explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:3221: Landscape Features

2026-03-23T11:22:57Z

John:

F1rst P0st!!! [[User:R128|R128]] ([[User talk:R128|talk]]) 17:27, 18 March 2026 (UTC)
:First Times [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 09:14, 19 March 2026 (UTC)

The ???? in New York is probably the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adirondack_Mountains Adirondack Mountains]:

<blockquote>About 10 million years ago, the region began to be uplifted. It has been lifted about 7,000 feet (2,000 m) and is continuing at about 0.08 inches (2 mm) per year, which is greater than the rate of denudation. The cause of the uplift is unknown, but geologists theorize that it is caused by a hot spot in the Earth's crust.[18] A recent study has revealed a column of seismically slow materials about 30 to 50 miles (50 to 80 km) deep beneath the Adirondack Mountains,[20] which was interpreted to be the upwelling asthenosphere contributing to the uplift of the mountains.</blockquote>

[[User:Zzzt|Zzzt]] ([[User talk:Zzzt|talk]]) 17:58, 18 March 2026 (UTC)

Geology being the cause of geological events is a tautology.--[[User:Henke37|Henke37]] ([[User talk:Henke37|talk]]) 18:26, 18 March 2026 (UTC)
:It's only a tautology where the plates are separating. It's a "compressology" where they're colliding, etc. ;) [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 21:36, 18 March 2026 (UTC)

conterguous* [[Special:Contributions/137.25.230.78|137.25.230.78]] 20:34, 18 March 2026 (UTC)

I wonder if we should have a category for {{w|Isogloss}}. (Whether isoseme or some other variation.) I added in the two others 'of this basic illustrative nature' that I remembered off the top of my head, but I think there might be more. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 21:33, 18 March 2026 (UTC)

This page should be in Category: Comics with color [[Special:Contributions/50.47.110.240|50.47.110.240]] 21:05, 18 March 2026 (UTC)

I feel like comic [[3141]] is worth a mention here, but I'm not sure where to put it. [[User:MrCandela|MrCandela]] ([[User talk:MrCandela|talk]]) 22:49, 18 March 2026 (UTC)
:Added to the Adirondock row. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 00:12, 19 March 2026 (UTC)

This explanation, and working on it, absolutely taught me more about US geology than I learned in school. [[Special:Contributions/2603:800C:1200:596A:7154:D390:7A60:3197|2603:800C:1200:596A:7154:D390:7A60:3197]] 08:29, 19 March 2026 (UTC)

I headered-up the table, to be consistent with the list-subheader. Also rearranged (and bulleted) the list of states (and district, but there are less than 51 lines, so obviously still some 'unstated' (NPI!) ones, not yet sure which) alphabetically, as that's going to be the main referencing reason here (aded "sortable" to the table - mostly for on-demand label-sorting, not so useful in the other columns, but not bothered making them unsortable again). Moved the reference to the other similar comics to the end of the unsubheadered Explanation section (post title-text blurb), as with usual narrative order in such cases.
 You are welcome to (re-)redo, naturally. The by-state list ''could'' easily be a table, too, for resorting purposes (though not much benefit if it's already sorted by its one and only useful 'key' value), or it could be remade as a 'tick grid'/confusion-matrix of 51 'states' against <however many> labels (if you think something like that that helps). ...but probably too much work for too little gain, I think, having already gone through some of these ideas myself, but YMMV. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.237.49|82.132.237.49]] 12:45, 19 March 2026 (UTC)
: Currently missing are: Alabama; Georgia; Louisiana; Mississippi; North Carolina; South Carolina; Tennessee. From which I deduce that someone has an irrational dislike of states ending in 'a' and states with an excess of double letters. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 14:57, 19 March 2026 (UTC)

wow, there are [https://www.desmos.com/calculator/0vijdgrmhz a lot] of geology comics in the past year or so. I think Randall has a new interest [[User:R128|R128]] ([[User talk:R128|talk]]) 13:11, 19 March 2026 (UTC)

Hotspots create almost-constantly active volcanos, so they are a very bad go-to explanation. Shirluban [[Special:Contributions/147.161.153.84|147.161.153.84]] 14:09, 19 March 2026 (UTC)

'Glacier National Park' in Southeast Alaska is properly 'Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve' {{unsigned ip|97.115.101.239|16:22, 19 March 2026 (UTC)}}

Was the morphology of the Great Plains (Central column of the U.S.) really created by farming? How does ~10K years of Native American management of the land for grasslands make it flat? I thought the flat, erm, planar aspect was due to it having been a large shallow seabed. [[User:Dbguy|Dbguy]] ([[User talk:Dbguy|talk]]) 19:55, 19 March 2026 (UTC)
: Remember the prompt is "what's up with this weird landscape?". I think what's going on in those places is that, given the flat topography, a lot of the "weird" features people point out (especially from the air) are likely to be geometric patterns formed by large-scale crop farming. [[Special:Contributions/136.56.99.85|136.56.99.85]] 21:02, 19 March 2026 (UTC)

I like how we've apparently all agreed at the moment that "Geology outside of Yellowstone in the West is basically just Heart Mountain." [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 14:49, 20 March 2026 (UTC)

The current west coast plate tectonics speed run explanation doesn't quite cover it. The Juan de Fuca plate off the PNW and the Cocos plate off of Central America used to be connected as the Farallon plate. The various geological features of the west coast used to be islands and microcontinents on the Farallon plate that got scraped off and accreted to the growing coastline as the Farallon got subducted. Then, as the divergent boundary between the Farallon and Pacific plates was itself subducted, the resulting faulting scrambled everything. [[User:Erika lovelace|Erika lovelace]] ([[User talk:Erika lovelace|talk]]) 17:36, 20 March 2026 (UTC)

I'm surprised Randall didn't include glacial activity in the PNW. Washington state has quite a bit, particularly the Puget Sound region. {{unsigned ip|71.212.36.151|04:46, 21 March 2026}}
:I think the intention might have been to extend the Alaskan region (SE Alaska/Inside Passage) from the map-insert to the main/contiguous map area. It'd need just a short line of red to make this relationship obvious. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 19:52, 21 March 2026 (UTC)

Is there any explanation for the shape of Lake of the Woods? Is that intentional? [[Special:Contributions/2600:100C:B06A:4BC9:F540:8A2A:DBC4:E9AE|2600:100C:B06A:4BC9:F540:8A2A:DBC4:E9AE]] 04:35, 22 March 2026 (UTC)

;Sections to explain

I'm not a geologist, so I don't know how to answer these questions, but I will leave this template here to eventually be copied into the article:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Location
! Description
! Explanation
|-
| Adirondack Mountains
| ???
|
|-
| Most of northern U.S. border
| Glaciers
|
|-
| Appalachian Mountains
| Continents colliding
|
|-
| Mississippi river basin
| Rivers
|
|-
| SE U.S.
| Farming
|
|-
| Southern Florida
| Ongoing disputes between limestone and water
|
|-
| Southern Missouri/Northern Arkansas
| ...geology
|
|-
| Central column of U.S.
| Farming
|
|-
| Central Idaho/Yellowstone
| A supervolcano
|
|-
| Eastern Washington
| A megaflood
|
|-
| West Coast
| ...a plate tectonic speedrun.
|
|-
| SW
| Water and time
|
|-
| Northern Alaska
| ...geology
|
|-
| Aleutians
| Volcanoes
|
|-
| Hawaiian island chain
| Volcanoes
|
|}
[[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 18:59, 18 March 2026 (UTC)
:...uh, why don't I just copy it into the article blank for now, actually?[[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 19:00, 18 March 2026 (UTC)

New here, and don't know the formatting, but the table is currently missing the Cascade and Sierra Nevada "Vocanoes" region, though it's pretty self-explanatory. {{unsigned ip|136.56.99.85|21:29, 18 March 2026 (UTC)}}
:Got it. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 00:12, 19 March 2026 (UTC)
:Also missing the “…geology” section surrounding the supervolcano. {{unsigned ip|146.115.160.214|21:58, 18 March 2026}}
::Got it.[[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 00:11, 19 March 2026 (UTC)

Glaciers came within 50 miles of Philadelphia (the so-called “south mountain” southeast of Allentown/Bethlehem is a terminal moraine from the Wisconsin glaciation approximately 17,000 years ago) and the line between “glaciers” and “farming” should be much further south in Pennsylvania. [[User:John|John]] ([[User talk:John|talk]]) 11:22, 23 March 2026 (UTC)

Talk:3214: Electric Vehicles

2026-03-05T09:47:15Z

John:

How's the transcript, guys? --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 03:41, 3 March 2026 (UTC)
: Heck if i know [[Special:Contributions/216.25.182.141|216.25.182.141]] 03:46, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

idk man, most cars I've encountered sound pretty acoustic to me. EVs are quieter though since they lack combustion engines [[Special:Contributions/137.25.230.78|137.25.230.78]] 04:00, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

Just added a real life cars-as-instruments section, and to prove I'm human I must select photos with cars. It didn't tell me if I should pick the acoustic ones though, I'm confused. [[Special:Contributions/78.244.70.135|78.244.70.135]] 08:11, 3 March 2026 (UTC)
: Didn't it give you the option to use an audio version of the captcha? [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 09:37, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

You know, it ''is'' possible to run out of charge while you're driving. Then you have to figure out how to move your car or recharge it when there aren't any sources of electricity handy or convenient. [[User:Dogman15|Dogman15]] ([[User talk:Dogman15|talk]]) 09:39, 3 March 2026 (UTC)
: That's hardly a unique problem, though - the same is also true of gas-powered cars (or any other fuel you care to mention, for that matter). [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 10:08, 3 March 2026 (UTC)
::No it's not true. When you run out of fuel with an ICE, you can go and get some fuel and bring it back. Or you can carry a spare canister of fuel with you for long journeys to remote places. You can't go and get a bottle of electricity and take it back to your vehicle if you run out of charge. [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 23:08, 3 March 2026 (UTC)
:::Isn't a battery already a "bottle of electricity". Might need some jury-rigging with various unorthodox combinations of cables and connectors, but if you fill your pockets (or maybe a large wheelbarrow!) with enough {{w|Battery_pack#Power_bank|portable power-packs}} you ''should'' be able to get a bit of much needed 'juice' into your stranded vehicle. ;) [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 23:22, 3 March 2026 (UTC)
::::When my son was about 3 or 4, he said "Electric is with wires...batteries are little tubs of electricity." So yeah, already thinking that! So, to be specific, I guess the problem is not that it's ''impossible'' to carry charge to your stranded vehicle, it's that it's too difficult to be practical. Filling stations sell fuel cans that you can fill. The energy density of petrol or diesel is such that even a child could carry enough fuel for a normal car to do a 50+ mile journey. Let's see anyone do that with a bottle of electricity... [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 23:41, 3 March 2026 (UTC)
:::::They already do - there are roadside charging companies that provide exactly this service. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 09:15, 4 March 2026 (UTC)
: As and when I might transition to EV, I've been thinking of getting a handy sized PV panel (or, better, a 'roll' of PV fabric, which can be pegged out; perhaps even used as a windbreak/sunshade) stowed in a corner of the boot(/trunk), that I can take out and use to trickle-charge the vehicle when needed. Although that's more for like just making a bit of use of the sunshine if I'm stopped anywhere for long enough, to reduce my reliance upon commercial power sources. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 14:39, 3 March 2026 (UTC)
:: While it might be "fun", a portable PV panel is not gong to help much. A 120V plug can maybe provide 1500W typically add 2-5 miles of range per hour of charging, so the 100 to 200W you can get from a portable system (which is generous) won't help much. But I suppose it would be better than nothing. [[User:J-beda|J-beda]] ([[User talk:J-beda|talk]]) 13:33, 4 March 2026 (UTC)

When i was in school one teacher was keen on distinguishing batteries from accumulators. a battery was something you use once, an accumulator could be recharged. this was in a non-english speaking country and i am not sure if this strict distinction exists in english. but it could cause such a misunderstanding.--[[Special:Contributions/2001:62A:4:408:2541:D6E7:7A86:B8DC|2001:62A:4:408:2541:D6E7:7A86:B8DC]] 10:25, 3 March 2026 (UTC)
: Until I read the whole paragraph I was thinking accumulator would be the same as a capacitor. Maybe they thought rechargeables are actually giant capacitors, but they aren't. They store energy in a (mostly) reversible chemical reaction (tons of energy, slow to charge-discharge (unless spicy pillow releases magic smoke and fire)). Capacitors hold charge physically along the surfaces of the plates (fast charge-discharge, (relatively) tiny capacity). Totally different storage method. [[Special:Contributions/130.76.187.47|130.76.187.47]] 13:34, 3 March 2026 (UTC)
:: Actually, in Germany we really have two separate words for rechargeable and non-rechargeable batteries: "Akku" (short for "Akkumulator") for the former, and "Batterie" for the latter. This has nothing to do with capacitors ("Kondensatoren"). [[Special:Contributions/2A02:3100:44A5:7D00:76D4:35FF:FEFF:BF50|2A02:3100:44A5:7D00:76D4:35FF:FEFF:BF50]] 00:28, 5 March 2026 (UTC)
:Of course, the usual (and, by now, entirely moot) confusion is between "battery" and a "cell". It should only really be a "battery" if there's more than one "cell" in series (or ''maybe'' in parallel, but I'm sure that can be argued about) within the full item that you're naming as such. And rechargable batteries/cells have been so long a thing (are "electrical accumulators", as opposed to non-electrical equivalent ones for other forms of energy storage and release, like pressure-/gravity-tanks, flywheels, etc), although lead-acid batteries (yes, they're internally cells in series!) was often identified as an "accumulator" to contrast with the (single-use) solid-state chemical cell/battery. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 14:39, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

I think acoustic propulsion is a thing, but it doesn't work for human-scale cars. One, the sound generator is external and two, it's usually small things. [[Special:Contributions/2603:8081:9700:E9D:0:0:0:2|2603:8081:9700:E9D:0:0:0:2]] 14:25, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

Isn't an explosion technically sound? As gas-fueled cars are powered by exploding the gas, they really are accoustic cars. {{unsigned ip|2a01:599:112:8815:2e49:a29c:6fd:905b}} 16:36, 3 March 2026 (UTC)
: The sound is a side-effect - not the means of propulsion. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 16:54, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

