explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1872: Backup Batteries

2026-03-13T13:24:55Z

Potatocakethrow: Referenced another comic about low phone battery

{{comic
| number = 1872
| date = August 4, 2017
| title = Backup Batteries
| image = backup_batteries.png
| titletext = If it falls below 20% full, my bag turns red and I start to panic.
}}

==Explanation==
Most {{w|smartphone|smartphones}} (except {{w|IPhone#Battery|iPhones}} and a few others) use replaceable batteries. So it's often possible to buy additional batteries and use them as a backup in case there is no external power source available to recharge the phone. Otherwise it's possible to buy a charging device (also with batteries) that could be connected via cable to the phone to recharge the internal battery. Since there is no cable in the comic picture [[Cueball]] probably shows a battery that could replace an empty one in the phone.

Cueball gets stressed when his phone is at low battery because the device may run out at any moment, interrupting his activities. In an effort to prevent stress, Cueball decides to carry a backup battery so he can just replace the current battery when it runs low. Cueball realizes that the backup battery itself is prone to depletion, and so he carries a second. He then comes to the same realization for the second backup battery, and indeed every subsequent battery he can carry. Finally this would lead to an unending series of backup batteries, hence his speech is cut off, becoming unending as well.

What Cueball never grasps is that his irrational need to hoard a supply of batteries tending to the infinite is the real cause of his stress. In reality, he only needs to consider the maximum amount of time that he spends between recharging his phone, and divide that by the average lifespan of a phone battery, and round up that figure to get the minimum number of batteries required to avoid a power outage (multiplied by 1.5 if the mere state of running low causes stress). If he charges up his phone and backup batteries every night, he would only need 2 to 3 backup batteries, tops.

The title text says that Cueball's backpack will turn red if it is less then 20% of it is filled with batteries, similar to the battery indicator on a smartphone when at low battery to warn the user. Cueball probably gets similarly stressed when that happens, perhaps requiring a backup backup-battery backpack. Most backpacks do not have this function.{{Citation needed}} It is unclear by what mechanism the backpack turns red or detects that it should do so.

That [[Randall]] has issues with low battery power on cell phones can be seen in the earlier comics [[1373: Screenshot]], [[1802: Phone]] and [[1815: Flag]] and in the later comics [[1965: Background Apps]] and [[2680: Battery Life]].

==Transcript==

:[Cueball is talking to White Hat. He is wearing a large backpack and holding a phone battery.]
:Cueball: I get stressed out when my phone battery is low, so I carry this backup battery.
:Cueball: But then I worry about the backup running low, so I carry this second backup.
:Cueball: Then I worry—

:[Caption below the frame:]
:My bag is 90% backup batteries.

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

{{comic discussion}}

3204: Dinosaurs And Non-Dinosaurs

2026-02-06T21:01:18Z

Potatocakethrow: The human in the bottom right is Cueball

{{comic
| number = 3204
| date = February 6, 2026
| title = Dinosaurs And Non-Dinosaurs
| image = dinosaurs_and_non_dinosaurs_2x.png
| imagesize = 370x283px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Staplers are actually in Pseudosuchia, making them more closely related to crocodiles than to dinosaurs.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created recently. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

This comic explores the seeming paradox that certain extinct prehistoric species which are popularly thought of as being "dinosaurs" are, from a strict taxonomic viewpoint, not. It also takes into account the fact that all bird species are descended from dinosaurs and thus - again, from a strict taxonomic viewpoint - are themselves dinosaurs as well. To illustrate this, Randall provides silhouettes of dinosaurs, of entities that are widely thought of as dinosaurs but are not, of entities that are ''not'' widely thought of as dinosaurs but ''are'' (i.e., birds), and, lastly, of entities that are neither dinosaurs nor thought of as dinosaurs (which is funny because it's so all-encompassing).

Clockwise from upper left in each quadrant of the image:
* Silhouettes in "seem like dinosaurs / are dinosaurs": stegosaurus, triceratops, tyrannosaurus, velociraptor, diplodocus
* Silhouettes in "don't seem like dinosaurs / are dinosaurs": penguin, egret, falcon, pigeon, ostrich
* Silhouettes in "seem like dinosaurs / are not dinosaurs": mosasaur, quetzalcoatlus, dimetrodon, plesiosaur, pteranodon
* Silhouettes in "don't seem like dinosaurs / are not dinosaurs": squirrel, stapler, bicycle, Cueball, pineapple

The title text is a further joke about taxonomy, predicated on the assumption that staplers are biological organisms (which they are not){{citation needed}}, and can thus be sorted into taxa. ''{{w|Pseudosuchia}}'' is in fact the clade that encompasses all crocodilians, and staplers bear a certain resemblance to the open jaw of a crocodilian.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[A 2x2 chart containing various animals and objects.]
* Left column: Are dinosaurs
* Right column: Are not dinosaurs
* Upper row: Seem like dinosaurs
* Lower row: Don't seem like dinosaurs

:[Top left (seem like dinosaurs, are dinosaurs):]
:[Top right (seem like dinosaurs, are not dinosaurs):]
:[Bottom left (don't seem like dinosaurs, are dinosaurs):]
:[Bottom right (don't seem like dinosaurs, are not dinosaurs):]
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]

1242: Scary Names

2026-01-25T19:44:06Z

Potatocakethrow:

{{comic
| number = 1242
| date = July 24, 2013
| title = Scary Names
| image = scary_names.png
| titletext = Far off to the right of the chart is the Helvetica Scenario.
}}

==Explanation==
This chart humorously explores how things are often named colloquially and without regard to accuracy in correlating actual scariness with apparent scariness. It is interesting to note how people react to the items near the bottom right of the chart "scary things with not-very-scary names" when compared to how they may react to items in the upper left "not-very-scary things with scary names". Some of the entries on the chart are especially interesting examples considering that portions of the names that are associated with significant historical or cultural events and themes. i.e. Chernobyl Packet, Demon Core. All items are described in the [[#Table|table below]] including the title text on Helvetica Scenario.

On the chart, things toward the right are scary/dangerous/very bad, while things toward the top ''sound'' scary without ''necessarily'' being scary.

Note that [[Randall]] uses similar diagrams in [[388: Fuck Grapefruit]], [[1501: Mysteries]] and [[2466: In Your Classroom]], which also contain different items. The first two also have an extra point, and the last two extra points mentioned in the title text. Only the first and the last comics points are also off the chart, whereas for the second the description of the point is too long to fit on the chart. Extra info outside the chart is also used in the title text of [[1785: Wifi]], but it is a line graph, not a scatter plot.

===Table===
*This table lists the entries from least to most scary, including the ''entry'' mentioned in the title text.
*To begin with it is sorted from most scary name to least scary name.
**The assigned percentage values assumes a linear scale and assigns ''flesh eating bacteria'' with the point (100%, 100%).
**This is simply the easiest way to list the entries as there is no mention of the scale.
**As is clear from the title text, "flesh eating bacteria" is not an absolute, simply the highest in this particular sample; there are things more scary than 100%!

