explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:3159: Continents

2025-10-24T23:29:44Z

Redacted II:

FIRST (ignore the timestamps) --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 13:59, 24 October 2025 (UTC)
:More first. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 15:26, 24 October 2025 (UTC)
::Firstest (don't ignore the timestamps) [[Special:Contributions/164.90.218.225|164.90.218.225 (via pigeon mail)]] 10:35, 23 June 1508 (UTC)

hi - [[Special:Contributions/97.64.61.191|97.64.61.191]] 13:40, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

I added a transcription. [[User:Artem|Artem]] ([[User_talk:Artem|talk]]) 14:00, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

Related: [https://youtube.com/watch?v=T1-cES1Ekto Continental Drift: Alfred Wegener Song by The Amoeba People] [[User:Solomon|Solomon]] ([[User talk:Solomon|talk]]) 15:55, 24 October 2025 (UTC)
:Related: [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3159:_Continents&diff=prev&oldid=389482 comment drift]. [[Special:Contributions/64.201.132.210|64.201.132.210]] 18:31, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

Is this referencing any particular actual statements by Armstrong or other astronauts? [[Special:Contributions/130.44.139.195|130.44.139.195]] 23:12, 24 October 2025 (UTC)
:Probably not. [[User:Redacted II|Redacted II]] ([[User talk:Redacted II|talk]]) 23:29, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

Talk:3159: Continents

2025-10-24T23:29:32Z

Redacted II:

FIRST (ignore the timestamps) --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 13:59, 24 October 2025 (UTC)
:More first. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 15:26, 24 October 2025 (UTC)
::Firstest (don't ignore the timestamps) [[Special:Contributions/164.90.218.225|164.90.218.225 (via pigeon mail)]] 10:35, 23 June 1508 (UTC)

hi - [[Special:Contributions/97.64.61.191|97.64.61.191]] 13:40, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

I added a transcription. [[User:Artem|Artem]] ([[User_talk:Artem|talk]]) 14:00, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

Related: [https://youtube.com/watch?v=T1-cES1Ekto Continental Drift: Alfred Wegener Song by The Amoeba People] [[User:Solomon|Solomon]] ([[User talk:Solomon|talk]]) 15:55, 24 October 2025 (UTC)
:Related: [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3159:_Continents&diff=prev&oldid=389482 comment drift]. [[Special:Contributions/64.201.132.210|64.201.132.210]] 18:31, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

Is this referencing any particular actual statements by Armstrong or other astronauts? [[Special:Contributions/130.44.139.195|130.44.139.195]] 23:12, 24 October 2025 (UTC)
:Probably not.[[User:Redacted II|Redacted II]] ([[User talk:Redacted II|talk]]) 23:29, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

Talk:3146: Fantastic Four

2025-09-24T22:04:30Z

Redacted II:

And everyone wonders why that Franklin Richards kid is a little off...
[[Special:Contributions/2601:8C3:8682:1FC0:9DB2:6777:1660:1D9C|2601:8C3:8682:1FC0:9DB2:6777:1660:1D9C]] 20:32, 24 September 2025 (UTC)

Could be worse. In Star Trek, the kid would be born 2 centuries in the past. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 21:06, 24 September 2025 (UTC)

Spoilers, Randall, spoilers...I'm sure there are other people who missed the theatrical release and are waiting for it to hit Disney+... [[Special:Contributions/128.4.149.3|128.4.149.3]] 21:22, 24 September 2025 (UTC)
:It's probably fine, the movie came out... two months ago.
:Holy shit it only came out two months ago. [[User:Redacted II|Redacted II]] ([[User talk:Redacted II|talk]]) 22:04, 24 September 2025 (UTC)

3146: Fantastic Four

2025-09-24T22:03:06Z

Redacted II: /* Explanation */ Title text

{{comic
| number = 3146
| date = September 24, 2025
| title = Fantastic Four
| image = fantastic_four_2x.png
| imagesize = 343x388px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = One perk of being born at 0.88c is that your birthday is over two days long.
}}

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

The comic is a pun on the {{w|Oberth effect}}, which causes orbital maneuvers to be more efficient when deep into a gravitational well.
The movie referenced is {{w|The_Fantastic_Four:_First_Steps|The Fantastic Four: First Steps}}, released in 2025.

The title text states that being born at 88% the speed of light results in a birthday thats almost two days long. This is due to time dilation.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:Ponytail: In the new ''Fantastic Four'' movie, their ship doesn't have enough fuel to get home and Sue Storm goes into labor, so they slingshot around a neutron star and fire their engines at periapsis — as sue has her baby — to get a boost.
:Cueball: Ah yes, the Obirth effect.
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

2698: Bad Date

2025-09-19T03:12:38Z

Redacted II: /* Explanation */ reword

{{comic
| number = 2698
| date = November 14, 2022
| title = Bad Date
| image = bad_date_2x.png
| imagesize = 666x261px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = "Even split between us, this will pay way better than the Jumanji sponsorship I came into the date with."
}}

==Explanation==

This comic is a spoof of Internet {{w|Influencer marketing|influencers}}. These are people with large social media followings who mention products in their videos in exchange for payment from the companies that produce these products, as a form of advertising.

