explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

473: Still Raw

2016-01-24T12:34:21Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */ extra words not conveying more information

{{comic
| number = 473
| date = September 8, 2008
| title = Still Raw
| image = still raw.png
| titletext = We actually divorced once over the airplane/treadmill argument. (Preemptive response to the inevitable threads arguing about it: you're all wrong on the internet.)
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] has been thrown out of his house because he believes that {{w|Pluto}} should never have been a {{w|planet}}. Pluto was considered "the ninth planet" in our {{w|solar system}} between 1930 and 2006. (Jupiter was thought to be the ninth planet [http://spaceweather.com/swpod2006/13sep06/Pollock1.jpg from 1807 to 1845.)] In 2006 the {{w|IAU}} reclassified Pluto as a {{w|dwarf planet}}. The reasons are {{w|IAU_definition_of_planet|complicated}}, but the basic issue is that like {{w|1 Ceres|Ceres}}, {{w|2 Pallas|Pallas}}, {{w|3 Juno|Juno}}, and {{w|4 Vesta|Vesta}}, Pluto is too small to {{w|clearing the neighbourhood|function as a planet}} in the solar system. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_2gbGXzFbs Here is a good explanation.]

In the title text, the airplane/treadmill argument starts when someone asks whether an airplane can take off while it is on a treadmill that is opposing its progress (pulling it backward). The question usually leads to arguments because it is posed ambiguously. Properly defining the question shows that the airplane can indeed take off (because its forward motion is provided by its propeller/jet engine, not its wheels, which are free to spin at any speed) and experiments (such as Mythbusters') bear this out.

http://blog.xkcd.com/2008/09/09/the-@#$%&!-airplane-on-the-@#$%&!-treadmill/

http://www.airplaneonatreadmill.com/

The statement about being wrong is likely a reference to [[386: Duty Calls]]

==Transcript==
:[Cueball laying on sidewalk outside a house, surrounded by his belongings.]
:She threw me out yelling, "You don't say those words. Not in ''this'' house."
:It's been two years. I thought the wounds had healed.
:But I stand by what I said.
:Pluto never should have been a planet.

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

1583: NASA Press Conference

2015-09-28T23:55:16Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1583
| date = September 28, 2015
| title = NASA Press Conference
| image = nasa_press_conference.png
| titletext = Why are we spending billions to ruin Mars with swarms of robots when Elon Musk has promised to ruin Mars for a FRACTION of the cost?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Explain each of Beret Guy's questions. Also, what inane questions did real life reporters ask?}}
This comic is a reference to the press conference held by NASA on 28th September 2015, (the same day this comic is published), which confirmed the existence of liquid water at the surface of Mars. The comic was posted before the NASA press conference was held, although speculation about the announcement had already occurred.

The "questions" portion of the press conference is derailed by [[Beret Guy]], acting as a reporter for a network known only as "The News". He first comments he is holding a microphone so he is "real loud now." He then asks how this relates to other fields like medicine and sports. This may seem like an intelligent comment but the fields he mentions don't change at all with liquid water being on Mars. Afterwards he asks if Mars has been "ruined" by getting wet, or if Mars will be okay when it dries out. (Some things, e.g. indoor furniture, can be damaged by water, but Mars is not one of those things.) When asked if he has any other questions he asks why {{w|Luke Skywalker|Luke}} was being hassled at the {{w|Mos Eisley Cantina}}. This causes the other reporters to forget their original questions and to join in on the irrelevant discussion, much to the dismay of the NASA scientist.

This is probably meant to mock previous NASA press conferences, where reporters have asked inane questions that reveal their total ignorance of the field.

The title text refers to Elon Musk, who suggested [http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/11/us/elon-musk-mars-nuclear-bomb-colbert-feat/ nuking Mars] as a faster way of warming it up to make it habitable.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:[Cueball is standing at a podium with the NASA logo on it]
:Cueball: That concludes the press conference. Any questions?
:Cueball: Yes, you, from... it just says "The News"?

:[Beret Guy is standing in a crowd holding a microphone]
:Beret Guy: Hi! I have a microphone so I'm real loud now.
:Beret Guy: How does this Mars data compare to data from other fields? Like medicine? Or sports?

:Cueball (offscreen): That question makes no sense.
:Beret Guy: If there's water on Mars, is it ruined?
:Beret Guy: Or will it be okay when it dries out?
:Cueball (offscreen): Any ''other'' questions?

:[The shot zooms out, now showing both Cueball at the podium and the crowd]
:Beret Guy: What were those guys hassling Luke in the Mos Eisley Cantina trying to accomplish? I felt like I was supposed to understand that.
:Cueball: Anyone ''else?''
:Ponytail: That's now my question, too.
:Megan: Were they just picking a fight?
:Ponytail: If so, why did...

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]

1583: NASA Press Conference

2015-09-28T23:54:04Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */ some things can be damaged by water

{{comic
| number = 1583
| date = September 28, 2015
| title = NASA Press Conference
| image = nasa_press_conference.png
| titletext = Why are we spending billions to ruin Mars with swarms of robots when Elon Musk has promised to ruin Mars for a FRACTION of the cost?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Explain each of Beret Guy's questions. Also, what inane questions did real life reporters ask?}}
This comic is a reference to the press conference held by NASA on 28th September 2015, (the same day this comic is published), which confirmed the existence of liquid water at the surface of Mars. The comic was posted before the NASA press conference was held, although speculation about the announcement had already occurred.

The "questions" portion of the press conference is derailed by [[Beret Guy]], acting as a reporter for a network known only as "The News". He first comments he is holding a microphone so he is "real loud now." He then asks how this relates to other fields like medicine and sports. This may seem like an intelligent comment but the fields he mentions don't change at all with liquid water being on Mars. Afterwards he asks if Mars has been "ruined" by getting wet, or if Mars will be okay when it dries out. When asked if he has any other questions he asks why {{w|Luke Skywalker|Luke}} was being hassled at the {{w|Mos Eisley Cantina}}. This causes the other reporters to forget their original questions and to join in on the irrelevant discussion, much to the dismay of the NASA scientist.

This is probably meant to mock previous NASA press conferences, where reporters have asked inane questions that reveal their total ignorance of the field.

The title text refers to Elon Musk, who suggested [http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/11/us/elon-musk-mars-nuclear-bomb-colbert-feat/ nuking Mars] as a faster way of warming it up to make it habitable.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:[Cueball is standing at a podium with the NASA logo on it]
:Cueball: That concludes the press conference. Any questions?
:Cueball: Yes, you, from... it just says "The News"?

:[Beret Guy is standing in a crowd holding a microphone]
:Beret Guy: Hi! I have a microphone so I'm real loud now.
:Beret Guy: How does this Mars data compare to data from other fields? Like medicine? Or sports?

:Cueball (offscreen): That question makes no sense.
:Beret Guy: If there's water on Mars, is it ruined?
:Beret Guy: Or will it be okay when it dries out?
:Cueball (offscreen): Any ''other'' questions?

:[The shot zooms out, now showing both Cueball at the podium and the crowd]
:Beret Guy: What were those guys hassling Luke in the Mos Eisley Cantina trying to accomplish? I felt like I was supposed to understand that.
:Cueball: Anyone ''else?''
:Ponytail: That's now my question, too.
:Megan: Were they just picking a fight?
:Ponytail: If so, why did...

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]

977: Map Projections

2015-09-28T23:48:50Z

Pesthouse: /* Hobo-Dyer */ this comic does not mention Tumblr or "social justice"

{{comic
| number = 977
| date = November 14, 2011
| title = Map Projections
| image = map_projections.png
| titletext = What's that? You think I don't like the Peters map because I'm uncomfortable with having my cultural assumptions challenged? Are you sure you're not... ::puts on sunglasses:: ...projecting?
}}
__TOC__
==Explanation==
{{w|Map projection}}, or how to represent the spherical Earth surface onto a flat support (paper, screen...) to have a usable map, is a long-time issue with very practical aspects (navigation, geographical shapes and masses visualization, etc.) as well as very scientific/mathematical ones, involving geometry or even abstract algebra among other things. There is no universal solution to this problem: Any 2D map projection will always distort in a way the spherical reality. Many projections have been proposed in various contexts, each intending to minimize distortions for specific uses (for nautical navigation, for aerial navigation, for landmass size comparisons, etc.) but having drawbacks from other points of view. Some of them are more frequently used than others in mass media and therefore more well-known than others, some are purely historical and now deprecated, some are very obscure, etc.

[[Randall]] suggests here the idea that someone's "favorite" map projection can reveal aspects of their personality, then goes through a series of them to show what they can mean:

===Mercator===
[[File:MercatorProjection.jpg|frame|The Mercator projection]]
The {{w|Mercator projection}} was introduced by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569. The main purpose of this map is that at any point the vertical and horizontal scales are the same, so locally i.e. considering only a small part of the map, geographical features (shapes, angles) are well represented, which helps a lot in recognizing them on-the-field, or for local navigation in that small part only. For this reason, that projection (or a close variant) is used in several online mapping services, such as Google Maps, which means that it is frequently encountered by the general public. No angle distortion also means that a straight line on the map corresponds to a course of constant bearing (direction), which was very useful for nautical navigation in the past (and thus made that projection very well-known).

However, from a global point of view, this projection is radically incorrect in how it shows the size of landmasses (for instance Antarctica or Greenland seem gigantic), and furthermore, it always excludes a small region around each pole (otherwise the map would be of infinite height), so it doesn't provide a complete solution for the problem of map projection. The comic implies that people who like that projection aren't very interested with map issues, and typically use what they are offered without thinking much about it.

{{clear}}

===Van der Grinten===
[[File:VanDerGrintenProjection.jpg|frame|The Van der Grinten projection]]
The {{w|Van der Grinten projection}} is not much better than the Mercator. It was adopted by {{w|National Geographic}} in 1922 and was used until they updated to the Robinson projection in 1988.

The Van der Grinten projection is circular as opposed to the Mercator projection. The fictional person also believes that a good projection of a three-dimensional sphere is a two-dimensional circle, which, though superficially similar, causes a vast distortion of space and area, much as the Mercator projection does. Because of this, Randall implies the Van der Grinten enthusiast to be optimistic and childishly simple-minded (e.g. "you like circles").

{{clear}}

===Robinson===
[[File:RobinsonProjection.jpg|frame|The Robinson projection]]
The {{w|Robinson projection}} was developed by {{w|Arthur H. Robinson}} as a map that was supposed to look nice and is often used for classroom maps. National Geographic switched to this projection in 1988, and used it for ten years, switching to the Winkel-Tripel in 1998.

{{w|The Beatles}} was a rock band that enjoyed great commercial success in the 1960s. The Beatles, coffee, and running shoes suggest an ordinary, easygoing lifestyle paralleled by the projection.

{{clear}}

===Dymaxion===
[[File:DymaxionProjection.jpg|frame|The Dymaxion projection]]
Also called the Fuller Map, the {{w|Dymaxion map}} takes a sphere and projects it onto an icosahedron, that is a polyhedron with 20 triangular faces. It is far easier to unwrap an icosahedron than it is to unwrap a sphere into a 2D object and has very little skewing of the poles. {{w|Buckminster Fuller}} was an eccentric futurist who believed, for example, that world maps should allow no conception of "up" or "down". He was therefore more than happy to defy people's expectations about maps in the pursuit of mathematical accuracy.

Randall associates the projection to geek subculture and niche markets:
*{{w|Isaac Asimov}} was an American science-fiction writer, that (as well as publishing many textbooks) is considered the father of the modern concept of robots. He invented the {{w|Three Laws of Robotics}}. He also worked on more than 500 books throughout his career.
*{{w|XML}} is the eXtensible Markup Language. It is used to represent data in a format that machines can read and understand, as well as being human-readable. In practice, XML is cumbersome to read.
*{{w|Vibram FiveFingers|Toed shoes}} are a [[1065: Shoes|favorite]] of Randall's to pick on. In society they are seen as a {{w|geek}} clothing item.
*Brought to the world by {{w|Dean Kamen}}, the {{w|Segway PT}} was supposed to be a device that changed the way cities were built. In reality, most principalities have put in place rules specifically against Segways, making them a frustration to own and use within the law (in some states in Australia, it is illegal to use them on public footpaths or roads). Also, the former owner of {{w|Segway Inc.}}, the late {{w|Jimi Heselden}}, accidentally rode his Segway off a cliff in 2010.
*{{w|Virtual reality|3D goggles}} are a very niche market only pursued by enthusiasts. In the 1990s the promise of virtual realities was very tantalizing; many companies attempted to perfect it, but fell short of the mark. Also, the phrase "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" is relevant.
*{{w|Dvorak Simplified Keyboard|Dvorak}} is an alternate keyboard layout to {{w|QWERTY}}. According to legend, QWERTY was invented to help keep manual typewriters from jamming (by placing the most used keys far from each other) but Dr. {{w|August Dvorak}} performed many studies and found the mathematically optimal keyboard layout to reduce finger travel for right handed typists. While some claim Dvorak is technically better than QWERTY, QWERTY had become the standard. All the keyboards were laid out in QWERTY format, and retraining the brain after becoming a touch typist is extremely difficult.

{{clear}}

===Winkel-Tripel===
[[File:Winkel-TripelProjection.jpg|frame|The Winkel Tripel projection]]
Proposed by Oswald Winkel in 1921, the {{w|Winkel tripel projection}} tried to reduce a set of three (German: Tripel) main problems with map projections: area, direction, and distance. The {{w|Kavrayskiy VII projection|Kavrayskiy projection}} is very similar to the Winkel Tripel and was used by the USSR, but very few in the Western world know of it.

The comic links this projection to {{w|hipster}} subculture. The hipster stereotype is to avoid conforming to mainstream fashions. "Post-" refers to a variety of musical genres such as {{w|post-punk}}, {{w|post-grunge}}, {{w|post-minimalism}}, etc. that branch off of other genres.

;Trivia
In German "Winkel-Tripel-Projektion" means Winkel's triple projection, and therefore the hyphen shouldn't be there: "Winkel Tripel" or "Winkel tripel".

{{clear}}

===Goode Homolosine===
[[File:GoodeHomolosineProjection.jpg|frame|The Goode Homolosine projection]]
The {{w|Goode homolosine projection}} takes a different approach to skewing a sphere into a roughly circular surface. An orange peel can be taken from an orange and flattened with fair success; this is roughly the procedure that {{w|John Paule Goode}} followed in creating this projection. Randall is suggesting that people who like this map also prefer relatively easy solutions to other things in life, despite those solutions having nuanced problems that are more difficult to address.

Common people make arguments that if normal people would run the United States, then the US wouldn't be in the trouble it is. This is from the belief that career politicians are simply out to make money and will only act in the interest of their constituency when their continued easy life is threatened (usually around election time).

Airline food is another, much maligned, problem. How do you store enough food to feed people on long airplane trips? The common solution is to use some kind of sub-standard microwaveable dinner. Randall is saying that the people in favor of the Goode Homolosine wonder why the airlines don't simply order meals from the restaurants in the airport, store that food, and serve it, rather than using frozen and microwaved food.

Older cars burned oil like mad fiends, and oil back then would become corrosive to the innards of an engine, so oil had to be changed often. But, with the introduction of synthetic motor oil and better designed engines, new cars only need their oil changed about every 10,000 to 15,000 miles. A common conspiracy theory is that modern automobile oil manufacturers still recommend that car owners change their oil every 3,000-5,000 miles to "drum" up more business, even though that frequency is unnecessary.

All of these references suggest that people who like the Goode Homolosine projection are fans of easy solutions to problems. However, the solutions would not necessarily work in practice. For instance, the restaurants might have trouble making enough food for the whole plane, and it could get cold before being served. Also, the air conditions [http://www.nbcnews.com/health/one-reason-airline-food-so-bad-your-own-tastebuds-6C10823522 aboard planes] can affect taste, so airlines say they optimize for this. And there is no such thing as a "normal" person, and if there were, he/she would have virtually no chance at actually getting into government office.

{{clear}}

===Hobo-Dyer===
[[File:Hobo-DyerProjection.jpg|frame|The Hobo-Dyer projection]]
The {{w|Hobo–Dyer projection}} was commissioned by Bob Abramms and Howard Bronstein and was drafted by Mick Dyer in 2002. It is a modified {{w|Behrmann projection}}. The goal was to be a more visually pleasing version of the Gall-Peters.

As is discussed in the Gall-Peters explanation, the Gall-Peters was developed to be equal area, so that economically disadvantaged areas can at least take comfort in the fact that their country is represented correctly by area on maps.

Randall associates the Hobo-Dyer projection to "crunchy granola" — a stereotype associated with vegetarianism, environmental activism, anti-war activism, liberal political leanings, and some traces of {{w|hippie}} culture.

With the new general acceptance of homosexual, bisexual, and transgender persons, some have begun to invent gender-neutral pronouns so that when referring to a person whose gender is not known they cannot be offended by being referred to by the wrong pronouns. In {{w|Middle English}} 'they' and 'their' were accepted gender-less pronouns that could replace 'he', 'she' as well as be used to represent a crowd, but this usage is considered by some to be grammatically incorrect because of the plural/singular debate ([http://www.merriam-webster.com/video/0033-hisher.htm stupid Victorian Grammarians!]). None of the {{w|gender-neutral pronoun#Invented_pronouns|many attempts at popularizing gender-neutral pronouns}} have achieved any degree of success in the mainstream.

{{clear}}

===Plate Carrée===
[[File:PlateCarreeProjection.jpg|frame|The Plate Carrée projection]]
Also known as the {{w|Equirectangular projection}} has been in use since, apparently, 100 AD. The benefit of this projection is that latitude and longitude can be used as x,y coordinates. This makes it especially easy for computers to graph data on top of it.

According to the comic, the projection appeals to people who find much beauty in simplicity.

{{clear}}

===A Globe!===
[[File:GlobeProjection.jpg|frame|The Globe "projection"]]
In any good discussion there has to be at least one smart-ass. This is a comic about map projections, that is, the science of taking a sphere and flattening it into 2 dimensions. The smart-ass believes that we shouldn't even try: a sphere is, tautologically, the perfect representation of a sphere.

To quote ''{{w|The Princess Bride}}'': "Yes, you're very smart. Shut up."

{{clear}}

===Waterman Butterfly===
[[File:WatermanButterflyProjection.jpg|frame|The Waterman Butterfly projection]]
Similar to the Dymaxion, the {{w|Waterman butterfly projection}} turns a sphere into an octahedron, and then unfolds the net of the octahedron, which was devised by mathematician {{w|Waterman polyhedron|Steve Waterman}} based upon the work of {{w|Bernard J.S. Cahill}}

Bernard Cahill published a [http://www.genekeyes.com/B.J.S._CAHILL_RESOURCE.html butterfly map] in 1909. Steve Waterman probably has the only extant "ready to go" map following the same general principles, though Gene Keys may not be far behind. Waterman has a poem with graphics in a similar vein to this xkcd comic that is worth reading.[http://watermanpolyhedron.com/worldmap.html]

[http://www.progonos.com/furuti/MapProj/Normal/ProjPoly/projPoly2.html Polyhedral projections] like Cahill, Dymaxion or Waterman typically offer better accuracy of size, shape and area than flat projections, at the expense of compass directionality, connectedness, and other complications.

The joke is that the person responding deeply understands map projections; anyone who knows of this projection is a person that Randall would like to get to know.

{{clear}}

===Peirce Quincuncial===
[[File:PeirceQuincuncialProjection.jpg|frame|The Peirce Quincuncial projection]]
The {{w|Pierce quincuncial projection}} was devised by {{w|Charles Sanders Peirce}} in 1879 and uses {{w|complex analysis}} to make a {{w|conformal mapping}} of the Earth, that conforms except for four points which would make up the south pole.

{{w|Inception}} was a 2010 movie about {{w|meta}} {{w|lucid dream}}ing. It has a complex story that is difficult to follow and leaves the viewer with many questions at the end, and almost needs to be watched multiple times to be understood.

The human brain is not well developed to deal with oddly obvious things. One example is that everyone has a skeleton, but everyone is surprised to see a part of their body represented by an X-Ray. Another is the fascinating complexity of the human hand, a machine which is amazingly complex, driven by a complex interplay of electrical and chemical signals; yet is the size of the hand and so useful.

{{clear}}

===Gall-Peters===
[[File:Gall-PetersProjection.jpg|frame|The Gall-Peters projection]]
The {{w|Gall-Peters projection}} is mired in controversy, surprising for a map. {{w|James Gall}} a 19th century clergyman presented this projection in 1855 before the {{w|British Association for the Advancement of Science}}. In 1967, the filmmaker {{w|Arno Peters}} created the same projection and presented it to the world as a "new invention" that put poorer, less powerful countries into their rightful proportions (as opposed to the Mercator). Peters played the marketing game and got quite a few followers of his map by saying it had "absolute angle conformality," "no extreme distortions of form," and was "totally distance-factual" in an age when society was very concerned about social justice. All of these claims were in fact false. The polar regions are horribly distorted, and south of the Mediterranean Sea is "taller" than it should be.

Anyone who loves such a politically charged map that has become popular by way of marketing stunts, Randall would rather not have anything to do with.

{{clear}}

===Title text===
The title text makes a joke that goes to the familiar meme from ''{{w|CSI: Miami}}'', in which the star, David Caruso starts a sentence, then [[:Category:Puts on sunglasses|puts on his sunglasses]] and ends the sentence with a corny pun. In this case, the pun is on {{w|map projection}} and {{w|projection (psychology)|projection}} in Psychology. Psychologic projection is an immature defense mechanism wherein a person who is uncomfortable with their own thoughts and/or actions assumes that another also shares this thought or action and blames that person for thinking/behaving that way, removing some of the negative feelings they have towards themselves. The Sunglasses internet meme has been mentioned previously by xkcd in comics [[626]], [[524]] and possibly others.

==Transcript==
:What your favorite
:'''Map Projection'''
:says about you
:[All of these are organized as Title, a copy of the particular projection underneath, and what it says about you under that.]

:*Mercator
:**You're not really into maps.
:*Van der Grinten
:**You're not a complicated person. You love the Mercator projection; you just wish it weren't square. The Earth's not a square, it's a circle. You like circles. Today is gonna be a good day!
:*Robinson
:**You have a comfortable pair of running shoes that you wear everywhere. You like coffee and enjoy The Beatles. You think the Robinson is the best-looking projection, hands down.
:*Dymaxion
:**You like Isaac Asimov, XML, and shoes with toes. You think the Segway got a bad rap. You own 3D goggles, which you use to view rotating models of better 3D goggles. You type in Dvorak.
:*Winkel-Tripel
:**National Geographic adopted the Winkel-Tripel in 1998, but you've been a W-T fan since ''long'' before "Nat Geo" showed up. You're worried it's getting played out, and are thinking of switching to the Kavrayskiy. You once left a party in disgust when a guest showed up wearing shoes with toes. Your favorite musical genre is "Post–".
:*Goode Homolosine
:**They say mapping the Earth on a 2D surface is like flattening an orange peel, which seems enough to you. You like easy solutions.You think we wouldn't have so many problems if we'd just elect ''normal'' people to Congress instead of Politicians. You think airlines should just buy food from the restaurants near the gates and serve ''that'' on board. You change your car's oil, but secretly wonder if you really ''need'' to.
:*Hobo-Dyer
:**You want to avoid cultural imperialism, but you've heard bad things about Gall-Peters. You're conflict-averse and buy organic. You use a recently-invented set of gender-neutral pronouns and think that what the world needs is a revolution in consciousness.
:*Plate Carrée (Equirectangular)
:**You think this one is fine. You like how X and Y map to latitude and longitude. The other projections overcomplicate things. You want me to stop asking about maps so you can enjoy dinner.
:*A Globe!
:**Yes, you're very clever.
:*Waterman Butterfly
:**Really? You know the Waterman? Have you seen the 1909 Cahill Map it's based— ...You have a framed reproduction at home?! Whoa. ...Listen, forget these questions. Are you doing anything tonight?
:*Peirce Quincuncial
:**You think that when we look at a map, what we really see is ourselves. After you first saw ''Inception'', you sat silent in the theater for six hours. It freaks you out to realize that everyone around you has a skeleton inside them. You ''have'' really looked at your hands.
:*Gall-Peters
:**I ''hate'' you.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Maps‏‎]]
[[Category:Puts on sunglasses]]

369: Dangers

2015-08-18T22:04:12Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 369
| date = Jan 11, 2008
| title = Dangers
| image = dangers.png
| titletext = Zero results: 'snake charming' and 'haberdashery'. (Things like 'car' and 'boating' and such are of course the highest, by a huge margin.)
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a chart of the frequency of certain phrases in Google search results, based on the format "died in a ______ accident." If you enclose search terms in quotation marks, Google will look up the exact phrase rather than the individual words in any order.

"Gardening accident" is a reference to the mockumentary ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Is_Spinal_Tap This Is Spinal Tap,]'' in which one of the band's many ill-fated drummers died in this fashion.

"Died in a blogging accident" was very rare in Google {{w|Observer effect|until this comic appeared}}. It now can be found on [http://google.com/search?q=%22died+in+a+blogging+accident%22 over 10000 web pages.] Similarly, both snake charming and haberdashery accidents also return hundreds of Google results.

==Transcript==
:Dangers
:Indexed by the number of Google results for
:"Died in a _____ Accident"
:<nowiki>[[A bar chart showing "Type of Accident" vs "Google Results" each with a bar representing a number]]</nowiki>
:Skydiving: 710
:Elevator: 575
:Surfing: 496
:Skateboarding: 473
:Camping: 166
:Gardening: 100
:Ice Skating: 94
:Knitting: 7
:Blogging: 2

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Google Search]]

687: Dimensional Analysis

2015-08-18T22:00:36Z

Pesthouse:

{{comic
| number = 687
| date = January 11, 2010
| title = Dimensional Analysis
| image = dimensional_analysis.png
| titletext = Or the pressure at the Earth's core will rise slightly.
}}

==Explanation==
Cueball has a [[My Hobby|hobby]] — showing correct calculations according to the {{w|dimensional analysis}} — but with ridiculous correlations of uncorrelated events and measurements. Here Cueball is teaching a class and uses this trick to ''convince'' his students that the {{w|Toyota Prius}} combined {{w|United States Environmental Protection Agency|EPA}} gas mileage is somehow connected to the constant ''{{W|Pi|π}}'' via the {{w|Planck energy}}, the pressure at the {{w|Inner_core|earth's core}} and the width of the {{w|English Channel}}.

Scientists — often physicists — use dimensional analysis to quickly check if a given formula can possibly relate to a physical system, because if you end up with an equation claiming that joules are meters, something is clearly wrong. Dimensional analysis here refers to the check if both sides of the equation arrive at the same physical unit when the units of all variables get plugged into the equation. This requires knowledge of the system of units and the relation between different physical units.

Cueball uses the following equation to make a mockery of the practice:

(Planck energy) / (Pressure at the core of the earth) * (Prius combined EPA gas mileage) / (minimum width of the English Channel) = π

===Dimensional analysis===
The right hand side is dimensionless, it's the constant ''π'' = 3.14... which is defined by the relation of two lengths, the circumference and the diameter of a circle. The left hand side requires to plug in the dimensions of the named physical quantities:

*Planck energy: given in Joules [J]
*Pressure at the core of the earth: Given in Pascals [Pa]
*Prius combined EPA gas mileage: gallons/mile, cubic meters/meter [l/m]
Fuel efficiency has two formats that are commonly used: length/volume and volume/length. The former must be used here in order to get the units to cancel correctly.
*minimum width of the English channel: meters [m]

When plugged into the left hand side this amounts to:

[J / Pa * (m/l) / m] = [Nm / (N/m²) * (m/m³) / m] = 1

Using the following unit relations (this does not reduce units to the seven SI units, but does use some derived units):

*1 Joule = 1 Newton-meter [J] = [Nm]
*1 Pascal = 1 Newton per square-meter [Pa] = [N/m²]
*1 cubic-metre = 1000 litres [m³] = 1000 [l]

Note that for dimensional analysis constant factors are not taken into account. Here square brackets are used to denote dimensional analysis. In the above equation the unit of force (newton) as well as all the units of length (meter) cancel out each other.

Another aspect of the comic is, that sometimes dimension analysis of equations that were not derived but rather "made up" can provide insight. However, in reality such an equations would have to be somehow "motivated", which is more of an art than science and requires great experience in the field the equation should relate to. The presented equation combines values that have no immediate causal relation with each other, so it does not make sense. Furthermore, since the values have absolutely no causal relation to each other, the ratios presented are simple coincidence; despite Cueball's claim, building a better Prius would not cause any changes to the English Channel.

The title text also refers to this, as a higher pressure at Earth's core could also balance the equation, keeping the result constant equal to ''π''. The Planck energy is an absolute, however, so it is not mentioned as a way to balance the next version of Prius.

===Some numbers for this calculation===
The {{w|Planck energy}} is the only nearly exact value we do have. Compared to other Planck values it is very large (macroscopic).
E_planck = 1.956 x 109 J = 1.956 x 109 Nm

Pressure at the {{w|Inner_core#Temperature_and_pressure|core}} of the earth ranges from 330 to 360 gigapascals.
Using a simple value like this:
P_core = 350 GPa = 3.5 x 1011 N/m²

Prius combined {{w|Toyota_Prius#Fuel_economy_and_emissions|EPA gas mileage}}:
For the third generation (from 2010) the City mileage is 51 mpg and the Highway mileage is 48 mpg. But it is the [http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=26425 combined EPA gas mileage] which is used in the equation and that is 50 mpg.
50 mpg => 13.2 miles per litre => 21,000,000 meter per m³

Minimum width of the {{w|English Channel}} is about
33.1 km or 33,100 meters.