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! scope="col" class="unsortable"| Name
! scope="col"| Approximate Apparent Scariness
! scope="col"| Approximate True Scariness
! scope="col" class="unsortable"| Description
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Necrotizing fasciitis|Flesh-eating bacteria}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|m !}}100%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|l !}}100%}}
|As the name suggests, bacteria that eat (or more accurately, releases toxins that destroy) your skin and muscle.
|-
|{{Nowrap|[http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/C/Chernobyl-packet.html Chernobyl Packet]}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|k !}}95%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|a !}}4%}}
|A network packet that induces a {{w|broadcast storm}} or network meltdown. It is an analogous reference to the {{w|Chernobyl disaster}}, but otherwise has no relation: one did not cause the disaster, nor does it concern literal packets of radioactive material from Chernobyl.
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Kessler syndrome|Kessler Syndrome}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|k !}}90%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|d !}}53%}}
|A hypothetical scenario where low Earth orbit objects collide, creating debris which increases the risk of more collisions, leading to a cascade effect which could severely hinder exploration and satellite technologies for many decades. It has been mentioned in {{w|Gravity (2013 film)}}.
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Demon core|Demon Core}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|j !}}87%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|h !}}73%}}
|A subcritical mass of plutonium that was involved in two separate fatal incidents at Los Alamos laboratory in 1945 and 1946. In both cases, the core was accidentally placed into a configuration where it went supercritical and exposed an experimenter to fatal doses of radiation. The second is more notable, where Louis Slotin held two halves of a beryllium neutron reflector apart with a flat head screwdriver which slipped, suddenly causing the contained plutonium core to become supercritical and delivering a fatal dose of radiation. This is later referenced in [[2593: Deviled Eggs]] and [[3198: Double-pronged extension cord]].
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Calorimeter#Bomb calorimeters|Bomb Calorimeters}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|h !}}67%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|b !}}28%}}
|A device for measuring heat of combustion of a reaction in a pressure vessel. It does not interact with explosive devices directly, though the chemicals a bomb calorimeter would be called upon to measure are occasionally explosive or dangerous, and a carelessly operated calorimeter could start a fire.
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Avian influenza virus|Bird Flu}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|h !}}57%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|g !}}72%}}
|An illness caused by strains of influenza adapted for birds, which is generally very deadly in humans. Should the virus adapt for human to human transmission, a pandemic can quickly result. Since birds can travel great distances quickly, it is generally already widespread and difficult to contain.
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Nuclear football|Nuclear Football}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|g !}}52%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|k !}}94%}}
|An aluminum Zero Halliburton briefcase which is used by the President of the United States to authorize nuclear attack. A military aide carrying the football is always near the president.
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Sulfur mustard|Mustard Gas}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|f !}}47%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|c !}}50%}}
|A chemical warfare agent which causes blisters and severe irritation on skin and lung tissue.
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Antimicrobial resistance|Superbug}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|e !}}39%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|j !}}83%}}
|Antibiotic resistant bacteria. The growing use of antibiotics has caused some bacteria to evolve to become resistant to the antibiotics. A "superbug" refers to a scenario where a bacteria evolves to become resistant to all antibiotics, for example, {{w|MRSA}}. Thanks to popular culture, however, the term "superbug" usually makes the audience think "a bug with superpowers", such as {{w|Atom Ant}}.
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Criticality accident|Criticality Incident}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|d!}}22%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|i !}}74%}}
|An unexpected and uncontrolled nuclear reaction. This occurs when a system that should be sub-critical becomes critical by accident (a term devised by Louis Slotin, as seen above).
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Soil liquefaction|Soil Liquefaction}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|c !}}16%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|e !}}54%}}
|A phenomenon where wet soil loses its strength and becomes temporarily liquid, capable of swallowing people and buildings, especially after earthquakes or torrential rains. Liquefaction can cause landslides; landslides can cause more liquefaction. Once the earthquake stops, the ground becomes solid again, trapping whatever was submerged.
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Gray goo|Grey Goo}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|b !}}5%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|f !}}69%}}
|A hypothetical end-of-world scenario where self-replicating nanobots consume all matter. It is (partially) illustrated in [[865: Nanobots]].
|-
|Helvetica Scenario (from the title text)
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|z !}}N/A}}
|{{Hs|m !}}Off the chart
|This scenario is also in the title text of [[683: Science Montage]]: "...We have a Helvetica scenario!". The scenario is a fictional experiment, presented in Switzerland (Helvetica), which assumes that removing only the nucleus (the center of an atom) of a calcium atom in one's skin, but still leaving the electron shell at its position, would cause a massive reaction ending up in heavy mutations. The Helvetica scenario was made up by the BBC comedy show {{w|Look Around You}} in the pilot episode, which can be seen [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4CRCJUmWsM&t=5m53s here (at 5:53)]. The fact that the term {{w|Helvetica}} is more commonly known as referring to a very-commonly-used modern typeface makes the name sound like it should refer to a much less serious situation.
|}

==Trivia==
*In the ''[[What If? (book)|What If?]]'' book, in the book-exclusive article "No More DNA", this graph is shown redrawn with "{{w|Destroying angel}}" added to it, with both its Approximate True Scariness and Approximate Apparent Scariness at an off-the-chart 110%. Destroying Angel is the common name for ''Amanita bisporigera'', a poisonous mushroom which causes irreversible damage at the cellular level in a way the article uses as an analogue to the scenario of a person's DNA being removed. Other items in the chart have also moved positions – most noticeably, Nuclear Football has moved right to a 120% Approximate True Scariness.

==Transcript==
:[A scatter-plot, with 12 labeled dots. Both axis are labeled but neither has an arrow at its end. The dots are scattered from left to right and top to bottom. Below all labels are given, first for the axis, and then for each dot in approximately normal reading order, left to right top to bottom, but in the order it would make sense to read them:]
:Y-axis: Scariness of name
:X-axis: Scariness of thing name refers to

:[Top left]: Chernobyl packet
:[Top halfway right]: Kessler syndrome
:[Top three quarters towards right]: Demon core
:[Top right]: Flesh-eating bacteria
:[A third down left]: Bomb calorimeter
:[Halfway down three quarters towards right]: Bird flu
:[Halfway down right]: Nuclear football
:[Dead center]: Mustard gas
:[Just below and right of center]: Superbug
:[Bottom halfway right]: Soil liquefaction
:[A third up three quarters towards right ]: Criticality incident
:[Very bottom two-thirds to the right]: Grey goo

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Scatter plots]]
[[Category:Rankings]]
[[Category:Nuclear weapons]]

1242: Scary Names

2026-01-25T19:43:47Z

Potatocakethrow: Added refrence to the new comic

{{comic
| number = 1242
| date = July 24, 2013
| title = Scary Names
| image = scary_names.png
| titletext = Far off to the right of the chart is the Helvetica Scenario.
}}

==Explanation==
This chart humorously explores how things are often named colloquially and without regard to accuracy in correlating actual scariness with apparent scariness. It is interesting to note how people react to the items near the bottom right of the chart "scary things with not-very-scary names" when compared to how they may react to items in the upper left "not-very-scary things with scary names". Some of the entries on the chart are especially interesting examples considering that portions of the names that are associated with significant historical or cultural events and themes. i.e. Chernobyl Packet, Demon Core. All items are described in the [[#Table|table below]] including the title text on Helvetica Scenario.

On the chart, things toward the right are scary/dangerous/very bad, while things toward the top ''sound'' scary without ''necessarily'' being scary.

Note that [[Randall]] uses similar diagrams in [[388: Fuck Grapefruit]], [[1501: Mysteries]] and [[2466: In Your Classroom]], which also contain different items. The first two also have an extra point, and the last two extra points mentioned in the title text. Only the first and the last comics points are also off the chart, whereas for the second the description of the point is too long to fit on the chart. Extra info outside the chart is also used in the title text of [[1785: Wifi]], but it is a line graph, not a scatter plot.

===Table===
*This table lists the entries from least to most scary, including the ''entry'' mentioned in the title text.
*To begin with it is sorted from most scary name to least scary name.
**The assigned percentage values assumes a linear scale and assigns ''flesh eating bacteria'' with the point (100%, 100%).
**This is simply the easiest way to list the entries as there is no mention of the scale.
**As is clear from the title text, "flesh eating bacteria" is not an absolute, simply the highest in this particular sample; there are things more scary than 100%!

