explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2497: Logic Gates

2021-08-03T01:46:22Z

MrEagerMcBeaver: Added explanation for names of last six gates, removed "Explanation of title text" header to be consistent with other pages

{{comic
| number = 2497
| date = August 2, 2021
| title = Logic Gates
| image = logic_gates.png
| titletext = In C, the multiocular O represents the bitwise norxondor gorgonax.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a NORXONDOR GORGONAX. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The comic lists logic gates. The first six are real, but the last six are made up and get increasingly absurd. The names for these last six are made up of the same letters and syllables as the first six so as to be consistent with their naming conventions.

The only real-life logic gate that was omitted is the XNOR gate (it compares the inputs, and if and only if they are equal, it outputs true).

An AND gate outputs true if and only if both inputs are true.

An OR gate outputs true if one or the other or both of the inputs are true.

A NOT outputs true if and only if the input is false.

A NOR gate outputs true if and only if both inputs are false.

A XOR gate outputs true if one, or the other, but not both of the inputs are true.

A NAND gate outputs true if one or the other or both of the inputs is false.

C is a low level programming language, and as such, it has many operations that correspond to logical (i. e. bitwise) operations. The title text is implying that it has too many operations.
Multiocular O: ꙮ

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The comic shows a chart labelled 'COMMON LOGIC GATE SYMBOLS' showing twelve electronic logic gates arranged in three rows of four. Each gate is depicted as a schematic symbol, with the name of the gate shown underneath in capital script.

Top row:

AND GATE - (A standard gate symbol used in real life. Two inputs on the left lead to the vertical left edge of a solid D-shaped symbol. From the right side of the D there is one output.)

OR GATE - (A standard gate symbol used in real life. Two inputs on the left lead to a convex-crescent left edge of a crescent-shaped symbol. The right side of the crescent symbol's shape forms a point at its output. From the right side of the crescent there is one output.)

NOT GATE - (A standard gate symbol used in real life. One input leads to a triangular symbol pointing to the right. There is a small bubble symbol connected to the triangle on the output, which leads right.)

NOR GATE - (A standard gate symbol used in real life. This is identical to the OR GATE, except the output has a bubble attached, like the NOT GATE's output.)

Middle row:

XOR GATE - (A standard gate symbol used in real life. This is identical to the OR GATE, except the left-hand arc at the input has a double-stroked line.)

NAND GATE - (A standard gate symbol used in real life. This is identical to the AND GATE, except the output has a bubble attached, like the NOT GATE's output.)

NORX GATE - (An unusual symbol. This symbol has one input on the left leading to a convex-crescent left edge, like the OR GATE. The output side as a smooth crescent like the AND GATE but has two outputs.)

GAND ATE - (An unusual symbol. This symbol has two inputs on the left leading to a vertical left edge input, like the AND GATE. The output side has a convex-crescent double-stroked output like the mirror image of the XOR GATE's input. There are two outputs.)

Bottom row:

XAND GORT - (An unusual symbol. This resembles the NOT GATE except there are two inputs instead of one leading into the left side.)

NORG XORT - (An unusual symbol. This has a double-stroked convex-crescent input like the XOR GATE, but the two inputs have bubbles attached. The single output has a smooth crescent shape with a bubble, like a NAND GATE.)

ANDORX GANT - (An unusual symbol. Two inputs lead to a convex-crescent edge, and the two lines of this symbol now enter a double-stroked convex-crescent input like the XOR GATE. The two lines of -this- symbol have bubbles placed half way across their horizontal length, and are presumably the outputs.)

NORXONDOR GORGONAX - (An unusual symbol. The symbol is identical to the NOR GATE, except the upper and lower horizontal parts of the symbols hull have a NOT GATE placed on them - one pointing to the left on the upper line, and to the right on the lower line. There is one output to the symbol, with a bubble attached.)

{{comic discussion}}

2362: Volcano Dinosaur

2020-09-22T13:02:19Z

MrEagerMcBeaver: /* Transcript */ Added significance

{{comic
| number = 2362
| date = September 21, 2020
| title = Volcano Dinosaur
| image = volcano_dinosaur.png
| titletext = Phylogeneticists are working on identifying and notifying its next of kin.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SLOWLY RECOVERING DINOSAUR. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is a reference to [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/new-dinosaur-discovered-china-volcano-b511774.html this discovery] of dinosaur fossils that were buried and killed by a volcanic eruption, similar to what occurred in {{w|Pompeii}} in the first century AD.

