1110: Click and Drag

2012-09-19T17:47:01Z

Jward404: /* List of details and references */

{{comic
| number = 1110
| date = September 19, 2012
| title = Click and Drag
| image = click_and_drag.png
| imagesize =
| titletext = Click and drag.
}}

== Explanation ==

This comic is a take on how vast and rich the world is, and on the thrill of exploring it. The world can be described as sad, as well as it can be described as wonderful, even if this seems a bit contradictory, just because there are so many different things happening it it.

[[Cueball]] comments about this, and the title text invites the reader to, with his mouse, click and drag the inside of the last panel, and by dragging and dragging, explore what is hidden outside that panel. The image displayed at first turns out to be part of a HUUUGE landscape, filled with big or small things, humorous details, people here and there, cave mazes, things floating in the air, jokes and references, unexpected things, relaxing views, etc.

The fact that we only see a small part of the landscape at once refers to the idea that we cannot in real life comprehend the whole world altogether, but only what is around us and/or in the range of our understanding at the time. And the click-and-drag process, in which it is impossible to go as fast as we would want to, also draws a parallel with the fact that exploration is always done gradually, step by step, and trying something (i.e. here dragging in a certain direction) is always done costly. In the end, all this makes that this click-and-drag exploration reproduces pretty well the thrill of discovering new horizons, getting lost sometimes, finding unexpected things, seeing beauty, humor, desolation or happiness here and there... which can easily captivate an xkcd reader for a looong time (and as such qualifies as [[356: Nerd Sniping|nerd sniping]]).

'''''Warning:''' there are cheating possibilities, people have implemented ways to explore that world more easily, but the best way to enjoy this comic is probably to play the game, explore the comic's world the way you're supposed to, get lost in the caves or in the sky, be startled by unexpected things or happy when finding some people after lengthy click-and-dragging through a repetitive landscape... So if you didn't do that already, '''reading any below will spoil you from truly enjoying the comic.'''''

==Transcript==
This transcript will only cover the first 3 panels.

:Cueball [narration]: From the stories
:Cueball [narration]: I expected the world to be sad
:[Cueball is floating by holding onto a balloon with one hand.]
:Cueball [narration]: And it was

:Cueball [narration]: And I expected it to be wonderful.
:[Cueball has grabbed hold of the balloon with both hands.]

:[The wind picks up and blows Cueball eastward.]
:Cueball [narration]: It was.

:[Full width panel, initial view of the world. Part of tile 1n1e.]
:Cueball [narration]: I just didn't expect it to be so ''BIG''.
:[Scene opens up. You see Cueball is about a tree's-height from the ground. To the left there is a tall tree with no leaves on it and a broken limb.]

== List of details and references ==

{{Incomplete|1110: Click and Drag}}

The 225 existing tiles are sorted by columns from West to East and from North to South in each column.

