explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2469: Astronomy Status Board

2021-05-29T03:53:32Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2469
| date = May 29, 2021
| title = Astronomy Status Board
| image = astronomy_status_board.png
| titletext = Junior astronomers hate getting put on board update duty, but someone's gotta make sure that stuff is still up there.
}}

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

Ponytail is staring at the sky on a telescope while Cueball is operating a checklist, visible on a screen.

Since they are junior astronomers, they appear to have been tasked with simply verifying whether normal celestial objects are still present in the sky.

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

{{comic discussion}}

2469: Astronomy Status Board

2021-05-29T03:52:15Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2469
| date = May 29, 2021
| title = Astronomy Status Board
| image = astronomy_status_board.png
| titletext = Junior astronomers hate getting put on board update duty, but someone's gotta make sure that stuff is still up there.
}}

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

Megan is staring at the sky on a telescope while Cueball is operating a checklist, visible on a screen.

Since they are junior astronomers, they appear to have been tasked with simply verifying whether normal celestial objects are still present in the sky.

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

{{comic discussion}}

2047: Beverages

2018-09-19T14:06:13Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2047
| date = September 17, 2018
| title = Beverages
| image = beverages.png
| titletext = If I wait a while, it's not so bad, because then it's just shaped like me, plus some pipes and tanks and probably eventually all of Earth's oceans.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a cup, or possibly a bottle. Maybe even a teapot. Should be expanded upon. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
It is frequently stated that liquids take the shape of their container. While being poured, though, what that "shape" is is open to interpretation. The comic shows the "shape" of a liquid being "poured" down someone's throat (in the process of drinking) and highlights how unsettling this may look without any visible guidance for its flow. While the flow of the beverage wets every parts downwards, it looks as if the stomach is only partially filled, because the process of drinking is still underway and the glass is still half full, and because the contents of the glass would not be enough to fill the stomach in any case. Therefore the shape of the liquid in the stomach area would not correspond to the full shape of the stomach, and there could be additional blobs of liquid where it might have splashed and detached from the main liquid mass, such as depicted by the two little disconnected pieces to the right of the stomach area.

The title text expands on this, encouraging the reader to think of the liquid travelling through the entire {{w|Human digestive system|human digestive tract}} and to consider that it will eventually dilute through the entire human body ("shaped like me"), with what doesn't leaving the body to pass through the water treatment process ("some pipes and tanks"), and that finally most particles from any ingested liquid will mix with all water on Earth ("all of Earth's oceans"). But by the time a beverage is diluted enough to take the shape of Earth's oceans, the molecules will be so dispersed that the beverage effectively becomes invisible.

Note: A {{w|barium swallow}} is a medical procedure that actually studies the shape of a liquid when it is being swallowed, to diagnose problems in the esophagus and other structures.

==Transcript==
:[Inside a single frame, liquid pouring out of a glass through mouth, the esophagus, and to the stomach is shown. However the surrounding bodies like the organs or the glass are not pictured, are only defined by the shape of the liquid, and must be imagined. Further two small parts within or near the invisible stomach with no visible connection to the rest are also wetted.]
:[Caption below the frame:]
:It freaks me out to imagine what a beverage is shaped like when I’m in the middle of drinking it.

==Trivia==
*Similar imagery was used in the films {{w|Memoirs of an Invisible Man (film)|''Memoirs of an Invisible Man''}} and ''{{w|Hollow Man}}''.
*Radiotopia's recently released [https://www.everythingisalive.com/about ''Everything is alive''] podcast's premiere episode, [https://www.everythingisalive.com/episodes/louis-can-of-cola "Louis Can of Cola"], features a discussion between the beverage and the host who {spoiler alert} drinks the beverage during their discussion.
*How much of Earth's water has been turned into soda was the subject of the [[what if?]] "{{what if|74|Soda Planet}}". In this article it turns out that all of Earth's water has at least once (and probably at least ten times) been turned into dinosaur pee.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category: Food]]

1942: Memorable Quotes

2018-01-15T11:27:01Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1942
| date = January 15, 2018
| title = Memorable Quotes
| image = memorable_quotes.png
| titletext = "Since there's no ending quote mark, everything after this is part of my quote. —Randall Munroe
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This Quote has nothing to do with the comic. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic helpfully provides random quotes to be used by anyone as {{w|blurb}}s, online reviews, motivational quotes or similar short bits of text. Either the webcomic XKCD or its creator Randall Munroe may be quoted using any of the text bits.

Randall's helpfulness in providing these quotes, however, is overshadowed by the fact that they are utterly irrelevant to the work being reviewed and/or provide no useful information to the reader.

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

{{comic discussion}}

1942: Memorable Quotes

2018-01-15T11:22:48Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1942
| date = January 15, 2018
| title = Memorable Quotes
| image = memorable_quotes.png
| titletext = "Since there's no ending quote mark, everything after this is part of my quote. —Randall Munroe
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This Quote has nothing to do with the comic. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic helpfully provides random quotes to be used by anyone as {{w|blurb}}s, online reviews or similar short bits of text. Either the webcomic XKCD or its creator Randall Munroe may be quoted using any of the text bits.

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

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1928: Seven Years

2017-12-15T07:41:34Z

Nialpxe:

no... I'm not crying... [[User:Zazathebot|Zazathebot]] ([[User talk:Zazathebot|talk]])

Liar [[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.34|172.68.34.34]] 20:13, 13 December 2017 (UTC)

:([[Special:Contributions/162.158.58.105|162.158.58.105]] 23:04, 13 December 2017 (UTC)

Do we know her name? [[User:Dogman15|Dogman15]] ([[User talk:Dogman15|talk]]) 00:34, 14 December 2017 (UTC)

Should we remove the transcript incomplete mark? I know it's early, but I don't think it can be any better. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.233|162.158.166.233]] 02:25, 14 December 2017 (UTC)

Is someone cutting onions here? I am almost close to tears soon.Boeing-787lover 08:10, 14 December 2017 (UTC)

Why is my face leaking??? --[[User:Nialpxe|Nialpxe]], 2017. [[User_talk:Nialpxe|(Arguments welcome)]]

Yay life!

I love the phrasing "Panel 17: The sky has been brightened." I'm just commenting to preserve it from edits. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.230.52|198.41.230.52]] 13:22, 14 December 2017 (UTC)

I feel it important to point out to anyone who may be looking at here and thinking about dealing with cancer...
Chemotherapy and Radiology, '''Don't do it!'''. These were the best that science had about 20 years ago, but we've come much further since then. Immuno-oncology is less intensive, cheaper, and much more effective. Most of the developed world has quit using radiology and chemotherapy (which works by the very imprecise method of 'kill everything, good and bad, and hopefully kill more of the bad than the good'. Immuno-oncology works by creating specialized and personalized medicines that train your white blood cells to seek out and destroy the particular cancer cells, leaving all your good cells in tact and leaving you an immunity to that particular cancer. This knowledge won't be that much use to most of the developed world, but if you live in the U.S., it could save your life. (A few certain large companies who will go unnamed have been lobbying to prevent entry of new cancer solutions as they see chemo and radiotherapy as a cash cow and don't want their income stifled.) --[[User:Joshupetersen|Joshupetersen]] ([[User talk:Joshupetersen|talk]]) 18:33, 14 December 2017 (UTC)

I don't want to take away anything from this very moving comic, but he does realize there's an eclipse or two every year, somewhere on the planet? Does the fear of cancer somehow limit them from ever leaving the US?

God that's beatiful. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.17|162.158.91.17]] 20:39, 14 December 2017 (UTC)

First off this is fantastic. As someone in the same situation, at the same part of the timeline, this rings so honest and true. The tree scene ... brilliant. Walking among beings for who a human lifespan is insignificant. Second. a hearty, contemptuous, giant F you to Joshupetersen. I can't stand conspiratorial know it alls like you. You think people in this situation don't know every single treatment that is out there? Every single immunotherapy drug in Cuba, every single clinical trial being run out of some backwater lab in China? There is no big pharma conspiracy. There is however a conspiracy called "evolution," which after several million years of practice ensures that cancer is one of the wiliest, most resilient killers out there. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.47.30|172.68.47.30]] 22:26, 14 December 2017 (UTC)Kaeleku
:The way you speak about evolution suggest cancer is some kind of infectious organism which evolved to kill effectively. It isn't and it isn't infectious at all. Even the kind of cancers caused by infections are not DIRECT result of infections. Cancer is basically failure of normal cell functionality, abnormal growth of your own cells which your self-repair mechanisms failed to prevent, and evolution is the reason why it's rare to have cancer before the age when it's natural to have children.
:Nevertheless, there is no reason for conspiracy: large companies are just slower to adapt to changes. Radiology and chemotherapy are tested, immuno-oncology is new, not well tested and may not work on all kinds of cancer. And regarding how aggressive those old methods are, think about dentistry, which instead of curing anything limits itself to effectively amputation and replacement by artificial prosthesis. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 02:52, 15 December 2017 (UTC)
::The wrongest thing to do in this regard is to think of "cancer" as one disease. Yes, the suffering aspect of various forms can be similar and it is sometimes useful to lump them together when making broad policy decisions. But just about every organ and cell type presents a unique challenge, which is best dealt with differently. Some cancers are extremely chemo- and radiosensitive, others are rather resistant. The same is true for novel and experimental treatment methods. Do your own research by all means, but if your oncologist strongly recommends one treatment option, consider that they are weighing previous outcomes of available treatment methods before making the suggestion. --[[User:Nialpxe|Nialpxe]], 2017. [[User_talk:Nialpxe|(Arguments welcome)]]

I feel it important to point out to anyone who may be looking at here and thinking about dealing with cancer... talk with your trusted health care professional who knows your case, and is not only well aware of but well practiced in modern medicine. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.9|162.158.74.9]] 23:58, 14 December 2017 (UTC)

...solar eclipses visible from North America... Americans![[Special:Contributions/162.158.165.16|162.158.165.16]] 04:10, 15 December 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1928: Seven Years

2017-12-14T09:04:09Z

Nialpxe:

1917: How to Make Friends

2017-11-17T07:35:17Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1917
| date = November 17, 2017
| title = How to Make Friends
| image = how_to_make_friends.png
| titletext = No, wait, come back! I want to be friends at you!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a user who also doesn't know how to make friends - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic shows [[Cueball]] (standing in for [[Randall]]) trying to be friends with [[Hairy]].

It starts out with a common way of making friends or interacting with friends, hanging out over a meal. However, Cueball then says that he also doesn't need to eat to talk, which, while true, is a bit of an odd thing to say. Cueball then says he doesn't need to eat, meaning he doesn't need to eat ''right now'', but he goes on to clarify that he ''does'' need to eat, meaning ''in general'', and again it's odd that he clarified. He then awkwardly talks about how he can eat later if Hairy would rather just talk. This is obviously a situation that Randall has encountered before, and he apologizes for trying to offer advice.

The title text says Cueball wants to be friends ''at'' Hairy, rather than ''with'' him, which isn't how friendship usually works. {{Citation needed}}

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

[First panel with words]

Presenting: How to make friends.

[Second panel with Cueball and Hairy talking]

Cueball: Want to eat food together?

Cueball: We could also sit together without talking. I don't need to eat. I mean, I do need to eat. But if you don;t want to eat then we can just talk. I can eat later.