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! scope="col" class="unsortable"| Name
! scope="col"| Approximate Apparent Scariness
! scope="col"| Approximate True Scariness
! scope="col" class="unsortable"| Description
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Necrotizing fasciitis|Flesh-eating bacteria}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|m !}}100%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|l !}}100%}}
|As the name suggests, bacteria that eat (or more accurately, releases toxins that destroy) your skin and muscle.
|-
|{{Nowrap|[http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/C/Chernobyl-packet.html Chernobyl Packet]}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|k !}}95%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|a !}}4%}}
|A network packet that induces a {{w|broadcast storm}} or network meltdown. It is an analogous reference to the {{w|Chernobyl disaster}}, but otherwise has no relation: one did not cause the disaster, nor does it concern literal packets of radioactive material from Chernobyl.
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Kessler syndrome|Kessler Syndrome}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|k !}}90%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|d !}}53%}}
|A hypothetical scenario where low Earth orbit objects collide, creating debris which increases the risk of more collisions, leading to a cascade effect which could severely hinder exploration and satellite technologies for many decades. It has been mentioned in {{w|Gravity (2013 film)}}.
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Demon core|Demon Core}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|j !}}87%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|h !}}73%}}
|A subcritical mass of plutonium that was involved in two separate fatal incidents at Los Alamos laboratory in 1945 and 1946. In both cases, the core was accidentally placed into a configuration where it went supercritical and exposed an experimenter to fatal doses of radiation. The second is more notable, where Louis Slotin held two halves of a beryllium neutron reflector apart with a flat head screwdriver which slipped, suddenly causing the contained plutonium core to become supercritical and delivering a fatal dose of radiation. This is later referenced in [[2593: Deviled Eggs]] and [[3198: Double-pronged- extension cord]].
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Calorimeter#Bomb calorimeters|Bomb Calorimeters}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|h !}}67%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|b !}}28%}}
|A device for measuring heat of combustion of a reaction in a pressure vessel. It does not interact with explosive devices directly, though the chemicals a bomb calorimeter would be called upon to measure are occasionally explosive or dangerous, and a carelessly operated calorimeter could start a fire.
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Avian influenza virus|Bird Flu}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|h !}}57%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|g !}}72%}}
|An illness caused by strains of influenza adapted for birds, which is generally very deadly in humans. Should the virus adapt for human to human transmission, a pandemic can quickly result. Since birds can travel great distances quickly, it is generally already widespread and difficult to contain.
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Nuclear football|Nuclear Football}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|g !}}52%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|k !}}94%}}
|An aluminum Zero Halliburton briefcase which is used by the President of the United States to authorize nuclear attack. A military aide carrying the football is always near the president.
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Sulfur mustard|Mustard Gas}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|f !}}47%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|c !}}50%}}
|A chemical warfare agent which causes blisters and severe irritation on skin and lung tissue.
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Antimicrobial resistance|Superbug}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|e !}}39%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|j !}}83%}}
|Antibiotic resistant bacteria. The growing use of antibiotics has caused some bacteria to evolve to become resistant to the antibiotics. A "superbug" refers to a scenario where a bacteria evolves to become resistant to all antibiotics, for example, {{w|MRSA}}. Thanks to popular culture, however, the term "superbug" usually makes the audience think "a bug with superpowers", such as {{w|Atom Ant}}.
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Criticality accident|Criticality Incident}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|d!}}22%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|i !}}74%}}
|An unexpected and uncontrolled nuclear reaction. This occurs when a system that should be sub-critical becomes critical by accident (a term devised by Louis Slotin, as seen above).
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Soil liquefaction|Soil Liquefaction}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|c !}}16%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|e !}}54%}}
|A phenomenon where wet soil loses its strength and becomes temporarily liquid, capable of swallowing people and buildings, especially after earthquakes or torrential rains. Liquefaction can cause landslides; landslides can cause more liquefaction. Once the earthquake stops, the ground becomes solid again, trapping whatever was submerged.
|-
|{{Nowrap|{{w|Gray goo|Grey Goo}}}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|b !}}5%}}
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|f !}}69%}}
|A hypothetical end-of-world scenario where self-replicating nanobots consume all matter. It is (partially) illustrated in [[865: Nanobots]].
|-
|Helvetica Scenario (from the title text)
|{{Nowrap|{{Hs|z !}}N/A}}
|{{Hs|m !}}Off the chart
|This scenario is also in the title text of [[683: Science Montage]]: "...We have a Helvetica scenario!". The scenario is a fictional experiment, presented in Switzerland (Helvetica), which assumes that removing only the nucleus (the center of an atom) of a calcium atom in one's skin, but still leaving the electron shell at its position, would cause a massive reaction ending up in heavy mutations. The Helvetica scenario was made up by the BBC comedy show {{w|Look Around You}} in the pilot episode, which can be seen [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4CRCJUmWsM&t=5m53s here (at 5:53)]. The fact that the term {{w|Helvetica}} is more commonly known as referring to a very-commonly-used modern typeface makes the name sound like it should refer to a much less serious situation.
|}

==Trivia==
*In the ''[[What If? (book)|What If?]]'' book, in the book-exclusive article "No More DNA", this graph is shown redrawn with "{{w|Destroying angel}}" added to it, with both its Approximate True Scariness and Approximate Apparent Scariness at an off-the-chart 110%. Destroying Angel is the common name for ''Amanita bisporigera'', a poisonous mushroom which causes irreversible damage at the cellular level in a way the article uses as an analogue to the scenario of a person's DNA being removed. Other items in the chart have also moved positions – most noticeably, Nuclear Football has moved right to a 120% Approximate True Scariness.

==Transcript==
:[A scatter-plot, with 12 labeled dots. Both axis are labeled but neither has an arrow at its end. The dots are scattered from left to right and top to bottom. Below all labels are given, first for the axis, and then for each dot in approximately normal reading order, left to right top to bottom, but in the order it would make sense to read them:]
:Y-axis: Scariness of name
:X-axis: Scariness of thing name refers to

:[Top left]: Chernobyl packet
:[Top halfway right]: Kessler syndrome
:[Top three quarters towards right]: Demon core
:[Top right]: Flesh-eating bacteria
:[A third down left]: Bomb calorimeter
:[Halfway down three quarters towards right]: Bird flu
:[Halfway down right]: Nuclear football
:[Dead center]: Mustard gas
:[Just below and right of center]: Superbug
:[Bottom halfway right]: Soil liquefaction
:[A third up three quarters towards right ]: Criticality incident
:[Very bottom two-thirds to the right]: Grey goo

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Scatter plots]]
[[Category:Rankings]]
[[Category:Nuclear weapons]]

3198: Double-Pronged Extension Cord

2026-01-25T01:12:57Z

Potatocakethrow: Removed the request for explaining anchoring to the wall and the title text, since those have been added

{{comic
| number = 3198
| date = January 23, 2026
| title = Double-Pronged Extension Cord
| image = double_pronged_extension_cord_2x.png
| imagesize = 698x267px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'Oh, and can I borrow 50 sacks of loose flour, a pile of lithium-ion batteries, a bucket of bleach, and a bucket of vinega--' 'NO!!!!!!'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by THE EXTENSION CORD FROM COMIC #509. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

This comic begins with [[Cueball]] approaching [[Ponytail]], who’s sitting at her desk, asking if she has an extension cord with prongs at both ends that he can borrow. To which she replies with a horrified NO!!! Whether the no means that she doesn’t have the cord, or she does but Cueball can’t borrow it is unclear (though the second panel would suggest it’s the former). This design of extension cord (created to solve some power-connectivity issues, but likely to cause other problems) is lethally dangerous, as Ponytail points out. They are also known as [https://www.consumerreports.org/home-garden/generators/why-suicide-extension-cords-are-so-dangerous-a1189731437/ suicide cords] for this reason.

Ponytail seems to relax when she persuades Cueball to use a regular extension cord instead, which normally wouldn't even be an option where such a double-ended cord was required. But then he elaborates that rather than wanting the cord to carry electricity, he actually intends to use it as some kind of support prop. He thinks that the plug prongs at each end are suitable for fixing the cable into a wall (though he doesn't specify, presumably two regular wall-sockets - depending upon the exact type of plug/prongs he uses, this itself would be a problem, connecting the opposite polarities of the same building supply together), ''this'' leaving the free cable between in the right place to act as a makeshift support for something even more dangerous: plutonium. Based on his description his setup appears to be a recreation of Louis Slotin's infamous "Demon Core" or "Tickling the dragon's tail" experiment, {{w|Slotin#Criticality accident|which proved fatal}}, with the extension cord replacing the flat-head screwdriver. Understandably, this horrifies Ponytail even more. This is the third comic to reference the Demon Core experiment, after [[1242: Scary Names]] and [[2593: Deviled Eggs]].

The title text escalates the innocently mentioned hazards… though arguably not as much as the radioactivity. Loose flour is a well known fire hazard and the key to a {{w|Dust explosion|flour-air explosion}}; 50 bags of it plus some way to get it into the air could blow up a sizable building. Lithium batteries are well known fire hazards when overcharged, which is why the TSA restricts them in checked luggage, and there have been numerous fires caused by the lithium batteries in "hoverboards" leading them to be oft-banned in cities, airports, and by retailers who might otherwise sell them. A bank of 50 might be overkill, but if charged in parallel (serial probably wouldn't work as well), could cause a noticable explosion or fire once one of them hit its limit. And while vinegar and bleach aren't a particular fire hazard, they do release chlorine gas when combined, which is lethal.

''Any'' acid will tend to liberate chlorine from bleach, though vinegar is a relatively dilute solution of a weak acid (acetic acid). Other acidic household cleaning products, such as drain openers, would be much more dangerous to combine with bleach, but generally come with explicit warnings about avoiding this. While a bucket of vinegar (while an unusual request, in this particular manner) could fulfil the same threat even/especially while not being so easily associated with any danger. As such, the theme of the title text appears to be "innocuous-appearing supplies which are actually quite hazardous". Ponytail, being both a more knowledgable person ''and'' intimately familiar with [[:Category:Cueball's computer problems|Cueball's 'error prone' nature]], easily imagines enough of the various unfortunate circumstances that could arise. Possibly [[2950: Situation|in combination]].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[Cueball is approaching Ponytail, who is sitting at a desk with a laptop, from off-screen.]
:Cueball: Do you have an extension cord with prongs at both ends? Can I borrow it?
:Ponytail: '''''No'''''!!!

