisenberg {{w|uncertainty principle}}, which, in quantum mechanics, states that one cannot accurately know both the location and momentum of any particle simultaneously. However, since Megan is not a microscopic particle, it doesn't make any sense to say the the app is trying to violate Heisenberg's principle.

The ramifications of the uncertainty principle being violated in this context are unknown, but the comic might be alluding to security problems that appear if an untrusted application is given access to momentum data generated by the gyroscope. Access to gyroscope data can be used for reading passwords entered into the on-screen keyboard or even guessing keyboard strokes on a keyboard lying on the same table as the phone.

It could also be an attempt to get [[Megan]] to unwillingly reveal her weight (mass to be more exact), as the her mass can be inferred by dividing the momentum by her velocity (the velocity can be obtained by observing the change of her location information over time). In order to be feasible, however, the location must be polled at least twice, not once, as at least two location points are necessary to compute the velocity. The tendency to keep their weight secret is a common stereotype about females, as it is believed that females tend to obsess about controlling (and not revealing) their weight in order to comply with the perceived expectations of the modern Western male society which tends to find slim females more attractive.

The title text refers to the inclusion of {{w|gyroscope}}s in modern cell phones that measure angular momentum, mostly to detect when the phone is tilted, but also used in a few mobile games. Randall suggests the poor accuracy of the compasses in mobile phones (measuring the angular position) is due to the gyroscopes being too good. (If both the gyroscope and the compasses were completely accurate, it would violate the uncertainty principle). Modern phones also include varied technologies (such as GPS) to pinpoint the user's location, with varying degrees of accuracy.

The uncertainty principle has previously been referenced in [[824: Guest Week: Bill Amend (FoxTrot)]]. It has also been discussed in relation to the two comics [[1404: Quantum Vacuum Virtual Plasma]] and [[1416: Pixels]].

==Transcript==
:[Megan is holding her phone. Above her is the text she can see on the screen:]
:This website wants to know your location.
:[Two buttons are below this text. The first is white with a black frame and black text. The second (the chosen button) also has a black frame, but inside the frame is a black rectangle with white text. Around the chosen button are small lines indication rays.]
:Deny
:'''Allow'''

:[Megan is holding her phone.]

:[Megan is holding her phone. Above her is again the text she can see on the screen.]
:This website wants to know your momentum.
:[Two buttons are below this text. The first (the chosen button) has a black frame, but inside the frame is a black rectangle with white text. The second is white with a black frame and black text. Around the chosen button are small lines indication rays.]
:'''Deny'''
:Allow

:Megan: Nice try.

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

Template:incomplete transcript

2014-11-28T09:55:46Z

JellyBaby100:

{{notice|'''This transcript is incomplete.''' Please help [{{fullurl:{{{target|{{FULLPAGENAME}}}}}|action=edit}} editing] it! Thanks.}}<includeonly>{{#ifeq:{{PAGENAME}}|Main Page||[[Category:Incomplete transcripts]]}}</includeonly>
[Megan talking to an unseen audience in front of an fMRI brain scan]

Megan: Our fMRI study found that subjects performing simple memory tasks showed activity in the parts of the brain associated with loud noises, claustrophobia, and the removal of jewelry.

Template:incomplete transcript

2014-11-28T09:55:15Z

JellyBaby100: Transcript for xkcd 1453: fMRI

{{notice|'''This transcript is incomplete.''' Please help [{{fullurl:{{{target|{{FULLPAGENAME}}}}}|action=edit}} editing] it! Thanks.}}<includeonly>{{#ifeq:{{PAGENAME}}|Main Page||[[Category:Incomplete transcripts]]}}</includeonly>
[Megan talking to an unseen audience in front of an fMRI brain scan]
Megan: Our fMRI study found that subjects performing simple memory tasks showed activity in the parts of the brain associated with loud noises, claustrophobia, and the removal of jewelry.