explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:772: Frogger

2020-07-05T21:38:56Z

Nyperold:

There's actually a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2gow415F5k video] of this already, made by Robot Chicken. It doesn't have the innocent bystanders, though, and it doesn't have the title text either. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 10:00, 30 October 2012 (UTC)
:In other words, it in no way has anything even faintly resembling the same joke or premise, except that it involved frogger and a crash. — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 17:23, 22 October 2019 (UTC)

Honestly, most frogs attempting to cross the road would go unnoticed, whether missed or flattened. But if you saw a frog the size of an Izeta in the road, you probably would swerve to miss, if you thought no one was in the next lane. [[User:Nyperold|Nyperold]] ([[User talk:Nyperold|talk]]) 21:38, 5 July 2020 (UTC)

Talk:1917: How to Make Friends

2018-04-05T02:10:15Z

Nyperold:

Please clarify: What are "friends"? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.58.95|172.68.58.95]] 08:18, 17 November 2017 (UTC)
: A friend is what you should treat people as - i.e. as a friend in themself, not as a means to a friend.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.156|141.101.105.156]] 11:36, 17 November 2017 (UTC)
:D"Friends" are sacrificial humans you should always have with you while in the woods, in case of bear encounters.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.220|108.162.245.220]] 13:08, 20 November 2017 (UTC)
::Or see Randall's take on this in his comic?: [[1485: Friendship]]. :) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:00, 21 November 2017 (UTC)

Randall has obviously not read Stu the Cockatoo is New at the Zoo. [[User:Pmakholm|Pmakholm]] ([[User talk:Pmakholm|talk]]) 08:36, 17 November 2017 (UTC)

hairy is a jerk and unworthy of cueball's friendship. --[[User:Misterstick|Misterstick]] ([[User talk:Misterstick|talk]]) 12:56, 17 November 2017 (UTC)

"Go eat food" might be an effect of the post-"Thing explainer" simple English addiction, already mentioned in some other strip. In fact, the rest of his speech also looks a bit like that.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.162|162.158.90.162]] 17:30, 17 November 2017 (UTC)
: Yes, I also think this comic uses simple words. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.191|162.158.238.191]] 09:36, 20 November 2017 (UTC)

If I had a Tumblr, I'd set this as my profile picture. But the stigma of being "the kind of person who whines about vwxyzir disability on Tumblr" is bad enough that I don't wanna go there. [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 05:28, 18 November 2017 (UTC)

Seems like Randall likes to blame lonely people as being morally deficient and selfish... Must be easier than acknowledging the issues they face... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.238|162.158.255.238]] 05:58, 20 November 2017 (UTC)
: Ummmm, REALLY sure that he's identifying HIMSELF as lonely, and feels it is HIS own fault. He's not attacking abstract strangers, he's belittling himself. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:04, 21 November 2017 (UTC)

Current explanation says that he "feels compelled to clarify that he does need to eat (meaning in general)". No, not in general, he is specifying he needs food at the moment, that it is time for him to eat right now, seeing as he later clarifies that he can just eat after. (So, he's hungry, but not so much that he can't wait). Also, what's H2G2? [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:04, 21 November 2017 (UTC)
:The 'in general' interpretation seems more likely to me, and is certainly the way I read it. If he was just hungry but not that hungry, he probably wouldn't have used the word 'need'. And Randall seems like the sort of person who would feel the need to clarify, in case of confusion, that he is an organism that needs to consume food.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.156|141.101.105.156]] 16:45, 21 November 2017 (UTC)
:: I felt the use of the word "need" was in reference to it being lunchtime (or dinnertime), that it's time to eat and as such he can and should, and should be figuring out what to do for a meal around now, but his hunger hasn't hit yet (or isn't that strong yet) so he can wait too. IDK, it's just that whenever Randall does one of these "I'm terribly socially awkward" comics that it really speaks to me, that we're very much the same in this regard. Maybe that leads to a greater ease in understanding what he means and where he's coming from. It certainly feels like it, like I have no problem fully understanding them with 100% certainty. As I said, the fact that he says he can just eat after confirms that he means it's time for him to eat now, but he's trying to be accommodating by saying he can just eat later. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 07:52, 24 November 2017 (UTC)
:H2G2 is a droid from Star Wars. Like R2D2 used to be able to, it can fly, but instead of using thrusters, it flies by throwing itself at the ground and missing. (Actually, on the chance that you weren't subtly suggesting that an editor expand the acronym for the sake of others -- and by now, the information is in a link rather than in that state -- it's The '''H'''itch'''h'''iker's '''G'''uide to the '''G'''alaxy.) [[User:Nyperold|Nyperold]] ([[User talk:Nyperold|talk]]) 02:10, 5 April 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1101: Sketchiness

2018-01-22T22:21:50Z

Nyperold:

The last four (crate, chute, ravine, tarp) imply the other person will be killed before/during/after sex and the body will be left in the sex (blank). [[Special:Contributions/206.39.12.245|206.39.12.245]] 17:29, 29 August 2012 (UTC)Pat

:If a woman is the speaker in this comic, the word sex ravine, chute, ... get the meaning of sexual organs --[[User:Sebastian|Sebastian]] ([[User talk:Sebastian|talk]]) 20:03, 30 August 2012 (UTC)

I actually read the "AREA" as "ARENA" the first time, and thought that was a better fit. --[[User:Medotcom|Medotcom]] ([[User talk:Medotcom|talk]]) 14:29, 31 August 2012 (UTC)

Could the last word "tarp" also be a reference to the trap/tarp meme [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/its-a-trap "It's a tarp!"]? --[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 18:54, 31 August 2012 (UTC)

BDSM is more than just "leather and handcuffs". The acronym expands to Bondage and Discipline, Domination and Submission, and Sado-Masochism. Kink can encompass anything beyond straight-vanilla sex, though the most common connotations usually involve power dynamics and pain as pleasure. [[Special:Contributions/99.36.161.182|99.36.161.182]] 16:57, 20 September 2012 (UTC)

:It's enough to give people a general idea of what to imagine when they hear BDSM and just want a fast image to think of. Yes, there's more to it, and there's more to a "sex dungeon" than just BDSM as far as I know. {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.179}}

Where does "lounge" fit on this scale? --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.104|173.245.52.104]] 06:25, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

I would be remiss if I did not suggest "tuplet" and "tant". Too bad "tant" doesn't have an English definition... [[User:Nyperold|Nyperold]] ([[User talk:Nyperold|talk]]) 22:21, 22 January 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1682: Bun

2017-11-08T23:14:29Z

Nyperold:

The transcript is almost done, but the setting/image of each frame has to be added, and someone may want to fix my possible typos. This is my first contribute to explain xkcd! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.158|108.162.250.158]] 10:51, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

:I added the explanations about the images. Thanks for contributing! [[User:Ladidootdoot|Ladidootdoot]] ([[User talk:Ladidootdoot|talk]]) 11:21, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

:I'm pretty sure that student #1 is megan, someone may wanna check that out[[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.139|162.158.2.139]] 01:44, 19 May 2016 (UTC)

I assumed this was about hair buns, am I incorrect? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.25|173.245.54.25]] 11:10, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

:I also believed that 'bun' was also referring to hair buns/ponytails, thus giving a visual pun to the comic. It would also add another level of the 'heirarchy' pun as well. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.25|173.245.56.25]] 14:08, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

I think it's "bun" short for "bunny", an informal term meaning a rabbit (especially a cute one such as the ones shown in the comic). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.130|141.101.98.130]] 11:16, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

Wolves don't actually have as strong a hierarchical structure as commonly believed, and don't have so-called "alphas" running the pack. Wolf packs are primarily a family structure that centers around the parents, in a natural non-tyrannical way, with different wolves making decisions and leading the pack at various times depending on their particular skills. For more information on this, refer to writings by David Mech, wolf biologist, who first coined the terms "alpha" and "omega" for wolves, and has for years been trying to convince people that those original theories are incorrect. {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.24}}

Of course, 'buns' are also a euphemism for butt, which might clarify a thing or two, or at least add a more amusing context. {{unsigned ip|141.101.104.42}}

I also believe the comic makes more sense when taking that meaning (bun for buttocks/derrière...) into account. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.230|162.158.150.230]] 12:53, 18 May 2016 (UTC)J

Except for the fact in the very first frame Ponytail uses it in the singular while using the pointer to draw attention to an image of an animal. Has *anyone* used 'bun' in its singular form to refer to buttocks? 'Bum', perhaps, but not 'bun'. Given the rest of the panel's contextual talk regarding the 'buns', that particular interpretation never entered my thoughts. I wonder if the interpretation regarding the derrière is seen more by those of a certain age, generation or geographic group, i.e: the way soda, cola, pop, 'soft drink' and Coke are regional and/or generational terms for a sugary carbonated drink product. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.69.36|162.158.69.36]] 07:01, 27 November 2016 (UTC)

I know that this is absolutely just a personal gripe, but the website is called explain xkcd, not spell-out-everything-that-happens-in-xkcd.

In relevance, this seems to be satire of current-gen's obsession with (mis)spelling things that are cute incorrectly (see: smol, birb, doge) and the situation in the comic is a role-reversal, with the teacher being a (teen/tween/memer etc.) and the students are questioning the teacher's professionalism.

The point about 'rank' could of course be some fictional idea that a younger person could attach to a physical entity to make the world more fun and interesting or something idk.
I would add this theory, of course, but i have no idea what i'm even reading when i read this explanation and don't know where to add it. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.161|108.162.250.161]] 12:00, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

:I absolutely agree I have slowly been editing different explanations to try to try to reflect this, but it is a very difficult and tedious process, if you can contribute do it. [[User:Lackadaisical|Lackadaisical]] ([[User talk:Lackadaisical|talk]]) 13:14, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

:In the fictional rabbit-world of "Watership Down", larger rabbits are usually superior. However the story is about an unusual group in which a small rabbit, Fiver, is the "king." There is a telling scene of mistaken identity near the end in which attackers are scared off. {{unsigned ip|173.245.56.60}}

Hierarchy is misspelled. Unless it's a convoluted pun on heir - hare (almost homophones) ? [[User:blagae|blagae]]
:A new version of the comic has been uploaded by now, with the misspelling corrected. So the heir-hare pun was probably unintentional. ([[User:blagae|blagae]]) 14:58, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

As soon as I read it, I was thinking 'bun' as in 'buttocks', yet there is no mention of that in the explanation? {{unsigned ip|108.162.218.41}}
:Added that in the explanation, but I'm not sure at all that this was intentional. When there are images of bunnies it is not necessarily something that would come into mind. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:13, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

Smaller "buns" being higher valued -- confirms to me the reference to (male) buttocks -- but what no one else seems to have noticed is that "mammalogy" is a short distance from the non-word "mammology" (cf. mammogram) would be the study of breasts, another viewable body part. So the presumed confusion could be confused with mammalogy / mammology.... [[User:Asimong|Asimong]] ([[User talk:Asimong|talk]]) 06:29, 20 May 2016 (UTC)

Most of the explanations posted thus far seem off-the-mark to me. Especially the ones involving butts, I mean, c'mon... The comment above about "role-reversal" gets close to the heart of the joke (if any), though I think more than anything this strip is just Randall indulging his love for depicting people in roles of presumed authority spouting absurdities. (And for tiny bunnies, of course.) TBH, though, this one mainly gives the impression of being based on a private joke or conversation, or just referencing some meme I haven't seen yet. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.68.35|162.158.68.35]] 16:14, 18 May 2016 (UTC)
: I think it's an obscure reference. Buzzfeed has [https://www.buzzfeed.com/mattbellassai/the-most-important-bunny-gifs-on-the-internet The 33 Most Important Bunny GIFs On The Internet], which ''might'' be related to the "important bun" from [[1663]]. Maybe Ponytail teaches [https://twitter.com/hashtag/anatomyofthebun internet sociology], not biology, and she hasn't clarified that very well. [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 16:27, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

I would say the entire "buttocks" link that is currently reflected in the description is a very poor fit. Clearly "this time of year" is referring to spring, when rabbits are most commonly seen darting around, and when rabbit kittens are most likely to be born/leave their nests. "The image of a king" clearly has nothing to do with Ponytail, as there is an image of a "king bun" on the screen. This is most definitely a reference to the treatment of images of monarchy. For example, in the UK it is illegal to deface images of the Queen. [[User:Fendletruck|Fendletruck]] ([[User talk:Fendletruck|talk]]) 16:49, 18 May 2016 (UTC)
:I concur. Delete any reference to explanation about buttocks, and only state that some may think of this, but given that there are images of bunnies this is probably more saying of the person who thinks of butts than of Randall... ;-) I will leave it up to others to do the deletion though. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:04, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

Wondering if there's any tie in to the ancient but not quite defunct alt.devilbunnies, which was about evils buns, their cuteness, and people under their evil sway. The teacher in this case would clearly qualify as a "symp" (bunny sympathizer). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.77|108.162.219.77]] 17:28, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

Just to be clear, there are studies which show that cuteness in humans has certain evolutionary advantages for human babies and may affect how humans treat animals they perceive as cute. I was tempted to expound more upon this in the explanation but the explanation is no place for that. Cuteness in animals is both relative and a perception, it is subject to change from person to person based on past experiences and preferences, it is also affected by hormones and mood. It is not a defense mechanism, it does not protect against predators. I know the edit which first mentioned the fitness advantages of cuteness didn't state that it does protect against predators but in my original edit, where I first mentioned fitness, I was trying to include information relevant to the comic, not information which was absolutely correct. And even cuteness doesn't protect rabbits from human poaching as much as conservation does. In most places rabbits are pests and are dealt with just as rats and mice are now. But since I know that if I include information which is not one hundred percent absolutely correct in all situations it will eventually get edited, even if it makes the explanation clearer, I will not include this at the moment, to spare the exhaustive detail it will inevitably spawn.