Calculating from these values you will get ''π'' = 3.54... that is pretty close to ''π'' = 3.14... while using a Planck value. According to Cueball this will be within the experimental error (the combined error for all four numbers - none are exact numbers). For instance if you tried the ePrius you would probably get closer to that target — as the mileage in real life usually is somewhat lower than the value given — and that would reduce the result.

==Transcript==
:My Hobby:
:Abusing dimensional analysis

:[On a blackboard.]
:(Planck energy/Pressure at the Earth's core) x (Prius combined EPA gas mileage/Minimum width of the English Channel) = π

:[Cueball indicates this equation with a pointer in front of a class.]
:Cueball: It's correct to within experimental error, and the units check out. It must be a fundamental law.
:Student: But what if they build a better Prius?
:Cueball: ''Then England will drift out to sea.''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]

1493: Meeting

2015-08-17T21:59:47Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */ actually that does not explain anything

{{comic
| number = 1493
| date = March 2, 2015
| title = Meeting
| image = meeting.png
| titletext = Here at CompanyName.website, our three main strengths are our web-facing chairs, our huge collection of white papers, and the fact that we physically cannot die.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Beret Guy]]'s business, as previously seen in [[1032: Networking]] and [[1293: Job Interview]], is going well, although it is unclear why. The common theme in these three comics is that Beret Guy misuses common business cliches. The following are examples and phrases that [[Randall]] is likely making a joke about:

*"If you're reading this, the webserver was installed correctly." When a web server is installed automatically (like apache through a package manager), it typically comes with a minimal configuration meant to deliver a single page saying all is working fine. Usually, a company will then configure the web server to provide actual meaningful content. It appears that in this case Beret Guy's company kept the page as is, but also trademarked the sentence as the company's motto, and proudly displays it under the company logo.

*"CompanyName.website": Companies are usually given descriptive or evocative names; Beret Guy's company, meanwhile, has been given a generic placeholder name that explains nothing about the company or website except that it is a company with a website. In 2015, almost every middle-sized company runs a website, so it doesn't mean Beret Guy's company is in the information technology business (but many elements are specifically parodying Google).

*"Welcome to a meeting!" The usual way to start a meeting is to welcome the participants by telling them in which meeting they are (e.g. "Welcome to the meeting on ..."). Here, the complete lack of specifics in this sentence is an indication that the meeting has, in fact, no purpose at all, except to be just "A meeting". It could also mean that Beret Guy does not know the proper way to welcome people to a meeting.

*"I'm almost out of words so I'll keep this short." A common theme in the busy world of business is lack of time, so "I'm almost out of time" would be a valid reason for keeping a meeting short, rather than a finite quantity of words. Aside from the fiction movie {{w|A Thousand Words (film)|A Thousand Words}} or people taking a {{w|Vow of Silence}}, people usually don't have a particular quota on the number of words they have or can use. Beret Guy also seems to run out of words in the title text of [[1560: Bubblegum]].

*"Just wanna touch bases." Often business professions will contact a customer to "touch base," meaning to check in for a status update. The use of the plural "bases" suggests Beret Guy does not know what this means. This could also be a word play on the expression "Cover some bases".

*"Self-driving car project" Google has been working on {{w|self-driving cars}}, which usually shouldn't be lost track of and found by the police. The fact that it was launched "by accident" is concerning. It could mean the car was turned on by mistake and then left unattended, or perhaps that a driver of one of their cars fell asleep or otherwise stopped controlling the vehicle, but it is not clear because the accidental launch may refer to the project itself rather than the car. The involvement of the police implies that the car crashed or otherwise obstructed traffic. That said, 90 miles before crash is a good result for a self-driving car, especially when you didn't even know you built a self-driving car. What's especially ironic is the implication that the employees were carpooling (sharing a single vehicle for their commute, for reasons of efficiency/economy) in the self-driving car, and yet this carpool activity ended with the car setting off with nobody in it at all. These types of car was the topic of the later comic [[1559: Driving]].

*"Sales, any luck figuring out who our customers are?" In the real world, when companies want to find out "who [their] customers are", they are talking about learning more about their existing customers in order to more closely match these customers' needs, and to discover ways to attract more of them. Here, Beret Guy and [[Ponytail]] apparently use the phrase literally - they have no records of making any sales. In a normal enterprise money doesn't usually appear from nowhere{{Citation needed}}, and most businesses would be very unsettled if their cash flow was from an unknown source. Additionally, the company would not be able to comply with government regulations that require it to report information regarding its income for tax purposes. In addition to being fined for failure to properly report its income, the company would be investigated as a suspected money laundering enterprise.

*"Cool red beetle in the hallway" Beret Guy might be referring to seeing an insect. But given his continually surreal world, he might have instead seen a red Volkswagen Beetle, meaning there is an actual car in the hallway. This also matches with the "self-driving car project", potentially explaining why the car is inside the building. Randall's all-caps lettering hides the "beetle" versus "Beetle" distinction.

*"Bug tracker" usually refers to systems for tracking discovery, analysis, and fixing of software bugs (errors and problems), not the location of physical objects (be they insects or Volkswagen Beetles which are nicknamed "bugs").

*"Web-facing" (title text) usually refers to software or a server that is connected to the internet using a web interface. However, in this case the term is applied to chairs placed in front of a computer with internet browsing capability.

*"White papers" (title text) are usually policy recommendations, but here Beret Guy is likely talking about actual (near-worthless) blank white pieces of paper.

*"Main strengths" (title text) typically refer to one's skills, but "we physically cannot die" refers to the fact that incorporated companies are in a sense anthropomorphised—they're legally treated as "persons", with the ability to sue and be sued in civil courts. Or that Beret Guy is literally immortal, in which case that would indeed be a great asset which could be used in a variety of ways, from things like making a one man army (though he could still be captured or incapacitated) to investing for a long long time. On that note, if Beret Guy IS immortal, perhaps many (many) years ago (before his mind got wonky?) he might have invested a lot of money and is finally noticing the large amount of interest that has accrued. This would partly explain why there is lots of money coming in without any customers.

==Transcript==
:[Beret Guy is shown in silhouette. Above Beret Guy there is a black sign with white (and grey) text. Above this is his address to those in the meeting:]
:Beret Guy: Welcome to a meeting! I'm almost out of words, so I'll keep this short. Just wanna touch bases.
:[White text in the black sign (''.website'' in grey):]
:CompanyName.website
:''If you're reading this, the web''
:''server was installed correctly.™''

:[Beret Guy stands in front of an office chair and a table talking.]
:Beret Guy: First, a few updates. We've learned from the state police that the self-driving car project we launched by accident during this morning's carpool has come to an end about 90 miles outside of town. Very exciting!

:[Pony tail sits at the table.]
:Beret Guy [off-panel]: Profits are up. Sales, any luck figuring out who our customers are?
:Ponytail: Nope. Money keeps appearing, but we have no idea how or why.
:Beret Guy [off-panel]: Great!

:[Back to the situation from frame two.]
:Beret Guy: Oh, and one last thing— I saw a cool red beetle in the hall. Can someone add it to the bug tracker?
:[person off-panel]: Just did!
:Beret Guy: Thanks!

==Trivia==
"CompanyName.website" is actually a domain name that was registered on 2014-11-20 and [http://companyname.website which redirects to xkcd.com]. Presumably, it is owned by Randall, for the same reason as in [[305]].

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Beret Guy's Business]]
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]

956: Sharing

2015-07-26T01:50:06Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */ doesn't seem relevant to the explanation

{{comic
| number = 956
| date = September 26, 2011
| title = Sharing
| image = sharing.png
| titletext = In the new edition of The Giving Tree, the tree uses social tools to share with its friend all the best places to buy things.
}}

==Explanation==
''{{w|The Giving Tree}}'' is a book in which a tree gives everything it has to a little boy out of love and a desire for the boy's company: apples to sell, wood to build a house, even letting the boy cut it down to make a boat. At the end of the book, the boy comes back as a grown man and the tree tells him sadly that it has nothing else to give. The man tells the tree that he only wants a tree stump to sit on, and the tree gladly gives him that. Notably, the tree's moments of greatest distress come when it fears that it can give the boy no more and that the boy will leave it.

.azw is an e-book file format used and created by the online company {{w|Amazon.com}}, which makes and sells the popular {{w|Amazon Kindle}} e-reader. Complaints against the format have been made concerning its closed nature: some people claim that all information should be free and imposing restrictions on its usage is limiting growth in the modern world. This comic was published two days before the release of the fifth generation of Kindles, alongside complaints that Amazon would continue to use {{w|DRM}} "encumbered" e-book formats.

The comic is a criticism of the usage of DRM in digital commerce. The tree's willingness to offer up its file is parallel to the generous nature of the tree in ''The Giving Tree''. The tree is prevented from sharing its file however, by DRM in the file. With nothing to gain from the tree, Cueball and Megan leave the tree alone, in a manner similar to the fears of the tree in ''The Giving Tree''. The final frame is a reference to the iconic silhouette of a tree that is used in the loading screens of Amazon's Kindles, a link between the abandoned tree in the comic and an abandoned Kindle.

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Cueball hang out in front of a tree.]
:Megan: Whoa. What's this?
:Cueball: What's what?
:Megan: This tree has a USB port.

:Cueball: Try connecting to it, I guess.
:[Megan brings out a laptop and connects to it.]
:Megan: It's offering up a drive with one file on it.

:Cueball: What's the file?
:Megan: An eBook. "Shel_Silverstein_-_The_Giving_Tree.azw"
:Cueball: Never heard of it. Let's take a look!

:Laptop: DRM Error: You have not purchased rights to view this title. Lending is not enabled.

:Cueball: Huh. Oh well.
:Megan: Let's go see what Mike is up to.

:[The tree is alone.]

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

38: Apple Jacks

2015-07-20T22:31:35Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */ "according to wikipedia" is not a thing

{{comic
| number = 38
| date = November 30, 2005
| title = Apple Jacks
| image = apple_jacks.jpg
| titletext = There used to be these ads, see...
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Apple Jacks}} is a breakfast cereal produced by {{w|Kellogg's}}. As the image text begins to explain, there was an ad campaign for the cereal in the 1990s which focused on someone (usually someone in authority like a parent) pointing out that Apple Jacks don't taste like apples, and one or more kids pointing out that it doesn't matter and that "we eat what we like." However, instead of the campaign's response with the son laughing off his dad's comment and correcting him, this son responds by simply saying "fuck off, dad."

This could be a commentary on today's youth being far less respectful, as the son is playing video games, and seems annoyed at being interrupted. Also, it could be not the first time the father has used the line.

The transcript on the xkcd site, identifies the bowl as containing Scrapple Jacks, not Apple Jacks. Of course they wouldn't taste like apples.

The same ad campaign was referenced previously in [[27: Meat Cereals]] on a parody cereal box.

Cereal advertising was later referenced in [[1470: Kix]].

The title text could be a reference to the fact that this comic requires explanation for those who haven't known of the ad (the reason this webpage exists). Another of the early comics where [[Randall]] felt the need to explain the joke in the title text.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing holding a bowl in his hand. His son is sitting on the floor playing video games.]
:Cueball: Hey, these don't taste like apples!
:Son: Fuck off, Dad.

==Trivia==
*This was the 39th comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]].
**The previous was [[42: Geico]].
**The next was [[43: Red Spiders 2]].
*Original title: "Wednesday's Drawing - Apple Jacks"
*Original [[Randall]] quote: "Who else remembers those commercials?"
*This comic was posted on [[xkcd]] when the web site opened on Sunday the 1st of January 2006.
**It was posted along [[:Category:First day on xkcd|with all 41 comics]] posted before that on LiveJournal as well as a few others.
**The latter explaining why the numbers of these 41 LiveJournal comics ranges from 1-44.

{{Comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal| 39]]
[[Category:First day on xkcd]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]

1548: 90s Kid

2015-07-09T19:56:11Z

Pesthouse: quoting Randall's mistakes is fine, imitating them is not necessary

{{comic
| number = 1548
| date = July 8, 2015
| title = 90s Kid
| image = 90s_kid.png
| titletext = We remember Rugrats, and think of them every time our kids look at us through their baby gates.
}}

==Explanation==
This is another example where [[Randall]] describes the inexorable passage of time.

The children are complaining about things their parents tell them, as children are wont to do. Their first complaint is something recognizable, the usual "just eat your vegetables, they're good for you." The second is about a comment "LOL, remember Rugrats and Doug? Share if you're a 90's kid" which, however, is a generic social media comment that a "90's kid" would make, not something you would expect a mother to say. At least not in the context of things their children are embarrassed about. But it illustrates that the  teens and tweens of yesteryear are now adults, and parents at that.

According to the [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2256.html CIA World Factbook,] in the USA the median age of mothers at their first birth is 25.6 (2011 estimate). On the date this comic was published, this would center the mother's own birth date in early 1990.

Although there are various interpretations of the term "90's kid," most center around the person in question having had most or all of their childhood during the 1990s. The stereotypical '90s kid has a strong attachment to objects, movies, TV shows, phrases etc from the era of their childhood, which bring back memories of their younger days. In this comic Randall picks up on a number of things which could be used to identify a '90s kid:

*The use of the acronym "{{w|LOL}}" means '''laughing out loud''', or '''laugh out loud''', and was probably coined in the 1980s, finding its way into general usage with the later uptake of wider public Internet and should be known to every kid working or playing on a computer today.

*{{w|Rugrats}} is a cartoon that was produced from 1991 all the way to 2004, featuring the adventures of a group of toddlers and babies.

*{{w|Doug}} is another cartoon that ran for years 1991 to 2000.

*The use of traditional social media, and more specifically of sharing the type of post described.

Given that the children shown in the comic appear to be somewhat older than newborn babies, we can safely assume that the comic is set at some point in the not too distant future.

The title text suggests that viewing a child of one's own peering through such a barrier elicits nostalgia for the Rugrats cartoon. A {{w|baby gate}} is a semi-fixed piece of child-safety equipment to restrict a small child, typically a toddler, from leaving a safe area of a house, and especially to prevent access to stairways (up or down, where falls may happen), without overly inconveniencing an adult who can open the gate. Baby gates, fully enclosed {{w|playpen}}s and similar barriers around cots feature as usually insurmountable barriers to the younger characters in Rugrats, who are of crawling and toddling age.

==Transcript==
:[Two kids, with very different hair style, are in a playground. A fence is visible in the background, and on the ground appear to be various items including a puddle or rug and toy blocks.]
:Scruffy-haired kid: Ugh don't you hate how parents are all "Eat your carrots" and "LOL, remember Rugrats and Doug? Share if you're a 90's kid!"
:[Caption below the panel:]
:'''The median age at first birth in the US is 25, which means the typical new mother is now a 90's kid.'''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]

1548: 90s Kid

2015-07-09T19:51:53Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1548
| date = July 8, 2015
| title = 90s Kid
| image = 90s_kid.png
| titletext = We remember Rugrats, and think of them every time our kids look at us through their baby gates.
}}

==Explanation==
This is another example where [[Randall]] describes the inexorable passage of time.

The children are complaining about things their parents tell them, as children are wont to do. Their first complaint is something recognizable, the usual "just eat your vegetables, they're good for you." The second is about a comment "LOL, remember Rugrats and Doug? Share if you're a 90's kid" which, however, is a generic social media comment that a "90's kid" would make, not something you would expect a mother to say. At least not in the context of things their children are embarrassed about. But it illustrates that the  teens and tweens of yesteryear are now adults, and parents at that.

According to the [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2256.html CIA World Factbook], in the USA the median age of mothers at their first birth is 25.6 (2011 estimate). On the date this comic was published, this would centre the mother's own birth date in early 1990.

Although there are various interpretations of the term "90's kid", most centre around the person in question having had most or all of their childhood during the 1990's. The stereotypical 90's kid has a strong attachment to objects, movies, TV shows, phrases etc from the era of their childhood, which bring back memories of their younger days. In this comic Randall picks up on a number of things which could be used to identify a 90's kid:

*The use of the acronym "{{w|LOL}}" means '''laughing out loud''', or '''laugh out loud''', and was probably coined in the 1980s, finding its way into general usage with the later uptake of wider public Internet and should be known to every kid working or playing on a computer today.

*{{w|Rugrats}} is a cartoon that was produced from 1991 all the way to 2004, featuring the adventures of a group of toddlers and babies.

*{{w|Doug}} is another cartoon that ran for years 1991 to 2000.

*The use of traditional social media, and more specifically of sharing the type of post described.

Given that the children shown in the comic appear to be somewhat older than newborn babies, we can safely assume that the comic is set at some point in the not too distant future.

The title text suggests that viewing a child of one's own peering through such a barrier elicits nostalgia for the Rugrats cartoon. A {{w|baby gate}} is a semi-fixed piece of child-safety equipment to restrict a small child, typically a toddler, from leaving a safe area of a house, and especially to prevent access to stairways (up or down, where falls may happen), without overly inconveniencing an adult who can open the gate. Baby gates, fully enclosed {{w|playpen}}s and similar barriers around cots feature as usually insurmountable barriers to the younger characters in Rugrats, who are of crawling and toddling age.

==Transcript==
:[Two kids, with very different hair style, are in a playground. A fence is visible in the background, and on the ground appear to be various items including a puddle or rug and toy blocks.]
:Scruffy-haired kid: Ugh don't you hate how parents are all "Eat your carrots" and "LOL, remember Rugrats and Doug? Share if you're a 90's kid!"
:[Caption below the panel:]
:'''The median age at first birth in the US is 25, which means the typical new mother is now a 90's kid.'''

==Trivia==
*There is a discrepancy between the title which says "90s Kid" and the kid who says "90's kid!"
**In the discussion page it is even argued that it should actually have been written as "90s' kid"...

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]

1548: 90s Kid

2015-07-08T23:30:36Z

Pesthouse:

{{comic
| number = 1548
| date = July 8, 2015
| title = 90s Kid
| image = 90s_kid.png
| titletext = We remember Rugrats, and think of them every time our kids look at us through their baby gates.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First go at an edit.}}
This is another example where [[Randall|Randall]] describes the inexorable passage of time. The kids are repeating not just the perennial parental commandment to eat healthy vegetables, possibly less palatable to the child, but it's also a phrase for "don't ask too many stupid/irrelevant questions and just do as you are told" or "just shut up and accept things the way they are" as described here: [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=just+eat+your+carrots+and+broccolli "just eat your carrots and broccoli."] The kids are upset by the ignorance of adults to their interests.

Urban Dictionary says [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=90s+Kid '90s kids] are people stuck in the '90s even today. Randall says the median first-time mother of a newborn today was herself born in 1990. (Fathers and second-time parents will tend to be older, i.e. still born in the '80s.) Kids from the '90s have seen the cartoons explained below. And now they would like to see their kids today to love that too. But the current kids don't understand and don't like their parents favorites.

{{w|Rugrats}} is a cartoon that was produced from 1991 all the way to 2004, whilst {{w|Doug}} is another that ran for years 1991 to 2000. Parents of the rough age-ranges stated are likely to have been enjoying both shows in their early youth.

The use of the acronym "{{w|LOL}}" means '''laughing out loud''' or '''laugh out loud''' was probably coined in the 1980s, finding its way into general usage with the later uptake of wider public Internet and should be known to every kid working or playing on a computer today.

The title text suggests that viewing a child of one's own peering through such a barrier elicits nostalgia for the this cartoon. A {{w|baby gate}} is a semi-fixed piece of child-safety equipment to restrict a small child, typically a toddler, from leaving a safe area and especially to prevent access to stairways, up or down, where falls may happen without overly inconveniencing an adult who can open the mechanism. Baby gates, fully enclosed {{w|playpen}}s and similar barriers around cots feature as usually insurmountable barriers to the younger characters in Rugrats, who are of crawling and toddling age.

==Transcript==
:[Two kids are in a playground. A fence is visible in the background, and on the floor appear to be various items including a puddle and toy blocks.]
:Scruffy-haired kid: Ugh don't you hate how parents are all "Eat your carrots" and "LOL, remember Rugrats and Doug? Share if you're a 90's kid!"
: The median age at first birth in the US is 25, which means the typical new mother is now a 90's kid.
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]

Talk:1548: 90s Kid

2015-07-08T23:25:48Z

Pesthouse:

Usual gripes that the median does not have to mean typical
13:49, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

(Above comment not properly signed..? It's not me, anyway.) I authored the first go at an explanation. Looks too wordy. But probably could do with other links to the various other "time flies, doesn't it?" cartoons, if anything ought to be added.

Not sure about my comments about LOL. I didn't really encounter it in force until >2000, before which I never really experienced Web 2.0. "ROFL" or various smilies having been the more standard on areas of Usenet that I frequented in the decade before that where web pages were rarely quite so chatty and 'social' IME.

(My own childhood was in the '70s in the UK. For some reason I'm actually fairly aware of Rugrats, but Doug is just something 'I know about'. There must be a child of the '90s, or late '80s, who can better describe the shows.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.252|141.101.98.252]] 14:07, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

Median may not be typical, but it *does* mean right at the 50% mark, which means that a significant portion of the top half of the bell curve is going to be 90s kids, with the proportion continuing to increase throughout the decade as more years from the 90s come of age. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.169|173.245.56.169]] 14:09, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

"Typical" doesn't have quite as strict a meaning as "median" ... but yeah, assuming the median date of birth of a new mother is 1 January 1990, then half of all new mothers are pre-90's kids. Taking into account mothers born in the 2000s, this would mean that the majority of new mothers are NOT 90's kids. [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 14:13, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

I teach British teenagers, and they scoff at people who "still use facebook". These "time passes" comics are getting a little tedious for my tastes. [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 14:13, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

:What the hell are you supposed to use? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.32|108.162.215.32]] 14:52, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

::Twitter and/or IRC. Although if I ever choose to post something lengthy, I go with either pastebin or (and yes people will laugh at this) my ancient LiveJournal. [[User:PsyMar|PsyMar]] ([[User talk:PsyMar|talk]]) 15:09, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

:::Snapchat, usually. "Charlotte, stop using Snapchat." "How did you know I was using Snapchat?" "You're ALWAYS using Snapchat." [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 16:10, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

:::IRC? Wow. That's pretty much almost as retro as email. (I suppose, like email, it's now all graphical with some equivalent to full HTML formatting including attached MIME encoded image contents.) It's been two decades since I last used IRC, so I've probably missed various 'improvements' to it. I hope the 'cool kids' know its noble history and aren't just under the impression that it's as some form of modern Mass Instant Messaging machine. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.252|141.101.98.252]] 22:27, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

BTW, Cosmogoblin, you're probably right to change my original "'90s" to "90's" based on the comic style, but I thoroughly disagree with the format Randall chooses. Stylebooks be damned (or at least those that say it can/''should'' be done this way), but as a contraction of the plural of "1990" it really ought to have an apostrophe (if anywhere) for the characters lost in the contraction and ''no'' apostrophe for the pluralisation. (In fact, in the comic, it should actually be "90s' kid", best to omit the first apostrophe and put the second where it ''actually'' belongs in this possessive context.) Rant over. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.252|141.101.98.252]] 15:02, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

:I absolutely agree! If the comic didn't have the 90's format I'd have preferred 90s (or even 1990s). Thank you your polite comment. I noticed that the actual comic title is "90s Kid", no apostrophe! [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 16:10, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

:Oy, I had to get a word or two in here on this. While I agree with the logic behind the recommended placement (or absense) of the apostrophe, I think there's a place for them anywhere. Like the comma, I think the apostrophe can be placed where it can reduce confusion or the like. In this case, to split a number from a letter. If that's not done then I want to pronounce it as ninety-ess, as if it were a code (such as s70b45t).

:I disagree on the possessiveness. Would "New York kid" be similar? It would not be "New York's kid".... Location or location in time don't get possessive. Think of it as if it was 1994 kid, a single year. Yep, now you understand. (That's all the example and thought I have on it, so, if you have a winning example, let's hear it.) [[User:Azule|Azule]] ([[User talk:Azule|talk]]) 17:58, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

::Years refer to a specific period in history. So do geological ages, and the same linguistics should apply.
::For example, "The dinosaurs roamed the Earth during the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods." Here, "periods" has no apostrophe.
::Similarly, "The years 1990, 1991, ... and 1999 comprise the 1990s, often shortened to the '90s".
::Still, I think it's appropriate to use the comic's version in this article. Just as I try to pronounce and spell people's names as they say, not as I think they should be pronounced and spelled. I'm still annoyed by the CIA Factbook's insistence on spelling the English and Australian Labour Parties as "Labor", because it's factually wrong - even if they disagree with spelling it "Labour"! [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 20:32, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

::Ok, I wouldn't say "kid of New York" (normally), but I would say "kid of the '90s". But I accept a "'90s kid" could be sententially the same as "a blonde kid".
::(I'm not willing to be quite so charitable about the idea of the apostrophe reducing confusion, in this case. It's the same style as "1000's of DVD's as little as for low prices! Save $$$$'s!" (or "££££'s", but for this example I'll aim at everyone from Antuiga to Zimbabwe, including the 321 million US residents, rather than the rather more limited populations including the 65 million United Kingdom... and it's a horrible 'headline shortcut', anyway, regardless of symbol). It makes no more sense than the perfectly understandable "1000s of DVDs for low prices! Save $$$$s!" so the use of an apostrophe in a style incompatable with rules that apply to ''standard'' words is... an affectation at best.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.252|141.101.98.252]] 22:27, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

:"Use the letter s but '''not an apostrophe after the figures''' when expressing decades or centuries. Do, however, use an '''apostrophe before figures''' expressing a decade if numerals are left out." Figures = digits. So, 1990s, the '90s. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/735/02/ [[User:Pesthouse|Pesthouse]] ([[User talk:Pesthouse|talk]]) 23:25, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

;Median mother at 25 today
I did edit the explain because we have some simple math Randall was thinking of: The median mother at 25 was born in 1990, she knowns those cartoons from the 90s. But median means that there are today mothers born later and earlier. Mothers at age of 35 today are common but a women born in 1999 is 15 or 16 today and does not have kids - ok, a few have but that's not common. So that young kids today have parents at an age were the parents were kids in the 1990's. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:02, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

:As long as we're not accidentally counting "mothers at 35" rather than "''first time'' mothers at 35". The latter would be less common than the former. It'd be more akin to a bell curve with upper and lower 'tails' than a cumulative distribution S-curve where eventually everyone (who ''will'' ever be a statistic) is represented at the upper-end of the time scale.
:Probably 25plus10 years first-time-mothers are more common than 25minus10 years first-time-mothers, but that's a potential assymetry of the 'tails', and still the two middle quartiles could be unarguably relevent. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.252|141.101.98.252]] 22:27, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

1548: 90s Kid

2015-07-08T23:17:16Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1548
| date = July 8, 2015
| title = 90s Kid
| image = 90s_kid.png
| titletext = We remember Rugrats, and think of them every time our kids look at us through their baby gates.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First go at an edit.}}
This is another example where [[Randall|Randall]] describes the inexorable passage of time. The kids are repeating not just the perennial parental commandment to eat healthy vegetables, possibly less palatable to the child, but it's also a phrase for "don't ask too many stupid/irrelevant questions and just do as you are told" or "just shut up and accept things the way they are" as described here: [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=just+eat+your+carrots+and+broccolli "just eat your carrots and broccoli."] The kids are upset by the ignorance of adults to their interests.

Urban Dictionary says [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=90s+Kid '90s kids] are people stuck in the '90s even today. Randall says the median first-time mother of a newborn today was herself born in 1990. (Fathers and second-time parents will tend to be older, i.e. still born in the '80s.) Kids from the '90s have seen the cartoons explained below. And now they would like to see their kids today to love that too. But the current kids don't understand and don't like their parents favorites.

{{w|Rugrats}} is a cartoon that was produced from 1991 all the way to 2004, whilst {{w|Doug}} is another that ran for years 1991 to 2000. Parents of the rough age-ranges stated are likely to have been enjoying both shows in their early youth.

The use of the acronym "{{w|LOL}}" means '''laughing out loud''' or '''laugh out loud''' was probably coined in the 1980s, finding its way into general usage with the later uptake of wider public Internet and should be known to every kid working or playing on a computer today.

The title text suggests that viewing a child of one's own peering through such a barrier elicits nostalgia for the this cartoon. A {{w|baby gate}} is a semi-fixed piece of child-safety equipment to restrict a small child, typically a toddler, from leaving a safe area and especially to prevent access to stairways, up or down, where falls may happen without overly inconveniencing an adult who can open the mechanism. Baby gates, fully enclosed {{w|playpen}}s and similar barriers around cots feature as usually insurmountable barriers to the younger characters in Rugrats, who are of crawling and toddling age.

==Transcript==
:[Two kids are in a playground. A fence is visible in the background, and on the floor appear to be various items including a puddle and toy blocks.]
:Scruffy-haired kid: Ugh don't you hate how parents are all "Eat your carrots" and "LOL, remember Rugrats and Doug? Share if you're a 90's kid!"
: The median age at first birth in the US is 25, which means the typical new mother is now a 90's kid.
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]

1548: 90s Kid

2015-07-08T23:16:54Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1548
| date = July 8, 2015
| title = 90s Kid
| image = 90s_kid.png
| titletext = We remember Rugrats, and think of them every time our kids look at us through their baby gates.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First go at an edit.}}
This is another example where [[Randall|Randall]] describes the inexorable passage of time. The kids are repeating not just the perennial parental commandment to eat healthy vegetables, possibly less palatable to the child, but it's also a phrase for "don't ask too many stupid/irrelevant questions and just do as you are told" or "just shut up and accept things the way they are" as described here: [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=just+eat+your+carrots+and+broccolli "just eat your carrots and broccoli."] The kids are upset by the ignorance of adults to their interests.