Facetiously, Megan asks if the dinosaur was okay. As living things typically don't survive being fossilized in volcano debris{{Citation needed}}, the answer to the question would obviously be "no", but Cueball replies that he is unsure. Even if the dinosaur somehow survived the initial burial, it would be impossible for it to survive buried for 125 million years{{Citation needed}}.

The title text suggests contacting its "{{w|next of kin}}", which usually means a nearest living relative, e.g. a brother or a sister. In this case, dinosaurs are extinct, so it is the job of {{w|Phylogenetics|phylogeneticist}}s (those who study evolutionary relationships) to determine which living animal is the "nearest relative" to the deceased dinosaurs.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Megan is standing facing right, talking to Cueball who is sitting at a computer desk and also facing right, looking at a computer screen.]
:Cueball: Oh cool, they just found a dinosaur that was buried by a volcanic eruption 125 million years ago.
:Megan: Wow.

:[Pause. Megan is still facing right. Cueball is not shown. This panel has no dialogue.]

:[Megan has stepped closer to Cueball, who is still looking at the screen.]
:Megan: Was it okay?
:Cueball: Hmm, it doesn't say.
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Volcanoes]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]
[[Category:Biology]]

2336: Campfire Habitable Zone

2020-09-20T19:41:29Z

MrEagerMcBeaver: /* Explanation */ Reorganized

{{comic
| number = 2336
| date = July 22, 2020
| title = Campfire Habitable Zone
| image = campfire_habitable_zone.png
| titletext = Oh no, my marshmallow became tidally locked!
}}

{{incomplete|Created by a FIRE-PROOF ORBITING SMORE-MAKING ROBOT. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

==Explanation==
This comic plays on the concept of the astronomic "habitable zone" applied at the scale of people sitting around a campfire.

The {{w|Circumstellar habitable zone|habitable zone}} of a star is the range of distances in which a planet might support liquid water, and hence life in the only form that we currently know of (as an allusion to the "not too hot, not too cold, but ''just right''" of the related {{w|Goldilocks_and_the_Three_Bears|children's story}}, the habitable zone is also commonly known as the "Goldilocks zone"). If the planet is too close to the star, then the amount of stellar radiation would be too great, causing the water to boil; too far from the star, and the planet doesn't have enough radiation, causing the water to freeze (although for life to actually exist, the planet itself must also have the right mass in order to maintain a life-compatible atmosphere and meet other such requirements). For our Sun, the habitable zone is estimated to range from about 0.38 to 10 astronomical units, where 1 astronomical unit is the distance from the Sun to the Earth.

{{w|Marshmallow#Toasted_marshmallows|Marshmallow toasting}} is a popular camping activity in which people place a marshmallow (a soft, sugary blob made of gelatin and covered in corn starch) on a stick and over/near a fire. As the marshmallow cooks, the inside becomes gooey while the outside becomes crispy (perhaps slightly charred and maybe even burned, depending on the toaster's preference), making it tastier via {{w|caramelization}} and the {{w|Maillard reaction}}.

In the context of the campfire, a similar "habitable zone" is posited by Randall to exist: a zone which is close enough to the fire such that the person can comfortably toast marshmallows, presumably on a stick of reasonable length (the ones in the comic seem to be about 1.5 times an arm's normal reach), yet far enough such that the person is not uncomfortably hot or even burned by either direct contact with the flames or by exposure to the radiant heat of the fire.

To demonstrate this hypothesis (with the habitable zones marked in green), Cueball is shown sitting outside the right habitable zone on the side of the fire. Even though he is able to toast his marshmallows on the fire due to his being close to it, he will have and is having part of his body scorched, as he is too close (fires [https://enjoythewild.com/how-hot-does-a-campfire-get/ can get really hot]). Megan, also on the right, is well outside the habitable zone on the side away from the fire. Although not burned, the marshmallow on the stick she is waving will presumably not toast due to its being too far from the campfire. Ponytail, on the other hand, has found and is enjoying the medium between the plights of both Cueball and Megan by sitting entirely within her (the left habitable zone), thereby both being close enough to the fire to be able to toast her marshmallows while also staying far enough away such that she will not be burned.