[Third panel with words]

Okay.

It turns out I still haven't figured how to do this.

Sorry.

{{comic discussion}}

1917: How to Make Friends

2017-11-17T07:33:28Z

Nialpxe: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1917
| date = November 17, 2017
| title = How to Make Friends
| image = how_to_make_friends.png
| titletext = No, wait, come back! I want to be friends at you!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a user who also doesn't know how to make friends - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic shows [[Cueball]] (standing in for [[Randall]]) trying to be friends with [[Hairy]].

It starts out with a common way of making friends or interacting with friends, hanging out over a meal. However, Cueball then says that he also doesn't need to eat to talk, which, while true, is a bit of an odd thing to say. Cueball then says he doesn't need to eat, meaning he doesn't need to eat ''right now'', but he goes on to clarify that he ''does'' need to eat, meaning ''in general'', and again it's odd that he clarified. He then awkwardly talks about how he can eat later if Hairy would rather just talk. This is obviously a situation that Randall has encountered before, and he apologizes for trying to offer advice.

The title text says Cueball wants to be friends ''at'' Hairy, rather than ''with'' him.

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

[First panel with words]

Presenting: How to make friends.

[Second panel with Cueball and Hairy talking]

Cueball: Want to eat food together?

Cueball: We could also sit together without talking. I don't need to eat. I mean, I do need to eat. But if you don;t want to eat then we can just talk. I can eat later.

[Third panel with words]

Okay.

It turns out I still haven't figured how to do this.

Sorry.

{{comic discussion}}

1917: How to Make Friends

2017-11-17T07:31:20Z

Nialpxe: rearranged page to relocater misplaced transcript

{{comic
| number = 1917
| date = November 17, 2017
| title = How to Make Friends
| image = how_to_make_friends.png
| titletext = No, wait, come back! I want to be friends at you!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a user who also doesn't know how to make friends - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic shows [[Cueball]] (standing in for [[Randall]]) trying to be friends with [[Hairy]].

It starts out with a common way of making friends or interacting with friends, hanging out over a meal. However, Cueball then says that he also doesn't need to eat to talk, which, while true, is a bit of an odd thing to say. Cueball then says he doesn't need to eat, meaning he doesn't need to eat ''right now'', but he goes on to clarify that he ''does'' need to eat, meaning ''in general'', and again it's odd that he clarified. He then awkwardly talks about how he can eat later if Hairy would rather just talk. This is obviously a situation that Randall has encountered before, and he apologizes for trying to offer advice.

The title text says Cueball wants to be friends ''at'' Hairy, rather than ''with'' him.

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

A panel with the words :
Presenting: How to make friends.
The next panel with Cueball and Hairy talking
Cueball:Want to eat food together?
Cueball: We could also sit together without talking. I don't need to eat. I mean, I do need to eat. But if you don;t want to eat then we can just talk. I can eat later.
Next panel with words

{{comic discussion}}

1916: Temperature Preferences

2017-11-15T05:34:25Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1916
| date = November 15, 2017
| title = Temperature Preferences
| image = temperature_preferences.png
| titletext = There's a supposed Mark Twain quote, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." It isn't really by Mark Twain, but I don't know who said itâI just know they've never been to McMurdo Station.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Edited by GLOBAL WARMING - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is a chart of major (and not-so-major) populated areas showing seasonal temperature patterns. The chart is a guide to where one might like to live depending on how much summer heat and winter cold they enjoy. There are four focused zones:

* Hate both cold and heat (eg. Quito, Addis Ababa)--Neither summers nor winters are too extreme
* Hate cold but love heat (eg. Rio, Bangkok, Manila)--Tropical regions, very hot in the summer
* Hate heat but love cold (eg. Moscow, Oslo)--High latitudes, very cold in the winter
* Love both heat and cold (eg. Seoul, Beijing)--Both summers and winters are too extreme

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

{{comic discussion}}

1914: Twitter Verification

2017-11-10T08:05:28Z

Nialpxe: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1914
| date = November 10, 2017
| title = Twitter Verification
| image = twitter_verification.png
| titletext = When we started distributing special status tokens that signify which people are important enough to join an elite group, we never could have imagined we might be creating some problems down the line.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Some Twitter users (such as [https://twitter.com/coldplay Coldplay]) have a verification checkmark next to their name. Twitter recently gave a verification checkmark to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Kessler Jason Kessler], the organizer of a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unite_the_Right_rally recent white supremacist rally] in Charlottesville, Virginia. This drew attention to Twitter's verification system [https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2017/11/09/twitter-halts-verification-over-checkmark-charlottesville-rally-organizer/848314001/ so they temporarily suspended it].

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

[A bearded figure standing behind a podium with the Twitter bird logo]

Jack : Everyone Calm Down - We just need to go figure out how to bestow a global in-or-out status badge on some people, at our discretion, without anyone reading anything into who gets one. This should only take a moment.

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1914: Twitter Verification

2017-11-10T08:02:40Z

Nialpxe:

Isn't it obvious? Twitter verified Kessler's account as a way of marking a public enemy, and distinguishing him from fake troll accounts. Now the internet is gonna fuck his shit up.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.135|162.158.74.135]] 07:01, 10 November 2017 (UTC)

https://twitter.com/jack/status/928658511311097856 Comic may relate to twitter's usage of the verification symbol. Randall might be mocking Twitter for not realizing how the verification symbol would be thought of as a symbol of importance. Character shown may be Jack Dorsey, Twitter CEO. --[[User:Videblu|Videblu]] ([[User talk:Videblu|talk]]) 05:54, 10 November 2017 (UTC)

Reminds me of when the checkmark emoji on Mastodon (https://joinmastodon.org) was similar to the Twitter "verified" mark and anyone who wanted was a verified user. Then, people moved on to pineapples for whatever reason. -- --[[User:Nialpxe|Nialpxe]], 2017. [[User_talk:Nialpxe|(Arguments welcome)]]

Talk:1909: Digital Resource Lifespan

2017-10-31T04:21:03Z

Nialpxe:

Even PDFs can be broken, which is why we have PDF/A (archive) - a subset of PDF that has no external dependencies and thus should last forever.

'''CD scratched, new computer has no CD drive anyway.''' - First, you can still buy external CD-ROM drive, for example connected via USB cable. Second, you can try recover data from scratched CD with tools such as ddrescue (free and OSS) or IsoBuster (shareware). --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 17:51, 30 October 2017 (UTC)

: Scratches on the DATA layer of any optical disk destroys that DATA. There is also the consideration that the plastics of the majority of optical disks degrade with time and heat. There are some optical media that are designed to prevent such scratching or corruption like the commercially available M-Disk or laser etching into a micro format into a crystal like a 5D disk. Even then the DATA stored must be in an ISO format to read as well as the equipment to read the media needs to be maintained. I have often told people that their data is never safe unless there is a constant effort to copy, check for quality, and make multiple backups using multiple modern mediums as often as humanly possible. All form of digital media can fail, even the extended warranty on a high end HDD will not cover the data lost and most EULAs for cloud storage will say the same.

:Or cheaper than an external drive, borrow a friend's computer and copy the CD onto the cloud somewhere. --[[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 18:39, 30 October 2017 (UTC)

: Yet something affected by that would just as likely be affected by "Broken on new OS, not updated". For example, I've got a multimedia encyclopedia which runs on Win 3.11, and thus can't run on 64-bit windows.

Interestingly, static .PDF files are intended to be electronic equivalents of printed books - an electronic microfiche if you will [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 18:57, 30 October 2017 (UTC)

I'm wondering if data on an older, static, website would still be readable. Would likely still be there (or on archive.org), but might be suffering progressive link rot. Also a little surprised that the start of microfilm is so recent; I remember the library having microfilm readers (that nobody ever used) when I was young enough to spend ages staring at a machine, trying to determine its purpose. Guess it depends on the subject, when it was put into that format. --[[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 18:39, 30 October 2017 (UTC)

Angel, note both the My in the title and the left arrow implying that the resource (like books) were about before Randal had access. [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 18:57, 30 October 2017 (UTC)

"Only to realize'''d'''? -[[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.22|172.68.110.22]] 23:08, 30 October 2017 (UTC)

[Subject] wiki, anyone? Wikis have rather detailed analyses of even obscure topics in my line of work/study. --[[User:Nialpxe|Nialpxe]], 2017. [[User_talk:Nialpxe|(Arguments welcome)]] (P.S. just to be clear I mean wikis maintained by researchers and professionals in [Subject] field, not Wikipedia)

Talk:1909: Digital Resource Lifespan

2017-10-31T04:15:53Z

Nialpxe:

1905: Cast Iron Pan

2017-10-21T04:49:12Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1905
| date = October 20, 2017
| title = Cast Iron Pan
| image = cast_iron_pans.png
| titletext = If you want to evenly space them, it's easiest to alternate between the Arctic and Antarctic. Some people just go to the Arctic twice, near the equinoxes so the visits are almost 6 months apart, but it's not the same.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Each of the advices should be explained/discussed individually - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[White Hat]] tells the old myth[https://lifehacker.com/go-ahead-and-use-soap-to-clean-your-cast-iron-pan-1658416503] [http://www.thekitchn.com/can-you-really-not-wash-your-cast-iron-with-soap-235237] [http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/11/the-truth-about-cast-iron.html], that "you shouldn't wash your {{w|Cast-iron cookware|cast iron pan}} with soap since it destroys the {{w|Seasoning (cookware)|seasoning}}", to [[Cueball]]. Seasoning is the process of treating the surface of a pan with a stick-resistant coating formed from polymerized fat and oil on the surface. Although it may not be a problem to use soap on your seasoned cast iron pan, you should still {{w|Seasoning_(cookware)#Care|proceed with care}} with how you treat it.

After giving Cueball this somewhat exaggerated piece of advice, he tells him that if he ever as much as let soap touch the pan he should just throw it away, as that fact alone would prove that he would not be up to taking care of such a precious possession. A kind of scare tactic that might make Cueball believe this and anything else he tells him.

White Hat continues to give dubious advice to the point of absurdity, and Cueball becomes more and more wary of it.

His second word of advice is to apply {{w|moisturizer}} to the pan daily to keep it fresh. Cueball asks why and is told that it is avoid the pan getting {{w|Wrinkle|wrinkles}}. Thus implying that the pan would age like a human and get wrinkles. This is of course nonsense. But Cueball is not yet ready to dismiss White Hat's advice.

The final piece of advice is that twice a year Cueball should fill the pan with {{w|iron filings}} and leave it in direct sunlight for 24 hours. Both details are intended to be absurd. For one, the iron filings appear to serve no actual purpose. Second, White Hat proclaims that you should be willing to go to a place where the sun shines 24 hours in a day twice a year. Above the {{w|Arctic Circle}} (often shortened to simply "the {{w|Arctic}}") there will be at least one day a year where the Sun does not set. So what White Hat implies is that it is not enough to leave the pan with the iron fillings in sunlight for a combined 24 hours (over a couple of days); no it has to be 24 continuous hours of sun. And if you are not prepared to make such a trip you simply don't deserve a cast-iron pan.

