explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:3209: Plums

2026-02-20T19:55:27Z

Philhower:

Referencing William Carlos Williams [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/56159/this-is-just-to-say "This is Just To Say"], an apology for eating the plums. [[Special:Contributions/2600:1001:B000:6009:F81B:2869:73B7:339|2600:1001:B000:6009:F81B:2869:73B7:339]] 03:31, 19 February 2026 (UTC)

Robert Frost is my first cousin five times removed. [[User:Pgn674|Pgn674]] ([[User talk:Pgn674|talk]]) 03:36, 19 February 2026 (UTC)

You could easily trap Edgar Allan Poe by training a crow. [[User:Xkdvd|Xkdvd]] ([[User talk:Xkdvd|talk]]) 05:07, 19 February 2026 (UTC)
:You could easily trap Edgar Allan Poe scholars by training an orang-utan [[Special:Contributions/2001:9E8:E129:8700:A4BD:2D19:5AC4:826B|2001:9E8:E129:8700:A4BD:2D19:5AC4:826B]] 13:19, 19 February 2026 (UTC)

I just described the scene in the transcript, it doesn't look quite right to me, I'm pretty sure there's supposed to be brackets or something, could someone fix that if I did it wrong? [[User:Xkdvd|Xkdvd]] ([[User talk:Xkdvd|talk]]) 05:12, 19 February 2026 (UTC)

The characterization of the poem as an apology needs an [actual citation needed] tag. [[Special:Contributions/2001:8004:4E50:6B3:A564:E93B:1878:3634|2001:8004:4E50:6B3:A564:E93B:1878:3634]] 06:00, 19 February 2026 (UTC)
:The words "forgive me" aren't good enough for you? [[Special:Contributions/174.127.214.79|174.127.214.79]] 06:46, 19 February 2026 (UTC)
::They are not. The “apology” is obviously insincere. The narrator is clearly pleased with himself and would do it again. I suppose you could say it is an insincere apology. [[Special:Contributions/185.98.169.32|185.98.169.32]] 07:58, 20 February 2026 (UTC)
:I expect one could find an actual citation for either viewpoint (citations added). Poetic criticism is not known for consensus. [[User:Philhower|Philhower]] ([[User talk:Philhower|talk]]) 19:44, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

Seems pretty simple. Eat the plums for the cred, and then book reservations for a romantic breakfast the next morning. [[Special:Contributions/73.42.229.109|73.42.229.109]] 06:22, 19 February 2026 (UTC)
:Might just make things more awkward if the trapper is just a roommate. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 09:10, 19 February 2026 (UTC)

Could the caption style also be a reference to the poem? [[User:New editor|New editor]] ([[User talk:New editor|talk]]) 07:08, 19 February 2026 (UTC)
:Yes, although the punctuation and line structure are different, there is the typography, meter, and consonance, {{w|This Is Just to Say#Analysis|as described at Wikipedia}}. [[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 09:07, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

It would be much more difficult that Robert Frost if one is to follow Gulzaar's [https://bollywoodtranslations.blogspot.com/2024/10/is-mod-se-jaate-hain-translation-of.html "Is Mod se"] [[User:Mitradranirban|Mitradranirban]] ([[User talk:Mitradranirban|talk]])

Does the joke rely on any connection between Frost's surname and the Icebox? [[Special:Contributions/79.161.109.128|79.161.109.128]] 10:35, 19 February 2026 (UTC)
:Wouldn't say so, given that they're referring to two different poems. If it did rely on that, I would say it didn't work! [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 11:39, 19 February 2026 (UTC)

Tangent here: can someone explains to me how the structure of WCW's poem works? I find neither rythm nor rhyme. --[[Special:Contributions/94.73.51.255|94.73.51.255]]
: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_verse [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 11:36, 19 February 2026 (UTC)

I'm trying to link Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy, but it's not appearing, even if the text is there. Anybody know why? Also, does anybody else find it odd that this is CUEBALL creating the spatial anomalies and not Beret Guy? --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] (BLM) 14:11, 19 February 2026 (UTC)
:You have to put a : before “Category:” when linking to a category because otherwise it puts the page in the category instead of making a link to the category. [[Special:Contributions/2A09:BAC3:88C3:188C:0:0:272:3F|2A09:BAC3:88C3:188C:0:0:272:3F]] 14:23, 19 February 2026 (UTC)
::Ah. Thanks! --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] (BLM) 14:44, 19 February 2026 (UTC)
::The captions and title texts aren't speech bubbles. They aren't necessarily attributed to a particular character, or someone appearing in the comic. In this instance, it seems like the caption reflects Cueball's thoughts, but the title text is more likely to belong to the offscreen speaker. [[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 00:29, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

I believe it may be possible to make a network of infinitely branching straight line paths, even in an infinite universe, because the requirement is that if you keep travelling on the path you'll reach no end no mater your choice of branches, i.e. no matter how you choose your branches you'll choose infinitely many, but I can't think of a possible configuration right now. (It's trivial if they can be curved) [[User:Cobl703|Cobl703]] ([[User talk:Cobl703|talk]]) 14:51, 19 February 2026 (UTC)
:The poem explicitly mentions one of the paths bending, so curved paths should presumably be fine. [[Special:Contributions/45.140.184.137|45.140.184.137]] 03:59, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

I'd conjecture that Frost's algorithm (take the path which has been taken fewer times) should fully explore any finite wood and find the exit; he's a pretty tough cookie. [[User:Cjmaloof|Cjmaloof]] ([[User talk:Cjmaloof|talk]]) 21:46, 19 February 2026 (UTC)
:I second this conjecture. Given that the trap has an entrance/exit (assumed to be bidirectional), eventually, any wood would become so travelled that the exit would be the only option. [[User:R128|R128]] ([[User talk:R128|talk]]) 16:09, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

How do I edit my user page? Is there supposed to be an edit button somewhere? [[User:Xkdvd|Xkdvd]] ([[User talk:Xkdvd|talk]]) 02:03, 20 February 2026 (UTC)
:[[explain xkcd:Editor FAQ#Why can't I create my user page and upload images?|Please read this.]] [[User:42.book.addict|tori :3]][[User talk:42.book.addict|talk to me!]] 02:09, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

Unless I'm missing something, it's actually pretty easy to create an infinitely looping network of branching paths, isn't it? The simplest configuration I can think of off the top of my head is three paths arranged in a triangle, with three more paths running inwards from the vertices of the triangle to meet in the center. All the paths are completely straight, and every time you get to a junction you have to pick between two paths that are diverging from one another. All you need to do is eliminate the path Frost used to get into the trap before he gets back to it, which should be relatively easy if the paths are long enough. [[Special:Contributions/45.140.184.137|45.140.184.137]] 03:45, 20 February 2026 (UTC)
:My thoughts went to a curved path a bit like an Infinity symbol, but with the crossing point offset (so you have 2 forks, rather than 1 cross-road). Same as your idea, you’d need to arrange a tripwire or something to close off the path Frost used to enter the infinite path. Still seems pretty achievable even for Cueball. [[Special:Contributions/2A0A:EF40:F62:5201:6863:3656:ED2B:1B1B|2A0A:EF40:F62:5201:6863:3656:ED2B:1B1B]] 07:54, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

3209: Plums

2026-02-20T19:53:43Z

Philhower: /* Explanation */ sincerity

{{comic
| number = 3209
| date = February 18, 2026
| title = Plums
| image = plums_2x.png
| imagesize = 251x409px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = My icebox plum trap easily captured William Carlos Williams. It took much less work than the infinite looping network of diverging paths I had to build in that yellow wood to ensnare Robert Frost.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a rebellious icebox. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This is a reference to the [[wikipedia:William Carlos Williams|William Carlos Williams]] poem [https://poets.org/poem/just-say This Is Just to Say], in which the narrator gives an apology, possibly sincere, <ref>https://poemanalysis.com/william-carlos-williams/this-is-just-to-say/</ref> possibly insincere,<ref>https://literarysum.com/dissecting-the-deceptively-simple-a-literary-analysis-of-william-carlos-williams-this-is-just-to-say/#themes-and-motifs</ref> for eating the plums in the icebox. In this comic, the joke is that [[Cueball]] [[I say it's not Cueball, but this person is supposed to be William Carlos Williams], learning that the person out of view has left themselves some plums in the refrigerator for tomorrow, cannot resist eating them as a reference to the poem.

The title text is another joke about trapping poets with situations based on their own poems, it is about another well-known poem, [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/the-road-not-taken The Road Not Taken] by Robert Frost, which has been recently referenced in another comic, [[3076: The Roads Both Taken]]. Of course, constructing a network of infinitely branching paths seems physically impossible [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|for Cueball]], though some kind of circular or looping arrangement might work. Of course, the choice that Frost makes would change over time in such an arrangement, if he always takes the path least-travelled, so this could prove complex.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[Cueball is sitting at a desk with a laptop on it. He is looking backward towards someone offscreen.]
:Out of view: I got you the ingredients for dinner tonight.
:Out of view: Oh, and the plums in the fridge drawer are for my yogurt tomorrow; you should just leave them.
:Out of view: Be back later!
:Cueball [thinking]: Oh no.
:Caption: Help. It actually happened. I shouldn't, but how can I not!?

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

Talk:3209: Plums

2026-02-20T19:44:11Z

Philhower: poetic criticism

Referencing William Carlos Williams [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/56159/this-is-just-to-say "This is Just To Say"], an apology for eating the plums. [[Special:Contributions/2600:1001:B000:6009:F81B:2869:73B7:339|2600:1001:B000:6009:F81B:2869:73B7:339]] 03:31, 19 February 2026 (UTC)

Robert Frost is my first cousin five times removed. [[User:Pgn674|Pgn674]] ([[User talk:Pgn674|talk]]) 03:36, 19 February 2026 (UTC)

You could easily trap Edgar Allan Poe by training a crow. [[User:Xkdvd|Xkdvd]] ([[User talk:Xkdvd|talk]]) 05:07, 19 February 2026 (UTC)
:You could easily trap Edgar Allan Poe scholars by training an orang-utan [[Special:Contributions/2001:9E8:E129:8700:A4BD:2D19:5AC4:826B|2001:9E8:E129:8700:A4BD:2D19:5AC4:826B]] 13:19, 19 February 2026 (UTC)

I just described the scene in the transcript, it doesn't look quite right to me, I'm pretty sure there's supposed to be brackets or something, could someone fix that if I did it wrong? [[User:Xkdvd|Xkdvd]] ([[User talk:Xkdvd|talk]]) 05:12, 19 February 2026 (UTC)

The characterization of the poem as an apology needs an [actual citation needed] tag. [[Special:Contributions/2001:8004:4E50:6B3:A564:E93B:1878:3634|2001:8004:4E50:6B3:A564:E93B:1878:3634]] 06:00, 19 February 2026 (UTC)
:The words "forgive me" aren't good enough for you? [[Special:Contributions/174.127.214.79|174.127.214.79]] 06:46, 19 February 2026 (UTC)
::They are not. The “apology” is obviously insincere. The narrator is clearly pleased with himself and would do it again. I suppose you could say it is an insincere apology. [[Special:Contributions/185.98.169.32|185.98.169.32]] 07:58, 20 February 2026 (UTC)
:I expect one could find an actual citation for either viewpoint. Poetic criticism is not known for consensus. [[User:Philhower|Philhower]] ([[User talk:Philhower|talk]]) 19:44, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