{| class="wikitable" |
! width="130px" | Grid coords
!Explanation and Transcript
|-
|{{1110|1|n|33|w}}
|[[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] reach the edge of the image and decide to live there.
|-
|{{1110|1|n|32|w}}
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|{{1110|1|n|31|w}}
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|{{1110|1|n|30|w}}
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|{{1110|1|n|29|w}}
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|{{1110|1|n|28|w}}
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|-
|{{1110|1|n|27|w}}
|{{w|Velociraptor}}s in the high grass.
;Transcript
:[Rolling hills with tall grass.]
:[On the left there are two velociraptors. The east-facing one looks to be a modern interpretation of the raptor, the west-facing is more Jurassic Park like.]
|-
|{{1110|1|n|26|w}}
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|-
|{{1110|1|n|25|w}}
|A large {{w|radio telescope}} with a female listening for a signal. Possibly a reference to the movie {{w|Contact (film)|Contact}}.
|-
|{{1110|1|n|24|w}}
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|{{1110|1|n|23|w}}
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|-
|{{1110|2|n|22|w}}
|A large rocket (possibly a {{w|Saturn V}} rocket) on a launchpad.
|-
|{{1110|1|n|22|w}}
|[[Cueball]] and [[Megan]]; [[Cueball]] implies that {{w|Jesus Christ}} is a {{w|transformer}}.
|-
|{{1110|1|n|21|w}}
|The question asked of Jesus is reference to the inspirational text ''{{w|Footprints (poem)|Footprints}}'' as well as a reference to the {{w|Transformers}}. Apparently the coast of a body of water.
|-
|{{1110|1|n|20|w}}
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|{{1110|1|n|19|w}}
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|{{1110|1|n|18|w}}
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|-
|{{1110|1|n|17|w}}
|A reference to the hatch in {{w|Lost}}.
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|{{1110|1|s|17|w}}
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|{{1110|2|s|17|w}}
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|{{1110|3|s|17|w}}
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|{{1110|6|s|17|w}}
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|{{1110|8|s|17|w}}
|An X-Wing fighter from Wars
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|{{1110|9|s|17|w}}
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|{{1110|10|s|17|w}}
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|{{1110|11|s|17|w}}
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|{{1110|1|n|16|w}}
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|{{1110|1|n|14|w}}
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|-
|{{1110|12|s|14|w}}
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|-
|{{1110|1|n|13|w}}
|The statue of liberty head and hand is reference to {{w|Planet of the Apes(film)|Planet of Apes}}.
|-
|{{1110|12|s|13|w}}
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|-
|{{1110|1|n|12|w}}
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|{{1110|12|s|12|w}}
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|-
|{{1110|11|n|11|w}}
|A (useless) white empty cell with symetric coordinates (±11, ±11).
|-
|{{1110|1|n|11|w}}
|Someone playing {{w|Marco Polo (game)|Marco Polo}} in the sea.
|-
|{{1110|11|s|11|w}}
|A (useless) black empty cell with symetric coordinates (±11, ±11).
Note, that this PNG file contains an ICC section which means that the blackness in this image is properly {{w|Color correction|color-corrected}}.
|-
|{{1110|12|s|11|w}}
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|-
|{{1110|1|n|10|w}}
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|{{1110|12|s|10|w}}
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|-
|{{1110|1|n|9|w}}
|Possibly a reference to the {{w|Principality of Sealand|Principality of Sealand}} or to the concept of a micronation in general, {{w|List of micronations|List of micronations}}.
|-
|{{1110|2|s|9|w}}
|Jellyfish playing some sort of console game.
|-
|{{1110|12|s|9|w}}
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|-
|{{1110|1|n|8|w}}