In short, rabbits are delicious and things like to eat them, no matter how cute they may be. [[User:Lackadaisical|Lackadaisical]] ([[User talk:Lackadaisical|talk]]) 18:40, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

TIL: baby rabbits are called kittens. [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 00:50, 19 May 2016 (UTC)

I think everyone has missed the big joke here: They aren't attending introductory mammalogy, they're attending introductory MOMmalogy. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.254|108.162.237.254]] 12:04, 19 May 2016 (UTC)
: Please explain? [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 12:39, 19 May 2016 (UTC)
:: It's a mother getting excited about a cute thing and gushing about it. (And pestering her friends about it on social media.) Smaller buns 'rank' higher because their smallness makes them cuter in the eyes of the beholder (regardless of what the actual rabbits think about it). Meanwhile the students seem to have misread the course name. If it's not actually Introductory Mammalogy, what else would it be but Mommalogy? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.254|108.162.237.254]] 00:04, 20 May 2016 (UTC)
::: Thank you, I see what you mean. But I'm not convinced it's what Randall meant: his strips don't tend to be about parents, and if he wanted us to make that particular connection then I think he would have added much stronger signals. I mean, aside from the lecturer's hairstyle, which suggests they're female, what other evidence do you have that they're a mother? Or that social media is in any way related to this comic? [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 03:20, 26 May 2016 (UTC)

seriously, are you people trolling? I'm 100% sure this comic is about buttocks! ;)--[[Special:Contributions/188.114.103.163|188.114.103.163]] 14:23, 19 May 2016 (UTC)

It feels like the comic is intentionally reversing several concepts rather than simply giving nonsense (higher rank is normally larger and level formality is reversed) {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.92}}

I, too, immediately picked up an undertone about butts. "This time of year" being spring, ladies often start wearing skirts and shorts after mostly longer clothes in the winter (especially in Mass. where Randall lives), and the occasional "bun" sighting is in fact a recognized annual recurrence. I think it has a place in the explanation as at least a wink-and-nod double entendre. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.52|108.162.219.52]] 17:09, 19 May 2016 (UTC)

This comic just doesn't make sense. Randall had some half-ideas, none of them worked, and he just drew it anyway. I thought I was missing the joke so I came here and nobody here has an explanation that is a) internally consistent and b) funny. -[[User:Foobarbecue|Foobarbecue]] ([[User talk:Foobarbecue|talk]]) 23:04, 19 May 2016 (UTC)
:Not all of his comics are done for humor, some are simply absurd. I think this is one of those ones which is simply absurd. Unfortunately within the first few days of a comic coming out it is unlikely that the explanation here will be complete or have any form of consistent tone or style. It will be debated and edited back and forth. Some will be over analyzed to the point that any humor or consistency will be strained out of them. It is better to wait a week or so for the buzz around a new comic to die down. In fact, I usually avoid the newest comics but, I happen to like rabbits. [[User:Lackadaisical|Lackadaisical]] ([[User talk:Lackadaisical|talk]]) 23:53, 19 May 2016 (UTC)

'''Better Comparison'''

As discussed above (and as currently indicated in the discussion) wolves are not a good contrast to rabbit social behavior. Can we think of a better one? I know many bugs, like termites, ants, and bees are all hierarchical, but I think we should choose some sort of vertebrate at least. Some suggestions of my own; Lions, Lemurs, Horses, can anyone else think of anything? Or should we find a way to reword the sentence altogether? [[User:Lackadaisical|Lackadaisical]] ([[User talk:Lackadaisical|talk]]) 00:12, 20 May 2016 (UTC)

Question: has this got anything to do with the iOS game currently the free game of the week in the app store, King Rabbit? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.219|162.158.34.219]] 09:18, 20 May 2016 (UTC)

"King Bun" sounds like a World War 2-era euphemism for a Kaiser roll. {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.68}}

As for Slavic word for rabbit meaning "Little King". I'm Czech myself, so I looked around for the etymology; found something on Czech wikipedia (https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kr%C3%A1l%C3%ADk_dom%C3%A1c%C3%AD#Etymologie), posting translated for your consideration:
(King - "král"; Rabbit - "králík", "-ík" can be used as a diminutive suffix, for example with "kůň" - horse, "koník" - little horse)
What does a rabbit to do with a king? Nothing, actually, but the words are still related. As rabbits were not native animals in Bohemia, our ancestors didn't have a name for them. When first rabbits were brought to Bohemia from Germany 13th-14th century, we also got their German name "das Kaninchen", a corruption of the Latin word "cuniculus". Because of phonetic similarity, the word "Kaninchen" was mixed with "Königchen", the diminutive form of "der König" - king, and the Czech word "králík" was born. {{unsigned ip|141.101.95.43}}

Czech and Russian are quite alike indeed. But in Russian there is no way a word for rabbit (кролик) be read as 'Little King', these aren't omonims either. For 'King' there's a word "Король" [kɐ.ˈro.lʲ] if you will use appropriate diminutive suffix, which is "-ёк" [ʲɵk] , you will end up with "Королёк" [kərɐˈlʲɵk] - 'kinglet' (a bird of Regulidae family) that is not a bunny, although it's really small too. Same as male horse - "Конь" [ˈkonʲ] belittles to word "Конёк" [kɐˈnʲɵk] and has a second meaning - 'roof skate'.
Well, one may combine russian word "Кроль" [kro.'lʲ] meaning either 'male rabbit' (depricated) or 'crawl' swimming style (modern), with diminutive "-ик" [ˈʲɪk] suffix and result will be "Кролик" [ˈkrolʲɪk] - 'Bunny' but in case of second meaning that's simply a pun.
So no, not in Russian, as source word was Polish "królik" which was formed same as Czech "králík". {{unsigned ip|141.101.80.35}}

At the risk of adding to the noise, I assumed the joke was in the course name: confusing the study of "mammals" with the study of "memes". Everything being taught is a memetic concept (in the modern sense of the word, at least). It seems the path of least resistance in terms of making the smallest change to turn an understandable scene into an absurd one. Randall uses this format a lot (i.e: the entire scene & meaning being changed simply by changing one key word). He's very punny. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.156|108.162.249.156]] 00:37, 26 May 2016 (UTC)

I'm new to this comment thing hold your horses.
I was seeing bun as used in an online sort of "omigod look at the bun" kind of usage. Honestly, visit tumblr for a few minutes, search the tag #bun, everyone uses bun for bunny, rabbit, hare, etc. The hierarchy I thought was to be based on cuteness level, as the smaller the bun, the more bun is respected in these online circles, or by anyone, really. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.111|162.158.255.111]] 02:01, 29 May 2016 (UTC)

Behold, the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon_rabbit cinnamon bun]. [[User:Nyperold|Nyperold]] ([[User talk:Nyperold|talk]]) 23:14, 8 November 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1862: Particle Properties

2017-07-12T22:44:26Z

Nyperold:

oh dear, they copied the alt text wrong
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.108|173.245.50.108]] 14:58, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

More significantly, color charge is carried by gluons as well as quarks. [[User:Mjackson|Mjackson]] ([[User talk:Mjackson|talk]]) 15:19, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

As suggested by Zach Weinersmith ([https://twitter.com/zachweiner/status/885154434514395138 "For a joke: If you put pure alcohol under extreme pressure, could you claim to exceed 200 proof?"]), it's kind of confusing that the comic suggests alcohol proof can exceed 200 proof, and also that baseball batting averages can exceed 100%. Although on further review, they use the arrow-dot →∙ notation rather than the dot-arrow ∙→, so maybe it's not intended to indicate a lack of an upper bound. But then I'm not sure what it does indicate, esp. compared to the Electric Charge property. Continuous vs. discrete? It doesn't seem clear… [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 15:41, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

Proof is presumably US proof - UK usage based on gunpowder 175 degrees proof would be 100% alcohol

Batting average is presumably from baseball
Cricket batting averages are measured in runs per dismissal and are in theory unbounded. It is possible to have an infinite average for a season or series - though in terms of lifetime averages the best for players with more than ten matches is 99.96.
:If it is for baseball, it's labeled incorrectly. A perfect batting average is 1.000, not 100%. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batting_average Batting average] is actually a ratio - number of hits to number of at-bats - expressed as a decimal, not a percentage. For example, if a batter goes 3 for 5 in a game, his batting average would be .600, not 60%. [[User:OldCorps|OldCorps]] ([[User talk:OldCorps|talk]]) 16:25, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

We should probably arrange descriptions into a table.

How is it that there's no pain scale?
: Because Randall didn't think -- or possibly want -- to use it. Besides, do you really want every scale in existence in a single comic? If not, Randall has to select based on his own criteria, whatever they may be. As it is, there are 9 or 10 (depending on how you count "entropy") fields that don't apply to particle properties, as opposed to 5 or 6 that do. Gotta stop somewhere. [[User:Nyperold|Nyperold]] ([[User talk:Nyperold|talk]]) 22:44, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

Actually, D&D calls you "dead" if you go to your NEGATIVE hit point maximum. Otherwise, you make a completely random (50%) death saving throw. After 3 cumulative fails, you die. After 3 cumulative successes, you are stable. More info can be found in the {{w|Player's Handbook}}. [[User:SilverMagpie|SilverMagpie]] ([[User talk:SilverMagpie|talk]]) 21:33, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

Talk:882: Significant

2017-07-06T12:58:11Z

Nyperold:

Those lazy are playing minecraft instead of curing cancer! Lynch 'em! '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:35, 11 January 2013 (UTC)
:But I heard that Minecraft cures cancer... ! Investigate! <off: cheers from active group, boos from the control group> [[Special:Contributions/178.99.81.144|178.99.81.144]] 19:31, 30 April 2013 (UTC)
::You know this experiment isn't conducted properly when you know you're in the control group. [[User:Troy|Troy]] ([[User talk:Troy|talk]]) 05:24, 4 March 2014 (UTC)
:::So you have to somehow convince them they are playing Minecraft, when in fact they are not. That's easy, select people who have never played the game. But what if KNOWING the game is Minecraft is what cures cancer? Oh boy... [[User:Cflare|Cflare]] ([[User talk:Cflare|talk]]) 13:57, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

Um, I take it that whoever explained this comic can't tell the difference between < and >, as the fact that the confidence was changed wasn't mentioned in the article... [[Special:Contributions/76.246.37.141|76.246.37.141]] 23:19, 20 September 2013 (UTC)
:Yes, I also figured out this today, green is lower than 0.05, on other colors there is just a confidence that it's NOT lower than 0.05. The newspaper did add this remaining 19 panels to 95%. The article is marked as incomplete, it needs a major rewrite.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:12, 3 October 2013 (UTC)

This explanation seems to misinterpret α. α is the chance of rejecting a true null hypothesis, a false positive. The 5% here is α. The correct interpretation of it is that if the null hypothesis is true, there is a 5% chance that we will mistakenly reject it. P in "P<0.05" is the chance that, if the null hypothesis is true, a result as extreme as, or more extreme than, the result we get from this experiment. '''α is not the chance that, given our current data, the null hypothsis is true. We wish to know what that is, but we do not know.'''[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.72|108.162.215.72]] 08:52, 16 May 2014 (UTC)

In layman's terms, the comic appears to misrepresent what "95% confidence" (p <0.05) means. The statistic "p < 0.05" means that when we find a correlation based on data, that correlation will be a false positive fewer than 5 percent of the time. In other words, when we observe the correlation in the data, that correlation actually exists in the real world at least 19 out of 20 times. It '''does not''' mean that 1 out of every 20 tests will produce a false positive. This comic displays a pretty significant failure in understanding of Bayesian mathematics. The 5% chance isn't a 5% chance that any test will produce a (false) positive; it's a 5% chance that a statistical positive is a false positive. {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.196}}

:No, you are deeply mistaken. The comic and the comment above you are correct in saying that if the null hypothesis holds, 1 out of every 20 tests will produce a false positive: this is by definition of the p-value. The ratio of true positives to false positives can range anywhere from 0 to infinity, and there is unfortunately no way to predict it. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.121|108.162.229.121]] 09:46, 27 January 2015 (UTC)

The explanation appears somewhat confused, as correctly noted in a couple of comments above. The most common misunderstanding of p-values is that they represent how likely it is that the observed correlation (or observed unequal outcomes, or apparent trend) came from chance. That is not what they represent - they represent the probability that results at least as extreme as those observed would have arisen by chance: 1) in a fictional world where chance was the only potential cause of the correlation/inequality/trend (a world in which the null hypothesis was true) AND 2) only one hypothesis was being tested. In the real world, other factors may be more or less plausible as explanations, and it takes judgement, not stats, to determine how likely it is that chance is the best explanation. The green jelly beans theory fails in terms of biological plausibility, so it is >99% likely to be a chance observation (regardless of the p-value). Also, given the large number of hypotheses being tested, the probability of at least one of them producing a p-value <0.05 is much greater than 5%; indeed, with 20 simultaneous hypotheses, we would expect about one to be significant at the p<0.05 level, on average. There is a huge difference between the prospective probability of a single hypothesis satisfying the p<0.05 threshold, and the probability of being able to find a retrospective hypothesis for which p<0.05. This is a case of post hoc cherry picking - the newspaper's emphasis on green jellybeans is post hoc, with the colour of interest chosen after the results were already in. {{unsigned ip|108.162.250.163}}

Is the "e" in "News" supposed to look like an epsilon (and the "w" a rotated epsilon)? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.222|108.162.250.222]] 15:00, 15 December 2014 (UTC)
:It's probably just a stylistic thing. [[User:GrandPiano|GrandPiano]] ([[User talk:GrandPiano|talk]]) 04:00, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