Seems pretty simple. Eat the plums for the cred, and then book reservations for a romantic breakfast the next morning. [[Special:Contributions/73.42.229.109|73.42.229.109]] 06:22, 19 February 2026 (UTC)
:Might just make things more awkward if the trapper is just a roommate. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 09:10, 19 February 2026 (UTC)

Could the caption style also be a reference to the poem? [[User:New editor|New editor]] ([[User talk:New editor|talk]]) 07:08, 19 February 2026 (UTC)
:Yes, although the punctuation and line structure are different, there is the typography, meter, and consonance, {{w|This Is Just to Say#Analysis|as described at Wikipedia}}. [[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 09:07, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

It would be much more difficult that Robert Frost if one is to follow Gulzaar's [https://bollywoodtranslations.blogspot.com/2024/10/is-mod-se-jaate-hain-translation-of.html "Is Mod se"] [[User:Mitradranirban|Mitradranirban]] ([[User talk:Mitradranirban|talk]])

Does the joke rely on any connection between Frost's surname and the Icebox? [[Special:Contributions/79.161.109.128|79.161.109.128]] 10:35, 19 February 2026 (UTC)
:Wouldn't say so, given that they're referring to two different poems. If it did rely on that, I would say it didn't work! [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 11:39, 19 February 2026 (UTC)

Tangent here: can someone explains to me how the structure of WCW's poem works? I find neither rythm nor rhyme. --[[Special:Contributions/94.73.51.255|94.73.51.255]]
: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_verse [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 11:36, 19 February 2026 (UTC)

I'm trying to link Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy, but it's not appearing, even if the text is there. Anybody know why? Also, does anybody else find it odd that this is CUEBALL creating the spatial anomalies and not Beret Guy? --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] (BLM) 14:11, 19 February 2026 (UTC)
:You have to put a : before “Category:” when linking to a category because otherwise it puts the page in the category instead of making a link to the category. [[Special:Contributions/2A09:BAC3:88C3:188C:0:0:272:3F|2A09:BAC3:88C3:188C:0:0:272:3F]] 14:23, 19 February 2026 (UTC)
::Ah. Thanks! --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] (BLM) 14:44, 19 February 2026 (UTC)
::The captions and title texts aren't speech bubbles. They aren't necessarily attributed to a particular character, or someone appearing in the comic. In this instance, it seems like the caption reflects Cueball's thoughts, but the title text is more likely to belong to the offscreen speaker. [[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 00:29, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

I believe it may be possible to make a network of infinitely branching straight line paths, even in an infinite universe, because the requirement is that if you keep travelling on the path you'll reach no end no mater your choice of branches, i.e. no matter how you choose your branches you'll choose infinitely many, but I can't think of a possible configuration right now. (It's trivial if they can be curved) [[User:Cobl703|Cobl703]] ([[User talk:Cobl703|talk]]) 14:51, 19 February 2026 (UTC)
:The poem explicitly mentions one of the paths bending, so curved paths should presumably be fine. [[Special:Contributions/45.140.184.137|45.140.184.137]] 03:59, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

I'd conjecture that Frost's algorithm (take the path which has been taken fewer times) should fully explore any finite wood and find the exit; he's a pretty tough cookie. [[User:Cjmaloof|Cjmaloof]] ([[User talk:Cjmaloof|talk]]) 21:46, 19 February 2026 (UTC)
:I second this conjecture. Given that the trap has an entrance/exit (assumed to be bidirectional), eventually, any wood would become so travelled that the exit would be the only option. [[User:R128|R128]] ([[User talk:R128|talk]]) 16:09, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

How do I edit my user page? Is there supposed to be an edit button somewhere? [[User:Xkdvd|Xkdvd]] ([[User talk:Xkdvd|talk]]) 02:03, 20 February 2026 (UTC)
:[[explain xkcd:Editor FAQ#Why can't I create my user page and upload images?|Please read this.]] [[User:42.book.addict|tori :3]][[User talk:42.book.addict|talk to me!]] 02:09, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

Unless I'm missing something, it's actually pretty easy to create an infinitely looping network of branching paths, isn't it? The simplest configuration I can think of off the top of my head is three paths arranged in a triangle, with three more paths running inwards from the vertices of the triangle to meet in the center. All the paths are completely straight, and every time you get to a junction you have to pick between two paths that are diverging from one another. All you need to do is eliminate the path Frost used to get into the trap before he gets back to it, which should be relatively easy if the paths are long enough. [[Special:Contributions/45.140.184.137|45.140.184.137]] 03:45, 20 February 2026 (UTC)
:My thoughts went to a curved path a bit like an Infinity symbol, but with the crossing point offset (so you have 2 forks, rather than 1 cross-road). Same as your idea, you’d need to arrange a tripwire or something to close off the path Frost used to enter the infinite path. Still seems pretty achievable even for Cueball. [[Special:Contributions/2A0A:EF40:F62:5201:6863:3656:ED2B:1B1B|2A0A:EF40:F62:5201:6863:3656:ED2B:1B1B]] 07:54, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

Talk:3193: Sailing Rigs

2026-01-13T13:44:50Z

Philhower: It's just the pun

Here before all the "here im first" comments [[User:TheTrainsKid|TheTrainsKid]] ([[User talk:TheTrainsKid|talk]]) 05:06, 13 January 2026 (UTC)

I can't help but notice that he forgot about cutters. [[User:PDesbeginner|PDesbeginner]] ([[User talk:PDesbeginner|talk]]) 05:07, 13 January 2026 (UTC)

:D [[User:Qwertyuiopfromdefly|Qwertyuiopfromdefly]] ([[User talk:Qwertyuiopfromdefly|talk]]) 05:15, 13 January 2026 (UTC)

Flettner Rig may refer to https://xkcd.com/3119/ [[Special:Contributions/73.225.91.80|73.225.91.80]] 06:19, 13 January 2026 (UTC)
:Yes, but also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flettner_rotor [[Special:Contributions/130.76.187.47|130.76.187.47]] 12:57, 13 January 2026 (UTC)

I see Randall has taken up a new hobby :D [[Special:Contributions/152.115.135.109|152.115.135.109]] 08:21, 13 January 2026 (UTC)
:Perhaps. I presume that the entire comic is in service to the pun in the title text. [[User:Philhower|Philhower]] ([[User talk:Philhower|talk]]) 13:44, 13 January 2026 (UTC)

Wikipedia does have a kite rig web page. That's a real thing, but usually not as pretty as here. And I suppose you could do helium balloons. Robert Carnegie rja.carnegie@gmail.com [[Special:Contributions/85.115.54.203|85.115.54.203]] 11:46, 13 January 2026 (UTC)

3038: Uncanceled Units

2025-01-15T17:45:13Z

Philhower: /* Explanation */ mega is capital M

{{comic
| number = 3038
| date = January 15, 2025
| title = Uncanceled Units
| image = uncanceled_units_2x.png
| imagesize = 323x355px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Speed limit c arcminutes^2 per steradian
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by THE PLANCK CONSTANT, WHICH IS TECHNICALLY A FREQUENCY AND CAN THUS BE EXPRESSED IN HERTZ - Please continue to explain the joke and possible interpretations. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Another of [[Randall]]'s [[:Category:Pet Peeves|pet peeves]], this comic expresses disapproval of units that could be mathematically simplified.

[[White Hat]] is presenting a refrigerator to [[Cueball]], claiming it only uses 3 kWh per day. Kilowatt-hours is a commonly used unit of electrical energy in the United States, being the amount of energy consumed by one kilowatt of power usage for one hour. As the unit in which power rates are typically reported and bills calculated, it's the most useful piece of information to the average consumer. This measure, however, could be simplified, since a kilowatt is equivalent to a kilojoule per second. Rather than adding a second unit, energy could simply be reported in megajoules (1 kilowatt-hour is 3.6 megajoules, so the refrigerator uses 10.8 MJ per day).

Appliances, however, frequently report their typical power use in terms of kilowatt-hours per day (or per month or year). Once again, this is useful to consumers, because it makes it easier for them to understand how much money it will cost them to run. However, it's an inelegant way to use units, because it uses power, which is already a measure of energy per time, multiplies it by one time unit, and then divides it by another. This clunky method apparently chafes at [[Randall]]'s mind, possibly due to his scientific background (which encourages simplifications of units). The "hour" and "day" terms, both being units of time, can simply cancel out by dividing the whole number by 24, meaning that the refrigerator averages 0.125 KW, or 125 watts, to run. It should be noted that this doesn't mean the refrigerator constantly draws this amount of power, since the compressor in the refrigerator only runs intermittently, but running it over the course of a day (with typical use) is expected to give that average power use.

Cueball (possibly representing Randall) sardonically wonders whether the refrigerator would fit in his kitchen, since the ceiling is only 50 gallons per square foot high. This is clearly an abnormal and unhelpful way of reporting height. This unit turns a normal measurement of height (feet and inches, in the US, meters and centimeters, most other places) into weird collection of uncancelled units. Gallons can be transformed to cubic feet (1 US gal ≈ 0.1337 ft3), which can be divided by the square feet, yielding a ceiling height of around 203.7 cm, or around 6 feet 8 inches. (Using imperial gallons [1 UK gal ≈ 0.1605 ft3], the height is approximately 244.7 cm, roughly 8 feet.) This is intended to lampoon the use of uncancelled units by showing how odd things become if they're generally used.

''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'': [https://what-if.xkcd.com/11/ Droppings] also covers strange instances of unit cancellation, including a measure of volume per distance converted to area; similar to Cueball's measure of volume per area representing a distance (the height of his ceiling).

A common source of unit drama occurs between lay people who are looking for every day practicality and science/engineering types who are inclined towards formalized mathematical operations. For example customary units which support even divisibility versus metric units which prioritize base 10 scales. In this case telling the average customer the energy use in joules per day or average consumption in watts would require them to perform more complicated conversions to get to the figure they actually care about, the actual cost per day. White Hat could just give this cost figure directly, but does not know what every customer pays for electricity (an explicit yearly cost estimate would be included on the government required energy efficiency label).

In the title text, a speed limit is given as c arcminutes2 per steradian, where c is presumably the speed of light in vacuum, 2.998×108 m/s (meters per second) or 186282 mi/s (miles per second). A steradian (sr) is the SI unit for solid angle, subtended by a section of a sphere, like a radian is a unit of angle subtended by a section of a circle. A square arcminute is also a unit of solid angle, equivalent to a section of a sphere of 1/60 of a degree by 1/60 of a degree. There are ((1/60)*(π/180))2 = 8.462×10-8 sr in a square arcminute. Then multiplying by c gives a speed of 56.75 mph (probably 55 mph, based upon the {{w|National Maximum Speed Law|'traditional' US speed limit}}, before rounding errors in the reverse direction), or 91.33 km/h, showing that you can combine an outrageously high speed with two unnecessary units that cancel each other to form a normal road speed.