Urban Dictionary says [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=90s+Kid '90s kids] are people stuck in the '90s even today. Randall says the median first-time mother of a newborn today was herself born in 1990. (Fathers and second-time parents will tend to be older, i.e. still born in the late '80s.) Kids from the '90s have seen the cartoons explained below. And now they would like to see their kids today to love that too. But the current kids don't understand and don't like their parents favorites.

{{w|Rugrats}} is a cartoon that was produced from 1991 all the way to 2004, whilst {{w|Doug}} is another that ran for years 1991 to 2000. Parents of the rough age-ranges stated are likely to have been enjoying both shows in their early youth.

The use of the acronym "{{w|LOL}}" means '''laughing out loud''' or '''laugh out loud''' was probably coined in the 1980s, finding its way into general usage with the later uptake of wider public Internet and should be known to every kid working or playing on a computer today.

The title text suggests that viewing a child of one's own peering through such a barrier elicits nostalgia for the this cartoon. A {{w|baby gate}} is a semi-fixed piece of child-safety equipment to restrict a small child, typically a toddler, from leaving a safe area and especially to prevent access to stairways, up or down, where falls may happen without overly inconveniencing an adult who can open the mechanism. Baby gates, fully enclosed {{w|playpen}}s and similar barriers around cots feature as usually insurmountable barriers to the younger characters in Rugrats, who are of crawling and toddling age.

==Transcript==
:[Two kids are in a playground. A fence is visible in the background, and on the floor appear to be various items including a puddle and toy blocks.]
:Scruffy-haired kid: Ugh don't you hate how parents are all "Eat your carrots" and "LOL, remember Rugrats and Doug? Share if you're a 90's kid!"
: The median age at first birth in the US is 25, which means the typical new mother is now a 90's kid.
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]

1548: 90s Kid

2015-07-08T23:15:54Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1548
| date = July 8, 2015
| title = 90s Kid
| image = 90s_kid.png
| titletext = We remember Rugrats, and think of them every time our kids look at us through their baby gates.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First go at an edit.}}
This is another example where [[Randall|Randall]] describes the inexorable passage of time. The kids are repeating not just the perennial parental commandment to eat healthy vegetables, possibly less palatable to the child, but it's also a phrase for "don't ask too many stupid/irrelevant questions and just do as you are told" or "just shut up and accept things the way they are" as described here: [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=just+eat+your+carrots+and+broccolli "just eat your carrots and broccoli."] The kids are upset by the ignorance of adults to their interests.

Urban Dictionary says [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=90s+Kid '90s kids] are people stuck in the '90s even today. Randall says the median first-time mother of a newborn today was herself born in 1990. (Fathers and second-time new parents will tend to be older, i.e. still born in the late '80s.) Kids from the '90s have seen the cartoons explained below. And now they would like to see their kids today to love that too. But the current kids don't understand and don't like their parents favorites.

{{w|Rugrats}} is a cartoon that was produced from 1991 all the way to 2004, whilst {{w|Doug}} is another that ran for years 1991 to 2000. Parents of the rough age-ranges stated are likely to have been enjoying both shows in their early youth.

The use of the acronym "{{w|LOL}}" means '''laughing out loud''' or '''laugh out loud''' was probably coined in the 1980s, finding its way into general usage with the later uptake of wider public Internet and should be known to every kid working or playing on a computer today.

The title text suggests that viewing a child of one's own peering through such a barrier elicits nostalgia for the this cartoon. A {{w|baby gate}} is a semi-fixed piece of child-safety equipment to restrict a small child, typically a toddler, from leaving a safe area and especially to prevent access to stairways, up or down, where falls may happen without overly inconveniencing an adult who can open the mechanism. Baby gates, fully enclosed {{w|playpen}}s and similar barriers around cots feature as usually insurmountable barriers to the younger characters in Rugrats, who are of crawling and toddling age.

==Transcript==
:[Two kids are in a playground. A fence is visible in the background, and on the floor appear to be various items including a puddle and toy blocks.]
:Scruffy-haired kid: Ugh don't you hate how parents are all "Eat your carrots" and "LOL, remember Rugrats and Doug? Share if you're a 90's kid!"
: The median age at first birth in the US is 25, which means the typical new mother is now a 90's kid.
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]

794: Inside Joke

2015-07-07T22:33:42Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number =794
| date =September 17, 2010
| title =Inside Joke
| image =inside_joke.png
| titletext =I've looked through a few annotated versions of classic books, and it's shocking how much of what's in there is basically pop-culture references totally lost on us now.
}}

==Explanation==
Inside jokes occur between friends and family members that live through a shared experience, which makes them laugh when they make reference to it later on. For people not "in the know", these inside jokes can come across as being completely incomprehensible, and in extreme cases just sound like random words strung together.

Randall posits the theory that this has been going on throughout history, and that historical figures probably had the same number of inside jokes as any modern group of high-school students. He probably chose to compare them to high-school students because that is a time of complex social interactions and cliques which are condusive to the formation of inside jokes.

The title text says that there are several classic books that make pop-culture references to events that no modern reader was alive to see. Topicality sometimes has the unfortunate side-effect of the work being far less understood to later generations. Suggested examples so far include Homer's ''{{w|Odyssey}},'' Shakespeare's ''{{w|Much Ado About Nothing}},'' and Lewis Carroll's ''Alice'' books, whose many nineteenth-century cultural references are enumerated in ''{{w|The Annotated Alice}}.''

The inside joke presented in the comic appears to be a reference to the esoterically-named {{W|Buddha Jumps Over the Wall}}, a type of fish soup that allegedly smelled so delicious, Buddhist disciples would sneak out of their meditative ceremonies to eat it. In this case, the ham seller comments that his products are so delicious that even the monk nearby is climbing over the wall to get some ham, after the buyer remarked that his product was too expensive.

==Transcript==
:[Two men with beards stand at a crude wooden counter, one is wearing a turban. Behind the man without a turban is a woman kneeling on the ground and putting something into a box.]
:Turban man: Nine silvers for a ham? That's too much!
:No-turban: Too much? There's a monk out back ''with a ladder!''

:Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
:There's no reason to think that people throughout history didn't have just as many inside jokes and catchphrases as any modern group of high-schoolers.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Puns]]

996: Making Things Difficult

2015-07-04T22:43:47Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 996
| date = December 28, 2011
| title = Making Things Difficult
| image = making_things_difficult.png
| titletext = Favorite mastectomy breast prosthesis idea: a fake boob containing a spare rechargable battery, accessed via a nipple USB port. Complete with a ring of LED charge indicators in the areola!
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a reference to the breast cancer surgery that [[Randall]]'s fiancee/wife underwent. This comic is the follow up appointment after the surgery. When the doctor asks [[Megan]] to take her shirt off, she refuses until the doctor gives her a necklace of beads that, among younger and more boorish {{w|Mardi Gras}} tourists, are used to exchange for the [http://www.askmen.com/fine_living/travel_archive_200/217_mardi-gras-dos-and-donts.html exposure of a female's breasts.]

So, by Megan saying "You know the rules", that indicates that Megan has stipulated that every time she takes off her shirt for the doctor, a necklace of beads must be exchanged.

At the top of the comic page there is a link to [http://blog.xkcd.com/2011/06/30/family-illness/ a blog posting] that talked about the real world events leading up to this comic.

The title text refers to a {{w|mastectomy}}, the surgical removal of one or both breasts. One possible treatment for breast cancer is to surgically remove the breast. After this procedure a false or prosthetic breast is often added to retain the prior physical appearance. The title text also suggests some things that could be concealed in this prosthesis. In the case a charging station with a USB port where the nipple would normally be, and lights to show how much charge the battery inside arranged around the darker circle of skin around the nipple.

==Transcript==
:Breast Cancer Surgery Follow-Up...
:Oncologist: You're looking great! Remove your top so I can check how the incision is healing.
:Megan: Nuh-uh.

:Oncologist: *sigh*. Do we have to do this ''every'' time?
:Megan: You know the rules.

:Oncologist: This is so ridiculous.
:[Oncologist annoyedly searches for something in pockets.]

:Oncologist: Here.
:[Oncologist waves around a Mardi Gras bead necklace.]
:Megan: Woooo!
:[Megan disrobes.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Cancer]]

Talk:1545: Strengths and Weaknesses

2015-07-01T22:36:01Z

Pesthouse:

For anyone who wants to take a stab at a more thorough (or better written) explanation of ancestry, the wiki pages for {{w|Identical_ancestors_point}} and {{w|Most_recent_common_ancestor}} helped me to start understanding the topic. I think its easy to jump to the conclusion that it is extremely unlikely that Cueball will be the ancestor of all living humans, however it isn't quite as intuitive as I believed. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 16:17, 1 July 2015 (UTC)

I don't understand, why would come a day that he is "either an ancestor to all living humans, or to none of them"? It's very possible for him to be the ancestor to ''some'' living humans forever [[User:Egoist|Egoist]] ([[User talk:Egoist|talk]]) 19:44, 1 July 2015 (UTC)
:If you have lots of children, and then if people interbreed randomly, as time goes forward it becomes less and less likely that any randomly selected person is ''not'' one of your descendents. As probability of ''not'' goes to zero, fraction of ''yes'' goes to 100%. But, if you do not have lots of children, and your kids don't either, at some future moment you may have zero descendents, and after that statistics cannot save you. [[User:Pesthouse|Pesthouse]] ([[User talk:Pesthouse|talk]]) 22:36, 1 July 2015 (UTC)

Two cases that haven't been dealt with:
1.) Humanity gets wiped out before this happens, so there are no living humans for Cueball to be ancestor to tor not. (0/0 case)

2.) Through physical separation, humanity diverges into 2 or more species, and Cueball is only an ancestor to some of these different species. Would all of these species be considered humans? I'm not familiar with the semantics.

I'm also not sure how likely either of these are.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.100|108.162.215.100]] 20:29, 1 July 2015 (UTC)

1545: Strengths and Weaknesses

2015-07-01T22:21:40Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */ spaceships and a new undefined acronym? and anything starting with "once again" is unnecessary

{{comic
| number = 1545
| date = July 1, 2015
| title = Strengths and Weaknesses
| image = strengths_and_weaknesses.png
| titletext = Do you need me to do a quicksort on the whiteboard or produce a generation of offspring or something? It might take me a bit, but I can do it.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is in a job interview and is being asked prototypical job interview questions by [[Ponytail]], "What is your greatest weakness?", "What is your greatest strength?" and "Where do you see yourself in five years?"

In a roundabout way, Cueball answers that he is a living organism, and as such he has inherent flaws which could cause him to die. This is a reference to the fact that biological system are "messy" and are not always optimal in design or operation. For example, cancer is a disease where the cellular machinery that governs cell replications breaks down and prolific cell division happens, endangering the organism tumors. While this is a true weakness, it is also a weakness of all biological organisms and is not likely to help the interview determine if he is right for the job.

For the second question Cueball answers that he will one day be the ancestor to all living humans or none of them. As you go farther and farther into the future the ratio of people alive will either go to 0% or 100% of the descendants of the character. The {{w|Most_recent_common_ancestor| most recent common ancestor (MRCA)}} for humans is estimated to have been alive between 2,000 and 4,000 years ago. If the MRCA's ancestors are traced back, the {{w|Identical_ancestors_point|Identical Ancestors Point}} can be found, at which point the entire population are either ancestors all living humans or no living humans. For humans, this point is estimated to be between 5,000 and 15,000 years ago.

For Cueball to be the ancestor to all living humans within 5 years means that all the humans who are not his children or grandchildren, must have died in a near total extinction of the human race. His apparent optimism about the possibility of this occurring is therefore worrisome.

The overarching joke is that Cueball assumes that the interviewer is assessing his fitness as an organism from a genetic perspective rather than his fitness for performing a particular job. The biggest limitation on fitness is survival time and mortality.

The title text takes this further, equating producing offspring during an interview (which would be awkward for all involved) with something that may actually help assess a candidate's efficacy as an employee, namely writing out a sorting algorithm on the spot, another prototypical interview question (see also [[1185: Ineffective Sorts]], especially the bottom left panel).

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail is shown sitting on a swivel chair, to the left of a desk.]
:Ponytail: What would you say is your biggest weakness?

:[The view expands to show Cueball sitting on another swivel chair, on the opposite side of the desk.]
:Cueball: Probably that I'm a giant tangle of parts that don't always work right, so I can die easily.

:Ponytail: Biggest strength?
:Cueball: There will come a day when I'm either an ancestor to ''all'' living humans, or to ''none'' of them.

:Ponytail: Where do you see yourself in five years?
:Cueball: Probably not the ancestor of all living humans yet. But you never know!

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:963: X11

2015-06-05T21:09:49Z

Pesthouse:

Come on Randall, it's not ''that'' hard, it's only 273 flags that you have to memorize. A child could do that. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|purple|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 09:00, 9 March 2013 (UTC)
:I think the comics might be about the fact that modern-day X.Org doesn't need <nowiki>xorg.conf</nowiki> at all... well, usually (i.e. almost always you can get with autodetection and without xorg.conf at all) --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 20:57, 27 June 2013 (UTC)
::Oh, ''<nowiki>xorg.conf</nowiki>'' was fun for me the last twenty years. I miss it...LOL--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:23, 27 June 2013 (UTC)

Good grief finding the actual Jefferson quote was hard. So many people saying things about the quotation without actually linking to the quotation. It took a bit of digging, [http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson#1780s Wikiquote] has [http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/jeff1340.htm a link] to what I think would have been the full text of the letter, but [http://virginia.edu UVa] must have switched CMS' so now all their links are different and you just get redirected to the front page of University of Virginia's Library. So much for permalinks. With a little bit more digging I found the full text published online by the [http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch2s23.html University of Chicago]. The text is thick, as should be expected of 18th century writing, but if you squint hard enough at a particular paragraph and twist the words a little you can come up with the sentiment that Randall refers to in the title text. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 20:17, 7 January 2014 (UTC)
:Did you not think of using the [http://web.archive.org Wayback Machine]? The UVa page you were looking for is [http://web.archive.org/web/20101205225845/http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/jeff1340.htm here]. [[User:NealCruco|NealCruco]] ([[User talk:NealCruco|talk]]) 02:44, 10 August 2014 (UTC)
Personally I like having the options [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.158|173.245.54.158]] 00:38, 25 November 2014 (UTC)

I think the explanation about how X works is wrong. But because of the unfortunate choices of the original X designers, I do not think it can become more accurate without also becoming more confusing. In particular, when dealing with X, ''server'' and ''client'' always mean the opposite of what you would expect. [[User:Pesthouse|Pesthouse]] ([[User talk:Pesthouse|talk]]) 21:09, 5 June 2015 (UTC)

1108: Cautionary Ghost

2015-06-01T23:02:55Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1108
| date = September 14, 2012
| title = Cautionary Ghost
| image = cautionary_ghost.png
| titletext = But then the Ghost of Subjunctive Past showed up and told me to stay strong on 'if it were'.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a comment on the futility of arguing over the commonly mocked usage of the word "literally" to mean "figuratively, with great emphasis." The comics ''[http://www.explosm.net/comics/2923/ Cyanide & Happiness]'' and ''[http://www.theoatmeal.com/comics/literally The Oatmeal]'' offer examples of this sort of derision.

The comic employs the device used in {{w|Charles Dickens}}'s ''{{w|A Christmas Carol}}'', in which the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future awaken the main character in the middle of the night to show him the negative causes and effects of his selfish and uncharitable behaviour.

That the two "different" futures are exactly (i.e. literally) the same suggests that the man's struggle to get people to stop using "literally" incorrectly will have no meaningful effect on the world, and so the man (and by extension, everyone else) may as well stop wasting time and energy on it.

The title text indicates that a second apparition encouraged the man to continue the fight on a different grammatical issue: the use of the phrase "if it were," which is frequently incorrectly substituted with "if it was." {{w|English subjunctive#Use of the past subjunctive|'Subjunctive past tense'}} is most commonly used in a counterfactual condition (i.e. when referencing something that is not the case). For example, the sentence "If I were rich, I wouldn't have to work for a living," contains the prescribed usage. However, some people would phrase this sentence as: "If I 'was' rich, I wouldn't have to work for a living." This usage grates on the ears of many people — including, apparently, the man in the comic. The comic appears to suggest that "if I were" is a more important issue than the incorrect usage of the word "literally."

Another xkcd comic, [[725: Literally]], also refers to the overly mocked usage of "literally."

A similar ghost is seen in [[1393: Timeghost]], where it reminds Cueball about the passing of time.

==Transcript==
:[A man wakes up to an apparition hovering over his bed.]
:Apparition: ''ooOOOOOOOOOOooooo''
:Man: A ghost!?
:Apparition: ''I bring a '''cautionary vision''' of things to come!''

:Apparition: This is the future:
:[Two people are standing between a pair of houses. There is a tree. An airplane flies past.]

:Apparition: And '''''this''''' is the future if you give up the fight over the word "literally":
:[Two people are standing between a pair of houses. There is a tree. An airplane flies past. The cynical might suggest the panel is copy pasted.]

:[Back to the man in bed.]
:Man: They looked exactly the same.
:Apparition: ''ooOOOOOOOOOOOooo''
:Man: Ok, I get it.
:Apparition: Seriously, this is duuuuumb.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Language]]

340: Fight

2015-05-26T23:49:33Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */ "X is X Windows which makes windows" does not explain much

{{comic
| number = 340
| date = November 9, 2007
| title = Fight
| image = fight.png
| titletext = And she put sweet nothings in all my .conf files. It'll take me forever to get X working again.
}}

==Explanation==
The {{w|boot sector}} of a hard drive is where the information for {{w|operating system}}s is stored. It tells the computer to load a program; in most cases this is an operating system. If this sector is overwritten, an operating system stored on the drive can't be booted into.

The first three panels suggest that the "sappy love note" is to someone else, indicating that [[Megan]] is seeing someone else; the last panel reveals that it is just that she overwrote the boot sector of [[Cueball]]'s computer out of anger.

The ''.conf'' files of {{w|Linux}}- and {{w|Unix}}-based systems are text based files where all the settings for various applications are stored. Since all the configurations were replaced with "sweet nothings" - whispered lovers' talk, or literal nothings (blank space or meaningless jumbles of characters) - none of the programs work as they should. X is the {{w|X Window System}}, the most common {{w|GUI}} framework used on modern Linux and Unix systems. Once upon a time it was notoriously hard to configure correctly, even when starting from a known good configuration, let alone a destroyed one. (More recent versions of X configure themselves correctly for most users without a ''.conf'' file.)

==Transcript==
:We had a fight last night.
:[Cueball is sitting in a sofa, head in both hands, feeling upset.]
:I guess she's still mad.
:[Megan is standing with arms crossed in front of her chest, with the same mood.]
:I woke up to find she'd written a sappy love note
:[Cueball is standing in front of a computer, with a cup in his hand.]
:to my boot sector.
:[The cup now lies on the floor, Cueball is looking at the computer with disbelief.]
:Computer: Operating system not found

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

Category:Velociraptors

2015-05-26T01:29:39Z

Pesthouse:

'''Velociraptor''' is a genus of {{w|dinosaur}} which was popularized by its appearance in the ''{{w|Jurassic Park}}'' film series. In the films, velociraptors are depicted as small (shorter than adult humans) bi-pedal scaled dinsaurs which frequently attacked and killed humans. They were one of the main antagonists in the films. The reference source used by the author of the original novel was somewhat outdated, and the dinosaurs as written and thereafter depicted in the film have some discrepencies with the size and appearance of the velociraptors. For example, scientists have since discovered that velociraptors were likely feathered.

''Jurassic Park'' could have been a scary film for children, and the film appears to have had a strong impact on [[Randall Munroe]]. Velociraptors in particular, and the irrational fear of being attacked by them in the modern world, are subject of (or appear in) several strips of [[xkcd]].

[http://webcomicssobad.blogspot.com/2007/11/xkcd.html Sonty Mick] posits, perhaps facetiously, that velociraptors in xkcd symbolize {{w|God}}.

''See also: {{w|Velociraptor}}''

{{navbox-characters}}

[[Category:Jurassic Park]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Characters]]

292: goto

2015-05-26T01:26:21Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 292
| date = July 20, 2007
| title = goto
| image = goto.png
| titletext = Neal Stephenson thinks it's cute to name his labels 'dengo'
}}

==Explanation==
''{{w|Goto}}'' is a construct found in many computer languages that causes control flow to go from one place in program to another, without returning. Once common in computer programming, its popularity diminished in the 1960s and 1970s as focus on {{w|structured programming}} became the norm. {{w|Edsger W. Dijkstra}}'s article [http://www.u.arizona.edu/~rubinson/copyright_violations/Go_To_Considered_Harmful.html "Go To Statement Considered Harmful"] in particular contributed to the decline of ''goto.''

Often people learning programming are told ''goto'' is bad and should be avoided, but frequently are not given a reason. In this case, [[Cueball]] can see no harm in using ''goto'' to avoid rewriting much of his program. As a result, he is attacked by a [[velociraptor]]. Velociraptor attacks are a running joke (and fear) often expressed in [[xkcd]]. The humor derives from the fact that a velociraptor attack is an [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong unexpected and severe consequence] of using a ''goto'' statement.

The title text refers to {{w|Neal Stephenson}}, an author of cyberpunk novels. A label is used in many programming languages to refer to a point in a program that a goto instruction can jump to. The joke is that one of Stephenson's characters in ''{{w|Cryptonomicon}}'' is named Goto Dengo.

==Trivia==

Like all velociraptors in xkcd, the velociraptor in this comic is specifically the man-sized movie monster from ''{{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park}}.'' Real velociraptors were more like [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vraptor-scale.png carnivorous turkeys.] The beast devouring Cueball might actually be ''[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dromie_scale.png Deinonychus antirrhopus.]''

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits at computer, thinking.]
:Cueball: I could restructure the program's flow - or use one little 'GOTO' instead.
:Cueball: Eh, screw good practice. How bad can it be?
:Text on computer: <tt>goto main_sub3;</tt>
:<nowiki>*Compile*</nowiki>
:[Cueball looks at the computer.]
:[A raptor jumps into the panel and attacks Cueball.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Programming]]

292: goto

2015-05-25T23:24:46Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 292
| date = July 20, 2007
| title = goto
| image = goto.png
| titletext = Neal Stephenson thinks it's cute to name his labels 'dengo'
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|goto}} is a construct found in many computer languages that causes control flow to go from one place in program to another, without returning. Once common in computer programming, its popularity diminished in the 1960s and 1970s as focus on {{w|structured programming}} became the norm. {{w|Edsger W. Dijkstra}}'s article [http://www.u.arizona.edu/~rubinson/copyright_violations/Go_To_Considered_Harmful.html Go To Statement Considered Harmful] in particular contributed to the decline of ''goto''.

Often people learning programming are told ''goto'' is bad and should be avoided, but frequently are not given a reason. In this case, [[Cueball]] can see no harm in using ''goto'' to avoid rewriting much of his program. As a result, he is attacked by a {{w|velociraptor}}. Velociraptor attacks are a running joke (and fear) often expressed in [[xkcd]]. The humor derives from the fact that a velociraptor attack is [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong an unexpected and severe consequence] of using a ''goto'' statement.

The title text refers to {{w|Neal Stephenson}}, an author of cyberpunk novels. A label is used in many programming languages to refer to a point in a program that a goto instruction can jump to. The joke is that one of Stephenson's characters in ''{{w|Cryptonomicon}}'' is named 'Goto Dengo'.

==Trivia==

Like all velociraptors in xkcd, the velociraptor in this comic is specifically the man-sized movie monster from ''{{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park}}.'' Real velociraptors were more like [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vraptor-scale.png carnivorous turkeys.] The beast devouring Cueball might actually be ''[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dromie_scale.png Deinonychus antirrhopus.]''

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits at computer, thinking.]
:Cueball: I could restructure the program's flow - or use one little 'GOTO' instead.
:Cueball: Eh, screw good practice. How bad can it be?
:Text on computer: <tt>goto main_sub3;</tt>
:<nowiki>*Compile*</nowiki>
:[Cueball looks at the computer.]
:[A raptor jumps into the panel and attacks Cueball.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Programming]]

1527: Humans

2015-05-22T03:34:16Z

Pesthouse: the word "beings" does not seem to appear in this comic

{{comic
| number = 1527
| date = May 20, 2015
| title = Humans
| image = humans.png
| titletext = At this point, if we're going to keep insisting on portraying dinosaurs as featherless because it's "cooler", it's time to apply that same logic to art involving bald eagles.
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|Title text explanation needs improvement. Cleaning up required.}}
The comic is set in the future, with two hovering robots discussing ancient history, in particular the clothing styles of kings and queens of the now extinct human race. It appears that robot archeologists have long ago unearthed remains from the human civilization. Recently they must have discovered something new, that presumably indicates the wearing of colorful clothing by human monarchs. Until this occurred they had no reason to believe that people wore clothing. Noting that some humans had metal rings around their heads, they have drawn the conclusion that these formed a separate species "Human Kings" and the crown is a natural outgrowth of the skeleton.

When {{w|dinosaur}} bones were first dug up, the idea that dinosaurs were scaly, reptilian-like creatures was developed with the information available at the time. In recent times, it's been discovered that most dinosaurs actually had {{w|Feathered dinosaur|feathers}}, and in well preserved specimens, often from the {{w|Jiufotang Formation}} in Northern China, feathers of various forms are clearly visible.

As this runs counter to the widespread and long-held image of dinosaurs as dramatic reptiles, the public has been reluctant to accept this new discovery, especially as the addition of feathers often conjures up the image of a giant chicken. (See [[1104: Feathers]]). Had it been discovered that dinosaurs were in fact covered with 6-inch long razor tipped spikes, people may have accepted this immediately as it conforms to the stereotype of dinosaurs as killing machines. There have even been attempts to claim that the feathers did not exist.{{Citation needed}}

In the same way, the new information on kings and queens being covered in fabric runs counter to the movie inspired image that the robot on the right had about humans, picturing them as being pink warriors that could grow metal out of their heads. (The head-metal image may have been inspired by the discovery of kings and queens buried or entombed with their crowns lying on top of their skulls - for example the [http://www.nature.com/news/the-last-medici-may-not-have-died-of-syphilis-after-all-1.12435 Electress Palatine Anna Maria de'Medici]. If the robot beings in this comic don't know enough about human anatomy, they may assume that the metal crown is a specialized part of the human skeleton.) Since they themselves are made of metal, they may conclude that that humans also were part metal.

Shown at least some evidence pointing to the truth - that humans typically wore clothing, and that a monarch's crown is only a symbol worn atop the head and not part of his or her body - the robot is predictably disappointed. Humans wearing clothing reduces them, in its opinion, to "big pillows". Something made of cloth (or covered in it), at least in this robot's mind, cannot be a significant actor in history.

The robot fails to reason that, among other things, history was what it was, and its wanting things to have been a certain way does not make it so. In addition, just as the clothing-wearing human is more than a mere pillow, a feathered dinosaur is not necessarily merely a giant chicken.

The reference to colorful fabric may also be indicative of the popular and mistaken view that all ancient statues (particularly ancient Roman and Greek sculpture) were white. Instead, many of the statues were painted (sometimes rather gaudily due to the low availability of various dyes) and the paint has merely worn off, leading to the present belief that ancient Athens was a city of shining white marble porticoes, colonnades and statues. (See [http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/true-colors-17888/?no-ist Reference])

The title text references our failure to change the popular image of dinosaurs to reflect the way they truthfully once were. [[Randall]] jokingly suggests that we should apply the same "featherless is cooler" logic to popular images of bald eagles ([[1211: Birds and Dinosaurs|since they are modern dinosaurs]]), and remove their feathers (only in depictions of them, presumably), leaving them entirely bald.

It is worth noting that this comic was released a few weeks before the scheduled release of ''{{w|Jurassic World}}'', a reboot of the {{w|Jurassic Park}} movie franchise. This new movie, while supposedly aware of recent advances in dinosaur research, still depicts dinosaurs as giant lizards without feathers. It seems likely that the robot's comment about "pink humans" is targeted at this movie, especially given Randall's many earlier [[:Category:Jurassic Park|references to Jurassic Park]] and his [[:Category:Velociraptors|fear of velociraptors]].

==Transcript==
:[Two robots are hovering in mid-air in the comic; what appear to be their optical arrays are facing each other]
:Robot 1: You know, new research suggests ancient human kings and queens were covered in colorful fabric.
:Robot 2: Ugh, I like '''movie''' humans more. Screaming pink warriors with metal crowns poking through the skin on their heads!
:Robot 2: Now they're, what, big pillows?
:Robot 2: Science ruins everything.
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Robots]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]

841: Audiophiles

2015-05-20T01:34:01Z

Pesthouse: afterdeadline.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/13/leaving-well-alone

{{comic
| number = 841
| date = December 31, 2010
| title = Audiophiles
| image = audiophiles.png
| titletext = For years, I took the wrong lesson from that Monster Cable experiment and only listened to my music through alligator-clipped coat hangers.
}}

==Explanation==
The joke centers around the fact that, usually, the higher the data rate of an audio stream, the better the audio sounds. This is obvious when it comes to video files, but less so when it comes to audio files. Almost everyone knows that a 1080p video picture has better resolution than a 480p picture, because the 1080p image has thousands and thousands more pixels in it. And with this higher picture resolution or "quality" there's a direct relationship to the amount of data contained in the picture. For this reason, online video pictures are generally of much worse quality than your HDTV, because streaming all that data is hard work for the internet, so they stream a lousy quality picture in order to move all that picture information in a timely manner. Cell phones are to sound what a bad website is to video; it moves just enough information to get the point across without being a stunning reproduction of standing next to the action. For reference, the data rate from listening to an audio CD is 1411 kbps, over 117 times better than a cell phone.