The title text introduces the concept of {{w|tidal locking}}, in which one astronomical body synchronizes its rotation with its orbit around another such that one side always faces the other body (e.g. the case of Earth's moon, which always presents the same face to the Earth). The joke here is that if a marshmallow became tidally locked to the fire, then one side would become more and more cooked, perhaps burnt, while the other side never became toasted at all. This also may allude to the instance in which a marshmallow has begun melting more than you realized and dripped down so far that it no longer responds to your rotation of the roasting stick (the solution to which is to cut your losses and pull the marshmallow out immediately, before it drops into the fire pit).

==Transcript==
:[A campfire is in the middle of the panel in a white area with two areas shaded green to the left and right of the fire. There are also two white areas outside of these green areas. Ponytail is sitting normally on the ground to the left of the fire, with her body fully inside the left green area. She is facing the fire and is holding a stick in both hands. The stick has a marshmallow on the tip and she is holding it over the top of the flames of the fire. Cueball is sitting to the right near the fire, only half inside the green are. He is sitting sideways leaning away from the fire, holding one hand to his head, while his other hand seems to be ready to support him as he is leaning further away from the fire. The arm closest to the fire and his head seems to be very hot as three small smoke-like lines rises from Cueball. Megan is crouching to the right of Cueball, far from the fire outside the right green area. She is supporting herself on one knee and one foot. She is also holding a stick in both hands with a marshmallow on it. She is holding the stick inside the green area to the right of Cueball far from the fire. Four small lines above and below indicates that she is waving the stick up and down. The camp fire is built up of several logs on top of each other, with big flames above it, with smaller flames hanging loose in the air above the main flames. A small dead tree is to the far left and small rocks/stones lie along the ground all the way from left to right interspersed with grass tufts. Below the scene there is a label from which two curved arrows point to the two green areas.]
:Label: Habitable zone

:[Caption below panel:]
:Astronomers define the Campfire Habitable Zone as the region where you're far enough not to be burned but close enough to roast marshmallows.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Food]]

2334: Slide Trombone

2020-09-20T19:00:02Z

MrEagerMcBeaver: /* Explanation */ Reorganized

{{comic
| number = 2334
| date = July 17, 2020
| title = Slide Trombone
| image = slide_trombone.png
| titletext = Remember the CPS 2000, the super soaker that was discontinued because it was too powerful? Relatedly, can I borrow your tuba?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a conspiracy to keep the masses from rebelling by preventing them from having powerful Super Soakers. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Might be nice to mention how the Super Soaker worked; which relates to why the trombone makes a hissing noise which younger readers may not understand. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In this comic, [[Megan]] carries her "old" {{w|trombone}}, a brass musical instrument with a movable sliding piece used to change a musical note's pitch, which those offscreen apparently haven't caught sight of since the 90s (presumably the 1990s). These offscreen people don't suspect anything unusual of Megan's trombone until it turns out that it contains a water gun, which she uses to soak the other characters. It is unclear whether she has somehow hidden the water gun inside the trombone, has disassembled it to produce a hybrid trombone/Super Soaker device, or otherwise modified the trombone such that it can shoot water as a water gun would.

In the second panel, she is priming the water gun by pumping air into it, following the sequence of pump actions used for the Super Soaker. During the first "slide" action, the user pulls the grip towards themselves, increasing pressure within the water reservoir of the gun. During the second "hiss" action, this grip is pushed away; a valve prevents air leaving the chamber, though a small amount usually leaks out. Part of the joke here is that a slide trombone also has a slide mechanism, held in a similar way as that of the Super Soaker, but which serves a completely different purpose. In the case of the trombone, when the slide is extended, the total length of tubing between the mouthpiece and the bell is extended, thereby lowering the pitch of the sound that is produced (there is, however, no comparable air chamber). This similarity between the two devices enables Megan to use the trombone's slide as if it were a Super Soaker's.