:[Close up of Ponytail raising her arms in an exasperated fashion]
:Ponytail: No one should '''''ever''''' buy or make those!
:Ponytail: They start fires, destroy equipment, and risk electrocuting you or grid workers!
:Cueball: OK, OK, I get it.

:[The view zooms back out, showing Ponytail handing Cueball an extension cord.]
:Cueball: Can I just borrow a regular cord, then?
:Ponytail: Sure. Here.
:Cueball: The prongs aren't important. I just thought they'd help anchor it to the wall.
:Ponytail: Wait, what are you-

:[Cueball is walking away from Ponytail, who sits at her desk with her hands to her head.]
:Cueball: I need it to help hold up the top half of the reflector for this plutonium core that I'm-
:Ponytail: '''''AAAAAAAA!!!!'''''

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]

3193: Sailing Rigs

2026-01-17T19:59:22Z

Potatocakethrow:

{{comic
| number = 3193
| date = January 12, 2026
| title = Sailing Rigs
| image = sailing_rigs_2x.png
| imagesize = 508x822px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I wanted to make the world's fastest yawl, so I made the aft sail bigger, but apparently that means it's not a yawl anymore! It's a real ketch-22.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by the birds flying in my kite. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This comic shows the side profiles of a variety of different sailing boat/ship rigs, starting with six real ones, but then moving mostly into ones imagined by [[Randall]], with varying levels of absurdity. The [[#The Rigs|table below]] explains each type depicted.

The title text is a pun on {{w|Catch-22 (logic)|Catch-22}}, a term taken from the {{w|Catch-22|novel of the same name}} for a situation where success is impossible because it requires meeting self-contradictory conditions. For example, the novel introduces the term for a pilot who requests mental evaluation for insanity, hoping to be found not sane enough to fly and thereby escape dangerous missions, but who demonstrates his own sanity by creating the request and thus cannot be declared insane. Per the main panel, a ketch is similar to a yawl but has a larger aft sail, so increasing the aft sail of a yawl effectively turns the yawl into a ketch, effectively making it impossible to build a faster yawl. (This is not technically true, as the distinction between a {{w|yawl}} and {{w|ketch}} is based on whether the aft sail is mounted forward or aft of the rudder post, although a yawl with a large aft sail [https://www.woodenboatstore.com/products/hand-reef-and-steer-2nd-edition would probably be difficult to control.])

==The Rigs==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Type
!Image
!Real?
!Description 
!Explanation 
|-
|{{w|Lateen}}
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Lateen.png|x75px]]
|{{Yes}}
|A single triangular sail.
|The triangular sail is affixed to a long yard or crossbar, mounted at its middle to the top of the mast and angled to extend aft far above the mast and forward down nearly to the deck. The sail, its free corner secured near the stern, is capable of taking the wind on either side, and, by enabling the vessel to tack into the wind, the [https://www.britannica.com/technology/lateen-sail lateen] immensely increases the potential of the sailing ship.  The best known Lateen sail boat is also the most popular fiberglass boat, the {{w|Sunfish (sailboat)|Sunfish}}.
|-
|{{W|Bermuda rig|Bermuda rigged sloop}}
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Bermuda.png|x86px]]
|{{Yes}}
|A front and rear triangular sail share a mast.
|A {{w|sloop}} has one mast, typically with two sails mounted on the mast — one ahead and one behind.
|-
|{{w|Ketch}}
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Ketch.png|x101px]]
|{{Yes}}
|A sailboat with two masts, where the main mast is taller than the mizzen (or aft mast), and the mizzen is forward of the rudder post
|Similar to a yawl (below), but with the mizzen (aft) mast mounted forward of the rudder post and its sail typically larger.
|-
|{{w|Gaff rig|Gaff rigged sloop}}
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Gaff Sloop.png|x87px]]
|{{Yes}}
|A front triangular sail shares a mast with a rear quadrilateral sail.
|A sloop is a sailboat with one mast, typically with two sails mounted on it — one ahead and one behind. A [https://nauticalknowhow.mysailingcourse.com/glossary/gaff-rig/ gaff rig] is a sailing rig where one sail is four-sided and controlled by a spar (the gaff) at its top, which is hoisted at an angle to the mast.
|-
|{{w|Yawl}}
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Yawl.png|x100px]]
|{{Yes}}
|Two triangular sails share a front mast, and a much smaller aft mast holds a small aft sail.
|A yawl is sailboat with two masts, where the main mast has two sails (one in front of the mast and one behind, known as {{w|Fore-and-aft rig|fore-and-aft rigging}}), and the mizzen (aft) mast is mounted aft of the rudder post, leading the mizzen sail to typically be small. Similar to a ketch.
|-
|{{w|Schooner}}
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Schooner.png|x102px]]
|{{Yes}}
|A sailboat with two or more masts, where all have {{w|Fore-and-aft rig|fore-and-aft rigging}}, and where the foremast is typically smaller than the main mast
|-
|Ketch-rigged gaff
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Ketch Gaff.png|x98px]]
|{{No}}
|Resembles a gaff, with the aft sail reduced and two triangular sails mounted above. The resulting shape resembles a vertical ketch.
|The first fictional rig. It might be capable of functioning like a sloop, but its rigging would be more complicated and it is likely less efficient at catching the wind.
|-
|Kloop-rigged sketch
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Kloop.png|x100px]]
|{{No}}
|Four or five sails mounted in a nonsensical configuration, with elements from the schooner, ketch, and gaff
| A mixture of the names of {{w|ketch}} and {{w|sloop}}, poking fun at the unfamiliar and odd-sounding names of some rigs. Adding to the absurdity, the kloop-rigged sketch is neither a sloop nor a ketch. However it is technically a {{w|Sketch (drawing)|sketch}}, as "sketch" can mean "drawing"
|-
|Bunkbed rig
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 100% more boat.png|x118px]]
|{{No}}
|A gaff-rigged sloop mounted on top of a second hull.
|The name refers to a {{w|bunkbed}}, where one bed is mounted directly above another. Bunk-style sleeping arrangements are sometimes used on boats for reasons of space efficiency. It applies this idea to the whole ship, mounting one hull directly above another. While {{w|Multihull|boats with multiple hulls}} do exist, these are commonly mounted side-by-side to guarantee stability. Mounting one hull above another, however, is a design aspect used in the '{{w|small-waterplane-area twin hull}}' concept, usually ''along with'' side-by-side multihulling. It's possible that this 'bunk hulled' design normally floats with the upper hull astride the water-level, though needing a greater depth of water for the 'keel hull', but that {{w|hydrofoil|at speed}} (and/or by carefully pumping ballast water out of the two hulls, and increasing overall buoyancy) it can rise up to present only the thin connectors to the sea surface. Though the stability of such a system, in an otherwise singular bunk-hull, would seem to be a problem when running with any amount of side-wind, {{w|Foilboard|in principle}} it seems more than managable with the right design and use.
Notably, this ship's ''rigging'' is mundane; the connection between hulls seems to be structural. It may be more accurate to refer to it as a bunkbed ''hull''.
|-
|Flettner rig
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Flettner.png|x94px]]
|{{Yes}}, though not typically called a rig
|The rectangular outline of a cylinder with motion lines around it, indicating a {{w|Flettner rotor}}
|A Flettner rotor is a right circular cylinder with disc end plates which is spun along its long axis. As air passes across it the {{w|Magnus effect}} causes an aerodynamic lift force to be generated in the direction perpendicular to both the long axis and the direction of airflow. In a {{w|rotor ship}}, the rotors stand vertically and lift is generated at right angles to the wind, to drive the ship forwards.