In the comic, Megan and Cueball are not intentionally live-streaming their date, but someone around them is uploading video footage of their date, because they were having an argument about the movie {{w|Jumanji}}. Megan realized that they can capitalize on this by getting a sponsor.

The argument then shifts to whether they're going to sleep together after the date. Cueball says he won't go home with Megan because she doesn't have the [[2096|mattress brand sold by their sponsor]]. She responds by pointing out a feature of that brand: their same-day delivery policy. This argument could easily be a TV commercial for the mattress, though Cueball's ultimate retort suggests (whether he wants it to or not) that there still won't be a "happy ending" conclusion to this play-acting, either fictionally or once real life resumes.

The title text hints, however, that Megan was already before the date going to promote the {{w|Jumanji (franchise)|Jumanji franchise}}, for her own gain. Megan's realization that she could not discuss this subject since Cueball had not seen it leads to her initial reaction starting their date to be shared, but not for the reason she had anticipated. But then when she sees they are still going viral, she is ready to use this new situation to bring in a lot of "mattress money". And as it turns out even when splitting with Cueball she will earn more. Since Cueball presumably came into the date with the intention of finding a romantic partner rather than gaining a sponsorship, he will probably get even less happy with Megan. Alternatively, as he plays along with her in the last frame, he may see this as an acceptable or even preferable arrangement (considering that the date wasn't going all too well in the first place).

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are sitting at a table in a restaurant with their meals still on their plate and filled wine glasses. Megan hands her cellphone over the table to Cueball.]
:Megan: ''Psst — this date is going so badly that the people around us are posting it live.''
:Megan: ''Look.''

:[Zoom in just on Cueball in his chair. He is holding the cellphone while he sees a video. What the video shows is shown above him in a frame. The "video" window shows a scene from earlier in their date. And below the picture there is a title and below that an eye with the number of followers shown. In the scene they are sitting as in the first panel, but both have their arms raised. Cueball's arms towards Megan and she has her arms above her head. Small lines from above her head from where her speech line comes out indicates that she is agitated and speaks loudly.]
:Megan in video: Unbelievable– Have you even ''seen'' Jumanji?
:Video caption: Date disaster 252k following
:Cueball: ''Oh no.''

:[Zoom in on Megan in her chair.]
:Megan: ''But it's okay: I got us a sponsorship.''
:Megan: ''You just need to play along...''

:[Scene expands to include the two nearest people at the two nearby tables. Both are typing frantically at their phones, (indicated with vibration lines on either side of their phones), using both hands, to document the date disaster live. Ponytail is to the left of them with food on her plate and a glass of water on her table and Hairy is to the right with a wine glass on his table. Cueball has raised one hand with a finger pointing up. Megan points a finger towards Cueball but is looking down at her phone held up in the other hand, to check their following.]
:Cueball: I could '''''never''''' go home with someone with such bad taste in mattresses. I need the soft support of the ProFirm 3000.®
:Megan: Wait, I can order one! With same-day delivery, it can–
:Cueball: '''You had your chance.'''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Social networking]]

3120: Geologic Periods

2025-07-26T15:42:09Z

Redacted II: /* Explanation */ shifting period

{{comic
| number = 3120
| date = July 25, 2025
| title = Geologic Periods
| image = geologic_periods_2x.png
| imagesize = 611x557px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Geologists claim it's because the earlier Cenozoic used to be called the Tertiary, but that's just a ruse to hide the secret third geologic period, between the Neogene and the Quaternary, that they won't tell us about.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a Cretaceous raptor. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