It is worth noting that although some of these examples are ridiculous, uncancelled units can be helpful to better understand the concept, the {{w|Hubble's law|Hubble Parameter}} can be expressed as 2.17132212×10-18 hertz, 67 km/s/Mpc is directly related to how it is measured and gives a better understanding of what it means. Another example would be fuel efficiency in cars, as mi/gal and km/l technically simplify to area, but by expressing it in volume and distance it allows easy estimations of range and travel cost, while mm2 or in2 would require significant unit conversions.{{cn}}

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

:[White Hat and Cueball are standing to either side of a refrigerator. The fridge has two top compartments and one bottom compartment. The top left compartment has a tall handle on its right, the top right compartment has a tall handle on its left, and the bottom compartment has a long handle on its top. The top left compartment has a paper attached to it with unreadable text, possibly an advertisement.]
:White Hat: This fridge uses only 3 kWh per day!
:Cueball: But will it fit in my kitchen? The ceiling there is only 50 gallons per square foot.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Pet peeve: Uncanceled units

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Pet Peeves]]

Talk:2932: Driving PSA

2024-05-14T15:55:37Z

Philhower:

Did the best I could on the explanation, even if it's a bit clunky. [[User:Trogdor147|Trogdor147]] ([[User_talk:Trogdor147|talk]]) 03:59, 14 May 2024 (UTC)

Pretty lame strategy. Even with someone waving me on, when I get past them I'll look to the right to make sure. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 04:22, 14 May 2024 (UTC)
: Right? Just pull into the median in front of the left-turners, then re-assess the situation. --[[User:Coconut Galaxy|Coconut Galaxy]] ([[User talk:Coconut Galaxy|talk]]) 12:59, 14 May 2024 (UTC)
:: As a pedestrian (amongst my other road-uses), I occasionally have to cross a two-lane carriageway (to the median, then across the opposite two-lane carriageway) near a junction (roundabout, in the UK; and the first lane dedicated to turning in (left, equiv. to a US right-turn) to the side-road) and the initial lane is often either entirely empty or jammed up by those trying to turn into the retail park that sits there. I have to juggle the kindness of drivers who will slow (or stay stopped) to let me across their lane with the possibility of having other (faster-moving) traffic still coming up on the other lane. It's possible to use the twixt-lane white line as a kind of unofficial demi-median (the stopped driver will not forget that they let you go there), but I'd rather not surprise the through-traffic lane by giving them an alarming glimpse of a pedestrian maybe about to step out in front of them, so I might try to indicate to the kind driver (with friendly gestures) that I'm observing someone coming up on their offside (due to slight bend, on entry to the junction, they might not see them in their own offside mirror), perhaps even then stand back and wave them past because ''I'' can see a glut of offside traffic, from my head-height position. Or just avoid those times of the day when there's heavy shopping/commuting traffic causing that sort of problem.
:: (Yes, it ''is'' a proper crossing point. Dropped kerbs for those that need dropped kerbs, though not given pelican/zebra/etc explicit crossing markings and signage. An alternate way 'across' is a walk down to a canal that the onward road crosses by bridge, under that bridge on the tow-path and then back to meet the opposite side of the road.)
:: The junction-exit carriageway is far simpler. You can see when traffic is coming down the through-road ''or'' spinning round the island from the RP exit (or U-turning from the first carriageway!) and either there's a third-of-a-mile queue backed up from the next junction or there's no traffic impeding those going that way to leave me with space to cross.
:: The opposite crossing is a matter of the 'easy' junction-exit carriageway (as just given) plus an unrestricted view of the fast-lane, but then you need to catch the eye of any queued turn-lane vehicles (and look at what round-the-roundabout traffic might be holding the front of that queue up, in the near future) to make sure that when you take advantage of a clear offside then the subsequent nearside cars don't start shuffling up. And recognise the oblivious/inconsiderate/obtuse drivers by their general road positioning and attitude at the wheel. (It's a bit of an art, but stood me in good stead so far.)
:: There is also, elsewher, a ''particularly'' akward right-turn (UK, remember) onto a mainish road, that I sometimes need to drive round. It comes in as single-becoming-double lane, but these days that double is buslane and singular other (from the right, the double-becoming-single is also buslane nearside, except for inward turners who aren't in contention with me but ''are'' potentially view-blocking). Between the two carriageways (which merge, at the single-lane side, as two standard single contra-carriageways beyond an actual light-controlled staggered pedestrian crossing) is the central turning refuge that I potentially need to pause in to turn right, and left-approaching traffic may need to pause in (crossing my path) to turn into the road I'm emerging from. The most problematic are the turning-in cars that ''don't signal'' (or far too late), given that everyone (not a bus) has to keep right anyway on this widened stretch, but some of them are keeping right in order to turn right. And driver-to-driver visual communication (or even seeing if they're glancing in your direction/meeting your questioning gaze) is isn't helped by angled windscreens often drowning out (apparent) driver-on-driver visibility by the reflection of the sky above. So it pays to be cautious, and taking a moment before taking apparent cues (arm waves, light flashes, etc) as you think they might be intended. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.160.248|172.70.160.248]] 15:55, 14 May 2024 (UTC)

Maybe they're not trying to kill Randall, but the person in the other lane. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.225|172.71.154.225]] 05:00, 14 May 2024 (UTC)
:It doesn't even need to be a fatal crash. Maybe the person in the other lane is an obstetrician who will intercede in a complex childbirth, and this "accident" will be major enough that that no longer happens, and the child dies... [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 06:55, 14 May 2024 (UTC)
::Or possibly the aim is actually to engineer a meet-cute between Randall and the driver of the other car, so that a critical birth can (eventually) take place...[[Special:Contributions/172.70.160.249|172.70.160.249]] 08:24, 14 May 2024 (UTC)

Just curious, as I'm from Germany - does the USA have no traffic lights? [[Special:Contributions/198.41.242.210|198.41.242.210]] 07:15, 14 May 2024 (UTC)
: They do, and they are placed where you can actually see them --[[User:Coconut Galaxy|Coconut Galaxy]] ([[User talk:Coconut Galaxy|talk]]) 12:59, 14 May 2024 (UTC)
: They do, and they're placed where they can be used for Captcha challenges.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.81|172.70.86.81]] 14:28, 14 May 2024 (UTC)

Uncontrolled intersection with a left turn onto a 4-lane road? US road design, combined with US car-centric settlement planning, must have been made by those more clever, trying-harder assassins that Randall mentions in the title text, and it looks like they've got a lot of people on their list. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.229.131|162.158.229.131]] 07:20, 14 May 2024 (UTC)

: If it was a single lane street, and not three-lane road (or stroad), then accepting granting the right of way / waving in would be perfectly safe (assuming that you watch left). --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 07:23, 14 May 2024 (UTC)

Ok, but... time traveller asassins don't get sent for random harmless people? Getting not one, but MULTIPLE asassins hell-bent on offing him suggests he's going to do something incredibly bad for the world that they're trying to prevent?? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.103.68|162.158.103.68]] 08:35, 14 May 2024 (UTC)
: Randall isn't random and it's not entirely clear that he's harmless either.{{unsigned ip|172.70.91.146}}
: It seems reasonable to guess that the future assassins were sent to prevent Randall from writing this very same strip, as it was thwarting many of their other future asassination attempts. [[User:Rumormonger Omega|Rumormonger Omega]] ([[User talk:Rumormonger Omega|talk]]) 14:40, 14 May 2024 (UTC)

Oh boy, a comic about my second-greatest pet peeve on the road! Now if only we could have an xkcd guide to using the acceleration lane. [[User:Phil Srobeighn|Phil Srobeighn]] ([[User talk:Phil Srobeighn|talk]]) 09:51, 14 May 2024 (UTC)
:...and turning signals... [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 09:53, 14 May 2024 (UTC)

A corollary PSA would be to ignore the gestures of any passengers in the other car. I've seen passengers in the front seat wave people to go ahead, without the agreement of the person actually driving the car.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.45|172.70.178.45]] 10:29, 14 May 2024 (UTC)Pat

I don't even drive and I hate these people lmao [[User:Psychoticpotato|Psychoticpotato]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 12:40, 14 May 2024 (UTC)

A discussion of the liability issue in this situation. [https://www.allenandallen.com/can-i-be-successfully-sued-for-waving-a-car-in-front-of-me/#:~:text=Yes%2C%20you%20can.%20There%20are%20circumstances%20in%20which,be%20legally%20liable%20for%20injuries%20and%20financial%20losses.] [[User:Philhower|Philhower]] ([[User talk:Philhower|talk]]) 15:55, 14 May 2024 (UTC)

==Churchill's Law==
Just to reframe "''Car that they are waving you into the path of''" into an awkaward phrase NOT ending in a preposition: "''Car into the path of which they are waving you''". (The Churchill thing is a myth, though <https://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/07/04/churchill-preposition/> .) {{unsigned ip|162.158.134.225}}
: Yuck - that construction needs waving into the path of an oncoming car. Or possibly it already has been.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.183|172.69.43.183]] 14:31, 14 May 2024 (UTC)

Talk:2922: Pub Trivia

2024-04-19T14:25:26Z

Philhower:

I expect that the BTS question is a reference to the traditional Korean system of counting a person's age in units of Sal which started at 1 and incremented on the first day of the year. Since this system was abandoned on official documents in 2023, but is still in use in some contexts, the question of whether every member of BTS had a "birthday" on the first day of the year is ambiguous. [[User:Philhower|Philhower]] ([[User talk:Philhower|talk]]) 14:13, 19 April 2024 (UTC)

question 5, planets exist outside the solar system, adding to the ambiguity. [[User:Philhower|Philhower]] ([[User talk:Philhower|talk]]) 14:15, 19 April 2024 (UTC)

As for question 9, please see the note about the history of Austrailia's capitals at: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_former_national_capitals#Oceania]]. and the page regarding countries with multiple capitals [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_with_multiple_capitals]] [[User:Philhower|Philhower]] ([[User talk:Philhower|talk]]) 14:24, 19 April 2024 (UTC)

Talk:2922: Pub Trivia

2024-04-19T14:24:30Z

Philhower:

I expect that the BTS question is a reference to the traditional Korean system of counting a person's age in units of Sal which started at 1 and incremented on the first day of the year. Since this system was abandoned on official documents in 2023, but is still in use in some contexts, the question of whether every member of BTS had a "birthday" on the first day of the year is ambiguous. [[User:Philhower|Philhower]] ([[User talk:Philhower|talk]]) 14:13, 19 April 2024 (UTC)

question 5, planets exist outside the solar system, adding to the ambiguity. [[User:Philhower|Philhower]] ([[User talk:Philhower|talk]]) 14:15, 19 April 2024 (UTC)

As for question 9, please see the note at: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_former_national_capitals#Oceania]]. and the page [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_with_multiple_capitals]] [[User:Philhower|Philhower]] ([[User talk:Philhower|talk]]) 14:24, 19 April 2024 (UTC)

2922: Pub Trivia

2024-04-19T14:21:12Z

Philhower: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2922
| date = April 19, 2024
| title = Pub Trivia
| image = pub_trivia_2x.png
| imagesize = 422x666px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Bonus question: Where is London located? (a) The British Isles (b) Great Britain and Northern Ireland (c) The UK (d) Europe (or 'the EU') (e) Greater London
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a TRIVIAL BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The comic shows [[Cueball]] reading off bad trivia questions which are either confusing or don't have an answer.
The caption states that this is because he was paid to sabotage other bars that offer trivia so that people will want to go to the one that hired him.