I'm not convinced the penny farthing line is relevant - the preceding discussion, in reference to the title text, is about misapplying distinctions from one field to another inappropriate one where they aren't relevant. The 'safety' epithet was applied because the new bicycles were considered safer - whether or not that was ''correct'', it was entirely relevant to the distinction being made. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 16:54, 3 March 2026 (UTC)
:I also was doubtful, but I only corrected it regarding the "penny farthing" name misconception (they weren't really called that, at the time...). Probably can be removed, unless someone wants to say more about them being the "ordinary" bicycles of their day (hence also "old ordinary" as an epithet ...once they were sufficiently no longer 'new', of course). [[Special:Contributions/82.132.239.30|82.132.239.30]] 18:31, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

I'm not sure, if it fit's in the explanation, but Oneway Vipes are a thing: You buy them with pretty good 18650 batteries and throw them away, if the battery is empty. {{unsigned ip|2001:9e8:9690:bf00:a8bb:ca4c:64a1:1e5c|18:13, 3 March 2026 (UTC)}}
:What's that? Some form of Segway? (Couldn't find anything out there by that name, or even "Oneway Bikes". And do remember to sign...) [[Special:Contributions/82.132.239.30|82.132.239.30]] 18:31, 3 March 2026 (UTC)
::"Vapes", possibly..? [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 22:25, 3 March 2026 (UTC)
::: Yes, sorry, I meant vapes [[Special:Contributions/2001:9E8:96A7:6C00:594D:8C9F:8FCF:E9C0|2001:9E8:96A7:6C00:594D:8C9F:8FCF:E9C0]] 21:39, 4 March 2026 (UTC)
:::: Single-Use Vapes are now illegal, where I am. In a large part because of the way they were being thrown away. Either littering (potentially worse than with fag-ends!) or by causing hazards by being not properly recycled as WEEE waste. Whether the biggest problem was that they had a still charged battery when the liquid ran out, or they still had liquid (''and'' a reactive, if 'dead' battery) when the battery ran out, I don't know. Probably either option, depending upon how it was used. As a non-smoker/non-vaper, I've no idea how this has changed the behaviours of those who do (having to rely on reusable vapes, or falling back to the original tobacco option), but I have noticed a lot less discarded plastic-and-metal in the verges and gutters. (When I first spotted the rise in these, I was wondering why there were so many USB Power Banks being dropped, from the remains I was seeing from those that got subsequently run over by vehicles...) For other reasons, I'm also seeing a lot less mini 'nitrous oxide' cylinders around, too (just the occasional catering size can of 'creamer' gas).
:::: So I think I'd rather there not be any non-reusable vapes. (Not too fond of being caught in a vape cloud, even from a rechargable one, either.) It's like a mini version of abandoning a single-use EV by the side of the road whenever it runs out of miles. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 22:46, 4 March 2026 (UTC)

Isn't this a parody of those people who use "what will you do when it runs out of battery" as an argument against EVs, like that doesn't also apply to regular cars? --[[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 19:15, 3 March 2026 (UTC)
:Well, if that ever happens to me, I fully intend to siphen some electricity from the nearest unattended EV... Electrons are very small, and should be easier to suck into a pipe than that nasty hydrocarbon fuel is... [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 19:22, 3 March 2026 (UTC)
:I have run out of fuel more than once. I walked to a filling station, bought some fuel, and hitched back to my vehicle. So, there's my tested solution to that problem as applies to internal combustion engine vehicles. As you're suggesting the problem is the same whether it happens with EVs or regular cars, could you explain your EV version of the solution? [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 23:28, 3 March 2026 (UTC)
::If you're on a motorway, you can't "walk" to a filling station. You need to wait for the tow truck. Same as the EV. Now, if you are NOT on a motorway, you can plug in your car on a regular electricity socket when it's at 1%. You can't do that with ICE vehicles. And there's million of regular power sockets at ground level in any country in the world. --[[Special:Contributions/85.159.196.174|85.159.196.174]] 00:10, 4 March 2026 (UTC)
::In 40+ years, and nearly 1 million miles, of driving ICE vehicles, I’ve run out of fuel precisely once, and that was when I was driving in New Jersey on a Sunday night when most gas stations were closed. But this isn’t about me, it’s about the typical driver, I cite myself simply to make the point that ICE cars have instrumentation to help the driver predict when they will need more fuel, and help plan accordingly; EVs have far better tools for that task. In my 160,000 miles of driving EVs I have run as low as 3 miles of remaining range, but the car has always told me how much range I had, and where I would next charge, at the start of every trip, so there have never been any surprises.[[User:John|John]] ([[User talk:John|talk]]) 09:47, 5 March 2026 (UTC)

I think the entire explanation is completely missing the intention of the comic and goes on way too long talking about other types of energy storage and delivery methods. Everyone is taking it seriously and overexplaining it as if it's a realistic depiction of slightly overblown range anxiety - rather than a JOKE based on the difference between rechargable and non-rechargable batteries. This is a COMIC after all that is meant to be funny. It's much more reasonable this is a parody of a higher degree (rechargable vs non-rechargable) than lesser degree (slight exaggeration of range anxiety). I'm also the same age as Randall and can remember the slow popularity growth and proliferation of NiCd/NiMH AA and AAA batteries in the 90s. It's much more likely this is a joke based on that and combining/comparing/contrasting it with modern range anxiety, but nobody seems to be getting that - exemplified by the slightly deragatory remark in the current explanation: "He should indeed feel incredibly silly about this, given that rechargeable batteries are very common in many other devices" - guess what? They WEREN"T ALWAYS COMMON - THAT'S THE JOKE (but not everyone is old enough to remember that). [[Special:Contributions/64.203.66.182|64.203.66.182]] 13:15, 4 March 2026 (UTC)
: That it was silly for him to think this is ''literally in the comic, admitted by the character himself''. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 16:59, 4 March 2026 (UTC)
: That's true. I guess it was just the continous tone-deafness to the ''origin of the joke'' in the explanation that made this phrase grate. I put the phrase back. [[Special:Contributions/64.203.66.182|64.203.66.182]] 20:57, 4 March 2026 (UTC)

Seems like there's still a lot of derision towards electric vehicles alive today. The Petroleum Propaganda machine still works. [[Special:Contributions/64.203.66.182|64.203.66.182]] 13:56, 4 March 2026 (UTC)
:Maybe that latter is the case, but there's also a lot of "EVs doen't (yet!) 'just work' in the way we're used to ICEs doing" in the consumer hesitancy. As an example, if it was the other way round, and the road network had been developed on the back of the early electric cars, and now suddenly someone had come up with good reasons to try the 'superior' (by range, if nothing else) fuel-powered cars, there'd probably be complaints at the relative lack of petrol(/gas)-pumps compared to the nigh ubiquitous charging-stations found in or near basically any tin-pot town and up and down every highway.
:People are adding up the various things ("can I go a decent distance?", "can I get back?", "how much does it cost?" (including ownership taxes/road-related charges), "how easy is it to fix if it goes wrong?", "does the vehicle fit my family/sporty/cargo needs?", etc..), and there are a not insignificant number of EVs owned around where I live (taking the proportion of vehicles that hum past me if I'm walking across the housing estate, and the handful of households that I know definitely have recharging outlets installed).
:As a personal data point, the car I currently drive was bought maybe seven or eight years ago (could easily last another seven or eight years before there's a serious ''thought'' of getting rid of it - unless it does something like get into a crash or some other major repair needs to be done), so the perceived advantages of moving to an EV (or disadvantages of staying with petrol) need to increase a lot as long as there's no absolute need to do so. Part of that is that I'm just not ''used'' to all the EV fuss, and making sure that a vehicle that I don't currently drive doesn't run out of 'go'. I went driving today and (in about 80 miles of journey) passed by many many petrol stations. As I reference, I tend to use what my most local one is (which I didn't pass by toda, but , was charging 3p/litre more on Monday than it did the day before the start of the US's latest phase of attacks on Iran), and I spotted prices around the route ranging from 5p/l less than this and ''14''p/l more. But the tank's still more than 3/4 full and it didn't seem worthwhile topping up at all. I ''noticed'' just three EV-recharging stations with some advertised price (p/KWh?) that I have no frame of reference for (it's cheaper per unit, but I don't at all know where the EV-unit stands against fuel-units, range-wise). And I know there's probably a lot more than those three EV-stations (they're currently installing one near my local petrol one... been at it, digging, for several weeks now, but mostly the below-the-ground stuff and I've no idea what the topside will look like!) that just aren't displaying prices in great big lit roadside boards (you probably need to subscribe to one GPS-enabled map-app, or other, to find most of them, if you're not a local and remember that the far corner of some supermarket carpark has one). I also don't know how much it would cast me (per mile) to 'fill' any vehicle from a home socket (with or without direct/battery-mediated connection to the roof PV panels). It's totally beyond my experience.
:I can ''guess'' that it's ''probably'' currently cheaper per mile to electric, if I use the right recharging source. At least until the current fuel-duty situation doesn't get fully transfered over to the equivalent electric-duty replacement (or some sort of 'pay-per-mile' taxation). But buying a brand new vehicle of ''any'' kind isn't a cost-effective outlay, even if I recoup something by selling the currently 'ok' current example to someone who wants it.
:What would force me to change soon, e.g. tomorrow, is something drastic. The accidental loss of the vehicle. The massive increase cost of operation (or a ''really'' good discount attached to the new purchase). There being some ''massive'' fuel-crisis (though that would probably cause so many other societal problems that there'd probably be easy way to transition over anyway ... supply and demand would probaby work against me at both ends).
:So, yes... maybe there are people that have a vested interest in the 'Petroleum Propoganda machine' working (any connection I have to it are more as fellow victim, no Petrodollars are being sent my way, worse luck!), and similarly there's probably EV interests (Tesla, Byd, the main extractors of the lithium/etc needed to create the batteries). But the whole picture is a whole lot of positive and negative pressures applied to either solution. So much so that before the last time I had to change vehicle (though not actually acted upon at that time), I was very tempted to go for a plug-in-hybrid vehicle to balance the advantages (and mitigate the disadvantages) of each 'pure' type. Still potentially an option, next time, depending on whenever that ends up happening. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 22:21, 4 March 2026 (UTC)

Talk:3202: Groundhog Day Meaning

2026-02-10T04:56:16Z

John:

I guess it's weirdest because it has two silly associations. But Talk Like a Pirate Day is arguably weirder than either of them. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 16:50, 2 February 2026 (UTC)
:Yellow pig day?[[User:Lordpishky|Lord Pishky]] ([[User talk:Lordpishky|talk]]) 00:15, 4 February 2026 (UTC)
:Arguably, Talk Like a Pirate Day isn't weird at all, since it means exactly what it sounds like. By contrast, Groundhog Day isn't clear what the groundhog is about, and of course the time loop is completely unrelated [[User:R128|R128]] ([[User talk:R128|talk]]) 18:19, 6 February 2026 (UTC)

Even Stargate SG-1 had a timeloop episode and dropped a Groundhog Day reference in.

: Malikai: Once I've correctly deciphered the symbols on the altar, I will be able to master the time device.

: Jack O'Neill: Why, so you can be king of Groundhog Day?

Damn I miss that show. [[Special:Contributions/135.84.57.36|135.84.57.36]] 17:06, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

third [[Special:Contributions/164.58.172.158|164.58.172.158]] 17:12, 2 February 2026 (UTC)
:quarter [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 09:42, 3 February 2026 (UTC)
:: fifth [[Special:Contributions/66.210.7.66|66.210.7.66]] 15:50, 4 February 2026 (UTC)
::: tritone [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 16:55, 4 February 2026 (UTC)
::: The minor fall, the major lift [[Special:Contributions/24.177.125.170|24.177.125.170]] 01:41, 5 February 2026 (UTC)

It’s curious to see Black Hat being the one who is nonplussed here. Usually he’s the one shocking everyone else with surreal statements and antics. [[User:Pie Guy|Pie Guy]] ([[User talk:Pie Guy|talk]]) 17:28, 2 February 2026 (UTC)
:Yeah I was wondering about that too. Why [[Black Hat]] instead of a more normal character like [[Megan]]? Contrary to his usual behavior, Black Hat isn't doing anything evil here. [[User:DKMell|DKMell]] ([[User talk:DKMell|talk]]) 19:34, 2 February 2026 (UTC)
::I was thinking it might be because of comic [[2174]], where it heavily implies Black Hat comes from a different planet. Maybe he still doesn't have all of our holidays and cultures figured out yet? Sounds like a bit of a stretch, but I think it's a fun interpretation, and I'm going with it. [[User:Willintendo|Willintendo]] ([[User talk:Willintendo|talk]]) 20:24, 2 February 2026 (UTC)
:Yes, that legit freaked me out. I like Willintendo's interpretation, though.[[Special:Contributions/104.32.72.95|104.32.72.95]] 21:02, 2 February 2026 (UTC)
:I came here to say the same. Haven't seen him ni a while so using him instead of White Hat is just confusing, like Randall has decided not to use him as a Classhole anymore. Or maybe he is just messing with us, like when Black Hat got Rick to attend Danish party, [[524: Party]], but he did not sing. Just by letting him be in this comic, we being thinking way too much. ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:56, 3 February 2026 (UTC)

Help, I'm stuck in a time loop. But at least it's going to be sunny for the forseeable future. [[Special:Contributions/76.187.17.7|76.187.17.7]] 18:29, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

We should possibly mention Candlemas and the German traditions surrounding Badgers seeing shadows. [[Special:Contributions/80.41.29.9|80.41.29.9]] 18:34, 2 February 2026 (UTC)
:Badger badger badger badger? [[User:Lordpishky|Lord Pishky]] ([[User talk:Lordpishky|talk]]) 20:05, 2 February 2026 (UTC)
::Or serpents on Imbolc, for that matter [[User:Nekokami|Nekokami]] ([[User talk:Nekokami|talk]]) 02:12, 3 February 2026 (UTC)
:I agree: the earlier traditions regarding badgers are probably what the title text is referring to with "other mustelids" [[Special:Contributions/74.110.98.95|74.110.98.95]] 01:41, 3 February 2026 (UTC)