White hat's {{tvtropes|ExactWords|exact words}}, "If you're not willing to travel to the Arctic, you don't deserve cast iron" might also suggest that cast iron is a special almost-legendary metal similar to {{w|Damascus steel}} or its fictional counterpart Valyrian steel and requires distant travel to obtain/maintain. This might have historically been true as few people had access to cast iron in the West before the 15th century, unless they were willing to travel to China (a civilization that had been casting iron for two millennia or more) to get it.

In the title text White Hat mentions that if you wish to evenly space the two 24 hours of sun each year, it is easiest to alternate between the Arctic and the {{w|Antarctic}} regions. But this will mean that you have to travel a long distance at least once a year, even if you already lived inside one of the {{w|Circle_of_latitude#Polar_Circles|Polar Circles}}, you would have to travel to the other at least once a year.

It is though implied that you do not have to space them evenly. As he mentions some people just go to Arctic twice a year near the {{w|equinoxes}}. However, according to White Hat, this is not the same, probably because it doesn't lead to an exact six month spacing and the sun would stay very low on the horizon and the sunlight would not be as intense.

In order to accomplish this other scheme it also means that they would actually have to go very close to the {{w|North Pole}} (or {{w|South Pole}}) as this is the only place with midnight sun around the equinoxes. So in principle this would be much more cumbersome than just going inside southern most part of the Arctic region at the {{w|summer solstice}}, and similarly the Northern most part of the Antarctic region at the {{w|winter solstice}} (which will be the summer solstice in the southern hemisphere).

When looking at it like this, it may seem that White Hat actually means that you should always go to the poles, rather than just to a place with 24 hours of sunlight, in order to have the sun high in the sky as well.

==Transcript==
:[White Hat is holding a pan by the handle pointing to the frying surface as he shows it to Cueball.]
:White Hat: Never clean a cast-iron pan with soap. It destroys the seasoning.
:Cueball: Got it.

:[White Hat shift the pan to his right hand and lowers it to his side holding a finger up in front of Cueball.]
:White Hat: If you ever let soap touch the pan, throw it away. You're clearly not up to taking care of it.
:Cueball: Wow, okay.

:[In a frame-less panel White Hat has taken the pan back to the first hand holding on the the edge while he holds his other hand close to the frying surface.]
:White Hat: Apply moisturizer to the pan daily to keep it fresh.
:Cueball: ...Moisturizer?
:White Hat: Do you want it to get all wrinkly?
:Cueball: ...I...guess not.

:[White Hat has shifted the pan to the second hand again holding it by the handle away from Cueball, while pointing at Cueball with the other hand.]
:White Hat: Twice a year, fill the pan with iron filings and leave it in direct sunlight for 24 hours.
:Cueball: Wait. 24 hours of sun?
:White Hat: If you're not willing to travel to the Arctic, you don't '''''deserve''''' cast iron.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Food]]

1905: Cast Iron Pan

2017-10-21T04:47:38Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1905
| date = October 20, 2017
| title = Cast Iron Pan
| image = cast_iron_pans.png
| titletext = If you want to evenly space them, it's easiest to alternate between the Arctic and Antarctic. Some people just go to the Arctic twice, near the equinoxes so the visits are almost 6 months apart, but it's not the same.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Each of the advices should be explained/discussed individually - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[White Hat]] tells the old myth[https://lifehacker.com/go-ahead-and-use-soap-to-clean-your-cast-iron-pan-1658416503] [http://www.thekitchn.com/can-you-really-not-wash-your-cast-iron-with-soap-235237] [http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/11/the-truth-about-cast-iron.html], that "you shouldn't wash your {{w|Cast-iron cookware|cast iron pan}} with soap since it destroys the {{w|Seasoning (cookware)|seasoning}}", to [[Cueball]]. Seasoning is the process of treating the surface of a pan with a stick-resistant coating formed from polymerized fat and oil on the surface. Although it may not be a problem to use soap on your seasoned cast iron pan, you should still {{w|Seasoning_(cookware)#Care|proceed with care}} with how you treat it.

After giving Cueball this somewhat exaggerated piece of advice, he tells him that if he ever as much as let soap touch the pan he should just throw it away, as that fact alone would prove that he would not be up to taking care of such a precious possession. A kind of scare tactic that might make Cueball believe this and anything else he tells him.

White Hat continues to give dubious advice to the point of absurdity, and Cueball becomes more and more wary of it.

His second word of advice is to apply {{w|moisturizer}} to the pan daily to keep it fresh. Cueball asks why and is told that it is avoid the pan getting {{w|Wrinkle|wrinkles}}. Thus implying that the pan would age like a human and get wrinkles. This is of course nonsense. But Cueball is not yet ready to dismiss White Hat's advice.

The final piece of advice is that twice a year Cueball should fill the pan with {{w|iron filings}} and leave it in direct sunlight for 24 hours. Both details are intended to be absurd. For one, the iron filings appear to serve no actual purpose. Second, White Hat proclaims that you should be willing to go to a place where the sun shines 24 hours in a day twice a year. Above the {{w|Arctic Circle}} (often shortened to simply "the {{w|Arctic}}") there will be at least one day a year where the Sun does not set. So what White Hat implies is that it is not enough to leave the pan with the iron fillings in sunlight for a combined 24 hours (over a couple of days); no it has to be 24 continuous hours of sun. And if you are not prepared to make such a trip you simply don't deserve a cast-iron pan.

White hat's {{tvtropes|ExactWords|exact words}}, "If you're not willing to travel to the Arctic, you don't deserve cast iron" might also suggest that cast iron is a special almost-legendary metal similar to {{w|Damascus steel}} or its fictional counterpart Valyrian steel. This might have historically been true as few people had access to cast iron in the West before the 15th century, unless they were willing to travel to China (a civilization that had been casting iron for two millennia or more) to get it.

In the title text White Hat mentions that if you wish to evenly space the two 24 hours of sun each year, it is easiest to alternate between the Arctic and the {{w|Antarctic}} regions. But this will mean that you have to travel a long distance at least once a year, even if you already lived inside one of the {{w|Circle_of_latitude#Polar_Circles|Polar Circles}}, you would have to travel to the other at least once a year.

It is though implied that you do not have to space them evenly. As he mentions some people just go to Arctic twice a year near the {{w|equinoxes}}. However, according to White Hat, this is not the same, probably because it doesn't lead to an exact six month spacing and the sun would stay very low on the horizon and the sunlight would not be as intense.

In order to accomplish this other scheme it also means that they would actually have to go very close to the {{w|North Pole}} (or {{w|South Pole}}) as this is the only place with midnight sun around the equinoxes. So in principle this would be much more cumbersome than just going inside southern most part of the Arctic region at the {{w|summer solstice}}, and similarly the Northern most part of the Antarctic region at the {{w|winter solstice}} (which will be the summer solstice in the southern hemisphere).

When looking at it like this, it may seem that White Hat actually means that you should always go to the poles, rather than just to a place with 24 hours of sunlight, in order to have the sun high in the sky as well.

==Transcript==
:[White Hat is holding a pan by the handle pointing to the frying surface as he shows it to Cueball.]
:White Hat: Never clean a cast-iron pan with soap. It destroys the seasoning.
:Cueball: Got it.

:[White Hat shift the pan to his right hand and lowers it to his side holding a finger up in front of Cueball.]
:White Hat: If you ever let soap touch the pan, throw it away. You're clearly not up to taking care of it.
:Cueball: Wow, okay.

:[In a frame-less panel White Hat has taken the pan back to the first hand holding on the the edge while he holds his other hand close to the frying surface.]
:White Hat: Apply moisturizer to the pan daily to keep it fresh.
:Cueball: ...Moisturizer?
:White Hat: Do you want it to get all wrinkly?
:Cueball: ...I...guess not.

:[White Hat has shifted the pan to the second hand again holding it by the handle away from Cueball, while pointing at Cueball with the other hand.]
:White Hat: Twice a year, fill the pan with iron filings and leave it in direct sunlight for 24 hours.
:Cueball: Wait. 24 hours of sun?
:White Hat: If you're not willing to travel to the Arctic, you don't '''''deserve''''' cast iron.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Food]]

Talk:1905: Cast Iron Pan

2017-10-20T06:04:40Z

Nialpxe:

Wouldn't you mean solstices instead of equinoxes? Why travel to the Arctic during an equinox? The day is 12 hours long there during an equinox just the same as anywhere in the world.

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.233|108.162.246.233]] 04:55, 20 October 2017 (UTC) An Arctic Inhabitant

:There is only one solstice (the summer one) that has 24-hour sunlight (a.k.a. midnight sun) in the Arctic circle. However, near the North pole, you have close to 6 months of daylight (a.k.a. polar day), bounded by the equinoxes. So, you could theoretically visit the North Pole in late March and mid-September to have two days of 24-hour sunlight nearly 6 months apart. [[User:Nialpxe|Nialpxe]], 2017. [[User_talk:Nialpxe|(Arguments welcome)]] (From the subtropics)

Talk:1905: Cast Iron Pan

2017-10-20T06:00:46Z

Nialpxe:

Wouldn't you mean solstices instead of equinoxes? Why travel to the Arctic during an equinox? The day is 12 hours long there during an equinox just the same as anywhere in the world.

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.233|108.162.246.233]] 04:55, 20 October 2017 (UTC) An Arctic Inhabitant

:There is only one solstice (the summer one) that has 24-hour sunlight (a.k.a. midnight sun) in the Arctic circle. However, near the North pole, you have close to 6 months of daylight (a.k.a. polar day), bounded by the equinoxes. So, you could theoretically visit the North Pole in late March and mid-September to have two days of 24-hour sunlight nearly 6 months apart.
- --[[User:Nialpxe|Nialpxe]], 2017. [[User_talk:Nialpxe|(Arguments welcome)]] (From the subtropics)

1905: Cast Iron Pan

2017-10-20T04:25:28Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

1904: Research Risks

2017-10-18T15:15:02Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1904
| date = October 18, 2017
| title = Research Risks
| image = research_risks.png
| titletext = The 1919 Great Boston Molasses Flood remained the deadliest confectionery containment accident until the Canadian Space Agency's 2031 orbital maple syrup delivery disaster.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is a comparison of the possibility of the subjects of various sciences being a threat to humanity. It can either be an autonomous threat to the local population (i.e. by escape from a lab), or as part of a supervillain's scheme to rule the world. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBkT19uH2RQ]

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A chart with two crossing lines with double arrows. Each arrow is labeled:]
:X axis left: Low
:X axis right: High
:Y axis top: High
:Y axis bottom: Low

:[To the side of each of the axes, they are labeled:}
:X axis: Risk of the thing you're studying breaking free from your facility and threatening the local population
:Y axis: Risk of your research being used by a supervillian for world domination

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1904: Research Risks

2017-10-18T15:10:56Z

Nialpxe:

Entymology? Misspelled "entomology" or (more confusingly) "etymology"?
Psychology lower risk than micology? Absolutely hogwash!

Molasses storage is misplaced -- should be in the quadrant to its right. See [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Molasses_Flood]. 21 dead and 150 injured. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.52|108.162.219.52]] 14:12, 18 October 2017 (UTC)
Agreed that it did get out and kill people. But only once in something like 200 years and only a few. (Is this where the phrase slower than molasses in January comes from?)
I would not expect that this would be a common danger.