In the comic, they mention that there is a link between green jelly beans and acne. However, assuming there to be no real link, there is 50% chance that this link was caused by 95% confidence that green jelly beans help with acne.[[User:Mulan15262|Mulan15262]] ([[User talk:Mulan15262|talk]]) 03:14, 12 November 2015 (UTC)

This comic was referenced in the book "How Not to be Wrong" by Jordan Ellenberg. [[User:SilverMagpie|SilverMagpie]] ([[User talk:SilverMagpie|talk]]) 20:41, 21 January 2017 (UTC)

One thing I've gleaned from this is that they apparently opened a bag of Jelly Bellys or Gimball's and tested them in whatever order. I say this because they hit colors you'd never see in the smaller-palette brands of jelly beans (brown, teal, salmon) before some very common colors (red, yellow, black, green). If it were me, I would probably have started with a smaller-palette brand, since their colors affect ''everyone'' who eats jelly beans, and not just the ones who go for the gourmet brands. [[User:Nyperold|Nyperold]] ([[User talk:Nyperold|talk]]) 12:58, 6 July 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1811: Best-Tasting Colors

2017-03-15T16:44:46Z

Nyperold:

This is obviously wrong because white chocolate is not [[378|real]] chocolate. Let the flamewar begin. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.34|172.68.54.34]] 15:22, 15 March 2017 (UTC)
:Well, it's not technically chocolate, but it is a derivative -- insert math joke -- and the chart doesn't seem to be concerned with what it is, just with what it's called; after all, that which is called white chocolate by any other name would taste just as sweet, putting some off while others enjoy it. [[User:Nyperold|Nyperold]] ([[User talk:Nyperold|talk]]) 16:44, 15 March 2017 (UTC)

Purple skittles in France taste like blueberry.{{unsigned ip|141.101.69.105}}

Vanilla isn't white.{{unsigned ip|172.68.58.131}}

What are all of the question marks here for? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.251|108.162.246.251]] 15:51, 15 March 2017 (UTC)

I think those question marks at the top are supposed to be bubble gum.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.10|108.162.245.10]] 16:03, 15 March 2017 (UTC)

I suspect this is Randall's take on Fake News™, since it contains verifiably false claims such as coffee and liquorice being bad, and candy floss being better than watermelon

[[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.66|141.101.107.66]] 16:12, 15 March 2017 (UTC)

"In the title text, Randall asserts that his rankings of colors and foods are indisputable (with the exception of chocolate). This is of course ridiculous, as everyone knows that watermelon and strawberry are inherently superior to the likes of Citrus Fruits."...but his rankings of strawberry and of watermelon (x2) are higher than for oranges, lemons, and limes. There is no contradiction here; nothing that is ridiculous. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.118|162.158.78.118]] 16:29, 15 March 2017 (UTC)

Hmm. The selection seems quite diverse compared to a standard bag of jelly beans, but doesn't really cover the range of a gourmet brand. I wonder where root beer falls, or Dr Pepper. And that's not even getting into color classification when the bean has more than one color. Personally, when I used to get gourmet jelly bean brands, I would do the squeeze-and-sniff test on a particular shade of brown, because it was used for both coffee and a flavor I liked. I remember Lore Sjöberg having a similar problem with cinnamon and cherry, but if he ever arrived at my solution, I don't know. [[User:Nyperold|Nyperold]] ([[User talk:Nyperold|talk]]) 16:44, 15 March 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1797: Stardew Valley

2017-02-10T17:47:43Z

Nyperold:

Expanded the explanation. Feel free to add on to my post. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|'''JayRules''XKCD''' ]][[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|what's up?]] 12:16, 10 February 2017 (UTC)
:OK ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:19, 10 February 2017 (UTC)

Is it just me or is Cueball drawn "fatter" than usual? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.89|162.158.91.89]] 14:00, 10 February 2017 (UTC)
:I was thinking that the whole style of this comic is rather uncharacteristically of xkcd. Maybe someone who have played the game, could confirm (or not) my suspicion that there are some of these differences that comes from him "copying" parts from the game. The first I noticed was that the caption was in a frame. This almost never happens. Either it is just above the panel below, or at the top of the panel inside it. The second was the many speech bubbles which are not used for the speech, but for sounds made by things or involuntarily (yawning, snooring and splishing). Only when the cat wakes up ans mrowls and Cueballs spoken word is normal style. And yes I had not seen this but maybe the lines are in general a bit fatter, not just Cueballs. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:19, 10 February 2017 (UTC)

I haven't played Stardew Valley, but it did remind me of similar situations in other video games, such as hitting a villager with a net in Animal Crossing. ...Also, "virtually"? Heh. [[User:Nyperold|Nyperold]] ([[User talk:Nyperold|talk]]) 17:47, 10 February 2017 (UTC)

Talk:911: Magic School Bus

2016-12-27T19:31:23Z

Nyperold:

They need to get on a bus just to access a computer? That's a pretty awful school. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 01:38, 17 April 2013 (UTC)
: All traditional computers have [[Wikipedia:Bus_(computing)|buses]]. [[User:Tryc|Tryc]] ([[User talk:Tryc|talk]]) 13:45, 25 July 2013 (UTC)
:: [http://xkcd.com/282 ...We are no longer friends.] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.32|108.162.216.32]] 00:04, 5 March 2014 (UTC)
:: Alternatively: "''CAR''LOS!" [[User:Nyperold|Nyperold]] ([[User talk:Nyperold|talk]]) 19:31, 27 December 2016 (UTC)
I thought the joke was that the bus drove past all sorts of usual things (gears, rocket, single-called organism, Saturn, Feynman Diagram - ok, that last one isn't usual for MSB, but perhaps xkcd), but they couldn't find any batteries that day, so Wikipedia comes to the rescue. -j [[Special:Contributions/98.109.252.55|98.109.252.55]] 19:01, 2 August 2013 (UTC)

Incidentally, much of the demise of Encarta was blamed on Wikipedia. --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 20:09, 17 August 2013 (UTC)

What about Dorothy Anne (with the pigtails)? DA was my second favorite. After Arnold's (not shown) "Why does this always happen to me" monologues, her "According to my re''search''..." (always with some big book in her lap) was very entertaining indeed. Also, has it really been 20-some years? Anonymous 07:24, 5 December 2013 (UTC)
: ''None'' of the children are particularly identified in the transcript, and neither she nor Ralphie (also seen) did anything of note in the comic. I suppose if the consensus is that they might be mentioned anyway (with "Girl" replaced with "Wanda"), then... sure, but if that were the case, it's likely that it would have been changed since. [[User:Nyperold|Nyperold]] ([[User talk:Nyperold|talk]]) 19:31, 27 December 2016 (UTC)

Isn't that the rocket from the Destination Moon/Explorers on the Moon Tintin books?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.219|108.162.250.219]] 16:31, 14 June 2014 (UTC)

1774: Adjective Foods

2016-12-19T18:22:07Z

Nyperold: /* Adjectives and their meanings */

{{comic
| number = 1774
| date = December 19, 2016
| title = Adjective Foods
| image = adjective_foods.png
| titletext = Contains 100% of your recommended daily allowance!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First draft}}
This comic shows one of [[Randall]]’s goals in life – creating foods with ‘adjective-only’ names, where common phrases such as “Glazed Donuts” or “Lite Beer” would be replaced with “Glazed” or “Lite”. This is a jab at food market buzzwords, which usually rely on adjectives and words that bring up certain feelings based on how the food is ‘supposed to be’. An example of this is something like ‘lean and tender beef’. It is also semi-difficult to determine the actual contents just by adjectives.

The title text furthers this by taking the phrase ‘recommended daily allowance of XXX’, and removing the ‘of XXX’ part, making it vague enough to be meaningless.

===Adjectives and their meanings===
*'''Premium''' -
*'''Bespoke''' -
*'''Stone-ground''' -
*'''Cage-free''' -
*'''Gourmet''' -
*'''Fire-roasted''' -
*'''Glazed''' -
*'''Flambá''' -
*'''Organic''' -
*'''All-natural''' -
*'''Locally-sourced''' -
*'''Artisanal''' -
*'''Kosher''' - Conforms to a set of Biblical and Rabbinic rules. The Biblical rules most generally deal with what animals may be used as a food source, with the exception of the rule forbidding leavened products during Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, while the most famous example of a Rabbinic rule is the one regarding the separation of dairy and meat. Kosher products with dairy in them have a subscript "D" by the kosher mark, those with neither meat or dairy are marked with a subscript "P", "Parve", or "Pareve", and those with meat have no word or letter saying so. (Foods with both dairy ''and'' meat are automatically considered ''not'' kosher regardless of the individual statuses of the meat and the dairy, and thus take no kosher mark.) This mark is generally for the benefit of Jews and others who practice this aspect of the religion.
*'''Grade A''' -
*'''Craft''' -
*'''Barrel-aged''' -
*'''Smoked''' -
*'''Authentic''' -
*'''Homemade''' -
*'''Sun-dried''' -
*'''Whole''' -
*'''Extra sharp''' -
*'''Low-calorie''' -
*'''Lite''' -
*'''Original flavor''' -

===Foods that are probably in each container===
{{incomplete|Some foods are unknown, and they all could use details such as what adjectives are typically associated with that food and what they mean.}}
{|
! style="text-align:left;"|Container
! style="text-align:left;"|Type of food
|-
|“… bespoke cage-free” bag
|eggs
|-
|“… glazed flambé” box
|some type of meat
|-
|“… Kosher Grade A” box
|butter
|-
|“… extra sharp” box
|cheese
|-
|“… Lite original flavor” can
|beer
|}

==Transcript==
{{notice|Format, if just a bit.}}
:[An arrangement of labeled foodstuffs, from left to right and top to bottom:]
:Premium Stone-ground ''Bespoke'', Cage-free
:''Gourmet'' Fire-roasted Glazed ''flambé''
:Organic All-natural Locally-sourced Artisenal, Kosher, Grade A
:''Craft Barrel-aged Smoked'' Authentic Homemade Sun-dried Whole Extra Sharp
:Low-calorie ''Lite'' Original Flavor
:[Caption:] I'm trying to trick supermarkets into carrying my new line of adjective-only foods.

==Trivia==

* The word “artisenal” was originally misspelled; it was later corrected to “artisanal”.

{{comic discussion}}

1774: Adjective Foods

2016-12-19T18:19:13Z

Nyperold: /* Explanation */ Added section for list of adjectives and meanings; added list of adjectives and one meaning

{{comic
| number = 1774
| date = December 19, 2016
| title = Adjective Foods
| image = adjective_foods.png
| titletext = Contains 100% of your recommended daily allowance!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First draft}}
This comic shows one of [[Randall]]’s goals in life – creating foods with ‘adjective-only’ names, where common phrases such as “Glazed Donuts” or “Lite Beer” would be replaced with “Glazed” or “Lite”. This is a jab at food market buzzwords, which usually rely on adjectives and words that bring up certain feelings based on how the food is ‘supposed to be’. An example of this is something like ‘lean and tender beef’. It is also semi-difficult to determine the actual contents just by adjectives.

The title text furthers this by taking the phrase ‘recommended daily allowance of XXX’, and removing the ‘of XXX’ part, making it vague enough to be meaningless.

===Adjectives and their meanings===
'''Premium''' -
'''Bespoke''' -
'''Stone-ground''' -
'''Cage-free''' -
'''Gourmet''' -
'''Fire-roasted''' -
'''Glazed''' -
'''Flambá''' -
'''Organic''' -
'''All-natural''' -
'''Locally-sourced''' -
'''Artisanal''' -
'''Kosher''' - Conforms to a set of Biblical and Rabbinic rules. The Biblical rules most generally deal with what animals may be used as a food source, with the exception of the rule forbidding leavened products during Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, while the most famous example of a Rabbinic rule is the one regarding the separation of dairy and meat. Kosher products with dairy in them have a subscript "D" by the kosher mark, those with neither meat or dairy are marked with a subscript "P", "Parve", or "Pareve", and those with meat have no word or letter saying so. (Foods with both dairy ''and'' meat are automatically considered ''not'' kosher regardless of the individual statuses of the meat and the dairy, and thus take no kosher mark.) This mark is generally for the benefit of Jews and others who practice this aspect of the religion.
'''Grade A''' -
'''Craft''' -
'''Barrel-aged''' -
'''Smoked''' -
'''Authentic''' -
'''Homemade''' -
'''Sun-dried''' -
'''Whole''' -
'''Extra sharp''' -
'''Low-calorie''' -
'''Lite''' -
'''Original flavor''' -

===Foods that are probably in each container===
{{incomplete|Some foods are unknown, and they all could use details such as what adjectives are typically associated with that food and what they mean.}}
{|
! style="text-align:left;"|Container
! style="text-align:left;"|Type of food
|-
|“… bespoke cage-free” bag
|eggs
|-
|“… glazed flambé” box
|some type of meat
|-
|“… Kosher Grade A” box
|butter
|-
|“… extra sharp” box
|cheese
|-
|“… Lite original flavor” can
|beer
|}

==Transcript==
{{notice|Format, if just a bit.}}
:[An arrangement of labeled foodstuffs, from left to right and top to bottom:]
:Premium Stone-ground ''Bespoke'', Cage-free
:''Gourmet'' Fire-roasted Glazed ''flambé''
:Organic All-natural Locally-sourced Artisenal, Kosher, Grade A
:''Craft Barrel-aged Smoked'' Authentic Homemade Sun-dried Whole Extra Sharp
:Low-calorie ''Lite'' Original Flavor
:[Caption:] I'm trying to trick supermarkets into carrying my new line of adjective-only foods.

==Trivia==

* The word “artisenal” was originally misspelled; it was later corrected to “artisanal”.