Flettner rotors were previously mentioned in [[3119: Flettner Rotor]]
|-
|Oops, all spinnakers
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Spinnakers.png|x78px]]
|{{No}}
|Three masts each with a sail billowing in front
|A {{w|spinnaker}} is a real type of sail, where a boat is propelled by a large sail directly pulled by the wind, similar in principle to a parachute. However, "Oops, all spinnakers" is not real, as spinnakers are only practical for smaller craft, and if multiple spinnakers are mounted in a row the earlier ones may disrupt the airflow to the later ones. It does not appear that there are any real boats propelled by more than one spinnaker.
The name of the rig is a reference to the {{w|Cap'n Crunch}} cereal type that became a meme, [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/oops-all-berries-box-parodies ''Oops! All Berries''], which has also been referenced in [[2256]] and [[2719]].
|-
|Keel rig
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Keel.png|x98px]]
|{{No}}
|Three sails in a ketch arrangement, but mounted to the keel, which would typically put the ''sails underwater''.
|The book {{w|Heaven (Stewart and Cohen novel)|''Heaven''}}, by Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen, features an aquatic protagonist who is introduced as sailing a surface craft with underwater 'sails' (and above-water 'keel'), due to the switched nature of his usual environment.
|-
|Kite rig
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Kite.png|x109px]]
|{{Maybe|Kind of}}
|All sails are replaced by two groups of kites, each tied to the mast with their own independent line.
|A {{w|kite rig}} is a real thing, where a kite is deployed from a boat or ship to catch the wind and pull the vessel along. This rigging is used in various types of vessel, most commonly {{w|kite surfing}}, but occasionally other vessels too, up to [https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/30/travel/airseas-giant-kites-ships-slash-carbon-emissions-scn-climate-spc trials with cargo ships].
However, the real kite riggings typically use one large kite optimised for catching the wind, rather than many small kites optimised for flying (as depicted) which would likely get tangled and not pull much on the ship.
|-
|Longsail rig
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Longsail.png|x93px]]
|{{Maybe|Kind of}}
|A Bermuda rigged sloop with the aft sail extending ~5 times as far back, well beyond the end of the hull.
|While not technically impossible, such a long sail would likely be susceptible to damage from the wind, as well as potentially making it hard to control the boat.
This is reminiscent of the Sandbagger sloops of the mid- to late-1800s. The foresail was on a very long bowsprit and the boom extended past the stern by up to the length of the boat.

This design could be a reference to "{{w|Cargo bike#Longtail bicycle|long-tail bikes}}", a type of cargo bicycle useful for hauling heavy or voluminous charges at the cost of higher weight and reduced maneuverability.
|-
|Deckhand obliterator
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Deckhand Obliterator.png|x86px]]
|{{No}}
|All sails replaced by an anchor that swings from the mast on a chain.
|Any deckhands (crew) on the deck could be knocked off or fatally hurt if the anchor passes through their space and collides with them. While most captains would consider this counterproductive, it might be effective at its stated purpose.
There is a risk that the anchor might damage the mast in a collision or get wrapped around it. It would most likely be of little use as propulsion.
|-
|Offset rig
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Offset.png|x108px]]
|{{No}}
|Gaff rigged sloop sails are mounted on a mast that is offset (forward) from the hull via an underwater extension of the keel.
|The extreme mechanical advantage of the sail, potentially combined with the uneven weight, would make this rigging hard if not impossible to control. 
There are in fact [https://junkrigassociation.org/technical_forum/470838 sail configurations] called [https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/gaffs-balanced-lugs-hoyt-offset-rig-etc.53504/ offset rigs] but they aren't like the one shown here.
|-
|Mastless rig
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Mastless.png|x59px]]
|{{Maybe|Kind of}}
|A single sail is attached directly to the hull of the boat, without any mast to give it form.
|As depicted, the sail would provide little to no useful propulsion, as it would not be high enough to effectively catch the wind, and would, in any case, flap unpredictably.
However, ships do exist without masts, such as ships not powered by wind or, more rarely, inflatable sails (e.g. [http://inflatedwingsails.com/en/concept/ this concept]), which use air, rather than a mast, for rigidity. While not intentional, it is conceivable that the drawing depicts an inflatable sail in its deflated state.
|-
|Unclassifiable chaos rig
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:3193 Unclassifiable Chaos.png|x86px]]
|{{Maybe|Arguably}}
|Includes elements of the schooner, yawl, lateen, and possibly others, including a sail mounted in an unusual position beneath the prow.
|While this specific rig is almost certainly fictional, there are many ways to rig a ship, some of which are chaotic and difficult to classify.
|}

==Transcript==
:[The comic shows five rows of silhouettes of different sail boats as seen from the side. In total 18 different boats are shown, three rows with four each and three in each of the two bottom rows. Each boat has a different sailing rig. All boats are oriented to the left of the comic, and beneath each boat there is a label. At the top of the panel there is a large heading:]
:<big>Common Sailing Rigs</big>

:[Here follows a list of the 18 boats with a description and then their label:]

:[A single triangular sail.]
:Lateen

:[A front and rear triangular sail share a mast.]
:Bermuda rigged sloop

:[Two triangular sails as above, with an additional triangular sail on a second rear mast.]
:Ketch

:[Front triangular sail shares mast with rear quadrilateral sail.]
:Gaff rigged sloop

:[Two triangular sails share front mast and a much smaller aft mast holds a small aft.]
:Yawl

:[Two triangular front sails share forward mast with quadrilateral center sail. An aft mast supports a quadrilateral aft sail.]
:Schooner

:[Resembles a gaff, with the aft sail reduced and two triangular sails mounted above. The resulting shape resembles a vertical ketch.]
:Ketch-rigged gaff

:[Includes elements of ketch and sloop.]
:Kloop-rigged sketch

:[A gaff-rigged sloop is mounted on top of a second hull.]
:Bunkbed rig

:[The rectangular outline of a cylinder with motion lines around it.]
:Flettner rig

:[Three masts each with a sail only attached to the top.]
:Oops, all spinnakers

:[Three sails in a ketch arrangement, but mounted to the keel.]
:Keel rig

:[All sails are replaced by two groups of kites, each tied to the mast with an independent line.]
:Kite rig

:[Bermuda rigged sloop with the aft sail extending ~5 times as far back, well beyond the end of the hull.]
:Longsail rig

:[All sails replaced by an anchor that swings around the mast on a chain, similar to tetherball.]
:Deckhand obliterator

:[Gaff rigged sloop sails are mounted on a mast that is offset (forward) from the hull via an underwater extension of the keel.]
:Offset rig

:[A single sail is attached where the mast would normally be mounted, flapping around freely.]
:Mastless rig

:[Includes elements of the schooner, yawl, lateen, and possibly others.]
:Unclassifiable chaos rig

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Sailboats]]
[[Category:Kites]]
[[Category:Puns]]

3192: Planetary Alignment

2026-01-15T23:18:11Z

Potatocakethrow: Changed the refrences to previous home inspection comics

. {{comic
| number = 3192
| date = January 9, 2026
| title = Planetary Alignment
| image = planetary_alignment_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x327px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = We're going to need to modify the surface to mount it on the test stand. Which ocean basin do you like the least?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by SLARTIBARTFAST, CARVER OF FJORDS. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

This is the third in a [[:Category:Home Inspections|series of comics]] about [[Ponytail]] inspecting Earth as if it were the client [[Cueball]]'s house.

[[Ponytail]] (presumably a planetary mechanic, which is not a real thing) appears to have been inspecting a planet, which seems to be the Earth, as if it were a vehicle. She is informing [[Cueball]] of the results, as if he were the owner of the planet.

According to her, the planet needs to be re-aligned, as the {{w|Earth's magnetic field|magnetic}} and {{w|Earth's rotation|rotational}} axes of the planet are 400 miles (640 km) offset from each other. She claims that this could create a number of problems with the planet, such as unbalanced magnetic fields. This is presented in the same casual manner as a car mechanic might regarding {{w|wheel alignment}}, or perhaps even the {{w|tire balance}}. Earth's magnetic alignment does change (both {{w|Geomagnetic pole#Movement|gradually drifting}} and {{w|Geomagnetic reversal|relatively sudden reversals}}), but not for any reasons that can be compared to typical vehicle maintenance issues.

Ponytail mentions radiation anomalies over the South Atlantic ocean. This is a real phenomenon, known as the {{w|South Atlantic Anomaly}}, where satellites experience increased malfunctions because solar radiation is higher than average, due to the alignment of the magnetic field, as well as {{w|Large low-shear-velocity provinces|a massive rock structure underneath Africa}}.

In the final panel, Ponytail says that they will provide a loaner planet while Earth is in the shop. This is typically done with vehicles, not planets,{{Citation needed}} but perhaps this particular shop has a [https://www.clivebanks.co.uk/THHGTTG/THHGTTGradio3.htm very large back room]. Ponytail then asks if a gas giant is okay, as they are out of solid surface planets. This is likely alluding to the practice of car dealerships offering replacements or loaner vehicles that are very different from those brought in for service, which can greatly frustrate and inconvenience the customer.