I think entymology is a reference to [https://xkcd.com/1012 1012]
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.95|162.158.91.95]] 14:50, 18 October 2017 (UTC)

I think the title text may have a somewhat humorous naming scheme derived from the Great Molasses Flood Wikipedia discussion page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Great_Molasses_Flood
There's a lengthy discussion about changing the name from "Boston Molasses Disaster" to "Great Molasses Flood". I noticed that Randall used both approaches to describing the events in the title text, but maybe that was a coincidence.

I am not impressed. Movie supervillains often use paleontology (dinosaurs), geology (volcano/earthquake) and astronomy (comets). Also, there is a tendency to pair marine biology with laser-optics. And, to actually dominate the world, a real-life villain will probably need to use cunning linguistics at some level or the other. --[[User:Nialpxe|Nialpxe]], 2017. [[User_talk:Nialpxe|(Arguments welcome)]]

1904: Research Risks

2017-10-18T15:06:33Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1904
| date = October 18, 2017
| title = Research Risks
| image = research_risks.png
| titletext = The 1919 Great Boston Molasses Flood remained the deadliest confectionery containment accident until the Canadian Space Agency's 2031 orbital maple syrup delivery disaster.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is a comparison of the possibility of the subjects of various sciences being a threat to humanity. It can either be an autonomous threat to the local population (i.e. by escape from a lab), or as a supervillain's scheme.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A chart with two crossing lines with double arrows. Each arrow is labeled:]
:X axis left: Low
:X axis right: High
:Y axis top: High
:Y axis bottom: Low

:[To the side of each of the axes, they are labeled:}
:X axis: Risk of the thing you're studying breaking free from your facility and threatening the local population
:Y axis: Risk of your research being used by a supervillian for world domination

{{comic discussion}}

1883: Supervillain Plan

2017-08-30T14:18:17Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1883
| date = August 30, 2017
| title = Supervillain Plan
| image = supervillain_plan.png
| titletext = Someday, some big historical event will happen during the DST changeover, and all the tick-tock articles chronicling how it unfolded will have to include a really annoying explanation next to their timelines.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First draft, please help to expand. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In this comic [[Black Hat]] is a {{w|Supervillain|supervillain}}, befitting his {{w|Black hat|character}}. He plans to use {{w|Unmanned aerial vehicle|drones}} and explosives to move the entire State California into the Pacific, a la {{w|Lex_Luthor|Lex Luthor}}.

His {{w|Henchmen|henchmen}} are [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]]. The latter appears to be a programmer who does not want to have to the mission (and hence the drones' coding) to account for time/date discrepancies such as time-zones and DST, which would be a factor if the event took place on the wrong date or the landmasses were pushed too far apart.

In computer programming, working with dates and times is often considered one of the more complicated tasks.

California is currently located entirely within the {{w|UTC−08:00|UTC-8}} time zone. In the comic, California floats West into the {{w|UTC−09:00|UTC-9}} time zone.

Note: Megan should be happy Black Hat hasn't planned [https://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2012-11-12/daylight-saving-donut-arizona-ken-jennings-maphead to involve Arizona in his scheme].

==Transcript==
:[On the left of this single panel comic Black Hat sits on a high throne, showing a fist, and looking down to Cueball and Magan who stand in front of him on the right.]

:Black Hat: ... then, after our drones take control of the cities, we will detonate the devices. California will break off from the mainland and drift out to sea!
:Megan: How far out to sea? Will it put any of the cities in the UTC-9 time zone?
:Black Hat: What? I don't know.
:Megan: One request: Can we make sure this doesn't happen during the daylight saving changeover?

:[Caption below the panel:]
:You can tell when someone's been a programmer for a while because they develop a deep-seated fear of time zone problems.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Drones]]
[[Category:Daylight saving time]]
[[Category:Programming]]

1883: Supervillain Plan

2017-08-30T14:13:53Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1883
| date = August 30, 2017
| title = Supervillain Plan
| image = supervillain_plan.png
| titletext = Someday, some big historical event will happen during the DST changeover, and all the tick-tock articles chronicling how it unfolded will have to include a really annoying explanation next to their timelines.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First draft, please help to expand. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In this comic [[Black hat]] is a {{w|Supervillain|supervillain}}, {{w|Black_hat|befitting his character}}. He plans to use {{w|drones}} and explosives to move the entire State California into the Pacific, a la {{w|Lex_Luthor|Lex Luthor}}.

His {{w|henchmen}} are [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]]. The latter appears to be a programmer who does not want to have to the mission (and hence the drones' coding) to account for time/date discrepancies such as time-zones and DST, which would be a factor if the event took place on the wrong date or the landmasses were pushed too far apart.

In computer programming, working with dates and times is often considered one of the more complicated tasks.

California is currently located entirely within the {{w|UTC−08:00|UTC-8}} time zone. In the comic, California floats West into the {{w|UTC−09:00|UTC-9}} time zone.

==Transcript==
:[On the left of this single panel comic Black Hat sits on a high throne, showing a fist, and looking down to Cueball and Magan who stand in front of him on the right.]

:Black Hat: ... then, after our drones take control of the cities, we will detonate the devices. California will break off from the mainland and drift out to sea!
:Megan: How far out to sea? Will it put any of the cities in the UTC-9 time zone?
:Black Hat: What? I don't know.
:Megan: One request: Can we make sure this doesn't happen during the daylight saving changeover?

:[Caption below the panel:]
:You can tell when someone's been a programmer for a while because they develop a deep-seated fear of time zone problems.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Drones]]
[[Category:Daylight saving time]]
[[Category:Programming]]

1883: Supervillain Plan

2017-08-30T14:10:01Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1883
| date = August 30, 2017
| title = Supervillain Plan
| image = supervillain_plan.png
| titletext = Someday, some big historical event will happen during the DST changeover, and all the tick-tock articles chronicling how it unfolded will have to include a really annoying explanation next to their timelines.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First draft, please help to expand. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In this comic [[Black hat]] is a {{w|Supervillain|supervillain}}, {{w|Black_hat|befitting his character}}. He plans to use {{w|drones}} and explosives to move the entire State California into the Pacific, a la {{w|Lex_Luthor|Lex Luthor}}.

His {{w|henchmen}} are [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]]. The latter appears to be a programmer who does not want to have to the mission (and hence the drones' coding) to account for time/date discrepancies such as DST.

In computer programming, working with dates and times is often considered one of the more complicated tasks.

Introducing daylight savings time and moving land masses similar changes further complicate an already complicated subject.

California is currently located entirely within the {{w|UTC−08:00|UTC-8}} time zone. In the comic, California floats West into the {{w|UTC−09:00|UTC-9}} time zone.

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

... Then, after our drones take control of the cities, we will detonate the devices. California will break off from the mainland and drift out to sea!

How far out to sea? Will it put any of the cities in the UTC-9 time zone?

What? I don't know.

One request: can we make sure this doesn't happen during the Daylight Saving changeover?

xx

You can tell when someone's been a programmer for a while because they develop a deep-seated fear of time zone problems.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Drones]]
[[Category:Daylight saving time]]
[[Category:Programming]]

1883: Supervillain Plan

2017-08-30T14:06:39Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1883
| date = August 30, 2017
| title = Supervillain Plan
| image = supervillain_plan.png
| titletext = Someday, some big historical event will happen during the DST changeover, and all the tick-tock articles chronicling how it unfolded will have to include a really annoying explanation next to their timelines.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First draft, please help to expand. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In this comic [[Black hat]] is a {{w|Supervillain|supervillain}}, {{w|Black_hat|befitting his character}}. He plans to use {{w|drones}} and explosives to move the entire State California into the Pacific, a la {{w|Lex_Luthor|Lex Luthor}}.

In computer programming, working with dates and times is often considered one of the more complicated tasks.

Introducing daylight savings time and moving land masses similar changes further complicate an already complicated subject.

California is currently located entirely within the {{w|UTC−08:00|UTC-8}} time zone. In the comic, California floats West into the {{w|UTC−09:00|UTC-9}} time zone.

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

... Then, after our drones take control of the cities, we will detonate the devices. California will break off from the mainland and drift out to sea!

How far out to sea? Will it put any of the cities in the UTC-9 time zone?

What? I don't know.

One request: can we make sure this doesn't happen during the Daylight Saving changeover?

xx

You can tell when someone's been a programmer for a while because they develop a deep-seated fear of time zone problems.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Drones]]
[[Category:Daylight saving time]]
[[Category:Programming]]

1877: Eclipse Science

2017-08-16T14:44:54Z

Nialpxe:

{{comic
| number = 1877
| date = August 16, 2017
| title = Eclipse Science
| image = eclipse_science.png
| titletext = I was thinking of observing stars to verify Einstein's theory of relativity again, but I gotta say, that thing is looking pretty solid at this point.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic reflects on various reasons scientists have for being interested in a total solar eclipse.

While some astronomers might be testing elaborate hypotheses during an eclipse, for other scientists (eg. organic chemists and herpetologists) it is just a once in a long time (maybe even once in a lifetime) event which is visually interesting.

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

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1866: Russell's Teapot

2017-07-21T10:43:24Z

Nialpxe: Created page with "In this case, nesting the teapot in a catapult/cannon which is launched by another catapult/cannon might perhaps be sufficient to get past NASA regulations. (Catapults/cannons..."

In this case, nesting the teapot in a catapult/cannon which is launched by another catapult/cannon might perhaps be sufficient to get past NASA regulations. (Catapults/cannons only launching the payload and not themselves...) --[[User:Nialpxe|Nialpxe]], 2017. [[User_talk:Nialpxe|(Arguments welcome)]]

User talk:Nialpxe

2017-07-21T04:55:25Z

Nialpxe: /* tvtropes */

== tvtropes ==

Hi Nialpxe, your massive tvtropes additions doesn't explain anything. And it's not only me who doesn't like this: [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=378:_Real_Programmers&curid=5304&diff=141181&oldid=141153 378: Real Programmers (Latest revision as of 13:07, 12 June 2017)]. So please let's talk about this together, in my opinion it's even not worth for a trivia section. This wiki aims to explain and it should not be link trap.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:56, 12 June 2017 (UTC)
:Okay. --[[User:Nialpxe|Nialpxe]], 2017. [[User_talk:Nialpxe|(Arguments welcome)]]

Template:LATESTCOMIC

2017-07-21T04:54:12Z

Nialpxe:

<noinclude>The latest [[xkcd]] comic is number:</noinclude> 1866

1866: Russell's Teapot

2017-07-21T04:52:12Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1866
| date = July 21, 2017
| title = Russell's Teapot
| image = Russells_Teapot.png
| titletext = Unfortunately, NASA regulations state that Bertrand Russell-related payloads can only be launched within launch vehicles which do not launch themselves.
}}
==Explanation==
{{incomplete| }}
Russell's teapot is a philosophical argument that reflects on the difficulty of trying to prove a negative. It involves a hypothetical teapot orbiting a heavenly body, whose existence hasn't been proven. It is very often used in atheistic arguments.

[[Cueball]] is trying to settle the teapot argument by actually launching a teapot into space via a crowdfunding campaign.

The title-text is probably a dig at circular reasoning, which is a logical fallacy.