1. Which member of {{w|BTS}} has a birthday this year?

BTS is a {{w|K-Pop}} group. Every member would have a birthday each year.

2. How many sides does a {{w|platonic solid}} have?

4, 6, 8, 12, or 20 in Euclidean 3-space

3. What is the smallest lake in the world?

Unknowable as there are many small bodies of water in the world, and determining which is the smallest while still being large enough to count as a lake is a complicated question.

4. Which Steven Spielberg movie features more shark attacks? {{w|Jaws (movie)|Jaws (1875)}} or {{w|Lincoln (movie)|Lincoln (2012)}}

Jaws, as Lincoln has a surprising lack of shark attacks.{{cn}}

5. How many planets were there originally?

Question lacks context, since it doesn't define what originally means, and there is no way to know when humans first found out that the wandering stars were actually other worlds, or that Earth is a planet.

6. What NFL player has scored the most points outside of a game?

As points are not usually scored outside of games, this is a nonsense question.

7. The Wright brothers built the first airplane. Who built the last one?

Since airplanes are built continuously, there is no way to know who built the last one.

8. Is every even number greater than 2 the sum of two primes?

This is [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldbach%27s_conjecture an open question in math].

9. Not counting Canberra, what city is the capital of Australia?

Nonsense question, since many countries have only one capital, however [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_with_multiple_capitals some have multiple capitals]

10. Who played the drums?

Lots of people have played the drums{{cn}}, famous or not. This question needs context.

The alt-text bonus question:

Bonus question: Where is London located? (a) The British Isles (b) Great Britain and Northern Ireland (c) The UK (d) Europe (or 'the EU') (e) Greater London

All choices are technically correct as they are various geographical areas that include the city of London, England. However, (d) could be wrong, since the UK has not been a member of the EU since {{w|Brexit}} in 202.


|}

This is apparently deliberate (at least on behalf of the organisers), perhaps to upset or otherwise impede groups of overconfident quizzers who would otherwise dominate any genuinely good quiz. -->

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

{{comic discussion}}

2922: Pub Trivia

2024-04-19T14:19:58Z

Philhower: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2922
| date = April 19, 2024
| title = Pub Trivia
| image = pub_trivia_2x.png
| imagesize = 422x666px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Bonus question: Where is London located? (a) The British Isles (b) Great Britain and Northern Ireland (c) The UK (d) Europe (or 'the EU') (e) Greater London
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a TRIVIAL BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The comic shows [[Cueball]] reading off bad trivia questions which are either confusing or don't have an answer.
The caption states that this is because he was paid to sabotage other bars that offer trivia so that people will want to go to the one that hired him.

1. Which member of {{w|BTS}} has a birthday this year?

BTS is a {{w|K-Pop}} group. Every member would have a birthday each year.

2. How many sides does a {{w|platonic solid}} have?

4, 6, 8, 12, or 20 in Euclidean 3-space

3. What is the smallest lake in the world?

Unknowable as there are many small bodies of water in the world, and determining which is the smallest while still being large enough to count as a lake is a complicated question.

4. Which Steven Spielberg movie features more shark attacks? {{w|Jaws (movie)|Jaws (1875)}} or {{w|Lincoln (movie)|Lincoln (2012)}}

Jaws, as Lincoln has a surprising lack of shark attacks.{{cn}}

5. How many planets were there originally?

Question lacks context, since it doesn't define what originally means, and there is no way to know when humans first found out that the wandering stars were actually other worlds, or that Earth is a planet.

6. What NFL player has scored the most points outside of a game?

As points are not usually scored outside of games, this is a nonsense question.

7. The Wright brothers built the first airplane. Who built the last one?

Since airplanes are built continuously, there is no way to know who built the last one.

8. Is every even number greater than 2 the sum of two primes?

This is [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldbach%27s_conjecture an open question in math].

9. Not counting Canberra, what city is the capital of Australia?

Nonsense question, since each country only has one capital, however [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_with_multiple_capitals]

10. Who played the drums?

Lots of people have played the drums{{cn}}, famous or not. This question needs context.

The alt-text bonus question:

Bonus question: Where is London located? (a) The British Isles (b) Great Britain and Northern Ireland (c) The UK (d) Europe (or 'the EU') (e) Greater London

All choices are technically correct as they are various geographical areas that include the city of London, England. However, (d) could be wrong, since the UK has not been a member of the EU since {{w|Brexit}} in 202.


|}

This is apparently deliberate (at least on behalf of the organisers), perhaps to upset or otherwise impede groups of overconfident quizzers who would otherwise dominate any genuinely good quiz. -->

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

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2922: Pub Trivia

2024-04-19T14:15:56Z

Philhower:

Talk:2922: Pub Trivia

2024-04-19T14:15:22Z

Philhower:

Talk:2922: Pub Trivia

2024-04-19T14:13:22Z

Philhower:

Talk:2704: Faucet

2022-11-29T14:13:23Z

Philhower: england

Are faucet designs considered to be confusing? I'm never confused by normal ones like [https://www.ikea.com/us/en/images/products/sundsvik-kitchen-faucet-chrome-plated__0756711_pe749051_s5.jpg?f=s these] {{unsigned|Flekkie|02:12, 29 November 2022}}

:Yeah I came here wondering the same thing. Is the joke perhaps not so much that the controls are confusing in terms of intent, but just in terms of determining the bounds? Eg, with two identical faucet controls and identical water pressures, "full blast hot" still translates to something radically different, if one building has a water heater set to 120F and the other building has a water heater set to 160F.{{unsigned ip|172.69.170.189|02:46, 29 November 2022}}

:(I find °F confusing, personally, but...) ...the easiest thing is to have two taps, one hot and one cold. Yes, they can combine into a single spout, but there are various conflicting plusses and minuses of that over having the two independent ones per outlet. Speaking (as I'm sure mixer-tap afficionados worldwide will appreciate) as a Brit. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.24|172.70.85.24]] 03:03, 29 November 2022 (UTC)

::Relevant Tom Scott video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfHgUu_8KgA Why Britain Uses Separate Hot and Cold Taps]. TL;DR: British houses used to get their hot water from rat-filled cisterns so they wanted to keep the hot water separate from the cold water, and old habits die hard. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.152|162.158.63.152]] 03:34, 29 November 2022 (UTC)

:::Silliness of dual-taps aside, that doesn't solve the issue of identical tap hardware yielding radically different results depending on what the hot water thermostat is set to. Maybe that's not the original joke (I'm still not sure what it was) but it's worth mentioning at least. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.170.146|172.69.170.146]] 03:39, 29 November 2022 (UTC)

: I don't think those are confusing, but in many cases the feedback is too slow (e.g. due to the water in the pipes coming from the hot water source having cooled since the tap was last used), or inconvenient (e.g. the pressure of the hot water not being enough to trigger on-demand gas heaters). While theoretically that design allows exploring the whole temperature/pressure space, in practice one needs some trial-and-error and delay to find the correct setting (as Randall points out in the title text) to make it work. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 10:54, 29 November 2022 (UTC)

:It's really a joke we are too European to understand. Visit the US to see faucet control disasters in all their glory. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.51.203|172.68.51.203]] 10:56, 29 November 2022 (UTC)

:: Yeah, here in Europe I've seen faucets with mechanical thermostats to regulate the temperature and therefore two dials for either flow or temperature. This was more than 20 years ago. --[[User:Sarsey|Sarsey]] ([[User talk:Sarsey|talk]]) 12:01, 29 November 2022 (UTC)

:: Funny, the absolute worst faucet I experienced was in this fall in England (which is part of Europe for some definitions but not others). The temperature selection knob had 180° ambiguity---especially for my poor vision when uncorrected---and no barrier between maximum hot and maximum cold. So, I spent a shower thinking I was operating at mid-range and wondering why there seemed to be no middle ground between freezing cold and scalding hot. Fortunately had an epiphany while exploring the town. [[User:Philhower|Philhower]] ([[User talk:Philhower|talk]]) 14:13, 29 November 2022 (UTC)

I sympathize with Randall here; even controls designed to independently control temperature and flow rarely meet both the "intuitive to use at a glance" and "function as described" requirements to make them non-confusing. [[User:Dextrous Fred|Dextrous Fred]] ([[User talk:Dextrous Fred|talk]]) 03:44, 29 November 2022 (UTC)

Wouldn't it be super simple to just have a slider that goes from hot to cold, and a second one that goes from slow to fast flow? Or one for hot, one for cold, with the higher the slider goes, the more the flow is increased? I don't see how much simpler you can get it. Hell, you could even use a dial for temperature (all dials turn clockwise to increase) with a digital readout. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.131.44|172.70.131.44]] 05:25, 29 November 2022 (UTC)

: I suppose the issue with that is that, unlike simple mixer taps that control the flow of hot and cold water independently, relying on the human to find the right mixture that creates the desired flow and temperature, what you're describing requires a more complex system that is able to do that process automatically, so it can't be a simple mechanical valve. It would require temperature and pressure sensors for both the hot and cold water streams, and it would have to dynamically adjust the physical valve settings depending on all six parameters (position of the flow handle/slider/knob, position of the temperature handle/slider/knob, temperature of the hot water, temperature of the cold water, pressure of the hot water, pressure of the cold water). I'm not even sure this is possible with a fully mechanical system — likely some electronics would need to be involved, which might complicate things. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 10:50, 29 November 2022 (UTC)

This is probably the very first xkcd comic where I have absolutely no idea where Randal is coming from. While different people have different preferences for different designs, I've never heard of anyone being confused by any faucet design.
Maybe he's trolling us, by trying to get a rise out of people wondering what the hell he's talking about? [[User:Bischoff|Bischoff]] ([[User talk:Bischoff|talk]]) 08:20, 29 November 2022 (UTC)

This may be a reference to "Design of Everyday Things - Dan Norman" or books in that direction. Although he talked a lot more about creating doors wrong he also mentioned faucet designs as terrible. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.242.29|198.41.242.29]] 09:17, 29 November 2022 (UTC)
::  I was initially drawn to the parallel/derivation from the "{{w|Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door|Build a better mousetrap...}}" concept, which vastly predates {{w|Don Norman|''Don''}} Norman. But it's such a widespread trope that I can't be sure it should be mentioned 'officially'. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.61|172.70.86.61]] 11:13, 29 November 2022 (UTC)

: I am actually puzzled by how many people ''don't'' relate to this, judging by the comments here. I guess I've been unlucky with the faucets I've encountered so far? Over the years I've had spontaneous conversations with multiple people abut how tap designs are either inconvenient (i.e. hard to find the right handle positions to produce the desired temperature and flow), or confusing to use, especially for hotel showers. In fact I'm adding this comment mostly so other people who share the same perception don't feel gaslighted or otherwise confused by so many people not recognizing this issue. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 10:50, 29 November 2022 (UTC)