|A boat with a reference to Monty Python? {{w|Glossary of nautical terms#Avast|Avast!}} is not the {{w|Avast!|antivirus software}} - Possibly a reference to the comic is from the same date as {{w|International Talk Like a Pirate Day}}.
|-
|{{1110|12|s|8|w}}
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|{{1110|13|s|8|w}}
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|{{1110|7|n|7|w}}
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|{{1110|1|n|7|w}}
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|{{1110|14|s|7|w}}
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|{{1110|1|n|6|w}}
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|{{1110|1|s|6|w}}
|Jellyfish
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|{{1110|13|s|6|w}}
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|{{1110|14|s|6|w}}
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|-
|{{1110|6|n|5|w}}
|Red spiders from earlier comics falling from the sky
|-
|{{1110|1|n|5|w}}
|{{w|I'm on a Boat|"I'm on a Boat"}} is a single from The Lonely Island's debut album Incredibad.
|-
|{{1110|14|s|5|w}}
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|{{1110|2|n|4|w}}
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; Transcript
:[High in the sky.]
:[Cueball is sitting in a swing attached to the end of a crane, and is swinging]
:Cueball: WHEEE!
|-
|{{1110|2|n|3|w}}
|A (useless) white empty cell.
|-
|{{1110|1|n|3|w}}
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|{{1110|14|s|3|w}}
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|{{1110|8|n|2|w}}
|This seems to be {{w|Burj Khalifa}} at witch {{1110|6|n|27|e}} refers.
|-
|{{1110|7|n|2|w}}
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|{{1110|6|n|2|w}}
|Black hat is seen in the picture with a gatling gun, probably the Imperial cannons referred in 8 North, 6 East.
|-
|{{1110|5|n|2|w}}
|A construction crane lifting another, smaller, construction crane. Possibly a reference to the "Truck Truck Truck" gag from the Simpsons. Also, self-erecting tower cranes do usually not lift {{w|crawler crane}}s
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|{{1110|4|n|2|w}}
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|{{1110|3|n|2|w}}
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|{{1110|2|n|2|w}}
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|{{1110|1|n|2|w}}
|Megan says "I came here to chew bubblegum... And I'm all out of bubblegum" is a reference to the movie {{w|They Live|They Live}} in which the character Nada famously says "I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass...and I'm all out of bubblegum". That line is also used in the game {{w|Duke Nukem 3D|Duke Nukem 3D}} by Duke himself, when Shrapnel City (Episode 3) starts. Also, Cueball says "That's a shame" a line popularised by Jerry in the sitcom {{w|Seinfeld|Seinfeld}}. Pool line is a reference to "pool on the roof" prank from the movie {{w|Hackers (film)|Hackers}}.
|-
|{{1110|14|s|2|w}}
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|{{1110|8|n|1|w}}
|A (useless) white empty cell.
|-
|{{1110|5|n|1|w}}
|The tail of the crawler crane lifted at {{1110|5|n|2|w}}.
|-
|{{1110|2|n|1|w}}
|A (useless) white empty cell.
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|{{1110|1|n|1|w}}
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|{{1110|14|s|1|w}}
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|{{1110|15|s|1|w}}
|Possible statement about the ubiquity of Facebook and Twitter (that even people living in caves are aware of those services). It may also be an allusion to how desperately people seek attention through these media - a viewer could expect the characters to cry for help in order to save their lives; while they do take an appropriately desperate tone, they ask for something else entirely.
|-
|{{1110|13|n|1|e}}
|Two whales is possibly a reference to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the planet [http://hitchhikers.wikia.com/wiki/Magrathea Magrathea], where (improbably) two incoming missiles are turned into a whale and a bowl of petunias.
|-
|{{1110|6|n|1|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|1|e}}
|The {{w|Origin (mathematics)|"center"}} of the world, it's the first tile to show up (see above). The balloons may be a reference to comic [[1106]]. This may also be a reference to {{w|Winnie The Pooh}}.