{| class="wikitable"
!Period
!Dates (millions of years ago)
!My Favorite Part
!My Biggest Complaint
!Explanation
|-
|Precambrian
|4500-539
|Life develops
|Snowball Earth episodes
|The {{w|Precambrian}} (italicized in the comic since it's not a {{w|Period (geology)|geologic period}}) is the first 88% of Earth's history, including the time 4.1 to 3.4 billion years ago when life on Earth began. The {{w|Snowball Earth}} hypothesis says that during some time spans in the past, Earth became nearly or entirely frozen, with no liquid water on the surface. It's related to the idea of the {{w|Greenhouse_and_icehouse_Earth#Icehouse_Earth|icehouse Earth}}, times when the planet fluctuates between glacial and interglacial periods (such as now).
|-
|{{w|Cambrian}}
|539-487
|Trilobites!
|Evolution could stand to calm down a little
|The {{w|Cambrian explosion}} was a sudden radiation of complex life forms when nearly all important animal phyla, or precursors to them, appeared.
|-
|{{w|Ordovician}}
|487-443
|Earth might have had rings
|Scary volcanic eruption in North America
|Due to the non-random location of impact of one type of meteorite, {{w|Rings_of_Earth|it is proposed}} that those have formed a planetary ring system around Earth before colliding with it.
|-
|{{w|Silurian}}
|443-420
|First land animals
|Earth's newfound mold problem
|
|-
|{{w|Devonian}}
|420-359
|Big mountains in Boston
|Yeah, sure, what those giant killer fish needed was armor
|
|-
|{{w|Carboniferous}}
|359-299
|Cool forests
|Bugs too big
|The {{w|Carboniferous#Terrestrial_invertebrates|'bugs' in this period}} included the largest-ever known land invertebrate, a {{w|Arthropleura|2.6-m (8.5-ft) millipede-like animal}}; the largest-ever known flying insect, resembling a {{w|Meganeura|dragonfly with a wingspan of ~75 cm (30 in)}}; and a {{w|Pulmonoscorpius|70 cm (2 ft 4 in) scorpion}}.
|-
|{{w|Permian}}
|299-252
|Pangea
|Google "The Great Dying"
|{{w|Pangaea}} was the most recent supercontinent containing nearly all of Earth's landmass. The Great Dying, more formally known as the {{w|Permian-Triassic extinction event}}, occurred at the end of the Permian and is the most severe of Earth's {{w|Extinction_event#The_"Big_Five"_mass_extinctions|'Big Five' mass extinction events}}. In it, 81% of marine species and 70% of terrestrial vertebrate species were wiped out.
|-
|{{w|Triassic}}
|252-201
|Tanystropheus
|Damage to Canada still visible from space at Manicouagan
|{{w|Tanystropheus}} was a basal archosaur (not a dinosaur) with a proportionally long neck. {{w|Manicouagan Reservoir}} is a ring-shaped lake, the remains of the crater caused by a 5-km (3-mi) asteroid hitting {{w|Quebec}}.
|-
|{{w|Jurassic}}
|201-143
|Birds
|Parasitoid wasps
|Birds are cool.{{Citation needed}} Parasitoid wasps are not; their reproduction cycle is such a grisly process that it caused a {{w|Ichneumonidae#Darwin_and_the_Ichneumonidae|crisis of faith}} among 19th-century European scholars.
|-
|{{w|Cretaceous}}
|143-66
|Raptors
|Raptors
|[[:Category:Velociraptors|Raptors]]
|-
|{{w|Paleogene}}
|66-23
|Pretty horseys!!!
|Paleocene-eocene thermal maximum
|The {{w|Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum}} was a time where the global average temperature rose by around 5-8 °C in a relatively short period of time.
|-
|{{w|Neogene}}
|23-2.6
|Forests of Dracaena dragonblood trees
|Zanclean flood
|Dracaena draco and Dracaena cinnabari trees are a source of dragon's blood, a naturally occurring bright red resin with uses including as a varnish and a dye.
The {{w|Zanclean flood}} is theorized to be the flood that refilled the Mediterranean Sea.
|-
|{{w|Quaternary}}
|2.6-present
|Burrito invented
|Whoever picked the name for the third period of the Cenozoic
|Randall jokes that, in the last 2.6 million years, his favorite moment was the invention of the {{w|burrito}}, rather than many other, much more significant discoveries. The precise origin of the burrito is not known, but the {{w|Maya civilization}} used to make food resembling burritos as early as 1500 BC.
The third period of the {{w|Cenozoic}} Era is the Quaternary era, named by Jules Desnoyers in 1829. This naming is controversial; the {{w|International Commission on Stratigraphy}} is proposing to abolish it.
|}

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

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

3115: Unsolved Physics Problems

2025-07-15T04:53:02Z

Redacted II: /* Transcript */ correct name

{{comic
| number = 3115
| date = July 14, 2025
| title = Unsolved Physics Problems
| image = unsolved_physics_problems_2x.png
| imagesize = 699x422px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'Tin pest' makes more sense to me. Tin just doesn't want to be locked down in a shape like that. I get it. But why would any metal want to grow hair??
}}

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

==Transcript==

{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
: [A Feynman diagram of two particles interacting via the electromagnetic force is to the right of Cueball]
: Cueball: What is the nature of time in quantum gravity? Is it a background parameter, a dynamic aspect of spacetime, or an emergent phenomenon?

: [A scientific instrument, presumably the S.A.G.E Gallium Neutrino Capture Experiment, is to Megan's left]
: Megan: Why does the S.A.G.E Gallium Neutrino Capture Experiment produce only 75% as much Germanium as predicted?

: [A rectnagular block of zinc, with whiskers growing out of it, is visible to the right of White Hat]
: White Hat: Why does some metal randomly grow hairs?
: White Hat: It keeps causing short circuits and we have no idea what's going on.
: Voice from off-panel: Is this a joke?
: White Hat: No! Please Help!