The title text continues the mechanic metaphor, stating that they (the shop) will have to modify Earth to fit it on the test stand, asking Cueball which ocean basin he likes the least, implying that they intend to remove or alter one of the Earth's oceans to mount it for adjustment and retesting.

This is the second comic in recent history with the word "Alignment" in the title, with [[3177: Chessboard Alignment]] being the first.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[Ponytail is approaching from off-screen, holding a clipboard and some sort of handheld apparatus. She is talking to Cueball, standing to the right.]
:Ponytail: The inspection revealed a few problems.
:Ponytail: Looks like your planet needs an alignment.
:Cueball: Oh?

:[Close up of Ponytail.]
:Ponytail: Yeah, your magnetic axis is 400 miles off-center from your rotational one.
:Cueball (off-panel): Is that bad?

:[The view zooms back out, showing Ponytail holding her equipment, with Cueball holding a hand to his face, as if thinking.]
:Ponytail: The unbalanced magnetic field could cause radiation anomalies over the South Atlantic. Have you noticed any spacecraft equipment failures in that area?
:Cueball: There '''''have''''' been a few, actually.

:[The final panel shows the same as the third, apart from Cueball's gestures.]
:Ponytail: We can give you a loaner while yours is in the shop. Is a gas giant OK?
:Cueball: I'd '''''really''''' prefer a solid surface.
:Ponytail: Sorry, it's all we have. But it'll just be for a few days.

{{comic discussion}}
<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Home Inspections]]

Talk:3194: 16 Part Epoxy

2026-01-15T02:22:56Z

Potatocakethrow:

Woah, just reloaded it and new comic! Sick... I should probably read it now. [[User:Willintendo|Willintendo]] ([[User talk:Willintendo|talk]]) 20:02, 14 January 2026 (UTC)

Paint bucket fill tool strikes again. --[[User:Lycheefoxpup|Lycheefoxpup]] ([[User talk:Lycheefoxpup|talk]]) 20:18, 14 January 2026 (UTC)

TABLES! TABLES! TABLES! WOOOOOO!!!!!! --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBaal44|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBaal44|Converse]]''''' 20:21, 14 January 2026 (UTC)
:Table created. However, I am a teenager and do not work in construction, so the explanations may need some work. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBaal44|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBaal44|Converse]]''''' 20:56, 14 January 2026 (UTC)
::Every item in this table is real. Ask me how I know. [[Special:Contributions/64.201.132.210|64.201.132.210]] 21:34, 14 January 2026 (UTC)
:::How does the placebo work? Does it just kinda mind control you?--'''''[[User:DollarStoreBaal44|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBaal44|Converse]]''''' 21:42, 14 January 2026 (UTC)
:Robert'); DROP TABLE Epoxy;--
:Did it work? [[Special:Contributions/2001:1998:3500:42C:0:0:0:534|2001:1998:3500:42C:0:0:0:534]] 23:27, 14 January 2026 (UTC)
Thought for placebo adhesive: Water between two microscope slides. It'll stick real good, but it's not really glue, more... fancy pressure physics. [[Special:Contributions/142.165.161.48|142.165.161.48]] 22:28, 14 January 2026 (UTC)

"Duck" tape, not "duct". Come on Randall, you know better than that. [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 00:08, 15 January 2026 (UTC)

Now I'm wondering what the properties of a powdered bar magnet would even be, if each individual piece continued to be magnetic. [[Special:Contributions/2405:201:E010:1029:2C1E:1669:FA92:85DE|2405:201:E010:1029:2C1E:1669:FA92:85DE]] 00:44, 15 January 2026 (UTC)

So, the 2-poly(etc) seems to me to suggest that instead of being "-vinyl-ethyl-vinyl-ethyly-" polimerisation, with the links between both 'ethyl-like' backbone subcomponents being from opposite ends of the respective subunit carbon-pairing, it'd more likely now be considered as a polymethyl-group with a methyl (or methylene) group as the now unused onward '1-'site, hanging free of the new polychain. I'd have to check the bond-geometries, though to see if it would even work. (Ignoring the obvious problem with the made up name.) [[Special:Contributions/92.23.2.208|92.23.2.208]] 01:44, 15 January 2026 (UTC)

I feel like the Polyethylvinylesteracetate is a joke about how polymer names are often long and gibberish-sounding. [[User:Potatocakethrow|Potatocakethrow]] ([[User talk:Potatocakethrow|talk]])

3192: Planetary Alignment

2026-01-10T17:37:25Z

Potatocakethrow:

. {{comic
| number = 3192
| date = January 9, 2026
| title = Planetary Alignment
| image = planetary_alignment_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x327px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = We're going to need to modify the surface to mount it on the test stand. Which ocean basin do you like the least?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by SLARTIBARTFAST, CARVER OF FJORDS. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

In this comic, Ponytail (presumably a planetary mechanic) is informing Cueball of the results of a planetary inspection.

According to her, the planet needs to be re-aligned, as the magnetic and rotational axes of the planet are 400 miles (640 km) offset from each other, which could create a number of problems with the planet, such as unbalanced magnetic fields. This is presented in the same casual manner as a car mechanic might regarding {{w|wheel alignment}}, or perhaps even the {{w|tire balance}}.

Ponytail mentions radiation anomalies over the South Atlantic ocean. This is a real phenomenon, known as the {{w|South Atlantic Anomaly}}, where satellites experience increased malfunctions and solar radiation is higher than average due to the alignment of the magnetic field as well as {{w|Large low-shear-velocity provinces|a massive rock structure underneath Africa}}.

In the final panel, Ponytail says that they will provide a loaner planet while Earth is in the shop. This is typically done with vehicles, not planets,{{Citation needed}} but perhaps this particular shop has a [https://www.clivebanks.co.uk/THHGTTG/THHGTTGradio3.htm very large back room]. Ponytail then asks if a gas giant is okay, as they are out of solid surface planets. This is likely alluding to the practice of car dealerships offering replacements or loaner vehicles that are very different from those brought in for service, which can greatly frustrate and inconvenience the customer.

The title text continues the mechanic metaphor, stating that they (the shop) will have to modify Earth to fit it on the test stand, asking Cueball which ocean basin he like the least, implying that they intend to remove or alter one of the Earth's oceans to mount it for adjustment and retesting.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[Ponytail is approaching from off-screen, holding a clipboard and some sort of testing device. She is speaking to Cueball, standing to the right.]
:Ponytail: The inspection revealed a few problems.
:Ponytail: Looks like your planet needs an alignment.
:Cueball: Oh?

:[Close up of Ponytail.]
:Ponytail: Yeah, your magnetic axis is 400 miles off-center from your rotational one.
:Cueball (off-panel): Is that bad?

:[The view zooms back out, showing Ponytail holding her equipment, with Cueball holding a hand to his face, as if thinking.]
:Ponytail: The unbalanced magnetic field could cause radiation anomalies over the South Atlantic. Have you notice any spacecraft equipment failures in that area?
:Cueball: There '''''have''''' been a few, actually.

:[The final panel shows the same as the third.]
:Ponytail: We can give you a loaner while yours is in the shop. Is a gas giant okay?
:Cueball: I'd '''''really''''' prefer a solid surface.
:Ponytail: Sorry, it's all we have. But it'll just be for a few days.

{{comic discussion}}
<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Home Inspections]]

3188: Anyone Else Here

2026-01-01T19:29:49Z

Potatocakethrow: Added title text

{{comic
| number = 3188
| date = December 31, 2025
| title = Anyone Else Here
| image = anyone_else_here_2x.png
| imagesize = 285x350px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Anyone else watching this Youtube video in 1954? If so, my last trip definitely messed with the timeline.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a youTuber without internet Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This comic makes fun of a common method that YouTube commenters use to farm likes and replies by saying "Who is watching in [year]?" The comment is considered something of a meme within YouTube, and besides that is intended as a compliment implying the video is "timeless" or otherwise a happy memory worth revisiting. These comments often are phrased similarly to the comments in the comic.