; Transcript:
:[Open scene.]
:[To the extreme left there is the end of a parking lot. Right from that Cueball is holding onto a balloon several feet from the ground.]
:Cueball [narration]: I just didn't expect it to be so ''BIG''.
:[About 50 feet east of Cueball there is a lone tree with no leaves on it. Cueball is approximately parallel to with the top of it.]
:[Farther east and much higher up is a single balloon floating away.]
:[More east and on the ground Beret Guy is waving a butterfly net, chasing an RC Helicopter.]
:[Two girls, one blonde and one darker, are walking away from Beret Guy.]
:[On the extreme right is a fountain spraying water.]
|-
|{{1110|14|s|1|e}}
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|{{1110|15|s|1|e}}
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|{{1110|16|s|1|e}}
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|{{1110|17|s|1|e}}
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|{{1110|9|n|2|e}}
|{{w|Apollo 13}} messaging 'Houston, we have a problem'.
|-
|{{1110|3|n|2|e}}
|A falling {{w|Icarus}} screams "I hope the story of how ''Building Wax Wings Enabled Me To Fly'' teaches everyone a lesson about hubris." Referring to the Greek myth of Icarus and his father's escape from Crete by building wings of feathers and wax.
|-
|{{1110|1|n|2|e}}
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|{{1110|14|s|2|e}}
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|{{1110|17|s|2|e}}
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|{{1110|3|n|3|e}}
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|{{1110|2|n|3|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|3|e}}
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|{{1110|14|s|3|e}}
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|{{1110|17|s|3|e}}
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|{{1110|18|s|3|e}}
|{{w|Minecraft}} reference: Someone escapes a creeper, running deeper into the cave he just fell in.
|-
|{{1110|2|n|4|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|4|e}}
|A black empty cell (required because unspecified North tiles are automatically filled with white).
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|{{1110|18|s|4|e}}
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|{{1110|19|s|4|e}}
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|{{1110|2|n|5|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|5|e}}
|A black empty cell (required because unspecified North tiles are automatically filled with white).
|-
|{{1110|17|s|5|e}}
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|{{1110|19|s|5|e}}
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|{{1110|8|n|6|e}}
|{{w|Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope|Red Five}} is both Anakin and Luke Skywalker's call sign. Anakin uses the sign in the Battle of Coruscant and Luke uses it in the Battle of Yavin. Also note the use of "{{w|cannon}}" and "{{w|Canon (basic principle)|canon}}."
|-
|{{1110|2|n|6|e}}
|Giant airborne jellyfish.
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|{{1110|1|n|6|e}}
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|{{1110|16|s|6|e}}
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|{{1110|17|s|6|e}}
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|{{1110|19|s|6|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|7|e}}
|A {{w|Mario}} level (level 1, Super Mario Bros 1, NES). This is confirmed by text on {{1110|3|s|7|e}}.
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|{{1110|1|s|7|e}}
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|{{1110|2|s|7|e}}
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|{{1110|7|s|7|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|8|e}}
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|{{1110|18|s|8|e}}
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|{{1110|19|s|8|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|9|e}}
|Reference to the first line of "{{w|99 Problems}}" by {{w|Jay-Z}} ("If you're having girl problems I feel bad for you son. I've got 99 problems but a <rhymes with "witch"> ain't one.").
|-
|{{1110|3|n|10|e}}
|The outline of a Bombardier Dash-8 Q400 aircraft, with original photo located [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardier_Dash_8 here].
|-
|{{1110|1|n|10|e}}
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|{{1110|11|n|11|e}}
|A (useless) white empty cell with symetric coordinates (±11, ±11).
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|{{1110|1|n|11|e}}
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|{{1110|11|s|11|e}}
|A (useless) black empty cell with symetric coordinates (±11, ±11).
Note, that this PNG file contains an ICC section which means that the blackness in this image is properly {{w|Color correction|color-corrected}}.
|-
|{{1110|5|n|12|e}}
|A hot-air balloon with someone singing "Daiiisyyy... Daiiiiisy..." and another person climbing up the balloon to rip it open. These are Hal 9000's dying words as Dave pulls the plug ({{w|Daisy Bell}}).
|-
|{{1110|1|n|12|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|13|e}}
|Bourne or Sagamore Bridge
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|{{1110|1|n|14|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|15|e}}
|Reference to, and first line of the chorus of, the song Flagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger. {{w|Oregon Trail (computer game)|Oregon Trail}} reference.
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|{{1110|2|n|16|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|16|e}}
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|{{1110|2|n|17|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|17|e}}
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|{{1110|3|n|18|e}}