{{comic discussion}}

1707: xkcd Phone 4

2016-12-13T19:46:18Z

Nyperold: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1707
| date = July 15, 2016
| title = xkcd Phone 4
| image = xkcd_phone_4.png
| titletext = The SpaceX system carefully guides falling phones down to the surface, a process which the phones increasingly often survive without exploding.
}}

==Explanation==
This is the fourth entry in the ongoing [[:Category:xkcd Phones|xkcd Phone series]], and once again, the comic plays with many standard tech buzzwords to create a phone that sounds impressive but would actually be very impractical.

From the top-left, going clockwise:
*'''18,000 μAh (micro-Ampere hours) nickel-lithium-iron battery (non-rechargeable)''' Phone battery capacity is measured in {{w|ampere-hour}}s (which thanks to the magic of {{w|dimensional analysis}}, is just an unusual way of denoting electric charge, which equals 3600 Coulombs). Usually, the capacity is quoted in milliampere-hours (one-thousandth, or 10-3, of an ampere hour); however, this one is quoted in ''micro''ampere-hours (one-millionth, or 10-6, of an ampere-hour), presumably as a marketing ploy to give a more impressive-looking number. Quoted in more standard terms, this phone's battery capacity is 18 mAh. In comparison, an iPhone 6+ has a battery capacity of 2,750 mAh. This phone's battery is dreadful (under a typical current draw of 0.1A, it would power the phone for about 11 minutes). There is nothing normally called a "nickel-lithium-iron battery" - rather, this seems to be a [[739|malamanteau]] of the experimental {{w|nickel–lithium battery}} and the common {{w|lithium ion battery}} (which does not contain any iron) or the lithium-iron-phosphate battery, often called lithium-iron, but more often called the LiFePO battery. The {{w|nickel–iron battery}} may contain {{w|lithium hydroxide}}, but it's ''terrible'' for most applications. Worse, this battery is non-rechargeable, meaning that it would have to be replaced to use the phone again after it is exhausted (every 11 minutes, at that!).
**[[XKCD Phone 3]] was powered by two {{w|AA battery|AA batteries}} (not included), which have an energy capacity roughly 100 times larger.
**Many devices have a small second battery which is only used for keeping the clock time. This could be such a battery.
*'''Subwoofer''' - A {{w|subwoofer}} is a large bass speaker, which this is not. Some phones do have high-quality speakers for playing music, but these are not placed right next to the earpiece - this would be a surefire way to deafen your users. When put next to Dog Whistle, this is probably a pun, since both relate to dogs; the English onomatopoeia for the sound a dog makes is "Woof".
*'''"Dog whistle"''' - A {{w|dog whistle}} is a high-pitched whistle that humans cannot hear, but dogs can. In speaker terminology, a bass speaker is called a {{w|woofer}} because it could reproduce the low pitch of a dog bark. A treble speaker is a {{w|tweeter}}; if this "whistle" is actually a speaker, it might be termed a ''supertweeter''. The scare quotes may be a reference to "dog-whistle politics", in which certain phrases have a particular meaning to a segment of the audience that passes unnoticed by the rest. This allows a candidate to surreptitiously signal agreement with that group, without alienating the rest of the audience, among whom the ideas might be unpopular if plainly stated.
**[[xkcd Phone 2]] contained a "dog noticer".
*'''Non-porous, washable''' - On the one hand, it's rare for a phone to be made of porous materials. On the other, there are legitimately waterproof phones that seal the speakers and ports with rubber.
**[[xkcd Phone 2]] was also washable (though only once).
*'''''WebMD'' partnership: cough-activated feature reads aloud a random diagnosis for "coughing"''' - {{w|WebMD}} is a website to help people diagnose themselves. For the vast majority of people, a cough just means an irritated throat or maybe a cold, but selecting randomly from all WebMD diagnoses gives some much more ominous - if very unlikely - ones, including {{w|ricin}} poisoning, {{w|plague}}, {{w|lung cancer}} and {{w|radiation poisoning}}.
*'''Wings''' - These {{w|wings}} resemble the ones found on {{w|sanitary towel}}s (sometimes called "pads", making this a possible iPad pun) which attach the pad to the {{w|gusset}} and keep it in place between the woman's legs during her period ({{w|Menstruation}} cycle). If actually functional as {{w|aerodynamic}} wings, they would likely come into play when the "SpaceX" impact protection feature becomes engaged, and would likely make holding the phone awkward if rigid.
**[[XKCD Phone 3]] had a similarly positioned wristband.
*'''Beveled bezel''' - The ''bezel'' is the ring around the edge of watches and screens. This one's {{w|bevel}}ed, which means it's cut at an angle.
*'''Bezeled bevel''' - Punning on the above. Doesn't make much sense, but could mean that it features a beveled edge which is surrounded by a bezel.
*'''Seedless''' - Fruit such as grapes can be "seedless", which means that they're grown from a special {{w|cultivar}} that doesn't grow seeds in the normal way. Making a phone seedless probably won't do anything, but {{w|Random seed|it might hurt}} its {{w|random number generator}}.
**[[XKCD Phone 3]] was boneless.
*'''Water resistant down to 30 meters and below 50''' - {{w|Water resistance}} is often measured in terms of how deep an object can be submerged, since pressure increases with depth. In this case, the phone can be submerged to almost any depth, but there's an odd lacuna between 30 meters and 50 meters. It also plays with the confusion in describing depths greater than 50m as "below 50". Alternatively, this might indicate the phone must remain dry above 50 meters altitude.
**[[xkcd Phone]] and [[XKCD Phone 3]] could drown. The latter was otherwise waterproof. [[xkcd Phone 2]] was only waterproof internally.
**In a previous comic, [[870: Advertising]], a similarly absurd range was used: "Up to 15% or more!"
**This could be mocking the "donut hole" in American Medicare drugs insurance, where people are insured up to a certain amount, then not insured, then insured again. This doesn't appear to make sense to anyone.
*'''Turing-complete''' - A computer is {{w|Turing completeness|Turing complete}} if it can perform all the operations needed to simulate a {{w|Turing machine}}. All modern computers are usually described as Turing complete, which would make this not very impressive, but no computer can ever be Turing complete in the truest sense (since they can only ever have a finite amount of memory) - if the xkcd Phone 4 is truly a universal computer, it's ''very'' impressive indeed.
*'''Gregorian/Julian calendar date switch''' - The {{w|Julian calendar}} is the predecessor to the modern {{w|Gregorian calendar}} - the difference is that the two calendars calculate leap years differently. The current difference between the calenders is 13 days, which will remain unchanged until February 2100. The Julian calendar is still used occasionally--mainly by Eastern Orthodox Christians--but it's not something so vital that it needs a hardwired switch on the front of the phone. This may be a play on the ability to switch the time display between a 12-hour clock and a 24-hour clock. It could also be plying with the ability to switch between Daylight Savings Time and Standard, or change time zones.
*'''''SpaceX'' impact protection: when dropped, phone lands on barge''' - The rocket company {{w|SpaceX}} recently trialed a {{w|SpaceX reusable launch system development program|reusable rocket stage}} which after separating from the launch vehicle, lands on a {{w|Autonomous spaceport drone ship|drone barge}} to be reused.
*'''The title text''' pokes fun at the number of SpaceX rockets that [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3wZRdg-Tmo crashed and exploded] before they got the landing gear right.
*'''Parallel port''' - A {{w|parallel port}} is a type of interface which transfers high-volume simultaneous data. It was often used to connect printers and other devices to computers, but was generally considered obsolete by the time smartphones began to appear on the market, and would be very bulky and slow compared to the USB ports generally used in phones. It was commonly found together with {{w|serial port}}s, which are used for low-volume sequential data such as [[485: Depth|mouse]] [[1110: Click and Drag|movements]]. Here it is paired with a serial interface for analog data with parallel outputs for several people.
*'''12 headphone jacks''' - Phones often include a single headphone jack to allow the user to privately listen to a call, play music, etc. Twelve of them would be pointless overkill, especially given the difficulty of getting twelve people close enough to all use their headphones. Presumably joking about the [http://www.businessinsider.com.au/apple-headphone-jack-iphone-side-effects-2016-7#/#smaller-headphone-makers-would-be-at-a-disadvantage-4 constant rumours] that Apple's next iPhone will not have any headphone jacks, and the weird vents on the bottom of the phone. It could also be a reference to one of the more [http://www.overclock3d.net/news/audio/sennheiser_shows_audio_module_concepts_for_project_ara/1 talked-about modules] for the upcoming [https://atap.google.com/ara/ Project Ara] phone from [http://www.google.com google] which gives 4 headphone jacks - not only allowing sharing between four people, but would also allow full surround-sound recording/playback at any location (something often limited to recording studios).
*'''Onboard cloud''' - The "cloud" is a catch-all term for the use of remote computers to store data, providing a backup if all local copies are lost and allowing the data to be accessed from a broad network. An "onboard cloud" would thus be a contradiction in terms, and appears to be a marketing ploy to use the "cloud" buzzword to describe the device's onboard storage capacity.
*'''New BrightGloTM display incorporates genetically spliced jellyfish protein (should have used the glowing genes, not the stinging ones)''' - {{w|Aequorea victoria}} jellyfish contain a protein called {{w|green fluorescent protein}}, the gene for which has been isolated and can be used in many ways. Unfortunately, the developers of this phone took the wrong gene, and ended up getting [http://bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12864-015-1568-3 one of the hundreds of proteins from jellyfish venom], which will presumably mean that touching the screen becomes a painful experience.
*'''✓ Certified''' - Twitter certifies accounts related to music producers, government, journalism, business, sports, and other more "official" types of accounts with a blue checkmark besides the twitter handle (besides the @whomever). It's of course nonsense for a phone to be twitter verified. Alternatively, it might be a reference to [[1096: Clinically Studied Ingredient]], in which buzzwords such as "tested" and "certified" are intended to make a given product sound more legitimate.
*'''Software-defined''' - {{w|Software-defined radio}}s are quite popular in some areas, meaning the radio hardware is quite universal and can be adapted to different radio protocols just by changing software. SDR would actually be quite a nice feature for a cellphone. Of course it doesn't specify if it's the radio that is software defined.
*'''Exposed ductwork''' - A phone shouldn't even have ductwork, unless it has a very sophisticated cooling system, but this could supply air to the dog whistle. Exposed ductwork is a trademark of {{w|Bowellism|Bowellist}} architecture such as the {{w|Lloyd's Building}} in London and the {{w|Pompidou Centre}} in Paris. Exposed ductwork is also considered a crucial flaw in a death star. May also refer to a transparent window in the side of the phone allowing the user to see the circuitry inside, similar to computer cases with transparent side panels popular among DIY computing enthusiasts.
*'''Voice interaction: {{w|Siri (software)|Siri}}, {{w|Cortana (software)|Cortana}}, {{w|Google Now}} and {{w|Amazon Echo|Alexa}} respond simultaneously''' - These are all {{w|intelligent personal assistant software}} (from Apple, Microsoft, Google and Amazon respectively) and all do the same thing: control your phone and answer questions using speech recognition. Having all four talk at once would mean you'd have a total cacophony while gaining nothing.
**[[XKCD Phone 3]] might have included Siri.

*'''Did you know "4" is "IV" in Roman numerals?®©™''' - the tenth version of Apple's {{w|operating system}} for its {{w|Macintosh computer}} was labeled {{w|OS X}}, which was intended to be read as "oh ess ten". {{w|Steve Jobs}} was irritated that everyone else preferred "oh ess ecks". This phrase is labeled with trademark and copyright symbols, as if someone desires it to be the product's {{w|tagline}} but has poor understanding of relevant laws. In particular, "<big>{{w|™}}</big>" is a symbol for {{w|unregistered trademark}}s while "<big>{{w|®}}</big>" is a symbol for {{w|registered trademark}}s. If the phrase were an unregistered trademark, the owner would be prohibited from using "<big>{{w|®}}</big>".