¿How is it that the whole body resets except the brain? Oftentimes, the loop resets after death. If death is from an head-injury, ¿how does the brain restore without loosing memories or function? {{unsigned ip|67.174.239.209|19:44, 2 February 2026 (UTC)}}
:No time travel story makes sense. It's just a story, not physics.[[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 02:10, 3 February 2026 (UTC)
::From your handle, I would have thought this was exactly the kind of comment you'd approve of. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 10:02, 3 February 2026 (UTC)
:I think many sees the mind as outside the brain, so... It is clearly the same person waking up each morning, but he just has the memories from the day before. This is not a time travel movie. What ever he did the day before has no effect. He can just adjust what he does. There is a new movie using the exact same setting except it always ends with the death of the character: {{w|Boss Level}}. The director Joe Carnahan described it as "Groundhog Day as an action movie". --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:00, 3 February 2026 (UTC)
::There's also something like {{w|Edge of Tomorrow}}, in which the character's death is ''required'' to restart the time-loop for the loop-inflicted person.
::But, for them to work, there's either an assumption of mind-body dualism (i.e. (some) memories are somehow separate from the physical structures that might store them) or else there's some kind of a jolt of 'legacy memory reupload' that grants the person(s) undergoing the save-scummed restart process with the hint (or outright knowledge) of what had transpired upon the last cycle (or, cummulatively, ''all'' prior cycles).
::Some versions have everyone practically the same every single time, ''except'' for a lingering sense of deja vu. Or even some other entirely external artefact to hint that it's "not their first rodeo", that might not even belong to themselves but subtly changes the scenario that they're reacting to. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 22:28, 3 February 2026 (UTC)
:Outer Wilds had an intesting way of handling it, where information was sent back in time. But they never really explain how the information is captured, sent, and then "retrieved" to the person's mind. It's just sort of handwaved as alien technology. [[Special:Contributions/24.177.125.170|24.177.125.170]] 01:44, 5 February 2026 (UTC)

I'm sure i read this comic yesterday? [[Special:Contributions/89.242.150.153|89.242.150.153]] 20:18, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

The specific individual ground squirrel in Pennsylvania most people agreed to standardize on is now 139 years old. Even Wikipedia confirms the official Phil has been the same forecasting beast since 1887. Personally I'm a little unsure, I wonder if perhaps there may have been some substitutions along the way, however I cannot find any references to that happening... maybe I'm just too untrusting? [[User:Martin|Martin]] ([[User talk:Martin|talk]]) 21:25, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

I think there's one more hidden joke in the fact that it's Cueball explaining this to Black Hat and not the other way around. You'd expect misinformation from Black Hat but in fact what features in the comic is all true. [[Special:Contributions/2A02:8071:60F0:67A0:E9DD:54D9:E9C0:2426|2A02:8071:60F0:67A0:E9DD:54D9:E9C0:2426]] 07:00, 3 February 2026 (UTC)

The German weather lore is solely about the weather on candlemess. The batchers are a later addition. --[[Special:Contributions/2001:638:807:507:D0DD:20BF:E52B:CCC4|2001:638:807:507:D0DD:20BF:E52B:CCC4]] 13:22, 3 February 2026 (UTC)
:The badgers are the particularly German thing. The generic lore around Candlemas* (and even around animals and Candlemas more generally) is much more widespread.
:(*In fact, it likely predates Candlemas, and originates in more pagan lore.) [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 14:15, 3 February 2026 (UTC)

That's OK, Ontario has https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiarton_Willie :-) [[Special:Contributions/2607:F2C0:F00F:8C00:0:0:0:CB9|2607:F2C0:F00F:8C00:0:0:0:CB9]] 01:07, 8 February 2026 (UTC)

The bit I always find hilarious is that Groundhog Day is six weeks before the start of spring. There will ''always'' be six more weeks of winter, technically--[[Special:Contributions/98.155.0.182|98.155.0.182]] 06:36, 9 February 2026 (UTC)
:Yes, but the prediction is expressly a meteorological one, and so the calendar time will not necessarily stop an early warming trend. For the Celts, Spring begins on 1 February, so the equinox is simply a mnemonic to set your calendar by. Predicting the weather itself is a much more nuanced art! [[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 07:52, 9 February 2026 (UTC)
::Meteorlogical spring (northern hemisphere) is 1/March. (Equinocal spring starts around 20/March, give or take yearly-drift, other systems may sit Spring half-half across that equinox, to end half-way to "midsummer".) Of course, weather+climate changes make for different expectations in different bits of the world. Even discounting the various flips necessary for the southern hemisphere. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.212.190|82.132.212.190]] 16:16, 9 February 2026 (UTC)

Random trivia: the last time Groundhog Day was on a Monday was in 2015! [[User:John|John]] ([[User talk:John|talk]]) 04:56, 10 February 2026 (UTC)

Talk:3204: Dinosaurs And Non-Dinosaurs

2026-02-10T04:46:29Z

John:

I don't think that's a stork. My guess would be that it's a heron.
The bird in the lower right also looks like some sort of shorebird, but I've got no clue. {{unsigned ip|99.26.146.61|19:45, 6 February 2026 (UTC)}}

:I changed egret to heron. If there is some distinguishing feature in the outline that makes it clear that this an egret, as compared to the more general heron, please document (either in explanation or comments). [[Special:Contributions/107.77.205.200|107.77.205.200]] 19:02, 7 February 2026 (UTC)

I feel like this comic should be in the explanation https://xkcd.com/1211/ [[Special:Contributions/2600:4041:2E5:B900:66D3:74AD:D92D:356B|2600:4041:2E5:B900:66D3:74AD:D92D:356B]] 20:36, 6 February 2026 (UTC)

Could it have a brief layman's explanation of how/why the top right *aren't* dinosaurs? Y'know beyond just "well, technically..." [[Special:Contributions/91.84.189.119|91.84.189.119]] 06:52, 7 February 2026 (UTC)
:They are not dinosaurs because dinosaurs are only a subgroup of prehistoric animals living on land. Others are flying or underwater reptiles (don’t know the real names of those), or just plain reptiles who have existed (as a group) for far longer. Dinos are technically named „land reptiles“, but are not reptiles. It’s a bit confusing and this is where my half knowledge ends [[Special:Contributions/2A00:1E:82C2:D401:F4A3:23F3:8A2D:63B1|2A00:1E:82C2:D401:F4A3:23F3:8A2D:63B1]] 09:33, 7 February 2026 (UTC)
::Saying “dinosaurs are not reptiles” isn’t true, but more importantly is a strange thing to say in a scientific context. If you are using “reptile” informally, then the definition of one is fuzzy anyways. If using it cladistically, then reptile pretty much means “sauropsid” which includes dinosaurs and thus birds, which are not informally/traditionally included, so you might as well use the less ambiguous term “sauropsid”. [[User:Terdragontra|Terdragontra]] ([[User talk:Terdragontra|talk]]) 15:46, 7 February 2026 (UTC)
:::Yeah, the common definition of reptiles doesn't match a single evolutionary group, as crocodiles are more closely related to dinosaurs, and thus birds, than they are to lizards. Turtles separated earlier, so are equally related to both of those groups. To answer the original point, dinosaurs are defined as all the animals descended from a certain common ancestor, which they only relatively recently realized includes birds, and not just some long extinct animals known only from fossils. There are aome other animals also known only from fossils in the same time period that the general public often mistakenly thinks are dinosaurs, but are not closely related to them, being closer to other groups of living animals.--[[Special:Contributions/2600:100A:B12D:723E:FCD9:2B70:1145:6A44|2600:100A:B12D:723E:FCD9:2B70:1145:6A44]] 07:26, 8 February 2026 (UTC)

Did anyone else think that "Pseudo-such" things were a made up thing for staplers? [[User:Kev|Kev]] ([[User talk:Kev|talk]]) 13:36, 7 February 2026 (UTC

I’m interested at the things somewhere on the boundaries. Some basal forms are sometimes included as dinosaurs and sometimes just outside the clade. And som nonbird dinosaurs are somewhat birdlike, and shoebills feel more dinosaury than the average bird (while hummingbirds feel less so). [[User:Terdragontra|Terdragontra]] ([[User talk:Terdragontra|talk]]) 15:48, 7 February 2026 (UTC)
: The bird which feels the most dinosaury to me is definitely the cassowary. I think Randall could have included it in the top-left quadrant. [[User:Martin|Martin]] ([[User talk:Martin|talk]]) 22:11, 8 February 2026 (UTC)

What bird is in the lower right of the Are dinosuars, but don't seem like dinousaurs box? Currently the explanation says "falcon" - not clear why somebody thought it was a falcon. Whatever ID we give, should have some explanation. The wings look not as long front to back as a falcon. It also lacks a falcons spread tail (which can be tucked in or course). Also lacks the hooked beak typical of a falcon.
The long narrow wings suggest a relatively long distance flyer. It lacks the split tail typical of a swallow or swift. The beak isn't long enough for an albatross or similar. Gulls typically have bigger beak and rounded head. A {{w|petrel}} is my current best guess. A tern, shearwater or skua also seem possible. [[Special:Contributions/107.77.205.200|107.77.205.200]] 19:36, 7 February 2026 (UTC)
:I would have gone with describing it as a generic gull. Which would be wrong, in its own way, but at least not as wrong as 'seagull' ;) [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 20:46, 7 February 2026 (UTC)
: The short neck is falcony though. I just googled "birds of prey silhouettes" and falcon looks very plausible to me. [[User:Martin|Martin]] ([[User talk:Martin|talk]]) 22:16, 8 February 2026 (UTC)

There is a claim bicycles are not living creatures, but I think we may need a citation. Policeman MacCruiskeen. [[Special:Contributions/80.41.29.9|80.41.29.9]] 14:54, 8 February 2026 (UTC)

Continuing with the profile pedantry, in the objects which are neither dinosaurs nor look like dinosaurs, that is definitely not a pineapple. Pineapple leaves do not have a central stem, but rather all originate from the top of the pineapple. It more closely resembles a bonsai pine tree in a pot. {{unsigned ip|1.141.51.6|06:22, 9 February 2026 (UTC)}}
: It's a toilet brush put away the wrong way up. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 10:35, 9 February 2026 (UTC)

This comic is basically just one big set-up for Randall's amusement that a stapler looks a bit like a crocodile, isn't it?[[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 10:29, 9 February 2026 (UTC)
: Sounds legit...especially as I first thought it WERE a crocodile :-) {{unsigned ip|2a02:2455:1960:4000:9da4:59d7:1b5a:dcc3|12:37, 9 February 2026 (UTC)}}

The squirrel and stapler in the bottom right square reminded me of Squirrel Stapler lol [[User:Amateurautist|Amateurautist]] ([[User talk:Amateurautist|talk]]) 16:25, 9 February 2026 (UTC)
"Pot plant?" We can't see it well enough to be that specific, though I think it is shaped differently than a pot plant. "Potted."
Anyway, I saw a pineapple, not a pot(ted) plant. [[Special:Contributions/2607:FB91:5103:C3E:1873:B450:305A:44C9|2607:FB91:5103:C3E:1873:B450:305A:44C9]] 18:08, 9 February 2026 (UTC)

If we are going to be pedantic, the flightless bird silhouette is of a false penguin, not a penguin, although admittedly today people call false penguins “penguins” because all the true penguins were exterminated about 180 years ago. [[User:John|John]] ([[User talk:John|talk]]) 04:46, 10 February 2026 (UTC)

Talk:3182: Telescope Types

2025-12-27T04:42:21Z

John:

no vampire jokes 🥀 ([[1791]]) [[User:TheTrainsKid|TheTrainsKid]] ([[User talk:TheTrainsKid|talk]]) 00:08, 18 December 2025 (UTC)

Got down some preliminary descriptions of each telescope type used [[Special:Contributions/185.132.133.218|185.132.133.218]] 01:44, 18 December 2025 (UTC)

insert that one mickey mouse meme with the caption "what a fucking narcissist"
[[User:Yaokuan ITB|Yaokuan ITB]] ([[User talk:Yaokuan ITB|talk]]) 02:33, 18 December 2025 (UTC)

abnormally low joke-to-real ratio for this format of comic! [[Special:Contributions/2601:241:8002:3E0:C0A2:9DA:ED39:D13F|2601:241:8002:3E0:C0A2:9DA:ED39:D13F]] 03:21, 18 December 2025 (UTC)
:I noticed that... I think this might've originally been 'look at all these cool telescope types', but then he realized he had to put some sort of joke somewhere. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] 03:27, 18 December 2025 (UTC)

Can someone make a category for The Core (2003)? It's been mentioned often enough. [[Special:Contributions/83.245.251.49|83.245.251.49]] 09:22, 18 December 2025 (UTC)
:Can you list 4 more comics then I will make the category. I think that is about the limit for when to make a new category. I know there are a few more but is it only 2-3more? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:00, 18 December 2025 (UTC)
::All I can think of is [[673: The Sun]]. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] 15:09, 18 December 2025 (UTC)
:::Also mentioned in the title text of [[2858: Thanksgiving Arguments]]. --[[Special:Contributions/208.59.176.206|208.59.176.206]] 15:24, 18 December 2025 (UTC)
:: The [[:Category: The Core|The Core]] category was already created, nearly two years ago. This comic is the 7th reference --[[User:Deebster|Deebster]] ([[User talk:Deebster|talk]]) 23:54, 18 December 2025 (UTC)

> This would not […] end well for the drinker.

Would it though? ''Drinking'' elemental mercury, while not great on nutritional value, should be mostly safe (and I'm using that word quite loosely). The most danger would be while drinking and expelling it, when there's a danger of inhaling mercury vapors, right? --[[User:Coconut Galaxy|Coconut Galaxy]] ([[User talk:Coconut Galaxy|talk]]) 10:29, 18 December 2025 (UTC)
: ... Agreed. Elemental mercury is dangerous when inhaled, not when drinked. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_poisoning [[Special:Contributions/109.81.171.81|109.81.171.81]] 21:12, 18 December 2025 (UTC)
:: (it's ''..when drunk.'') ;) [[Special:Contributions/88.65.244.212|88.65.244.212]] 00:42, 26 December 2025 (UTC)
It wouldn't take much work to make the "Real?" column all contain only "yes" [[Special:Contributions/136.32.133.124|136.32.133.124]] 12:05, 18 December 2025 (UTC)

As all others are refractors or reflectors, can cardboard tube be considered a diffractor? As it is the only thing that it does.--[[User:Trimutius|Trimutius]] ([[User talk:Trimutius|talk]]) 15:43, 18 December 2025 (UTC)
:Well, all the others do it as well. Even more so, as they have more objects in the light path. --[[Special:Contributions/88.65.244.212|88.65.244.212]] 00:42, 26 December 2025 (UTC)
> Children may sometimes use tubes [...]