Is that hairy? looks like him? [[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 10:07, 29 November 2022 (UTC)
:I think it could be, but he is looking different with the hair and because of the scruffy looks his hair standing up could be because he has torn in it. I think it is better not to include it as a Hairy comic. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:34, 29 November 2022 (UTC)

Is it too pedantic to point out the distinction between a helix (the shape of the control) and a spiral (mentioned by the character)?
:Not really, but it could be a very shallow (by radial increase/decrease per turn) 3D spiral, I'm more concerned by the "tightening", wondering if it's a flexible spiral/helix that is manipulated dynamically, rather than merely a tap* with a funny-shaped handle/head to rotate through into the backplate.
::<nowiki>*</nowiki> - 'faucet' just makes me wait for a "force it" pun. It's a very American word that I'm not personally aware of being used throught the rest of the anglosphere. Maybe Canada, but probably not Aus/NZ/etc if my uptake of their TV/film exports is correctly remembered... Somebody may want to correct me on this issue, or add English As A Second Language metrics to this.
:What is also interesting is that the 3D-perspective drawing by our in-frame inventor, upon the perspectivised drawing surface as depicted by Randall, makes it look like very much like an actual sticky-outy object within the drawn world. Like it's actually a moulded/similar relief model/mockup, surrounded by the more standard 'wall notes' used to suggest on-the-go calculations/annotations. An interesting artistic choice (or possibly an unintentional consequence) by Randall. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.61|172.70.86.61]] 11:13, 29 November 2022 (UTC)

I think it should be added that the issue is mainly for the US. In Europe, and in the other of the rest of the world - except US - the thermostatic head has replaced most other faucet in shower, and the hand washing is not so much of an issue. My shower in some US hotels were a nightmare, where I remember taking multiple minute to understand how it might work. {{unsigned ip|172.71.130.80}}

I think it should be added that the issue is mainly for Europe, especially Americans traveling in Europe. In the USA, where proportioning valves are common and anti-scald protection is mandated by code, controls are both intuitive and safe. {{unsigned ip|172.70.210.49}}
:So funny that these two comments in a row says the opposite. I'm from Denmark and where I sometimes dislike the designs of a faucet I have almost never found one for a tap that was a problem to understand. Sure for a shower there can be some issues, mainly because it can be too hot and problematic to stand under them when turning them on the first time. But it seems to me that this is not a serious problem in Europe. And from reading above it seems like this is in fact a US problem only. But the last comment says the opposite. by the way both sigantures unsigned, so did a check and found they where from two different IP and with time between. Was wondering if someone was trolling by writing the same comment twice with reversed meaning. But seems to not be the case. Have added signatures now. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:34, 29 November 2022 (UTC)

My interpretation is that, for normal people, designing an intuitive faucet is easy: just one knob for temperature and another for flow. But designers seem to get overly creative for faucets and add all sorts of odd handles and gizmos. Figuring out a faucet at a hotel is often a task. Hence, in the comic, the designer is adding some sort of bizarre spiral handle when a regular one would be much easier. It's not that its hard to design a good faucet, but designers seem to have an odd blind spot for them. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.230|172.70.110.230]] 13:48, 29 November 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2697: Y2K and 2038

2022-11-14T14:12:04Z

Philhower: 30 year mortgages

Y2K issues solved back in 1996. Even wrote a letter to the Board of Trustees.
2038 Problems are not-my-concern. Retired 9/30/2022.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.236|172.70.110.236]]
:Many of the people who helped solve the Y2K problem were pulled out of retirement. Lots of the issues were in old COBOL software, and there weren't enough active programmers who were competent in COBOL. So keep your resume ready. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 20:07, 11 November 2022 (UTC)

this is so weird I just finished a research assignment on the Y2038 problem [[Special:Contributions/172.71.166.223|172.71.166.223]] 18:27, 11 November 2022 (UTC)

Somewhere there is an essay about the unexpected synergy between the Y2K bug and the burgeoning open source movement, which may or may not be useful for the explanation. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.243|172.70.214.243]] 20:18, 11 November 2022 (UTC)
:https://www.livehistoryindia.com/story/eras/india-software-revolution-rooted-in-y2k is a fascinating essay too. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.151|172.70.214.151]] 21:03, 11 November 2022 (UTC)
:I wouldn't be surprised if there's such an essay, but I suspect it's more of a coincidence. The late 90's was also when the Internet was really taking off, and that may be more of a contributor. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:04, 11 November 2022 (UTC)
::All involved what epidemiologists call coordinated or mutually reinforcing causes, IMHO. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.158.231|172.71.158.231]] 01:41, 12 November 2022 (UTC)

Speaking of which, what comes after Generation Z? Generation AA? ZA? Z.1? Help! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.243|172.70.214.243]] 07:24, 12 November 2022 (UTC)
:{{w|Generation Alpha}} [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.53|172.69.34.53]] 07:27, 12 November 2022 (UTC)
::[[1962|Zuckerbergs Army.]] --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 15:18, 12 November 2022 (UTC)
:::The Legion of the Doomed [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.56|172.70.162.56]] 10:20, 14 November 2022 (UTC)

I've been unable to confirm this so I'm moving it here: A major problem had struck IBM mainframes on and after August 16, 1972 (9999 days before January 1, 2000) that caused magnetic tapes that were supposed to be marked "keep forever" instead be marked "may be recycled now."{{Actual citation needed}} [[Special:Contributions/172.71.158.231|172.71.158.231]] 07:37, 12 November 2022 (UTC)
:I have heard that y2k problems showing up in 1970 in calculations for thirty-year mortgages. [[User:Philhower|Philhower]] ([[User talk:Philhower|talk]]) 14:12, 14 November 2022 (UTC)

Does the arrow move over time? ... should it? (I think so!) It could be done server side and only regulars would [see, sic] that it changes over time. Then... perhaps we could see different versions of the strip cached on the Internet. --[[Special:Contributions/172.71.166.158|172.71.166.158]] 08:30, 12 November 2022 (UTC)
It isn't, of course, but if it was a .GIF with ultralong replace-cycles then only those who ''kept the image active'' would see the arrow move in real-time. (It would reset to ''now's'' "now" upon each (re)loading, so it would have an even more exclusive audience, aside from those that cheat with image(-layer) editing. ;) ) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.57|172.70.162.57]] 13:32, 12 November 2022 (UTC)

Should we mention anything about that it is that specific year in a specific calendar? As far as I know there was also {{w|Japanese_calendar_era_bug|fear of a similiar bug in Japan}} recently. However Wikipedia seems not to be up to date about it. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 15:18, 12 November 2022 (UTC)

Does anyone know of an actual program or OS that stored the year as two characters instead of a single byte? I have (and had back then) serious doubts that any problems existed. Even the reported government computers had people born prior to 1900 entered, so they already had to have better precision than "just tack on 1900." Even using a single signed byte would still have been good for another 5 years from now. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 17:22, 12 November 2022 (UTC)
:In my experience (I lived and worked through the Y2K preparations) it wasn't so much "an actual program", or necessarily a fundemental limitation of an entire OS (though the roots of the problem effectively date back to key decisions surrounding the developmet of the IBM System/360 in the 1960s), but a matter of how data was held in human-readable but space-saving format. Someone in the '70s (or even up into into the '90s) may have decided their system could store some date as the six characters representing DDMMYY (or ay of the other orders) secure in the knowledge that the century digits were superfluus - and would have perhaps sent the footprint of a standard record over some handy packable length for the system, say 128 bytes. Which was a lot in those days.
:(If the year ''value'' had been recorded in 16bit binary, or even 2x7bit or doubled 6-bit, it could have been as good for the computer, but ''oh the fuss'' to convert to and from a human-orientated perspective. And it worked neatly enough, right?)
:And a useful implementaion might be used, in some form or other for a long time... Sometimes the storage system is upgraded (kilobytes? ha, we have megabytes of space now!) and the software to handle it might be ported and even rewritten, but at each stage the extra data has to match the old program, and the new program has to read and write the current data, however kludged it actually is. And it works, at least under the care of those who dabble in the dark arts of its operation. And not many others are bothered or even have any idea of what ;ies beneath the surface.
:Until somebody starts to audit the issue and asks everyone to poke around and check things... Thenthings get sorted in-situ ''or'' a much needed (YMV!) change of process is swapped in, in the place of old and (possibly) incorrect hacks. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.133|172.69.79.133]] 20:00, 12 November 2022 (UTC)
::Sometimes the "savings" of storing data in a compact form are exceeded by the "cost" of having to convert it between the convenient-to-use form and the compact form. I used to work on a system that used 32-bit words for all data types: characters, shorts, longs. When we started running out of space, we "manually" packed our data, stuffing multiple shorts and bytes into words. But in some cases, the additional code needed to pack/unpack would have taken more space than what we'd have saved in the data, without even looking at the processing time cost. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 05:52, 13 November 2022 (UTC)
::Not sure about storing each digit as a *character*, but IBM mainframes have supported packed decimal formats where each decimal digit was stored in a 4-bit nibble. That format can give more intuitive results from decimal fraction arithmetic for applications such as currency. But, I've heard of the same format being used for integer applications such as page numbers, etc because it was familiar and readable on hex dumps. [[User:Philhower|Philhower]] ([[User talk:Philhower|talk]]) 14:12, 14 November 2022 (UTC)
:The first computerised passport system for the UK had a y2K issue. In fact, it was designed in, because it was supposed to be replaced before 1999. Unfortunately, progress with its replacement was running late. We thought that we could get away with two digits for certain dates because the software was going to be thrown away before the end of 1999. And yes, two digit years were common in COBOL programs because decimal numbers coded using ASCII or EBCDIC were the default for numeric data. [[User:Jeremyp|Jeremyp]] ([[User talk:Jeremyp|talk]]) 15:32, 13 November 2022 (UTC)

:1. Having done programming since 1966, I know that much data was stored on 80-character cards (and way before that year and the IBM System/360) and using 2 characters (2.5% of the card) to store the "19" was not acceptable. As processes moved into the tape and disk world, human nature tended to not expand the field to 4 characters (the future is a long way off until, suddenly, it isn't). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.65|172.70.178.65]] 07:57, 13 November 2022 (UTC)
:: I wouldn't call punch cards a *real* Y2K problem. They had been replaced by then. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 18:55, 13 November 2022 (UTC)

:2. I actually saw a Y2K failure. It occurred at the beginning of 1999 when a job scheduling program scheduled a job for the year 1900 because it was always keeping the schedule active a year in advance. The scheduling software had actually been fixed but the upgraded version had not been installed yet, so there was no significant outage. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.64|172.70.178.64]] 08:02, 13 November 2022 (UTC)

''"an actual program or OS that stored the year as two characters"'' In years 2000-2002, it was common to see dates on web-pages showing as "19100". I/we always assumed the 19 was hard-coded, the 1-99 was a script, just concatenated. ''PRR'' [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.154|172.70.130.154]] 06:52, 14 November 2022 (UTC)