The title text is referring to a [http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/speakers-when-is-good-enough-enough.2512/page-2 forum post from audioholics.com,] where a user did a blind audio test using monster cable and coat hangers with soldered on alligator clips, and the audiophiles were unable to discern any difference.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are talking over the telephone. The first two panels are split diagonally. Cueball is at a store, holding a box, and Megan is consulting with him.]
:Cueball: Do we have an RCA-to-3.5mm female-female plug? I'm getting some speakers for the new Xbox, since the monitor doesn't have any.
:Megan: Are they crappy laptop speakers? ''Ugh.''

:[Cueball is standing next to a sale rack.]
:Cueball: Does it matter? I just want to hear if I'm getting shot at, not savor every detail of a beautiful musical soundscape.
:Megan: You've never ''heard'' a beautiful musical soundscape. You listen to 96kbps flv rips from YouTube.

:[Megan is walking.]
:Cueball: Whatever. I'm just going to get these $20 speakers. Five watts will be plenty.
:Megan: Five watts for a living room sound system? Is that a joke?

:Cueball: No, this is a joke: How many audiophiles does it take to change a lightbulb?
:Megan: How many?
:Cueball: I'll tell you later—you wouldn't appreciate the punchline over this 12kbps cell phone codec.
:''click''

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

481: Listen to Yourself

2015-05-12T01:09:32Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */ the original babby page no longer exists

{{comic
| number = 481
| date = September 26, 2008
| title = Listen to Yourself
| image = listen_to_yourself.png
| titletext = Man, I just wanted to know how babby was formed.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|YouTube}} is a website for video sharing where anyone can upload and view videos. It is notorious for having some of the most ridiculous, hateful, mean-spirited, nonsensical comments of any mainstream website (a reputation touched upon earlier in [[202: YouTube]]).

[[Danish]] tells [[Black Hat]] that her computer virus reads a YouTube user's comments back to them before it is submitted. Upon hearing their own ridiculous comments read aloud to them, they will realize the stupidity of it and not submit the comment. YouTube later made this a real feature, although it has since been removed again.

The title text is in reference to a post left on the Yahoo! Answers website in 2006 by a submitter known as "kavya," who asks [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/how-is-babby-formed "how is babby formed / how girl get pragnent."] The post picked up internet popularity and spawned several flash animations. This was again mentioned in [[522: Google Trends]].

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat approaches Danish typing at a computer.]
:Black Hat: What are you writing?
:Danish: Virus.
:Black Hat: What's it do?

:Danish: When someone tries to post a YouTube comment, it first reads it aloud back to them.

:Soon, everywhere:
:[Cueball is commenting on YouTube.]
:''type type type''

:[Youtube comment is read back.]

:Cueball: ...I'm a moron.

:[Cueball leaves desk.]

:[Cueball is seen sitting on steps, depressed.]

:[Cueball has head in hands.]
:Cueball: I... I didn't know.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Danish]]
[[Category:YouTube]]

578: The Race: Part 2

2015-05-11T02:51:08Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 578
| date = May 5, 2009
| title = The Race: Part 2
| image = the_race_part_2.png
| titletext = The Hammer + Captain Tightpants == Captain Hammerpants?
}}

==Explanation==
''{{w|Firefly (TV series)|Firefly}}'' was a television series aired by Fox in 2002. The star of the show was Captain Malcolm (or Mal) Reynolds, played by {{w|Nathan Fillion}}.

Megan tries to play the rational card, and insist that the characters of major TV shows must get tired of fans' never-ending need to see them playing that character, and never being themselves. Nathan Fillion, however, appears to miss the days of ''Firefly'' so much that he spends his time reenacting his role as Malcolm at home.

In the fourth panel Cueball suggests they race for charities, which would mean the winner gets to donate the prize money to their charity of choice. In the fifth panel Fillion, takes the phrase and twists it to mean that the winner gets the charity. This is why Cueball says the confused line "Come again?"

The title text refers both to Mal being referred to by Kaylee as "Captain Tightpants" in the episode "Shindig," and to Captain Hammer, a superhero played by Nathan Fillion in another series created by Joss Whedon: ''Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.'' "Hammerpants" may also be a reference to the odd, puffy parachute pants worn by 1990s rapper MC Hammer.

All comics in "[[The Race]]" series:
*[[577: The Race: Part 1]]
*578: The Race: Part 2 (this one)
*[[579: The Race: Part 3]]
*[[580: The Race: Part 4]]
*[[581: The Race: Part 5]]

This series was released on five consecutive days(Monday-Friday) and not over the usual Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule.

Electric skateboards have been the subject of several other comics like [[139: I Have Owned Two Electric Skateboards]], [[409: Electric Skateboard (Double Comic)]] and a panel in [[442: xkcd Loves the Discovery Channel]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball with skateboard and gear and Megan are talking.]
:Cueball: "Why race him?" He's ''Captain Reynolds!''
:Megan: Mr. Fillion is an actor. Firefly was years ago.

:[They go over to a computer; Cueball is using a phone and presumably looking up a phone number.]
:Megan: He has his own life to live, and I'm sure the last thing he wants to do is indulge a fan by playing Mal for him.

:Meanwhile...
:[Nathan Fillion is standing in front of a mirror in a trenchcoat.]
:Nathan: (into the mirror) Name's Captain Reynolds, ma'am. *ahem* Name's Captain Reynolds, ma'am.
:Someone offpanel: Nathan? Telephone!
:Nathan: That's ''Captain!''
:Someone offpanel: Fine, Captain Nathan.
:Nathan: No, use my '''space''' name!
:Someone offpanel: *sigh*

:[Nathan and Cueball talk on the phone.]
:Cueball: So, how about we race for charities?

:Nathan: Sure. Always did want a charity of my own.

:Cueball (between panels): Come again?

:Nathan: You know, boxes in supermarkets collecting food. 'Course, ought to tack up a list sayin' which wines I like best...

:Cueball: Uh, that's not quite—
:Nathan (over the phone): Listen, I'm the captain here.
:Cueball: ...I just got goosebumps when you said that.

:Nathan: Yeah, happens to me too whenever I get captainy. I cut such a strapping figure.
:Nathan: Buckle! Swash!
:Nathan: All right, let's do this race.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Nathan Fillion]]
[[Category:The Race]]
[[Category:Firefly]]
[[Category:Electric skateboard]]

578: The Race: Part 2

2015-05-11T02:49:21Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */ applies to most TV shows really

{{comic
| number = 578
| date = May 5, 2009
| title = The Race: Part 2
| image = the_race_part_2.png
| titletext = The Hammer + Captain Tightpants == Captain Hammerpants?
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Firefly (TV series)|Firefly}} was a television series aired by Fox in 2002. The star of the show was Captain Malcolm (or Mal) Reynolds, played by {{w|Nathan Fillion}}.

Megan tries to play the rational card, and insist that the characters of major TV shows must get tired of fans' never-ending need to see them playing that character, and never being themselves. Nathan Fillion, however, appears to miss the days of Firefly so much that he spends his time reenacting his role as Malcolm at home.

In the fourth panel Cueball suggests they race for charities, which would mean the winner gets to donate the prize money to their charity of choice. In the fifth panel Fillion, takes the phrase and twists it to mean that the winner gets the charity. This is why Cueball says the confused line "Come again?"

The title text refers both to Mal being referred to by Kaylee as "Captain Tightpants" in the episode "Shindig," and to Captain Hammer, a superhero played by Nathan Fillion in another series created by Joss Whedon: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. "Hammerpants" may also be a stealth callback to the odd, puffy parachute pants worn by 1990s rapper MC Hammer, another thing Randall likes to occasionally reference.

All comics in "[[The Race]]" series:
*[[577: The Race: Part 1]]
*578: The Race: Part 2 (this one)
*[[579: The Race: Part 3]]
*[[580: The Race: Part 4]]
*[[581: The Race: Part 5]]

This series was released on five consecutive days(Monday-Friday) and not over the usual Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule.

Electric skateboards have been the subject of several other comics like [[139: I Have Owned Two Electric Skateboards]], [[409: Electric Skateboard (Double Comic)]] and a panel in [[442: xkcd Loves the Discovery Channel]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball with skateboard and gear and Megan are talking.]
:Cueball: "Why race him?" He's ''Captain Reynolds!''
:Megan: Mr. Fillion is an actor. Firefly was years ago.

:[They go over to a computer; Cueball is using a phone and presumably looking up a phone number.]
:Megan: He has his own life to live, and I'm sure the last thing he wants to do is indulge a fan by playing Mal for him.

:Meanwhile...
:[Nathan Fillion is standing in front of a mirror in a trenchcoat.]
:Nathan: (into the mirror) Name's Captain Reynolds, ma'am. *ahem* Name's Captain Reynolds, ma'am.
:Someone offpanel: Nathan? Telephone!
:Nathan: That's ''Captain!''
:Someone offpanel: Fine, Captain Nathan.
:Nathan: No, use my '''space''' name!
:Someone offpanel: *sigh*

:[Nathan and Cueball talk on the phone.]
:Cueball: So, how about we race for charities?

:Nathan: Sure. Always did want a charity of my own.

:Cueball (between panels): Come again?

:Nathan: You know, boxes in supermarkets collecting food. 'Course, ought to tack up a list sayin' which wines I like best...

:Cueball: Uh, that's not quite—
:Nathan (over the phone): Listen, I'm the captain here.
:Cueball: ...I just got goosebumps when you said that.

:Nathan: Yeah, happens to me too whenever I get captainy. I cut such a strapping figure.
:Nathan: Buckle! Swash!
:Nathan: All right, let's do this race.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Nathan Fillion]]
[[Category:The Race]]
[[Category:Firefly]]
[[Category:Electric skateboard]]

1147: Evolving

2015-05-11T02:47:11Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1147
| date = December 14, 2012
| title = Evolving
| image = evolving.png
| titletext = Biologists play reverse Pokémon, trying to avoid putting any one team member on the front lines long enough for the experience to cause evolution.
}}

==Explanation==
In a {{w|Pokémon}} game, a player goes out in search for the eponymous creatures. Many Pokémon can be found directly in the wild, but there are also a lot of Pokémon that require training and growth, to cause them to "evolve" into new Pokémon. "Evolve," the game's term, is a misnomer which [http://www.cephasministry.com/save_our_children_pokemon_booklet.html earned itself quite some controversy in the past;] in reality, Pokémon "evolution" is more akin to puberty or metamorphosis, since instead of the entire species of Pokémon acquiring changes through an extended period of time, one specific member of the species grows instantly to the "higher stage." At that point in the game, the Pokémon glows before transforming into the new form, then stops glowing, and the very same text ''"What? XXX is evolving!"'' is used (see [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qUwWAMgy3E this video] or {{w|File:Pokemon evolution.png|those screenshots}} for instance). The changes of such a transformation can be [http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/snorunt quite] [http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/froslass dramatic] ... [http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/poliwhirl or] [http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/poliwrath not.]

This comic depicts the "evolution" of bacteria as observed by a Biologist in the same format as the game Pokémon. Here we have ''{{w|Staphylococcus aureus}},'' which is not a desirable bacterium (it causes {{w|Staph infection}}s) which evolves into {{w|MRSA|"Methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus''"}}. {{w|Methicillin}} is an antibiotic. If the bacterium becomes resistant, it means the antibiotic will be less effective against it, making infections harder to treat. Thus the observer is not pleased with such an evolution.

The title text references this by suggesting that biologists do ''not'' want bacteria to evolve in this way, as opposed to Pokémon where you put a Pokémon on the "front lines" as much as possible to gain it experience and hope it evolves. A point of irony is that Pokémon evolution can easily be prevented, by using an Everstone, or stopped, by pressing the B button in the game controller during evolution, especially if there are [http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/vigoroth Pokémon that one does not want to evolve.] The bit about the front lines is that, if a bacteria colony is exposed sufficiently to an antibiotic, those bacteria with any level of resistance to the antibiotic are less likely to be killed by the antibiotic, and are able to reproduce in spite of the antibiotic. Most future generations of bacteria now have this level of resistance instead of just a small subset. This makes the likelihood of future more resistant and harder to treat mutations even more likely.

''{{w|Staphylococcus aureus}}'' is a very common bacterium, that under an electron microscope looks like the xkcd drawing, and is the major cause of staph infections in the nostrils and skin. Hospitals are often plagued with outbreaks of {{w|Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus}} (MRSA), which is very difficult to treat as the typical antibiotics do not work on it.

==Transcript==
:[Bacterial cell culture.]
:What?
:'''''Staphylococcus aureus''''' is evolving!

:...

:Off-screen: Aww, crap.
:'''''Staphylococcus aureus''''' evolved into '''Methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus!'''''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Pokémon]]

274: With Apologies to The Who

2015-04-25T23:23:00Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 274
| date = June 8, 2007
| title = With Apologies to The Who
| image = with_apologies_to_the_who.png
| titletext = Trivia: Roger Daltry originally wrote "Don't try an' Digg what we all say" but erased the second "g" when he moved to reddit.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic refers to the song "{{w|My Generation}}" by the British rock band {{w|The Who}}, which was released in 1965. The song is about {{w|intergenerational conflict}} and has been regarded as a very decided proclamation of youthful rebellion. [[Cueball]] adapts the lyrics to describe his own generation, the {{w|Millennials}}. As people born from the 1980s onwards grew up with the internet, this generation is also nicknamed "{{w|digital natives}}". It is therefore natural that the updated lyrics should refer to {{w|blogging}} and {{w|internet slang}}. The actions performed by Cueball while typing the text relates to the original [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=594WLzzb3JI music video,] in which The Who smash their instruments in a true rock star fashion. Cueball wails his keyboard like a guitar and smashes his monitor in the end.

The title text jokingly suggests that the band's lead singer {{w|Roger Daltrey}} originally meant the line
:And don't try and Digg what we all s-s-say
as a reference to the social news site {{w|Digg}} but changed it after switching to its competitor {{w|Reddit}}.

The song was actually written by guitarist {{w|Pete Townshend}}.

===Explanation of Terms===
An explanation of the terms in this comic:
:"noobs" is a synonym of "newbie", which is a person who is new to an online community and is thus often not familiar with the rules and norms of the community. Cueball is suggesting that old people are not competent/familiar with the online realm.
:"the tubes" is likely a reference to the saying {{w|series of tubes}}.
:"grok" is a synonym for "understand". Cueball is suggesting that people of older generations have difficulty understanding internet slang, which is often true.
:"bloggin'" (blogging) is the act of writing in a {{w|blog}}.

===Original Lyrics===
The original lyrics of the song run as follows:
:People try to put us d-d-down
:Just because we get around
:Things they do look awful c-c-cold
:I hope I die before I get old
:[...]
:Why don't you all f-fade away
:And don't try and dig what we all s-s-say
:I'm not trying to cause a big s-s-sensation
:I'm just talkin' 'bout my g-g-g-generation''

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting at a desk with a computer, typing.]
:Monitor: People try to shut us d-d-down
:just 'cause our music gets around
:[Cueball is standing on his chair and typing with his keyboard across his hip.]
:Monitor: Old folks act like total noobs
:get off our net; you block the tubes
:[Cueball is really wailing on the keyboard.]
:Monitor: Why don't you all just d-d-disconnect
:and don't try an' grok our d-d-dialect
:[Cueball smashes the keyboard into the monitor.]
:Monitor: I'm not tryin' to cause a big s-s-sensation
:I'm just bloggin' 'bout my generation

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Music]]

274: With Apologies to The Who

2015-04-25T23:21:26Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 274
| date = June 8, 2007
| title = With Apologies to The Who
| image = with_apologies_to_the_who.png
| titletext = Trivia: Roger Daltry originally wrote "Don't try an' Digg what we all say" but erased the second "g" when he moved to reddit.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic refers to the song "{{w|My Generation}}" by the British rock band {{w|The Who}}, which was released in 1965. The song is about {{w|intergenerational conflict}} and has been regarded as a very decided proclamation of youthful rebellion. [[Cueball]] adapts the lyrics to describe his own generation, the {{w|Millennials}}. As people born from the 1980s onwards grew up with the internet, this generation is also nicknamed "{{w|digital natives}}". It is therefore natural that the updated lyrics should refer to {{w|blogging}} and {{w|internet slang}}. The actions performed by Cueball while typing the text relates to the original [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=594WLzzb3JI music video], in which The Who smash their instruments in a true rock star fashion. Cueball wails his keyboard like a guitar and smashes his monitor in the end.

The title text jokingly suggests that the band's lead singer {{w|Roger Daltrey}} originally meant the line
:And don't try and Digg what we all s-s-say
as a reference to the social news site {{w|Digg}} but changed it after switching to its competitor {{w|Reddit}}.

The song was actually written by guitarist {{w|Pete Townshend}}.

===Explanation of Terms===
An explanation of the terms in this comic:
:"noobs" is a synonym of "newbie", which is a person who is new to an online community and is thus often not familiar with the rules and norms of the community. Cueball is suggesting that old people are not competent/familiar with the online realm.
:"the tubes" is likely a reference to the saying {{w|series of tubes}}.
:"grok" is a synonym for "understand". Cueball is suggesting that people of older generations have difficulty understanding internet slang, which is often true.
:"bloggin'" (blogging) is the act of writing in a {{w|blog}}.

===Original Lyrics===
The original lyrics of the song run as follows:
:People try to put us d-d-down
:Just because we get around
:Things they do look awful c-c-cold
:I hope I die before I get old
:[...]
:Why don't you all f-fade away
:And don't try and dig what we all s-s-say
:I'm not trying to cause a big s-s-sensation
:I'm just talkin' 'bout my g-g-g-generation''

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting at a desk with a computer, typing.]
:Monitor: People try to shut us d-d-down
:just 'cause our music gets around
:[Cueball is standing on his chair and typing with his keyboard across his hip.]
:Monitor: Old folks act like total noobs
:get off our net; you block the tubes
:[Cueball is really wailing on the keyboard.]
:Monitor: Why don't you all just d-d-disconnect
:and don't try an' grok our d-d-dialect
:[Cueball smashes the keyboard into the monitor.]
:Monitor: I'm not tryin' to cause a big s-s-sensation
:I'm just bloggin' 'bout my generation

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Music]]

274: With Apologies to The Who

2015-04-25T23:18:31Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 274
| date = June 8, 2007
| title = With Apologies to The Who
| image = with_apologies_to_the_who.png
| titletext = Trivia: Roger Daltry originally wrote "Don't try an' Digg what we all say" but erased the second "g" when he moved to reddit.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic refers to the song "{{w|My Generation}}" by the British rock band {{w|The Who}}, which was released in 1965. The song is about {{w|intergenerational conflict}} and has been regarded as a very decided proclamation of youthful rebellion. [[Cueball]] adapts the lyrics to describe his own generation, the {{w|Generation Y}}. As people born from the 1980s onwards grew up with the internet, this generation is also nicknamed "{{w|digital natives}}". It is therefore natural that the updated lyrics should refer to {{w|blogging}} and {{w|internet slang}}. The actions performed by Cueball while typing the text relates to the original [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=594WLzzb3JI music video], in which The Who smash their instruments in a true rock star fashion. Cueball wails his keyboard like a guitar and smashes his monitor in the end.

The title text jokingly suggests that the band's lead singer {{w|Roger Daltrey}} originally meant the line
:And don't try and Digg what we all s-s-say
as a reference to the social news site {{w|Digg}} but changed it after switching to its competitor {{w|Reddit}}.

In fact, the person who actually "wrote" the song was guitarist {{w|Pete Townshend}}.

===Explanation of Terms===
An explanation of the terms in this comic:
:"noobs" is a synonym of "newbie", which is a person who is new to an online community and is thus often not familiar with the rules and norms of the community. Cueball is suggesting that old people are not competent/familiar with the online realm.
:"the tubes" is likely a reference to the saying {{w|series of tubes}}.
:"grok" is a synonym for "understand". Cueball is suggesting that people of older generations have difficulty understanding internet slang, which is often true.
:"bloggin'" (blogging) is the act of writing in a {{w|blog}}.

===Original Lyrics===
The original lyrics of the song run as follows:
:People try to put us d-d-down
:Just because we get around
:Things they do look awful c-c-cold
:I hope I die before I get old
:[...]
:Why don't you all f-fade away
:And don't try and dig what we all s-s-say
:I'm not trying to cause a big s-s-sensation
:I'm just talkin' 'bout my g-g-g-generation''

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting at a desk with a computer, typing.]
:Monitor: People try to shut us d-d-down
:just 'cause our music gets around
:[Cueball is standing on his chair and typing with his keyboard across his hip.]
:Monitor: Old folks act like total noobs
:get off our net; you block the tubes
:[Cueball is really wailing on the keyboard.]
:Monitor: Why don't you all just d-d-disconnect
:and don't try an' grok our d-d-dialect
:[Cueball smashes the keyboard into the monitor.]
:Monitor: I'm not tryin' to cause a big s-s-sensation
:I'm just bloggin' 'bout my generation

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Music]]

1516: Win by Induction

2015-04-25T23:08:59Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1516
| date = April 24, 2015
| title = Win by Induction
| image = win by induction.png
| titletext = This would be bad enough, but every 30th or 40th pokéball has TWO of them inside.
}}

==Explanation==
In the {{w|Pokémon}} franchise, human characters called Trainers capture fantastical creatures from the wild, the titular Pokémon (a shortened form of "Pocket Monsters"), and train them to battle one another. Pokémon are captured and stored in devices called Poké Balls, which shrink the creatures down to pocket size (hence "Pocket Monsters"). The anime's dub has enshrined the phrase "''<Pokémon's name>'', I choose you!" into popular culture memory. When Trainers do battle, they often shout this phrase while throwing the ball to the ground, releasing the Pokémon at full size.

In this comic, a Pokémon chosen at some point was a {{w|Pikachu}}, which does not intend to engage in the battle himself. Instead, the Pikachu chooses another Pikachu to fight for him. This process then repeats itself. Behind the Pikachu with the Pokéball is a long line of other Pikachu, suggesting that this process has been going on for a while.

Nearby stands [[Cueball]], holding a closed Pokéball, and [[Megan]], looking at her watch. This suggests that Cueball intends to have his own Pokémon fight the Pikachu, but is waiting to see which enemy his Pokémon must face before the battle can actually begin (waiting in vain, if the above described process repeats indefinitely), while Megan is growing impatient with the delay. Given that Cueball is holding a closed Pokéball he has not deployed yet, Megan cannot herself be his Pokémon. She could be his opponent, or a spectator.

The joke in this comic comes from analogy with the mathematical {{w|proof by induction}}, which is a proof with a base case, followed by a never ending sequence of steps. Each step leads to the next, thus proving something for all cases. This title seems to suggest that the process of Pikachu choosing Pikachu will not end, effectively postponing the battle indefinitely.

The name "induction" comes from logic and discrete mathematics, and is thus unrelated to the physical phenomena of {{w|electromagnetic induction}}; but the fact that Pikachu is an "Electric-type" Pokémon could be a word play connecting the two ideas.

If there were always only a single Pikachu in each Pokéball, this would spawn an unlimited number of Pikachu forming a single line. Since, as the title text notes, there're occasionally two of them in a Pokéball, this would lead to exponential rather than linear growth, as if the latter wasn't bad enough!

Pikachu was used in one of the storylines of [[1350: Lorenz]]. See all the attack moves it made [[1350:_Lorenz#Pok.C3.A9mon|here]].

==Transcript==
:[There's a long queue of Pikachu extending out of the frame to the left. They are all just out from their ball, at least the last eight Pikachu's open balls lie in two parts on the ground at their feet. They are standing in front of Megan and Cueball. Cueball is holding a closed pokéball while Megan checks the time on her watch. The frontmost Pikachu, holding a closed pokéball, speaks.]

:Pikachu at the front: Pikachu, I choose ''you!''

==Trivia==
*For some reason Pikachu is drawn without its lightning shaped tail.
*In the Pokémon canon, Pokémon are only allowed to hold on to an ''empty'' Pokéball when stored in a Pokéball.

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

13: Canyon

2015-04-20T04:24:44Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 13
| date = September 30, 2005
| title = Canyon
| image = canyon_small.jpg
| titletext = They're standing at the lip of the canyon, which isn't clear at all.
}}

==Explanation==
This is one of the early comics which explores a theme [[xkcd]] returns to often: the wonder around us, if we would just look.

[[Cueball]] and his friend (that also looks like Cueball), are having a discussion. After the friend have asked Cueball about the time Cueball simply states that it is ''now.'' Then there is a beat panel showing the two standing at the lip of a great canyon drawn in detail and color.

The friend claims that ''now'' is a boring answer, since it's a tautology, a functionally useless answer, and a bad joke all at the same time. Cueball, however, asserts that ''now'' is the least boring answer he could give.

It is typical for human beings to focus on mundane concerns, like a meeting they might be late for or a bus they have to catch, and take their familiar environment for granted, no matter how fabulous it might have been at first sight.

The title text explains that they stand on the lip of the canyon, which may not be clear if you do not look very carefully at the color drawing. There are two tiny stick figures at the top of the canyon, near the center of the panel. On the other six panels there is just a ragged line, which thus obviously is this lip of the canyon.

==Transcript==
:[Two guys, both Cueball-like, are standing at some kind of cliff edge.]
:Friend: What time is it?

:[The second guy (Cueball) looks at his watch in silence.]

:[Then he answers the question]
:Cueball: Now.

:[Full scene is revealed: The two men (barely visible) are standing at the lip of a huge canyon in a rocky, barren landscape. A pock-marked moon and a ringed planet are visible in the burgundy-colored sky.]

:[The two guys are again seen standing at what is now know to be the lip of the canyon.]
:Friend: That's a pretty boring answer.

:[Next panel is the same as before.]
:Cueball: Is not.

:[Last panel is the same as before.]
:Cueball: It's the least boring answer imaginable.

==Trivia==
*This is the seventh comic originally posted on livejournal. The previous was [[24: Godel, Escher, Kurt Halsey]]. The next was [[8: Red spiders]]. View archive [http://liveweb.archive.org/web/20070927001941/http://xkcd-drawings.livejournal.com/?skip=40 here].
*Original [[Randall]] quote: "I'm not sure where they are, but they should be more excited! I would be."

