explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3088: Deposition

2025-05-13T03:52:59Z

Mrfoogles: /* Transcript */ Fix

{{comic
| number = 3088
| date = May 12, 2025
| title = Deposition
| image = deposition_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x272px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = P.S. If you have time travel, come to my birthday party Saturday!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by BEDROCK INSPECTOR NO 4. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
A continental margin the place on the edge of a continent where the continental crust is underwater, covered by relatively shallow coastal waters. The stone will be washed down the river until it reaches coastal waters. This continental margin is passive, which means that it is not going subduction, where the oceanic crust slips under the continental crust, or a strike-slip fault, where one slides along the other. This causes piles of sediment to accumulate on the continental shelf. The rock will becomes part of one pile of sediment, which solidifies over geologic timescales into shale. 100 million later, the sea level has gone down, exposing the shale, and erosion has caused it to become a cliff face, exposing the rock the geologist threw into the river. The aliens, who appear to be digging, have found the rock, which says "this bedrock inspected by no. 5".

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

[Panel 1]

[Ponytail chisels a rock next to a river]

Cueball: What are you doing?

Ponytail: This river empties onto a passive continental margin.

[Panel 2]

Ponytail: If I chisel notes onto these rocks and throw them into the sea, they might be incorporated into some shale cliff in the distant future.

[Panel 3]

[Ponytail throws rocks into the river, making a plop sound upon landing]

[Panel 4]

[100 million years later]

[Two aliens with digging tools hover by a cliff face; both look at a rock that one is holding]

Note etched onto rock: This bedrock inspected by No. 5

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

3088: Deposition

2025-05-13T03:52:46Z

Mrfoogles: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 3088
| date = May 12, 2025
| title = Deposition
| image = deposition_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x272px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = P.S. If you have time travel, come to my birthday party Saturday!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by BEDROCK INSPECTOR NO 4. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
A continental margin the place on the edge of a continent where the continental crust is underwater, covered by relatively shallow coastal waters. The stone will be washed down the river until it reaches coastal waters. This continental margin is passive, which means that it is not going subduction, where the oceanic crust slips under the continental crust, or a strike-slip fault, where one slides along the other. This causes piles of sediment to accumulate on the continental shelf. The rock will becomes part of one pile of sediment, which solidifies over geologic timescales into shale. 100 million later, the sea level has gone down, exposing the shale, and erosion has caused it to become a cliff face, exposing the rock the geologist threw into the river. The aliens, who appear to be digging, have found the rock, which says "this bedrock inspected by no. 5".

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

[Panel 1]

[Ponytail chisels a rock next to a river]

Cueball: What are you doing?

Ponytail: This river empties onto a passive continental margin.

[Panel 2]

Ponytail: If I chisel notes onto these rocks and throw them into the sea, they might be incorporated into some shale cliff in the distant future.

[Panel 3]

[Ponytail throws rocks into the river, making a plop sound upon landing]

[Panel 4]

[100 million years later]

[Two aliens with digging tools hover by a cliff face; both looking at a rock that one is holding]

Note etched onto rock: This bedrock inspected by No. 5

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

3088: Deposition

2025-05-13T03:51:34Z

Mrfoogles: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 3088
| date = May 12, 2025
| title = Deposition
| image = deposition_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x272px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = P.S. If you have time travel, come to my birthday party Saturday!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by BEDROCK INSPECTOR NO 4. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
A continental margin the place on the edge of a continent where the continental crust is underwater, covered by relatively shallow coastal waters. The stone will be washed down the river until it reaches coastal waters. This continental margin is passive, which means that it is not going subduction, where the oceanic crust slips under the continental crust, or a strike-slip fault, where one slides along the other. This causes piles of sediment to accumulate on the continental shelf. The rock will becomes part of one pile of sediment, which solidifies over geologic timescales into shale. 100 million later, the sea level has gone down, exposing the shale, and erosion has caused it to become a cliff face, exposing the rock the geologist threw into the river. The aliens, who appear to be digging, have found the rock, which says "this bedrock inspected by no. 5".

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

[Panel 1]

[Ponytail chisels a rock next to a river]

Cueball: What are you doing?

Ponytail: This river empties onto a passive continental margin.

[Panel 2]

Ponytail: If I chisel notes onto these rocks and throw them into the sea, they might be incorporated into some shale cliff in the distant future.