"[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2697:_Y2K_and_2038&oldid=298667 I've never heard of anyone actually recompiling to a 33-bit integer format]" - that's not what was said, but it seems to be about programming so as to pack 33-bits of precision across (or within) whatever standard bit-boundaries the system normally provides for. Which is not so fanciful, and used to be a good creative coding practice, if done well. See 8x7bit to/from 8x7bit packing or unpacking (or as an in-transit stage), which was a regular requirement at one time (arguably still is, but mostly invisibly to the user, in the usually 6-bit rationalisation that is MIME). But the edit above doesn't preclude that interpretation, so just noting this here. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.157|141.101.107.157]] 13:43, 14 November 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2688: Bubble Universes

2022-10-24T13:18:09Z

Philhower:

Is this a reference to the money kind of inflation? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.131.6|172.70.131.6]] 16:03, 21 October 2022 (UTC)

: no [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.205|172.70.114.205]] 16:29, 21 October 2022 (UTC)
: I do think it a form of irony that when I hear "inflation" I do *NOT* think about bubbles or balloons. 20:08, 21 October 2022 (UTC)

*pop* [[User:JLZ0kTC5|JLZ0kTC5]] ([[User talk:JLZ0kTC5|talk]]) 16:13, 21 October 2022 (UTC)

I think this comic might be referencing the [[wikipedia:Eternal inflation|eternal inflation]] model: as the universe eternally inflates at an exponential rate, bubbles form where the inflation slows down, creating a disjoint multiverse from these bubbles being unable to interact with each other. In this comic, the process is shown as recursive. [[User:LegionMammal978|LegionMammal978]] ([[User talk:LegionMammal978|talk]]) 16:42, 21 October 2022 (UTC)

:: I'm included to agree. Should the article be changed? 20:08, 21 October 2022 (UTC)

This comic would be perfect motive for a mug. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 19:04, 21 October 2022 (UTC)
:Though I think you mean "motif", although I also agree in principle with your word as well, if it does motivate someone to create one... ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.77|172.70.162.77]] 20:33, 21 October 2022 (UTC)
::I also think it's a really good motivation to create a GIF, I came here to find one... If I can find the time I'll do it! [[User:Raphaël xyz|Raphaël xyz]] ([[User talk:Raphaël xyz|talk]]) 13:05, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

I don't think this comic references the big bounce, but rather the theory of nested universes. The way it works is each black hole spawns a new universe, and is connected to a white hold in the new universe. If true, our universe came from another universe capable of producing black holes, and since our universe has black holes in it, according to the theory it has in turn created additional universes, each with the potential capability to produce its own black holes and therefore create additional universes. It's kind of like universe propagation.

[Responding to the title text:] '''As a cosmologist, it most certainly does not! Cosmic inflation took less than 10^-32 seconds involving superluminal expansion of points starting the width of a quark from each other. Any physical gas inflating of a membrane is simply not comparable, and if this is a joke about [https://twitter.com/RepKatiePorter/status/1582475617723113472] then it's not funny. I would die on this hill if I had time to argue with you all about this.''' [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.146|172.70.211.146]] 21:52, 21 October 2022 (UTC)

Not sure "The Big Bounce" has currency here, as per the current explanation. That's a cyclic theory (generally relying upon a Big Crunch ending one version of universe, the result sparking the next Big Bang... certainly in the version I would favour, if it turned out we were actually not destined towards untempered expansion and either Heat Death or Big Rip as the unending finale) not a recursively embedding one (e.g. Inception-like realities within realities). But that's just my opinion. Someone who actually finds a Big Bounce model of spacetime more satisfying than any open-ended one, even. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.201|172.69.79.201]] 22:04, 21 October 2022 (UTC)
:There are a number of cyclic cosmologies possibly involving a "big crunch" such as ekpyrotic theories, but we need telescopes much more powerful than the JWST to say anything about whether they are possible, likely, or propose improvements to them. If the pre-inflationary universe was actually a point, we may never know. There is a large variety of other open questions which are much easier to answer. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.131|172.69.134.131]] 00:21, 22 October 2022 (UTC)
::Any Big Bounce/Crunch worth describing as such needs a crunch-point (or nearly so). Bubbles from bubbles from bubbles has no crunching and is more Steady State With Continuous Generation (i.e. infill to the expansion out of the visible horizon, as a sop to the evident redshift without subscribing to how that finite age requires a BB origin) if you want to introduce any particular real-world™ theories. It has Big Rip similarities, too, perhaps.
::Bearing in mind that the comic-universe can be anything it wants, without bearing upon what we do/could see. Plus the real© universe is probably yet so much stranger than even our best guesses (and 'disproved' guesses of old) suggest, and we are are still nowhere near the mark. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.173|172.69.79.173]] 08:24, 22 October 2022 (UTC)

This makes me think of his earlier comics. [[User:N-eh|N-eh]] ([[User talk:N-eh|talk]]) 00:15, 22 October 2022 (UTC)

I just realized the two cueballs are not on doppelganger hills. Perhaps an allusion to, as opposed to their being multiple nested universes, one metauniverse in which our bubble universe (with cueball) actually exists blowing regular, non-universe producing bubbles? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.151|172.70.214.151]]

I feel a definite reference to M.C. Escher here, his Metamorphosis murals were like this, the end of one part starting another, and I'm sure at least one ended how it started (even if the Cueballs aren't identical, on different slopes of their hills). [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:49, 22 October 2022 (UTC)

If he meant economic inflation, he would have said "...with economic inflation", not "regular inflation". This part of the "explanation" is wrong.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.75|172.70.230.75]] 19:59, 22 October 2022 (UTC)

I could be imagining it, but line drawing the hill on the right appears to be quantized...and I've seen arguments about space quantization that prevents such infinite recursions. [[User:Philhower|Philhower]] ([[User talk:Philhower|talk]]) 13:18, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2659: Unreliable Connection

2022-08-17T16:18:18Z

Philhower:

I don’t think this has anything to do with teleconferencing. Am I missing something? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.81|172.70.214.81]] 22:46, 15 August 2022 (UTC)
:Yes. The impliction is that people are expecting you to be available for online communications, and you can use the unreliable Internet connection as an excuse to get out of it. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 22:51, 15 August 2022 (UTC)
::I think it's more about communication in general. He doesn't want anybody calling him or sending him emails, so by saying he has an "unreliable" connection people might assume it will be hard to get in touch with him.
:::Back in the day, email was usually configured so that it could easily overcome such unreliability, and it's still doable,[https://discourse.mailinabox.email/t/running-from-home/6459/7] but today email for most people is a web or local client-server app, as opposed to a local mail store in a peer-to-peer app. Even people in urban areas can suffer unreliable internet, when squirrels or backhoes gnaw through data cables, copper theives strike, or 5G mind control base stations are congested. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.143|172.70.210.143]] 23:45, 15 August 2022 (UTC)
:::This could equally cover other instant communication methods where your availability is advertised (e.g. Whatsapp). It could also be about alleviating the social pressure the subject feels to continuously check and immediately respond to messages (including emails), because the immediacy is already hindered by the spotty connection (cf the standard "I will have limited access to email" out of office line, which gives the account owner psychological permission to check it infrequently). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.5|172.70.85.5]] 09:02, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

According to a PhET simulator (https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/plinko-probability/latest/plinko-probability_en.html) for this situation, the ideal standard deviation is 1.732 and ideal mean is 6. I don’t feel like doing the calculations :P [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.134|172.70.211.134]] 23:34, 15 August 2022 (UTC)
:If we assume 50-50 for each bounce, the probability that internet is off will be about (11 choose 3)/(2^11), or 8%.--[[User:Account|Account]] ([[User talk:Account|talk]]) 23:51, 15 August 2022 (UTC)
::My first thought was, why so complicated? ''If'' each of the twelve switches is equally (and solely) likely to be struck by each ball, it's (100/12)% of the time, or 8⅓%.
::Although the equal-chance is wrong, so you're definitely doing "end up with exactly 7 bounce rights and 3 bounce lefts, but in any combination" or similar are you? I'd have summed it differently, though. And not sure where the choose ''3'' comes in... Just one bounce left off any row-end pin 11 sends to 11 if all others bounce right. Three bounces left hits switch 9, not eight. If I'm counting correctly. Or am I doing telegraph-poles/wires miscounting?
::Too early in the morning for me to untangle. The only thing I'm sure about is your division by 2^11 (how many total paths there are to get down). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.78|172.70.91.78]] 05:00, 16 August 2022 (UTC)
:::Me again. I hadn't checked that the transcript (which said it was switch #8) was correct. Have now, and found it to be wrong. Have hence also just corrected the Transcript. So I'm gonna assume your 11-choose-3 is entirely correct after all. ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.78|172.70.91.78]] 05:08, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

To whomever did [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2659:_Unreliable_Connection&diff=292862&oldid=292861], doesn't [https://drops.dagstuhl.de/opus/volltexte/2018/8817/pdf/LIPIcs-FUN-2018-26.pdf] prove that symmetrical configurations nearly identical to those shown can produce uniform distributions? They seem to show it's just a matter of horizontal pin spacing. However, I for one can not verify the proof, which uses unusual (novel?) non-Unicode math notation, and a fairly opaque method of proof. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.134|172.70.211.134]] 00:07, 16 August 2022 (UTC)
:Not sure, but [https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%87%98%E8%AA%BF%E6%95%B4 this Japanese Wikipedia article] is fascinating. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.213|172.70.206.213]] 01:51, 16 August 2022 (UTC)
:Please see section 3.5 on pp. 16-18 of the currently first reference [https://arxiv.org/pdf/1601.05706.pdf]. I am particularly intrigued by, "Open Problem 2: Is every uniform distribution of output probabilities of the form 1/2k constructible by a 50-50 Pachinko?" on p. 18. However I haven't dived in enough to even know where the parentheses are supposed to be in that expression, yet. [[User:Liv2splain|Liv2splain]] ([[User talk:Liv2splain|talk]]) 17:27, 16 August 2022 (UTC)
: Good question! https://ibb.co/sRwGwB9 don't look triangular, but it seems the proof might suggest much more triangular solutions. Worth thinking about! [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.115|172.69.33.115]] 21:24, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

What is the chance that the ball will bounce off the first pin, go down the outside of the pins and miss all the switches?
:Probably quite high if it's a bouncy ball. With idealized physics though it'd just hit the leftmost/rightmost switch. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.254.127|172.70.254.127]] 00:45, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

I would describe the device as a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galton_board. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.109|172.70.230.109]] 00:30, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

I was watching the photo and hover-over text and the image disappeared and "Unreliable Connection" showed up in its place. I don't know how often this happens.
: Very neat if not a fluke! Can anyone replicate this experience on https://xkcd.com ? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.134|172.70.211.134]] 14:21, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