The comic, however, presents them instead as time travelers who are lost, and their preferred method of communicating with other time travelers is posting YouTube comments about watching a specific video in a specific year. This may be a somewhat ingenious way of staying incognito while still being able to relay messages, as many people don't read the comments. And, of those who do, the actual comment itself is somewhat innocuous, and easily overlooked, so it would cause little-to-no disruption in the timeline.{{Citation needed}}

The title text shows a time traveler stuck in the year 1954, somehow commenting on a YouTube video despite Youtube not being invented until 2005. {{actual citation needed}} In order to comment on a Youtube video in 1954, one would have to mess up the timeline badly enough that computers, the internet, and Youtube become common much earlier.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

:[The bottom of a YouTube video is shown, with the play and volume icons visible.]
:[There are two lines of illegible text below the videos.]
:564 Comments
:[To the right of "564 Comments" are three parallel lines of different lengths representing YouTube's "sort by" function. A long horizontal line is below.]
:[Three YouTube comments are shown. Each one has an avatar to the left, an @ sign before an illegible name, with smaller illegible text next to it. Below each comment are the YouTube thumbs-up icon, illegible text, the YouTube thumbs-down icon, and more illegible text.]
:[Avatar: A Cueball-like person seen from the chest up, but with a wider torso than usual.] Who else is here in 2023?
:[Avatar: A double chevron pointing to the upper left.] Is anyone else watching this in 2017?
:[Avatar: A Megan-like person standing.] Anyone else here in 2025??

:[Text below the panel:]
:For some reason, confused time travelers always try to find each other using YouTube comments.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:YouTube]]
[[Category:Time travel]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

3186: Truly Universal Outlet

2025-12-27T15:30:26Z

Potatocakethrow: changed The Creator to Randall

{{comic
| number = 3186
| date = December 26, 2025
| title = Truly Universal Outlet
| image = truly_universal_outlet_2x.png
| imagesize = 264x358px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Building Inspectors HATE This One Weird Trick
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a 110 VOLT BRITISH PLUG. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

This comic shows a layout for a universal outlet which would theoretically fit any mains power-plug. Throughout the world, [https://www.iec.ch/world-plugs | countries and regions have their own standards for outlets], including their shape, contact amount, and voltage. When traveling, or otherwise using devices from other countries, it is often necessary to have an adapter to connect one type of plug to a different outlet.

The comic shows an outlet with fifteen sets of holes merged together, so that any of those plug types might fit. In reality, it's possible that a plug may not be held securely, and it may fall out or lose contact. For example, the hole for types D, M, and O at the top of the outlet has three distinct holes, some of which are entirely contained within others; a prong for a smaller type would not make contact with the walls (without particularly spring-loaded contacts). Different outlets can also mean different voltages, which can risk damage if devices do not account for it. Though universal plug adapters [https://internationalconfig.com/icc6.asp?item=30250 actually exist], but none of them are as 'universal' as the one shown in this comic, most likely due to aforementioned safety concerns.

Also the comic seems to misrepresent type E sockets - it seems like Randall wasn't aware of (or ignored) the fact that type E sockets has a grounding pin that protrudes out from the socket, and rather represents it as if it were a hole in the socket instead. In reality it would be difficult to make a socket that safely grounds type E plugs without being simultaneously incompatible with a large number of other plugs that aren't designed to accomodate the grounding pin, probably requiring the prominant socket-pin to be a spring that retracts far into the socket when pressed by a plug's Earth-pin.

The comic also seems to not notice the lack of grounding for full compatibility with F plugs. This leaves them in the same state as type E above. This could be fixed by adding the extra pins for grounding. Given that most plugs in E and F regions are compatible with both standards (CEE 7/7) and have the E ground conected to the F ground through a front plate bigger than the hole for the E standard, it would be theoretically possible to make a mostly universal plug, with the exception of pure CEE 7/5 Schuko and some pure French-style CEE 7/6 that don't have the external metallic plate, but both of those are vanishingly rare, phased out by the CEE 7/7.

The title text references the classical clickbait format "<organization/role> hate this one weird trick," implying <organization/role>'s services will be no longer needed if the trick works out as it claims to, and therefore they (purportedly by the clickbait) do not want you to find out about the trick. In this case, however, building inspectors likely hate the design solely because of its grotesque safety problems.

While this comic is not part of the [[:category:Cursed_Connectors|Cursed Connectors series]], it does follow a similar theme of unorthodox or dangerous ways to make electrical connections.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

:[A diagram of an electrical outlet is shown, merging the holes of many international outlets. Dashed lines indicate individual standards' holes, which are labeled by their corresponding letter from A to N. The entire outlet is the combined area of these holes.]
:Wiring tip: To make your building friendly to international visitors, cut holes in your outlet plates to make them compatible with all fifteen IEC plug types.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Tips]]

3046: Stromatolites

2025-12-11T15:15:14Z

Potatocakethrow:

{{comic
| number = 3046
| date = February 3, 2025
| title = Stromatolites
| image = stromatolites_2x.png
| imagesize = 581x505px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = If only my ancestors had been fortunate enough to marry into the branch of the bacteria family that could photosynthesize, like all my little green cousins here.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic makes fun of claims to 'special' ancestry, such as some old royal family or similar, that may be made after doing research on a {{w|family tree}} site. These services allow the user to input the names and other information of family members and cross reference with various documents to trace lines of descent. Often, those who find a connection to a historically significant individual are quite excited about this and may feel that it somehow makes them special. However, in reality, once you go back more than a few generations there will be many thousands of such connections, and once you get back more than a thousand years or so, anyone you could be related to will also be related to {{w|Identical ancestors point|pretty much everybody else still alive}} in some way or other.

The truly surprising aspect, both normally and (taken to extremes) in this comic, would be to ''find'' the necessary records. Ordinary people of the last century, or maybe two, ''might'' have reliable records (subject to the effects of errors, accidents and conflict, wherever they might have been). But, beyond a certain point, the information is unlikely to exist to trace back ancestry that was not already considered important enough to record. And even that is possibly subject to wishful (or politically-minded) interpretation to suit the claims of the (at that time) primary descendant of a noted lineage. Even those rare records (which may ''suggest'' direct descendency from Adam and Eve; this being simultaneously considered as both incredibly remarkable as a conclusion ''and'' not at all surprising, given the premise) tend to lose practically all veracity and primary sources by the time you get that far back in your investigations. Continuous records (or even any usable records at all) are often irretrievably lost, if they ever existed.

[[Beret Guy]] tells [[Cueball]] he has been on such a site and traced some of his family from "a few billion years back" who were related to {{w|stromatolites}}. These are layered accumulations of mineral "microbial mats" (Cueball calls them ''bacterial mats'') created by microorganisms, predominantly the oxygenic-photosynthetic {{w|Cyanobacteria|cyanobacteria}}. (The comic notably treats "stromatolites" as the name of the bacteria, rather than the rock formation created by the bacteria, seemingly to make the conversation flow better.) Some fossil stromatolites in Australia from 3.48 billion years ago contain the oldest undisputed evidence of life on Earth (though people have also claimed {{w|Earliest known life forms|other, older evidence}} for this record). Since this is some of the first life on Earth it is basically a given that all life that came after (not even just all humans) is related.

Beret Guy only claims he is related to their {{w|Alphaproteobacteria|cousins}} and that it is from their cousin bacteria that he got his {{w|mitochondria}}. His aside that he also got his cell nuclei in this way is odd, as, according to the {{w|Cell_nucleus#Evolution|leading contemporary theory}}, the ancestral archaeon ("my archaean ancestors") themselves contributed the nucleus to the original eukaryotic cell. In this model, both the archaeon and the alpha-proteobacterium were endosymbionts in a third cell, which is not consistent with Beret Guy's claim that the mitochondrion began as an archaeon's endosymbiont. Perhaps all that clicking addled even Beret Guy's brain. Anyway, he is not claiming to be a direct descendant from [the cyanobacterial component of] stromatolites, which makes sense since they can photosynthesize, and as he mentions in the title text, he cannot!

Ancestry services typically do not allow the user to track their familial history prior to written records,{{Citation needed}} but with his [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|strange powers]] it is no wonder that Beret Guy could make this work! (Some do provide genetic sequencing, which allows for more information to be acquired, but this isn't accurate enough to track individual people who lived before such technology existed on a wide scale.) He may also have needed to rely on these powers to do all the clicks needed to go back that far in the past. Even at a rate of 10 to 15 clicks per second it would still take thousands of years — maybe even more due to how fast cells can reproduce — to do enough clicks to work back this far from scratch. However, it may be that a large part of the tree had already been constructed by previous users, and all he had to do was find a relation already attached to this tree. This would further underline how un-special his newly discovered relationship is.