It's not just children. I've seen "viewing tubes" in at least a couple of places, hard-mounted metal tubes that point at particular points of interest. I'm not finding any good references, but here's a photo showing some at the top of a nearby mountain: https://maps.app.goo.gl/wwnYJ1zEQEXzjyJS8 [[User:Jordan Brown|Jordan Brown]] ([[User talk:Jordan Brown|talk]]) 18:07, 18 December 2025 (UTC)

Is the joke with "Geological" that it's looking at something 'far away' from actual Geology? {{unsigned ip|64.203.66.182|17:14, 19 December 2025}}

I flunked out of freshman physics, so apologies in advance if this is very stupid, but looking at the designs, and the “reflector” and “refractor” columns, I was wondering if it might make sense to combine the two, have a telescope with a refracting lens at one end and a concave mirror at the other (and presumably a secondary mirror) that would allow for a shorter overall length tube for the telescope. [[User:John|John]] ([[User talk:John|talk]]) 04:42, 27 December 2025 (UTC)

Talk:783: I Don't Want Directions

2025-12-26T05:43:57Z

John:

Are you sure the postman can find his way? Maybe you need to put the directions on the letter, just to be safe. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:33, 24 April 2013 (UTC)

Unless you're using Apple Maps on an iPhone 5S. Watch out for those runways.
[[Special:Contributions/74.140.141.101|74.140.141.101]] 18:16, 5 October 2013 (UTC)

Am I the only one that doesn't automatically assume the GPS knows best? I always look it up anyway... especially in Houston where there are a lot of roads that the system thinks is "divided," so it will try to route you in a circuitous way to ensure you can make a right-turn in (when in reality it is totally possible to make the left turn). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.220.23|108.162.220.23]] 15:52, 9 April 2014 (UTC)
:No. In Britain GPS systems usually assume the motorways are quickest when in Britain the motorways are usually clogged.

:It was 2010, so it was before when smartphones got ''this'' popular. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.85.204|141.101.85.204]] 05:39, 17 June 2015 (UTC) [[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 17:10, 26 January 2015 (UTC)

If someone insists on giving directions, listen to them; it may mean the place isn't where maps think it is, or they give a road that's not there or something. At least three addresses in my immediate family have this problem to some degree.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.16|108.162.221.16]] 18:59, 2 September 2015 (UTC)
* Agreed: in my area, people may have address "house X", but with "access via dead end Y" [[Special:Contributions/172.68.11.243|172.68.11.243]] 05:30, 28 July 2020 (UTC)
One possible 'way around' people who don't want to trust your GPS, is to accept/acknowledge the directions, then _quote them back wrong_. For example, "Okay, so turn left a mile before the big open field, and west onto I-73, right?" because in the US, major interstates tend to be even for east-west, odd for north-south. (My apologies; I have not created a username for explainxcd.) [[Special:Contributions/68.204.55.141|68.204.55.141]] 21:34, 15 September 2025 (UTC)

And then, there is my house… people try to just type in the address to their GPS, but that will put them in an apartment complex 50 yards (50m) south of me, so I tell them “watch the house numbers, the GPS will take you past my house and have you turn in to an apartment complex (or, if coming from the south, continue forward another 50 yards after the GPS tells you to turn left into the apartment complex)” and so many people don’t listen to me, they blindly trust their GPS. Oddly enough, Apple Maps and TomTom get it right, Google, Waze, and Garmin all make the same mistake. Unfortunately, essentially no one believes me when I tell them this, I still get phone calls from delivery people and repair people saying “which apartment is yours?” And I have to explain that their GPS is wrong. Took me months of explaining it to UPS to get them to update their system, but Amazon usually gets it right.

Talk:2836: A Halloween Carol

2023-12-12T11:42:29Z

John:

The 'standard' and '2x' sized images had unexpected sizes, so a Trivia section has been automatically generated, and an imagesize paramter has been added (at half size) to render the image consistently with other comics on this website. --[[User:TheusafBOT|TheusafBOT]] ([[User talk:TheusafBOT|talk]]) 19:12, 2 October 2023 (UTC)
:Oooohh... Nice. (Not a ghostly ooOOoooOOooo, just appreciation of the 'Bot now having the functionality to deal with the (now several times repeated) publishing errors at Randall's end.) Good Bot. Nice detection/stopgap behaviour! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.91|141.101.76.91]] 20:13, 2 October 2023 (UTC)
:the link it gave to the standard size image is actually a link to the 2x image, so maybe this functionality doesn't work right --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.213|162.158.154.213]] 01:26, 3 October 2023 (UTC)
:Also, teach your bot how to spell "parameter". :) Otherwise, cool. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:21, 7 October 2023 (UTC)
::Nice catch, thanks. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 06:20, 9 October 2023 (UTC)

should be noted that the tradition of Halloween costumes may have began as a way to scare off spirits, such as ghosts [[Special:Contributions/172.71.30.203|172.71.30.203]] 06:19, 3 October 2023 (UTC)
: I feel like that isn't "may", that it's firmly established fact, or rather that scary costumes were meant as a way to blend in and stay safe with the spooky spirits who cross over when the spiritual veil is thinnest, the night before it's (somehow?) strengthened on All Saints' Day, November 1st. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:29, 7 October 2023 (UTC)

Should I edit the “Created by a BOT” in the trivia section, or keep it a bit more serious?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.137.60|162.158.137.60]] 13:07, 3 October 2023 (UTC)
: I feel like the traditional location is sufficiently enough. :) I also feel like the "Created by a bot" is just a flag to review the results, then remove the message entirely. Without an established "It'll be deleted" policy, best leave it serious. IMHO. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:24, 7 October 2023 (UTC)

This one seems way off base to me... is it not common knowledge that Halloween (or "All Hallow's Eve") is an originally Christian/Catholic holiday? I mean, not as important on the calendar as the usual "we have forgotten the true meaning of" holidays, Easter and Christmas, but still... [[User:Mathmannix|Mathmannix]] ([[User talk:Mathmannix|talk]])
:That's a matter of definition. The Christian holiday evolved from the Celtic holiday/celebration/rituals of Samhain. A strong argument could be made that the traditions of Samhain are the "true meaning" of Hallowe'en. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 15:40, 3 October 2023 (UTC)
::Christian missionaries who tried to take away people's holidays likely didn't survive their mission. ALL Christian holidays inherited a lot from the older celebrations around same time, even Eastern. Of course, the case of Christmas is strongest as there is exactly zero reason for putting it on that date except to override Saturnalia. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 17:49, 3 October 2023 (UTC)
:What's off base about the explanation? The comic is, factually, about taking the concept of Christmas Carol and applying it to Hallowe'en. At a quick glance I see no attempt to EXPLAIN the holiday, and I see no call to do so. Hallowe'en, so ghosts, they say "ooOOOoo" instead of any redemptive message, done. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:36, 7 October 2023 (UTC)

Is one of them not talking because it's the ghost of halloween future? [[User:Umblatz|Umblatz]] ([[User talk:Umblatz|talk]]) 14:07, 4 October 2023 (UTC)
: No - just because not speaking is even scarier...[[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.196|172.70.86.196]] 08:15, 5 October 2023 (UTC)
: (Serious answer, though...) Assuming that they are maintaining the same relative position, all of them do speak (or, at least, oooOOOooo) at some point.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.23|172.70.85.23]] 08:17, 5 October 2023 (UTC)

I think maybe the joke in this comic is not so much that the meaning of Halloween is simple and unsubtle, but that it is perfectly illustrated by the presence of ghosts, so they don't need to explain anything (like they would for Christmas); they just need to assert their presence. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.223.101|172.71.223.101]] 14:57, 4 October 2023 (UTC)

It's all come full circle. Long ago, Beartato and Reginald got in trouble for stealing XKCD's Jokes ([https://nedroid.com/?601], [https://nedroid.com/?602]). Now, XKCD should get in trouble for stealing Beartato and Reginald's jokes! [https://nedroid.com/?640] --[[User:Bc55|Bc55]] ([[User talk:Bc55|talk]]) 14:29, 4 November 2023 (UTC)

Nothing in the explanation regarding which of Inky, Pinky, Blinky, or Clyde are represented (I’m guessing Clyde would be the one ignored) or why the Pac-Man ghosts were used at all. Is Pac-Man supposed to be extra funny because it’s such an old game, or is there something deeper? [[User:John|John]] ([[User talk:John|talk]]) 11:42, 12 December 2023 (UTC)

Talk:2794: Alphabet Notes

2023-07-12T11:28:04Z

John:

No, we must rid ourselves of the redundant C. Also we need to bring back Ð and Þ. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 19:20, 26 June 2023 (UTC)
:I agree with your second point, but not your first (This is why: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chpT0TzietQ) [[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Miscellaneous#Help_with_Creating_a_User_Page|Trogdor147]] ([[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Miscellaneous#Help_with_Creating_a_User_Page|talk]]) 01:04, 27 June 2023 (UTC)
:I agree, as long as we also bring back ᵹ. [[User:PxP|PxP]] 19:57, 28 June 2023 (UTC)
:Cueball may disagree with you. :9 [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:40, 1 July 2023 (UTC)

daMNation, randoMNess, chiMNey, gyMNastics, autuMN are not fancy words [[Special:Contributions/172.70.250.204|172.70.250.204]] 19:43, 26 June 2023 (UTC)
:Autumn is to me! (Fall is the standard, Autumn is fancy) [[User:PxP|PxP]] 19:58, 28 June 2023
:To me "Autumn" is normal. "Fall" only comes from furriners... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.131|172.70.86.131]] 00:46, 29 June 2023 (UTC)

You can't have rUIn without U and I together!

Or UI! [[User:GetPunnedOn|GetPunnedOn]] ([[User talk:GetPunnedOn|talk]]) 22:35, 26 June 2023 (UTC) (Reply to above text)

We need to bring back way more letters: https://youtu.be/wJxKyh9e5_A
--[[Special:Contributions/172.71.246.84|172.71.246.84]] 20:33, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

I would be useful to include the letter frequency table from Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_frequency but we don't appear to have the "bartable" template from wikipedia to display bar charts. It would explain a lot about the haunted letters in particular to have it.

The circled JK is clearly referencing the text-language abbreviation for "just kidding", and the bracketed VW... I'm not sure but, it might have to do with Volkswagen, or the spikiness of the letters, or "why isn't W called double-V or at least next to the U".
[[Special:Contributions/172.70.174.166|172.70.174.166]] 21:18, 26 June 2023 (UTC)
:I removed the portion claiming that "JK" originated with SMS texting, which simply isn't true at all. Using "JK" as an acronym for "just kidding", goes back even before the rise of Bulletin Board Systems; it may have originated with schoolkids passing notes.
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 16:03, 29 June 2023 (UTC)
:: I feel like it DID start with SMS texting, which has a strict size limit and people used to not have unlimited texting and as such had to keep things brief. I have a long history with computers and internet and technology, including back to BBSs, and it seems like JK and J/K only started showing up 15-20 years ago. I was late to owning a cell phone, and thus texting, so it was in widespread use before I caught what it meant. Remembering that BBSs never had any length limits (none I saw, anyway), so there was no motivation for skipping letters in words (other than lengthening connection time, a difference so negligible it would be measured in picoseconds or lower). SMS is what started - indirectly - charging for writing longer. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:40, 1 July 2023 (UTC)
::I don't know whether it was chat (except usually those had a pretty generous length as I recall) or in-game messaging or some prior convention such as acronyms used in morse shorthands, but "JK" would get tacked on after statements on message boards & it was even used on handwritten notes, quite a bit prior to the advent of SMS (which itself was well over 20 years ago). JK has been around longer than many (most?) of us have been alive.
::[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 17:39, 2 July 2023 (UTC)
:I'm not going to claim to be an absolute authority on this by any means, but I have an English & Linguistics degree, have spent a lifetime collecting phrases and idioms out of sheer fascination, and make a living as a proofreader for a huge international company with dozens of offices in the Americas, Europe, East Asia, the Middle East and Australia. But I'm English, as my handle would probably suggest, and I have now, having read this comic, heard of "JK" to mean "just kidding". So I'm going to suggest that maybe it's rather North American in usage.[[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 11:04, 30 June 2023 (UTC)

:I think the bracketed V and W is referencing the fact that W is equivalent to two V’s together. (Or the fact that W originated as VV) —[[User:Purah126|Purah126]] ([[User talk:Purah126|talk]]) 23:39, 26 June 2023 (UTC)
: Huh, I always thought "jk" was for "joke". Luckily it doesn't change its meaning... (unlike the person who thought "LOL" was for "Lots of Love" https://www.quora.com/Does-LOL-stand-for-Love-you-loads-or-Lots-of-love ) [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 07:19, 27 June 2023 (UTC)

:In some languages, such as French, w is called "double v" (or its literal transaltion), which makes more sense. :-) --[[User:Itub|Itub]] ([[User talk:Itub|talk]]) 11:28, 27 June 2023 (UTC)

Added the Twinkle Twinkle justification into the existing explanation. But I might be talking out of my hat, as I'm British and only really know the US treatment from imported media. (Sesame Street? No, I can only bring to mind their counting 1-12 song. And "Conjunction Junction".) The UK's "alphabet" recital form, at least when I was that young, is far less musical. And tends to rhyme "Z" with "Drop dead!", naturally. ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.183|172.70.90.183]] 22:06, 26 June 2023 (UTC)
: I'm Canadian, similarly using "zed", and we DID use the alphabet song, we just ignored trying to rhyme that letter. :) Makes me wonder if that rhyme is WHY Americans use "zee". [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:40, 1 July 2023 (UTC)

Pretty sure he isn't questioning the position of Q as much as its inclusion. If we wanted to reform English spelling, we could get rid of Q pretty kwiklee.[[Special:Contributions/172.71.26.207|172.71.26.207]] 23:29, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

: Or maybe it's that old joke about why U doesn't follow Q in the alphabet? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.107|141.101.98.107]] 10:09, 27 June 2023 (UTC) Artinum

I can't be the only one who thinks there's a dirty joke in the line '"D" is solid, at least' [[Special:Contributions/172.71.150.140|172.71.150.140]] 00:18, 27 June 2023 (UTC)
:I didn't. I think that joke is simply that D is a simple, enclosed shape. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 04:27, 27 June 2023 (UTC)
:B is also a simple, enclosed shape. I thought that the 'no heavy hitters' comment might be a reference to 'ETAION SHRDLU', the 12 most common letters in written English arranged in descending order of frequency - since it contains neither B nor C (nor, indeed, F or G).[[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.146|172.69.79.146]] 05:12, 27 June 2023 (UTC)
:B has a concave feature so is not so simple a shape as D. D is the only consonant whose [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convex_hull convex hull] maintains the shape of the letter. (Imagine snapping a rubber band around the letter. The vowels I and O also have this property... at least with no serifs on the I, as drawn.) [[User:Davidhbrown|Davidhbrown]] ([[User talk:Davidhbrown|talk]]) 11:49, 27 June 2023 (UTC)
:I feel it is just that Randall finds D to be a "reliable" letter, like a workhorse letter, it does the job while not being flashy (I tend to get his thinking, MANY comics where I feel the same as him, this included, but I can't fully explain this feeling in this case, I just agree with the statement). [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:40, 1 July 2023 (UTC)

