explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:what if?

2015-08-05T11:34:34Z

MadHaighaHatta:

[[Special:Contributions/108.233.66.118|108.233.66.118]] 21:11, 16 April 2013 (UTC)so is anybody weirded out by last week's post on the worst thing pressure cookers can do, followed by yesterday's terror attacks using pressure cookers?[[Special:Contributions/108.233.66.118|108.233.66.118]] 21:11, 16 April 2013 (UTC)
Do you want me to remove the articles not in the book, or label the ones IN the book? [[User:MadHaighaHatta|Completely sane (And not Anglo-Saxon)]] ([[User talk:MadHaighaHatta|talk]]) 11:34, 5 August 2015 (UTC)
Do we want to add some references to the different What-If articles? Obviously putting up an explanation would be a bit of a waste since Randall goes into a lot of detail himself on any given subject. Some good things to mention might be the title-text on each image, mentions of recurring themes, and maybe some thought about the original subject mentioned (such as the "Space Oddity" music video that was the subject of a recent article). [[Special:Contributions/76.106.251.87|76.106.251.87]] 17:11, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

:"What if" is not {{w|Creative Commons}} related, so respect Randall's copyright. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:05, 30 May 2013 (UTC)
::Sorry. Didn't realize that reviewing a creative work fell into copyright issues. No disrespect intended, only ignorance. [[Special:Contributions/76.106.251.87|76.106.251.87]] 19:16, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

:I agree that "what if?" is not ''clearly'' under CC-BY-NC-2.5, but the link next to the Copyright goes to xkcd itself, which clearly does say it is. [[User:Markhurd|Mark Hurd]] ([[User talk:Markhurd|talk]]) 13:40, 12 August 2013 (UTC)

::Agreed. What-if appears to fall under the general xkcd copyright- it says "Copyright ©2012-13 xkcd." with the link pointing to general xkcd copyright info. "http://xkcd.com/license.html" also says that "you are free to copy and reuse any of my drawings (noncommercially) as long as you tell people where they're from." which includes what-if drawings, and I'm not sure if just part of a work could be copyrighted without Randall explicitly saying so. I also think it would be a good idea to have articles on the what-ifs for more information not stated in the what-if itself. {{unsigned ip|109.144.146.171}}

:IANAL, so I will leave the copyright issues unaddressed as I respond to the original question in the affirmative: yes, we should have a page for each What-if article. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.63|173.245.55.63]] 15:54, 14 April 2014 (UTC)

== Logo/Header ==

I'm convinced there is some sort of specific joke in the "What If" logo, but I'm failing to grasp it.
Knowing Randall, there has to be something funny about using a crane to lower a T-rex into the Sarlacc. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.49.90|173.245.49.90]] 11:53, 3 February 2014 (UTC)

[http://www.nerdist.com/2014/08/exclusive-heres-your-first-look-at-xkcds-what-if/ Nerdist Review] says "Remove the jacket, and you can see how that particular experiment worked out in Munroe’s mind" {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.118}}

== Discussion regarding [http://what-if.xkcd.com/91/ What-if 91] ==

I believe that Randall missed an opportunity to discuss means of harnessing thermal energy. See, original question specified HOT water!
:He has to pay the electric bill. He couldn't make back the energy spent to heat the water due to entropy. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.161|108.162.237.161]] 05:51, 31 July 2014 (UTC)
Shall we forgive him this oversight and carry out some analysis to determine the harness-able energy content of hot water from the bathtub faucet in an average American apartment building?

:TODO: discuss Sterling engines or other strategies here. (That means you! :) )

:I believe that even when you "run out of hot water", the incoming water will still have energy added since the gas or electric water heater will be running non-stop, turning cold water into slightly-less-cold water. Since slightly-less-cold water is still colder than the ambient temperature in the apartment, I'm not sure how to harness the energy added by the water heater... But neither am I sure that "you can't". TODO: Can someone confirm that you can't?

Shall we then turn the dial up a notch, [http://what-if.xkcd.com/35/ What-if 35 style], and imagine how the scenario changes if the apartment building has a water heater that is perfectly capable of keeping the hot faucet piping hot, even if you run it 24/7?

: Suppose the super water heater turns 15C input water (cold) into 50C output water (hot). I think that means that the water heater adds 35 calories (not kilocalories) of energy per milliliter. I played with this expression in Google Calculator "(35/1000) calories per ml * 1 liter / 1 second" and determined that 1. Google uses kilocalories for "calories", thus the /1000 part... and 2. it takes ~150 watts to turn a liter of cold water into a liter of hot water in *one second*.