|Commercial airline jet with landing gear deployed. Caption: "Folks, this is your captain speaking. I need you all to turn on every electronic device your have. There's no time to explain." (a reference to {{w|No Time To Explain|the game with the same name}}?)
|-
|{{1110|1|n|18|e}}
|Two swimmers in the ocean saying "Stupid FreeBSD...". A reference to comic [[349]].
|-
|{{1110|1|n|19|e}}
|Reference to "{{w|Free Willy}}"? (No, this is a {{w|blue whale}}, while "Free Willy" was about a {{w|killer whale}}.)
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|{{1110|1|n|20|e}}
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|{{1110|4|n|24|e}}
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|{{1110|6|n|26|e}}
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|{{1110|5|n|26|e}}
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|{{1110|4|n|26|e}}
|Black Hat is hanging from one of the wire supports.
|-
|{{1110|3|n|26|e}}
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|{{1110|2|n|26|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|26|e}}
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|{{1110|7|n|27|e}}
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|{{1110|6|n|27|e}}
|Tallest man made structure is {{w|Burj Khalifa}} (829.84 m (2,723 ft)) located in Dubai. This appears to be the former record-holder, the {{w|KVLY-TV mast}} in North Dakota.
|-
|{{1110|5|n|27|e}}
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|{{1110|4|n|27|e}}
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|{{1110|3|n|27|e}}
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|{{1110|2|n|27|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|27|e}}
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|{{1110|6|n|28|e}}
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|{{1110|4|n|28|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|28|e}}
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|{{1110|5|n|29|e}}
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|{{1110|4|n|29|e}}
|Someone is sliding down the wire.
|-
|{{1110|3|n|29|e}}
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|{{1110|2|n|29|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|29|e}}
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|{{1110|4|n|30|e}}
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|{{1110|2|n|30|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|30|e}}
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|{{1110|3|n|31|e}}
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|{{1110|2|n|31|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|31|e}}
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|{{1110|2|n|32|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|32|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|33|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|34|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|35|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|36|e}}
|Reference to the original Pokemon games. When Prof. Oak tells you not to go into the tall grass without a Pokemon.
;Transcript
:[There is a large hill with very tall grass (taller than any character in this section).]
:[Left-most is some structure of some kind.]
:[West of the structure is Cueball shouting to Megan, who is running into the long grass.]
:Cueball: Don't go into the long grass!
:Megan: Pikachu, I choose ''DEATH''—
:Megan: And with it immortality.
|-
|{{1110|1|n|37|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|38|e}}
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|{{1110|2|n|39|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|39|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|40|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|41|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|42|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|43|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|44|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|45|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|46|e}}
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|{{1110|1|n|47|e}}
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|-
|{{1110|1|n|48|e}}
|[[Cueball]] with a ballon in his hand, flying towards the image border. He says “I wonder where I'll float next”. This is a reference to [[1|the very first xkcd comic]]. Maybe it's also a reference to {{w|World of Goo}}, a computer game, where at the and of level 1 the goo balls leave the screen carried by ballons, wondering what will be next.
;Transcript
:[Grassy hill slowly rolls until the extreme right which ends in a much larger drop-off. This is the end of the world.]
:[Cueball is still floating holding his balloon, heading further east.]
:Cueball: I wonder where I'll float next.
|-
|}

== Whole Image ==

[[Image:1110_full_tiny.png|600px|center|Whole image]]

The probably best way to see the whole image and navigate effortlessly through it (map-like, with zooming in and out), has been implemented at http://xkcd-map.rent-a-geek.de/.

== Trivia ==

*The click-and-drag portion of this comic is divided up into 2592 sections of 2048x2048 pixels.
*There are 225 separate 2048x2048 PNG files (plus the PNG container with the first panels). The other 2337 sections are simply filled black (in the south) or white (in the north) with HTML.
*The populated area is 81 frames wide(33 West - 48 East) and 32 frames tall (13 North - 19 South)
*According to [[Randall]] in #xkcd on the night this was released, a full size image of this comic, leaving out the blanks would be 60 gigapixels, a true single rectangular image would be close to a terapixel. The online version is 1 gigapixel without the blanks and 10 gigapixel as rectangular image (2048x2048x225 = 943,718,400 and 2048x2048x2592 = 10,871,635,968).

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

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1110: Click and Drag