In the third panel, she presses the trigger, causing the compressed air within the water reservoir to push water from it at high speed, hitting the off-screen targets. One cries out in surprise, while the other expresses the realization of what had happened to his/her lost Super Soaker (that Megan had taken it as an alteration to her trombone).

In the title text, Megan asks those offscreen about the [http://www.isoaker.com/Armoury/Analysis/1996/super_soaker_cps2000.php CPS 2000], a water gun which, as is mentioned, was powerful but ''too'' powerful, causing injuries to those shot by it and allegedly leading to its discontinuation. Megan then, in connection with her previous question about the Super Soaker, asks to borrow a tuba, most probably to hide the CPS 2000 water gun inside. Her reasoning behind needing this tuba seems to be that the CPS 2000 is seemingly larger than the Super Soaker originally stored in Megan's trombone and thus would require a larger vessel (this use of the tuba may be cause for loss of friendship with an experienced player).

The CPS 2000 referenced by Megan was developed primarily by {{w| Lonnie Johnson (inventor)}} and Bruce D'Andrade for {{w| Larami}}'s {{w| Super Soaker}} product line. The "CPS" within its name refers to the "{{w|Constant Pressure System}}" used in certain water guns (its technology can be seen in [https://patents.google.com/patent/US5799827 this patent] by Bruce D'Andrade). In this system, a rubber bladder within the water gun is pressurized by the user's pumping action, which draws water from a reservoir and pushes it into the pressure chamber, filling the bladder like a balloon. Once the desired volume of water is stored within the toy, the water can be released by means of a spring-loaded trigger and valve system. Upon release, the rubber bladder pushes the water out of the pressure chamber and out of the front nozzle, hitting whatever targets the user desires it to. The "constant pressure" of the CPS's name refers to the fact that the bladder will exert the same pressure on the water throughout the shot, ensuring consistent power and range, as opposed to air pressure Super Soakers, whose power will die off during the shot as the pressurized air within the pressure chamber expands, expelling the water but reducing the pressure in the toy.

The Super Soaker that Megan uses in this comic is also referenced in [[220: Philosophy]] and [[517: Marshmallow Gun]]. If the water gun featured in this comic is the same as that depicted in previous comics, it would likely be a [http://www.isoaker.com/Armoury/Analysis/1991/super_soaker_ss50.php Super Soaker 50], the first widely available pressurized water gun. It could also be the less common but earlier model the [http://www.isoaker.com/Armoury/Analysis/1990/power_drencher.php Power Drencher] or the later [http://www.isoaker.com/Armoury/Analysis/1992/super_soaker_ss50c.php SS 50 Classic Series], [http://www.isoaker.com/Armoury/Analysis/1992/super_soaker_se.php Super Soaker S.E.], or [http://www.isoaker.com/Armoury/Analysis/2009/super_soaker_ss50_20th.php the 20th anniversary SS 50 rerelease].

==Transcript==
:[Megan walking along carrying a trombone.]
:Offpanel voice #1: Hey, her old trombone.
:Offpanel voice #2: Cool, I haven't seen that thing since the 90s.

:[Four quick shots of Megan moving the trombone's slide back and forth. It makes sound, but not like an ordinary trombone.]
:FX: Slide
:FX: Hisss
:FX: Slide
:FX: Hisss

:[Megan does something else with the trombone, and it shoots water at the offpanel observers.]
:FX: Pshhhhh
:Offpanel voice #1: AUGH!
:Offpanel voice #2: So ''that's'' where my Super Soaker went.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

2334: Slide Trombone

2020-09-20T18:36:08Z

MrEagerMcBeaver: /* Explanation */ Added more explanation and reorganized

{{comic
| number = 2334
| date = July 17, 2020
| title = Slide Trombone
| image = slide_trombone.png
| titletext = Remember the CPS 2000, the super soaker that was discontinued because it was too powerful? Relatedly, can I borrow your tuba?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a conspiracy to keep the masses from rebelling by preventing them from having powerful super soakers. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Might be nice to mention how the super soaker worked; which relates to why the trombone makes a hissing noise which younger readers may not understand. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In this comic, [[Megan]] carries her "old" {{w|trombone}}, a brass musical instrument with a movable sliding piece used to change a musical note's pitch, which those offscreen apparently haven't caught sight of since the 90s (presumably the 1990s). These offscreen people don't suspect anything unusual of Megan's trombone until it turns out that it contains a water gun, which she uses to soak the other characters. It is unclear whether she has somehow hidden the water gun inside the trombone, has disassembled it to produce a hybrid trombone/Super Soaker device, or otherwise modified the trombone such that it can shoot water as a water gun would.