PxP: I must ask, does this has anything to do with Alphabet Lore by Mike Salcedo? I feel it might be, with Q being weird and all. 12:16, 27 June 2023 (EST)

To quote my latest edit-comment: "Why number-points, anyway? Just *s would make more sense than #s, as there's no need to establish an order in most cases, especially for multi-glyph annotations" (...like the wide spread of vowels(+Y), especially). I see no need for ordinal bullet-points, but (which would have helped my prior edit, that I'd forgotten to Preview first, thus had broken/restarted the numbering) it is a prime candidate for the more traditional wikitable layout. Columns of "Letter(s), Red Comment, Possible Reason(s)" would probably suffice. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.171|172.70.162.171]] 16:43, 27 June 2023 (UTC)

In order for it to BE an 'alphabet', it has to begin with the equivalent letters for 'Alpha' and 'Beta'. Any logographic system that doesn't begin with the local equivalent of A and B (such as Chinese pinyin, or Norse runes) isn't an alphabet, no matter how many times the plebs claim it is...[[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.214|172.70.91.214]] 03:44, 28 June 2023 (UTC)
:Not necessarily. The name of a word doesn't necessarily correspond 1:1 with its meaning. And even if "alphabet" was originally created with that meaning (which it may or may not have), meanings can change over time. Wikipedia's {{w|Alphabet}} article lists many writing systems that aren't Latin-derived; the accepted meaning of an alphabet is any writing system that associates symbols with sounds. Not that I'm going to convince you of anything of course - your use of the word "plebs" implies that you're not willing to change your mind. [[User:DownGoer|DownGoer]] ([[User talk:DownGoer|talk]]) 05:18, 29 June 2023 (UTC)
::Seconded. Etymology and current meaning are not the same thing. [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 10:55, 30 June 2023 (UTC)
: I agree with these two, in current parlance they're all alphabets. I can believe that's the origin of the word, but not that it's the current meaning. I mean, if non-Alpha-and-Beta languages '''''AREN'T''''' "alphabets", then what do you call them instead? [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:40, 1 July 2023 (UTC)
: Boy, you're going to be really annoyed when you learn where the words "logograph" and "rune" come from. (To save people a Google search: "instrument or person who writes" and "secret conversation", respectively. So by your logic, the Chinese script - or indeed, any script - cannot be called a logography, and most Norse writing are not runes.) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.211.36|172.71.211.36]] 12:43, 1 July 2023 (UTC)

The strong RST cluster could also reference the keys on the colemak keyboard layout where the three stronger fingers (ring, middle, left) of the left-hand sit on those keys
: This doesn't seem likely. Other than international keyboards, usually the only keyboard layout that comes up is the Dvorak. It seems clear to me that he means that they are 3 of the 5 most common letters in the English language, and they happen to be clustered together in the alphabet. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:40, 1 July 2023 (UTC)

None of the latest comics have been added to this site around when they were posted recently. —[[Special:Contributions/172.70.174.166|172.70.174.166]] 14:12, 28 June 2023 (UTC)

What's funny - but I find incredibly common - is that I agree with Randall on all of these points, LOL! I can just see what he means. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:40, 1 July 2023 (UTC)

Why're we using "number-bullets" in this page's markup/composition? Seems a strange choice... [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.139|172.71.178.139]] 16:56, 2 July 2023 (UTC)
:We're not anymore! :D
:I spend more time than I'd like to admit turning the entire article into a table. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 08:01, 3 July 2023 (UTC)

Are you sure he doesn't mean ''here'' as in why Q is between P and R instead of, say, next to U? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.52|108.162.242.52]] 01:36, 5 July 2023 (UTC)
:That might be the case. Feel free to add that to the article. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 07:54, 5 July 2023 (UTC)--[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 07:54, 5 July 2023 (UTC)

Can someone add the letters E and L to the chart? [[User:IJustWantToEditStuff|IJustWantToEditStuff]] ([[User talk:IJustWantToEditStuff|talk]]) 16:33, 7 July 2023 (UTC)
:The letter "L" is where it should be, but named "L to P" because the only comment about L is the alphabet song. I avoided adding "E" because it would be in the middle of another group it's not part of (see the comic). If someone finds a way to add "E" (which has no comment from Randall) into the table without making it confusing, let us know. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 21:25, 7 July 2023 (UTC)
::My suggestion would be to have rowspanned cells (and/or a sorting-compatible means of merging sequrntial repetitions) so each individual character has as many 'raw' table lines as it has different annotations, and every annotation has as many lines as it has members of the set. I might fiddle with that myself, see what it looks like. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.19|162.158.34.19]] 22:37, 7 July 2023 (UTC)

I’m surprised there is no discussion of W as a vowel, for example the word cwm. [[User:John|John]] ([[User talk:John|talk]]) 11:28, 12 July 2023 (UTC)

Talk:2721: Euler Diagrams

2023-01-07T12:19:29Z

John:

Has anyone made a Venn Diagram of the differences and similarities between Euler Diagrams and Venn Diagrams before? '''Tiny Desk Engineer''' ([[User talk:TinyDeskEngineer|talk]]) "My user page can't be vandalized if it never existed" 21:30, 6 January 2023 (UTC)
:Yes. See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euler_diagram#/media/File%3AEuler_and_Venn_diagrams.svg [[User:John|John]] ([[User talk:John|talk]]) 12:19, 7 January 2023 (UTC)

I made a transcript. {{User:PoolloverNathan/Signature}} 21:34, 6 January 2023 (UTC)

Other things named after Euler include: {{w|Euler method}}, {{w|Euler angles}}, {{w|Euler equations (fluid dynamics)}}, and lots of other stuff in this article: {{w|Contributions of Leonhard Euler to mathematics}}. [[User:Orion205|Orion205]] ([[User talk:Orion205|talk]]) 03:22, 7 January 2023 (UTC)

I can't hear Euler without thinking of one episode of Big Bang Theory when they were goofing around with a Euler Disk. :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:04, 7 January 2023 (UTC)

Talk:2713: Data Point

2022-12-21T05:25:07Z

John:

My theory: Randall got some interesting patterns drawing stars for the previous [[Gravity]] game, and wanted to show us how cool this one looks. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.130|172.69.134.130]] 10:53, 20 December 2022 (UTC)

Kudos to whomever used "datum" in its correct singular form. And also a kudo to the same person for their use of "data" correctly. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.179.3|172.70.179.3]] 12:27, 20 December 2022 (UTC)

: Anti-kudos for neglecting the etymology of kudos, ancient Greek κῦδος. In spite of ending in "s" it's a singular noun that means praise. Would a singular kudo be a pray or a prey? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.134.94|172.70.134.94]] 13:14, 20 December 2022 (UTC)
::The irony is sweet as a molass. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.27|162.158.78.27]] 18:11, 20 December 2022 (UTC)
:::This reminds me of a “dad joke” my mom would make every time we had molasses out on the dining table: she would inevitably, at some point, ask me to “pass the lasses.” And I would follow the script, and say, “don’t you mean MOlasses?” To which she would reply, in her best (meaning: awful) fake southern drawl, “hows ken it be MOlasses, whens I ain’t had none yet.”[[User:John|John]] ([[User talk:John|talk]]) 05:25, 21 December 2022 (UTC)

In the business of quality engineering it's all too common for the lab to be asked to neglect "bad" data points. The method is known as "Test until good." -- "Aha! You finally got one data point that says the stuff's okay. Ship it!" [[Special:Contributions/172.70.134.94|172.70.134.94]] 13:14, 20 December 2022 (UTC)

This comic finally explains the reason for the diffraction spikes on the stars in JWST images.

[[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.232|172.70.126.232]] 01:32, 21 December 2022 (UTC) to be fair, there are certain data points which are mainly important in comparison to widely understood baselines, not to other data points in the actual test. things like fusion-energy-gain numbers, rocket ISP, nuclear warhead yield, etc. For those types of results, one valid data point that breaks the previous record is all that really matters.

946: Family Decals

2022-12-19T05:41:07Z

John: /* Trivia */

{{comic
| number = 946
| date = September 2, 2011
| title = Family Decals
| image = family decals.png
| titletext = My decal set has no adults, just a sea of hundreds of the little girl figures closing in around a single cat.
}}

==Explanation==
There exists a current fashion among car owners to place {{w|decal|decals}} on their back window that represent their family. The decals consist of stick figures to depict the parents and children, perhaps shown doing a favorite activity, and even pets.

The first car window features a couple with three children, while the other shows just a couple ([[Cueball]] and [[Megan]]), with piles of dollar bills and two large bags with dollar signs on them. The humor comes from the opportunity cost implied in this — not having children allows you to avoid the expense of raising them and accumulate money for your own use.

One might expect that the cars would represent the difference in wealth, and they are identified as 'urban SUV' and 'sporty hatch back' in the [http://xkcd.com/946/info.0.json official transcript]. The larger car is a {{w|Subaru Outback}} which is a typical car used by families. The second car is a {{w|Honda Fit}}, which is a budget compact hatchback, in the comic it has a spoiler added. The Subaru Outback is more expensive now than the Honda Fit, which seems to fit perfect with the comic's implication since a family of five have to buy the large expensive hatchback. Being able to buy a smaller car that doesn't need to hold a five member family also allows you to save more money.

The title text refers to the humorous description of cats as the real masters of their household, and the little girls surrounding the cat refers to their ability to influence humans with their cuteness (as referenced in [[231: Cat Proximity]]). The implication is that any adults in the household have a limited, non-credited role. The title text could also be a reverse of the stereotypical "crazy cat lady". Instead of someone owning a very large quantity of cats it could be one cat with an ungodly number of little girls.

==Transcript==
:[Close up of the rear ends of two cars parked next to each other. Both have white stickers on their black rear windows. The car on the left is an urban SUV and most of the rear is visible with all the lights and a readable license plate with gray text visible. Its stickers represent a family. From left to right they are a Cueball-like guy, a woman with white hair like Blondie (i.e. black shows through), a girl with two ponytails, a boy of the same height and a smaller boy, both boys Cueball-like. The car on the right is a sporty hatch back, and only the left part until the middle is shown. The left lights and the very left part of the license plate can be seen. Its stickers show Cueball, Megan and then a large pile of dollar notes (six piles of different heights) and two large money bags with dollar signs on them, and the rear left bag is partly hidden by two piles of notes.]
:License plate of SUV: ICE-LI3
:License plate of sporty hatch back: 4[cut off]

==Trivia==
*Decals based on this comic do, in fact, exist.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Money]]

Talk:2700: Account Problems

2022-11-25T12:40:35Z

John:

What was going on with this page? [[User:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)]] ([[User talk:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|talk]]) 00:58, 19 November 2022 (UTC)

:Vandalism. I mentioned it on the [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests|Admin requests]] page. It's getting reverted back to normal pretty quickly when it happens, but it will probably keep happening until an admin bans the person doing it, or the person doing it gets bored and stops on their own. [[User:Equites|Equites]] ([[User talk:Equites|talk]]) 01:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)

are two nazis actually in an edit war or is it just one person astroturfing --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.100|162.158.63.100]] 01:18, 19 November 2022 (UTC)

I'm trying to combat it, but I'll only be able to keep this up for around another 20 minutes or so. [[User:InfoManiac|InfoManiac]] ([[User talk:InfoManiac|talk]]) 01:21, 19 November 2022 (UTC)

:Is TheusafBot ofline or something? Generally it handles this sort of stuff pretty well--[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 01:44, 19 November 2022 (UTC)
::I'm pretty sure he is. [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 02:23, 19 November 2022 (UTC)

This reminds me of the time I used a character in my password that was the "stty kill" character for one workstation's default console terminal settings. I normally logged in via ssh, and occasionally logged in via xdm, but the time I tried logging in via the console, it really didn't like what was left of my password. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.180|162.158.62.180]] 01:25, 19 November 2022 (UTC)
:Ah, the good old days when ordinary printing characters were used for erase and kill. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 01:43, 19 November 2022 (UTC)

Vandals are just looking for a fun time, generally. Solution: make it not a fun time for them. Revert their edits dryly, patiently, with no particular comment or anything. Eventually they will get bored and find something else to do. Or, perhaps they'll sit there vandalizing while we revert them, we dozens against probably just one vandal. But if you make your irritation clear, that's "fun" to them, and they'll keep at it with renewed vigour. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.239|108.162.216.239]] 01:37, 19 November 2022 (UTC)

I accidentally used a backspace character in a username one time. It caused all sorts of problems with my account.

Also, I've never found the whole "The trolls will leave you alone if you don't move." thing to be effective. But I've never found anything else to be effective at universally adjusting behavior either.
-Master Areth

I wrote most of the current page after the first paragraph. It's a fairly sloppy first draft that could probably use some editing. Anyone who can should feel free to clean it up. Especially since the page is now protected (I'm not complaining; it was necessary) and so I can't edit it any more. [[User:Equites|Equites]] ([[User talk:Equites|talk]]) 05:57, 19 November 2022 (UTC)
:Hi [[User:Equites|Equites]], I [[Special:Diff/299457|rewrote]] the explanation, hope that's okay. I removed the references to the security aspect because I didn't think it was relevant. (Also pinging [[User:FrankHightower|FrankHightower]].) --[[User:Hddqsb|Hddqsb]] ([[User talk:Hddqsb|talk]]) 07:59, 20 November 2022 (UTC)
::The first paragraph seems a bit superfluous - it's basically just a description of the comic, so isn't really adding anything to the explanation. Also, I think the bit about Pascal could come out of the second para - it doesn't appear to be relevant to what's going on in the comic, so it could just skip to the bit about null terminators.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.54|172.70.91.54]] 16:46, 21 November 2022 (UTC)
:::I removed the most superfluous part from the first paragraph, and pared down the explanation of Pascal strings ([[Special:Diff/299641|diff]]). I didn't remove the first paragraph entirely because I think it provides important context and details which are implicit in the comic. And I think it's important to at least mention Pascal strings because that sets the scene for the explanation of C strings (which ''don't'' explicitly store the length). --[[User:Hddqsb|Hddqsb]] ([[User talk:Hddqsb|talk]]) 10:08, 22 November 2022 (UTC)

Seems to be another Tech issue comic, its a tech issue with Cueball talking to Megan and the tech issue is extremely cursed. Should we add this one?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.22.98|162.158.22.98]] 06:00, 19 November 2022 (UTC)

"since there is no sequence of keys he could type that would result in a null terminator" ... I can type a NULL (ASCII 00) just fine in my editor on Linux (ctrl-v ctrl-@, the latter I type as ctrl-shift-2). However, I am not quite sure how to phrase this in the explanation without sounding like "Áctually! ...." [[User:henrikar|Henri]]
:I am amused that both in the main text and in this comment something has converted the "at sign" into [email protected].