"An added source of humour is that Randall could likely achieve the same effect by looking through the router's settings - which most modern ones have a feature to turn on and off at scheduled times - or via purchasing a smart power strip." But by using these other methods, the connection would still be reliable. If it goes out at regular or pre-scheduled intervals then you know when it will be available or not, hence reliable. I think the joke here is that the contraption does in fact make the connection unreliable. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.77|172.70.114.77]] 14:18, 16 August 2022 (UTC)
: Addressed at [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2659:_Unreliable_Connection&diff=292926&oldid=292924]. [[User:Liv2splain|Liv2splain]] ([[User talk:Liv2splain|talk]]) 14:44, 16 August 2022 (UTC)
:(Edit conflicted by at least the above, but my answer to the same question...) From a user POV, unless they happen to know that at 11:53 each day (and 12:14, 15:02, 15:07, 16:31, etc...) the scheduler disables tracfic for one (or two, or three) minutes, it is still unreliable, if ultimately predictable ''once you know'' the schedule, having seen it go round a few times and taken note. Similarly a timered power-strip could be used (or even several, in serial, the two or three daily interventions by the first also stopping and delaying the subsequent strips' interventions, making their timings uneven, further down the chain) and until you got the pattern it might as well be 'random', not entirely deterministic. (I'm wondering about some OR-gate-like/etc implementation, so power can pass by at least one parallel timer-shut-off to maintain power at the lower levels while ''some'' mid-way timers get depowered and thus 'shuffled' in interesting ways, and the resulting single output is governed by an intricate multi-dependent set of routes, but I bet an electrician would be wary about wiring that up...)
:You could hack (or patch) the management firmware to be a bit more (pseudo)random about it, though it would still be pseudorandom LFSR/Xorshift with a (long) repetition cycle.
:Or make it dependant upon an external factor (if the modulo 12 of the cumulative sum of all observed packet-destination IPs is zero, shut off for the five times the prior modulo 12 test value, in seconds..?), but that's ''practically'' the pachinko solution but with software hacking rather than hardware-making/hacking as per the comic.
:More effort is needed to make it ultimately unpredictable, but it can still be considered unreliable if it goes out just when you 'want' it.... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.5|172.70.85.5]] 15:02, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

For real though, isn't this kind of a good idea? [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 14:34, 16 August 2022 (UTC)
:Talk to edtech people in the {{w|MOOC}} space and they will tell you asynchronous is worth it, but talk to people who study educational quality factors like time to receive answers to unanticipated questions, and they will have different ideas. [[User:Liv2splain|Liv2splain]] ([[User talk:Liv2splain|talk]]) 14:44, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

Does anyone have an openWRT (or other) implementation of this feature yet?
:You can induce it on stock firmware without reflashing, but you need to know the parameters like how often balls come out of the hopper, and what exactly the on/off switches do. As pseudocode:
::<tt>#!/bin/sh</tt>
::<tt>while true ; do</tt>
:::<tt>sleep </tt>''seconds''
:::<tt>if [ `rand100` -le 8 ] ; then</tt>
::::<tt>wifictrl off</tt>
:::<tt>else</tt>
::::<tt>wifictrl on</tt>
:::<tt>fi</tt>
::<tt>done</tt>
:[[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.81|172.70.214.81]] 00:38, 17 August 2022 (UTC)

There are spaces between the button that the balls can fall into, and this could complicate the stuff a bit. However if the ratio between probability of hitting ON and probability of hitting OFF remain the same (1883:165), the average OFF time will still be the same (165/2048 of the time). The behavior that the network is switching between ON and OFF will probably be changed though. [[User:Lamty101|Lamty101]] ([[User talk:Lamty101|talk]]) 04:44, 17 August 2022 (UTC)

I would have expected the negative reviews to have mentioned all the balls on the floor and perhaps the need to periodically refill the hopper. [[User:Philhower|Philhower]] ([[User talk:Philhower|talk]]) 16:18, 17 August 2022 (UTC)

2649: Physics Cost-Saving Tips

2022-07-22T19:38:46Z

Philhower: freerange

{{comic
| number = 2649
| date = July 22, 2022
| title = Physics Cost-Saving Tips
| image = physics_cost_saving_tips.png
| titletext = I got banned from the county fair for handing out Helium-2 balloons. Apparently the instant massive plasma explosions violated some local ordinance or something.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a FAKE VECTOR - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is a list of "cost-saving tips" which humorously misinterpret physics terms in ways that would seem to reduce a cost or provide something for free, allowing physicists to save money in their experiments.

The prefix "pseudo-" refers to something that is a fake variation of something else. Fakes are usually cheaper than the original brand-name product, while often working just as well, so a {{w|Pseudovector}} should be a less expensive substitute for a real vector. In reality pseudovectors are quantities that mostly behave like vectors, but have no real physical meaning to their direction. For example, rotational directions are described by a vector normal to the plane of rotation.

{{w|Fourier Analysis}} can be used to convert any periodic function into a series of {{w|sine waves}}. A {{w|square wave}} is transformed into an infinite series of sine waves.

The title text refers to Helium-2, an {{w|Isotopes of helium|isotope of helium}} with a half-life of less than a nanosecond. It decays into two protons, releasing a large amount of energy - hence the explosion mentioned in the text.

Free electrons are free as in range, not free as in beer.

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

:<big>Physics cost-savings tips</big>

:Try replacing regular vectors with pseudovectors whenever possible
:A square wave can be broken down into an infinite supply of valuable sine waves
:Cut waste by buying lighter isotopes that don't have any dead-weight neutrons
:Conductors are a great source of free electrons (may carry charges)
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Tips]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]

2602: Linguistics Degree

2022-04-06T12:45:37Z

Philhower: /* Explanation */ typo

{{comic
| number = 2602
| date = April 5, 2022
| title = Linguistics Degree
| image = linguistics_degree.png
| titletext = You'd think 'linguistics' would go to someone important in the field, but it's actually assigned to a random student in Ohio who barely graduated and then went into automotive marketing.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a JACKALOPE SLURPING UP A BASSOON - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Hairbun]] hands [[Megan]] a linguistics degree, and informs her she now "in charge of" the word '{{wiktionary|bassoon}}.' Watching this, [[Ponytail]] and [[Cueball]] compare the words they were assigned when ''they'' got their linguistics degrees, '{{wiktionary|jackalope}}' and '{{wiktionary|slurp}}' respectively. Ponytail think basson is a cool word but thinks her own is better, whereas Cueball is not satisfied with his word.

It is never clarified what being "in charge of" a word entails. It could mean being in charge of keeping track of the word, or having actual authority over the use of the word, which is unlikely as normally [[1726|language use cannot be dictated by a single person]]. Also, no specific university has control over all of linguistics as far as we know, so it would require every university capable of giving people linguistics degrees to co-operate, so nobody is assigned the same word.

The title text merely furthers how seemingly random the entire situation is. The word "linguistics" was assigned to a "random student in Ohio who barely graduated and then went into automotive marketing", who we can assume isn't very important to the field of linguistics.{{Citation needed}} The rationale for this is not expounded and may not exist. But this means that no one is actually taking care of this for the field important word, since it must be assumed that the student is not longer interested in linguistics.

==Transcript==
:[Megan, who is wearing a graduation cap, receives a degree which is handed to her by Hairbun. They are standing on a podium with Ponytail and Cueball standing below as onlookers.]
:Hairbun: Congratulations on the degree! Your word is "Bassoon."
:Ponytail: Oh nice! Not as cool as my "Jackalope," but still not bad.
:Cueball: You all are lucky. I'm stuck with "Slurp."

:[Caption below panel:]
:Every linguistics degree comes with one word that you're put in charge of.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Characters with Hats]]

Talk:2602: Linguistics Degree

2022-04-06T12:44:27Z

Philhower: attempt at ISO humor

I think i messed up with the file upload- i was trying to help, sorry guys! [[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 07:00, 5 April 2022 (UTC)
:I think I fixed it. We use the small version of the file, not the x2. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:47, 5 April 2022 (UTC)

Not to be too nit-picky, but the legendary animal is a combination of jackrabbit and antelope, no jackal in it, therefore it’s jackelope. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.65|172.70.126.65]] 07:18, 5 April 2022 (UTC)
: Uh, no. It's "jackalope": Google is your friend. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.153|172.70.130.153]] 09:51, 5 April 2022 (UTC)
::Yes, I saw the wiki article. Either the person who coined the word was an idiot who thought it was spelled “antalope” or didn’t know how to make a portmanteau. Either way, it is NOT a portmanteau of jackrabbit and antelope, because that would be jackralope or jackelope. At best, you can call it a portmanteau of jackrabbit and a _misspelling_ of antelope.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.87|172.70.126.87]] 17:44, 5 April 2022 (UTC)
::: Excuse me? Are you in charge of "Jackalope" or Ponytail? ;) [[User:Lexi|Lexi]] ([[User talk:Lexi|talk]]) 20:36, 5 April 2022 (UTC) JACKrabbit + AnteLOPE = JACKALOPE . . . . (Was that so hard?) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.153|172.70.130.153]] 10:57, 6 April 2022 (UTC)

My immediate reaction to this was to see where ///bassoon.jackalope.slurp (What3words) took me. Nowhere - but suggested ///passion.jackpot.slurps is near Chausserais, 100 km ESE of Nantes in central France.[[User:Jmbryant|Jmbryant]] ([[User talk:Jmbryant|talk]]) 10:22, 5 April 2022 (UTC)
:That's nearer {{w|Dahu}}-country, though! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.64|172.70.86.64]] 10:38, 5 April 2022 (UTC) (P.S. Not that this is even a valid example why, but I rather think What3words is a bad development that will do more harm than good in serious navigation/geolocating purposes. Just sayin' in passing.)

:In some languages, a bassoon is called ''fagotto'' i.e. faggot, which in English is an offensive word addressing a male homosexual person (Note: I'm describing the word, not discriminating against any people). The word ''jack'' also means a male person, and an antelope is '''horny'''. With ''slurp'', these three words happen to be kind of '''inappropriate''' or '''graphic''', if seen this way. Maybe? Thoughts? [[User:Yosei|Yosei]] ([[User talk:Yosei|talk]]) 05:02, 6 April 2022 (UTC)
::Long leap. Or easy leap, as pretty much every word of significance has been (mis)appropriated, and has variable connotations anyway (someone mentions Slurp's variable offensiveness, below). "Faggot" is as likely to be a kind of sausage (an actual sausage, though of course "sausage" has its own innuendo!) or an actual bundle of sticks, round these parts, though we probably do recognise it as (US movie?) slang, if spoken in the more obviously offensive context.
::Linking the woodwind ("erection-fart?") directly to ludeness is so easy. Perhaps also through onomatopeia? Or else "bassoons" is reminiscent of "bossoms". "Jack" might be "-the-lad", but no more sign of sexual-male than many other names (There's ''a'' John, naturally. Or the naming-of-parts via John-Thomas/Dick/Peter/”Hugh Jampton", etc?). And you missed in the jack''rabbit'' that rabbits themselves have a certain reputation, beyond munching on carrots. Or, the question is, did your 'uncle and antelope'? And, like many ungulents, I believe they like pronking!
::Low-hanging fruit (testicles?), I'd say. Not wishing to blow my own trumpet. (Well, I m not really supple enough to try!) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.125|162.158.159.125]] 09:09, 6 April 2022 (UTC)

::This use of '''faggot''' is American (and possibly other dialects). In the UK a faggot is a type of liver dumpling, or a wooden branch or a bundle of wooden branches - often intended as firewood.[[User:Jmbryant|Jmbryant]] ([[User talk:Jmbryant|talk]]) 08:50, 6 April 2022 (UTC)