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

Talk:1511: Spice Girl

2015-04-18T00:07:58Z

Pesthouse:

Not being shouted (from without, at either cueball or his female companion) by a post-apocalyptic crowd, surely, but by Cueball (from within, at the post-apocalyptic person of whom he is currently trying to deny entry whilst possibly necessary weaponry is being loaded)... Or so I read it. If that makes sense. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.4|141.101.99.4]] 05:43, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
:It does look like that, but the caption states "through a door". -- microslayer
::The little lines around the origin point of the speech "bubble" is usually used in XKCD to indicate that the sound is coming through the surface or offscreen (see Writers Strike (360) and Time Vulture (926)). -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.155|108.162.250.155]] 06:52, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
:::Except that I read the ''caption'' as meaning "through a door" by our Cueball, i.e. what someone like him would be shouting ''out'', plosively. (It's "through the wall", anyway, if that's a 'through something' speech-bubble-originator-indicator (like the "THUMP"s are) rather than 'rather loudly' emphasis that I'd expect to be associated with Cueball. They are shown differently, with the non-THUMP indicator not really having the same appearance as all the other ones otherwise mentioned. Even in the very same panel.) Anyway, just my POV. Needs an Official Transcript to be sure, I suppose. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.4|141.101.99.4]] 07:12, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
::::The speak line clearly shows it is Cueball who shouts this quiz title through a door. No question is it like this, so I have corrected the transcript accordingly.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:54, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
:::::I disagree. It's not that clear. The marks around the end of the speech line indicate the question is being shouted from the other side of the wall, and I think - but can't be certain - that the line terminates near Cue Ball's head looks like to me like ambiguous drawing by the cartoonist. That, and the "through the door" make me think that Cue Ball is just silently holding the door shut against the rampaging hoards, who are doing all the shouting. {{unsigned ip|108.162.229.123}}
::::::I agree that it is unclear. See comic [[1493]]. Randall has used those little "blast" lines USUALLY to denote off-screen speech, but in that comic (the first example I found going backwards), he uses it directly on Cueball. That said, most uses are for sound effects or off-screen/through wall speech. I expected to find it used for "shouting", but Cueball isn't even shouting in that comic. Not sure why Randall used it. Another example is [[1393]]. I initially read this comic as Cueball speaking, otherwise Randally would have drawn the line over Cueball's head to the door, but I don't think the other interpretation is necessarily wrong. I do think the third one had to go though. Cueball shouting to Megan doesn't line up with the caption of "through the door". [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:28, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
:::::::I also find it to be confusing. I first thought it was Cueball that was doing the shouting but after reading this page I now see that the little marks around the speech line are usually used when the speaker is off panel or inside of something (car or coming from PC, etc). I went looking through back comics to see if any yelling was indicated differently and found one where the character was not yelling but the speech line has the same little marks (First panel of Fundamental Forces http://xkcd.com/1489/). In that case it looks like a small mistake, but in this comic it just leaves me unsure who is speaking. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.171|108.162.221.171]] 14:39, 13 April 2015 (UTC)Agent0013
::::::: I am satisfied with the two different explanations currently being shown, given the controversy. However, to continue to support 'my' interpretation, do note the difference between the *THUMP* origins (unidirectionally starred lines, definitely on the door) and the question's origins (splayed lines, and an origin on the surface of a wall... ''coincidentally'' in the right place to be confused with originating from Cueball's mouth?). I'd accept that there's argument (before anyone else gives it) that because of Cueball's head being where it is one might not see the leftward-sloping asterism lines, but I don't think it's close enough to have obscured this (and could have been easily drawn to ''avoid'' such an illustration problem, as might a way to have drawn it to be unconfusingly not associated with Cueball's head at all). Tell you what, let's see if we can get it via the 3d.xkcd.com interface... ''Then'' we might know... ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.4|141.101.99.4]] 15:26, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
::::: I agree that it is clear it is Cueball shouting. The caption says through a door, not through a wall. The lines (different from the "through-door" lines) indicate he is shouting it with stress in his voice, through the door at a Spice Girl on the other side. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.187|108.162.250.187]] 23:06, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
:: [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.155|108.162.250.155]] and [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.123|108.162.229.123]] are correct, the shouting is coming from outside the room. Randall/Cueball imagines he is hearing quiz titles "being shouted," he is not imagining shouting them himself. [[User:Pesthouse|Pesthouse]] ([[User talk:Pesthouse|talk]]) 11:56, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
::: Furthermore, ''"in order to make sure the one you '''let in''' is not some scary person but a merciful one"'' makes no sense because the Spice Girl in question is clearly meant to be the girl loading the gun behind the box. She's already in the room. {{unsigned ip|108.162.229.123}}
:::: Hmm, or maybe not. I thought the hair was too different from Megan's usual style, but it could be her. So now I'm about 50/50 on this one. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.123|108.162.229.123]] 12:28, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
::::There is no such character as Megan. Please see [[Megan]]. I quote ""Megan" does not necessarily always represent the same character from comic to comic. She is essentially the female equivalent of Cueball, representing the every-woman to his everyman.". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.201|108.162.221.201]] 13:08, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
::::::::I agree that it is difficult to determine from the small lines where the speak comes from. I have added several changes to the explain, but kept most of it in. I still believe that it is Cueball that shouts, but I'm not 100% sure anymore. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:06, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

I don't know much about the Spice Girls, but the comic seems to be referring to two; Is there a "merciful" Spice Girl? Is there one likely to "start a war"? And is there a "war" that is specifically to do with the Spice Girls? -[[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.95|141.101.106.95]] 08:01, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
What about Camp Spice?? {{unsigned ip|173.245.50.103}}

The comic is clearly inventing new Spice Girls: the original Spice Girls didn't have a merciful one, or an evil one. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.201|108.162.221.201]] 13:10, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
:Disagree. In real life, there has not been a war started by ANY spice girl. This is clearly fantasy. It is just as likely that Randall is imagining the Spice Girls rise to power and in their newfound power, become associated with new traits (e.g. one is a merciful and one starts a war - in Cueball's fantasy scenario, there are only two spice girls left, or two who could possibly be at the door). There is no basis to assume this is a reference to invented new spice girls.
:: I also think that if Randall intended to have the quiz's answers make sense, it would have to be the latter, since the quiz won't have an "evil" or "merciful" spice. That said, given Randall's comment about needing to make the link titles less irritating, it's unlikely he would actually do the quiz. He just wants to be less annoyed while skimming his, Facebook feed (for example) [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:33, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
::You are wrong when you say 'the quiz won't have an "evil" or "merciful" spice'. [http://www.kidspot.com.au/the-spice-girls-and-10-other-mummy-types-you-might-know/ Here] you can see Baby Mummy, Sporty Mummy, Scary Mummy, Posh Mummy, Ginger Mummy, and also Old Mummy, Oracle Mummy, Supercalifragalistic Mummy, Drop and Run Mummy, Hover Mummy, Boring Mummy, Disaster Zone Mummy, and Baby Factory Mummy. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.201|108.162.221.201]] 17:15, 13 April 2015 (UTC)

Why are we all ignoring the fact that this is not just this quiz title? It extends to things like "Which Harry Potter Character are you?" and other stuff like that. [[User:YourLifeisaLie|The Goyim speaks]] ([[User talk:YourLifeisaLie|talk]]) 00:15, 14 April 2015 (UTC)
:Because the comics name is Spice Girl!--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:06, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

That's some [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Waste_Land Waste Land] level shit of complexity right there. [[User:Boerder|Boerder]] ([[User talk:Boerder|talk]])

The discussion has convinced me my initial interpretation is wrong, but I still like it best: Cueball is shouting, in a panic, at Megan Spice, who he thought was innocent until those at the door came for her. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.108|173.245.50.108]] 16:40, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

The whole idea that the shout is coming from Cueball is nonsense, utter nonsense. Megan is loading her shotgun, and saying "Haha, you'll see!" So Megan is the merciful spice girl or the one who started the war. The shouted question "Which spice girl are you?" is directed at Megan. And Randall is saying that he likes to imagine questions like this as being shouted through a door. Cueball and Megan are on the same side of the door. Ergo the shout is coming from outside. --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 18:58, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

;Known Comics Iconography for Outside
Everyone who thinks it's Cueball should read "Understanding Comics" by Scott McCloud. The radiating lines at the start of the stem (for both the THUMPs and the shouting) indicate that the sound is coming from off-panel. Randall has used this technique before, in [[1154]] for example. See also "Emanating Dialogue" at http://www.blambot.com/grammar.shtml - [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 21:32, 14 April 2015 (UTC)
;Known Comics Iconography for Shouting
:It is common for Randall to indicate shouting (and all agree that this line is shouted) with the same type of radiating lines. See when Megan shouts in [[1374: Urn]] and in [[1360: Old Files]]. There is actually a clear difference between the Thumps line and the speech line. So this is no argument. Also the "wall" is not off-screen and thus comic [[1154]] or the other referened in the explanation has nothing to do with this comics speech line. And as the comment below notes, when something is coming out of a box/wall then the "thumps" version is used as can be seen in [[915: Connoisseur]]. So once again we are back to square one. Randall has not made a clear comic here!--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:21, 15 April 2015 (UTC)
::As an evidence-based person, I thank you for the disappointing counter-examples. Yes, Randall has used this symbol ambiguously. However, in standard comicsography, small radiating lines at the base of a speech stem (henceforth called SRL@BOSS) is a known and accepted convention for an occluded speaker. When radiating lines are used to indicate emphasis (which is already rare, since volume is usually demonstrated via thicker lines and other symbols) the lines are typically larger and encompass a substantial fraction of the speaker's head.
:: TL;DR version: Randall might be ''doing it wrong''. - [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 21:33, 15 April 2015 (UTC)
:: p.s. It's certainly his right as an artist to do so. The confusion might even be intentional. {{unsigned|Frankie}}
::The comment below is not about "thumps," it is about how we are a bunch of people locked in a box arguing about something stupid. [[User:Pesthouse|Pesthouse]] ([[User talk:Pesthouse|talk]]) 00:07, 18 April 2015 (UTC)

I think I just realized what [[915: Connoisseur]] is really about. [[User:Pesthouse|Pesthouse]] ([[User talk:Pesthouse|talk]]) 01:45, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

1511: Spice Girl

2015-04-16T08:06:31Z

Pesthouse:

__NOTOC__
{{comic
| number = 1511
| date = April 13, 2015
| title = Spice Girl
| image = spice_girl.png
| titletext = Haha, you'll see!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Anyone who can pinpoint a specific work with this scene in it?}}

This is a complex and challenging comic to understand, depending on the reader's familiarity with the {{w|Spice Girls}}, with quizzes about the Spice Girls, and with {{w|Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction|postapocalyptic}} {{w|dystopia|dystopian}} fiction.

===The Spice Girls===
The Spice Girls are a British pop girl group formed in 1994. It consists of five girls who each have a "spice girl" nickname. The five girls with their respective nicknames are:
*{{w|Mel B}} (MB) or "Scary Spice"
*{{w|Mel C}} (MC) or "Sporty Spice"
*{{w|Emma Bunton}} (Em) or "Baby Spice"
*{{w|Geri Halliwell}} (G) or "Ginger Spice"
*{{w|Victoria Beckham}} (V) or"Posh Spice"
The letter in parenthesis are relevant for the interpretation of the [[#The title text|title text]]

===The internet quiz===
This is one example of a trend of on-line quizzes that would "identify" the user with one person/personality of a group based on a series of personality questions. This will most often concern which member of a band, TV cast/film cast or character from books etc. the quizzer most resembles. In this comic it is specifically [[#Spice girl quizzes|Spice girl quizzes]] that are the subject.

In this comic, [[Randall]] is suggesting that in order to cope with, what he probably considers to be irritating {{w|clickbait}} links to these quizzes, he imagines the link titles as ''being shouted through a door in a postapocalyptic dystopia''. This is a reference to a trope in movies set in such postapocalyptic settings (which Randall presumably enjoys more) in which the heroes must determine whether an unknown agent is friend or foe, which in some such media occurs by shouting through locked doors. It is not likely that Randall would actually complete these quizzes, but if he did in this fantasy setting, the stakes would be higher and each answer would be fraught with dangerous meaning. It would thus also be much more fun taking the quiz and the result would seem to be important.

As can be seen, from the nicknames above, there is no Merciful Spice, and although Scary Spice may be the one you might at first associate with starting a war, that is not necessarily a reference to her.
''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SQYLHWo8TA The Merciful One]'' could be a reference to the song with the same name by {{w|Zohar (band)|Zohar}}, another British music ensemble. This song is very slow and easy compared to ''Wannabe''.

===Two interpretations===
There are two ways of interpreting this comic, as it is not initially fully clear whether the "speech line" in the comic is coming from [[Cueball]] or through the wall adjacent to him. It leads to two very different interpretations!

====The shout comes from outside====
In this interpretation the four little lines from the speech line are only stopping near Cueball's, but is actually comming from (through) the wall to indicate that the question is shouted from outside.

This would then indicate that Megan is the Spice Girl (remember that Megan is not the same character from comic to comic so this is not a problem for this interpretation).

The quiz question is being shouted by an angry agent or crowd outside the door at a charged time during a postapocalyptic war. Cueball tries to protect "Megan Spice", who the crowd would be after. In case that she is The Merciful One there is not problem. But if she is the one that started this war they would like to apprehend her.

In this case it looks like Megan does not have any intention of answering, and she is preparing for when the people outside break down the door by loading her shotgun to defend herself. The line from [[#The title text|the title text]] is said by the Megan Spice indicating that when they get through the door they will be in trouble.

====The shout comes from Cueball====
In this interpretation the four little lines from the speech line going to Cueball's indicate that he is shouting.

Cueball is shouting the question '''through a door''' at a charged time during a postapocalyptic war, in order to make sure the one he lets in is not some evil person but a merciful one. In this comic, Megan is preparing for the worst by loading her shotgun, while a, possibly dangerous, Spice Girl is knocking on their door. The line from [[#The title text|the title text]] is said by the spice girl outside.

===The title text===
The title text refers to the [http://lyrics.wikia.com/Spice_Girls:Wannabe lyrics] from the Spice Girls' debut single, ''{{w|Wannabe (song)|Wannabe}}'' (Listen to ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJLIiF15wjQ Wannabe on YouTube]'') Here below is the relevant excerpt from the song where the letters in the last four lines refer to the spice girls [[#The Spice Girls|as given above]]. This rap {{w|bridge (music)|bridge}} is sung by Scary Spice except for the line with Easy V which is sung by Ginger Spice:
:So here's a story from A to Z,
:You wanna get with me You gotta listen carefully
:We got Em in the place who likes it in your face
:You got G like MC who likes it on an
:Easy V doesn't come for free, she's a real lady
:And as for me, '''ha ha, you'll see'''

These lyrics function as a little introduction to the (then) less-well-known girl group. The final line takes on a threat-like tone in this new context of the comic. And it doesn't help that it is Scary Spice who sings it.

The text may seem a little confusing to understand, especially the line that finishes ''on an''. According to another lyrics-site, which also has [http://genius.com/3134866 explanations] to some parts of the text, it means that G and MC likes it (sex) together with {{w|MDMA|ecstasy}} - as "On an E" is slang for being on ecstasy (see it used in this [https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090518130834AA0QdJD discussion]). They could not sing this directly without resulting in a PG rating, thus they inserted the "E" in the next line as '''E'''asy V, a line which is even sung by another spice girl, Ginger spice, where the rest of this bridge is sung by Scary spice.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is trying to barricade a door with his own body (although it already has a bar in front of it). He is in a room that is deteriorating with Megan who is loading a shotgun while sitting behind some sort of box.]
:Knocking on the door: '''Thump Thump'''
:Voice (see [[#Two interpretations|here]]): '''Which Spice Girl are you?!'''
:Voice (see [[#Two interpretations|here]]): The merciful one, or the one who started this war?

:[Caption below the frame:]
:'''When I see those quiz titles, I like to imagine they're'''
:'''being shouted through a door in a postapocalyptic dystopia.'''

==Spice girl quizzes==
*''What spice girl are you?'' quizzes
**[http://www.buzzfeed.com/lyapalater/which-spice-girl-are-you#.gbkv2p3jDX Buzzfeed]
**[http://www.zimbio.com/quiz/w-MjcRyEoFZ/Which+Spice+Girl+Are+You Zimbio]
**[http://www.brainfall.com/quizzes/which-spice-girl-are-you/ Brainfall]
**[http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_spice_girl_are_you GoToQuiz]
*Kidspot
**''[http://www.kidspot.com.au/the-spice-girls-and-10-other-mummy-types-you-might-know/ The Spice Girls and 10 other mummy types you might know];''
**Baby Mummy, Sporty Mummy, Scary Mummy, Posh Mummy, Ginger Mummy and 10 others.

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

1512: Horoscopes

2015-04-16T08:04:24Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */ let's just explain the comic

{{comic
| number = 1512
| date = April 15, 2015
| title = Horoscopes
| image = horoscopes.png
| titletext = If you live in the Northern hemisphere, anyway. In the southern hemisphere, due to the coriolis effect, babies are born nine months BEFORE they're conceived.
}}
==Explanation==
{{w|Horoscopes}} purport to predict someone's personality or future, depending on the position of planets and stars at the time of their birth and at present. Horoscopes commonly group people into twelve groups based on {{w|zodiac signs}}. The Zodiac signs are based on twelve constellations that follow the approximate path of the sun in our night sky. One's zodiac sign is determined by the position of the sun on their birthday, with each sign representing a specific approximately one-month period.

Today, horoscopes are admitted to be {{w|pseudoscience}} which is why the comic jokes about the fact that its horoscopes at least ''may'' be true (at least for someone born after a full term pregnancy). Actual horoscopes are typically so vague that they could be true for almost anyone regardless of their sign. Note that this horoscope is tailored for an audience in the {{w|United States}}, as most cultural references are centered on "Western" culture, and several won't even work in Europe, for example. With the principle understood, it is easy to apply local traditions for more accuracy in non-Western cultures, however.

Since the 12 category zodiac signs in horoscopes are based on birthday dates, [[Randall]] can do some informed guess about the context of someone's {{w|Fertilisation|conception}} (i.e., what was happening nine months before they were born, apart from the {{w|Sexual intercourse|obvious}}), depending on the sign. For example, {{w|Virgo (astrology)|Virgo}} are born between August 23 and September 22, so based on a 9-month gestational period, they were likely {{w|Fertilisation|conceived}} shortly before Christmas, leading to the guess "You may have been conceived while a Christmas song played". Randall also phrases his "predictions" as possibilities ("you may have") rather than declarations, acknowledging that unlike actual horoscopes, his don't necessarily apply to everyone. See detailed description in the [[#Table of Astrological signs|table]] below.

The title text refers to the {{w|Coriolis effect}} which occurs to a body that is moving on an object that is spinning. Since the Earth is rotating this leads to the fact that something that is moving on Earth feels a force (the Coriolis force) which causes the moving object to be deflected to the right in the {{w|northern hemisphere}} and to the left in the {{w|southern hemisphere}}. This effect is the reason that {{w|Coriolis_effect#Meteorology|weather systems}} (most clearly seen for {{w|hurricanes}}) rotate in one direction in the northern hemisphere and in the opposite direction in the southern hemisphere.

There is also a common {{w|Coriolis_effect#Draining_in_bathtubs_and_toilets|misconception}} that the Coriolis force in respect of the Earth affects objects on a much smaller level, such as the direction water will spin down a drain in the two hemispheres (see also [[843: Misconceptions]]). Randall plays on the misconception to make a joke involving reversing the flow of time. So whereas babies are born nine months '''after''' conception in the northern hemisphere (clockwise) the Coriolis effect is the reason why babies are being born nine months '''before''' in the southern hemisphere (counterclockwise).

Cf. the Weird Al song ''Horoscope for Today'' which also makes vague guesses, only they refer to bizarre events and tasks.

==Table of Astrological signs==
Here below is a table with data and explanation of the individual horoscopes:
{| class="wikitable"
!{{w|Astrological sign|Astrological sign}}
!English name
!{{w|Birthday}} range
!Expected {{w|Fertilisation|conception}}
!Horoscope prediction
!Explanation
|-
|♈ {{w|Aries (astrology)|Aries}}
|The Ram
|March 21 - April 21
|June 14 - July 14
|You may have been conceived after a 4th of July fireworks show
|In the US the {{w|Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day}} is celebrated on the 4th of July, and this is customarily celebrated with huge fireworks. Fireworks are also often used in movies to depict the culmination of sex (i.e. the orgasm), and hence the potential for conception.
|-
|♉ {{w|Taurus (astrology)|Taurus}}
|The Bull
|April 20 - May 20
|July 13 - August 13
|You may have been conceived on a hot August day
|In most of the northern hemisphere there are many hot days in {{w|August}}. Sometimes hot days increase lust, especially if it's too hot to go out or do anything else.
|-
|♊ {{w|Gemini (astrology)|Gemini}}
|The Twins
|May 21 - June 21
|August 14 - September 14
|You may have been conceived as the leaves began to change
|In the northern part of the northern hemisphere the {{w|autumn}} starts at the end of this time period, so the leaves will begin to change color.
|-
|♋ {{w|Cancer (astrology)|Cancer}}
|The Crab
|June 21 - July 21
|September 14 - October 14
|You may have been conceived by people trying on costumes
|This period ends 10 days before {{w|Halloween}}, so it is not unlikely that the people who conceived you (mom and dad) tried on their new costumes when they made you.
|-
|♌ {{w|Leo (astrology)|Leo}}
|The Lion
|July 22 - August 23
|October 15 - November 16
|You may have been conceived during thanksgiving
|{{w|Thanksgiving}} is celebrated in the US on fourth Thursday of November, which for only two out of seven years will lie before the 23rd of November. However many people are born before 9 months so it is not unlikely for someone born as a Leo to be conceived on this day.
|-
|♍ {{w|Virgo (astrology)|Virgo}}
|The Maiden
|August 23 - September 22
|November 16 - December 15
|You may have been conceived while a Christmas song played
|It is very common for {{w|Christmas}} songs to be played in the month before Christmas
|-
|♎ {{w|Libra (astrology)|Libra}}
|The Scales
|September 22 - October 23
|December 15 - January 16
|You may have been conceived after a new year's eve party
|Since {{w|New Year's Eve}} always falls on December 31, and since the party goes on into the new year this fits with Libra. As it is very likely that people are together in a way that may lead to conception at this type of parties, there may even be rather more than a 30th part of the people that are Libra that are conceived at such a party.
|-
|♏ {{w|Scorpio (astrology)|Scorpio}}
|The Scorpion
|October 23 and November 22
|January 16 - February 15
|You may have been conceived by people stuck inside after a long winter
|This period is during the coolest part and towards the end of the {{w|winter}} in the northern hemisphere. People may even be forced to stay at home due to snow. When people have nothing else to do [https://www.google.dk/search?q=babies+9+month+after+snowstorm&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=qzkuVcjAE4qsswGevoC4CQ many babies are born 9 months later].
|-
|♐ {{w|Sagittarius (astrology)|Sagittarius}}
|The Archer
|November 22 - December 21
|February 15 - March 14
|You may have been conceived during March madness
|Although originally the early part of the mating season for the {{w|European Hare}}, in which females fight off male suitors, in a US context this is an American college Basketball tournament [http://www.ncaa.com/march-madness].
|-
|♑ {{w|Capricorn (astrology)|Capricorn}}
|The Goat
|December 22 - January 19
|March 15 - April 12
|You may have been conceived during a sexy Easter Egg hunt
|{{w|Easter}} falls between {{w|List_of_dates_for_Easter#Earliest_Easter|March 22}} and {{w|List_of_dates_for_Easter#Latest_Easter|April 25}} so most {{w|Egg hunt|Easter Egg hunt}}, sexy or not, will fall in the relevant period to conceive Capricorn children. The goal of an Easter egg hunt can be to find as many eggs in a given time, or find a sequence of eggs, each containing a clue to the next. It is not difficult to think of adult variations on these themes. Most Egg hunts do not involve people who should make them sexy! On the other hand, the egg itself, as an Easter symbol, is a symbol of fertility.
|-
|♒ {{w|Aquarius (astrology)|Aquarius}}
|The Water Carrier
|January 20 - February 18
|April 13 - May 11
|You may have been conceived on Mother's day
|{{w|Mother's Day}} in the USA,and some other countries, is on the second Sunday in May, between the 8th and 14th of May.
|-
|♓ {{w|Pisces (astrology)|Pisces}}
|The Fish
|February 19 - March 20
|May 12 - June 13
|You may have been conceived at someone's wedding
|It is not uncommon that people meet and even go so far as to risk conceiving a child at someones {{w|wedding}}, and June is widely reported as the most popular month for weddings in the United States. The tradition of a June Bride (late spring and beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere) may be an old one and hence explains the reference for Pisces which lies mainly in June. [https://open.abc.net.au/explore/22074 ABC claim] that in the 15th and 16th century, May would have been the month for an "annual bath", and moreover {{w|June}} is named for {{w|Juno (mythology)|Juno}}, goddess of marriage and childbirth.
|}

==Transcript==
:[Above the frame:]
:'''Horoscopes'''
:With an actual basis in fact
:[A list with the name of each astrological sign in the first column (in gray) and a horoscope for each sign in the second column. Here given in table form]
:{| class="wikitable"
! Aries
| You may have been conceived after a 4th of July fireworks show
|-
! Taurus
| You may have been conceived on a hot August day
|-
! Gemini
| You may have been conceived as the leaves began to change
|-
! Cancer
| You may have been conceived by people trying on costumes
|-
! Leo
| You may have been conceived during Thanksgiving
|-
! Virgo
| You may have been conceived while a Christmas song played
|-
! Libra
| You may have been conceived after a New Year’s Eve party
|-
! Scorpio
| You may have been conceived by people stuck inside after a long winter
|-
! Sagittarius
| You may have been conceived during March Madness
|-
! Capricorn
| You may have been conceived during a sexy Easter egg hunt
|-
! Aquarius
| You may have been conceived on Mother's day
|-
! Pisces
| You may have been conceived at someone's wedding
|}

{{comic discussion}}


[[Category:Chart]]
[[Category:Sex]]
[[Category:Christmas]]

Talk:1511: Spice Girl

2015-04-15T01:45:56Z

Pesthouse:

Not being shouted (from without, at either cueball or his female companion) by a post-apocalyptic crowd, surely, but by Cueball (from within, at the post-apocalyptic person of whom he is currently trying to deny entry whilst possibly necessary weaponry is being loaded)... Or so I read it. If that makes sense. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.4|141.101.99.4]] 05:43, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
:It does look like that, but the caption states "through a door". -- microslayer
::The little lines around the origin point of the speech "bubble" is usually used in XKCD to indicate that the sound is coming through the surface or offscreen (see Writers Strike (360) and Time Vulture (926)). -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.155|108.162.250.155]] 06:52, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
:::Except that I read the ''caption'' as meaning "through a door" by our Cueball, i.e. what someone like him would be shouting ''out'', plosively. (It's "through the wall", anyway, if that's a 'through something' speech-bubble-originator-indicator (like the "THUMP"s are) rather than 'rather loudly' emphasis that I'd expect to be associated with Cueball. They are shown differently, with the non-THUMP indicator not really having the same appearance as all the other ones otherwise mentioned. Even in the very same panel.) Anyway, just my POV. Needs an Official Transcript to be sure, I suppose. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.4|141.101.99.4]] 07:12, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
::::The speak line clearly shows it is Cueball who shouts this quiz title through a door. No question is it like this, so I have corrected the transcript accordingly.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:54, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
:::::I disagree. It's not that clear. The marks around the end of the speech line indicate the question is being shouted from the other side of the wall, and I think - but can't be certain - that the line terminates near Cue Ball's head looks like to me like ambiguous drawing by the cartoonist. That, and the "through the door" make me think that Cue Ball is just silently holding the door shut against the rampaging hoards, who are doing all the shouting. {{unsigned ip|108.162.229.123}}
::::::I agree that it is unclear. See comic [[1493]]. Randall has used those little "blast" lines USUALLY to denote off-screen speech, but in that comic (the first example I found going backwards), he uses it directly on Cueball. That said, most uses are for sound effects or off-screen/through wall speech. I expected to find it used for "shouting", but Cueball isn't even shouting in that comic. Not sure why Randall used it. Another example is [[1393]]. I initially read this comic as Cueball speaking, otherwise Randally would have drawn the line over Cueball's head to the door, but I don't think the other interpretation is necessarily wrong. I do think the third one had to go though. Cueball shouting to Megan doesn't line up with the caption of "through the door". [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:28, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
:::::::I also find it to be confusing. I first thought it was Cueball that was doing the shouting but after reading this page I now see that the little marks around the speech line are usually used when the speaker is off panel or inside of something (car or coming from PC, etc). I went looking through back comics to see if any yelling was indicated differently and found one where the character was not yelling but the speech line has the same little marks (First panel of Fundamental Forces http://xkcd.com/1489/). In that case it looks like a small mistake, but in this comic it just leaves me unsure who is speaking. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.171|108.162.221.171]] 14:39, 13 April 2015 (UTC)Agent0013
::::::: I am satisfied with the two different explanations currently being shown, given the controversy. However, to continue to support 'my' interpretation, do note the difference between the *THUMP* origins (unidirectionally starred lines, definitely on the door) and the question's origins (splayed lines, and an origin on the surface of a wall... ''coincidentally'' in the right place to be confused with originating from Cueball's mouth?). I'd accept that there's argument (before anyone else gives it) that because of Cueball's head being where it is one might not see the leftward-sloping asterism lines, but I don't think it's close enough to have obscured this (and could have been easily drawn to ''avoid'' such an illustration problem, as might a way to have drawn it to be unconfusingly not associated with Cueball's head at all). Tell you what, let's see if we can get it via the 3d.xkcd.com interface... ''Then'' we might know... ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.4|141.101.99.4]] 15:26, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
::::: I agree that it is clear it is Cueball shouting. The caption says through a door, not through a wall. The lines (different from the "through-door" lines) indicate he is shouting it with stress in his voice, through the door at a Spice Girl on the other side. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.187|108.162.250.187]] 23:06, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
:: [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.155|108.162.250.155]] and [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.123|108.162.229.123]] are correct, the shouting is coming from outside the room. Randall/Cueball imagines he is hearing quiz titles "being shouted," he is not imagining shouting them himself. [[User:Pesthouse|Pesthouse]] ([[User talk:Pesthouse|talk]]) 11:56, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
::: Furthermore, ''"in order to make sure the one you '''let in''' is not some scary person but a merciful one"'' makes no sense because the Spice Girl in question is clearly meant to be the girl loading the gun behind the box. She's already in the room. {{unsigned ip|108.162.229.123}}
:::: Hmm, or maybe not. I thought the hair was too different from Megan's usual style, but it could be her. So now I'm about 50/50 on this one. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.123|108.162.229.123]] 12:28, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
::::There is no such character as Megan. Please see [[Megan]]. I quote ""Megan" does not necessarily always represent the same character from comic to comic. She is essentially the female equivalent of Cueball, representing the every-woman to his everyman.". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.201|108.162.221.201]] 13:08, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
::::::::I agree that it is difficult to determine from the small lines where the speak comes from. I have added several changes to the explain, but kept most of it in. I still believe that it is Cueball that shouts, but I'm not 100% sure anymore. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:06, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

I don't know much about the Spice Girls, but the comic seems to be referring to two; Is there a "merciful" Spice Girl? Is there one likely to "start a war"? And is there a "war" that is specifically to do with the Spice Girls? -[[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.95|141.101.106.95]] 08:01, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
What about Camp Spice?? {{unsigned ip|173.245.50.103}}

The comic is clearly inventing new Spice Girls: the original Spice Girls didn't have a merciful one, or an evil one. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.201|108.162.221.201]] 13:10, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
:Disagree. In real life, there has not been a war started by ANY spice girl. This is clearly fantasy. It is just as likely that Randall is imagining the Spice Girls rise to power and in their newfound power, become associated with new traits (e.g. one is a merciful and one starts a war - in Cueball's fantasy scenario, there are only two spice girls left, or two who could possibly be at the door). There is no basis to assume this is a reference to invented new spice girls.
:: I also think that if Randall intended to have the quiz's answers make sense, it would have to be the latter, since the quiz won't have an "evil" or "merciful" spice. That said, given Randall's comment about needing to make the link titles less irritating, it's unlikely he would actually do the quiz. He just wants to be less annoyed while skimming his, Facebook feed (for example) [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:33, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
::You are wrong when you say 'the quiz won't have an "evil" or "merciful" spice'. [http://www.kidspot.com.au/the-spice-girls-and-10-other-mummy-types-you-might-know/ Here] you can see Baby Mummy, Sporty Mummy, Scary Mummy, Posh Mummy, Ginger Mummy, and also Old Mummy, Oracle Mummy, Supercalifragalistic Mummy, Drop and Run Mummy, Hover Mummy, Boring Mummy, Disaster Zone Mummy, and Baby Factory Mummy. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.201|108.162.221.201]] 17:15, 13 April 2015 (UTC)

Why are we all ignoring the fact that this is not just this quiz title? It extends to things like "Which Harry Potter Character are you?" and other stuff like that. [[User:YourLifeisaLie|The Goyim speaks]] ([[User talk:YourLifeisaLie|talk]]) 00:15, 14 April 2015 (UTC)
:Because the comics name is Spice Girl!--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:06, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

That's some [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Waste_Land Waste Land] level shit of complexity right there. [[User:Boerder|Boerder]] ([[User talk:Boerder|talk]])

The discussion has convinced me my initial interpretation is wrong, but I still like it best: Cueball is shouting, in a panic, at Megan Spice, who he thought was innocent until those at the door came for her. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.108|173.245.50.108]] 16:40, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

The whole idea that the shout is coming from Cueball is nonsense, utter nonsense. Megan is loading her shotgun, and saying "Haha, you'll see!" So Megan is the merciful spice girl or the one who started the war. The shouted question "Which spice girl are you?" is directed at Megan. And Randall is saying that he likes to imagine questions like this as being shouted through a door. Cueball and Megan are on the same side of the door. Ergo the shout is coming from outside. --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 18:58, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

;Known Comics Iconography for Outside
Everyone who thinks it's Cueball should read "Understanding Comics" by Scott McCloud. The radiating lines at the start of the stem (for both the THUMPs and the shouting) indicate that the sound is coming from off-panel. Randall has used this technique before, in [[1154]] for example. See also "Emanating Dialogue" at http://www.blambot.com/grammar.shtml - [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 21:32, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

I think I just realized what [[915: Connoisseur]] is really about. [[User:Pesthouse|Pesthouse]] ([[User talk:Pesthouse|talk]]) 01:45, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

1511: Spice Girl

2015-04-14T01:58:07Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1511
| date = April 13, 2015
| title = Spice Girl
| image = spice_girl.png
| titletext = Haha, you'll see!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Links to a specific quiz with this question in it, and a specific work with this scene in it, would be really helpful}}

This is a challenging comic, depending on the reader's familiarity with the {{w|Spice Girls}}, with quizzes about the Spice Girls, and with postapocalyptic dystopian fiction.