The title text is likely a reference to [https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgrammerHumor/comments/yqof9f/comment/ivrd9ur/ this reddit post]. [[User:Pb|Pb]] ([[User talk:Pb|talk]]) 07:06, 19 November 2022 (UTC)
: I don't think that's likely... --[[User:Hddqsb|Hddqsb]] ([[User talk:Hddqsb|talk]]) 08:50, 20 November 2022 (UTC)

The only thing is I'm pretty sure it's not terribly difficult to enter a null string character, you just have to know what it is. On a PC with a keyboard that has a number pad, you can press Alt-[Number] to enter special characters using their ASCII code (Alt-65 will get "A", Alt-8 is backspace or delete, I forget which but I think BS, etc. MIGHT need leading zeroes to be 3 digits). The 0 to 31 codes - 32 is space, starting the normal characters - tend to have all the special characters, I think null string is 0? [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:14, 20 November 2022 (UTC)
:It is. And (with caveats, depending upon other issues and circumstances) Alt-numpad0 would give me the null-char wherever it's practical and not blocked (intentionally or just because it isn't specifically catered for).[[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.206|172.71.178.206]] 15:25, 20 November 2022 (UTC)
::I know a sysadmin friend of mine had to help a user whose account name was "🦙" (The Llama unicode symbol) and he was on a computer where not all layers between the username field and the password authentication understood unicode. Examples like this will happen in real life. [[User:IIVQ|IIVQ]] ([[User talk:IIVQ|talk]]) 11:16, 21 November 2022 (UTC)
:::Were they Spanish, by any chance?[[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.173|172.70.90.173]] 16:49, 21 November 2022 (UTC)

As Cueball is showing and handing over his laptop, I don't think the issue is about a website account (where he could probably do a password reset), but his local account on the laptop, of which he is now locked out, and hopes Poneytail can break into it? [[User:Ghen|ghen]] ([[User talk:Ghen|talk]]) 18:28, 19 November 2022 (UTC)
:Good point, updated to avoid referring to "website" specifically. (Another possibility is that it is the password for some installed application.) --[[User:Hddqsb|Hddqsb]] ([[User talk:Hddqsb|talk]]) 07:17, 20 November 2022 (UTC)

''"Suppose a website's registration form allows the user's new password to have up to 20 characters, but due to a programmer error the login page only accepts passwords with up to 18 characters."'' 
There are also cases where page or application is updated with the expectation that old user accounts will still be working, but updated page no longer accepts same characters (or number of characters) than the old one, locking some people out. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 01:35, 20 November 2022 (UTC)
:I know from experience that (at least one version of) Windows Server allows very long passwords and that the Windows Server installer will accept very long passwords when setting up the initial admin account, but that the installer silently truncates the password to a "normal" length when actually setting up said account. If you aren't aware of this (and you have a client that uses ridiculously long passwords), you can easily trick yourself into thinking you mistyped and locked yourself out, and have to reinstall. Once installed with a shorter password, it can be changed to whatever length you want.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.134.122|172.70.134.122]] 16:16, 21 November 2022 (UTC)

Concerning the password described in the title text. If the characters are used in the order they appear in the Unicode Table the password starts with the Null String Terminator and therefor you will essentially end up with an empty password if C or a programming language is used handling strings the same way. [[User:Kimmerin|Kimmerin]] ([[User talk:Kimmerin|talk]]) 12:51, 21 November 2022 (UTC)
: Good point, added ([[Special:Permalink/299540|snapshot]]). --[[User:Hddqsb|Hddqsb]] ([[User talk:Hddqsb|talk]]) 15:38, 21 November 2022 (UTC)

I've actually had this problem long ago; I used the @ sign as part of my password, and it didn't let me log in anymore. Some systems in the good old days (I think it was an FTP server) used the @ character to separate username and password when authenticating. Also, I am still running into this problem sometimes with usernames (emails) allowing "+" in the address on registration, but not when logging in. [[User:Pbb|Pbb]] ([[User talk:Pbb|talk]])
:The @-sign is used to separate authentication and hostname information in an URL, e.g. http://user:passwd@server.example.com:port/... Within an FTP-session it was commonly used in FTP-proxy scenarios, i.e. you've connected to an internal FTP-proxy-server providing username and hostname as username in the form username@remoteserver.example.com (similar to the syntax used for scp/sftp) and the password as is. An @-sign in the password in the latter shouldn't have any effect and within the URL an @-character would get URL-encoded not having an effect, either. URL-encoding might be the reason for the last problem, you've described leading to a space in the stored value on the server side. [[User:Kimmerin|Kimmerin]] ([[User talk:Kimmerin|talk]]) 15:50, 21 November 2022 (UTC)

A very similar situation happened when I was network manager at Moravian College back in the mid-‘90s. A user was unknowingly typing an ASCII 0 character as a “special” character for their password, and doing it as like the 4th character typed, so the rest of what they typed (which was about 8 more characters) was simply ignored, the system thought their password was just the first 3 characters, the user was none the wiser, until the day I implemented checks to require “strong” passwords that included a minimum length. The user came to me all huffy that their password *was* long enough, but they system was making them change it, but not accepting the change. I never ask users for their password, so diagnosing the problem took a few tries, I had to think to ask them to prepend 8 x’s to the front of their password, and when that worked then I understood the problem.

NULL was also a headache for me in the early 2000’s, working with Oracle web forms, and some weird interaction of software bugs between a particular version of Safari web browser, Apache web server, and Oracle somehow allowed the string “NULL” to get into the Oracle database, breaking the SQL Boolean function IS NULL. The kludge was to change the IF [string] IS NULL” test to be IF [string] IS NULL OR [string] = “NULL”
(Unfortunately not the ugliest code I have ever written) [[User:John|John]] ([[User talk:John|talk]]) 12:40, 25 November 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2696: Precision vs Accuracy

2022-11-10T15:22:13Z

John:

87.532% of all statistics are just made up. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.220|172.70.178.220]] 11:10, 9 November 2022 (UTC)

Why is 'Barack Obama is 6'1"' and 'Barack Obama has 4 legs' medium precision? It seems to give exact value, so high precision. [[User:Tkopec|Tkopec]] ([[User talk:Tkopec|talk]]) 11:44, 9 November 2022 (UTC)
: OK, I get it. 6'1" means something between 6'0.50" and 6'1.49". For height it's OK, but when counting legs, it seems like a stretch. [[User:Tkopec|Tkopec]] ([[User talk:Tkopec|talk]]) 12:30, 9 November 2022 (UTC)
:: The four legs are probably considered to be only medium precise, not because of the number but because of the imprecise term "leg". While humans can walk on all four extremities, thereby using them as legs, the upper two are commonly referred to as arms. [[User:Bischoff|Bischoff]] ([[User talk:Bischoff|talk]]) 14:54, 9 November 2022 (UTC)
:: (ECed by Bischoff) Plus a person's height (excluding differences to footwear and perhaps hairstyle) varies by an inch or so over the course of a day, as the spine compresses whilst mostly upright (would depend a bit upon your daily activities, but "an inch" or 2-3cm is the typical quoted value, with all the questions about precision ''as well as'' accuracy). Within an inch of such a foot-and-inch value is basically between slightly over a percentage point of drift across a continuum of ultimately non-integer values.
:: The number of legs is ''generally'' a whole number (perhaps lower-limb amputees could claim "half a leg", but is that for above the knee or below or... that's beyond my wish to define, I would leave it up to the individual amputee to finesse to their own liking) and assigning decimals, even .000(recurring), would be ''over-''precise. A definite plain figure (however inaccurate) being the happy and acceptable medium between that and the vague imprecision (never mind inaccuracy) of the kind in the cell below. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.137|172.71.178.137]] 15:00, 9 November 2022 (UTC)
:::The medium is because it says most, and not all! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:08, 10 November 2022 (UTC)
::::It says "most cats", indeed, but the above was about Obama, singular. Though I think it's covered anyway... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.25|172.70.85.25]] 09:44, 10 November 2022 (UTC)

Someone should add an explanation of the difference between precision and accuracy. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 13:13, 9 November 2022 (UTC)
:Tried it myself. Maybe made it too compact, but I often go on too long so I tried made it as brief and snappy as I felt I could. Over to other editors to rewrite or replace. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.137|172.71.178.137]] 15:00, 9 November 2022 (UTC)
::That there is confusion over this was a bit of a surprise to me, about 20 years ago, when I worked (as I did for many years) in the outdoor pursuits trade. GPS units would give a 12-character grid reference (1m2), but couldn't be relied upon to that level. I would tell people they're more precise than they are accurate, until it became apparent that they were waiting for me to complete the joke they thought I'd begun, as I was so clearly contradicting myself, what with the two words meaning identical things.
::Having gone on to explain the difference between the words, the neat brevity I'd sought was lost.
::Obviously they can be used sort of interchangeably in casual conversation, but I thought the difference was well enough known that, when talking about a navigational instrument, it would be obvious what was meant.
::Nope. [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 20:18, 9 November 2022 (UTC)
:::I deal with OS Grid References a lot, in a similar context, and a number of people who give 10-digits or more (2x5, for 1m res) from devices that typically don't ever settle down to less than 3m, and provably can be tens of metres off if there happens to be a small tree or shrub nearby.
:::(In fact, the other day I was geohashing myself, and my device was insisting I was in a totally different bit of the open field, 50m or so, no matter how much I sat it down at the provably correct point and wandered away so that even ''I'' wasn't obscuring its view of the sky. But it was good enough for me, which was all I do it for, so after giving it 5 minutes I counted it as done.)
:::And, in yet another activity, the publicised information for an event included a 12ish-DP reference for the starting area (vaguer than that), but just the ''postcode'' for the HQ (a very definite building that you could bullseye on a map), in a rural area where it covered half the valley! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.12|172.70.86.12]] 22:19, 9 November 2022 (UTC)

How is 17.082 palindromic? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 14:54, 9 November 2022 (UTC)
:My error, I meant an anagram! (Was going for "anagramic", and my brain clearly rebelled.) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.137|172.71.178.137]] 15:00, 9 November 2022 (UTC)

High Precision High accuracy, Randal Munroe misses when Obama was president. Low precision Medium-rare accuracy, so do we, Randal, so do we. {{unsigned ip|172.70.130.154 }}

It is so annoying that the US uses . and , to mean the opposite of what most European countries (including Denmark where I live). So when I read this it states that Obama was president less than 3 days (70 hours) but it more than 70000 feet tall. :-) Of course I now the difference but I have to think about it more than if everyone used the same standard. Also height should use SI units as everyone should ;-) (weight given in number of cats is the new SI unit as far as I know, but don't use inches and feet ;-D ) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:17, 10 November 2022 (UTC)
:Well, as a UKian, I was happy enough. Tell you what, though, let's develop a [[927: Standards|new and mutually-acceptable standard notation]]... ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.25|172.70.85.25]] 09:44, 10 November 2022 (UTC)
::Good idea. Lets meet on [[2562|11/12/22]] to discuss the details. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 13:41, 10 November 2022 (UTC)

I think Randal missed an opportunity to clarify how high precision can make something inaccurate. He could have said that Obama is 6’ 1.02173” tall, which would clearly be very precise, and also clearly inaccurate, simply because of the excessive precision. [[User:John|John]] ([[User talk:John|talk]]) 15:22, 10 November 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2686: Space Adventure

2022-10-18T11:12:08Z

John:

Is “escape this arc” a pun on the craft’s course, or is that just me? [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 05:54, 18 October 2022 (UTC)

When I read the explanation (just before going to bed) it referred to the “Golden Age of Television” which confused me, because I always knew that phrase to refer to the period from the late 40’s to 1960 or so, ie, the era before the “Network Era.” This morning I did a little research and I see that the period from around 2000 to the present is now commonly referred to as simply the “Golden Age of Television” though some will prepend the adjective “New” or “Second” or even “Third.” The revised explanation, with its emphasis on the term “Prestige TV” seems much better, especially since that’s the phrase used in the hover text. [[User:John|John]] ([[User talk:John|talk]]) 11:12, 18 October 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2626: d65536

2022-06-02T11:43:20Z

John:

I wonder: can we even make a fair polyhedron with 65536 faces? In Randal's illustration, the faces seem to be irregular hexagons. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.105|172.70.130.105]] 21:37, 30 May 2022 (UTC)
: This is better than my question, which was simply if you could tile a sphere with these. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.36|172.70.211.36]] 23:01, 30 May 2022 (UTC)
:Definitely possible, just create two identical right pyramids with a 32768-gon base and glue the bases together. [[User:Clam|Clam]] ([[User talk:Clam|talk]]) 23:53, 30 May 2022 (UTC)
: Would this design be fair? Consider a set of 256 lines of latitude overlapping another set, with the second set's polar axis at the equator of the first. Cut flat quadrangles between the intersection points of the lines of latitude. Doesn't use hexagons like the comic does though. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.121|172.70.110.121]] 09:41, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:: Fairness is a given for pyramids (if that's what you're asking). As long as there's enough 'rolling energy' to get either of the pyramids 'facing up', any N-agon base to the pyramids should have enough indeterminate impetous to then finally roll around a bit to end up with any of those exposed faces on top.
::(Interesting to note that for odd-numbered N-agonal bases, like that in a D10, you need to offset the bases and instead of sticking to the triangular faces base-to-base you now have kite-shapes that interlock in a serration that is no longer strictly planar along the axis's perpendiculars.)
::That might need a selection of the pyramidal slope. A very wide pair of bases with very little tip-'elevation' (to fit tightly within an oblate spheroid) should transition very well between same-pyramid faces, like a bulgy button, but one with highly acute tip-angle (prolate, likewise) might find the dominant behaviour to be tip-to-tip tipping, more like a toggle-fastener. OTOH, for odd-numbered end-agons it would probably ratchett to subsequent sides as it tips back and forth so long as it has enough energy to it.
::If you're asking about lines of latitude intersecting, consider that near the poles of either latitudinal reference the division of the other reference-system is going to be spliced more irregularly and thus give varying degrees of stability to rest upon.
::(Also, do you have a latitudinal line that crosses ''both'' pairs of poles, or are you deliberately moving them by half a phase (1/512th of the relevent circumference) so that you at least don't have them entirely coincident.)
::I believe the suggested scheme would be to take a dodecahedron or icosohedron (either of the two duals can be used to start with) and then subdivide each face in such a manner that equally-sized (but differently distorted) hexagons – and 12 little regular pentagons of identical area fitting in at the old dodecahedron centre/the old icosahedron vertex – emerge from the required segmentation/vertex-truncation and readjustment the radiality of all new mid-edge vertices (or maybe the newer-edges' centres or the newer-faces' centres) to touch the unit sphere. If done symmetrically, it should be entirely fair.
::The face-count might be troublesome, though. The twelve necessary pentagonal faces leaves 65524 hexagons, to split evenly between* either 12 or 20 zones, and it should be obvious that neither is possible**, in whole numbers, given the starting point of 2n faces...
:::(* - you can, and probably will in this design, have some that cross between two of the top-level polygons, but you can fully 'donate' as many as you then fully ''get'' donated from the next face around, so it might as well be just counted as a group of whole tiles on an a set of Escher-like interlocking 'rough' polygons.)
:::(** - If you're using 12 zones, that's 3x4x(however many in the zone + one corner each) and there's no factor of 3 in ''any'' value that is 2n. Arranging into 20 symmetrical zones (5x4), you will find that 65524 isn't divisible by 5, either...)
::You could probably arrange an N-ahedron with the number of faces being 12+(12a) or 12+(20b), for some higher value (a bit of mental arithmatic suggests 65592 might be that value) and mark all the 'excess' faces (56?) with "Roll Again!". Or perhaps some pithy motivational slogans that also convey roughly the same meaning... :P [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.5|172.70.162.5]] 11:32, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
::Postcript: Ok, so this is my idea for face-placing. Take a D8 (octahedron) and divide each of its 8 originally triangular faces into 8192 smaller faces (alternatively, start with a cube and progressively truncate its corners towards the same end). This is not a divisible by three number (neither can you put one in the centre, the rest are divisble by three and can surround it symmetrically), but you don't need strict rotational symmetry in any way. The opposing side can reflect/copy the non-symmetry as required to create any useful symmetry across the whole of the structure (and make floored-base/upmost-face pairings, amongst other things).
::As long as you make the faces equally likely to land on ''and stay on'' (could be hyperstellated as a slightly flat irregular 8192agon-based right-pyramid with the pyramid-faces of adjacent sides matching or meshing edges with those of each other, or a complicated mostly-hexagonal mesh, or a triangular one that's a limited fragment of a fine geodesic-like bulged pattern) by some suitable scheme governing area, aspect ratio and inter-face angle of incidence (probably normalising features to touch the unit sphere, for a start) then it should do it fairly and with ''exactly'' 65536 faces. I leave the fine-tweaking up to someone else. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.5|172.70.162.5]] 12:59, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

I don't know why it's so big? Seems like it should have a diameter of approx. 1 meter. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.105|172.70.130.105]] 21:37, 30 May 2022 (UTC)
: Cueball is 50 pixels high. The ball is 340 px high. Assuming Cueball is an average-height male (1.7m), and is standing the same distance from the viewer as the center of the ball, roughly how large is each face of the polygon? Area of a sphere is 4.pi.r.r, r=0.85, so 9.08 m^2 or 9080000 mm^2, divide by number of faces, get 277 mm^2, so we get 1.6cm to a side. If I did that right, then you're right: those are fairly large faces. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.39|172.69.70.39]] 05:58, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:I ran the calculations for the Trivia section. I used 12pt font which gave each number an area of 1/6 square inch (about 1 square cm) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.237|162.158.106.237]] 06:57, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

Should the title and picture file use "d" or the comic's difficult to type "ᴅ"?
[[User:While False|While False]] ([[User talk:While False|talk]]) 21:55, 30 May 2022 (UTC)
:Since xkcd uses small caps as lowercase letters, the "ᴅ" should just be considered xkcd-font for "d", and as such need not be used on the title, which is not using the xkcd font.
:: Ah! [[User:While False|While False]] ([[User talk:While False|talk]]) 06:15, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

If you really did want to generate a 16 bit integer with physical dice, it would be much simpler to roll a [https://www.thediceshoponline.com/impact-opaque-hexidice-d16-hexadecimal-dice hex die] four times. [[User:Clayot|Clayot]] ([[User talk:Clayot|talk]]) 23:30, 30 May 2022 (UTC)
:Rolling a binary die 16 times would also work. You can get binary dice for 1¢ each. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.69|108.162.245.69]] 01:31, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
::The lowest-value coin of all is the Tiyin from Uzbekistan. Some 3,038 equate to one UK penny (and 2,000 tot up to one US cent) from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21572359. [[User:Arachrah|Arachrah]] ([[User talk:Arachrah|talk]]) 15:13, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
::Those 1¢ "dices" are not exactly guaranteed to be random. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 06:12, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:::They seem as random as other dice? Am I wrong? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.63|172.70.230.63]] 09:33, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:::: You can reduce bias by taking two not quite fair coins. Flip them together. If both heads, or both tails, then record a 0. If different, record a 1. [[User:Arachrah|Arachrah]] ([[User talk:Arachrah|talk]]) 15:13, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

I think the hardest part (or maybe second-hardest part) is figuring out which facet is the one on top. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.109|162.158.78.109]] 00:46, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:Roll it on a glass table, check from below which face it's landed on instead. Wait until it has settled safely, though, or it might land on ''your'' face! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.227|172.70.90.227]] 04:58, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:: Good plan. Assuming standard dice design, subtract the value from 65537 to get the value of the uppermost face. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.39|172.69.70.39]] 05:58, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
::: Because computer binary counting starts with ZERO (and in this case ends with 65535) one has to subtract from 65535. This die would not have a 65536 and it would have a zero. [[User:Inquirer|Inquirer]] ([[User talk:Inquirer|talk]]) 22:38, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
::::Notice that the parent comment says “assuming standard dice design” and standard dice start with 1 and end with their d number: a standard d4 has faces 1,2,3,4; a standard d6 has faces 1,2,3,4,5,6; a standard d10 1,2,3,[…],10; and a standard d100 has faces 1 through 100. Which is why rolling 2xd10 does NOT yield the same results as rolling 1xd100, because one cannot roll a 1 OR a 100 with two d10’s, and other numbers are over represented. This is why I have both a d12 and a d100 in my set of dice…[[User:John|John]] ([[User talk:John|talk]]) 11:40, 2 June 2022 (UTC)

What material should it be to be light enough to easily roll it but cheap enough that doing the 1,5 meters doest cost a fortune ? Sorry if the question is not clear. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.69.30|141.101.69.30]] 05:50, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:I recommend making it hollow. You could probably do something like this for $3000 if you made it out of 1/8th inch acrylic plate. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.237|162.158.106.237]] 07:02, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:At first I thought aluminum for sturdiness, but really you could make this out of cardboard for dirt cheap, lasercutting precise shapes, but you'd have to design its structural frame to keep it intact, exchanges design effort for price. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.63|172.70.230.63]] 09:32, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

I disagree with this dice being really random. Like, sure, if thrown correctly, but that's going to be quite hard. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 06:12, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

:True. For a rolled die to be random, it needs to roll far enough so that the initial orientation no longer governs the outcome. Say, ten times the circumference, or about 150 meters? -- [[User:Dtgriscom|Dtgriscom]] ([[User talk:Dtgriscom|talk]]) 10:28, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
::Interesting to consider the 'necessary minimum'. Simplify to a "wheel of fortune" (just one axis of continual rotation) it would depend upon the potential variation of imparted rotation. If (say) 'aiming' at two whole rotations has a (perhaps 'normal') spread of variance that relates to ±½ rotational uncertainty at the 1st and 3rd quartile of probability then the sub-first and above-third 'tails' might wrap around to (roughly) equalise the chances that 2±(whatever fraction) spins lands just about anywhere just about equally. Aiming at four whole rotations (similary ±1 spin at the given quartiles, and the tailing chancs 'filling in' above 5 rotations and below 3) would smooth things out, all else equal, but takes twice as much perceived/attempted effort for not much more 'randomising'.
::Similarly, requiring 10 full rolls (maybe honestly aiming for 10, but allowing it to be 7.5 or less if not obviously 'just nudged') seems overkill, in the single dimension.
::Except, of course that you also need enough distance (on top of whatever factor you consider practical as a variation-wrapping value, which might not be the ½-in-2 I give) to also roll ''sideways''. If for some reason you really don't want to roll 65536 or 1 (or is it 65535 and 0?), which may be on polar-opposite faces, you might make sure that they are directly to the left and right before you propel the die forwards ''a little'', not caring which distribution of numbers is on/near the rolling-equator (2 is acceptible to you, and 65533, etc; other very low/high values conceivably placed on that thin band of "wheel-like chance" but you're just avoiding the very largest and smallest, or specifically just the one of them) but knowing that it's more unlikely to easily present the exact face(s) you dislike than it might be in a truly 'fair' roll.
::Perhaps the best thing is to have a rolling track to send the thing down that puts it the required "two or so rotations" forward to then either hit a wall or climb slightly up a slope (at a roughly 45 degree angle) that then sends it back roughly sideways to the original vector for a similar distance with a perpendicular or even composite moment of rolling rotation, to bring 'initially axial' numbers fully into play... And that dog-leg would require a sligthly shorter length from launch-position to where the thoroughly mixed-up final stopping point should be, whilst significantly foiling the master-manipulators who actually try to arrange an initial setup that favours better final results (rather than just nudge it, uncaring, for a result not as totally random but certainly not more predominently of desired-for ranges than otherwise). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.8|141.101.99.8]] 12:28, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
::At what point does the structural material the die is composed of, combined with its mass, create a smoothing effect that will destroy the fairness of the die. I mean a small plastic die is no problem. A 2-ton acrylic die would start grinding off the edges of some faces with every roll, would it not? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.69.122|172.69.69.122]] 13:35, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

Should it be related to https://xkcd.com/221/ ? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.183.246|162.158.183.246]] 08:07, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

I'm going to wait, I think - I don't think there's room in my attic for this as well as all the Betamax kit, my drawers full of MiniDiscs and my Zune collection. No, I'll sit tight - I'm hearing encouraging things about the introduction of the Magic 65536-Ball... [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 09:41, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:The number of sides on the die inside the ball is not what determines the name of the ball. It's the exterior housing which is colored in the manner of an Eight Ball. The classic design uses a d20, and is still called an Eight Ball, not a Twenty Ball. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.195|172.70.130.195]] 18:00, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
::Full disclosure: I don't have any of those things in my attic. And I'm not entirely sure, but I don't think Randall thinks rolling a d65536 is genuinely the hardest part of generating random 16-bit numbers. And Grape Nuts contain neither grapes nor nuts. [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 23:37, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

I'm suprised the hidden message points to 2624. I would've thought it would point to 2626 to refer to itself. Maybe things didn't get published as intended? Or maybe Randall really just wanted to point people to the Voyager comic? [[User:Linux2647|Linux2647]] ([[User talk:Linux2647|talk]]) 18:13, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:I'm no ASCII expert, but from the description provided I'm pretty sure the comic URL would require the number representing "26" to show up twice. A die with, say, two 13,359 faces would obviously not be fair. If only Randall had published this as #2625 or #2627! (Or maybe he ''planned'' to publish it last week and had to shuffle his schedule after finalizing this comic?) [[User:GreatWyrmGold|GreatWyrmGold]] ([[User talk:GreatWyrmGold|talk]]) 18:24, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
::Probably the latter, seeing as it doesn't actually line up so that any of them are actually "26". The numbers are xk-cd-.c-om-/2-62-4/, so the 26 and 24 aren't lined up like that. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.87|172.70.126.87]] 19:38, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:Perl code to decode the ASCII: <pre>perl -E 'for (30827, 25444, 11875, 28525, 12082, 13874, 13359) { print chr($_ >> 8), chr($_ & 0xff) }; print "\n"'</pre>

<big><big>'''Remember that "die" is singular and "dice" is plural'''</big></big> [[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 09:30, 1 June 2022 (UTC)

;Might be worth offering some easier alternatives..
Needless to say, 16 ordered coins (eg ordered by the date of their minting) provide a much easier alternative to a d65536.

Other (easy to find) d p^2 - such as 8 ordered d4, or 5 ordered d8 and a coin (or bit-shave a dice.)
It's true some rules need to be applied (the highest number of the die is treated as a 0, and the order of the dice is strictly followed).

For example using a rainbow spectrum ordering of 6d8,
I role: 7, 1, 2, 8, 3, 5. Each dice represents 3 bits -
111-001-010-000-011-101. We shave off the last two bits (because we want 16 bits, not 18, for a d65536)
1110 0101 0000 0111. Hex = E507, which is decimal 58,631.

While it takes a few seconds for a human to convert the number it is quite trivial to write a program to convert an image capture.

There are also specialist dice - such as d16 'hexidice' which provide 4 bits per ordered die, and far less human calculation.
There are even d256 hex dice made, but they suffer the same problem that a d65536 would have.