Could the random student in Ohio be a cousin of the random programmer in Nebraska? --[[User:Quazgar|Quazgar]] ([[User talk:Quazgar|talk]]) 11:53, 5 April 2022 (UTC)

There's a Linguistics Society of America, maybe they could coordinate the assignment of words to graduates. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 13:44, 5 April 2022 (UTC)
:In the US, yes. In most of the rest of the world follows ISO 1806. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.153|172.70.130.153]] 16:43, 5 April 2022 (UTC)
::ISO 1806 Determination of mesh breaking force of netting? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:55, 5 April 2022 (UTC)
::I'm sure it was a typo for ISO 24612 [[User:Philhower|Philhower]] ([[User talk:Philhower|talk]]) 12:44, 6 April 2022 (UTC)

Cueball's objection to "slurp" is not explained; what's wrong with "slurp"? I think it's great word! (I wonder if trades are allowed...) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.146.81|172.68.146.81]] 21:31, 5 April 2022 (UTC) Corin
:You're right. The word ''slurp'' is just a word, value-neutral. What this word means can be seen variously, though. In some countries, slurping (e.g. noodle) is not only culturally acceptable but possibly seen positively, implying what they're eating is delicious. In some other countries, slurping may be a no-no, seen negatively. Some webmasters may not like the Yahoo Slurp bot, as it might misbehave. [[User:Yosei|Yosei]] ([[User talk:Yosei|talk]]) 05:02, 6 April 2022 (UTC)

I wonder if those who graduated with honors are entrusted with more difficult words, like irregular verbs or ones with tricky homophones. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.38.41|172.70.38.41]] 01:21, 6 April 2022 (UTC)
:[https://imgflip.com/i/16xi7j Or both..]? ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.177|172.70.85.177]] 02:37, 6 April 2022 (UTC)

2583: Chorded Keyboard

2022-02-21T15:52:06Z

Philhower: /* Explanation */ typo

{{comic
| number = 2583
| date = February 18, 2022
| title = Chorded Keyboard
| image = chorded_keyboard.png
| titletext = And even though it all went wrong / I'll stand before the lord of song / with nothing on my tongue but 'I don't understand, I swear I backed up my keyboard config before messing with it'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by LEONARD COHEN - Someone with proper computer knowledge should probably elaborate on the terms "chorded keyboard" and "keyboard config". Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This strip is a parody of the first verse (and in the title text, the end of the last verse) of {{w|Leonard Cohen}}'s "{{w|Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen song)|Hallelujah}}", which has become a distinctive and popular song of which {{w|Cover version|covers}} and versions exist. Written as a {{w|Sentimental ballad|ballad}}, it is partly based upon the allegory of a mystical {{w|Chord (music)|musical chord}} of several musical notes, that the words and tune both describe and illustrate by example.

Here is the verse from the song (see the lyrics [https://genius.com/Leonard-cohen-hallelujah-lyrics here]):
:Now I've heard there was a secret chord
:That David played, and it pleased the Lord
:But you don't really care for music, do ya?
:It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth
:The minor fall, the major lift
:The baffled king composing "Hallelujah"

[[Cueball]] is {{w|Filk music|filking}} upon this theme, but in his case he has somehow set up his computer so that, upon pressing a certain combination of multiple keys on his keyboard, the system will automatically type out the word "hallelujah" (xkcd's all-caps typesetting makes it unclear how the word is capitalized). In his description of the process, in both the comic proper and the title text, he uses adapted lyrics that again both describe and illustrate by example. Most of the initial lyrics are floating 'thoughts'. The punchline "hallelujah", however, is 'spoken' out of his computer monitor - typical of how on-screen text is indirectly shown in this comic series. It partially continues as a song parody through the title text but then trails off into a typical computer-complaint that he perhaps [[:Category:Cueball Computer Problems|may often have cause to make]].

The original lyrics rely upon typically nuanced rhymes, such as "do you" (or "do ya'") with "Hallelujah", and "fifth" with "lift", but fairly reliably rhymes "chord" with "Lord". In [[Randall]]'s version, it starts with "chord" and "word" which ''look'' like they should rhyme, but would be /kɔɹd/ {{w|International Phonetic Alphabet|vs.}} /wɝd/ in an typical US accent. Similarly "shift" and "left" might be considered not a {{w|Perfect and imperfect rhymes|perfect rhyme}} when read as prose, but should still be possible to meaningfully sing.

Technically, a {{w|Chorded_keyboard#Open-source_designs|chorded keyboard}} is one in which (nearly) all inputs are made by simultaneous pressing of a given combination of a limited number of keys, such as a literal handful of non-alphabetic keys that the user learns to combine to represent the key-presses of more standard keyboards. The workings of such a keyboard tends to be handled internally, sending to the computer the signal(s) that ''would'' have been sent from its larger cousin.

A big thing among millennial hackers like Randall and his original audience was customising keyboard uses. The linux operating system was originally designed and used for personal customisation, and people move their configurations from system to system, often customising how things respond to such a degree that other users struggle to make use of their system at all. The first major two text editors, vim and emacs, were composed of different camps of how to efficiently type. The emacs camp believed it was more effective to hit many keys at once to accomplish a large task, but both editors were designed to be highly customisable. It's {{w|QWERTY#Properties|erroneously believed}} that the traditional qwerty keyboard was specifically designed to make typing inefficient so as to reduce engineering burden in making old typewriters responsive and reliable. Given the prevalence of them, it has been common among hackers to remap a keyboard to be more efficient, such as to use a dvorak layout rather than a qwerty layout, as it is thought to be far more efficient to type with. Chorded configurations are an order of magnitude more efficient than the dvorak layout, but are more complex to configure because the result is not at all a one-to-one mapping. The traditional court reporting device is a chorded keyboard, to keep up with human speech.

Using a combination of normally single-use keys (the 'H' and a cursor) with others, including modifiers ('shift' and 'control'), i.e. 'chording' ''with'' his keyboard, is the kind of key combination found traditionally in emacs. The ballad then comes across as an ode to system customisation and the days of millenial linux hacking, when everybody who used a computer knew how to rebuild it by hand in any way they wanted.

The chording example goes beyond mainstream use (shift and an an alphabetic character changes the character case, whilst ctrl and a character may initiate an editing command) or mainstream multi-modifier combinations (ctrl, alt and the 'e' may result in the 'é', where the keyboard does not otherwise support it) and even goes beyond [[378: Real Programmers|emacs-like command ''sequences'']] which are generally software-specific. It seems more likely that such a setup is handled within the computer, either defined within the OS or (as is often the case with specialist configurable gaming keyboards) via the driver installed to mediate such esoteric keyboard combinations as the user has predefined for themselves.

Cueball's combination-keypress may in fact be better termed a 'macro', in some contexts. The single event, somehow triggered by this particular simultaneous multi-key input, invokes the injection of a pre-specified sequence of standard characters into the appropriate text-buffer/-stream in lieu of manual input.

The title text spoofs the last verse of the (original) song, with "Hallelujah" being replaced by Cueball trailing off musing about having apparently lost the backup of his keyboard configuration, implying that he ended up in a position where he would want to restore said backup (for instance, having tampered with it to the point he is no longer capable of operating the keyboard efficiently, if at all).

Here is the original verse, where the title text spoofs the last three lines:
:I did my best, it wasn't much
:I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
:I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool ya
:And even though it all went wrong
:I'll stand before the lord of song
:With nothing on my tongue but hallelujah

As added irony, while in the original that verse is hopeful, with the singer being thankful for experiencing joy even from a relationship that ultimately failed, contrarily in the alt text Cueball is apparently expressing regret. Or, if taken literally, it could instead imply that God himself is questioning Cueball about his tampering with software, which could fit with the running gag of [[:Category:Cueball Computer Problems|Cueball's (often self-inflicted) computer problems being hyperbolically atrocious]].

When one modifies one's keyboard config, it can make the system seem unusable (or at least highly unexpected) to things like a boss, a spouse, or an automated maintenance system. When an error is made somewhere in the process, it can make the system seem unusable to the very person who made the changes, making it hard to change them back.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting in an office chair at his desk, typing on his keyboard as shown by small lines over one hand, while looking at the screen of his stationary computer. The screen is on a raised platform on his desk. Lyrical text is written upon each scene, presumably what Cueball is typing.]
:I heard there was a secret chord
:That David pressed and it typed a word

:[A closeup on Cueball in a slim panel. We see him from the waist up, with his hands on the keyboard just beneath the panels frame.]
:But you don't use a chorded keyboard, do you

:[Same setting as in the first panel, except Cueball's arms have moved and there are movement lines above and below his arms.]
:It goes like this, <control> and <shift>
:The other hand hits H and <left>

:[Slimmer panel but same setting as in the first panel, again the arms have moved a bit, with movement lines above them. The final written word of text is marked as arising directly from the computer.]
:And all at once it types out
:Computer: Hallelujah

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Songs]]
[[Category:Cueball Computer Problems]]

2507: USV-C

2021-08-26T12:40:16Z

Philhower: Connector number not arbitrarily chosen

{{comic
| number = 2507
| date = August 25, 2021
| title = USV-C
| image = usv_c.png
| titletext = Ultra-Serial Violet C light is unpolarized, so you don't have to flip the polarizing filter over when you get the orientation wrong the first time.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by THE CURATOR OF THE EVER EXPANDING CURSED CONNECTORS COLLECTION - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is the fourth installment in the series of [[:Category:Cursed Connectors|Cursed Connectors]] and presents Cursed Connectors #280: USB-C to UV-C. It follows [[2503: Memo Spike Connector]] (#102).

This comic depicts a cable that converts from USB-C (at the top of the picture) to UV-C (at the bottom).

{{w|USB-C}} is a rotationally symmetrical {{w|Universal Serial Bus}} (USB) connector. {{w|Ultraviolet#UVC|UV-C}} is a range of {{w|ultraviolet light}} with wavelengths between 100 and 280 nm. This is often used as a germicide, so this comic may also be related to the [[:Category:COVID-19|COVID-19]] pandemic. And the connector number (280) is likely chosen because it is the boundary between UV-C and UV-B.

Similar cables actually exist, with a USB port at one end to power a small (usually visible light) lamp at the other. A cable with a UV-C lamp could, as noted above, be useful for disinfecting surfaces; however, the depicted design would be problematic because it would expose the user's skin and eyes to harmful ultraviolet radiation.

The title text mentions that the UV-C is {{w|Polarization_(waves)|unpolarized}}. This is compared to connector 'polarization', or lack of it, in that USB-C does not force you to use a single {{w|Electrical_connector#Keying|correct orientation}} when using it.

==Transcript==
:[A cable with a curled wire displays the end of both of its connectors. The top end has a USB-C connector and the bottom end has a UV-C LED. The UV light is shown coming out of this end with a hazy blue circle around a white middle. The lamp is also bluish. Above is a title and below is a label.]
:Cursed Connectors #280
:USB-C to UV-C

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category: Comics with color]]
[[Category: Cursed Connectors]]