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

3115: Unsolved Physics Problems

2025-07-15T04:52:29Z

Redacted II: /* Transcript */ More details

{{comic
| number = 3115
| date = July 14, 2025
| title = Unsolved Physics Problems
| image = unsolved_physics_problems_2x.png
| imagesize = 699x422px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'Tin pest' makes more sense to me. Tin just doesn't want to be locked down in a shape like that. I get it. But why would any metal want to grow hair??
}}

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

==Transcript==

{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
: [A graph of two particles interacting via the electromagnetic force is to the right of Cueball]
: Cueball: What is the nature of time in quantum gravity? Is it a background parameter, a dynamic aspect of spacetime, or an emergent phenomenon?

: [A scientific instrument, presumably the S.A.G.E Gallium Neutrino Capture Experiment, is to Megan's left]
: Megan: Why does the S.A.G.E Gallium Neutrino Capture Experiment produce only 75% as much Germanium as predicted?

: [A rectnagular block of zinc, with whiskers growing out of it, is visible to the right of White Hat]
: White Hat: Why does some metal randomly grow hairs?
: White Hat: It keeps causing short circuits and we have no idea what's going on.
: Voice from off-panel: Is this a joke?
: White Hat: No! Please Help!

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

3115: Unsolved Physics Problems

2025-07-15T04:49:03Z

Redacted II: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 3115
| date = July 14, 2025
| title = Unsolved Physics Problems
| image = unsolved_physics_problems_2x.png
| imagesize = 699x422px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'Tin pest' makes more sense to me. Tin just doesn't want to be locked down in a shape like that. I get it. But why would any metal want to grow hair??
}}

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

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
: Cueball: What is the nature of time in quantum gravity? Is it a background parameter, a dynamic aspect of spacetime, or an emergent phenomenon?

: Megan: Why does the S.A.G.E Gallium Neutrino Capture Experiment produce only 75% as much Germanium as predicted?

: White Hat: Why does some metal randomly grow hairs?
: White Hat: It keeps causing short circuits and we have no idea what's going on.
: Voice from off-panel: Is this a joke?
: White Hat: No! Please Help!

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

3115: Unsolved Physics Problems

2025-07-15T04:48:32Z

Redacted II: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 3115
| date = July 14, 2025
| title = Unsolved Physics Problems
| image = unsolved_physics_problems_2x.png
| imagesize = 699x422px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'Tin pest' makes more sense to me. Tin just doesn't want to be locked down in a shape like that. I get it. But why would any metal want to grow hair??
}}

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

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
Cueball: What is the nature of time in quantum gravity? Is it a background parameter, a dynamic aspect of spacetime, or an emergent phenomenon?

Megan: Why does the S.A.G.E Gallium Neutrino Capture Experiment produce only 75% as much Germanium as predicted?

White Hat: Why does some metal randomly grow hairs?
White Hat: It keeps causing short circuits and we have no idea what's going on.
Voice from off-panel: Is this a joke?
White Hat: No! Please Help!

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

Talk:3113: Fix This Sign

2025-07-10T00:18:07Z

Redacted II:

I'm not certain, but this feels like Black Hat's doing (who's doing this for the irritation factor, not the money). [[Special:Contributions/2001:1C02:1A9D:9700:9DCE:6FD1:E813:D91B|2001:1C02:1A9D:9700:9DCE:6FD1:E813:D91B]] 20:15, 9 July 2025 (UTC)
:He could easily be doing it for both. Putting up this sign and then not fixing it when people actually pay sounds like the stunt he would pull. [[Special:Contributions/2601:647:8500:1E09:8424:D57A:75C9:D207|2601:647:8500:1E09:8424:D57A:75C9:D207]] 20:38, 9 July 2025 (UTC)
:The caption says "my," so it seems this would be Randall.--[[Special:Contributions/2600:100F:B13F:CB34:0:1E:BAC1:7001|2600:100F:B13F:CB34:0:1E:BAC1:7001]] 22:02, 9 July 2025 (UTC)
What happens when everything is bought? Does the sign just stay up? Does it reset after a while? Is it removed? [[Special:Contributions/2601:647:8500:1E09:8424:D57A:75C9:D207|2601:647:8500:1E09:8424:D57A:75C9:D207]] 20:40, 9 July 2025 (UTC)

the s and the i in "SIGN" are also too close to each other [[User:An user who has no account yet|An user who has no account yet]] ([[User talk:An user who has no account yet|talk]]) 22:00, 9 July 2025 (UTC)
This feels like a continuation of My Hobby, or perhaps a sequel series. Also, how do we know that the prices aren't typos? The true value could be WAY more expensive. [[User:Redacted II|Redacted II]] ([[User talk:Redacted II|talk]]) 00:18, 10 July 2025 (UTC)