===The Spice Girls===
The {{w|Spice Girls}} are a British pop girl group formed in 1994. It consists of five girls who each have a "spice girl" nickname. The five girls with their respective nicknames are:
*{{w|Mel B}} (MB) is "Scary Spice"
*{{w|Mel C}} (MC) is "Sporty Spice"
*{{w|Emma Bunton}} (Em) is "Baby Spice"
*{{w|Geri Halliwell}} (G) is "Ginger Spice"
*{{w|Victoria Beckham}} (V) is "Posh Spice"

===The internet quiz===
This is one example of a trend of online quizzes that would "identify" the user as one of a group based on a series of personality questions, including most often which member of a band, TV cast or film cast. In this comic, Randall is suggesting that in order to cope with what he considers to be irritating {{w|clickbait}} links to these quizzes, he imagines the link titles as being shouted through a door in a "postapocalyptic dystopia". This is a reference to a trope in movies set in such postapocalyptic settings (which Randall presumably enjoys more) in which the heroes must determine whether an unknown agent is friend or foe, which in some such media occurs by shouting through locked doors.

''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SQYLHWo8TA The Merciful One]'' could be a reference to the song with the same name by {{w|Zohar (band)|Zohar}}, another British music ensemble. This song is very slow and easy compared to ''Wannabe''.

There are (at least) two ways of interpreting this comic, as it is not initially fully clear whether the "speech line" in the comic is coming from [[Cueball]] or through the wall adjacent to him.

===The shout comes from outside===
In this interpretation, the question is shouted from outside and Megan is the Spice Girl. The quiz title question is being shouted by an angry agent or crowd through a door in a post-{{w|Apocalypse|apocalyptic}} world at a charged time. Cueball and Megan Spice don't have any intention to answer. In this interpretation "Megan Spice" is preparing for the worst by loading her shotgun to prepare in case whoever is outside gets in.

===The shout comes from Cueball===

Note that the four little lines in Cueball's question ''could'' suggest the words come through the wall, and therefore, this interpretation would not be correct. However, they differ in character and possible intention from the through-the-door lines, so the question still remains open whether they just add to the indications of shouting or vocal urgency instead.

====Cueball shouts and the person thumping is a Spice Girl====
Cueball is shouting the question through a door in a post-{{w|Apocalypse|apocalyptic}} world at a charged time, in order to make sure the one he lets in is not some evil person but a merciful one. The stakes would be higher and each answer would be fraught with dangerous meaning. It would thus also be much more fun taking the quiz! In this comic, [[Megan]] is preparing for the worst by loading her shotgun, while a, possibly dangerous, Spice Girl is knocking on their door.

====Cueball shouts and Megan is a Spice Girl====
The quiz title question is being shouted by Cueball. In this interpretation we don't know if Megan Spice will attack Cueball (Evil Spice) or will attack the crowd to save Cueball, (Merciful Spice). This would be the most likely interpretation, if it weren't for the word "through" in the comic text. Words are shouted '''through''' a door.

===The title text===
The title text refers to the [http://lyrics.wikia.com/Spice_Girls:Wannabe lyrics] from the Spice Girls' debut single, ''{{w|Wannabe (song)|Wannabe}}'' (Listen to ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJLIiF15wjQ Wannabe on YouTube]'') Here below is the relevant excerpt from the song where the letters in the last four lines refer to the spice girls as given above. This rap {{w|bridge (music)|bridge}} is sung by Scary Spice except for the line with Easy V which is sung by Ginger Spice:
:So here's a story from A to Z,
:You wanna get with me You gotta listen carefully
:We got Em in the place who likes it in your face
:You got G like MC who likes it on an
:Easy V doesn't come for free, she's a real lady
:And as for me, '''ha ha, you'll see'''

These lyrics function as a little introduction to the then less well known girl group. The final line takes on a threat-like tone in this new context of the comic. And it doesn't help that it is Scary Spice who sings it.

The text may seem a little confusing to understand, especially the line that finishes ''on an''. According to another lyrics-site, which also has [http://genius.com/3134866 explanations] to some parts of the text, it means that G and MC likes it (sex) together with {{w|MDMA|ecstasy}} - as "On an E" is slang for being on ecstasy (see it used in this [https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090518130834AA0QdJD discussion]). They could not sing this directly without resulting in a PG rating, thus they inserted the "E" in the next line as '''E'''asy V, a line which is even sung by another spice girl, Ginger spice, where the rest of this {{w|bridge (music)|bridge}} is sung by Scary spice.

===Transcript===
:[Cueball is trying to barricade a door with his own body (although it already has a bar in front of it). He is in a room that is deteriorating with Megan who is loading a shotgun while sitting behind some sort of box.]
:Knocking on the door: '''THUMP THUMP'''
:Voice (see interpretations above): '''Which Spice Girl are you?!'''
:Voice: The merciful one, or the one who started this war?

:[Caption below the frame:]
:'''When I see those quiz titles, I like to imagine they're'''
:'''being shouted through a door in a postapocalyptic dystopia.'''

==See also==
*''What spice girl are you?'' quizzes
**[http://www.buzzfeed.com/lyapalater/which-spice-girl-are-you#.gbkv2p3jDX Buzzfeed]
**[http://www.zimbio.com/quiz/w-MjcRyEoFZ/Which+Spice+Girl+Are+You Zimbio]
*Kidspot, ''[http://www.kidspot.com.au/the-spice-girls-and-10-other-mummy-types-you-might-know/ The Spice Girls and 10 other mummy types you might know];'' Baby Mummy, Sporty Mummy, Scary Mummy, Posh Mummy, Ginger Mummy and 10 others.

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

1511: Spice Girl

2015-04-14T01:42:31Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1511
| date = April 13, 2015
| title = Spice Girl
| image = spice_girl.png
| titletext = Haha, you'll see!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Links to a specific internet quiz with this question in it, and a specific movie with this scene in it, would be really helpful}}

This is a challenging comic, depending on the reader's familiarity with the {{w|Spice Girls}}, with internet quizzes about the Spice Girls, and with postapocalyptic dystopian movies.

===The Spice Girls===
The {{w|Spice Girls}} are a British pop girl group formed in 1994. It consists of five girls who each have a "spice girl" nickname. The five girls with their respective nicknames are:
*{{w|Mel B}} (MB) is "Scary Spice"
*{{w|Mel C}} (MC) is "Sporty Spice"
*{{w|Emma Bunton}} (Em) is "Baby Spice"
*{{w|Geri Halliwell}} (G) is "Ginger Spice"
*{{w|Victoria Beckham}} (V) is "Posh Spice"

===The internet quiz===
This is one example of a trend of online quizzes that would "identify" the user as one of a group based on a series of personality questions, including most often which member of a band, TV cast or film cast. In this comic, Randall is suggesting that in order to cope with what he considers to be irritating {{w|clickbait}} links to these quizzes, he imagines the link titles as being shouted through a door in a "postapocalyptic dystopia". This is a reference to a trope in movies set in such postapocalyptic settings (which Randall presumably enjoys more) in which the heroes must determine whether an unknown agent is friend or foe, which in some such media occurs by shouting through locked doors.

''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SQYLHWo8TA The Merciful One]'' could be a reference to the song with the same name by {{w|Zohar (band)|Zohar}}, another British music ensemble. This song is very slow and easy compared to ''Wannabe''.

There are (at least) two ways of interpreting this comic, as it is not initially fully clear whether the "speech line" in the comic is coming from [[Cueball]] or through the wall adjacent to him.

===The shout comes from outside===
In this interpretation, the question is shouted from outside and Megan is the Spice Girl. The quiz title question is being shouted by an angry agent or crowd through a door in a post-{{w|Apocalypse|apocalyptic}} world at a charged time. Cueball and Megan Spice don't have any intention to answer. In this interpretation "Megan Spice" is preparing for the worst by loading her shotgun to prepare in case whoever is outside gets in.

===The shout comes from Cueball===

Note that the four little lines in Cueball's question ''could'' suggest the words come through the wall, and therefore, this interpretation would not be correct. However, they differ in character and possible intention from the through-the-door lines, so the question still remains open whether they just add to the indications of shouting or vocal urgency instead.

====Cueball shouts and the person thumping is a Spice Girl====
Cueball is shouting the question through a door in a post-{{w|Apocalypse|apocalyptic}} world at a charged time, in order to make sure the one he lets in is not some evil person but a merciful one. The stakes would be higher and each answer would be fraught with dangerous meaning. It would thus also be much more fun taking the quiz! In this comic, [[Megan]] is preparing for the worst by loading her shotgun, while a, possibly dangerous, Spice Girl is knocking on their door.

====Cueball shouts and Megan is a Spice Girl====
The quiz title question is being shouted by Cueball. In this interpretation we don't know if Megan Spice will attack Cueball (Evil Spice) or will attack the crowd to save Cueball, (Merciful Spice). This would be the most likely interpretation, if it weren't for the word "through" in the comic text. Words are shouted '''through''' a door.

===The title text===
The title text refers to the [http://lyrics.wikia.com/Spice_Girls:Wannabe lyrics] from the Spice Girls' debut single, ''{{w|Wannabe (song)|Wannabe}}'' (Listen to ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJLIiF15wjQ Wannabe on YouTube]'') Here below is the relevant excerpt from the song where the letters in the last four lines refer to the spice girls as given above. This rap {{w|bridge (music)|bridge}} is sung by Scary Spice except for the line with Easy V which is sung by Ginger Spice:
:So here's a story from A to Z,
:You wanna get with me You gotta listen carefully
:We got Em in the place who likes it in your face
:You got G like MC who likes it on an
:Easy V doesn't come for free, she's a real lady
:And as for me, '''ha ha, you'll see'''

These lyrics function as a little introduction to the then less well known girl group. The final line takes on a threat-like tone in this new context of the comic. And it doesn't help that it is Scary Spice who sings it.

The text may seem a little confusing to understand, especially the line that finishes ''on an''. According to another lyrics-site, which also has [http://genius.com/3134866 explanations] to some parts of the text, it means that G and MC likes it (sex) together with {{w|MDMA|ecstasy}} - as "On an E" is slang for being on ecstasy (see it used in this [https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090518130834AA0QdJD discussion]). They could not sing this directly without resulting in a PG rating, thus they inserted the "E" in the next line as '''E'''asy V, a line which is even sung by another spice girl, Ginger spice, where the rest of this {{w|bridge (music)|bridge}} is sung by Scary spice.

===Transcript===
:[Cueball is trying to barricade a door with his own body (although it already has a bar in front of it). He is in a room that is deteriorating with Megan who is loading a shotgun while sitting behind some sort of box.]
:Knocking on the door: '''THUMP THUMP'''
:Voice (see interpretations above): '''Which Spice Girl are you?!'''
:Voice: The merciful one, or the one who started this war?

:[Caption below the frame:]
:'''When I see those quiz titles, I like to imagine they're'''
:'''being shouted through a door in a postapocalyptic dystopia.'''

==See also==
*''What spice girl are you?'' quizzes
**[http://www.buzzfeed.com/lyapalater/which-spice-girl-are-you#.gbkv2p3jDX Buzzfeed]
**[http://www.zimbio.com/quiz/w-MjcRyEoFZ/Which+Spice+Girl+Are+You Zimbio]
*Kidspot, ''[http://www.kidspot.com.au/the-spice-girls-and-10-other-mummy-types-you-might-know/ The Spice Girls and 10 other mummy types you might know];'' Baby Mummy, Sporty Mummy, Scary Mummy, Posh Mummy, Ginger Mummy and 10 others.

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

Talk:1511: Spice Girl

2015-04-13T11:56:14Z

Pesthouse:

256: Online Communities

2015-04-13T01:29:08Z

Pesthouse: /* The Blogipelago (Southwest) */

{{comic
| number = 256
| date = May 2, 2007
| title = Online Communities
| image = online_communities_small.png
| titletext = I'm waiting for the day when, if you tell someone 'I'm from the internet', instead of laughing they just ask 'oh, what part?'
}}

==Explanation==
'''''Note:''' This comic dates from Spring 2007. The internet changed a lot since that time. A larger version of the image is available [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/online_communities.png here].''

This is Randall's first map of online communities, with a successor (showing some zoomed-in highlights of the map) at [[802: Online Communities 2]]. As Randall says on the map, the area of each "country" is roughly proportional to its membership, at least in 2007. Geographic location means a bit more, however, as the '''Compass-Rose-Shaped Island''' points out. North-south corresponds to a spectrum from practical to intellectual, and east-west corresponds to one from web-focused to real-life-focused. The map also bears a slight resemblance to {{w|South East Asia}}.

Randall likes to draw maps in a manner like this. Each "Country" is represented by size and related points of interest. We also have a "Sea of memes" and a small "Straits of WEB 2.0".

===Compass Rose-shaped Island===
A joke located near the middle of the map, that nonetheless serves to organize the illustration. A Compass Rose —the name for the multi-pointed star that shows where North is on the map— appears on most maps; however, here, it's actually land that just coincidentally looks like a compass rose.

The "points" of the island do, however, roughly organize the map. Left is "Focus on Real Life", labelled "IRL", an abbreviation for "In Real Life". Right is "Focus on Web", labelled ".com". Up is Practicals, labelled "N", as in "North", but with small letters making it spell "Noob", slang for a "Newbie" or "New user" — a person less experienced with the internet, as many of the sites to the top of the map are ones infamous for having large numbers of largely computer-illiterate people. Down is "Intellectuals", labelled ''"π"'', an important constant in mathematics approximately equal to 3.14.

===The Icy North===
Communities which were once major players, but now in a much reduced role. While some are still fairly large, they're somewhat relics of older times, hence the "Mountains of Web 1.0" that run through them — Web 1.0 is the first major generation of websites.
* '''[http://yahoo.com Yahoo!]''' was the most popular search engine around 1998, but lost out to Google. It remains in business due to diversification (it now owns Tumblr, for instance).
* '''Windows Live''', particularly ''Windows Live Messenger'', used to be a particularly major way for friends to communicate, now taken over by Skype and the like. Once a more-or-less ubiquitous branding, now used much less. https://home.live.com/ ‎is one remnant.
* '''[http://aol.com AOL]''' was once a huge player in the internet service provider market, noted for sending out millions of floppy disks and CD-ROMs in the 1980s and '90s offering a month or so free internet service (followed by high fees and difficult cancellation). Notably, AOL was the first company to sign up large numbers of people to internet access throughout the year, whereas before then internet was mainly provided by colleges and universities, fundamentally changing internet culture (see {{w|Eternal September}}). This influx of new users or "Noobs" (short for "newbies") names the ''Noob Sea'' south of AOL. The ''Chat Rooms'' nearby were a selling feature of early ISPs — ways to communicate with other people from that ISP. They are largely dying now, but were a major selling point in the early days.
* '''[http://classmates.com Classmates.com]''' and '''[http://reunion.com Reunion.com]''' are early sites that offered to help you find your former classmates from school, a role largely taken over by the big, more generalised social media sites. Classmates.com is probably best known by its memetic advertisement that said "She married him??!! And they've got 7 kids??"
* '''[http://friendster.com Friendster]''' was the first big social media site. It was later outpaced by ''Myspace'' and ''Facebook'' (see Social Media below). It has survived by rebranding itself as social gaming site, now used primarily is Southeast Asia.
* '''Qwghlm''': A reference to ''{{w|The Baroque Cycle}}'', a series of science fiction books by Neal Stephenson. In them, Qwghlm is a group of islands in the icy north. See [http://baroquecycle.wikia.com/wiki/Qwghlm http://baroquecycle.wikia.com/wiki/Qwghlm].
* '''Chasm''': A barely-readable note just below the "O" of "NORTH". This may simply be a reference to a lot of fantasy series containing a chasm. (For example, the One Ring is destroyed by flinging it into a fiery chasm in The Lord of the Rings.)

===Dating sites (Northwest coastal regions)===
* '''[http://eharmony.com E-Harmony]''' and '''[http://okcupid.com OkCupid]''' are dating sites; the other, larger sites near them are mostly social media sites.
* '''The Lonely Island''' label appears to be a joke: Surrounded by, but separate from dating sites and social media sites, it would be a rather lonely place. Possibly named after "[http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Tol_Eress%C3%ABa Tol Eressëa]" (Translation: The Lonely Island) a somewhat obscure location in J. R. R. Tolkien's books, but there are {{w|The Lonely Island|other possibilities}}.

===Social Media (West)===
Sites mainly used to communicate with friends, such as Facebook and Myspace. The first large one was ''Friendster'', but this has largely become a social gaming site primarily used in Southeast Asia, as discussed in The Icy North, above. Other social media sites listed are:

* '''[http://faceparty.com Faceparty]''': A UK social media site started in 1999.
* '''[http://myspace.com Myspace]''': A social media site partially owned by, of all people, Justin Timberlake. Started in 2003, and peaking around the time this comic was made, it nonetheless still remains popular for bands (hence "Myspace Bands" in the southwest). It was never known for having a particularly attractive web design (partly because users could extensively customize the look and feel of their profile pages), hence only a very small part of it labelled "Attractive Myspace Pages".
** The '''Series of Tubes''': A reference to an internet meme. In 2006, U.S. Senator Ted Stevens, while arguing for the end of "Network neutrality", a concept that keeps ISPs from favouring or charging more for high-speed access to sites, claimed that such regulation was needed because the Internet was "not a truck" you could just load up with as much as you want, but a "series of tubes". This was fairly accurate, but his arguments were poor and badly phrased, and his speech subsequently received widespread derision (originally from Jon Stewart's The Daily Show), and became a running gag on the internet.
* '''[http://facebook.com Facebook]''': Generally considered (at least in the West) the "modern" social media network, and the most popular. However, this comic is from 2007, and Facebook did not catch up to Myspace until 2008-2009. [Source: {{w|Myspace}}]
* '''[http://orkut.com Orkut]''': A social media network launched in 2004 by Google, it became hugely popular in Brazil, India, and, to a lesser extent, Japan.
* '''[http://xanga.com Xanga]''': A blogging and social media site launched in 1998.
* '''[http://livejournal.com LJ]''': LiveJournal, a blogging site, more or less, but one that allows an internet forum-like structure where anyone, or selected people, can all start new posts on a community. Noted for a large number of teenagers, fanfic authors, and the like in its heyday, hence the "Bay of Angst" to its south.
* '''[http://www.blurty.com/ Blurty]''': LiveJournal's software is Open Access, meaning anyone can use it to set up a site. {{w|Blurty}} is, according to Wikipedia, an 18+ general community using this software.
* '''[http://cyworld.com Cyworld]''': A South Korean social media site featuring avatars and "mini-rooms".

===The Blogipelago (Southwest)===
Portmanteau of blog and archipelago. Sulawesi is a real island in the Indonesian archipelago, implying that this region's similarity to Indonesia is probably intentional.

* '''[http://www.huffingtonpost.com Huffington Post:]''' ''The Huffington Post'' is a web-only news site, named after its founder, Arianna Huffington. It's noted for attracting notable people to do very good write-ups of politics and news, generally with a liberal slant, but also for having a medicine section that supports every sort of quackery and nonsense, including a regular column by {{w|Dana Ullman}} promoting {{w|homeopathy}} (see [[765: Dilution]]).
* '''Shipwreck of the SS Howard Dean:''' In the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, Howard Dean raised funds mainly over the internet, and was doing very well, until a gaffe caused him to crash and burn just before the primaries began. See {{w|Howard Dean presidential campaign, 2004}}.
* '''Cory Doctrow's Balloon:''' Reference to [[239: Blagofaire]].
* '''[http://boingboing.net Boing Boing:]''' An occasional trend is for a smallish magazine to get a website, have the website become vastly more popular than its print edition, and become a successful website. Examples include [http://cracked.com Cracked.com,] [http://theonion.com The Onion,] and the subject of this label, [http://boingboing.net Boing Boing.] Boing Boing is a group blog covering technology, intellectual property, science fiction, and futurism.
* '''[http://technorati.com Technorati:]''' A site for searching blogs.
* '''Sulawesi:''' As mentioned above, a real island that is part of the Indonesian archipelago.
* '''{{w|Xu Jinglei}}:''' Chinese actress. According to Wikipedia: "In mid-2006, her Chinese-language blog had the most incoming links of any blog in any language on the Internet, according to Technorati."
* '''[http://postsecret.com/ PostSecret:]''' A website which people send postcards to, describing their secrets. Some are little secrets (like swigging milk directly from the jug or carton); some are old, deep-seated traumas; and some are just things that they could never admit to anyone publicly. Worth a look.
* '''The Wet Sea''': Perhaps a reference to a West Sea, but not sure what that would be. Maybe just a simple joke, as what else would a sea be but wet?
* ''TWB'' or ''TMZ'': A very-hard-to-read label, south of Technorati.
** '''TWB''' is short for "{{w|Translators Without Borders}}," a charitable project that tries to translate necessary texts into the languages of the people who need them for free. This ''might'' be it, if it's meant to relate to Wikipedia, to the east of it. On the other hand,
** '''[http://TMZ.com TMZ]''' is a major celebrity gossip blog, rated #15 in the "[http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2008/mar/09/blogs World's 50 most powerful blogs"] by ''The Guardian,'' and, at time of writing, rating #11 in the [http://technorati.com/blogs/top100/ Technorati top 100.]

===Sea of Culture (Central region) ===
Sites for sharing and showing off music and images, most focusing on self-created content

* '''Gulf of YouTube''': [http://youtube.com YouTube] is the definitive video website where people can upload videos with the purpose of public viewing, ranging from home movies through official music videos through Let's Plays of people playing video games to questionably-legal uploads of cartoons and films. Google has since purchased YouTube.
* '''Piczo''': Teen-oriented website that allowed one to make a profile and put up pictures. The site has been dead since late 2012, due to the rise of Facebook. See {{w|Piczo}}.
* '''Broadcaster''': Another dead site, almost lost to the web. Only a few scraps of information remain on the web. [http://www.seomastering.com/wiki/Broadcaster.com One of the rare scraps of remaining information] indicates it was a webcam broadcasting service that also allowed YouTube-like sharing of videos.
* '''The Bit Torrent''' and the '''P2P Shoals''': Reference to file sharing (passing around often copyright-infringing files, such as movies, CDs, and the like), often done with the {{w|BitTorrent}} protocol. A "Torrent" can also be a flood of water, hence it being used to name a river. "P2P" stands for "{{w|Peer-to-peer}}", the basis for the BitTorrent protocol.
* '''[http://flickr.com Flickr]''': a website where people can upload and share photographs they took.
* '''[http://lastfm.com LastFM]''': a music website that is notable of its "scrobbling" feature.
* '''[http://deviantart.com DeviantArt]''': the largest art website, where people can upload, sell, and buy not only art itself, but also video, audio, Flash-work, and even skins (the original purpose of deviantArt). While many big-name/professional people and organizations have their works in deviantArt, the site is more infamous for the large amount of people who upload low-quality fan-art and fan-characters, most notably of media from Japan. Another point of infamy is the large amount of drama that can happen in the website.

'''Straits of Web 2.0''': A ''strait'' is a narrow passage between two outcroppings. Web 2.0 is a term used to describe new internet architectures, which these programs and Wikipedia (the other side of the strait) are examples of. '''Gays of Web 2.0''' is a pun: The opposite of a gay person (homosexual) is a straight person (heterosexual).

===User-created content and discussions (Southeast)===
Sites such as {{w|Wikipedia}} and chat programs such as IRC.
* '''[http://en.wikipedia.org Wikipedia]''': The world's largest encyclopedia, collaboratively edited by its users. It's labelled as "The Wikipedia Project" (actually called ''{{w|Wikimedia}}''), since Wikipedia has generalised to cover a number of separate web sites, though, at the time of this comic, none near the size of Wikipedia (excepting, possibly, Wikimedia Commons, which is partly an image repository for Wikipedia), perhaps explaining the small size of all the other vertexes of the "web".
* '''Usenet''': The predecessor of most modern forums. A set of discussion groups that dominated the early internet. It also predates the standard web architecture to some extent — there's no standard weblink for it, for instance. See {{w|Usenet}}.
* '''IRC isles''': IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat, a simple, low-bandwidth program for chatting. Common uses include Dungeons and Dragons games and other geeky pursuits.
* '''[http://sourceforge.net SourceForge]''': A code repository. Basically, a place for programmers to meet up and work together on a variety of free and open source projects. See {{w|sourceforge}}. Has become less respectable since this comic was created in 2007, due to [http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/08/gimp_dumps_sourceforge_over_dodgy_ads_and_installer/ allowing misleading advertisements intended to trick people into installing questionable software.]
* '''[http://mit.edu MIT]''': The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of the most respected universities for Engineering, Robotics, and other such fields.
* '''[http://www.engadget.com/‎ Engadget]''': A blog/online magazine, in multiple languages, reviewing tech products and commenting on technology news.
* '''[http://gizmodo.com/‎ Gizmodo]''': A blog about technology and design.
* '''[http://makezine.com/blog/ MakeBlog]''': A blog highlighting bizarre and interesting do-it-yourself projects, often with a geeky theme.
* '''Google's Volcano Fortress''': A volcano fortress is one traditional dwelling place of evil geniuses in fiction, and Google has quietly taken over huge chunks of people's interaction with the web. Perhaps this provides some background for [[254: Comic Fragment]]?
* '''Stallman's Airship''': A joke, perhaps in line with Cory Doctorow's Balloon ([[239: Blagofaire]], also referenced in this strip)

===Ocean of Subculture and Sea of Memes (East)===
:'''Need descriptions'''
Sites related to smaller internet communities, a.k.a. "Subcultures". Also, a whole lot of internet memes, unsurprisingly. The "Viral Straits" references the idea of something "going viral", e.g. spreading quickly to huge numbers of people on the internet. These sites are often responsible for things going viral, and the memes listed are ones that went viral in the past.

;Sites
* '''[http://www.2ch.net/‎ 2Channel]''': a Japanese imageboard that was actually the original inspiration for...
* '''[http://4chan.org 4Chan]''': an imageboard in which people can upload pictures while others comment on them. The website is infamous for its loose/often non-existent rules, incredibly vulgar userbase, source of new memes, and spawning of trolls. 4chan's random board, known internally as /b/, is almost constantly flooded with porn and image macros.
**The fact that 4chan is a very small island on this map (to the far right on the map - left of "dragons" in the sentence ''Here there be anthropomorphic dragons'') made quite a fuss for Randall. And this caused the comic to be mentioned in [http://blog.xkcd.com/2008/02/25/fruit-opinions/ FRUIT OPINIONS!] on the [http://blog.xkcd.com/ Blag]. Although this comic was one of the more controversial, it had nothing on the impact of [[388: Fuck Grapefruit]] which was the cause of the Blag entry as that became the most controversial comic written to that point (i.e. 2008): ''...beating out comics about cunnilingus, the Obama endorsement, and my making 4chan tiny on the map of the internet''. (See the grapefruit comic for more details).
* '''[http://reddit.com Reddit]''': the self-described "front page of the Internet" in which users submit stories, photos and videos and the best are "up-voted" to the top of the page.
* '''[http://digg.com Digg]''': a former competitor to Reddit in the social-news sphere, but has been sold since this map was drawn and restarted as an aggregator of news stories.
* '''[http://fark.com Fark]''': A website that writes humorous commentary on various news reports, especially the strange, bizarre, or things from the political far-left and far-right.
* '''[http://somethingawful.com Something Awful]''': a website that is meant to showcase all things "awful". SomethingAwful also has a large trollbase, but they tend to be more honorable than the ones from ''Encyclopedia Dramatica'' and 4chan. One example is there being a spotty holding of the no-furries rule in the forums. The forums themselves are famous because of the holding of the "Let's Plays" of ''Dangan Ronpa'' and ''Super Dangan Ronpa 2'', which had cooked up public interest to the point of there being an English-language release of the games.
* '''[http://slashdot.org /.]''': ''Slashdot'', a news site for technology-related news stories, which are submitted by its users. The "{{w|Slashdot effect}}" is named after this site.
* '''[http://ytmnd.com YTMND]''': a community in which users can create meme-type nonsense by playing music over an image (either static or animated). Its name is an acronym for "You're The Man Now, Dog!"
* '''[http://StumbleUpon.com Stumble Upon]''': A website that attempts to develop a profile for users in order to recommend which websites they might enjoy.
* '''[http://delicious.com/ Del.icio.us]''': Another image and website aggregator, linking to various things of interest. It uses tags to let people find specific types of content. ('''Note''': Since this comic, this website was renamed as "Delicious".)