==Transcript==

{{comic discussion}}

1866

2017-07-21T04:49:08Z

Nialpxe: Redirected page to 1866: Russel's Teapot

#REDIRECT [[1866: Russel's Teapot]]

1866: Russell's Teapot

2017-07-21T04:48:18Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

File:russells teapot.png

2017-07-21T04:45:01Z

Nialpxe:

1866: Russell's Teapot

2017-07-21T04:44:06Z

Nialpxe:

1866: Russell's Teapot

2017-07-21T04:43:15Z

Nialpxe: Created page with "{{comic | number = 1866 | date = July 21, 2017 | title = Russell's Teapot | image = Russells_Teapot.png | titletext = Unfortunately, NASA regulations state tha..."

955: Neutrinos

2017-06-13T02:39:00Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 955
| date = September 23, 2011
| title = Neutrinos
| image = neutrinos.png
| titletext = I can't speak to the paper's scientific merits, but it's really cool how on page 10 you can see that their reference GPS beacon is sensitive enough to pick up continential drift under the detector (interrupted halfway through by an earthquake).
}}

==Explanation==
The "{{w|Faster-than-light neutrino anomaly|Neutrino speed of light thing}}" mentioned in this comic [http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20110594-264/physics-shocker-neutrinos-clocked-faster-than-light/ was an actual story] from the day before the comic was posted. An experiment at {{w|CERN}} caused a stream of neutrinos to be passed from CERN in Switzerland to a receiving station at the INFN laboratories of Gran Sasso in Italy ({{w|LNGS}}). The initial findings from the experiment were that the neutrinos arrived at the detector in less time than a beam of light would have taken. The neutrinos had apparently exceeded the {{w|speed of light}}.

{{w|Albert Einstein}} famously posited that the speed of light in a vacuum is both constant and absolutely the fastest possible speed for any object in the universe. Nothing can accelerate to any faster speed. Therefore, a report that neutrinos have been found travelling faster than light challenges a fundamental law of physics and turns all of physics, or at least {{w|special relativity}} on its head.

[[386|Prior experience]] has shown [[Cueball]] that in such cases, arguing with people and preaching caution is futile. Cueball realizes that it is {{tvtropes|SideBet|more satisfying and profitable to place bets with them instead.}} His reasoning is that almost invariably, these supposedly world-changing discoveries end up falling apart after further investigation, and that if it doesn't, then the discovery itself will satisfy his scientific curiosity enough to outweigh his monetary loss. This is similar to {{w|Stephen Hawking}}'s {{w|scientific wager}}s, where Hawking set bets such that, if he was wrong, he would be paid, and if he was right, he'd have to pay and wouldn't mind because he'd just have been proven right.

The title text is a reference to a graph published similar to, if not the same as, the one found [http://indianysn.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/cern-opera-graph.jpg here]. The continental drift can be seen, as well as the clearly marked jump showing the earthquake in question.

Postscript: Cueball (that is, Randall) was correct. The experiment was found to be flawed. [http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112551696/cern-confirms-neutrinos-not-faster-than-light/ Neutrinos are not faster than light], the data was probably wrong due to a faulty connection on an optical fiber.

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Cueball are talking.]
:Megan: Did you see the neutrino speed of light thing?
:Cueball: Yup! Good news; I need the cash.
:Megan: Huh? Cash?

:[Text above half-sized panel.]
:Yeah. When there's a news story about a study overturning all of physics, I used to urge caution, remind people that experts aren't all stupid, and end up in pointless arguments about Galileo.

:[Half-height panel.]
:[Cueball sitting on chair, looking down at laptop in his lap. Books and things are on a desk in front of him.]
:Cueball: No, this isn't ''about'' whether relativity exists. If it didn't, your GPS wouldn't work.
:Cueball: What do you mean, "science thought police"? Have you seen our budget? We couldn't ''begin'' to afford our own thought police.

:[Megan and Cueball talking again.]
:Megan: That sounds miserable and unfulfilling.
:Cueball: Yup. So I gave up, and now I just find excited believers and bet them $200 each that the new result won't pan out.

:[Same as last panel.]
:Megan: That's mean.
:Cueball: It provides a good income, and if I'm ever wrong, I'll be too excited about the new physics to notice the loss.

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

955: Neutrinos

2017-06-13T02:38:39Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 955
| date = September 23, 2011
| title = Neutrinos
| image = neutrinos.png
| titletext = I can't speak to the paper's scientific merits, but it's really cool how on page 10 you can see that their reference GPS beacon is sensitive enough to pick up continential drift under the detector (interrupted halfway through by an earthquake).
}}

==Explanation==
The "{{w|Faster-than-light neutrino anomaly|Neutrino speed of light thing}}" mentioned in this comic [http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20110594-264/physics-shocker-neutrinos-clocked-faster-than-light/ was an actual story] from the day before the comic was posted. An experiment at {{w|CERN}} caused a stream of neutrinos to be passed from CERN in Switzerland to a receiving station at the INFN laboratories of Gran Sasso in Italy ({{w|LNGS}}). The initial findings from the experiment were that the neutrinos arrived at the detector in less time than a beam of light would have taken. The neutrinos had apparently exceeded the {{w|speed of light}}.

{{w|Albert Einstein}} famously posited that the speed of light in a vacuum is both constant and absolutely the fastest possible speed for any object in the universe. Nothing can accelerate to any faster speed. Therefore, a report that neutrinos have been found travelling faster than light challenges a fundamental law of physics and turns all of physics, or at least {{w|special relativity}} on its head.

[[386|Prior experience]] has shown [[Cueball]] that in such cases, arguing with people and preaching caution is futile. Cueball realizes that it is {{w|SideBet|more satisfying and profitable to place bets with them instead.}} His reasoning is that almost invariably, these supposedly world-changing discoveries end up falling apart after further investigation, and that if it doesn't, then the discovery itself will satisfy his scientific curiosity enough to outweigh his monetary loss. This is similar to {{w|Stephen Hawking}}'s {{w|scientific wager}}s, where Hawking set bets such that, if he was wrong, he would be paid, and if he was right, he'd have to pay and wouldn't mind because he'd just have been proven right.

The title text is a reference to a graph published similar to, if not the same as, the one found [http://indianysn.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/cern-opera-graph.jpg here]. The continental drift can be seen, as well as the clearly marked jump showing the earthquake in question.

Postscript: Cueball (that is, Randall) was correct. The experiment was found to be flawed. [http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112551696/cern-confirms-neutrinos-not-faster-than-light/ Neutrinos are not faster than light], the data was probably wrong due to a faulty connection on an optical fiber.

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Cueball are talking.]
:Megan: Did you see the neutrino speed of light thing?
:Cueball: Yup! Good news; I need the cash.
:Megan: Huh? Cash?

:[Text above half-sized panel.]
:Yeah. When there's a news story about a study overturning all of physics, I used to urge caution, remind people that experts aren't all stupid, and end up in pointless arguments about Galileo.

:[Half-height panel.]
:[Cueball sitting on chair, looking down at laptop in his lap. Books and things are on a desk in front of him.]
:Cueball: No, this isn't ''about'' whether relativity exists. If it didn't, your GPS wouldn't work.
:Cueball: What do you mean, "science thought police"? Have you seen our budget? We couldn't ''begin'' to afford our own thought police.

:[Megan and Cueball talking again.]
:Megan: That sounds miserable and unfulfilling.
:Cueball: Yup. So I gave up, and now I just find excited believers and bet them $200 each that the new result won't pan out.

:[Same as last panel.]
:Megan: That's mean.
:Cueball: It provides a good income, and if I'm ever wrong, I'll be too excited about the new physics to notice the loss.

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

862: Let Go

2017-06-13T02:35:35Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 862
| date = February 18, 2011
| title = Let Go
| image = let go.png
| titletext = After years of trying various methods, I broke this habit by pitting my impatience against my laziness. I decoupled the action and the neurological reward by setting up a simple 30-second delay I had to wait through, in which I couldn't do anything else, before any new page or chat client would load (and only allowed one to run at once). The urge to check all those sites magically vanished--and my 'productive' computer use was unaffected.
}}

==Explanation==
It is human nature to lose interest in difficult or boring tasks, and instead do something easier, more interesting or more rewarding in the short term. While procrastination and distraction from more important tasks has always been present, this comic casts a light on the {{tvtropes|AttentionDeficitOohShiny|internet and the huge potential for distraction which it provides}}.

The first two frames in this comic are the set-up, and contain the websites {{w|CNN}} and {{w|Reddit}} and thoughts over the top of them. These types of websites are regularly updated with new content are prime candidates for distraction. The thought bubbles indicate that the reader is fully aware that they shouldn't be looking at these websites, but is unable to stop himself. Even the very rational thought that checking news stories more than once a day is bordering on pointless doesn't seem to stop him.

In the third frame, it starts to look a little different as the screen is not a computer but is in fact the targeting computer from {{w|Luke Skywalker|Luke Skywalker's}} {{w|X-wing}}. At this point it becomes clear that there are ''far'' more important tasks at hand, namely flying the craft. Even then, Luke has an internal conflict and considers checking {{w|Facebook}}, but mentally checks himself, and to prevent himself from further compulsive browsing shuts down the system. The thought bubble at the bottom is one that is probably familiar to many people (especially students), where he realizes that he has to turn off the computer to actually concentrate on the important task.

In the fourth frame, we finally get the movie reference from {{w|Star Wars}} as {{w|Princess Leia}} and one of the Rebel Alliance's officers are gathered around the holographic table that allows them to follow the battle. In the movie, Luke turns off his targeting computer because he uses the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Force_%28Star_Wars%29 force] to fire the torpedoes at the right time. But in this comic, Luke turns off the computer because he keeps getting distracted by Reddit and CNN. When they ask whether he is alright, he responds in the way most people would who have nearly been caught wasting time on the internet. This is however a quote of what he actually replies in the movie.

See the [http://youtu.be/DOFgFAcGHQc Destruction of Death Star] scene on YouTube. The ''Let Go'' remark from {{w|Obi-Wan Kenobi}} that had given the title to this comic occurs about [http://youtu.be/DOFgFAcGHQc?t=2m two minutes into the clip]. Though here it is a reference to let go of refreshing websites...

The headlines on CNN read 'Bees?', 'Where is {{w|Oman}}?', and 'iReport (we mean you, that is.)'.

The headline ''Bees?'' could be a reference to {{w|Cards Against Humanity}}. One of the white cards says exactly that. It could also just be a question to the picture above - if it was bees following the guy.

The headline ''Where is Oman?'' is below a map where land is white. It shows Cyprus, Northern Egypt and the Middle East with the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf (seas are grey). Oman is not on this map as it is not situated on the Persian Gulf; it's on the Gulf of Oman and on the Arabian Sea, both of which can be considered parts of the Indian Ocean.

The title text is a serious solution to a procrastination problem that we see in the comic, [http://blog.xkcd.com/2011/02/18/distraction-affliction-correction-extensio/ later explained] to take the form of simply rebooting the computer.

==Transcript==
:[Reddit page.]
:Luke (thinking): I shouldn't be looking at Reddit. Why can't I stop?

:[CNN page.]
:Luke (thinking): Refreshing CNN again. Do news stories so affect my life that I benefit from checking them more than once a day?

:[Shutdown screen.]
:Luke (thinking): I should at least check Faceb... no. Screw it. I can't do my job when I'm distracting myself every five minutes like this.