[[User:20040302|20040302]] ([[User talk:20040302|talk]])
: how are you trivially converting image captures? i still use my keyboard. what's the update? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.120|162.158.79.120]] 18:26, 1 June 2022 (UTC)

I found an octahedral Goldberg with 65538 sides, 6 squares and 65532 irregular hexagons, notated GP₄(128,0). Can be constructed by chamfering a cube 7 times (Conway cccccccC). I don't think anything can be closer. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 04:37, 2 June 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2626: d65536

2022-06-02T11:40:41Z

John:

I wonder: can we even make a fair polyhedron with 65536 faces? In Randal's illustration, the faces seem to be irregular hexagons. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.105|172.70.130.105]] 21:37, 30 May 2022 (UTC)
: This is better than my question, which was simply if you could tile a sphere with these. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.36|172.70.211.36]] 23:01, 30 May 2022 (UTC)
:Definitely possible, just create two identical right pyramids with a 32768-gon base and glue the bases together. [[User:Clam|Clam]] ([[User talk:Clam|talk]]) 23:53, 30 May 2022 (UTC)
: Would this design be fair? Consider a set of 256 lines of latitude overlapping another set, with the second set's polar axis at the equator of the first. Cut flat quadrangles between the intersection points of the lines of latitude. Doesn't use hexagons like the comic does though. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.121|172.70.110.121]] 09:41, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:: Fairness is a given for pyramids (if that's what you're asking). As long as there's enough 'rolling energy' to get either of the pyramids 'facing up', any N-agon base to the pyramids should have enough indeterminate impetous to then finally roll around a bit to end up with any of those exposed faces on top.
::(Interesting to note that for odd-numbered N-agonal bases, like that in a D10, you need to offset the bases and instead of sticking to the triangular faces base-to-base you now have kite-shapes that interlock in a serration that is no longer strictly planar along the axis's perpendiculars.)
::That might need a selection of the pyramidal slope. A very wide pair of bases with very little tip-'elevation' (to fit tightly within an oblate spheroid) should transition very well between same-pyramid faces, like a bulgy button, but one with highly acute tip-angle (prolate, likewise) might find the dominant behaviour to be tip-to-tip tipping, more like a toggle-fastener. OTOH, for odd-numbered end-agons it would probably ratchett to subsequent sides as it tips back and forth so long as it has enough energy to it.
::If you're asking about lines of latitude intersecting, consider that near the poles of either latitudinal reference the division of the other reference-system is going to be spliced more irregularly and thus give varying degrees of stability to rest upon.
::(Also, do you have a latitudinal line that crosses ''both'' pairs of poles, or are you deliberately moving them by half a phase (1/512th of the relevent circumference) so that you at least don't have them entirely coincident.)
::I believe the suggested scheme would be to take a dodecahedron or icosohedron (either of the two duals can be used to start with) and then subdivide each face in such a manner that equally-sized (but differently distorted) hexagons – and 12 little regular pentagons of identical area fitting in at the old dodecahedron centre/the old icosahedron vertex – emerge from the required segmentation/vertex-truncation and readjustment the radiality of all new mid-edge vertices (or maybe the newer-edges' centres or the newer-faces' centres) to touch the unit sphere. If done symmetrically, it should be entirely fair.
::The face-count might be troublesome, though. The twelve necessary pentagonal faces leaves 65524 hexagons, to split evenly between* either 12 or 20 zones, and it should be obvious that neither is possible**, in whole numbers, given the starting point of 2n faces...
:::(* - you can, and probably will in this design, have some that cross between two of the top-level polygons, but you can fully 'donate' as many as you then fully ''get'' donated from the next face around, so it might as well be just counted as a group of whole tiles on an a set of Escher-like interlocking 'rough' polygons.)
:::(** - If you're using 12 zones, that's 3x4x(however many in the zone + one corner each) and there's no factor of 3 in ''any'' value that is 2n. Arranging into 20 symmetrical zones (5x4), you will find that 65524 isn't divisible by 5, either...)
::You could probably arrange an N-ahedron with the number of faces being 12+(12a) or 12+(20b), for some higher value (a bit of mental arithmatic suggests 65592 might be that value) and mark all the 'excess' faces (56?) with "Roll Again!". Or perhaps some pithy motivational slogans that also convey roughly the same meaning... :P [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.5|172.70.162.5]] 11:32, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
::Postcript: Ok, so this is my idea for face-placing. Take a D8 (octahedron) and divide each of its 8 originally triangular faces into 8192 smaller faces (alternatively, start with a cube and progressively truncate its corners towards the same end). This is not a divisible by three number (neither can you put one in the centre, the rest are divisble by three and can surround it symmetrically), but you don't need strict rotational symmetry in any way. The opposing side can reflect/copy the non-symmetry as required to create any useful symmetry across the whole of the structure (and make floored-base/upmost-face pairings, amongst other things).
::As long as you make the faces equally likely to land on ''and stay on'' (could be hyperstellated as a slightly flat irregular 8192agon-based right-pyramid with the pyramid-faces of adjacent sides matching or meshing edges with those of each other, or a complicated mostly-hexagonal mesh, or a triangular one that's a limited fragment of a fine geodesic-like bulged pattern) by some suitable scheme governing area, aspect ratio and inter-face angle of incidence (probably normalising features to touch the unit sphere, for a start) then it should do it fairly and with ''exactly'' 65536 faces. I leave the fine-tweaking up to someone else. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.5|172.70.162.5]] 12:59, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

I don't know why it's so big? Seems like it should have a diameter of approx. 1 meter. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.105|172.70.130.105]] 21:37, 30 May 2022 (UTC)
: Cueball is 50 pixels high. The ball is 340 px high. Assuming Cueball is an average-height male (1.7m), and is standing the same distance from the viewer as the center of the ball, roughly how large is each face of the polygon? Area of a sphere is 4.pi.r.r, r=0.85, so 9.08 m^2 or 9080000 mm^2, divide by number of faces, get 277 mm^2, so we get 1.6cm to a side. If I did that right, then you're right: those are fairly large faces. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.39|172.69.70.39]] 05:58, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:I ran the calculations for the Trivia section. I used 12pt font which gave each number an area of 1/6 square inch (about 1 square cm) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.237|162.158.106.237]] 06:57, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

Should the title and picture file use "d" or the comic's difficult to type "ᴅ"?
[[User:While False|While False]] ([[User talk:While False|talk]]) 21:55, 30 May 2022 (UTC)
:Since xkcd uses small caps as lowercase letters, the "ᴅ" should just be considered xkcd-font for "d", and as such need not be used on the title, which is not using the xkcd font.
:: Ah! [[User:While False|While False]] ([[User talk:While False|talk]]) 06:15, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

If you really did want to generate a 16 bit integer with physical dice, it would be much simpler to roll a [https://www.thediceshoponline.com/impact-opaque-hexidice-d16-hexadecimal-dice hex die] four times. [[User:Clayot|Clayot]] ([[User talk:Clayot|talk]]) 23:30, 30 May 2022 (UTC)
:Rolling a binary die 16 times would also work. You can get binary dice for 1¢ each. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.69|108.162.245.69]] 01:31, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
::The lowest-value coin of all is the Tiyin from Uzbekistan. Some 3,038 equate to one UK penny (and 2,000 tot up to one US cent) from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21572359. [[User:Arachrah|Arachrah]] ([[User talk:Arachrah|talk]]) 15:13, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
::Those 1¢ "dices" are not exactly guaranteed to be random. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 06:12, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:::They seem as random as other dice? Am I wrong? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.63|172.70.230.63]] 09:33, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:::: You can reduce bias by taking two not quite fair coins. Flip them together. If both heads, or both tails, then record a 0. If different, record a 1. [[User:Arachrah|Arachrah]] ([[User talk:Arachrah|talk]]) 15:13, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

I think the hardest part (or maybe second-hardest part) is figuring out which facet is the one on top. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.109|162.158.78.109]] 00:46, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:Roll it on a glass table, check from below which face it's landed on instead. Wait until it has settled safely, though, or it might land on ''your'' face! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.227|172.70.90.227]] 04:58, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:: Good plan. Assuming standard dice design, subtract the value from 65537 to get the value of the uppermost face. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.39|172.69.70.39]] 05:58, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
::: Because computer binary counting starts with ZERO (and in this case ends with 65535) one has to subtract from 65535. This die would not have a 65536 and it would have a zero. [[User:Inquirer|Inquirer]] ([[User talk:Inquirer|talk]]) 22:38, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
::::Notice that the parent comment says “assuming standard dice design” and standard dice start with 1 and end with their d number: a standard d4 has faces 1,2,3,4; a standard d6 has faces 1,2,3,4,5,6; a standard d10
1,2,3,[…],10; and a standard d100 has faces 1 through 100. Which is why rolling 2xd10 does NOT yield the same results as rolling 1xd100, because one cannot roll a 1 OR a 100 with two d10’s, and other numbers are over represented. This is why I have both a d12 and a d100 in my set of dice…[[User:John|John]] ([[User talk:John|talk]]) 11:40, 2 June 2022 (UTC)

What material should it be to be light enough to easily roll it but cheap enough that doing the 1,5 meters doest cost a fortune ? Sorry if the question is not clear. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.69.30|141.101.69.30]] 05:50, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:I recommend making it hollow. You could probably do something like this for $3000 if you made it out of 1/8th inch acrylic plate. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.237|162.158.106.237]] 07:02, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:At first I thought aluminum for sturdiness, but really you could make this out of cardboard for dirt cheap, lasercutting precise shapes, but you'd have to design its structural frame to keep it intact, exchanges design effort for price. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.63|172.70.230.63]] 09:32, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

I disagree with this dice being really random. Like, sure, if thrown correctly, but that's going to be quite hard. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 06:12, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

:True. For a rolled die to be random, it needs to roll far enough so that the initial orientation no longer governs the outcome. Say, ten times the circumference, or about 150 meters? -- [[User:Dtgriscom|Dtgriscom]] ([[User talk:Dtgriscom|talk]]) 10:28, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
::Interesting to consider the 'necessary minimum'. Simplify to a "wheel of fortune" (just one axis of continual rotation) it would depend upon the potential variation of imparted rotation. If (say) 'aiming' at two whole rotations has a (perhaps 'normal') spread of variance that relates to ±½ rotational uncertainty at the 1st and 3rd quartile of probability then the sub-first and above-third 'tails' might wrap around to (roughly) equalise the chances that 2±(whatever fraction) spins lands just about anywhere just about equally. Aiming at four whole rotations (similary ±1 spin at the given quartiles, and the tailing chancs 'filling in' above 5 rotations and below 3) would smooth things out, all else equal, but takes twice as much perceived/attempted effort for not much more 'randomising'.
::Similarly, requiring 10 full rolls (maybe honestly aiming for 10, but allowing it to be 7.5 or less if not obviously 'just nudged') seems overkill, in the single dimension.
::Except, of course that you also need enough distance (on top of whatever factor you consider practical as a variation-wrapping value, which might not be the ½-in-2 I give) to also roll ''sideways''. If for some reason you really don't want to roll 65536 or 1 (or is it 65535 and 0?), which may be on polar-opposite faces, you might make sure that they are directly to the left and right before you propel the die forwards ''a little'', not caring which distribution of numbers is on/near the rolling-equator (2 is acceptible to you, and 65533, etc; other very low/high values conceivably placed on that thin band of "wheel-like chance" but you're just avoiding the very largest and smallest, or specifically just the one of them) but knowing that it's more unlikely to easily present the exact face(s) you dislike than it might be in a truly 'fair' roll.
::Perhaps the best thing is to have a rolling track to send the thing down that puts it the required "two or so rotations" forward to then either hit a wall or climb slightly up a slope (at a roughly 45 degree angle) that then sends it back roughly sideways to the original vector for a similar distance with a perpendicular or even composite moment of rolling rotation, to bring 'initially axial' numbers fully into play... And that dog-leg would require a sligthly shorter length from launch-position to where the thoroughly mixed-up final stopping point should be, whilst significantly foiling the master-manipulators who actually try to arrange an initial setup that favours better final results (rather than just nudge it, uncaring, for a result not as totally random but certainly not more predominently of desired-for ranges than otherwise). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.8|141.101.99.8]] 12:28, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
::At what point does the structural material the die is composed of, combined with its mass, create a smoothing effect that will destroy the fairness of the die. I mean a small plastic die is no problem. A 2-ton acrylic die would start grinding off the edges of some faces with every roll, would it not? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.69.122|172.69.69.122]] 13:35, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

Should it be related to https://xkcd.com/221/ ? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.183.246|162.158.183.246]] 08:07, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

I'm going to wait, I think - I don't think there's room in my attic for this as well as all the Betamax kit, my drawers full of MiniDiscs and my Zune collection. No, I'll sit tight - I'm hearing encouraging things about the introduction of the Magic 65536-Ball... [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 09:41, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:The number of sides on the die inside the ball is not what determines the name of the ball. It's the exterior housing which is colored in the manner of an Eight Ball. The classic design uses a d20, and is still called an Eight Ball, not a Twenty Ball. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.195|172.70.130.195]] 18:00, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
::Full disclosure: I don't have any of those things in my attic. And I'm not entirely sure, but I don't think Randall thinks rolling a d65536 is genuinely the hardest part of generating random 16-bit numbers. And Grape Nuts contain neither grapes nor nuts. [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 23:37, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

I'm suprised the hidden message points to 2624. I would've thought it would point to 2626 to refer to itself. Maybe things didn't get published as intended? Or maybe Randall really just wanted to point people to the Voyager comic? [[User:Linux2647|Linux2647]] ([[User talk:Linux2647|talk]]) 18:13, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:I'm no ASCII expert, but from the description provided I'm pretty sure the comic URL would require the number representing "26" to show up twice. A die with, say, two 13,359 faces would obviously not be fair. If only Randall had published this as #2625 or #2627! (Or maybe he ''planned'' to publish it last week and had to shuffle his schedule after finalizing this comic?) [[User:GreatWyrmGold|GreatWyrmGold]] ([[User talk:GreatWyrmGold|talk]]) 18:24, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
::Probably the latter, seeing as it doesn't actually line up so that any of them are actually "26". The numbers are xk-cd-.c-om-/2-62-4/, so the 26 and 24 aren't lined up like that. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.87|172.70.126.87]] 19:38, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
:Perl code to decode the ASCII: <pre>perl -E 'for (30827, 25444, 11875, 28525, 12082, 13874, 13359) { print chr($_ >> 8), chr($_ & 0xff) }; print "\n"'</pre>

<big><big>'''Remember that "die" is singular and "dice" is plural'''</big></big> [[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 09:30, 1 June 2022 (UTC)

;Might be worth offering some easier alternatives..
Needless to say, 16 ordered coins (eg ordered by the date of their minting) provide a much easier alternative to a d65536.

Other (easy to find) d p^2 - such as 8 ordered d4, or 5 ordered d8 and a coin (or bit-shave a dice.)
It's true some rules need to be applied (the highest number of the die is treated as a 0, and the order of the dice is strictly followed).

For example using a rainbow spectrum ordering of 6d8,
I role: 7, 1, 2, 8, 3, 5. Each dice represents 3 bits -
111-001-010-000-011-101. We shave off the last two bits (because we want 16 bits, not 18, for a d65536)
1110 0101 0000 0111. Hex = E507, which is decimal 58,631.

While it takes a few seconds for a human to convert the number it is quite trivial to write a program to convert an image capture.

There are also specialist dice - such as d16 'hexidice' which provide 4 bits per ordered die, and far less human calculation.
There are even d256 hex dice made, but they suffer the same problem that a d65536 would have.

[[User:20040302|20040302]] ([[User talk:20040302|talk]])
: how are you trivially converting image captures? i still use my keyboard. what's the update? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.120|162.158.79.120]] 18:26, 1 June 2022 (UTC)

I found an octahedral Goldberg with 65538 sides, 6 squares and 65532 irregular hexagons, notated GP₄(128,0). Can be constructed by chamfering a cube 7 times (Conway cccccccC). I don't think anything can be closer. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 04:37, 2 June 2022 (UTC)