[Panel 3]

[Ponytail throws rocks into the river, making a plop sound upon landing]

[Panel 4]

[100 million years later]

[Two aliens with eyeballs on stalks, accompanied by a pickaxe and shovel, hover next to a sedimentary cliff face. One carries a rock]

Note etched onto rock: This bedrock inspected by No. 5

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

3088: Deposition

2025-05-13T03:51:18Z

Mrfoogles: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 3088
| date = May 12, 2025
| title = Deposition
| image = deposition_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x272px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = P.S. If you have time travel, come to my birthday party Saturday!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by BEDROCK INSPECTOR NO 4. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
A continental margin the place on the edge of a continent where the continental crust is underwater, covered by relatively shallow coastal waters. The stone will be washed down the river until it reaches coastal waters. This continental margin is passive, which means that it is not going subduction, where the oceanic crust slips under the continental crust, or a strike-slip fault, where one slides along the other. This causes piles of sediment to accumulate on the continental shelf. The rock will becomes part of one pile of sediment, which solidifies over geologic timescales into shale. 100 million later, the sea level has gone down, exposing the shale, and erosion has caused it to become a cliff face, exposing the rock the geologist threw into the river. The aliens, who appear to be digging, have found the rock, which says "this bedrock inspected by no. 5".

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

[Panel 1]

[Ponytail chisels a rock next to a river]

Cueball: What are you doing?

Ponytail: This river empties onto a passive continental margin.

[Panel 2]

Ponytail: If I chisel notes onto these rocks and throw them into the sea, they might be incorporated into some shale cliff in the distant future.

[Panel 3]

[Ponytail throws rocks into the river, making a plop sound upon landing]

[Panel 4]

[100 million years later]
[Two aliens with eyeballs on stalks, accompanied by a pickaxe and shovel, hover next to a sedimentary cliff face. One carries a rock]
Note etched onto rock: This bedrock inspected by No. 5

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

3088: Deposition

2025-05-13T03:49:02Z

Mrfoogles: /* Transcript */ She throws them into the river, not the sea

{{comic
| number = 3088
| date = May 12, 2025
| title = Deposition
| image = deposition_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x272px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = P.S. If you have time travel, come to my birthday party Saturday!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by BEDROCK INSPECTOR NO 4. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
A continental margin the place on the edge of a continent where the continental crust is underwater, covered by relatively shallow coastal waters. The stone will be washed down the river until it reaches coastal waters. This continental margin is passive, which means that it is not going subduction, where the oceanic crust slips under the continental crust, or a strike-slip fault, where one slides along the other. This causes piles of sediment to accumulate on the continental shelf. The rock will becomes part of one pile of sediment, which solidifies over geologic timescales into shale. 100 million later, the sea level has gone down, exposing the shale, and erosion has caused it to become a cliff face, exposing the rock the geologist threw into the river. The aliens, who appear to be digging, have found the rock, which says "this bedrock inspected by no. 5".

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

[Panel 1]

[Ponytail chisels a rock next to a river]

Cueball: What are you doing?

Ponytail: This river empties onto a passive continental margin.

[Panel 2]

Ponytail: If I chisel notes onto these rocks and throw them into the sea, they might be incorporated into some shale cliff in the distant future.

[Panel 3]

[Ponytail throws rocks into the river, making a plop sound upon landing]

[Panel 4]

[100 million years later]
Note etched onto rock: This bedrock inspected by No. 5

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

3088: Deposition

2025-05-13T03:48:03Z

Mrfoogles: /* Transcript */ Add to transcript

{{comic
| number = 3088
| date = May 12, 2025
| title = Deposition
| image = deposition_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x272px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = P.S. If you have time travel, come to my birthday party Saturday!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by BEDROCK INSPECTOR NO 4. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
A continental margin the place on the edge of a continent where the continental crust is underwater, covered by relatively shallow coastal waters. The stone will be washed down the river until it reaches coastal waters. This continental margin is passive, which means that it is not going subduction, where the oceanic crust slips under the continental crust, or a strike-slip fault, where one slides along the other. This causes piles of sediment to accumulate on the continental shelf. The rock will becomes part of one pile of sediment, which solidifies over geologic timescales into shale. 100 million later, the sea level has gone down, exposing the shale, and erosion has caused it to become a cliff face, exposing the rock the geologist threw into the river. The aliens, who appear to be digging, have found the rock, which says "this bedrock inspected by no. 5".

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

[Panel 1]

[Ponytail chisels a rock next to a river]

Cueball: What are you doing?

Ponytail: This river empties onto a passive continental margin.

[Panel 2]

Ponytail: If I chisel notes onto these rocks and throw them into the sea, they might be incorporated into some shale cliff in the distant future.