In the second panel, she is priming the water gun by pumping air into it, following the sequence of pump actions used for the Super Soaker. During the first "slide" action, the user pulls the grip towards themselves, increasing pressure within the water reservoir of the gun. During the second "hiss" action, this grip is pushed away; a valve prevents air leaving the chamber, though a small amount usually leaks out. Part of the joke here is that a slide trombone also has a slide mechanism, held in a similar way as that of the Super Soaker, but which serves a completely different purpose. In the case of the trombone, when the slide is extended, the total length of tubing between the mouthpiece and the bell is extended, thereby lowering the pitch of the sound that is produced (there is, however, no comparable air chamber). This similarity between the two devices enables Megan to use the trombone's slide as if it were a Super Soaker's.

In the third panel, she presses the trigger, causing the compressed air within the water reservoir to push water from it at high speed, hitting the off-screen targets. One cries out in surprise, while the other expresses the realization of what had happened to his/her lost Super Soaker (that Megan had taken it as an alteration to her trombone).

In the title text, Megan asks those offscreen about the [http://www.isoaker.com/Armoury/Analysis/1996/super_soaker_cps2000.php CPS 2000], a powerful water gun developed primarily by {{w| Lonnie Johnson (inventor)}} and Bruce D'Andrade for {{w| Larami}}'s {{w| Super Soaker}} product line, which, as mentioned, was allegedly discontinued because it was ''too'' powerful and caused injuries to those shot by it. In connection with her previous question about the Super Soaker, Megan asks to borrow a tuba, presumably to hide the CPS 2000 water gun inside. Her reasoning behind needing a tuba seems to be that the CPS 2000 is seemingly larger than the Super Soaker originally stored in Megan's trombone and thus would require a larger vessel (this use of the tuba may be cause for loss of friendship with an experienced player).

The "CPS" within the name of the CPS 2000 refers to the "{{w|Constant Pressure System}}" used in certain water guns. In this system a rubber bladder within the water gun is pressurized by the user's pumping action, which draws water from a reservoir and pushes it into the pressure chamber, filling the bladder like a balloon. Once the desired volume of water is stored within the toy, the water can be released by means of a spring-loaded trigger and valve system. Like a balloon expelling air, the rubber bladder pushes the water out of the pressure chamber and out of the front nozzle. The "constant pressure" name refers to the fact that the bladder will exert the same pressure on the water throughout the shot, ensuring consistent power and range. This is in comparison to air pressure super soakers, whose power will die off during the shot as the pressurized air within the pressure chamber expands, expelling the water but reducing the pressure in the toy. This CPS technology can be seen in [https://patents.google.com/patent/US5799827 this patent] by Bruce D'Andrade. Brass such as trombones and tubas can likely withstand higher pressures than the plastic material of super soakers, though high-pressure jets of water and abrasive still are sometimes used to cut metal with precision in prototyping labs and maker spaces.

The super soaker that Megan uses is also referenced in [[220: Philosophy]] and [[517: Marshmallow Gun]]. If the water gun featured in this comic is the same as that depicted in previous comics, it would likely be a [http://www.isoaker.com/Armoury/Analysis/1991/super_soaker_ss50.php Super Soaker 50], the first widely available pressurized water gun. It could also be the less common but earlier model the [http://www.isoaker.com/Armoury/Analysis/1990/power_drencher.php Power Drencher] or the later [http://www.isoaker.com/Armoury/Analysis/1992/super_soaker_ss50c.php SS 50 Classic Series], [http://www.isoaker.com/Armoury/Analysis/1992/super_soaker_se.php Super Soaker S.E.], or [http://www.isoaker.com/Armoury/Analysis/2009/super_soaker_ss50_20th.php the 20th anniversary SS 50 rerelease].

