https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=OtherPlayersexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2026-04-20T17:08:39ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2621:_Mainly_Known_For&diff=2704682621: Mainly Known For2022-05-19T05:33:13Z<p>OtherPlayers: Undo revision 270467 by 162.158.107.30 (talk)</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2621<br />
| date = May 18, 2022<br />
| title = Mainly Known For<br />
| image = mainly_known_for.png<br />
| titletext = Oh sure, I know Keira Knightly, from the first movie in that series by The Land Before Time producer. You know, the franchise with the guy from Jurassic Park and Ghostwriter, and script work by Billie Lourd's mom?<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by that guy from NASA, what was his name? Something Munroe - Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
Megan points out an uncanny resemblance between someone's dad and {{w|Steve Jobs}}. However, she has trouble remembering Jobs's name. Frequently, when people can't remember a celebrity's name, they will point out other works they are known for in hopes someone else will recognize them from that and remind them of the name{{citation needed}}. While these associations are often prone to the {{w|Mandela effect}}, Megan's information about the celebrities is, in fact, correct, but apparently not what those people are best known for.<br />
<br />
Megan refers to Jobs as "the Pixar guy". Jobs is mainly known for (hence the comic's title) being the co-founder and twice CEO of {{w|Apple Inc.|Apple Computer}}, but in the late 1980s and early 1990s (between his stints at Apple), he was the chairman of Pixar Animation Studios, which is what Megan knows him for. <br />
<br />
Cueball points out that Megan's tendency to avoid the "main" association and instead go with a much more secondary one is weird, which confuses her. To demonstrate how weird her associations are, Cueball asks her, "Who is {{w|John Lennon}}?" Lennon is a famous songwriter who played and wrote for {{w|The Beatles}} before they broke up, and later continued on a solo music career. Megan recognizes Lennon as a musical artist, but is unable to remember the name of The Beatles. She instead asks about the band he was in with {{w|Ringo Starr}}. Ringo, however, is not mainly memorable to her for his role in The Beatles, but rather as Mr. Conductor from the first season of the 1989 children's television show {{w|Shining Time Station}}. The Beatles' fame seems to have escaped Megan, which vexes Cueball.<br />
<br />
Hoping to show that she really does know Lennon and that her associations aren't weird, she points out that she remembers {{w|Fame (David Bowie song)|Fame}}, a 1975 song that he co-wrote with {{w|David Bowie}} and performed backing vocals and guitar on. She is, however, again unable to remember Bowie's name, recognizing him for his acting roles in ''Labyrinth'' and ''Zoolander,'' rather than his more famous musical career (such as his smash hits {{w|Space Oddity}} or {{w|Let's Dance (David Bowie song)|Let's Dance}}).<br />
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Sensing Cueball's annoyance, she attempts to excuse herself by saying ''Zoolander'' came out a long time ago, during the {{w|Presidency of George W. Bush}}. ''Zoolander'' was indeed released in 2001. Apparently unable, again, to remember the president's name, she identifies him as "{{w|Jenna Bush}}'s dad". Jenna Bush is a TV personality and much less widely known than her father{{citation needed}}. <br />
<br />
The title text refers to the PBS children's series ''Ghostwriter'', previously featured in [[130: Julia Stiles]], which described a scene from the show as "the best thing ever to appear on TV".<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:Megan: ...And her dad looks ''exactly'' like the Pixar guy. Steve what's-his-name? Jobs?<br />
:Cueball: "Pixar guy"?<br />
:Cueball: You always know famous people for such weird reasons.<br />
<br />
:Megan: What do you mean?<br />
:Cueball: Who is John Lennon?<br />
:Megan: Wasn't he in a band? With Ringo from ''Shining Time Station''.<br />
:Cueball: How is ''that'' your main association?<br />
<br />
:Megan: I also know he once did a song with the guy from Labyrinth!<br />
:Cueball: You mean David Bowie? I think he's famous for some other stuff, too.<br />
<br />
:Megan: Oh yeah, he was also in Zoolander!<br />
:Megan: I forgot that movie, it came out back when Jenna Bush's dad was president.<br />
:[Cueball facepalms]<br />
:Cueball: ''*SIGH*''<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>OtherPlayers