:[Two people before a battlefield screen.]
:Cueball: His computer's off. Luke - You've switched off your targeting computer. What's wrong?
:Luke: Nothing. I'm all right.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:Internet]]

Talk:1849: Decades

2017-06-13T02:30:11Z

Nialpxe:

There seems to be a slightly tongue-in-cheek move to call the 2000's "the noughties" with the obvious implication of 'naughty'. Personally though I'm still waiting for everyone to stop saying "2000 and something, it very annoying! [[User:RoyT|RoyT]] ([[User talk:RoyT|talk]]) 14:38, 12 June 2017 (UTC)
:Some people I know use the term "double-o's" for the period 2001-2009. Perhaps inspired by 007. --[[User:Nialpxe|Nialpxe]], 2017. [[User_talk:Nialpxe|(Arguments welcome)]] 02:30, 13 June 2017 (UTC)

Where would the descriptor "millennial" (adj) fit on this? I suggest that 00's fads be designated "millennial" and 10's fads be... forgotten.
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.171|173.245.48.171]] 14:57, 12 June 2017 (UTC)

Just a quick note to highlight the double "and" in the text: "(...) is ambiguous and and "aughts" (...)"
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.6.52|162.158.6.52]] 14:43, 12 June 2017 (UTC)

Good eyes on the double 'and'. Perhaps the explanation needs a sections about other terms not mentioned here "teensies" "noughties" "tenies" etc. (and perhaps the Aughts aren't used due to cultural differences between Brits and Americans, the former more likely to call them the "Noughts"). Also I assume the title text refers to Randal's local variety radio. [[User:WamSam|WamSam]] ([[User talk:WamSam|talk]]) 15:07, 12 June 2017 (UTC)

I listen to a radio station that says "90s, 2K, and today." It's not the only time I've seen "2K" used for the first decade of the 2000s {{unsigned ip|162.158.62.75}}

2K might end up being the accepted form. It might morph into "the 2-10s," "the 2-20s," "the 2-30s," and so on. It differentiates the seperate centuries and is short enough to survive the endless grinding of popular culture. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.40|108.162.216.40]] 23:49, 12 June 2017 (UTC)

My local variety station has been says "80s, 90s and today" since the mid-90s, which was really odd for the 5 years or so that it was redundant. {{unsigned ip|172.68.78.28}}

Around here "the zeroes" is commonly used. {{unsigned ip|141.101.76.46}}

;Next Comic
<pre>
COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS:
|< <PREV RANDOM NEXT> >|
|---------------------------| |----------------------------| |----------------------------| |----------------------------|
| Normal Company | | Stingy Company | | Bored Economist | | *crash* |
| | | | | | | |
| Is it worth it Let's | | Is cost- Let's do | | I built a Did you | | |
| to spend that do cost- | | Benefit Cost-Benefit | | machine to do do cost- | | No, why? YOU FOOL! |
| much on benefit | | analysis analysis to | | cost-benefit benefit | | YOU'VE |
| development? analysis | | worth it? see | | analysis analysis? | | DOOMED US ALL!!|
| / / | | / / | | / / | | / / |
| O 0 | | O 0 | | O 0 | | O 0 |
| /|\ /|\ | | /|\ /|\ | | /|\ /|\ | | /|\ /|\ |
| / \ / \ | | / \ / \ | | / \ / \ | | / \ / \ |
| | | | | | | *rumble* |
|---------------------------| |----------------------------| |----------------------------| |----------------------------|
</pre>
{{unsigned ip|173.245.50.102}}

What does Randall usually do when there is typo/grammatical error in a comic? Will he correct it and re-upload it, or just leave it?
[[Special:Contributions/172.68.58.149|172.68.58.149]] 23:02, 12 June 2017 (UTC)

1849: Decades

2017-06-13T02:26:26Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1849
| date = June 12, 2017
| title = Decades
| image = decades.png
| titletext = In the 90s, our variety radio station used the tagline "the best music of the 70s, 80s, and 90s." After 2000, they switched to "the best music of the 80s, 90s, and today." I figured they'd change again in 2010, but it's 2017 and they're still saying "80s, 90s, and today." I hope radio survives long enough for us to find out how they deal with the 2020s.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic shows, by use on a time-line, an interesting phenomenon where music, fashion, movies and culture created between the years 2000 and 2020 are not commonly grouped into the decade in which they were produced like previous decades. The comic asserts the reason for this is the lack of a single clear term to describe these decades, stating that the term "{{w|2000s}}" is ambiguous (as it could refer to the decade, century or millennium as a whole) and the terms "Aughts" and "Teens" never became the widely accepted terms for these decades.

The time-line in the comic stretches into the future (as of the time of publication) and attempts to name the 2020-2029 decade as the 20s, but does so with an uncertain question mark, presumably because it's (presently) an open question whether this dating convention will be reinstated after a 20-year pause. As the comic points out, common vernacular has managed to operate without clear terms for that grouping for 17 years, and that may have left enough of a mark on our thinking that we'll simply continue to operate in that way. There's an argument to be made grouping culture by decades is fairly arbitrary and not essential in cultural discussions. It should also be considered that that "the twenties" is still occasionally used to refer to the 1920's, and so reusing it to refer to the 2020's could be a source of confusion. It's not impossible that decade-based grouping will fall out of favor all together in the 21st century.

It should perhaps also be noted that culture (particularly when associated with young people) in the 2000's and 2010's is often termed "{{w|Millennials#Cultural_identity|millennial culture}}", although {{tvtropes|TheGenerationGap|this term frequently comes with negative connotations.}}

The title text talks about Randall's local radio station. In the 90s, they were able to use clear decade groupings. Once the year 2000 hit, they began saying "today", avoiding aughts or 2000s, which, as Randall says, never gained popular support. When 2010 hit, Randall believed they would switch their format, having left the awkwardness of the 00s. However, they kept their format to this day, finishing using teens or 10s to be confusing as well. Randall expresses interest in what change they will include in the 2020s (changing to the 20s or continuing their format), should radio last that long.

==Error==

Randall writes, presumably by mistake, "and and aughts" in the caption for this comic, instead of "and aughts". This changes the caption from his presumptive goal of "It's weird how for 20 years we stopped grouping our cultural memories by decade because "2000s" is ambiguous and "Aughts" and "Teens" never really stuck." to "It's weird how for 20 years we stopped grouping our cultural memories by decade because "2000s" is ambiguous and and "Aughts" and "Teens" never really stuck."

==Transcript==
:[A time line across the top of the box marks decades from 1960 to 2030, the labels are above the line and the ticks marking each decade are below.]

:[Label: 1960]
:60s Music; 60s Fashion; 60s Movies; 60s Culture

:[Label: 1970]
:70s Music; 70s Fashion; 70s Movies; 70s Culture

:[Label: 1980]
:80s Music; 80s Fashion; 80s Movies; 80s Culture

:[Label: 1990]
:90s Music; 90s Fashion; 90s Movies; 90s Culture

:[Label: 2000 and 2010]
:[Items grouped over two decades.]
:Fashion; Culture; Music; Movies

:[Label: 2020]
:[The text is in light grey font.]
:20s Music?; 20s Fashion?; 20s Movies?; 20s Culture?

:[Label: 2030]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:It's weird how for 20 years we stopped grouping our cultural memories by decade because "2000s" is ambiguous and and "Aughts" and "Teens" never really stuck.

{{comic discussion}}

1849: Decades

2017-06-13T02:24:09Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1849
| date = June 12, 2017
| title = Decades
| image = decades.png
| titletext = In the 90s, our variety radio station used the tagline "the best music of the 70s, 80s, and 90s." After 2000, they switched to "the best music of the 80s, 90s, and today." I figured they'd change again in 2010, but it's 2017 and they're still saying "80s, 90s, and today." I hope radio survives long enough for us to find out how they deal with the 2020s.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic shows, by use on a time-line, an interesting phenomenon where music, fashion, movies and culture created between the years 2000 and 2020 are not commonly grouped into the decade in which they were produced like previous decades. The comic asserts the reason for this is the lack of a single clear term to describe these decades, stating that the term "{{w|2000s}}" is ambiguous (as it could refer to the decade, century or millennium as a whole) and the terms "Aughts" and "Teens" never became the widely accepted terms for these decades.

The time-line in the comic stretches into the future (as of the time of publication) and attempts to name the 2020-2029 decade as the 20s, but does so with an uncertain question mark, presumably because it's (presently) an open question whether this dating convention will be reinstated after a 20-year pause. As the comic points out, common vernacular has managed to operate without clear terms for that grouping for 17 years, and that may have left enough of a mark on our thinking that we'll simply continue to operate in that way. There's an argument to be made grouping culture by decades is fairly arbitrary and not essential in cultural discussions. It should also be considered that that "the twenties" is still occasionally used to refer to the 1920's, and so reusing it to refer to the 2020's could be a source of confusion. It's not impossible that decade-based grouping will fall out of favor all together in the 21st century.

It should perhaps also be noted that culture (particularly when associated with young people) in the 2000's and 2010's is often termed "{{w|Millennials#Cultural_identity|millennial culture}}", although this term frequently comes with negative connotations.

The title text talks about Randall's local radio station. In the 90s, they were able to use clear decade groupings. Once the year 2000 hit, they began saying "today", avoiding aughts or 2000s, which, as Randall says, never gained popular support. When 2010 hit, Randall believed they would switch their format, having left the awkwardness of the 00s. However, they kept their format to this day, finishing using teens or 10s to be confusing as well. Randall expresses interest in what change they will include in the 2020s (changing to the 20s or continuing their format), should radio last that long.

==Error==

Randall writes, presumably by mistake, "and and aughts" in the caption for this comic, instead of "and aughts". This changes the caption from his presumptive goal of "It's weird how for 20 years we stopped grouping our cultural memories by decade because "2000s" is ambiguous and "Aughts" and "Teens" never really stuck." to "It's weird how for 20 years we stopped grouping our cultural memories by decade because "2000s" is ambiguous and and "Aughts" and "Teens" never really stuck."

==Transcript==
:[A time line across the top of the box marks decades from 1960 to 2030, the labels are above the line and the ticks marking each decade are below.]

:[Label: 1960]
:60s Music; 60s Fashion; 60s Movies; 60s Culture

:[Label: 1970]
:70s Music; 70s Fashion; 70s Movies; 70s Culture

:[Label: 1980]
:80s Music; 80s Fashion; 80s Movies; 80s Culture

:[Label: 1990]
:90s Music; 90s Fashion; 90s Movies; 90s Culture

:[Label: 2000 and 2010]
:[Items grouped over two decades.]
:Fashion; Culture; Music; Movies

:[Label: 2020]
:[The text is in light grey font.]
:20s Music?; 20s Fashion?; 20s Movies?; 20s Culture?

:[Label: 2030]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:It's weird how for 20 years we stopped grouping our cultural memories by decade because "2000s" is ambiguous and and "Aughts" and "Teens" never really stuck.

{{comic discussion}}

1849: Decades

2017-06-13T02:23:25Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1849
| date = June 12, 2017
| title = Decades
| image = decades.png
| titletext = In the 90s, our variety radio station used the tagline "the best music of the 70s, 80s, and 90s." After 2000, they switched to "the best music of the 80s, 90s, and today." I figured they'd change again in 2010, but it's 2017 and they're still saying "80s, 90s, and today." I hope radio survives long enough for us to find out how they deal with the 2020s.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic shows, by use on a time-line, an interesting phenomenon where music, fashion, movies and culture created between the years 2000 and 2020 are not commonly grouped into the decade in which they were produced like previous decades. The comic asserts the reason for this is the lack of a single clear term to describe these decades, stating that the term "{{w|2000s}}" is ambiguous (as it could refer to the decade, century or millennium as a whole) and the terms "Aughts" and "Teens" never became the widely accepted terms for these decades.