==Transcript==
:[An image of a smartphone featuring wings is shown. Clockwise from the top left the labels read:]

:18,000 μAh nickel-lithium-iron battery (non-rechargeable)

:Subwoofer

:"Dog whistle"

:Non-porous, washable

:WebMD partnership: Cough-activated feature reads aloud a random diagnosis for "coughing"

:Wings

:Beveled bezel

:Bezeled bevel

:Seedless

:Water resistant down to 30 meters and below 50

:Turing-complete

:Gregorian/Julian calendar switch

:SpaceX impact protection: When dropped, phone lands on barge

:Parallel port

:12 headphone jacks

:Onboard cloud

:New BrightGloTM display incorporates genetically spliced jellyfish protein (should have used the glowing genes, not the stinging ones)

:✓ Certified

:Software-defined

:Exposed ductwork

:Voice interaction: Siri, Cortana, Google Now and Alexa respond simultaneously

:[Below the phone:]
:Introducing
:<big><big>The XKCD Phone 4</big></big>
:Did you know "4" is "IV" in Roman numerals?®©™

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:xkcd Phones]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|xkcd Phones]]
[[Category:Animals]]

Talk:1767: US State Names

2016-12-07T18:00:08Z

Nyperold:

I'm wondering whether this could be a joke about autocorrect/suggested completion as found in smartphone texting apps.
[[User:Dromaeosaur|Dromaeosaur]] ([[User talk:Dromaeosaur|talk]]) 08:06, 2 December 2016 (UTC)
:But would autocorrect replace Texas with Hexxus?--[[User:Blaisorblade|Blaisorblade]] ([[User talk:Blaisorblade|talk]]) 09:02, 2 December 2016 (UTC)

According to Wikipedia Will Wheaton is not from Washington [[Special:Contributions/162.158.133.150|162.158.133.150]] 08:56, 2 December 2016 (UTC)

I think the starting point is the ambiguity of the standard "Name all 50 states" challenge. I'm no native speaker but "Name" means both "invent a new name" and "give the correct name for", and Randall is misunderstanding this on purpose. Maybe that's obvious to some, but it seems the sort of thing worth explaining here?--[[User:Blaisorblade|Blaisorblade]] ([[User talk:Blaisorblade|talk]]) 09:02, 2 December 2016 (UTC)
:Clever! That's certainly true, it could be a pun on the word "name". Although Randall has done similar things in the past (putting objects in states, reordering states, drawing physically cumbersome bicycles) that suggest he likes playing with the idea that people who ''sort of'' know how things work but ultimately end up mixing things up and creating something that's not all that accurate (but nonetheless very interesting and creative). [[Special:Contributions/172.68.79.81|172.68.79.81]] 18:31, 3 December 2016 (UTC)

"Colocated" is technically misspelled (it's either "co-located" or "collocated"), though that could be for the sake of matching it to "Colorado." However, the word is used in many situations other than "co-location center" (e.g. workers being collocated in the same office), so unless Colorado is particularly notable for its co-location centers, I don't think it makes sense to claim that that's what it's specifically referring to. –[[User:PhantomLimbic|PhantomLimbic]] ([[User talk:PhantomLimbic|talk]]) 09:36, 2 December 2016 (UTC)
:Hmm, it looks like "colocated" is a spelling used specifically within the industry, so perhaps the claim is warranted after all. –[[User:PhantomLimbic|PhantomLimbic]] ([[User talk:PhantomLimbic|talk]]) 09:50, 2 December 2016 (UTC)

:Collocate is not a synonym for co-locate; [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/collocate collocate] (pronounced like "kallocate") has the sense of juxtaposing things with each other, especially placing them side by side. This is subtly different from co-locate (housing them in the same location). "Colocate" is an industry [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/07/weekinreview/07mcgrath.html shortening] of "co-locate", not a misspelling of "collocate". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.47|108.162.215.47]] 01:01, 5 December 2016 (UTC)

Isn't it a challenge to correctly name all the states with clues given as to the proper name?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.95|162.158.91.95]] 10:27, 2 December 2016 (UTC)

I think the challenge is supposed to be a blank map that someone has filled out in red pen. The joke is that whoever filled it out does pretty much know all of the states but isn't really clear on their actual names.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.50|108.162.238.50]] 10:34, 2 December 2016 (UTC)
Right, I get you. Something a bored Geography teacher may or may not find amusing when it comes to giving out detentions for the week :)[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.95|162.158.91.95]] 10:40, 2 December 2016 (UTC)

Is Georgia / George a reference to the kings of georgia (of which 9 were named george)? (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Georgian_monarchs) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.253|141.101.98.253]] 10:49, 2 December 2016 (UTC)
:I would have thought of the king of England when the colonies decided to declare independence -- or, for that matter, his grandfather King George II, after whom the state was named -- before thinking of kings from the other side of the Northern Hemisphere. But who knows. George is a common enough name that without word from Randall, it could equally be said he was making a reference to George Lucas, or to the name the Abominable Snowman wanted to give his "own little bunny rabbit." [[User:Nyperold|Nyperold]] ([[User talk:Nyperold|talk]]) 18:00, 7 December 2016 (UTC)

About "OH HI", I've understood it as a reference to the cult movie "The Room" (2003) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0368226), where the main character Johnny greets the other ones with a "Oh hi!". But that's maybe only my view. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.226.112|108.162.226.112]] 12:12, 2 December 2016 (UTC)

I think it's within plausibility for OH HI to be a reference to the logic game 0h h1 [http://0hh1.com]. Toss that possibility around? --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.96|108.162.212.96]] 23:30, 3 December 2016 (UTC)

As a Hoosier, I think that the name given to Indiana is on point. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.45|108.162.238.45]] 14:06, 2 December 2016 (UTC)

Shouldn't the table be alphabetical and the transcript be in geographical order (rather than the other way around as it is now)?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.83|108.162.219.83]] 15:12, 2 December 2016 (UTC)

I'm fairly confident that "Mossouri" is not a typo, but rather a reference to Katie Mossouris, the Microsoft security researcher who created the bug bounty program. see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katie_Moussouris. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.54|108.162.245.54]] 18:06, 2 December 2016 (UTC)

Dear, it's old to complain of xkcd's various quality drops, but I think this is my turn. A good number of recent comics have just been variously exaggerated text lists of stuff. Randall might just as well switch to a written format; pictorial context is becoming less and less necessary for his comics by the week. <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> {{unsigned ip|162.158.203.149}}
:Never read [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebus_the_Aardvark Cerebus the Aardvark], did you? --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.78.133|172.68.78.133]] 14:04, 3 December 2016 (UTC)

I'm thinking that at least in part, it's a commentary on what the average American middle-schooler knows about their country's geography. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.98|173.245.52.98]] 10:56, 2 December 2016 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure there is no 'ee' sound in Michigan, also of note the Carolina's are named for one the British King Charles's although I'm not sure which, and Wysiwyg has been used in xkcd before... Somewhere[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.88|108.162.237.88]] 21:14, 2 December 2016 (UTC)
:Agreed re Michigan and removed. [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 23:11, 3 December 2016 (UTC)

Newark? He named New York after Newark, New Jersey? Yea, I got your Newark right here, buddy! --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.78.133|172.68.78.133]] 14:04, 3 December 2016 (UTC)

For me, Randall's comic is a gentle-but-hilarious depiction of the general imprecision of human cognition --- pretty much every story that we tell, and every fact we remember, arrives in our awareness in the foggy forms that this comic makes fun of. [[User:John Sidles|John Sidles]] ([[User talk:John Sidles|talk]]) 02:12, 4 December 2016 (UTC)

"Spanish Maine" is ironic given the sinking of the {{w|USS Maine (ACR-1)|naval ship of the same name}} and the inspired rally, "Remember the Maine, to Hell with Spain!" [[Special:Contributions/172.68.79.81|172.68.79.81]] 18:31, 3 December 2016 (UTC)

Should there be a link to the Exoplanets comic? Also related to the chaos that arises when people are allowed to 'name' things (https://xkcd.com/1253/) - [[Special:Contributions/162.158.58.88|162.158.58.88]] 23:08, 5 December 2016 (UTC)

The explanation for "More Dakota" says that "More Dakka" (which I believe to be referenced here) is possibly too obscure to be a shoutout here, as XKCD does not usually mention Warhammer 40,000. However, there is a TV Trope named "More Dakka", and it is well-established that Randall is an avid reader of TV Tropes. (This is also the only way I know about "More Dakka".) [[User:Mathmannix|Mathmannix]] ([[User talk:Mathmannix|talk]]) 14:04, 7 December 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1182: Rembrandt Photo

2016-09-20T20:41:34Z

Nyperold:

I don't get it. [[Special:Contributions/184.66.160.91|184.66.160.91]] 07:57, 6 March 2013 (UTC)

It is a pun. Artist's conception can either mean an artist's description of an event where no real photo is available; or the artist's biological conception, meaning the sex that led to his birth. [[Special:Contributions/84.199.78.189|84.199.78.189]] 08:02, 6 March 2013 (UTC)

:Ohhh an Artist's conception, I get it! [[Special:Contributions/184.66.160.91|184.66.160.91]] 08:15, 6 March 2013 (UTC)

::Example of an 'Incredibly Lame Pun' actually being hilarious. --[[User:Dangerkeith3000|Dangerkeith3000]] ([[User talk:Dangerkeith3000|talk]]) 17:07, 6 March 2013 (UTC)

I don't get the "whistler" reference in the title text... anyone? [[Special:Contributions/84.197.94.196|84.197.94.196]] 09:21, 6 March 2013 (UTC)
:[[wikipedia:Whistler's Mother|"Whistler's Mother"]] is a famous American painting by [[wikipedia:James McNeill Whistler|James McNeill Whistler]] of his own mother. --[[User:Aaron of Mpls|Aaron of Mpls]] ([[User talk:Aaron of Mpls|talk]]) 11:39, 6 March 2013 (UTC)

Insert heartfelt groan here: -----> [. Groan! ][[Special:Contributions/24.79.11.46|24.79.11.46]] 12:15, 6 March 2013 (UTC)

I was too busy being grossed out by the prospect that it was the artist who conceived the image of his own conception. Be it Rembrandt or Whistler. Unresolved Oedipus complex, anyone? [[Special:Contributions/220.224.246.97|220.224.246.97]] 13:05, 6 March 2013 (UTC)

Incidentally there is a great reference to Whistler's Mother in the movie "Sneakers". Dan Akroyd's character makes the reference regarding his blind colleage ("Whistler"). Great movie.
:In which scene? --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 18:06, 6 March 2013 (UTC)
:: Dan Akroyd's character is called "Mother"; I don't think there is any more reference than that: two characters, Whistler and Mother. "Whistler", incidentally, is a reference to being able to whistle the tone needed on old pay phones to get it to give you a free call -- Whistler is a phreaker. {{unsigned|72.68.11.22}}

Anyone know what "click" refers to in the title text? [[User:Trek7553|Trek7553]] ([[User talk:Trek7553|talk]]) 15:15, 6 March 2013 (UTC)
: the "click" because of Cueball working on the PC and not listening to Megan any more. [[Special:Contributions/80.76.68.155|80.76.68.155]] 15:38, 6 March 2013 (UTC)
:: That does not make sense...[[User:Trek7553|Trek7553]] ([[User talk:Trek7553|talk]]) 17:42, 7 March 2013 (UTC)
:: Actually it's Megan switching to the next picture (that of Whistler's mother) on her laptop. {{unsigned|212.149.48.43}}
::: This is the best answer so far, I think you're right. [[User:Trek7553|Trek7553]] ([[User talk:Trek7553|talk]]) 17:42, 7 March 2013 (UTC)
:: It's Cueball closing the door as he leaves the room. [[User:Schmammel|Schmammel]] ([[User talk:Schmammel|talk]]) 14:40, 7 March 2013 (UTC)
::: I think you're right - otherwise "come back" doesn't make sense. [[User:MR|MR]] ([[User talk:MR|talk]]) 01:17, 5 April 2013 (UTC)MR

Does that mean that a painting of an artist painting a picture of Rembrandt's parents having sex would be an artist's conception of an artist's conception of an artist's conception? [[User:MrBigDog2U|MrBigDog2U]] ([[User talk:MrBigDog2U|talk]]) 15:30, 7 March 2013 (UTC)
: Whoa, that sounds like it would be an artist's Inception! [[User:Mr. I|Mr. I]] ([[User talk:Mr. I|talk]]) 01:41, 14 March 2013 (UTC)
:: But if he only claimed that he was painting it, but it turned out that he wasn't, that would be an artist's deception. [[User:Nyperold|Nyperold]] ([[User talk:Nyperold|talk]]) 20:41, 20 September 2016 (UTC)

410: Math Paper

2016-09-20T16:21:32Z

Nyperold: /* Explanation */ Just some proofreading

{{comic
| number = 410
| date = April 14, 2008
| title = Math Paper
| image = math_paper.png
| titletext = That's nothing. I once lost my genetics, rocketry, and stripping licenses in a single incident.
}}

==Explanation==
The math paper [[Cueball]] is in the process of describing in this comic, turns out to be nothing but an elaborate set up for a joke about {{w|imaginary friend}}s by taking the concept of "{{w|friendly number}}s" into the complex (imaginary) plane, which comprises complex numbers that have both a real and an imaginary part (see details [[#Math|below]]).

Cueball is challenged on this setup by his superiors, specifically the Cueball-like guy sitting at the end of the table, who look straight through his first line up for the joke, and ask him directly if this is just a build-up for this joke. Cueball tries at first to look like he has no idea what he's talking about, then lowers his head, in shame, and finally tries to state that ''it might not be'' such a setup. But it is too late now.

Such a pun is both so obvious and so terrible that Cueball's superiors, deem that he should no longer have a {{w|Licence to kill (concept)|license to ''math''}} and they thus revoke Cueballs "math license". Of course you do not need a math license, but that is part of the comic's concept along the lines mentioned here below and further elaborated in the title text.

It is a [[:Category:Banned from conferences|recurring theme]] in earlier xkcd comics that Cueball (or [[Randall]]) ends up being banned from holding presentations at conferences after a presentation turns out to be just an elaborate pun.

The title text takes the joke a step further, with the added hilarity of making the audience question exactly how Cueball/Randall was able to work a {{w|striptease}} into a presentation about {{w|genetic engineering}} and {{w|astrophysical}} rocket study (or possibly genetics and rockets into a striptease) and then even manage to lose all three licenses in one go. This is what TV Tropes calls a "[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NoodleIncident noodle incident]".

The whole comic is basically Randall who makes the joke that Cueball never got around to, but packing it up so we think it is about something else. Randall has often made such feeble jokes, but by putting them into a context where someone listening comment on how bad that joke is or have to explain the joke, it somehow becomes alright, and he can get away with these jokes anyway. (See for instance [[18: Snapple]]).

===Math===
An {{w|imaginary number}} is a number that can be written as a real number multiplied by the imaginary unit ''i'', which is defined by its property ''i2 = -1'' (an impossibility for regular, "{{w|real numbers}}", for which all squares are positive). The name "imaginary number" was coined in the 17th century as a derogatory term, since such numbers were regarded by some as fictitious or useless, but over time many applications in science and engineering have been found.

An imaginary number ''bi'' can be added to a real number ''a'' to form a {{w|complex number}} of the form ''a+bi'', (the formula shown at the bottom of Cueball's slide ), where ''a'' and ''b'' are called, respectively, the real part and the imaginary part of the complex number. If ''a'' and ''b'' are both integers, the complex number is called a {{w|Gaussian integer}} (as Cueball mentions). The {{w|complex plane}} is an X-Y plot with a on the X axis and b on the Y axis. (Such a plane is shown at the bottom of Cueball's slide).