Cueball asks if he would like to contact his distant relatives, since there are still living stromatolites today (or at least something very similar to those from billions of years ago). But Beret Guy imagines they are busy so he will not bother them. When asked by Cueball what he would use his newfound knowledge for, he lies down on the hill they have climbed to bask in the sun. Because as he says, "Lying on a hill in the warm sun is an old family tradition." This is basically the only thing stromatolites can do, but they are doing it all the time and could thus be said to be busy with this. It seems, however, like Beret Guy is going to enjoy this tradition.

In the title text Beret Guy muses about how great it would have been if his distant relatives had married into the branch of the bacteria family that could photosynthesize... and then refers to the grass he is now lying on as "my little green cousins here". If this had happened he would either have been able to lie on the hill without eating since [https://www.gocomics.com/doonesbury/2014/10/28 he would be able to photosynthesize] getting energy directly from the sun (instead of eating some of his small green cousins' closer relatives) - although that might not be enough to sustain him, as per ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'' article ''{{what if|17|Green Cows}}''. Or else he would actually have been a plant instead.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Beret Guy, seen from afar in silhouette, are walking up a grassy hill.]

:[They continue walking up the hill, reaching its grassy summit. Now with normal lighting. Beret Guy is a bit ahead of Cueball.]
:Beret Guy: I learned something today.
:Beret Guy: I went on one of those family tree sites and kept clicking back, and it turns out I'm related to stromatolites!

:[Closeup on Cueball. Beret Guy's reply comes off-panel from a starburst on the right edge of the panel.]
:Cueball: The bacterial mats?
:Beret Guy [off-panel]: Yeah! A few billion years back, on my mitochondria's side.

:[Cueball and Beret Guy standing on the top of the grassy hill facing each other. Beret Guy holding a hand out towards Cueball.]
:Beret Guy: My Archaean ancestors absorbed some bacteria that were cousins of stromatolites. That's how I got mitochondria.
:Beret Guy: Cell nuclei, too.

:[Cueball is standing behind Beret Guy who is now sitting down in the grass leaning back on one arm with the other arm resting on his bent knee.]
:Cueball: I think there are still living stromatolites. You could get in touch.
:Beret Guy: Nah, they're probably busy. I don't want to bother them.

:[Cueball is sitting behind Beret Guy who is now lying down, both again shown in silhouette from a far, revealing they are on the top of the grassy hill.]
:Cueball: So what ''are'' you going to do with this knowledge? Nothing?
:Beret Guy: Lying on a hill in the warm sun is an old family tradition.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]

3179: Fishing

2025-12-11T15:14:10Z

Potatocakethrow:

{{comic
| number = 3179
| date = December 10, 2025
| title = Fishing
| image = fishing_2x.png
| imagesize = 317x500px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'That's definitely above the catch-and-release size minimum for planetesimals.' 'I'm going to throw it back anyway.'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created BY A FISH WITH THE WEIGHT OF THE SUN. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
[[Ponytail]] and [[Beret Guy]] are fishing in the middle of a body of water, and Beret Guy has hooked a rock. Similarly to the common meme that sees people catching objects such as boots and shopping trollies, he exclaims that it "feels like a big one". Fishers may judge the size of a fish by the amount of resistance they feel on the line, and such objects would provide an unusually high level of resistance. (Also, the boat would be bulled down when reeling, so they could only tell that their downward pull is greater than the boat's buoyancy.) In this case, though, Beret Guy can apparently feel that it must be "at least 1024 kilograms" — that is, an object the size of the {{w|Earth}} in its entirety, whose mass can be estimated at approximately 6.0x1024 kilograms (~13.1x1024 pounds at standard gravitational acceleration of the Earth).

Catch-and-release sizes restrict what sizes of catch of various species can be kept, generally to protect stocks. There may be minimum sizes (to protect young fish and ensure that they can reach mature reproductive age) or maximum sizes (to protect existing breeding populations). The title text claims the Earth is large enough to be kept, suggesting that {{w|planetesimals}} ({{w|asteroids}} and {{w|comets}}, for example) might be considered immature, and that they might be expected to grow to 'adult' planet size.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[Ponytail and Beret Guy are sitting on a boat in the ocean. Fish are seen swimming in the water. Megan has a fishing rod that is about halfway down to the ocean floor. Beret Guy's fishing hook is hooked onto the sea floor.]
:Beret Guy: It feels like a big one! At least 1024 kilograms!

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Sport]]
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]

3179: Fishing

2025-12-11T15:13:24Z

Potatocakethrow:

Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy

2025-12-11T15:12:19Z

Potatocakethrow:

[[Beret Guy]] is a very strange person. Sometimes he takes these strange tendencies into the supernatural.

'''Click''' to expand for a more detailed explanation:
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed leftAlign" style="width:100%">
 
==Explanation==
In the early comics he was mostly just a strange and naive guy. There is an early start to the strangeness, but that power could also be attributed to [[Cueball]] (at least it is a shared power) in [[248]].

From comic [[1088]], Beret Guy begins to appear frequently with these strange powers, typically not related to each other, except that he has some issues with electrical sockets and power cords as seen in [[1293]] and [[1395]]. (See also [[509: Induced Current]] and the title text of [[614: Woodpecker]], regarding power cords, but not these strange powers.) He is also capable of waiting for very long time as seen both in [[1088]], [[1617]] and [[2987]].

Many of these apparent powers manifest as objects behaving strangely around him. It is unclear whether these are in fact powers inherent to Beret Guy or whether the objects are simply cursed; as indicated in [[1772]], most of his possessions were acquired from shops specializing in cursed items.

Here is a list of the comics where Beret Guy displays strange powers that are beyond the realm of possibility.

===List of abilities===
#[[248]]: Manages to create a hypothetical situation (trapping him and his friend).
#[[1032]]: Photocopies a burrito
#[[1088]]: Capable of waiting in the same place for five years, presumably without sustenance
#[[1099]]: He has infinite wings.
#[[1135]]: Makes spiders weave him a shirt.
#[[1158]]: Creates a rubber sheet to pull & release ball via his imagination.
#[[1293]]: Pours soup from power socket.
#[[1388]]: Subducts through the floor to form mountains in his room.
#[[1395]]: Inflates a laptop through a power cord so that it floats like a helium balloon.
#[[1422]]: Makes a phone with an old battery behave like a dying star.
#[[1486]]: Uses the vacuum energy to fly and "gain unlimited power" with a vacuum cleaner.
#[[1490]]: Sees the individual atoms, and can distinguish the different elements. But he cannot see what they are actually a part of, like a human or a dog.
#[[1522]]: Can examine life on exoplanets around distant stars through a magnifying glass just by standing on a ladder.
#[[1614]]: A little less clear what his powers are in this. But first he is walking a flying/floating dog, and then he returns flying on (or as) a kite, while the dog holds on to the line of the kite.
#[[1617]]: Living by eating newspaper and without breathing oxygen for several years in a sealed and buried box.
#[[1922]]: Riding in the air above two small dogs combined into a larger dog through interferometry
#[[2310]]: Being able to sleep on the vertical side of walls due to a much higher than normal attraction to the {{w|Great Attractor}}, because of higher dimensional bones.
#[[2325]]: Beret Guy attracts water so it flows to him rather than running out towards the nearby oceans. He thus claims he is like an endorheic basin, which is a limited drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water.
#[[2376]]: Claims to have the ability to do battle with ghosts, although this is not shown because Beret Guy did not have a cursed amulet that makes ghosts angry.
#[[2446]]: He creates a huge spike protein outside his body after receiving the [[:Category:COVID-19_vaccine|COVID-19 vaccine]].
#[[2534]]: He managed to create a retractable "rocket" that can extend and deliver payload to the ISS and then return to its starting position without the base ever leaving the ground.
#[[2695]]: He created volcano seeds which, when planted, create a tiny volcano.
#[[2710]]: He created a hydroelectric dam that has achieved Q>1, meaning it has produced more water than has been put into it.
#[[2805]]: He flew off into the atmosphere holding a balloon and a basketball and survived for 1500 years, and then proceeded to get the perfect trick shot.
#[[2850]]: By changing the setting for his house in Google Map he can make himself chief of the police forcing them to do as he says.
#[[2987]]: He stands still for an entire 20 years, presumably without any food or water, to tectonic surf; although he only moved about a meter in that time.
#[[3046]]: Using a family tree site he manages to click his way back to find that he is related to {{w|Stromatolites}} fro a few billions years ago.
#[[3179]]: When fishing, his rod gets stuck on a rock, and he can immediately measure the weight of the whole Earth by the pull on the rod.
</div>
 

[[Category:Comics by topic]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]