==Transcript==
:[Megan walking along carrying a trombone.]
:Offpanel voice #1: Hey, her old trombone.
:Offpanel voice #2: Cool, I haven't seen that thing since the 90s.

:[Four quick shots of Megan moving the trombone's slide back and forth. It makes sound, but not like an ordinary trombone.]
:FX: Slide
:FX: Hisss
:FX: Slide
:FX: Hisss

:[Megan does something else with the trombone, and it shoots water at the offpanel observers.]
:FX: Pshhhhh
:Offpanel voice #1: AUGH!
:Offpanel voice #2: So ''that's'' where my Super Soaker went.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

2361: Voting

2020-09-19T18:17:41Z

MrEagerMcBeaver: /* Explanation */ Added more explanation and organized information

{{comic
| number = 2361
| date = September 18, 2020
| title = Voting
| image = voting.png
| titletext = 'Wait, our state has mail voting. The forms are literally on the kitchen table.' 'Not now, I'm busy researching which channels have sharks in them.'
}}
==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by SHARK-FILLED BROKEN GLASS. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The run-up to the {{w|2020 United States elections}}, occurring on November 3, 2020 (less than 2 months from the time of the comic's publication), has been fraught with various overlapping worries about the legitimacy of the forthcoming result. The {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}} has created a new interest in {{w|postal voting|voting by mail}}, at a historically large scale. See {{w|Postal voting in the United States}} for more detail. Cueball, however, is in a very patriotic mood and makes a series of hyperbolic statements to Megan about the trials he would be willing to endure in order to vote in the upcoming elections, none of which would, in reality, apply to his or anyone else's circumstance.

Crawling across broken glass might have actually been necessary at some polling sites of the {{w|2001 New York City mayoral election}} primary, which had been scheduled for September 11, 2001, and would have taken place had it not been postponed two weeks due to the {{w|September 11 attacks|terrorist attacks}} of that day. However, as Megan states, their polling sites, unlike those of the 2001 election, don't even feature any especially large windows or other such structures from which broken glass could be derived.

The Sun, currently a yellow dwarf star on the main sequence, will eventually expand into a red giant, then collapse down to a white dwarf when its fuel is exhausted; this will not happen for billions of years, as Megan points out. Because of this, waiting until the sun burns out would result in Cueball's vote not being counted at all, both because it would be after the official deadline for ballots to be cast and because there would no longer be anyone alive on Earth.

As Megan observes, hot coals would most likely not even be present at their polling stations, and although some states have been accused of trying to make voting inconvenient or unsafe and xkcd has frequently inspired vandalism of Wikipedia{{Citation needed}}, this comic has not yet led any states to prohibit wearing shoes at polling places.

According to Megan, her and Cueball's municipality does not even include a single shark-infested body of water that Cueball would be able to swim through in order to cast his vote. Cueball's solution to this problem is to simply swim back to their location after swimming in his shark-filled channel.

Megan tries in vain to convince Cueball that his proposed actions are unnecessary or even impossible in their area, but, unable to bring him back to reality, she closes the final panel by asking if he'd be willing to put off all of this dangerous stuff until after voting, perhaps so that he will be alive long enough to vote in the first place.

Broken glass, the extinction of humanity, hot coals, and sharks aside, though, Cueball faces the risk of contracting COVID-19 from being in such close proximity to so many other voters, as he seems to plan on voting in person (his words show his desire for activities only possible by way of physical action; in the title text, he also ignores Megan when she says that mail-in voting is available).

In the title text, Megan tells Cueball that he does not need to go to such lengths to vote, as their state has mail-in voting and already sent forms either to cast a ballot or to apply for mail-in ballots. Cueball ignores her and continues looking online for shark-filled channels to swim through.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[Cueball walks in from right, staring at his phone and talking to Megan.]
:Cueball: I will crawl across broken glass to vote this year if I have to.
:Megan: ...Why would there be broken glass?
:Megan: There aren't even any big windows at our polling place.

:[Cueball raising a finger triumphantly.]
:Cueball: I will wait in line till the sun burns out.
:Megan: Ok, some places have lines, which is awful, but it's usually pretty quick here?
:Megan: Definitely not 5 billion years.