1788: Barge

2025-05-23T17:55:01Z

Redacted II: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1788
| date = January 20, 2017
| title = Barge
| image = barge.png
| titletext = My life goal is to launch a barge into the air and have it land on one of Elon Musk's rockets.
}}

==Explanation==
This is another comic in the [[:Category:My Hobby|My Hobby series]]. This one is depicted with three drawings illustrating the core concept and explained in detail in the caption. The launch company {{w|SpaceX}} has developed a reusable rocket system, where the {{w|multi-stage rocket|first rocket stage}} is capable of landing back on either the launch pad or an {{w|autonomous spaceport drone ship}} after launch (See [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEr9cPpuAx8 this video] displaying both types of landing, from when the sea landing was successful the first time). The landing pads and ships are decorated with a "X" symbol from the SpaceX logo, with the center of the X being the desired landing spot.{{Citation needed}}

Randall imagines creating a similar-looking barge and placing it near the intended landing site, except his barge's platform would be hollow in the middle with only a sheet of paper supporting the part where the rocket would land. Since the paper is painted to look just like the real landing platform, the goal of this setup is presumably to trick a returning first stage rocket into falling into the sea. This is the same concept as the old {{w|trapping pit}}. If a rocket attempts to land on Randall's barge, it will quickly burn through the paper and fall through the hole.

There are several reasons why this setup would not work in real life. First, the rocket actually navigates to the landing site using GPS coordinates shared with the real barge. It does not use cameras to identify its landing site and will not recognize another barge based solely on a painted logo. Also, a wide area around the rocket's flight path would be restricted around the launch window due to safety concerns. Vessels that are not part of the official launch plan would not be allowed in the area. Even if the fake barge manages to enter the area and does not get removed by authorities, at most it will cause the launch to be cancelled for the day. From a practical perspective, Randall would need to sabotage the actual barge without anyone at SpaceX noticing. Additionally, the booster lands several hundred kilometers downrange, and not directly offshore.

This "my hobby" is probably the most destructive one so far, as it would result in the total loss of the first stage containing nine space rocket engines. The costs associated with buying and remodeling a barge would also likely make this the most expensive hobby, even disregarding the costs to others, though it could potentially be reused if it did not get destroyed by the falling rocket. This hobby seems more appropriate for [[Black Hat]], considering that he is a real [[classhole]], and goes to show that Black Hat is as much part of Randall's personality as [[Cueball]].

The title text plays on the incredible difficulty of landing a rocket on a barge. Reusing rockets like this is a feat that has only recently become possible, some 60 years after the launch of the first satellite {{w|Sputnik 1}}. SpaceX, founded by [[Elon Musk]], was the first (and so far, only) organization to do so successfully. {{w|Blue Origin}} is also currently testing reusable rockets and achieved [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNRs2gMyLLk landing their first stage] before SpaceX, albeit [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8c7RUjNFDo only on land and only with a sub-orbital rocket].

Thus Randall imagines an even more implausible idea of turning the scenario upside down and getting a barge to land on one of Elon Musk's rockets. That would be a spectacular feat of engineering, and the challenges it presents as well as its inherent irony appear to satisfy Randall so much that he would make it into one of his life goals. Launching a barge in the first place would be tremendously difficult - they are big, heavy, and not very {{w|aerodynamic}}. Maneuvering it through the air precisely enough to come down on top of a rocket would be difficult as well. The barge (and probably the rocket) would have to be redesigned if the goal is a soft landing, otherwise the falling barge would certainly destroy the rocket and possibly itself.

This comic was published on the week following SpaceX's {{w|List_of_Falcon_9_and_Falcon_Heavy_launches#2017|Iridium 1 mission}}, where the first stage of the rocket which delivered 10 satellites into orbit successfully landed on a barge near California. This was [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLz-M7pki7U filmed from the returning stage 1] and also [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78AxtAyW4Vo from further away]. More details of the launch are available [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8wy5sQ2JDE here]. It marked the seventh time SpaceX successfully landed and recovered its booster on a commercial mission.

==Transcript==
:[There is one panel in this comic with the main drawing at the bottom. Two smaller drawings are inserted above this drawing to explain the idea.]

:[The first insert shows a barge with no center and a large piece of paper with the SpaceX logo above the barge.]

:[The second insert shows the paper stretched over the hole.]

:[The main drawing at the bottom shows a cross-section of the barge in water, showing there is only water below the paper. Above the paper the large first stage, without the top part with the payload, of a reusable rocket is attempting to land on the paper on the SpaceX logo (not visible in this view). It is still so high above the fake barge that the exhaust fire below the rocket is nowhere near the paper.]