The time-line in the comic stretches into the future (as of the time of publication) and attempts to name the 2020-2029 decade as the 20s, but does so with an uncertain question mark, presumably because it's (presently) an open question whether this dating convention will be reinstated after a 20-year pause. As the comic points out, common vernacular has managed to operate without clear terms for that grouping for 17 years, and that may have left enough of a mark on our thinking that we'll simply continue to operate in that way. There's an argument to be made grouping culture by decades is fairly arbitrary and not essential in cultural discussions. It should also be considered that that "the twenties" is still occasionally used to refer to the 1920's, and so reusing it to refer to the 2020's could be a source of confusion. It's not impossible that decade-based grouping will fall out of favor all together in the 21st century.

It should perhaps also be noted that culture (particularly when associated with young people) in the 2000's and 2010's is often termed "{{w|Millennials#Cultural_identity|millennial culture}}, although this term frequently comes with negative connotations.

The title text talks about Randall's local radio station. In the 90s, they were able to use clear decade groupings. Once the year 2000 hit, they began saying "today", avoiding aughts or 2000s, which, as Randall says, never gained popular support. When 2010 hit, Randall believed they would switch their format, having left the awkwardness of the 00s. However, they kept their format to this day, finishing using teens or 10s to be confusing as well. Randall expresses interest in what change they will include in the 2020s (changing to the 20s or continuing their format), should radio last that long.

==Error==

Randall writes, presumably by mistake, "and and aughts" in the caption for this comic, instead of "and aughts". This changes the caption from his presumptive goal of "It's weird how for 20 years we stopped grouping our cultural memories by decade because "2000s" is ambiguous and "Aughts" and "Teens" never really stuck." to "It's weird how for 20 years we stopped grouping our cultural memories by decade because "2000s" is ambiguous and and "Aughts" and "Teens" never really stuck."

==Transcript==
:[A time line across the top of the box marks decades from 1960 to 2030, the labels are above the line and the ticks marking each decade are below.]

:[Label: 1960]
:60s Music; 60s Fashion; 60s Movies; 60s Culture

:[Label: 1970]
:70s Music; 70s Fashion; 70s Movies; 70s Culture

:[Label: 1980]
:80s Music; 80s Fashion; 80s Movies; 80s Culture

:[Label: 1990]
:90s Music; 90s Fashion; 90s Movies; 90s Culture

:[Label: 2000 and 2010]
:[Items grouped over two decades.]
:Fashion; Culture; Music; Movies

:[Label: 2020]
:[The text is in light grey font.]
:20s Music?; 20s Fashion?; 20s Movies?; 20s Culture?

:[Label: 2030]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:It's weird how for 20 years we stopped grouping our cultural memories by decade because "2000s" is ambiguous and and "Aughts" and "Teens" never really stuck.

{{comic discussion}}

851: Na

2017-06-12T12:44:15Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 851
| date = January 24, 2011
| title = Na
| image = na.png
| titletext = I hear that there are actual lyrics later on in Land of 1,000 Dances, but other than the occasional 'I said,' I've never listened long enough to hear any of them.
}}

==Explanation==
The repetition of the syllable "na" is often used to sing a tune without using any of the actual words. While this is normally done to practice or demonstrate a tune, repeated "na"s are also a part of some songs' lyrics, as shown in this comic. Following the various paths of the diagram forms the words of several well-known tunes, with each song branching off after the appropriate number of "na"s.

The top entry refers to the song "{{w|Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye}}," originally recorded by {{w|Steam}}. The tune is often sung by the home fans of American sporting events at the end of a victory as a means of taunting the away team.

The left bottom entry refers to the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jgE-lrfZ3k theme song] of the '60s TV show ''{{w|Batman (TV series)|Batman}}''.

The middle bottom entry refers to the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpFFzWPzA2c theme song] of the video game ''{{w|Katamari Damacy}}, '' which was also the cause of the [[161: Accident|Accident]] in comic 161.

The right bottom entry refers to the song "{{w|Land of a Thousand Dances}}," originally recorded by {{w|Chris Kenner}}. The title text jokes that the tune's incessant repetition of "na" has annoyed [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] to the point that he does not have the patience to listen to the whole song.

====Updated version====
Not long after this comic was published, the following message was posted by [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] on the comic page:

:I can't ''believe'' I forgot Hey Jude.
:I don't get do-overs, but I couldn't resist making [https://xkcd.com/851_make_it_better/ a fixed version].

The addition to the diagram refers to the song "{{w|Hey Jude}}," originally recorded by {{w|the Beatles}}. The updated comic's URL, "851_make_it_better," is a reference to some of the tune's other lyrics: "Take a sad song / And '''make it better'''."

This is one of many {{w|Flowchart|flowchart}} comics. A full list can be found [[:Category:Flowcharts|here]].

==Transcript==
:[A flowchart.]
:Na → Na → Na → Na → Na → Na → Na → Na (branches to "→ Hey → Hey → Goodbye" and "→ Batman!") → Na → Na (branches to "Katamari Damacy!") → Na (arrow labeled "Land of 1,000 Dances" that loops around to the last "Na" again)

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Flowcharts]]
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Video games]]

1740: Rosetta

2017-06-12T12:40:56Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1740
| date = September 30, 2016
| title = Rosetta
| image = rosetta.png
| titletext = I WONDERED why he kept asking whether we thought the impact speed was too low.
}}

==Explanation==
On the day this comic was posted (September 30th 2016), the ''{{w|Rosetta (spacecraft)|Rosetta}}'' mission ended with the final descent of ''Rosetta'' onto the comet {{w|67P}}. Landing Rosetta on the comet gave the scientists ([[Ponytail]], [[Megan]] and [[Hairy]]) a chance to collect extra data from very close to the comet, using the spacecraft's powerful sensors.

[[Cueball]] however [[1339: When You Assume|assumed]] that the landing was a "{{w|Asteroid_impact_avoidance#Kinetic_impact|kinetic impact}}" mission to deflect {{tvtropes|DeathFromAbove|a comet that was on a collision course with Earth.}} A similar scenario (but using a nuclear weapon implanted inside of the asteroid to deflect it) was depicted in the 1998 film ''{{w|Armageddon (1998 film)|Armageddon}}'', of which Cueball is apparently a fan. ''Armageddon'' is a high-throttle action movie, [http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/01/nasa-uses-the-movie-armageddon-in-their-management-training-program/ infamous among NASA employees for its incredibly liberal application of artistic license].

In reality, at the time ''Rosetta'' landed, 67P was already leaving the inner solar system and was [http://sci.esa.int/where_is_rosetta/ a long way past Earth]. It will return to the inner solar system in around 5 years time, but its orbit will not pass close to the Earth in any forseeable time.

Also, as the title text hints, Rosetta's speed was only [https://astronomynow.com/2016/09/30/rosettas-final-hours/ 90 cm per second] relative to the surface at the moment of impact (or about 2 mph/3.25 km/h; the speed of a slow walk), while the comet was travelling at 14.39 km/s. Given that Rosetta only weighs a couple of tons (or [[1461: Payloads|six horses]]), and 67P weighs nearly 10 billion tons (or 22 billion horses), Rosetta's landing will have no actual measurable effect on the comet's momentum.

''Rosetta'' (and its lander, ''Philae'') were previously the subject of the comics [[1402: Harpoons]] and [[1446: Landing]], and were mentioned in [[1461: Payloads]], [[1547: Solar System Questions]] and possibly [[1621: Fixion]].

==Transcript==
:[A control room with Megan and Hairy sitting on stools in front of opposite desk with computers. Hairy has his arms in the air. Ponytail is standing between them with Cueball, she is watching Megan and he is looking at Hairy.]
:Megan: Signal lost.
:Megan: ''Rosetta'' has impacted the comet.
:Ponytail: Good work everyone.
:Hairy: ''Woooo!''

:[Zoom on Ponytail, still looking at Megan and Cueball who has turned towards Ponytail.]
:Cueball: So.
:Cueball: Do you think we deflected it?

:[Ponytail turns to Cueball as does Hairy who turns and looks away from his computer.]
:Ponytail: Huh?
:Cueball: Did we hit the comet hard enough to deflect it away from Earth?

:[In a frame-less panel Ponytail talks with Cueball.]
:Ponytail: That... Is that what you thought we were doing?
:Cueball: I just assumed...

:[Megan enters whispering in Ponytail's ear, holding a hand up to her mouth. Ponytail still looks at Cueball who raises his arms up in the air.]
:Megan: He's a huge ''Armageddon'' fan. Let him have this.
:Ponytail: Okay, fine.
:Ponytail: Yes! We did it! The Earth is saved!
:Cueball: ''Wooo!''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Space probes]]

853: Consecutive Vowels

2017-06-12T12:35:42Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 853
| date = January 28, 2011
| title = Consecutive Vowels
| image = consecutive_vowels.png
| titletext = But the windows! What if there's a voyeur watchi-- wait, now I'm turned on too.
}}

==Explanation==
After running some analysis on a database, [[Cueball]] shows [[Megan]] a chart depicting the relationship between sexual arousal and consecutive vowels, showing that a high amount of consecutive vowels is linked to higher sexual arousal. At first, it could be theorised to be due to drawn out moans or screams during lovemaking and orgasm (Ooooh! Yeeeees!).

Megan says she doesn't get it, but Cueball interrupts her with "queueing", a word with 5 consecutive vowels. This {{tvtropes|CoitusEnsues|immediately arouses Megan, who grabs Cueball and shouts "FUCK ME NOW."}} It turns out that the consecutive vowels themselves appear to cause arousal, rather than arousal causing the use of consecutive vowels.

The title text shows that Cueball is fearful that there may be a voyeur peeking at them, but as "voyeur" has 4 consecutive vowels because "y" is a vowel in this case, Cueball gets turned on as well.

==Transcript==
:Cueball: I was running a factor analysis on this huge database, and check out what it found:
:[Cueball holds up the chart.]

:[A graph plotting "sexual arousal" against "consecutive vowels." The trendline is a smooth exponential curve.]

:Megan: Huh? This chart makes no sense. What-
:Cueball: "Queueing"

:[Megan grabs Cueball.]
:Megan: ''FUCK ME NOW.''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Line graphs]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Sex]]

1606: Five-Day Forecast

2017-06-12T12:27:05Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1606
| date = November 20, 2015
| title = Five-Day Forecast
| image = five_day_forecast.png
| titletext = You know what they say--if you don't like the weather here in the Solar System, just wait five billion years.
}}
==Explanation==

{{w|Weather forecasting}} is an extremely difficult task, even if it is only for five days. In numerical models, extremely small errors in initial values double roughly every five days for variables such as temperature and wind velocity. So most {{w| Meteorology#Meteorologists |meteorologists}} only provide us with a five-day forecast.