Joel Bradbury (once) had the below cited and wonderful explanation of {{w|friendly number}}s on his site:

:What are Friendly Numbers?
:We need first to define a divisor function over the integers, written σ(n) if you're so inclined. To get it first we get all the integers that divide into n. So for 3, it's 1 and 3. For 4, it's 1, 2, and 4, and for 5 it's only 1 and 5.

:Now sum them to get σ(n). So σ(3) = 1 + 3 = 4, or σ(4) = 1 + 2 + 4 = 7, and so on.

:For each of these n, there is something called a characteristic ratio. Now that's just the divisors function over the integer itself: σ(n)/n. (This is the formula shown at the top of Cueball's slide). So the characteristic ratio where n = 6 is σ(6)/6 = 12/6 = 2.

:Once you have the characteristic ratio for any integer n, any other integers that share the same characteristic are called friendly with each other. (This is what is written in the frame in Cueball's slide, spelling friendly numbers as ''friendly #s''). So to put it simply a friendly number is any integer that shares its characteristic ratio with at least one other integer. The converse of that is called a solitary number, where it doesn't share its characteristic with anyone else.

:1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 are solitary. 6 is friendly with 28; σ(6)/6 = (1+2+3+6)/6 = 12/6 = 2 = 56/28 = (1+2+4+7+14+28)/28 = σ(28)/28.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball holding a pointing stick is using it to point at an equation on a panel. He is looking right. There several parts of the panel that can be read. At the top there is a formula. Below is a frame with text. Below again to the left is a X-Y plot with small dots all over all four quadrants, probably indicating the complex numbers with b on the Y and a on the X axis. Finally right of this is yet another formula.]
:Cueball: In my paper, I use an extension of the divisor function over the Gaussian integers to generalize the so-called "friendly numbers" into the complex plane.
:Panel:
::σ(n)/n = d(n)
::Friendly #s share d(n)
::For a + bi...

:[The audience to the right of Cueball consist of two Cueball-like guys (one in front and one in the back) and between them are Hairbun, with glasses, and Megan. They sit around a table, only Hairbun is on the near side. The Cueball-like guy sitting to the right is at the end of the table, the other two are on the far side. The Cueball at the end of the table is talking, the other three have turned to look at him:]
:Guy at the end of the table: Hold on. Is this paper simply a giant build-up to an "imaginary friends" pun?

:[Back to Cueball who stands speechless.]

:[One more beat panel with Cueball who now looks down.]

:[Zoom out to Cueball and the front end of the table with the Cueball-like guy who has not spoken yet and Hairbun who now looks at Cueball. Cueball looks up again and speaks. The guy at the end of the table speaks off panel.]
:Cueball: It might not be.
:Guy at the end of the table (off panel): I'm sorry, we're revoking your math license.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Banned from conferences]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Puns]]

Talk:140: Delicious

2016-09-20T15:28:38Z

Nyperold:

[[User:Rikthoff|Rikthoff]] ([[User talk:Rikthoff|talk]]) The issue date is definitely off. Can anyone fix?
:Fixed --[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 13:52, 14 August 2012 (UTC)

Also, my wife has a similar problem with cereal. She won't drink the milk after finishing the cereal, so she goes to get more milk. --[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 13:52, 14 August 2012 (UTC)

If you melt the cheese enough, it becomes a vi'''sc'''ous cycle. [[User:Alpha|Alpha]] ([[User talk:Alpha|talk]]) 04:41, 15 September 2013 (UTC)

:I wonder if anyone's ever been caught in a couscous cycle... [[User:Nyperold|Nyperold]] ([[User talk:Nyperold|talk]]) 15:28, 20 September 2016 (UTC)

The explanation states that a vicious cycle is a negative feedback loop while a virtuous cycle is a positive one. Actually, both are positive feedback loops, i.e. self-reinforcing ones. Vicious means that the results are negative, virtuous that the results are positive.

From the linked wikipedia page: The terms virtuous circle and vicious circle refer to complex chains of events which reinforce themselves through a feedback loop. A virtuous circle has favorable results, while a vicious circle has detrimental results. [...] Both circles are complexes of events with no tendency towards equilibrium (at least in the short run). Both systems of events have feedback loops in which each iteration of the cycle reinforces the previous one (positive feedback). [[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.121|173.245.53.121]] 23:55, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

The best way to break this is to remember that you can still eat the chips after using up the dip. {{unsigned ip|173.245.56.211}}

:Or you can drink the melted cheese after running out of chips. That's how you know you're an adult: nobody can stop you from drinking melted cheese. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.69|162.158.255.69]] 22:57, 16 September 2015 (UTC)

Talk:471: Aversion Fads

2016-07-03T07:07:12Z

Nyperold:

The inclusion of a Fox is notable, within the Furry community foxes are the most populous species [Citation: https://sites.google.com/site/anthropomorphicresearch/home ] and subjected to a degree of derision from other furs.

[[Special:Contributions/78.40.152.129|78.40.152.129]] 10:45, 12 January 2013 (UTC) Feefers (A Furry)

:Your mention of fox-morphism reminds me of {{w|Lady into Fox}}, from the 1920s... Probably not relevent, but perhaps interesting as a pre-Internet example that is not itself an ancient fable, legend or allegory. (No Rule 34ing, though, that I recall). [[Special:Contributions/178.107.249.215|178.107.249.215]] 22:22, 11 June 2013 (UTC)
::At that novel a lady suddenly turns into a real fox, this is not true for this comic. It's just the Furry community.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:02, 12 June 2013 (UTC)

Does anyone know if this is Randall's actual opinion of furries? I've wondered that ever since I first read this comic. [[User:Leafy Greens|Leafy Greens]] ([[User talk:Leafy Greens|talk]]) 15:37, 16 November 2014 (UTC)

It's possible that the "Hey, kid" line is a reference to the "Hey, kid, wanna yiff?" meme (possibly based on another, "hey kid, wanna see a dead body") which was made 4 months -1 day prior to this strip release, apparently for a furry pick-up line contest on FurAffinity [got this from knowyourmeme]. Also, the title " Aversion Fad" might be suggesting that the anti-Furry attitude/meme/whatever is just a fad or meme. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.158|108.162.237.158]] 19:27, 6 September 2015 (UTC)

It should be noted that Randall has particularly picked up on the furry stereotype than what furries actually are. [[User:International Space Station|International Space Station]] ([[User talk:International Space Station|talk]]) 01:45, 9 October 2015 (UTC)

I've been wanting to fix this for over a year. This comic is written about furries, so I only think it's fair that the explain is written by someone who actually knows about the furry fandom--you know, an *actual* furry who, you know, isn't into the sexual stuff, i.e. me. [[User:International Space Station|International Space Station]] ([[User talk:International Space Station|talk]]) 02:02, 9 October 2015 (UTC)

Fair, but the explanation is now much too long. Added incomplete tag as such. I really appreciate you trying to bring this more in line with reality, but we're not here to discuss culture, we're here to explain xkcd. If you disagree, feel free to remove the tag. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.91|199.27.128.91]] 04:22, 9 October 2015 (UTC)

I kept the explanation regarding furries, but moved it to a seperate section so it wouldn't interfere with the people who are here soley to look for an explanation of the actual comic. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.154|108.162.215.154]] 23:07, 11 October 2015 (UTC)

The obvious use being, of course, so you don't have to remove the suit to use the restrooms. ...Sexual purposes aside, there probably really are people who buy/make them for that particular convenience instead. [[User:Nyperold|Nyperold]] ([[User talk:Nyperold|talk]]) 07:07, 3 July 2016 (UTC)

Talk:422: A Better Idea

2016-06-27T20:00:39Z

Nyperold:

Why ''almost''? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.217|173.245.55.217]] 16:39, 4 December 2013 (UTC)BK
:Maybe because Cueball realizes that this prom brings him to an ordinary life, no LAN parties any more, but he just wants go back to that parties.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:58, 4 December 2013 (UTC)
:My guess is it's because high school itself isn't ''necessarily'' all that pleasant (though your mileage may vary); would you really enroll in four more years of high school just for a single LAN party in formal attire at the end? Even if you could be the appropriate age for the duration? The title text indicates that he doesn't ''quite'' consider the trade-off likely to be worth it. [[User:Nyperold|Nyperold]] ([[User talk:Nyperold|talk]]) 20:00, 27 June 2016 (UTC)

This could be looked at as exactly the reverse as well, and I don't see any clear way to pick one over the other as the intended meaning of the strip. Cueball could have simply dumped his date and gone to the LAN party. Now in hindsight he regrets that he chose the LAN party over the possibility of a continued relationship with his prom date. (Who we assume would have dumped him on the spot!)[[User:ExternalMonolog|ExternalMonolog]] ([[User talk:ExternalMonolog|talk]]) 21:27, 21 January 2014 (UTC)ExternalMonolog

Talk:1363: xkcd Phone

2016-06-15T19:42:38Z

Nyperold:

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.216|108.162.249.216]] 14:14, 4 August 2014 (UTC) Mobile phones haven't always been electronic. Remember the old 'bricks' from the '80s and '90s? More machine than computer.

This seems like an SCP artifact [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.220|108.162.249.220]] 10:09, 4 May 2014 (UTC)

^someone get on this, please [[User:Whiskey07|Whiskey07]] ([[User talk:Whiskey07|talk]]) 16:28, 6 May 2014 (UTC)

I really dislike the tone of the explanation. I mean it's so negative about the features! Not that they are all useful, but isn't this a wiki and should be neutral? It takes also the fun out of it. I would like a screaming while falling phone and the relativity thing would be great for teaching relativity! [[User:RecentlyChanged|RecentlyChanged]] ([[User talk:RecentlyChanged|talk]])

Where can i get one of these? :D [[User:UniTrader|UniTrader]] ([[User talk:UniTrader|talk]]) 04:11, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure the "scream when falling" thing and the "flightaware" stuff can be done somehow with Tasker. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.103.206|141.101.103.206]] 04:23, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

;Designer?

I suspect it was either Black Hat or Beret Guy, but I'm not sure which. A collaboration? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.45|173.245.54.45]] 04:47, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

This sounds like something straight out of aperture. {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.55}}

;Simulates alternate speeds of light

Yes, useless as a feature on all the time; but it would be a cool app. [[User:Markhurd|Mark Hurd]] ([[User talk:Markhurd|talk]]) 05:57, 2 May 2014 (UTC)
:Absolutely. Where can I get an app like that?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.225.157|108.162.225.157]] 06:22, 2 May 2014 (UTC)
::Here: [http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pandorica.xkcdclock XKCD Clock] [[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.114|173.245.53.114]] 16:11, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

Travelling at above the simulated speed of light should give an imaginary time dilation, not a negative time dilation.
gamma = 1/sqrt{1-v^2/c^2}
Thus, after such travel, the value of the clock would be a complex number. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.35|108.162.219.35]] 15:42, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

'''Changed the speed of light to 2.99x10^8'''
:You guys should probably clarify that the relativisic affects actually depend on how long your trip is or how long you wait to sync your phone. For relativity to be observable on a 12 hour trip, Minimum speed for a phone would have to be 300 m/s or 3000 m/s for the clock to measure even a microsecond/millisecond difference in time. This is well known thanks to the certain [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_dilation#Velocity_and_gravitational_time_dilation_combined-effect_tests time dilation experiments with planes]. Your GPS chip helps account for an error of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Error_analysis_for_the_Global_Positioning_System#Relativity 7 to 47 microseconds per day]. My point is in terms of time dilation, relativity mattering depends on how long a trip or waiting for synchronization is. By synching, I literally mean with the atomic time clock or with a GPS satellite. The synchronization of your phone with satellites is actually a couple of hundred microseconds, so normally even a light changing clock might not have as noticable changes as you might think. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.225|108.162.238.225]] 13:49, 2 May 2014 (UTC) --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.225|108.162.238.225]] 13:49, 2 May 2014 (UTC)
Yeah sorry forgot to login. does anyone know how to do the indices formatting other than eg 2.99x10(littlex) rather then 2.99x10^x? [[User:Jonv4n|Jonv4n]] ([[User talk:Jonv4n|talk]]) 06:29, 2 May 2014 (UTC)
: Whassup? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.89.220|141.101.89.220]] 07:43, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

; relativistic effect
Forgive me if I'm wrong, I'm not a physicist but the above explanation says that relativistic time dilation affects only occur at a significant fraction of the speed of light. It is my understanding that time dilation occurs at any speed, but is only perceptible/noticeable/measurable at very large fraction of the speed of light. Unless I'm mistaken the above it should reflect this. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.91|173.245.56.91]] 22:24, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

; putting "Relative" back into relativity
First time poster, please forgive my transgressions :)
My understanding regarding relativistic effects is that, for a given frame of reference (e.g. phone operator travelling at 0.9c) would be absolutely none. Relativistic effects (as I understand them) would only apply between two different frames of reference. The only effect I can see in this case is if you are moving towards, or away from the phone while operating, and red/blue shift of the radio frequencies. In general, wifi and bluetooth are used locally so wouldn't apply; only the phone network would be affected.