;Memes and related
* '''Isle of Slash''': "{{w|Slash fiction}}" is a type of {{w|fanfiction}} that takes two male characters from another work of fiction and puts them in a plot where they have lots of sex with each other. Named because of a common way of writing pairings in fanfiction, "X/Y", with the / being pronounced "slash". Adding to this, "Isle of" sounds like "I love".
* '''Numa''': A reference to the viral video "Numa Numa", consisting to a fat guy dancing and lip-syncing to the song "Dragostea din tei" (Romanian for "Love from the lindens").
* '''Your Base''': A reference to the "{{w|All your base are belong to us}}" meme, a line from the game ''{{w|Zero Wing}}'', a game with a huge amount of hilariously badly translated {{w|Engrish}} dialogue. See [[286: All Your Base]] for more discussion of the meme.
* '''Bay of Trolls''': {{w|Troll (Internet)|Trolls}} are people who attempt to stir up controversy by intentionally saying statements meant to annoy others into responding. "Bay" can refer to both a sheltered port, and to an animal's cry, so "Bay of Trolls" can be read as "Shelter for Trolls" or "Angry Shouting of Trolls". Given the communities surrounding it, both would make sense.
* '''Soviet Russia''': {{w|Russian reversal|"In Soviet Russia" jokes}} are a style of joke commonly associated with -comedian {{w|Yakov Smirnoff}}, which has since become an internet meme. Example: "In America, you always find a party. In Russia, Party will always find ''you''." — playing off of the idea that "Party" can also refer to the Communist Party. The meme version usually isn't as clever as that, though. See "[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/in-soviet-russia in soviet russia]".
* '''SPAAARTA''': As in, "THIS! IS! SPAAARTA!!!", A famously over-the-top line from the movie ''{{w|300 (film)|300}}''.

===MMORPGs and related games (Northeast by East)===
An area dedicated to MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games), large-scale games with huge numbers of players put into the same world. The label "Here there be anthromorphic dragons" references a common marking on old maps ("Here there be dragons") but updates it to joke about the more humanoid dragons seen in many games, or again, how dragons, especilally anthropomorphic dragons, are very-very popular in the furry community.

* '''[http://games.yahoo.com Yahoo Games]''': A branch of Yahoo (see "The Icy North") dedicated to games (mainly boardgames).
* '''[http://uo.com UO]''': ''Ultima Online'', one of the first MMORPGs, and the first to grow to any size. Based on the long-running ''Ultima'' RPG computer games. Started 1997.
* '''[http://www.everquest.com/‎ EQ]''': ''EverQuest'', another important early MMORPG, started 1999. UO and EQ have declined significantly since then; for a while, they were each the iconic MMORPG, but that role has been taken over by...
* '''[http://www.warcraft.com/‎ WoW]''': ''World of Warcraft'', an MMORPG launched in 2004, again based on a previously-existing RPG series, and by far the largest and most iconic at the time of this comic's creation. A few others have attempted to challenge it since.
* '''[http://www.runescape.com/‎ Runescape]''': Free-to-play fantasy MMORPG; the largest in existence.
* '''[http://www.finalfantasyxi.com/ FFXI]''': ''Final Fantasy XI'', the eleventh installment in the ''Final Fantasy'' series of video games, and the first to be a MMORPG. It didn't really take off until after this comic was made.
* '''[http://www.lineage.com/‎ Lineage]''': 1998 MMORPG. Particularly popular in South Korea, a country with somewhat of a cultural obsession with video games.
* '''[http://secondlife.com Second Life]''': A virtual world, noted for largely working from user-generated content, which can be sold by users for real money. See {{w|Second Life}}. ''Third Life'' is a joke based on Second Life — if it existed it would presumably be a game people play to escape Second Life, which they play to escape their first, real life.

==Transcript==
:[Hand-drawn fantasy style map with land and sea areas representing populations of online communities. Each area or item is labeled.]
:Map of Online Communities and related points of interest
:Geographic area represents estimated size of membership

:[Land Area Labels:]
:The Icy North (Yahoo, Windows Live),
:AOL,
::Chat Rooms
:Reunion dot com,
:Classmates dot com,
:E-harmony,
:Friendster,
:Faceparty,
:Chasm,
:Qwghlm,
:Yahoo Games,
:Mountains of Web 1.0,
:The Lonely Island,
:MySpace,
:Attractive MySpace Pages,
:The Series of Tubes,
:Myspace Bands,
:WOW,
:Lineage,
:Second Life,
:Third Life,
:UO,
:EQ,
:FFXI,
:2channel,
:4chan,
:LJ,
:Xanga,
:Orkut,
:Cyworld,
:Blurty,
:OK Cupid,
:Facebook,
:Piczo,
:The Compass-Rose-Shaped Island,
::Practicals (Noob)
::Focus on Real Life (IRL)
::Focus on Web (.com)
::Intellectuals (π)
:Broadcaster,
:The Bit Torrent,
:Flickr,
:Last.fm,
:DeviantArt,
:Isle of Slash,
:Numa,
:Digg,
:Fark,
:Reddit,
:Something Awful,
:Your Base,
:Soviet Russia,
:/. [Slashdot],
:Spaaarta (YTMND),
:StumbleUpon,
:Del.icio.us,
:The Blogipelago,
:Sulawesi,
:Xu Jinglei,
:Post Secret,
:Technocrati,
:[Hard to read label: Probably JWB, TWB, or TMZ]
:BoingBoing,
:Huffington Post,
:Gays of Web 2.0,
:The Wikipedia project,
:MIT,
:Engadget,
:Gizmodo,
:Usenet,
:MAKE Blog,
:IRC Isles,
:Sourceforge.

:[Sea Area Labels:]
:NOOB Sea,
:Gulf of YouTube,
:Bay of Angst,
:Sea of Culture,
:Ocean of Subculture,
:P2P Shoals,
:Straits of Web 2.0,
:Here Be Anthropomorphic Dragons,
:Bay of Trolls,
:Viral Straits,
:Sea of Memes,
:The Wet Sea
:Item Labels: Shipwreck of the SS Howard Dean, Cory Doctrow's Balloon, Stallman's airship, Google's volcano fortress

:(Not a complete survey. Sizes based on the best figures I could find but involved some guesswork. Do not use for navigation.)
:Spring 2007

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Richard Stallman]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Online Communities]]

804: Pumpkin Carving

2015-04-13T01:07:26Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 804
| date = October 11, 2010
| title = Pumpkin Carving
| image = pumpkin carving.png
| titletext = The Banach-Tarski theorem was actually first developed by King Solomon, but his gruesome attempts to apply it set back set theory for centuries.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a reference to the American custom of carving pumpkins to set out on porches and front steps for the American holiday of {{w|Halloween}}, which occurs on October 31. The pumpkin has the inside emptied out and a face or design carved in the side. Then a light in placed inside (usually a candle). These are called "{{w|Jack-o'-lantern|Jack-O'-Lantern}}s". The Jack-O'-Lantern in the 3rd frame is the typical and standard design for a carved pumpkin.

[[Beret Guy]], naturally, stays oddly on-topic by carving a pumpkin in his pumpkin.

In the 2nd frame, [[Black Hat]] is putting {{w|nitroglycerin}} (an explosive) into his carved pumpkin in the hopes that someone will attempt to smash it, making it explode. His note would most likely only serve to encourage the intended targets (teenage vandals). His chest pain reference is because nitroglycerin is used to open blood vessels when someone has chest pains from {{w|angina}} or a {{w|heart attack}}, however nitroglycerin used for this purpose is dispensed in small spray bottles and, naturally, is controlled by prescription.

In the 3rd frame, [[Megan]] is our typical emotional xkcd comic character. She is projecting herself onto the jack-o'-lantern as she tries to distract herself with holiday traditions that won't work to distract her.

In the 4th frame, [[Cueball]] is referencing the {{w|Banach-Tarski paradox}}, a theorem which states that it is possible to carve a three-dimensional ball, in this case a pumpkin, into a finite number of "pieces," and then reassemble the "pieces" into two different balls identical to the original. This paradox has been proven for just about anything theoretically, but requires infinitely complicated pieces, which are impossible for anything made of physical {{w|atomic theory|atoms}} rather than mathematical {{w|point (geometry)|points}}. The person off-screen in that frame references the {{w|Axiom of Choice}}, which says that given a set of buckets or bins, each containing one or more objects, it is possible to select exactly one object from each bucket. The Banach-Tarski rests on several axioms which are fairly well respected, but also requires the Axiom of Choice to work correctly. So a person who does not believe in the Axiom of Choice would not have been able to do what [[Cueball]] managed to do.

The title text says that {{w|Solomon|King Solomon}} developed the Banach-Tarski theorem first. This is a reference to the story of two women being brought before him. Both were arguing that a particular child was their own. Solomon said that the solution was to cut the child in half and give each woman one of the halves. One of the two women said that the other should have the baby whole. Solomon then knew she was the true mother, and gave her the child. The joke is that Solomon may not have intended to kill the child, but, believing that two whole children could be made from the one, intended give a baby to each woman, and the Banach-Tarski paradox states that, were the baby infinitely divisible, it should be possible.

==Transcript==
:[Beret guy stands next to a pumpkin with a picture of a pumpkin carved into it.]
:Interlocutor: So what did you—
:Beret Guy: I carved a pumpkin!
:Interlocutor: ...

:[Black Hat stands next to a pumpkin and a box labeled "Nitro-glycerin. Do not shake."]
:Interlocutor: Taking on teen vandals, I see.
:Black Hat: Heavens, No. My pumpkin simply has chest pains. In fact, I'll leave a note ''warning'' them not to smash it.

:[Megan stands next to a jack-o' lantern.]
:Megan: My pumpkin's name is Harold. He just realized that all the time he used to spend daydreaming, he now spends worrying. He'll try to distract himself later with holiday traditions, but it won't work.

:[Cueball stands next to two pumpkins and a knife.]
:Cueball: I carved and carved, and the next thing I knew I had ''two'' pumpkins.
:Interlocutor: I ''told'' you not to take the axiom of choice.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Axiom of Choice]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Logic]]
[[Category:Set theory]]

1510: Napoleon

2015-04-12T01:49:22Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */ could be airbender, or captain america, or the thing, or coincidence

{{comic
| number = 1510
| date = April 10, 2015
| title = Napoleon
| image = napoleon.png
| titletext = "Mr. President, what if the unthinkable happens? What if the launch goes wrong, and Napoleon is not stranded on the moon?" "Have Safire write up a speech."
}}

==Explanation==

{{w|Napoleon Bonaparte}} was one of the greatest military leaders in history, conquering most of Europe in the space of a decade. In 1814, after being forced to abdicate as Emperor of the French, he was exiled to the island of {{w|Elba}}. However, in February of 1815 Napoleon escaped back to France, quickly raised an army, and overthrew the {{w|Bourbon Restoration}} monarchy for a period known as {{w|Hundred Days|The Hundred Days}}. At the end of this period (actually lasting 111 days), Napoleon was defeated by British and Prussian forces at the {{w|Battle of Waterloo}}, and surrendered a month later. This time he was exiled to {{w|Saint Helena}}, an island much more remote than Elba—in fact, one of the most remote places on Earth.

In reality, Napoleon made no serious attempts to escape Saint Helena, and died there six years after his surrender. However, this comic imagines a world in which Napoleon escaped once again, swimming back to Europe. Saint Helena is 2,000 km (1,200 mi.) from the Afro-Eurasian landmass, making such a swim rather implausible, especially considering the ball and chain around his ankle. And Napoleon is depicted fresh out of the water, suggesting that he did not simply swim to Africa and make his way back to Europe, but rather swam straight to Europe, a journey of roughly 6,100 km (3,800 mi.).

The comic implies that Napoleon proves impossible to confine, despite escalating attempts to send him to more remote locations and apply increasingly confining restraints (handcuffs, then adding a ball and chain on one ankle, then chaining the ball to both ankles, and finally adding an electronic legband). In addition to being able to swim impossible distances, he seems to also somehow escape imprisonment in the ice of Antarctica. He also seems to be immortal (or well-preserved by the ice of Antartica), remaining alive and apparently in great physical condition while nearly 200 years old. The final panel shows U.S. President {{w|John F. Kennedy}}'s "{{w|We choose to go to the Moon}}" speech, but implies an alternate ending to the line "not because it is easy, but because it is hard." Rather, it appears that we choose to go to the Moon not because it is easy, but because it will be hard for Napoleon to return.

The title text is an apparent conversation between President {{w|Richard Nixon}} and an aide. Nixon is asked what we will do if we fail to maroon Napoleon on the Moon, and replies "Have Safire write up a speech." This is a reference to Nixon speechwriter {{w|William Safire}}, who wrote the draft speech {{w|s:In Event of Moon Disaster|"In Event of Moon Disaster"}}, to have been delivered by Nixon should the Apollo 11 astronauts be stranded on the Moon. This comic thus proposes an inversion of the actual scenario—instead of Nixon delivering Safire's speech because someone's been stranded on the moon, in this comic he'd be delivering it if someone ''weren't'' stranded on the moon. "In Event of Moon Disaster" was also the topic of [[1484: Apollo Speeches]], published two months before this comic.

==Transcript==
:[Two Cueball-like soldiers with guns present Napoleon (recognizable by his Napoleon hat, aka a {{w|bicorne}}) to an officer sitting behind his desk. The officer is pointing at Napoleon who has a small chain on his hands.]
:Soldier at the front: This is Napoleon. He tried to take over the world.
:Officer Cueball: Exile him to Elba!

:[Three Cueball-like soldiers with guns present Napoleon again to the same officer sitting behind his desk. The officer has one hand held in front of him with his palm up. This time Napoleon has a larger chain on his hands and a ball and chain on his right leg. His head and hat is battered from the battle.]
:Soldier at the front: It's us again. Napoleon escaped from Elba and tried to conquer the world. Again.
:Officer Cueball: Send him someplace truly remote, like Saint Helena.
:Soldier at the front: Yes, sir.

:[At the top of the panel is a text in a frame that breaks the panel's frame:]
:Several Years Later...

:[Four Cueball-like soldiers with guns (one partly outside the frame) stand behind Napoleon and one more soldier stands in front of him as they again present him to the same officer. The officer is now standing behind his desk, holding it with one hand while the other is pointing up in the air. This time Napoleon has a octopus on his head, is dripping wet, still has the larger chain on his hands and the ball and chain on his right leg. Furthermore his legs are shackled. There are pools of water on the floor.]
:Soldier at the front: Well, he swam back.
:Officer Cueball: We must mount an expedition to the South Pole, where we will encase Napoleon in the Antarctic ice!"

:[At the top of the panel is a text in a frame that breaks the panel's frame:]
:A century later...

:[President Kennedy is giving a speech standing on a podium behind a desk, while Napoleon is standing behind him with the same restraining devices as before. Napoleon now has icicles dangling from his hat and a small piece of ice on his right leg around the knee.]
:President Kennedy: We choose to go to the moon, not because it is easy...

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]

1510: Napoleon

2015-04-10T08:56:03Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */ looks good to me

{{comic
| number = 1510
| date = April 10, 2015
| title = Napoleon
| image = napoleon.png
| titletext = "Mr. President, what if the unthinkable happens? What if the launch goes wrong, and Napoleon is not stranded on the moon?" "Have Safire write up a speech."
}}

==Explanation==

{{w|Napoleon Bonaparte}} was one of the greatest military leaders in history, conquering most of Europe in the space of a decade. In 1814, after being forced to abdicate as Emperor of the French, he was exiled to the island of {{w|Elba}}. However, in February of 1815 Napoleon escaped back to France, quickly raised an army, and overthrew the {{w|Bourbon Restoration}} monarchy for a period known as {{w|Hundred Days|The Hundred Days}}. At the end of this period (actually lasting 111 days), Napoleon was defeated by British and Prussian forces at the {{w|Battle of Waterloo}}, and surrendered a month later. This time he was exiled to {{w|Saint Helena}}, an island much more remote than Elba—in fact, one of the most remote places on Earth.

In reality, Napoleon made no serious attempts to escape Saint Helena, and died there six years after his surrender. However, this comic imagines a world in which Napoleon escaped once again, swimming back to Europe. Saint Helena is 1,200 miles (2,000 km) from the Afro-Eurasian landmass, making such a swim rather implausible, especially considering the ball and chain around his ankle. And Napoleon is depicted fresh out of the water, suggesting that he did not simply swim to Africa and make his way back to Europe, but rather swam straight to Europe, a journey of roughly 3,800 miles (6,100 km).

The comic implies that Napoleon proves impossible to confine. In addition to being able to swim impossible distances, he seems to also somehow escape imprisonment in the ice of Antarctica. He also seems to be immortal (or well-preserved by the ice of Antartica), remaining alive and apparently in great physical condition while nearly 200 years old. The final panel shows U.S. President {{w|John F. Kennedy}}'s {{w|"We choose to go to the Moon"}} speech, but implies an alternate ending to the line "not because it is easy, but because it is hard." Rather, it appears that we choose to go to the Moon not because it is easy, but because there's no other way to get rid of Napoleon.

The title text is an apparent conversation between President {{w|Richard Nixon}} and an aide. Nixon is asked what we will do if we fail to maroon Napoleon on the moon, and replies "Have Safire write up a speech." This is a reference to Nixon speechwriter {{w|William Safire}}, who wrote the draft speech {{w|s:In Event of Moon Disaster|"In Event of Moon Disaster"}}, to have been delivered by Nixon should the Apollo 11 astronauts be stranded on the moon. This comic thus proposes an inversion of the actual scenario—instead of Nixon delivering Safire's speech because someone's been stranded on the moon, in this comic he'd be delivering it if someone ''weren't'' stranded on the moon. "In Event of Moon Disaster" was also the topic of [[1484: Apollo Speeches]], published two months before this comic.

==Transcript==
:[Two Cueball like soldiers with guns present Napoleon (recognizable by his Napoleon hat) to an officer sitting behind his desk. The officer is pointing at Napoleon who has a small chain on his hands.]
:Soldier at the front: This is Napoleon. He tried to take over the world.
:Officer Cueball: Exile him to Elba!

:[Three Cueball like soldiers with guns present Napoleon again to the same officer sitting behind his desk. The Officer has one hand held in front of him with his palm up. This time Napoleon has a larger chain on his hands and a ball and chain on his right leg. His head and hat is battered from the battle.]
:Soldier at the front: It's us again. Napoleon escaped from Elba and tried to conquer the world. Again.
:Officer Cueball: Send him someplace truly remote, like Saint Helena.
:Soldier at the front: Yes, sir.

:[At the top of the panel is a text in a frame that breaks the panels frame:]
:Several Years Later...

:[Four Cueball like soldiers with guns (one partly outside the frame) stand behind Napoleon and one more solider stands in front of him as they again present him to the same officer. The officer is now standing his desk, holding it with one hand while the other is pointing up in the air. This time Napoleon has a octopus on his head, is dripping wet, still has the larger chain on his hands and the ball and chain on his right leg. Furthermore his legs are shackled. There are pools of water on the floor.]
:Soldier at the front: Well, he swam back.
:Officer Cueball: We must mount an expedition to the south pole, where we will encase Napoleon in the Antarctic ice!"

:[At the top of the panel is a text in a frame that breaks the panels frame:]
:A century later...

:[President Kennedy is giving a speech standing on a podium behind a desk, while Napoleon is standing behind him with the same restraining devices as before. But with ice sickles from the hat and still a small piece of ice on his right leg around the knee.]
:President Kennedy: We choose to go to the Moon, not because it is easy...

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category: Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]

1509: Scenery Cheat Sheet

2015-04-10T01:55:14Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */ sandra bullock's location at the end of "Gravity" was not presented as relevant to the plot

{{comic
| number = 1509
| date = April 8, 2015
| title = Scenery Cheat Sheet
| image = scenery cheat sheet.png
| titletext = At the boundary between each zone, stories blend together. Somewhere in the New Mexico desert, the Roadrunner is pursued by a tireless Anton Chigurh.
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|Explanation required.}}
In this comic [[Randall]] jokes that large areas of the United States (mainland) can be characterized by the locations of a single movie. Especially in the mid-west there are several very large areas that he describes with just one film. The map is the most detailed in the {{w|Northeastern United States|northeast}}, which is where Randall lives.

The map is divided into the 48 states of the mainland by thin gray lines. On top of these are drawn black lines that divide the map into 50 sections. (A 51st section is located in the Atlantic Ocean). Inside each section is at least one reference that is supposed to describe the entire area encompassed by the section. In most cases it is the title of a movie (or two to three titles), but it could also be more general specter of movies (all movies with a big budget, or those with whose title is a east coast city name) or it could even be a book/song that describes the relevant area.

The idea behind the map is that if you know this and the relevant movies, you can use it to determine where you are by comparing your knowledge of the movies with the sceneries you can see from where you stand. This is what the heading above the map clearly states.

Below this are given the two groups of people who will have most use for this sheet: First there are the "GeoGuessrs." {{w|GeoGuessr}} is a game using {{w|Google Street View}} images, which drops the player in a random location and challenges them to work out where they are. (This game was already referenced in [[1214: Geoguessr]]). Secondly there are the "Crash-landed astronauts."

Some entries (for instance, ''{{w|Groundhog Day (film)|Groundhog Day}}'') reflect the locations where the stories are set, and others (like ''{{w|Dances with Wolves}}'') reflect where they were filmed. Others are even more detached, as it is the sceneries from the movie that resembles a given place, even though it is neither filmed there or takes place there. It could also be a cartoon, which is of course only set in an imaginary world that may resemble the real world.

The title text references {{w|Anton Chigurh}} (portrayed by {{w|Javier Bardem}}), who is the main antagonist of the film ''{{w|No Country For Old Men}}.'' In this case he would have taken over the role of {{w|Wile E. Coyote}}, and would thus hunt down {{w|Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner|The Road Runner}} at the boundary between the sections for these two movies, which would be somewhere in the {{w|New Mexico}} desert.

==Table==
*In this table all the movies (and others) from the map are mentioned from top to bottom and (when possible) by going through the columns that seems to appear in the sections when going from left to right.
*The setting for the movie vs. the actual filming locations will be given to be compared to the section of the map where the titles are written.
*Explanations will be given in the Notes section.
*The {{w|State Postal Codes}} will be used when referring to the states covered by each section.

{| class="wikitable"
! Movie Title
! Setting for Movie
! Actual Filming Location(s)
! Section on map
! Notes
|-
| {{w|The Goonies}}
|
| Cannon Beach, and Astoria, OR
|
|
|-
| {{w|Twilight (2008 film)| Twilight}}
| Forks, WA
| Portland, OR
| rowspan="2" | {{w|Washington (state)|WA}}, {{w|Oregon|OR}} and most northern part of {{w|California|CA}} except for the part taken up by The Goonies.
| Same sections as 50 Shades of Grey
|-
| {{w|Fifty Shades of Grey (film)|50 Shades of Grey}}
| Seattle, WA
| Vancouver, BC
| Same sections as Twilight which is clear from this fact:. The Fifty series was originally a {{w|fan fiction}} version of Twilight, but then developed into three full novels.
|-
| {{w|Zodiac (film)|Zodiac}}
| San Fransisco Bay Area
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Rock (film)|The Rock}}
| {{w|Alcatraz Island}}
| {{W|Alcatraz Island}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Dances with Wolves}}
| Fort Sedgwick, CO
| South Dakota and Wyoming
| rowspan= "2" |
|
|-
| {{w|Starship Troopers (film)|Starship Troopers}}
| Planet Klendathu
| Hell's Half Acre, WY
|
|-
| {{w|Napoleon Dynamite|Napoleon Dynamite}}
| Preston, Idaho
| Preston, Idaho
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Sandlot|The Sandlot}}
| Suburban Los Angeles
| Salt Lake City, Utah
|
|
|-
| {{w|Wild Wild West|Wild Wild West}}
| The southwest area
| Tuscon, Arizona; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Pierce, Idaho
|
|
|-
| {{w|Top Gun|Top Gun}}
| NAS Miramar, San Diego, CA
| Nevada, NAS Miramar, San Diego, CA
| rowspan="2" |
|
|-
| {{w|Independence Day (1996 film)|Part of Independence Day}}
| Grand Canyon & Area 51
| Utah / Nevada
|
|-
| {{w|Sideways|That movie about wine & talking}}
| {{w|Santa Ynez Valley}}
| {{w|Santa Ynez Valley}}
|
| He clearly means ''Sideways''. Mapped area does not include the Santa Ynez Valley wine country, but instead shows the {{w|Central_Valley_(California)|California Central Valley}}.
|-
| {{w|List of most expensive films|Every movie with a big budget...}}
|
|Hollywood, CA
|
|
|-
| {{w|Brokeback Mountain|Brokeback Mountain}}
| Wyoming
| Southern Alberta
|
|
|-
| {{w|Oregon Trail (video_game)|Oregon Trail}}
| {{w|Platte River|Platte}}, {{w|Snake River|Snake}}, and {{w|Columbia River|Columbia}} river valleys
|Video Game, not a film
|
| Could also refer to the film "{{w|The Oregon Trail (1936 film)}}".
|-
| {{w|Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner|Roadrunner cartoons}}
| {{w|Southern Arizona}}
|Animated, not filmed
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Truman Show|The Truman Show}} but with desert in the background
|
|
|
| If it were filmed in Las Vegas ...
|-
| {{w|Tombstone (film)|Tombstone}}
| {{w|Tombstone, Arizona|Tombstone, AZ}}
| Arizona
| rowspan="2" |
|
|-
| {{w|The Mask of Zorro|The Mask of Zorro}}
| California
| Mexico
|
|-
| {{w|No Country for Old Men (film)|No Country for Old Men}}
| (West) Texas
| Texas, New Mexico
|
|
|-
| {{w|Fargo (film)|Fargo}}
| Fargo ND, Brainerd MN, Minneapolis MN
| Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN area, Hallock MN, Bathgate, ND
|
|
|-
| {{w|Interstellar (film)|Interstellar}} (Earth parts)
| {{w|Northeast_megalopolis|BosWash}} (converted to farmland), probably near former NYC
| Alberta
| rowspan="3" |
| "Earth Parts"
|-
| {{w|Star Trek (film)|Star Trek (2009)}} (Earth parts)
| Iowa
| Iowa
| "Earth Parts"
|-
| {{w|Field of Dreams|Field of Dreams}}
|
| Dyersville, IA
|
|-
| {{w|The Music Man (1962 film)|The Music Man}}
| River City, IA
| Warner Bros Studio, Burbank, CA
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz}}
| Kansas, Oz
|
|
| The Judy Garland version, presumably. The earth parts.
|-
| {{w|Twister (1996 film)|Twister}}
| Oklahoma
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|True Grit (1969 film)|True Grit}}
| Arkansas
|New Mexico
|
| Obviously the {{w|True Grit (2010 film)|2010 version}}
|-
| {{w|Office Space|Office Space}}
|
| Austin, TX
| rowspan="3" |
|
|-
| {{w|Dazed and Confused (film)|Dazed and Confused}}
| Austin, TX
|
|
|-
| {{w|Kill Bill|Kill Bill}}
| El Paso, TX
|
|-
| {{w|The Blues Brothers (film)|Blues Brothers}}
| Chicago
| Chicago and Milwaukee
|
|
|-
| {{w|8 Mile (film)|8 Mile}}
| Wayne County, Michigan
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|A Christmas Story|A Christmas Story}}
| Indiana
| Cleveland, OH
| rowspan="2" |
|
|-
| {{w|Jack & Diane|That song about Jack and Diane}}
|
| Lake Monroe, IN
| "In the Heartland"
|-
| Anything by {{w|Mark Twain}}
| Hannibal, MO
|
|
| The mapped area doesn't quite include Twain's home town of Hannibal, MO.
|-
| {{w|Walk the Line|Walk the Line}}
| Tennessee
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Big Fish|Big Fish}}
|
| Wetumpka and Montgomery, AL
| rowspan="2" |
|
|-
| {{w|O Brother, Where Art Thou?|O Brother Where Art Thou}}
| Parchman Farm, MS
| Canton, MS; Florence, SC
|
|-
| {{w|Duck Dynasty|Duck Dynasty}}
| {{w|West Monroe, Louisiana|West Monroe, LA}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Princess and the Frog|Princess and the Frog}}
| New Orleans
|Animated, not filmed
| rowspan="2" |
|
|-
| {{w|All Dogs Go to Heaven|All Dogs go to Heaven}}
| New Orleans
|Animated, not filmed
|
|-
| {{w|Beasts of the Southern Wild|Beasts of the Southern Wild}}
| Louisiana
| Montegut, LA
|
|
|-
| {{w|Groundhog Day (film)|Groundhog Day}}
| {{w|Punxsutawney,_Pennsylvania|Punxsutawney, PA}}, {{w|Pittsburgh|Pittsburgh}}
| Woodstock, IL
|
|
|-
| {{w|Dirty Dancing|Dirty Dancing}}
| {{w|Catskill Mountains|Catskill Mountains}}
| {{w|Mountain_Lake_(Virginia)|Mountain Lake, VA}} and {{w|Lake_Lure,_North_Carolina|Lake Lure, NC}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|October Sky|October Sky}}
| Coalwood, WV
| East Tennessee
|
|
|-
| {{w|Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind}}
| Tara, near {{w|Jonesboro, Georgia|Jonesboro, GA}}
|
| rowspan="2" |
|
|-
| {{w|Forrest Gump|Forrest Gump}}
| Alabama
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Truman Show|The Truman Show}}
| Los Angeles area
| {{w|Seaside, Florida|Seaside, FL}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Adaptation (film)|Adaptation}}
| Everglades, FL and surrounding areas
|
|
| Very loosely based on the book "The Orchid Thief" by Susan Orlean, which chronicles the lifestyle of orchid thief and dealer John Laroche. The movie is about a screenwriter who struggles to adapt the book into a movie, turning himself into a main character in his own story.
|-
| {{w|Miami Vice|Miami Vice}}
| Miami
|
|
| Or the {{w|Miami Vice (film)|film}}
|-
| {{w|Super Troopers|Super Troopers}}
| Vermont, NY ("Somewhere near the border")
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|My Side of the Mountain|My Side of the Mountain (book)}}
| Adirondack Mountains, NY
| Catskill mountains, near Delhi, NY
|
| The area shown on the map includes the Adirondacks, as well as the Tug Hill Plateau and the Finger Lakes. The Catskills appear to be excluded.
|-
| {{w|War of the Worlds (2005 film)|War of the Worlds (2005)}}
| Massachusetts
| California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia
|
| Also referenced in [[556: Alternative Energy Revolution]]
|-
| {{w|Signs (film)|Signs}}
| {{w|Doylestown, Pennsylvania|Doylestown, PA}}
|
| rowspan="2" |
|
|-
| {{w|The Village (2004 film)|The Village}}
| Covington, PA
| {{w|Chadds Ford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania|Chadds Ford, PA}}
|
|-
| [Generic City]
| Washington DC, Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia
| N/A
|
|
|-
| {{w|Deep Impact (film)|Deep Impact}}
| Atlantic Coast
|
|
| The Mega-tsunami
|-
| {{w|Pet Semetary|Pet Semetary}}
| Ludlow, Maine
|Hancock, Maine
|
|
|-
| {{w|What About Bob?|What about Bob}}
|Lake Winnipesaukee, NH
|Smith Mountain Lake, VA
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Departed|The Departed}}
| Boston, MA
| Boston & New York
|
|
|-
| {{w|Jaws (film)|Jaws}}
| Amity Island (stand-in for Martha's Vineyard)
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Hunt for Red October (film)|The Hunt for Red October}}
| Atlantic Ocean
|
|
|
|}