:[Caption below the panels:]
:My hobby: Hollowing out the center of a barge, stretching paper over the hole painted with the SpaceX logo, and leaving it floating offshore near launch sites.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Elon Musk]]
[[Category:Rockets]]

Talk:3063: Planet Definitions

2025-03-14T19:37:27Z

Redacted II:

The one currently posted has Pluto highlighted in the second box and not highlighted in the first box. Too hard to tell if it's trolling or a genuine mistake. :-D

And the first one also has a moon hilighted instead I think?? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.5|162.158.126.5]] 15:59, 14 March 2025 (UTC)

:Was about to write the same. The coloring in the first two lines arund Pluto seem wrong (or mistankingly switched). --[[Special:Contributions/172.71.222.246|172.71.222.246]] 16:17, 14 March 2025 (UTC)

the coloring of Pluto does look inverted in the two first lines, they probably got switched by mistake--[[Special:Contributions/172.71.90.43|172.71.90.43]] 17:28, 14 March 2025 (UTC)

This, this is the hill I will die on. I was radicalised by this paper: [https://arxiv.org/abs/2110.15285 Moons Are Planets: "Scientific Usefulness Versus Cultural Teleology in the Taxonomy of Planetary Science"]
In short; planets are what planetary scientists study. Round things with the *good stuff*: atmospheres, oceans, volcanoes (of lava or water ice) (see diagram page 53).
Pluto, Titan, Ceres, Io and Europa are all in the sweet spot where you're not so small you're just a lump of rocks who happen to be stuck together into a lump, and not so large you're just a mostly undifferentiated mass of fusing hydrogen/helium plasma.
And it's consistent with our pre-20th Century understanding of what a planet is, whereas the IAU definition is trying to preserve 19th Century astrology. An amazing read and a strong recommend for anyone who cares about this subject. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.138|172.69.79.138]] 16:45, 14 March 2025 (UTC)

Does this sort of count as pi-related for pi day? [[User:TomtheBuilder|TomtheBuilder]] ([[User talk:TomtheBuilder|talk]]) 17:04, 14 March 2025 (UTC)
:he doesn't do themed comics anymore 😔 [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 17:12, 14 March 2025 (UTC)

I was somewhat disappointed to get to the end of the table without seeing either an astrology or Sailor Moon joke. -- [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 18:12, 14 March 2025 (UTC)

Is it possible that Uranus is marked under "Empiricist" because of the "Randall has seen Uranus" joke? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.42.178|172.70.42.178]] 18:38, 14 March 2025 (UTC)

The "{{w|Classical planet|Classical Planets}}" should be 7, including the Sun and the Moon.

Wouldn't the Regolithic one depend on the exact definitions of "dirt", "ice", and "covered"? It seems that an argument could be made that the giant planets also count there but have a much thicker atmosphere on the outside, and disqualifying because of the atmosphere could exclude others like Earth depending on the exact threshold used. [[User:SammyChips|SammyChips]] ([[User talk:SammyChips|talk]]) 19:08, 14 March 2025 (UTC)

Has Randall not seen the sun before?
:I'm impressed that he has seen Uranus (unless that actually is a joke), especially if he saw it unaided (apparently it actually can be barely seen with the naked eye if the conditions are incredibly good). [[User:SammyChips|SammyChips]] ([[User talk:SammyChips|talk]]) 19:36, 14 March 2025 (UTC)

Technically, spacecraft have landed on Mercury, Jupiter, and Saturn. Just not in a survivable manner. [[User:Redacted II|Redacted II]] ([[User talk:Redacted II|talk]]) 19:37, 14 March 2025 (UTC)

Talk:2309: X

2025-03-05T19:33:12Z

Redacted II:

id certainly use that language lol ([[User talk:172.69.70.101|172.69.70.101]])

-- haXkell is a X-based dialect of haskell 
X :: Integer -> Integer 
X 0 = 1 
X X = X * X (X-1) 
[[User:Capncanuck|Capncanuck]] ([[User talk:Capncanuck|talk]]) 02:35, 21 May 2020 (UTC)

https://esolangs.org/wiki/X isn't taken. --[[User:Blacksilver|Blacksilver]] ([[User talk:Blacksilver|talk]]) 02:40, 21 May 2020 (UTC)
: It has been taken as expexted. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.69|108.162.245.69]] 05:24, 18 June 2022 (UTC)

Some unique looking variable names would be X and x in the fonts Webdings, Wingdings, Wingdings 2, and Wingdings 3. 
They are respectively as follows: 
X
x
X
x
X
x
X
x --[[User:Dstrube|Dstrube]] ([[User talk:Dstrube|talk]]) 02:49, 21 May 2020 (UTC) 
:This comment is quite uninformative to someone who doesn't have those fonts installed. [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 09:57, 21 May 2020 (UTC)
:: This comment highlights another issue with Cueball's language. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 11:22, 21 May 2020 (UTC)