Also, perhaps the adjustable speed of light is a reference to the the game "A slower speed of light" by MIT Game Lab http://gamelab.mit.edu/games/a-slower-speed-of-light/ (in which you walk around collecting objects; each object slows light down, and increases relativistic effects).
[[User:Jaybee|Jaybee]] ([[User talk:Jaybee|talk]])

'''Phone may attract/trap insects; this is normal.'''
Funnier if you take it as a reference to the [http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/04/07/mazda_issues_recall_because_spiders_invade_fuel_tank_causing_fire_risk.html spider problems] Mazda keeps on having... {{unsigned ip|108.162.215.64}}

About the attracting insects ... I would expect this to be normal feature in night. Trapping, however ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 09:08, 2 May 2014 (UTC)
: There are other indications that the phone is at least partly biological, this being the strongest evidence of that. Insects could be the power source for the biological part(s). [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.45|173.245.54.45]] 14:07, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

This could also be a reference to computer bugs and the [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:H96566k.jpg Harvard Mark II]. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.249|199.27.128.249]] 08:31, 15 May 2014 (UTC)

'''Siri'''

Could the Siri bit be a reference to Portal? When I first read it, I remembered this GLaDOS quote: "Your Aperture Science Weighted Companion Cube will never threaten to stab you, and in fact cannot speak. If your Weighted Companion Cube does speak, please disregard its advice." Could be completely wrong; just a thought. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.51|173.245.54.51]] 10:09, 2 May 2014 (UTC)
:Perhaps Siri is beling likened to the "ATMOS" device in the Doctor Who episode "The Sontaran Stratagem" [[User:Esp666|Esp666]] ([[User talk:Esp666|talk]]) 11:20, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

Lamest. Comic. Ever. And I'm not just saying that because he doesn't mention the Ubuntu Touch OS. ''– [[User:Tbc|tbc]] ([[User talk:Tbc|talk]]) 12:22, 2 May 2014 (UTC)''

'''Realistic case'''

Car telephones and the first cellphones were rather expensive, at least in Germany fake "realistic cases" were sold without any working electronics in it. Usage was to impress silly friends. {{unsigned ip|173.245.52.204}}

I thought this was aimed at the iPhone. Apparently these have an elegant case, but I have never actually seen one. Everyone I know covers their iPhone with some hideous plastic monstrosity, since the design is not practical.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.59|108.162.218.59]] 14:10, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

Could possibly be a reference to the "Realistic" brand, which was used on various products sold by Radio Shack (U.S. electronics retail chain) from 1954 to some time in the '90s.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.76|108.162.219.76]] 16:14, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

I am not a native speaker of English. I thought the joke was on the double meaning of "case", meaning both "something that happened or might happen" (like "realistic scenario") and "something that covers something else". Does that make sense to you guys? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.17|108.162.219.17]] 10:06, 6 May 2014 (UTC)

'''Screaming when in free fall: my first Android app!'''

I love the bit about screaming when in free fall: that was the first Android app I hacked together back in 2009 (based on the tricorder app). [[User:Nealmcb|Nealmcb]] ([[User talk:Nealmcb|talk]]) 13:49, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

I actually made this app that simulates that [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.siluxmedia.frefall freeFall app][[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.32|108.162.212.32]] 19:03, 30 May 2014 (UTC)

'''Title Text'''

Hover-over title text was truncated; love it.
14:43, 2 May 2014 (UTC)[[User:Pocono Chuck|Pocono Chuck]] ([[User talk:Pocono Chuck|talk]])
: you must have an really old firefox browser -- you should update !!! [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.210|199.27.130.210]] 16:23, 2 May 2014 (UTC)
:: Happened to me. Using whatever the latest IE is at the moment. It cut off at nause-. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.54|173.245.54.54]] 17:13, 3 May 2014 (UTC)

'''Price includes 2-year Knicks contract.''' ... but a contract with the Knicks would only appeal to pro basketball players.

Nonsense. Lots of "regular" folks would buy this phone it it meant they got to play in the NBA. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.84|199.27.128.84]] 16:26, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

: I agree with this. A whole lot of people who think they have "skillz" would buy the phone if they got into the NBA. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.54|173.245.54.54]] 17:14, 3 May 2014 (UTC)

This may also be an indirect way of stating that it is incredibly expensive, seeing as those sort of contracts usually involve ''you'' getting compensated. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.33|108.162.216.33]] 13:41, 3 May 2014 (UTC)

"Your mobile world just went digital" is an inversion of the marketing-speak that was common when what we'd now regard as smartphones first began to be adopted by the mainstream (iPhone/G1 era, since Symbians, Blackberries, and early WinMo tended to be business or enthusiast devices). People already ubiquitously e-mailed, browsed the Web, etc...what was presented as 'new' was that you could now do it from your phone. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.58|173.245.54.58]] 19:09, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

I think the "Under certain circumstances, wireless transmitter may control God" statement might be a reference to how transmitting devices have to comply with FCC regulation and not interfere with aircraft or government communications. Perhaps this phone is intended to be noncompliant so as to control high-level electronics, even at supernatural levels. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.66|173.245.56.66]] 21:11, 2 May 2014 (UTC)Dbrak

'''Frictionless'''

You could hold a frictionless phone just by hooking your little finger under the bottom edge, regardless of friction gravity will hold it into your hand. Just like you could leave it in a bowl without it jumping out. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.72|108.162.229.72]] 19:12, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

Unless you held your pinky perfectly balanced, horizontal and motionless, a frictionless object would slide right off it, as it would off any flat surface that is not perfectly horizontal.
14:13, 3 May 2014 (UTC) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.4|108.162.242.4]] 13:15, 3 May 2014 (UTC)DCollins

Wouldn't you be able to hold it somewhat like a normal phone, if you hold a finger under the bottom of it? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.54|173.245.54.54]] 17:08, 3 May 2014 (UTC)

Saying a frictionless phone can't be held is like saying prisoners would slide out of prisons if they had frictionless surfaces. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.218|108.162.237.218]] 14:50, 4 May 2014 (UTC)

If it was frictionless, it would be only slightly harder to hold than a wet bar of soap. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.186|108.162.219.186]] 22:56, 22 September 2014 (UTC)

;Why the hell this funny phone isn't available at the xkcd store?
I would buy if the price would be in the range of other articles there. Just for fun...--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:30, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

'''Root needed'''

I think that needing root for ajust the volume may be a allusion people needing to root Android to change fonts or to take screenshots (untill version 4.x). [[User:FlavianusEP|FlavianusEP]] ([[User talk:FlavianusEP|talk]]) 23:04, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

'''Alternative meaning: The spirit of xkcd'''

I think there's a secondary possible interpretation for this comic -- that the various features of the phone represent the overall "spirit" or "attitude" of xkcd, in a way reminiscent of an early strip -- http://xkcd.com/207/ -- about "what xkcd means." More specifically, a common theme in xkcd is taking advanced concepts in science and technology, and applying them to whimsical, humorous, impractical, or outright impossible uses. Several of phone's features -- such as the simulated speed of light -- touch on the same theme. Wordplay, another common xkcd theme, is present as well; and the anthropomorphism of technology, along with making devices appear 'cute', is also present, and also is something that has come up in xkcd many times in the past.

The comic is called "xkcd Phone", after all -- I think simultaneously with being a parody of phone advertisements, the comic is also meant to show us what a phone that fits into the xkcd world would be like. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.114|108.162.241.114]] 17:52, 3 May 2014 (UTC)

I agree; it seems like a basic comic at first glance, but I'm wondering if there's a meta-meaning if you put all of the pieces together. Each feature, and warning, is a clue to the overarching purpose of the phone, or to the true joke that this phone embodies. [[User:Imtrbl|imtrbl]] ([[User talk:Imtrbl|talk]]) 19:11, 8 May 2014 (UTC)

'''Blowing out candles....'''

For the birthday candles thing: I do remember seeing a video ad for an app back when the iphone was first opened up to outside developers that would turn the phone into a fan, and it demonstrated that it was strong enough to blow out a birthday candle. Seemed quite useless at the time. Still does today for that matter {{unsigned ip|108.162.215.47}}

'''Side-facing camera'''

I thought the joke here was that the camera ''only'' contained a side-facing camera rather than a side camera in addition to a front and back camera. While you can see the camera on the side, you don't see a camera on the front and they don't talk about a rear camera. It'd be pretty annoying to use a side-facing camera for anything but the surreptitious case you described. [[User:S|S]] ([[User talk:S|talk]]) 16:58, 4 May 2014 (UTC)

'''Do not submerge in water'''

I assumed this was also referencing the 4chan, etc pranks with the waterproof iPhone [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.79|173.245.55.79]] 18:41, 5 May 2014 (UTC)

'''Wireless'''

A completely wireless phone would not be unuseable. The only wire phones need nowadays is for recharging their battery, but this can be done by induction, like with the Qi system with which some Nokia and Google (Nexus) phones are compatible. [[User:Zoyd|Zoyd]] ([[User talk:Zoyd|talk]]) 12:25, 6 May 2014 (UTC)

'''FoxTrot reference?''' I think this one could be a reference to th J-Pad in the foxtrot webcomic http://www.foxtrot.com/2012/03/03042012/ . Foxtrot's author has already published a guest comic for XKCD a few years ago, so Randall should know about it. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.203|108.162.212.203]] 16:31, 11 May 2014 (UTC)

'''Cell Phones Cure Cancer?'''

I know, I know, the editor who added "makes fun of the WHO claiming that cell phones might cause cancer despite huge studies showing the opposite" probably didn't mean that, but it's kind of amusing to interpret it that way. [[User:Nyperold|Nyperold]] ([[User talk:Nyperold|talk]]) 19:42, 15 June 2016 (UTC)

Talk:725: Literally

2015-12-21T04:01:59Z

Nyperold:

What does it mean to be figuratively glued to one's seat?--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.214.30|108.162.214.30]] 17:23, 31 May 2014 (UTC)
:It means that you are so fascinated by something that you just don't want to leave your seat because you might miss something – you're "glued" to your seat. [[User:Mezgrman|Mezgrman]] ([[User talk:Mezgrman|talk]]) 13:15, 21 June 2014 (UTC)

They should really clean those seats of soda and snacks.

Also, this means that, given a few assumptions, they are in their early 30s in the "present" of this particular strip. [[User:Nyperold|Nyperold]] ([[User talk:Nyperold|talk]]) 04:01, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

Talk:735: Floor

2015-11-20T06:19:24Z

Nyperold:

Is the kid on the right standing in the lava, or is the little square mat around him supposed to be a raft or something? [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 10:53, 2 November 2012 (UTC)

:Do you mean left? If it's the kid on the left, I think that according to the rules of childhood, standing on a rug can count as not being on the "floor" of course it depends on the rules you're playing by, but I think that's what's happening. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 16:24, 2 November 2012 (UTC)

Why has nobody mentioned the film about the volcano... called... oh, yes, "Volcano". Tommy-Lee Jones (with help!) used dynamite and water and all kinds of other tricks to basically save... Los Angeles, wasn't it? Also, while Concorde is a nice mention (I miss it), apart from the dubious distinction of being grounded it's not really overly relevent to Volcanoes or even an air-space lock-down, is it? A more blanket grounding of planes could be mentioned and/or referenced, such as immediately post-9/11 over the US or even the larger, trans-European-and-beyond, grounding of planes due to the whole Icelandic thing which actually applies even ''more'' directly, and is probably more likely what is actually being alluded to.

Also, while I don't think I played 'Volcano', by that name, the rules I know for games like this are that the 'bare' floor (floorboards, linoleum, fitted carpet, tiles, whatever it is) is indeed magma, shark-infested ocean, electrified, an infinitely deep chasm or whatever the current make-believe is, with chairs, tables, rugs or even the likes of discarded socks (mostly things 'pre-deployed' prior to the start of the game, rather than placed as the need becomes apparent to 'bridge' a 'gap') being safe islands or platforms or similar for the purposes of the 'game environment'. Of course the mutability of said rules is probably typical of such childhood nomics, and so of course YMMV. [[Special:Contributions/31.111.2.74|31.111.2.74]] 21:40, 6 May 2013 (UTC)

When I was in CIT at summer camp (some years ago now), we were told not to tell kids (so as to make-believe) that the floor was lava because some children actually did feel anxiety about the ordeal (paired with other children clearly having fun worsening the matter). We were instructed to use alternatives such as non-shark-infested water, paint, having cooties, or peanut butter (because of allergies), the last of which I didn't understand/agree with as an adequate alternative under the original argument. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.43|108.162.216.43]] 19:37, 3 January 2014 (UTC)

:Yeah, that's kind of... what would that imply? For non-sufferers, it's at worst a little icky to walk in and ickier to contemplate eating if people have been stepping in it; for the most sensitive of sufferers, the only safe place is out of the room. (Of course "the floor is lava" already implies that convection doesn't exist within the confines of the game; perhaps airborne allergens don't, in that version?) [[User:Nyperold|Nyperold]] ([[User talk:Nyperold|talk]]) 06:19, 20 November 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1417: Seven

2015-07-24T18:14:35Z

Nyperold:

Guacamole = 7-layer dip ingredient
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.81|108.162.215.81]] 05:08, 5 September 2014 (UTC)Anonymous XKCD reader

Seventh Seal more likely to be a reference to Book of Revelation (I think he's brought it up before?) or the film? [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.96|199.27.133.96]] 05:17, 5 September 2014 (UTC)

Arctic Ocean is one of the modern Seven "Seas" of the world.
Green is the 4th color of seven in the Arthur Hamilton song "I Can Sing a Rainbow". {{unsigned ip|108.162.249.212}}

I guess the title text is a play on the fact that the dwarves in the new {{w|Snow White (2001 film)}} are called Monday, Tuesday, ... That is the connection between Snow White dwarves and days of the week. The filmmakers decided to intermix sets of seven in the first place. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.90|108.162.254.90]] 06:27, 5 September 2014 (UTC)

There could be a pattern with order.