:[Cueball raising a fist.]
:Cueball: I will walk barefoot across hot coals to cast my ballot!
:Megan: Where would you even '''''find''''' coals?
:Megan: You can wear shoes to vote. This scenario makes no sense.

:[Cueball raising a finger, and walking back off-panel to the left]
:Cueball: I will swim across a shark-filled channel!
:Megan: That'll take you '''''way''''' outside our precinct.
:Cueball: '''''Then I'll swim back!'''''
:Megan: Can you do all this stuff '''''after''''' voting?

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Elections]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Sharks]]

2361: Voting

2020-09-19T17:24:15Z

MrEagerMcBeaver: /* Explanation */ De-capitalized "xkcd"

{{comic
| number = 2361
| date = September 18, 2020
| title = Voting
| image = voting.png
| titletext = 'Wait, our state has mail voting. The forms are literally on the kitchen table.' 'Not now, I'm busy researching which channels have sharks in them.'
}}
==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by SHARK-FILLED BROKEN GLASS. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Cueball makes a series of hyperbolic statements to Megan about the trials he would be willing to endure in order to vote in the upcoming elections. Crawling across broken glass actually might have been necessary at some polling sites in the {{w|2001 New York City mayoral election}} primary, which had been scheduled for September 11, 2001, had it not been postponed two weeks due to the terrorist attacks. Waiting until the sun burns out would result in his vote not being counted at all, both because it would be after the official deadline for ballots to be cast, and because there would no longer be anyone alive on earth. Although some states have been accused of trying to make voting inconvenient or unsafe, and xkcd has frequently inspired vandalism of Wikipedia{{Citation needed}}, this comic has not yet led any states to prohibit wearing shoes at polling places. Megan tries in vain to convince him that his proposed actions are unnecessary or even impossible in their area. Unable to bring him back to reality, she closes the final panel by asking if he'd be willing to put off all this dangerous stuff until after voting, perhaps so that he will be alive long enough to vote.

The run-up to the {{w|2020 United States elections}}, occurring on November 3, 2020 (less than 2 months from the time of the comic's publication), has been fraught with various overlapping worries about the legitimacy of the forthcoming result. The {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}} has created a new interest in {{w|postal voting|voting by mail}}, at a historically large scale. See {{w|Postal voting in the United States}} for more detail.

Cueball seems to plan on voting in person (and, in the title text, he ignores Megan when she says mail-in voting is available). Broken glass, hot coals and sharks aside, Cueball faces the risk of contracting COVID-19 from being in close proximity to so many other voters.

The sun, currently a yellow dwarf star on the main sequence, will eventually expand into a red giant, then collapse down to a white dwarf when its fuel is exhausted. This will not happen for billions of years, as Megan points out.

In the title text, Megan tells Cueball that he does not need to go to such lengths to vote, as their state has mail-in voting (and sent forms, either to cast a ballot, or to apply for mail-in ballots). Cueball ignores her, and continues looking for shark-filled channels to swim through.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[Cueball walks in from right, staring at his phone and talking to Megan.]
:Cueball: I will crawl across broken glass to vote this year if I have to.
:Megan: ...Why would there be broken glass?
:Megan: There aren't even any big windows at our polling place.

:[Cueball raising a finger triumphantly.]
:Cueball: I will wait in line till the sun burns out.
:Megan: Ok, some places have lines, which is awful, but it's usually pretty quick here?
:Megan: Definitely not 5 billion years.

:[Cueball raising a fist.]
:Cueball: I will walk barefoot across hot coals to cast my ballot!
:Megan: Where would you even '''''find''''' coals?
:Megan: You can wear shoes to vote. This scenario makes no sense.

:[Cueball raising a finger, and walking back off-panel to the left]
:Cueball: I will swim across a shark-filled channel!
:Megan: That'll take you '''''way''''' outside our precinct.
:Cueball: '''''Then I'll swim back!'''''
:Megan: Can you do all this stuff '''''after''''' voting?
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Title text: 'Wait, our state has mail voting. The forms are literally on the kitchen table.' 'Not now, I'm busy researching which channels have sharks in them.'

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Elections]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Sharks]]