As well as esolangs, among which I would consider the likes of Whitespace and b****fuck as potential inspirations, I think I'm also minded of TempleOS and its creator as vaguer but possibly still related influences... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.163|162.158.158.163]] 03:28, 21 May 2020 (UTC)
:I find it ironic that you censored the word "brain" but left in the word "fuck".
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 16:09, 21 May 2020 (UTC)

I added an explanation of what a variable is and why it's bad to have every one named X. It's pretty rudimentary though, hope someone more experienced than me will improve it. [[User:Unpopular Opinions|Goodbye, world!]] ([[User talk:Unpopular Opinions|talk]]) 04:39, 21 May 2020 (UTC)

:Forth basically doesn't use variable names. Commands operate on and consume the last number mentioned. A Forth program "1 2 3 . . ." prints 3, then 2, then 1. "2 3 + ." prints 5 I think??
:In Microsoft "Transact-SQL" you can script variables named starting @ and temporary objects starting #. I promise I try to resist naming objects @ or # and especially if @ or # is going to be a different object in each program... or is not. And if someone else needs to reads this (and I don't want to punish them). Not to mention "@ " for instance. Robert Carnegie rja.carnegie@gmail.com [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.54|141.101.98.54]] 09:21, 21 May 2020 (UTC)

Psh you're all chicken. Chicken chicken chicken.

[[https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/677507038607048704/713790097232756867/unknown.png Language where you can have return keyword in a if condition]],
[[https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/677507038607048704/713791559371456652/unknown.png Language that uses unicode symbols for built_in operators]],
[[https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/677507038607048704/712915431446282240/unknown.png Language, I have no words to describe]],
and this this '''X''' thing is winning so far...
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.139|162.158.89.139]] 06:35, 21 May 2020 (UTC)

:Yeah, but C++ does that shit either '''unintentionally''' or '''at user demand''' (although, to be clear, I'm not saying it's any good; C++ and Java are possibly the worst programming languages in terms of shoddy design). The X programming language is just the designer being an asshole. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.205|172.68.189.205]] 07:04, 21 May 2020 (UTC)
::Those links have nothing to do with C++/Java and you can Not do those things in C++ or Java (except an if in an assignment).[[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.208|162.158.92.208]] 08:02, 21 May 2020 (UTC)
:Those look like pretty sane language features; just looks weird because of the Eliza effect; those keywords don't behave like you'd expect them to based on experience of other languages. In the first example, you can certainly do that in Perl using "if (defined wantarray)"; it's just unusual (but comprehensible) to name the keyword "return". What language is that? [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 09:57, 21 May 2020 (UTC)
::Language is called ShapedLikeItSelf, but it currently has no runner. Documentation is just of images like these on discord server.
::[[https://discord.gg/ercPss9 This is link to it]] if you are intersted. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.19|162.158.89.19]] 10:19, 21 May 2020 (UTC)

Did Randall refer to this comic? https://xkcd.com/1537/
I vaguely remember another one about an esoteric language. Is there a category of programming languages on explainxkcd?

Am I the only one that tried fiddling the CSS on the page to see if the X would change? Spoiler -> It didn't. [[User:Xseo|Xseo]] ([[User talk:Xseo|talk]]) 08:54, 21 May 2020 (UTC)

If X is the only variable name, can it be omitted? For example, writing a single-argument function name in a different font to imply which X should be treated as its argument. And that gets me wondering how the source is stored; will the IDE allow use of fonts not installed on your system? Will the compiler fail if it can't find the font, requiring you to track down all of the fonts a developer used in order to compile their code? And what would be the legality of mixing open-source code and proprietary fonts? [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 09:57, 21 May 2020 (UTC)

"… and array indices start at 8, because anything smaller than that would be unreadable." [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 10:00, 21 May 2020 (UTC)

Who is going to implement this first??[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.122|108.162.216.122]] 13:03, 21 May 2020 (UTC)

Hey guys what coding language did he do to almost be arrested? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.187.139|162.158.187.139]] 14:18, 21 May 2020 (UTC)Anonymous
:Well, I've got this one with just four operands, everything's a relative address in 4-cored circular memory and there's no paractical differentiation between the packed opcodes, addresses and data (or their 2-bit lower-limit boundaries) when operated upon from elsewhere. Everything suggests it should be be Turing-complete. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.242|162.158.155.242]] 11:47, 22 May 2020 (UTC)

Isn't the fixed vs variable width a pun on the variable's internal size, eg. a 64-bit integer [fixed width) vs a string (variable width) ?