*Sneezy: 1st dwarf of the seven dwarves in Snow White.
*Phylum: 2nd rank in the Seven Taxonomic Ranks
*Europe: 3rd continent of the world
*Sloth: 4th sin of the Seven Deadly Sin
*Guacamole: 5th Layer in a 7 Layer Bean Dip
*Data Link: 6th Layer in the OSI Model
*Collosus of Rhodes: 7th Wonder of the Ancient World

*Monday: 1st Day of the Week (American).
*Arctic: 2nd ocean in the modern Seven "Seas" of the world.
*Wellesley: 3rd college of the Seven Sister colleges
*Green: 4th color in the Arthur Hamilton song "I Can Sing a Rainbow".
*Electra: 5th sister of the Pleiades, the Seven Sisters.
*Synergize: 6th Habit in the Stephen R. Covey self-help book "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People".
*Seventh Seal: 7th Seal of the Seven Seals in the Book of Revelations

{{unsigned ip|108.162.249.212}}

:The list on the page needs to be fixed to show Europe third. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.213|141.101.99.213]] 11:15, 5 September 2014 (UTC)

The Pleiades is Randall's favorite constellation. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.161|108.162.237.161]] 08:40, 5 September 2014 (UTC)
:It says so [http://xkcd.com/about/ here]. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.161|108.162.237.161]] 20:16, 6 September 2014 (UTC)

It sure is nice seeing the explanation getting more refined and complete every time I visit... [[Special:Contributions/103.22.201.168|103.22.201.168]] 10:37, 5 September 2014 (UTC)
::There is not pattern like the one mentioned above. The first dwarf in Disney is always the leader Doc! even alphabetically. There is no reason to put Europe third, Arctic 2nd, Electra 5th or the Colossus 7th. Data Link is the 2nd although you usually put them in reverse making it the 6th (and in America first day is Sunday!). This I have corrected and made a table more for the Title text [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:35, 8 September 2014 (UTC)
:::Doc may be the leader, and (hierarchically) first of the seven, but in my experience it's Doc who is often the forgotten one (unless remembered ''specifically'' for being forgotten) when someone is challenged to name the seven dwarves... E.g. "Happy, Sleepy, Dopey, Sneezy, Grumpy... erm... Bashful... oh... don't tell me..." (Bashful being the one those who specifically remember Doc tend to forget, unless they've got over this alternative memetic stumbling block.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.233|141.101.98.233]] 23:58, 8 September 2014 (UTC)
::::In the Disney (1937) version, Snow White guesses the names of the dwarves in the following order: Doc, Bashful, Sleepy, Sneezy, Happy, Dopey, and Grumpy. --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.25|173.245.55.25]] 17:00, 18 September 2014 (UTC)

I've always been told there are only six continents. North America and South America are one continent. The seventh continent sometimes refers to this gigantic area filled with plastic rubbish in the Pacific Ocean. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.143|108.162.229.143]] 11:47, 5 September 2014 (UTC)
: See here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uBcq1x7P34 But no one talks about the Great Pacific garbage patch as a continent. 7 continents is the most common model, with some (mainly Latin Americans) considering the Americas a single continent. Some others consider Eurasia a single continent (personally that's what I prefer, it makes the most sense). --[[User:Zagorath|Zagorath]] ([[User talk:Zagorath|talk]]) 12:12, 5 September 2014 (UTC)
: I've only ever heard folks say there are seven continents. By strict definition of the word, North and South America do form a single continent (at least did prior to the Panama Canal cutting them apart) the vast majority of people see then as two separate continents. Dividing the Eurasian landmass in two, however, that one never made much sense. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.117|199.27.128.117]] 16:53, 5 September 2014 (UTC)

: I think the garbage patch confusion stems from the mislabeled picture of a bunch of floating garbage. In fact it's very spread out and in no way possible to confuse with a landmass. See [http://io9.com/5911969/lies-youve-been-told-about-the-pacific-garbage-patch http://io9.com/5911969/lies-youve-been-told-about-the-pacific-garbage-patch] --[[User:JSekula71|JSekula71]] ([[User talk:JSekula71|talk]]) 08:46, 6 September 2014 (UTC)

Guacamole may also be a reference to a famous joke which made the rounds about 15 years ago, where somebody had compared the 7 layers of the OSI network model to Taco Bell's 7-layer burrito. Guacamole was the 5th layer, which lends credence to this idea. It's still available on the WayBack Machine: http://web.archive.org/web/19990826193318/http://www.europa.com/~dogman/osi/ [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.151|108.162.219.151]] 11:59, 5 September 2014 (UTC)

I suspect Electra is from the list of extant complete plays of Sophocles: Ajax, Antigone, The Women of Trachis, Oedipus the King, Electra, Philoctetes and Oedipus at Colonus. [[User:Besimmons|Besimmons]] ([[User talk:Besimmons|talk]]) 13:42, 5 September 2014 (UTC)

I find it interesting that although Randall is American he lists Monday as the first day of the week. That's where it's positioned in most cultures outside the USA, but Americans normally consider Sunday to be the first day. --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 13:51, 5 September 2014 (UTC)
: I can't speak for anyone outside the US, but as someone who has spent 99.9% of my life within US borders (few weeks in Canada, if you think that should essentially count...), I only acknowledge that the first day listed on any monthly calendar I see around here is most often Sunday. If you were to ask me what the first day of the week is, I would very quickly and easily say "Monday". That is what I'm teaching my 4- and 2-year olds... There are a few reasons I would give to explain that other than "I think of it as the first day of the week". It's the first work day of the "work week", and since life is for most people centered around one form of work or another, that gives the "work week" high importance. By extension, Sunday is the last day in the "weekend". By Judeo-Christian beliefs, God rested on the "seventh" Day - most Christians believe that to be Sunday; others (I believe mostly Jewish) believe it to be Saturday - I think, though that even those who consider Saturday to be a holy day, if you were to ask them in casual conversation what the first day of the week is (I may be wrong, but), I think they would say "Monday"... (?) Any other "Americans" or "Non-Americans" (I'd ask for you to clearly identify with one or the other) want to weight in on this? - [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 15:51, 5 September 2014 (UTC)
::I wouldn't make any guesses about what "most Christians" believe, but scholars clearly agree that Saturday (beginning sundown on Friday evening) is the seventh day, and Sunday is the first day (the "Lord's Day"). The reason for the shift isn't so clear, but they generally agree with the Jews about the numbering of the days, and even that the boundary between days happens at sunset: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabbath_in_Christianity [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.11|108.162.241.11]] 14:39, 9 September 2014 (UTC)
:::The reason claimed for the shift is because Jesus rose on the first day of the week, though the only thing that's made explicit is that the tomb was discovered empty on that day. But even at that, He made no command to change Sabbaths or replace it with a Sabbath equivalent. There are scriptures which many Christians often claim indicate that the disciples changed it -- one about a collection being taken up then and one about them meeting then -- but nothing clarifying that that was the intent. By the by, "The Lord's Day" is used once in the Bible, in Revelation, but left undefined. It is most commonly interpreted as Sunday for the earlier reason, but it could as easily be interpreted as the already-existing Sabbath, as He'd said He's "Lord of the Sabbath", or even equivalent to "The Day of the Lord", an eschatological term, which would be appropriate considering the book in which it appears. Also, having read up on the ISO standard week, the new numbering -- as in, only a few decades old -- is to make the week "labor-oriented", i.e., put the working days first. And since the majority of people treat Sunday as the weekly day of rest, people moved it to last. But before people started treating it as such, the numbering was already labor-oriented, with Saturday, the Sabbath, as the seventh day. [[User:Nyperold|Nyperold]] ([[User talk:Nyperold|talk]]) 18:14, 24 July 2015 (UTC)
::I can't really comment on anything talked about by Brettpeirce, but I can say a few words about the "first day of the week" problem as seen by a computer programmer. It causes huge problems when your program displays a calendar because you have to take into account that Americans want it one way and most other people want it a different way. And supposedly simple things like scheduling an appointment "first work day next week" has a completely different result if it is done on a Sunday in the USA or on a Sunday in Europe. And then there's the problem of week numbers (used a lot in Europe but not so much in the USA). Week numbers depend on which week is designated as the first week of the year, which in most countries is defined as the first week with at least 4 days in the year. Now if January 3rd is Sunday, then in the USA it is the start of week 1, while in Europe it is the last day of the last week of the previous year (week 52 or 53). It's enough to drive you to drink (which is OK on Sunday some places but not others). --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 20:36, 5 September 2014 (UTC)
:::Oh, and then there are the incompatibilities in programming languages. American-developed computer languages like C and Basic and C++ and C# number the week days 0 - 6 meaning Sunday - Saturday. Meanwhile Java numbers week days 1 - 7 meaning Sunday - Saturday, except that the newest version, Java 8, has improved date/time facilities, and if you use them then week days are numbered 1 - 7 meaning Monday - Sunday. --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 20:52, 5 September 2014 (UTC)

I find instead interesting that he makes no mention of the seven notes, while mentioning other sets less ubiquitous --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.163|108.162.229.163]] 14:13, 5 September 2014 (UTC)

OMFG, the second picture of a dwarf in the list is Dopey, why the hell did somebody say it's Fievel!? http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=seven+dwarfs+dopey&qpvt=Seven+Dwarves+Dopey&FORM=IGRE
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.40|108.162.216.40]] 19:44, 5 September 2014 (UTC)
:The Dwarfs here are drawn somewhat off-model, with bigger noses than in Disney artwork. Perhaps someone is confusing the second figure's nose, which is drawn much larger than Dopey's, with Fievel's other ear. It's similar to the [http://www.funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/1543622/Gardevoir/ Gardevoir nose illusion]. --[[User:Tepples|Tepples]] ([[User talk:Tepples|talk]]) 20:16, 5 September 2014 (UTC)
::To be fair, the dwarves are more on-model than the people. -[[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.186|173.245.56.186]] 03:09, 6 September 2014 (UTC)

Arctic is the second ocean alphabetically. Someone should change the list to reflect that, I think. [[User:Zweisteine|Zweisteine]] ([[User talk:Zweisteine|talk]]) 19:53, 5 September 2014 (UTC)

Re the "trivia" note suggesting Arctic is a deliberate mistake for Antartica in the list of continents: Even if I thought Randall might be including deliberate mistakes, it is unlikely he'd use the continents as a list in the title. He already used them in the main comic, and he didn't repeat any other sevens. [[User:MGK|MGK]] ([[User talk:MGK|talk]]) 14:12, 6 September 2014 (UTC)

Did anyone else come here because the one thing they didn't get was guacamole? And now feel like, "duhhh?" [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.199|108.162.212.199]] 16:36, 6 September 2014 (UTC)

So how many continents are there really https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uBcq1x7P34 [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 23:54, 6 September 2014 (UTC)

The stated order of 7-layer dip in the table is all wrong. Cheese goes on top, then sour cream, and the rest doesn't matter. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.183|199.27.128.183]] 03:50, 9 September 2014 (UTC)

The Fields medallist Vladimir Voevodsky used this in a recent talk on the foundations of mathematics https://github.com/vladimirias/2014_Paul_Bernays_Lectures/blob/master/2014_09_Bernays_3%20presentation.pdf, to illustrate the abstract concept of set. {{unsigned ip|108.162.250.219}}

Talk:1554: Spice Girls

2015-07-24T17:37:55Z

Nyperold:

Is this a reference to "seven"[https://xkcd.com/1417/]?{{unsigned|199.27.128.224|01:48, 22 July 2015}}

*Brother, who art thou? [[User:Nk22|The Twenty-second. The Not So Only. The Nathan/Nk22]] ([[User talk:Nk22|talk]]) 06:48, 22 July 2015 (UTC)

*It is certainly reminiscent; I thought of it immediately upon seeing this one. [[User:Nyperold|Nyperold]] ([[User talk:Nyperold|talk]]) 17:37, 24 July 2015 (UTC)

(above is not me)I think that the final frame may also be a single element of different sets: Gender {properties of a noun/pronoun, such as case and number}, Baleen {types of whales} are relatively clear the others I can only guess (POG {#1 games of the '90s}?(pretty wild guess), story {if it were "plot" or "setting/scene" I'd guess "elements of a story", but I don't know what "story" could be an element of}, Sarah could either be of biblical significance (mothers of Abrahamic nations?) or popular name significance--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.26|173.245.52.26]] 06:14, 22 July 2015 (UTC)

Is it just me, a coincidence, or did Randall use the "90's Theme" quite often, lately? [[1546: Tamagotchi Hive]], [[1548: 90s Kid]], [[1552: Rulebook]] and this one are all about things more or less popular in the 90's [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 07:56, 22 July 2015 (UTC)
:Pretty sure he's made 90s references since the beginning since he is a 90s kid himself. Possibly that there's been a higher density of them because something came up that gave him a bunch of ideas. Sometimes I'll see him reference something in his What-If articles which he will then use for another comic shortly after. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.5|108.162.212.5]] 19:15, 22 July 2015 (UTC)

I think this is a reference to J.L. Borges' [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestial_Emporium_of_Benevolent_Knowledge Celestial Emporium of Benevolent Knowledge], a supposed Chinese manuscript in which animals are divided into categories that seem to us to be completely crazy. Borges is trying to get us to imagine a culture that would find such categorization natural, and hence show how our own ways of organizing the world might seem crazy from the outside. If this is correct (and not just a massive overintellectualization!) Randall is showing us the madness of dividing women into ginger/scary/baby/sporty/posh, and hence the madness of pop culture. Whether this is the intent or not, reading Borges is Not Optional! [[User:Timband|Timband]] ([[User talk:Timband|talk]]) 10:41, 22 July 2015 (UTC)

Someone should add a reference to the Spice Girl #1511 comic, aside from "not to be confused with..." [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.107|108.162.254.107]] 11:16, 22 July 2015 (UTC)

Track Spice, Bristol Spice, Willow Spice, Piper Spice, and Trig Spice? [[User:Okofish|Okofish]] ([[User talk:Okofish|talk]]) 17:08, 22 July 2015 (UTC)

Isn't the spelling Space Girls? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.43|162.158.92.43]] 09:39, 23 July 2015 (UTC)