[Panel 3]

[Ponytail throws rock into sea, making a plop sound upon landing]

[Panel 4]

[100 million years later]
Note etched onto rock: This bedrock inspected by No. 5

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

3088: Deposition

2025-05-13T03:47:03Z

Mrfoogles: /* Explanation */ Add some

{{comic
| number = 3088
| date = May 12, 2025
| title = Deposition
| image = deposition_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x272px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = P.S. If you have time travel, come to my birthday party Saturday!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by BEDROCK INSPECTOR NO 4. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
A continental margin the place on the edge of a continent where the continental crust is underwater, covered by relatively shallow coastal waters. The stone will be washed down the river until it reaches coastal waters. This continental margin is passive, which means that it is not going subduction, where the oceanic crust slips under the continental crust, or a strike-slip fault, where one slides along the other. This causes piles of sediment to accumulate on the continental shelf. The rock will becomes part of one pile of sediment, which solidifies over geologic timescales into shale. 100 million later, the sea level has gone down, exposing the shale, and erosion has caused it to become a cliff face, exposing the rock the geologist threw into the river. The aliens, who appear to be digging, have found the rock, which says "this bedrock inspected by no. 5".

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

[Panel 1]

Cueball: What are you doing?

Ponytail: This river empties onto a passive continental margin.

[Panel 2]

Ponytail: If I chisel notes onto these rocks and throw them into the sea, they might be incorporated into some shale cliff in the distant future.

[Panel 3]

[Ponytail throws rock into sea, making a plop sound upon landing]

[Panel 4]

[100 million years later]
Note etched onto rock: This bedrock inspected by No. 5

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

Talk:3031: Time Capsule Instructions

2024-12-31T14:02:19Z

Mrfoogles:

Neither date has a calender suffix, which allows the finder to assume it to be a BC date, which would render the issue… moot.[[Special:Contributions/172.71.102.192|172.71.102.192]] 22:45, 30 December 2024 (UTC)
:Given that they open it at New Year 2025 and that this was known to be the year to open it, probably standing in the small text on the sign, they are of course years in the normal calendar and when not writing CE og BEC as Randall would do then it is always CE. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:13, 31 December 2024 (UTC)

The answer is simple! Open the box after 2025 (Vikram Samvat calendar) and before 2024 (gregorian) [[User:Nerd1729|Nerd1729]] ([[User talk:Nerd1729|talk]]) 22:49, 30 December 2024 (UTC)

1: Open first box in a GMT+X tz, where is already 2025; 2: Travel to tz GMT+X-Y, where is still 2024, remove second box from inside first box and open it; 3: Wait for the year to turn 2025, close the first box and open it again; 4: Now both first and second boxes were open in the same tz and you can open the third one. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.49.76|162.158.49.76]] 22:50, 30 December 2024 (UTC) auroralimin
:you have overthought this so much but it works surprisingly [[User:Nerd1729|Nerd1729]] ([[User talk:Nerd1729|talk]]) 23:16, 30 December 2024 (UTC)
::Only if you can convince yourself that it was not the first opening that counted as opening in the text on the third. I would not be able to convince my self of that. And although the explanation at this times suggest there is no enforcement method, then maybe Black Hat who obviously made this capsule may have booby trapped the boxes. And only because you managed to move it did it not explode! ;-) The Australian solution in the explanation may work, but only if you did not open the first box until in Australia on New Years Day 2025... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:13, 31 December 2024 (UTC)

Open it standing next to a border between time zones, step across, then stand in both? {{unsigned ip|162.158.62.154|02:36, 31 December 2024}}

The third box can be defeated by being at one of the two geographic poles, which have no time zones (or at least, which can't be said to be in any time zone). [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 03:23, 31 December 2024 (UTC)
:Both poles (indeed, all poles) still have a timezone (and, when I last read the page, I also wanted to point out that east/west travel wasn't consistently later-to-earlier, and even without considering going to a pole, it's not just E-W journeys that can step your timezone across). Even the ISS has a timezone, even if that's just the old backup of UTC. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.54|141.101.98.54]] 11:03, 31 December 2024 (UTC)
:;Only remember not to open either before on the pole! Oh and you did not know the instructions on box 2 and box 3 until you opened them! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:13, 31 December 2024 (UTC)

"WHAT'S IN THE BOX?!" (sorry folks) [[User:Jaap-Jan|Jaap-Jan]] ([[User talk:Jaap-Jan|talk]])
:A fourth box saying do not open this unless on a another planet than the one you opened the first three boxes on. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:43, 31 December 2024 (UTC)
:"You must open this box if (and only if) you haven't opened any of the other boxes"... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.5|172.70.85.5]] 13:07, 31 December 2024 (UTC)

The best solution I can think of is to use solar time. First, open the first box in time zone X once 2025 has begun according to solar time. Second, cross the year line according to solar time, while remaining in time zone X, to reach 2024. Open the second box. Third, immediately open the third box while remaining in time zone X, which is the same time zone in which the first and second boxes were opened. That said there is almost certainly a fourth box, but, cross that bridge when you come to it. If anyone agrees with this, add it to the explanation? [[User:Mrfoogles|Mrfoogles]] ([[User talk:Mrfoogles|talk]]) 14:02, 31 December 2024 (UTC)