In this comic [[Randall]] takes this to the extreme by first showing a [[Five-Day Forecast]] and then progressing to five-month, year, million, billion and finally trillion-year forecast, {{tvtropes|WeirdWeather|leading to weather patterns that we don't usually see on a regular basis.}}

Since the first weather symbol is the same in all six rows, we must assume this indicates the weather today (and not tomorrow or in a trillion years). It is first in the second panel that we have made the first jump according to the label. Consequently, the last column gives the predictions for four days, four months, ..., four trillion years from today.

When moving past the five days, the forecast is just a qualified guess based on the time of year. In a month it is Christmas as shown in the second panel of the second row. And then it is winter with January and February so snow is likely, but certainly not something that happens on all days of a winter month.

Looking at the five-year forecast, guesses are made as to what the weather will be like at the same time of year. For these first three predictions the weather symbols are all of the same three types. Sun, clouds and some kind of {{w|precipitation}}, rain or snow. And the temperature range from 21 to 44 °F (-6.1 to 6.6 °C), winter temperature.

Then we go into the far future, jumping a million year from panel to panel. But still the weather symbols stay the same. However, in 3 million years time aliens (or advanced humans) attack with energy beams from something looking like {{w| flying saucers}}. They are gone a million years later. The temperature range is still the same (except that it rises to 52 °F or 11.1 °C, a possible reference to global warming) in one panel. But then while the attack is going on the temperature rises to 275 °F (135 °C).

Once we get to the billion-year mark it actually becomes more meaningful to try to predict the "weather". Because now we reach the times when the {{w|Sun}} begins to change. Although the Sun will continue to burn hydrogen for about 5 billion years yet (while in its {{w|Sun#Main_sequence|main sequence|}}), it will still grow in diameter as it begins to exhaust its supply of fuel. The core will contract to increase the temperature, and the outer layer will then compensate by expanding slightly. This is what is indicated in panel two and three where the color of the Sun changes towards red as the surface becomes less hot as it expands away from the center of the Sun. The temperature will rise on Earth as indicated in the panels (105 °F = 40.5 °C and 371 °F = 188 °C). So in two billion years the temperature is hot enough that all the earth's oceans will have boiled away… Actually this will happen already in about [http://phys.org/news/2015-02-sun-wont-die-billion-years.html a billion years].

Then once there is {{w|Sun#After_core_hydrogen_exhaustion|no longer enough hydrogen}} the Sun will truly expand into a {{w|red giant}}. This should not happen until five billions years from now {{Citation needed}}, but in the forecast it is indicated to happen already in three. Maybe this is Randall taking liberties to show what happens during this phase, which would not fit into a five-billion-years forecast. Alternatively it is just indicating how uncertain these kind of forecasts are, or a statement that we may not know for certain that it will take five not three billion years.
Disregarding this, the fourth panel shows the temperature at Earth's position inside the red giant Sun. The color of the panel indicates that we are inside the Sun. The temperature is 71,488,106 degrees Fahrenheit (39,715,597 degrees Celsius). The current temperature of the center of the Sun is "only" 27 million degrees Fahrenheit (15 million degrees Celsius). And although that may rise by a factor of ten during {{w| Stellar nucleosynthesis |helium fusion}} then that will only be at the very core and not out in the solar atmosphere reaching out to Earth Here the temperature would only be of the order of thousands of Fahrenheit, since the Sun's outer temperature decreases as it increases its diameter. So this panels temperature also makes little sense. It may involve some ambiguities regarding what the forecast means; the edge of the red giant Sun is predicted to be somewhere near the current orbit of Earth, but the position of the Earth could change. The most likely prediction at the moment is for Earth to move outward, but if the planet is engulfed by the Sun, it would spiral inward, and at some point fall apart. So in some sense "here" for the forecast could become a position deep inside the Sun, where core temperatures could reach 100 million Kelvin.

The red giant phase only last half a million years, so a billion years after the Sun has been a red giant its outer atmosphere will for sure have disappeared leaving only a {{w|white dwarf}} to cool down. Given Randall's version of this time schedule, then it will have had about a billion years to cool down, but would still likely be the brightest object in the sky as seen from where the Earth once was. It is not indicated in the last panel, where we just see other stars of the Galaxy. The temperature is down to that of the {{w|Cosmic microwave background |background radiation}}. Today this radiation has a temperature of 2.72548 kelvin = -270.4245 °C = -454.7641 °F. So this is a few degree F colder than what is shown in the comic which states the temperature is -452 °F = 4.26 kelvin. This higher temperature may have been chosen to reflect that even the star light from other stars would increase the actual temperature.

In the last panel with trillion years, we jump right past the Sun's Red Giant phase, to a panel looking much like the one after five billions years with only other stars. Over the next three trillion years the stars become fewer and fewer and dimmer and dimmer as they run out of fuel and fewer new stars form. After four trillion years the background temperature even decreases one degree to -453 °F as the universe keeps expanding and the wavelength of the radiation does the same, thus decreasing its temperature.

The title text is a play on comments referring to fast-changing weather on a more ordinary human timescale, such as Mark Twain's quip "If you don't like the weather in New England now, just wait a few minutes."

A ten days forecast was used in [[1245: 10-Day Forecast]]. In [[1379: 4.5 Degrees]] Randall looked at the weather over long periods of time as well.

==Transcript==
:[A grid with six rows of five columns, where each row is labeled to the left. For each of the 30 squares a temperature is given in Fahrenheit at the top left. The rest of the square represents the weather as in a weather forecast (or some other relevant items for the comic), mainly in bright colors. Below are the six labels given above each of their five weather symbols with temperature given below these symbols description.]

:'''Your 5-day forecast'''
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:38°F
:[A grey cloud.]
:41°F
:[A grey cloud with six lines of blue raindrops below.]
:36°F
:[A grey cloud in front of a yellow sun.]
:40°F
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:44°F

:'''Your 5-month forecast'''
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:38°F
:[A green Christmas tree with red presents beneath it.]
:29°F
:[A grey cloud with four snowflakes below.]
:21°F
:[A grey cloud with four snowflakes below.]
:24°F
:[A grey cloud.]
:35°F

:'''Your 5-year forecast'''
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:38°F
:[A grey cloud.]
:25°F
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:36°F
:[A grey cloud with six lines of blue raindrops below.]
:37°F
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:41°F

:'''Your 5-million-year forecast'''
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:38°F
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:52°F
:[A grey cloud.]
:40°F
:[Two red flying saucers (with bright domes) are shooting energy beams downwards. One of the beams seems to impact with something at the bottom of the panel, which then explodes. Two plumes of smoke rises up from below, drifting to the right.]
:275°F
:[A grey cloud in front of a yellow sun.]
:40°F

:'''Your 5-billion-year forecast'''
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:38°F
:[A larger orange sun.]
:105°F
:[A very large red sun.]
:371°F
:[A pale yellow panel with no drawing.]
:71,488,106°F
:[A night sky with many bright stars.]
:-452°F

:'''Your 5-trillion-year forecast'''
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:38°F
:[A night sky with many bright stars.]
:-452°F
:[A night sky with many stars.]
:-452°F
:[A night sky with fewer not so bright stars.]
:-452°F
:[A night sky with few dim stars.]
:-453°F

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]

470: The End is Not for a While

2017-06-12T12:24:45Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number =470
| date =September 1, 2008
| title =The End is Not for a While
| image =the_end_is_not_for_a_while.png
| titletext =I THINK EVERYONE INVOLVED HERE IS CUTE.
}}

==Explanation==
People show up at protests because they're angry about something and want to use peaceful means or otherwise to effect political change. It's very much a groupthink, "mob" mentality, bringing to mind the credo, "If you're not with us, you're against us."

Hardly anyone goes to a protest because they're happy about the way things are, and thus, someone holding up signs saying how happy he is would, to say the least, be very out of place at a protest, {{tvtropes|WavingSignsAround|although it's more common than expected}}.

The title text shows another sign [[Cueball]] is carrying (although since it compliments the protesters, he may not get in as much trouble for it).

The title of the comic refers to the oft-seen protest placard "The end is nigh", signifying that person's belief that we live in the end times and it's time to start getting right with (insert religious figure of your choice here).

==Transcript==
:[Cueball with two picket signs. Ponytail with a picket sign stands partially out of the frame, staring at Cueball.]
:I get in trouble for showing up contented at protests.
:Sign 1: Things are pretty okay!
:Sign 2: Anyone for Scrabble later?

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

493: Actuarial

2017-06-12T06:30:27Z

Nialpxe: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 493
| date = October 24, 2008
| title = Actuarial
| image = actuarial.png
| titletext = I started to do the tables for more famous people but it got really depressing and morbid and I had to go outside. Hat guy wins again.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is commenting on the fact he shouldn't feed the trolls, but sometimes gets provoke to where he can't help replying. The term ''{{w|Troll (Internet)|Trolling}}'' is used to describe provocative, destructive or annoying behavior on the {{w|Internet}}.

[[Black Hat]] agrees and tells he had an issue yesterday with a guy who had a serious case of the
[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/first first] urge. Some people have to be the first to make a comment on any given posting (be it a blog post or a YouTube video or some other commentable content), and to obnoxiously point out that they have made the first comment. This often manifests as the poster simply posting the word "First" without contributing any actual content to the discussion.

Once again, Black Hat is thus provoked into on-line retaliation bordering on the sociopathic, choosing a form of retribution that doesn't necessarily break any written rules but strikes directly at the heart and/or mind of his opponent. In this case telling the ''first'' guy when all his childhood heroes are likely to die - this could make any one miserable. To do this he is using {{w|Life table|actuarial table}}s or life tables which shows for each age the probability that a certain person will be alive by their next birthday.

Cueball reflects that he doesn't wish to become the target of such ire himself, but (without apparent malice on Black Hat's part...) still suffers from a piece of memetic shrapnel from the original attack - Cueball obviously loves the original {{w|Star Wars}} movies - and Black Hat would know this!

In the title text, it is said how {{tvtropes|nsaneTrollLogic|Black Hat's offensive is so effective that he appears to have caused grief even to his own author and creator}}, [[Randall]], who only managed to check up on the Star Wars cast before getting too depressed.

Randall has used this idea again in [[893: 65 Years]], and published a [http://blog.xkcd.com/2012/07/12/a-morbid-python-script/ 'morbid' program] that uses actuarial tables to calculate the probability that someone will die within a given time. The offence which provoked Black hat was mentioned already in [[269: TCMP]] and then returned to in both [[1019: First Post]] and [[1258: First]].

A similar setting with Cueball and Black Hat also discussing movies appears later in [[1751: Movie Folder]]. But then Black Hat is reading on his smartphone.

It is possible that [[494: Secretary: Part 1]] and the following series is a continuation of this comic, as Black Hat's great power over even Internet trolls via his sociopathic ways would explain why he was chosen as Internet secretary.

==Transcript==
:[A dialog between Cueball, seated at a computer terminal, and Black Hat, seated in an armchair reading a book. They are facing away from each other.]
:Cueball: I know you shouldn't feed the trolls, but sometimes they just provoke me to where I can't help replying.

:Black Hat: Yeah, me too. Yesterday this guy kept spamming "First!", so I got a set of actuarial tables and spent twenty minutes telling him when all his childhood heroes would likely die.

:[Cueball turns around in his chair.]
:Cueball: ...

:Cueball: Remind me never to upset you, ever.
:Black Hat: 2038: Last of the original Star Wars cast dies.
:Cueball: Augh!

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]