: Let's stop this for now and see if anyone is interested in participating. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.63|173.245.55.63]] 16:28, 14 April 2014 (UTC)

::Go here: [http://fora.xkcd.com/viewforum.php?f=60 What If? discussion]. That's a BIG forum to discuss your items. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:16, 14 April 2014 (UTC)

== Discussion area ==

Is there a discussion area for each of the "what-if?" pages? - Eg I'd like to point out that in #111 "All the money", the mouse-over text in the tombstone graphic says "Cash Ruled Everything Around Me" - or C.R.E.A.M. - coincidence? ;) Also, there have been past pages in which there have been items which I would contest some facts/statements, or seek further explanation. [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 13:06, 4 September 2014 (UTC)

I would love to see an analysis of the most recent "what-if" - [http://what-if.xkcd.com/120/ What-if #120] as I'm sure each excerpt from an alternate-universe "What-if" column has an interesting background. Surely even if the article isn't Creative Commons some discussion of it is legal. Yes, I see that there is a thread on the forum for discussing this what-if but it is not succinct. [[User:Momerath|Momerath]] ([[User talk:Momerath|talk]]) 05:56, 3 December 2014 (UTC)

Is there a way this could auto-update like the regular part of the Wiki does? (I assume it auto-updates). This entry will never close if we don't do that and other than listing them and linking to them, there is nothing to say. [[User:4jonah|4jonah]] ([[User talk:4jonah|talk]]) 19:29, 1 May 2015 (UTC)

As Randal stated, He will return posting his "What If?" on Tuesday, July 14th 2015, at 07:49:59 EDT.
I have attached countdown below, to verify it.
Mori.G.
[http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20150714T074959&p0=43&fg1=ae7181&fg2=8e82fe&msg=What+if%3F+Returns%21&swk=1 What if? Returning!] {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.60}}

== List of articles ==

I don't have time to do much editing right now, so could someone else go and put the list of articles into a table to make more use of the page's width? Perhaps split it into groups of 20-40 entries in a cell, aligned left-right in chronological order and prefix each entry with the article number. Just an idea. [[User:Pixali|Pixali]] ([[User talk:Pixali|talk]]|[[Special:Contributions/Pixali|contribs]]) 00:32, 21 May 2015 (UTC)

== Why isn't there an explanation page for each what if? ==

I love the What If? series, and consider it to be a similar, yet separate, version of the normal comics. There are many things that, while reading the What If?, I was confused, interested, or amused by, and I wanted to read about it on this wiki. Randall puts much effort into these, as well as the normal series, so they deserve some explaining. I have no idea how I'd go about this on my own, and I don't have the time right now to spare. I merely want to (hopefully) get the ball rolling on this, if it isn't already. {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.145}}

== The UK Version of the book. ==

I've edited in the UK version's summary, as I own the book. I will write about the date of the UK book's release too and the foreword. Is there anything else about it that other users think should be added?

1560: Bubblegum

2015-08-05T11:29:18Z

MadHaighaHatta: /* Explanation */ Added 1 sentence explaining Beret's possible motives.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]

User:MadHaighaHatta

2015-08-05T11:27:54Z

MadHaighaHatta: Created page with "WIP. Wikipediholic ^-^"

WIP.
Wikipediholic ^-^

User talk:MadHaighaHatta

2015-08-05T11:27:38Z

MadHaighaHatta: Created page with "The Talk Page. Nothing else. .-."

The Talk Page.
Nothing else.
.-.

Talk:1560: Bubblegum

2015-08-05T11:27:15Z

MadHaighaHatta:

I believe the title text refers to the story about Calvin Coolidge about making a bet to not say 3 words.[[User:Blawho|Blawho]] ([[User talk:Blawho|talk]]) 04:51, 5 August 2015 (UTC)

Duke Nukem says: "It's time to kick ass and chew bubble gum...", not the other way around. Don't know if this is worth mentioning. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 07:24, 5 August 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for the explanation, I didn't know the movie quote. With this info in mind, I now think that panel 2 shows that Cueball is perhaps not making friends, so he decides to just go for the chewing gum option?? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.36|141.101.99.36]] 08:40, 5 August 2015 (UTC)
I added that the dénouement was similar to something the naïve and childish Beret Guy would do, that okay? [[User:MadHaighaHatta|Completely sane (And not Anglo-Saxon)]] ([[User talk:MadHaighaHatta|talk]]) 11:27, 5 August 2015 (UTC)
===Title text===
Title text only 16 words? ''I(1) came(2) here(3) to(4) chew(5) bubblegum(6) and(7) say(8) no(9) more(10) than(11) eighteen(12) words(13) ... and(14) I'm(15) all(16) out(17) of(18)'' --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.93.98|162.158.93.98]] 10:26, 5 August 2015 (UTC)
: Title text 18 words, movie quote 16 words. Unless Randall takes the stuff in the movie quote as "bubble gum" where Randall's own text uses "bubblegum." Which is entirely possible, but weird. But then, what's not to like about "weird?" [[User:Taibhse|Taibhse]] ([[User talk:Taibhse|talk]]) 10:41, 5 August 2015 (UTC)