==Transcript==
:[Above the frame is the following text.]
:'''A cheat sheet for'''
:figuring out where in the US you are
:by recognizing the background from movies
:(for use by GeoGuessr players and crash-landed astronauts)

:[In the frame is a map of the mainland USA with the 48 mainland states lined out in thin gray lines. All areas on the map have been enclosed in sections divided by curved black lines. These sections sizes goes from encompassing several states down to just a small section of a single state. The sections cover the entire USA without any holes. There is also one section in the Atlantic Ocean. All sections are labeled. If the section is large enough the text stands inside, if it is too small, the text is outside and an arrow will point to the relevant section

:[Here below all the text on the map (mainly film titles) will be transcribed from top to bottom and (when possible) by going through the columns that seems to appear in the sections when going from left to right. The {{w|State Postal Codes}} will be used when referring to the states covered by each section]

:[Small section on the west coast around the state border between WA and OR, which is surrounded on three sides by the next section mentioned below. It is labeled with an arrow:]
:The Goonies
:[Large section covering WA, OR and top of CA. The section has two titles, with the second one standing with smaller font below the first:]
:Twilight
:50 Shades of Grey
:[Small section around San Francisco, CA:]
:Zodiac
:[Very tine section covering only Alcatraz off the coast of San Francisco, CA. It is labeled with an arrow:]
:The Rock
:[ Large section covering most of MT as well as part of WY, SD and NE. The section has two titles:]
:Dances with Wolves
:Starship Troopers
:[Medium section section covering most of ID and part of MT:]
:Napoleon Dynamite
:[Medium section section covering part of OR, ID, NV and UT:]
:The Sandlot
:[Medium section section mainly covering the top part of NV:]
:Wild Wild West
:[Medium section section covering most of NV and small part of CA. The section has two titles, with the second one standing with smaller font below the first plus description:]
:Top Gun
:& the part of Independence Day where Will Smith crashes
:[Small section covering central CA:]
:That movie about wine & talking
:[Medium section section covering a large part of the southern part of CA around Hollywood, Los Angeles:]
:Every movie with a big budget, explosions or someone who says "cool!"
:[Medium section section covering half of WY and small parts of UT and CO:]
:Brokeback Mountain
:[Medium section section covering part of WY, CO and NE. The part in parenthesis in a smaller font:]
:Oregon Trail
:(the only part I ever got to)
:[Large section covering small part of UT and the half bottom of UT and CO and top half of AZ and NM:]
:Roadrunner cartoons
:[Medium section section covering a small part of the southern CA and small part of AZ. The part beneath the title in a smaller font:]
:The Truman Show,
:but with desert as the background
:[Small part at the bottom of AZ. The section has two titles:]
:Tombstone
:& The Mask of Zorro
:[Large section covering the a small part of AZ, the bottom half of NM as well as a third of TX:]
:No Country for Old Men
:[Large section covering all of ND, most of MN, half of SD and a small part of MT:]
:Fargo
:[Medium section section covering most of NE and small parts of MN and IA. The section has three titles. The top two are marked with a square bracket to the left. The text of this given before the third title:]
:Interstellar
:Star Trek (2009)
:] Earth parts
:Field of Dreams
:[Medium section section covering large parts of IA, MO and IL:]
:The Music Man
:[Medium section section covering mainly KS, but also a small part of Co and OK:]
:The Wizard of Oz
:[Medium section section covering most of OK and small part of MO and AR:]
:Twister
:[Covering the top part of TX and small parts of OK and AR:]
:True Grit
:[Large section covering a third of TX (the eastern part all the way down) and small parts of AR and LA. The section has three titles:]
:Office Space
:Dazed and Confused
:Kill Bill
:[Small section around and below Chicago, IL, which is surrounded on three sides by the next large section mentioned below. It is labeled with an arrow:]
:Blues Brothers
:[A small circle centered around Detroit, MI completely inside the section here below. It is labeled with an arrow:]
:8 Mile
:[Large section covering all of WI, MI, IN and OH as well as parts of IL and KY. That is except for the two small sections described above, which are inlaid in this one. There are two items in this section. The one below is in smaller font:]
:A Christmas Story
:&That song about Jack and Diane
:[Medium section section covering half of AR, small parts of IL and MO as well as bits of KY, TN and MS:]
:Anything by Mark Twain
:[Medium section covering half of TN and part of KY:]
:Walk the Line
:[Large section covering all of AL most of MS and half of GA. There are two titles in this section:]
:Big Fish
:O Brother Where Art Thou
:[Small section covering top of LA and small part of MS:]
:Duck Dynasty
:[Medium section covering the bottom half of LA and the very bottom of MS. There is a very small section at the bottom of LA that are not included in this but in the next. There are two titles in this section:]
:Princess and the Frog
:All Dogs go to Heaven
:[Small section covering the very eastern end of the bottom of LA – maybe including New Orleans. It is labeled with an arrow:]
:Beasts of the Southern Wild
:[Medium section section covering half of PA and western part NY:]
:Groundhog Day
:[Small section covering the middle part of VA as well as small parts of PA, MD and WV:]
:Dirty Dancing
:[Medium section section covering most of WV, half of TN, a small parts of KY as well as tiny bits of VA, NC and GA:]
:October Sky
:[Large section covering all of SC, most of NC as well as half of VA and GA. There are two titles in this section:]
:Gone with the Wind
:Forrest Gump
:[Large section covering most of FL except the bottom part which are covered by the next two sections:]
:The Truman Show
:[Small section covering the very bottom of FL except the east coast. It is labeled with an arrow:]
:Adaptation
:[Small section covering the very bottom the east coast of FL. It is labeled with an arrow:]
:Miami Vice
:[Small section covering most of the top of VT and a small part of NY. It is labeled with an arrow:]
:Super Troopers
:[Small section covering the central part of NY.]
:My Side of the Mountain (book)
:[Small section covering the eastern part of NY, western part of MA, top part of CT as well as bits of VT and RI.:]
:War of the Worlds (2005)
:[Small section covering the eastern part of PA and small bits of NY and MD. There are two titles in this section:]
:Signs
:& The Village
:[Medium section section covering several large cities of the east coast including New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, DC. It covers most of DE and NJ and large parts of MD (with DC) and the bit of NY with the city. The text is not a title and the it is written in square brackets…:]
:[Generic city]
:[Small section covering the east coast along VA and NC, but also with small bits of MD and DE at the top:]
:Deep Impact
:[Medium section section covering all of ME, the top tip of NH and eastern top of VT:]
:Pet Semetary
:[Small section covering the most of the bottom parts of NH and VT:]
:What about Bob
:[Very small section surrounding Boston in MA. It is labeled with an arrow:]
:The Departed
:[Small section covering the east coast along MA, RI, CT and NJ:]
:Jaws
:[Large section off the east coast in the Atlantic Ocean:]
:The Hunt for Red October

==Trivia==

Not everything {{w|Mark Twain}} wrote was really set on the {{w|Mississippi River}}. For instance, he first gained attention as a fiction writer with "{{w|The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County}}," which is about {{w|Northern California}}. Indeed, during his lifetime, Twain was known mostly as a travel writer, not a novelist.

Kill Bill doesn't take place in southern or eastern Texas. The wedding chapel scene takes place in {{w|El Paso}}, around the same area No Country for Old Men takes place.

==See also==
*[https://geoguessr.com/ GeoGuessr's official website]
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Maps]]

1509: Scenery Cheat Sheet

2015-04-10T01:48:18Z

Pesthouse: /* Explanation */ some kind of circular logic here

{{comic
| number = 1509
| date = April 8, 2015
| title = Scenery Cheat Sheet
| image = scenery cheat sheet.png
| titletext = At the boundary between each zone, stories blend together. Somewhere in the New Mexico desert, the Roadrunner is pursued by a tireless Anton Chigurh.
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|Explanation required.}}
In this comic [[Randall]] jokes that large areas of the United States (mainland) can be characterized by the locations of a single movie. Especially in the mid-west there are several very large areas that he describes with just one film. The map is the most detailed in the {{w|Northeastern United States|northeast}}, which is where Randall lives.

The map is divided into the 48 states of the mainland by thin gray lines. On top of these are drawn black lines that divide the map into 50 sections. (A 51st section is located in the Atlantic Ocean). Inside each section is at least one reference that is supposed to describe the entire area encompassed by the section. In most cases it is the title of a movie (or two to three titles), but it could also be more general specter of movies (all movies with a big budget, or those with whose title is a east coast city name) or it could even be a book/song that describes the relevant area.

The idea behind the map is that if you know this and the relevant movies, you can use it to determine where you are by comparing your knowledge of the movies with the sceneries you can see from where you stand. This is what the heading above the map clearly states. Below this are given the two groups of people who will have most use for this sheet:

First there are the "GeoGuessrs." {{w|GeoGuessr}} is a game using {{w|Google Street View}} images, which drops the player in a random location and challenges them to work out where they are. (This game was already referenced in [[1214: Geoguessr]]).

Secondly there are the "Crash-landed astronauts." This is probably a reference to the movie ''{{w|Gravity (film)|Gravity}}'', in which {{w|Sandra Bullock}}'s character crash lands a {{w|Shenzhou (spacecraft)|Shenzhou}} space capsule. It is not made clear in the movie whether the landing site is in the United States, but if she knew this Cheat Sheet, she would quickly be able to determine that...

Some entries (for instance, ''{{w|Groundhog Day (film)|Groundhog Day}}'') reflect the locations where the stories are set, and others (like ''{{w|Dances with Wolves}}'') reflect where they were filmed. Others are even more detached, as it is the sceneries from the movie that resembles a given place, even though it is neither filmed there or takes place there. It could also be a cartoon, which is of course only set in an imaginary world that may resemble the real world.

The title text references {{w|Anton Chigurh}} (portrayed by {{w|Javier Bardem}}), who is the main antagonist of the film ''{{w|No Country For Old Men}}.'' In this case he would have taken over the role of {{w|Wile E. Coyote}}, and would thus hunt down {{w|Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner|The Road Runner}} at the boundary between the sections for these two movies, which would be somewhere in the {{w|New Mexico}} desert.

==Table==
*In this table all the movies (and others) from the map are mentioned from top to bottom and (when possible) by going through the columns that seems to appear in the sections when going from left to right.
*The setting for the movie vs. the actual filming locations will be given to be compared to the section of the map where the titles are written.
*Explanations will be given in the Notes section.
*The {{w|State Postal Codes}} will be used when referring to the states covered by each section.

{| class="wikitable"
! Movie Title
! Setting for Movie
! Actual Filming Location(s)
! Section on map
! Notes
|-
| {{w|The Goonies}}
|
| Cannon Beach, and Astoria, OR
|
|
|-
| {{w|Twilight (2008 film)| Twilight}}
| Forks, WA
| Portland, OR
| rowspan="2" | {{w|Washington (state)|WA}}, {{w|Oregon|OR}} and most northern part of {{w|California|CA}} except for the part taken up by The Goonies.
| Same sections as 50 Shades of Grey
|-
| {{w|Fifty Shades of Grey (film)|50 Shades of Grey}}
| Seattle, WA
| Vancouver, BC
| Same sections as Twilight which is clear from this fact:. The Fifty series was originally a {{w|fan fiction}} version of Twilight, but then developed into three full novels.
|-
| {{w|Zodiac (film)|Zodiac}}
| San Fransisco Bay Area
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Rock (film)|The Rock}}
| {{w|Alcatraz Island}}
| {{W|Alcatraz Island}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Dances with Wolves}}
| Fort Sedgwick, CO
| South Dakota and Wyoming
| rowspan= "2" |
|
|-
| {{w|Starship Troopers (film)|Starship Troopers}}
| Planet Klendathu
| Hell's Half Acre, WY
|
|-
| {{w|Napoleon Dynamite|Napoleon Dynamite}}
| Preston, Idaho
| Preston, Idaho
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Sandlot|The Sandlot}}
| Suburban Los Angeles
| Salt Lake City, Utah
|
|
|-
| {{w|Wild Wild West|Wild Wild West}}
| The southwest area
| Tuscon, Arizona; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Pierce, Idaho
|
|
|-
| {{w|Top Gun|Top Gun}}
| NAS Miramar, San Diego, CA
| Nevada, NAS Miramar, San Diego, CA
| rowspan="2" |
|
|-
| {{w|Independence Day (1996 film)|Part of Independence Day}}
| Grand Canyon & Area 51
| Utah / Nevada
|
|-
| {{w|Sideways|That movie about wine & talking}}
| {{w|Santa Ynez Valley}}
| {{w|Santa Ynez Valley}}
|
| He clearly means ''Sideways''. Mapped area does not include the Santa Ynez Valley wine country, but instead shows the {{w|Central_Valley_(California)|California Central Valley}}.
|-
| {{w|List of most expensive films|Every movie with a big budget...}}
|
|Hollywood, CA
|
|
|-
| {{w|Brokeback Mountain|Brokeback Mountain}}
| Wyoming
| Southern Alberta
|
|
|-
| {{w|Oregon Trail (video_game)|Oregon Trail}}
| {{w|Platte River|Platte}}, {{w|Snake River|Snake}}, and {{w|Columbia River|Columbia}} river valleys
|Video Game, not a film
|
| Could also refer to the film "{{w|The Oregon Trail (1936 film)}}".
|-
| {{w|Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner|Roadrunner cartoons}}
| {{w|Southern Arizona}}
|Animated, not filmed
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Truman Show|The Truman Show}} but with desert in the background
|
|
|
| If it were filmed in Las Vegas ...
|-
| {{w|Tombstone (film)|Tombstone}}
| {{w|Tombstone, Arizona|Tombstone, AZ}}
| Arizona
| rowspan="2" |
|
|-
| {{w|The Mask of Zorro|The Mask of Zorro}}
| California
| Mexico
|
|-
| {{w|No Country for Old Men (film)|No Country for Old Men}}
| (West) Texas
| Texas, New Mexico
|
|
|-
| {{w|Fargo (film)|Fargo}}
| Fargo ND, Brainerd MN, Minneapolis MN
| Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN area, Hallock MN, Bathgate, ND
|
|
|-
| {{w|Interstellar (film)|Interstellar}} (Earth parts)
| {{w|Northeast_megalopolis|BosWash}} (converted to farmland), probably near former NYC
| Alberta
| rowspan="3" |
| "Earth Parts"
|-
| {{w|Star Trek (film)|Star Trek (2009)}} (Earth parts)
| Iowa
| Iowa
| "Earth Parts"
|-
| {{w|Field of Dreams|Field of Dreams}}
|
| Dyersville, IA
|
|-
| {{w|The Music Man (1962 film)|The Music Man}}
| River City, IA
| Warner Bros Studio, Burbank, CA
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz}}
| Kansas, Oz
|
|
| The Judy Garland version, presumably. The earth parts.
|-
| {{w|Twister (1996 film)|Twister}}
| Oklahoma
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|True Grit (1969 film)|True Grit}}
| Arkansas
|New Mexico
|
| Obviously the {{w|True Grit (2010 film)|2010 version}}
|-
| {{w|Office Space|Office Space}}
|
| Austin, TX
| rowspan="3" |
|
|-
| {{w|Dazed and Confused (film)|Dazed and Confused}}
| Austin, TX
|
|
|-
| {{w|Kill Bill|Kill Bill}}
| El Paso, TX
|
|-
| {{w|The Blues Brothers (film)|Blues Brothers}}
| Chicago
| Chicago and Milwaukee
|
|
|-
| {{w|8 Mile (film)|8 Mile}}
| Wayne County, Michigan
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|A Christmas Story|A Christmas Story}}
| Indiana
| Cleveland, OH
| rowspan="2" |
|
|-
| {{w|Jack & Diane|That song about Jack and Diane}}
|
| Lake Monroe, IN
| "In the Heartland"
|-
| Anything by {{w|Mark Twain}}
| Hannibal, MO
|
|
| The mapped area doesn't quite include Twain's home town of Hannibal, MO.
|-
| {{w|Walk the Line|Walk the Line}}
| Tennessee
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Big Fish|Big Fish}}
|
| Wetumpka and Montgomery, AL
| rowspan="2" |
|
|-
| {{w|O Brother, Where Art Thou?|O Brother Where Art Thou}}
| Parchman Farm, MS
| Canton, MS; Florence, SC
|
|-
| {{w|Duck Dynasty|Duck Dynasty}}
| {{w|West Monroe, Louisiana|West Monroe, LA}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Princess and the Frog|Princess and the Frog}}
| New Orleans
|Animated, not filmed
| rowspan="2" |
|
|-
| {{w|All Dogs Go to Heaven|All Dogs go to Heaven}}
| New Orleans
|Animated, not filmed
|
|-
| {{w|Beasts of the Southern Wild|Beasts of the Southern Wild}}
| Louisiana
| Montegut, LA
|
|
|-
| {{w|Groundhog Day (film)|Groundhog Day}}
| {{w|Punxsutawney,_Pennsylvania|Punxsutawney, PA}}, {{w|Pittsburgh|Pittsburgh}}
| Woodstock, IL
|
|
|-
| {{w|Dirty Dancing|Dirty Dancing}}
| {{w|Catskill Mountains|Catskill Mountains}}
| {{w|Mountain_Lake_(Virginia)|Mountain Lake, VA}} and {{w|Lake_Lure,_North_Carolina|Lake Lure, NC}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|October Sky|October Sky}}
| Coalwood, WV
| East Tennessee
|
|
|-
| {{w|Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind}}
| Tara, near {{w|Jonesboro, Georgia|Jonesboro, GA}}
|
| rowspan="2" |
|
|-
| {{w|Forrest Gump|Forrest Gump}}
| Alabama
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Truman Show|The Truman Show}}
| Los Angeles area
| {{w|Seaside, Florida|Seaside, FL}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Adaptation (film)|Adaptation}}
| Everglades, FL and surrounding areas
|
|
| Very loosely based on the book "The Orchid Thief" by Susan Orlean, which chronicles the lifestyle of orchid thief and dealer John Laroche. The movie is about a screenwriter who struggles to adapt the book into a movie, turning himself into a main character in his own story.
|-
| {{w|Miami Vice|Miami Vice}}
| Miami
|
|
| Or the {{w|Miami Vice (film)|film}}
|-
| {{w|Super Troopers|Super Troopers}}
| Vermont, NY ("Somewhere near the border")
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|My Side of the Mountain|My Side of the Mountain (book)}}
| Adirondack Mountains, NY
| Catskill mountains, near Delhi, NY
|
| The area shown on the map includes the Adirondacks, as well as the Tug Hill Plateau and the Finger Lakes. The Catskills appear to be excluded.
|-
| {{w|War of the Worlds (2005 film)|War of the Worlds (2005)}}
| Massachusetts
| California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia
|
| Also referenced in [[556: Alternative Energy Revolution]]
|-
| {{w|Signs (film)|Signs}}
| {{w|Doylestown, Pennsylvania|Doylestown, PA}}
|
| rowspan="2" |
|
|-
| {{w|The Village (2004 film)|The Village}}
| Covington, PA
| {{w|Chadds Ford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania|Chadds Ford, PA}}
|
|-
| [Generic City]
| Washington DC, Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia
| N/A
|
|
|-
| {{w|Deep Impact (film)|Deep Impact}}
| Atlantic Coast
|
|
| The Mega-tsunami
|-
| {{w|Pet Semetary|Pet Semetary}}
| Ludlow, Maine
|Hancock, Maine
|
|
|-
| {{w|What About Bob?|What about Bob}}
|Lake Winnipesaukee, NH
|Smith Mountain Lake, VA
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Departed|The Departed}}
| Boston, MA
| Boston & New York
|
|
|-
| {{w|Jaws (film)|Jaws}}
| Amity Island (stand-in for Martha's Vineyard)
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Hunt for Red October (film)|The Hunt for Red October}}
| Atlantic Ocean
|
|
|
|}

==Transcript==
:[Above the frame is the following text.]
:'''A cheat sheet for'''
:figuring out where in the US you are
:by recognizing the background from movies
:(for use by GeoGuessr players and crash-landed astronauts)

:[In the frame is a map of the mainland USA with the 48 mainland states lined out in thin gray lines. All areas on the map have been enclosed in sections divided by curved black lines. These sections sizes goes from encompassing several states down to just a small section of a single state. The sections cover the entire USA without any holes. There is also one section in the Atlantic Ocean. All sections are labeled. If the section is large enough the text stands inside, if it is too small, the text is outside and an arrow will point to the relevant section

:[Here below all the text on the map (mainly film titles) will be transcribed from top to bottom and (when possible) by going through the columns that seems to appear in the sections when going from left to right. The {{w|State Postal Codes}} will be used when referring to the states covered by each section]

:[Small section on the west coast around the state border between WA and OR, which is surrounded on three sides by the next section mentioned below. It is labeled with an arrow:]
:The Goonies
:[Large section covering WA, OR and top of CA. The section has two titles, with the second one standing with smaller font below the first:]
:Twilight
:50 Shades of Grey
:[Small section around San Francisco, CA:]
:Zodiac
:[Very tine section covering only Alcatraz off the coast of San Francisco, CA. It is labeled with an arrow:]
:The Rock
:[ Large section covering most of MT as well as part of WY, SD and NE. The section has two titles:]
:Dances with Wolves
:Starship Troopers
:[Medium section section covering most of ID and part of MT:]
:Napoleon Dynamite
:[Medium section section covering part of OR, ID, NV and UT:]
:The Sandlot
:[Medium section section mainly covering the top part of NV:]
:Wild Wild West
:[Medium section section covering most of NV and small part of CA. The section has two titles, with the second one standing with smaller font below the first plus description:]
:Top Gun
:& the part of Independence Day where Will Smith crashes
:[Small section covering central CA:]
:That movie about wine & talking
:[Medium section section covering a large part of the southern part of CA around Hollywood, Los Angeles:]
:Every movie with a big budget, explosions or someone who says "cool!"
:[Medium section section covering half of WY and small parts of UT and CO:]
:Brokeback Mountain
:[Medium section section covering part of WY, CO and NE. The part in parenthesis in a smaller font:]
:Oregon Trail
:(the only part I ever got to)
:[Large section covering small part of UT and the half bottom of UT and CO and top half of AZ and NM:]
:Roadrunner cartoons
:[Medium section section covering a small part of the southern CA and small part of AZ. The part beneath the title in a smaller font:]
:The Truman Show,
:but with desert as the background
:[Small part at the bottom of AZ. The section has two titles:]
:Tombstone
:& The Mask of Zorro
:[Large section covering the a small part of AZ, the bottom half of NM as well as a third of TX:]
:No Country for Old Men
:[Large section covering all of ND, most of MN, half of SD and a small part of MT:]
:Fargo
:[Medium section section covering most of NE and small parts of MN and IA. The section has three titles. The top two are marked with a square bracket to the left. The text of this given before the third title:]
:Interstellar
:Star Trek (2009)
:] Earth parts
:Field of Dreams
:[Medium section section covering large parts of IA, MO and IL:]
:The Music Man
:[Medium section section covering mainly KS, but also a small part of Co and OK:]
:The Wizard of Oz
:[Medium section section covering most of OK and small part of MO and AR:]
:Twister
:[Covering the top part of TX and small parts of OK and AR:]
:True Grit
:[Large section covering a third of TX (the eastern part all the way down) and small parts of AR and LA. The section has three titles:]
:Office Space
:Dazed and Confused
:Kill Bill
:[Small section around and below Chicago, IL, which is surrounded on three sides by the next large section mentioned below. It is labeled with an arrow:]
:Blues Brothers
:[A small circle centered around Detroit, MI completely inside the section here below. It is labeled with an arrow:]
:8 Mile
:[Large section covering all of WI, MI, IN and OH as well as parts of IL and KY. That is except for the two small sections described above, which are inlaid in this one. There are two items in this section. The one below is in smaller font:]
:A Christmas Story
:&That song about Jack and Diane
:[Medium section section covering half of AR, small parts of IL and MO as well as bits of KY, TN and MS:]
:Anything by Mark Twain
:[Medium section covering half of TN and part of KY:]
:Walk the Line
:[Large section covering all of AL most of MS and half of GA. There are two titles in this section:]
:Big Fish
:O Brother Where Art Thou
:[Small section covering top of LA and small part of MS:]
:Duck Dynasty
:[Medium section covering the bottom half of LA and the very bottom of MS. There is a very small section at the bottom of LA that are not included in this but in the next. There are two titles in this section:]
:Princess and the Frog
:All Dogs go to Heaven
:[Small section covering the very eastern end of the bottom of LA – maybe including New Orleans. It is labeled with an arrow:]
:Beasts of the Southern Wild
:[Medium section section covering half of PA and western part NY:]
:Groundhog Day
:[Small section covering the middle part of VA as well as small parts of PA, MD and WV:]
:Dirty Dancing
:[Medium section section covering most of WV, half of TN, a small parts of KY as well as tiny bits of VA, NC and GA:]
:October Sky
:[Large section covering all of SC, most of NC as well as half of VA and GA. There are two titles in this section:]
:Gone with the Wind
:Forrest Gump
:[Large section covering most of FL except the bottom part which are covered by the next two sections:]
:The Truman Show
:[Small section covering the very bottom of FL except the east coast. It is labeled with an arrow:]
:Adaptation
:[Small section covering the very bottom the east coast of FL. It is labeled with an arrow:]
:Miami Vice
:[Small section covering most of the top of VT and a small part of NY. It is labeled with an arrow:]
:Super Troopers
:[Small section covering the central part of NY.]
:My Side of the Mountain (book)
:[Small section covering the eastern part of NY, western part of MA, top part of CT as well as bits of VT and RI.:]
:War of the Worlds (2005)
:[Small section covering the eastern part of PA and small bits of NY and MD. There are two titles in this section:]
:Signs
:& The Village
:[Medium section section covering several large cities of the east coast including New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, DC. It covers most of DE and NJ and large parts of MD (with DC) and the bit of NY with the city. The text is not a title and the it is written in square brackets…:]
:[Generic city]
:[Small section covering the east coast along VA and NC, but also with small bits of MD and DE at the top:]
:Deep Impact
:[Medium section section covering all of ME, the top tip of NH and eastern top of VT:]
:Pet Semetary
:[Small section covering the most of the bottom parts of NH and VT:]
:What about Bob
:[Very small section surrounding Boston in MA. It is labeled with an arrow:]
:The Departed
:[Small section covering the east coast along MA, RI, CT and NJ:]
:Jaws
:[Large section off the east coast in the Atlantic Ocean:]
:The Hunt for Red October

==Trivia==

Not everything {{w|Mark Twain}} wrote was really set on the {{w|Mississippi River}}. For instance, he first gained attention as a fiction writer with "{{w|The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County}}," which is about {{w|Northern California}}. Indeed, during his lifetime, Twain was known mostly as a travel writer, not a novelist.

Kill Bill doesn't take place in southern or eastern Texas. The wedding chapel scene takes place in {{w|El Paso}}, around the same area No Country for Old Men takes place.

==See also==
*[https://geoguessr.com/ GeoGuessr's official website]
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Maps]]