I sure hope this new language at least supports indexed tuples. If so, that wouldn't be so bad, unless for some reason I needed more than one tuple in the same scope.[[User:Whiteheadw|Whiteheadw]] ([[User talk:Whiteheadw|talk]]) 23:01, 21 May 2020 (UTC)

Harrumph. I'm sticking with LOLcode http://www.lolcode.org/ and thats an end of it. [[User:Cellocgw|Cellocgw]] ([[User talk:Cellocgw|talk]]) 14:03, 22 May 2020 (UTC)

Is this a continuation of the [[:Category:Code Quality|Code Quality]] series? [[User:TomW1605|TomW1605]] ([[User talk:TomW1605|talk]]) 14:05, 22 May 2020 (UTC)

I'm not sure that this: "ℝ denotes the set of natural numbers, and is distinct from R" is strictly true. The way I was taught is that boldfaced R does stand for the real numbers, except when it doesn't, and blackboard-bold ℝ (and Q, and C, and Z) are just what you write on the blackboard since it's impossible to make a clear boldfaced R with chalk.
Not that the main point doesn't stand--too many circumstances where plain P, bold P, italic P, and fancy curly script P all mean different things. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.105|162.158.62.105]] 18:57, 22 May 2020 (UTC)

: Blackboard Bold isn't a reliable convention but, generally, '''N''' is the set of naturals, '''R''' reals. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackboard_bold [[Special:Contributions/172.68.143.30|172.68.143.30]] 20:32, 22 May 2020 (UTC)

And to continue on the "jab at mathematicians" line of thought... Either the recently mentioned P's or an "a vs alpha" (a in the Symbol font) or something similar might make better examples than that '''N''' in [[#Explanation]]... -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.19.37|162.158.19.37]] 16:41, 23 May 2020 (UTC)

A few ago it was Java and C++. And Xul. And JavaScript. And VB. And VB.Net. And C#. And Kotlin And M4. And Lua. And Python2. And Python3. And Perl. And PHP. And Typescript. But now everyone creates their own programming language => Perhaps we should make another law against introducing non-weird programming languages, too. [[User:Gunterkoenigsmann|Gunterkoenigsmann]] ([[User talk:Gunterkoenigsmann|talk]]) 07:12, 24 May 2020 (UTC)

This comic was [https://twitter.com/gvanrossum/status/1263323515542843392 tweeted] by Guido van Rossum (creator of Python), and [https://twitter.com/wirklichewelt/status/1263420906434703360 apparently] this is legal Python since [https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-3131/ PEP 3131]! [[User:Divieira|Divieira]] ([[User talk:Divieira|talk]]) 19:53, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

This is the only comic I have Noticed where the title is shorter than the number, Also You cold have upper and lower case X.
[[User:Gunterkoenigsmann|Gunterkoenigsmann]] ([[User talk:Gunterkoenigsmann|talk]]) 07:57, 09 Jun 2021 (UTC)
:If you scroll through [https://xkcd.com/archive/ the archive] you'll find plenty of 3-letter titles, many of these belonging to 4-digit comics. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 13:03, 10 June 2021 (UTC)

Is Twitter being rewritten in this language? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.174.174|172.68.174.174]] 14:50, 16 September 2023 (UTC)

This is similar to XKCD:3054, except 3054 used A instead of X. [[User:Redacted II|Redacted II]] ([[User talk:Redacted II|talk]]) 19:33, 5 March 2025 (UTC)

2258: Solar System Changes

2025-02-21T16:43:37Z

Redacted II: /* Table of proposed changes */ Removing

{{comic
| number = 2258
| date = January 22, 2020
| title = Solar System Changes
| image = solar_system_changes.png
| titletext = "Actually, Jupiter already has a very impressive ring system!" --someone who knows Jupiter is within earshot
}}

==Explanation==
This comic shows a drawing with a standard sketch of the {{w|Solar System}}, featuring the Sun, 8 planets, the asteroid belt, and Pluto. [[Randall]] then proposes eight changes to the solar system that he would make if he had the power to do so. Each change is drawn in red with explanatory labels. Performing these changes would be impossible in practice{{cn}} and would probably make the solar system unstable if actually performed.

This is another [[:Category:Comics with red annotations|comic containing red annotations]] over a complex and established structure.

The title text is being spoken by "someone who knows [that] Jupiter is within earshot," implying that the speaker does not wish to offend Jupiter. While Jupiter {{w|Rings of Jupiter|does have its own ring system}}, it is so faint that it wasn't discovered until 1979. Considering that Jupiter is known to disrupt the asteroid belt and send asteroids towards the inner solar system (cf. {{w|Kirkwood gap}}) and completely destroy other celestial bodies ({{w|Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9}}), someone who is "within earshot" of Jupiter may wish to reassure the planet that they think its ring system is already very impressive when they really don't.

==Table of proposed changes==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Proposed change !! Explanation
|-
| Add mysterious planets inside Mercury's orbit || In the 19th century, scientists found discrepancies between Mercury's predicted orbit and observations. They proposed a hypothetical planet, {{w|Vulcan (hypothetical planet)|Vulcan}}, to account for this discrepancy. After general relativity was discovered by Albert Einstein in the 20th century, it was found to account for these discrepancies.

Planets inside Mercury's orbit would be "mysterious" because they would be difficult to see (due to being above the horizon only during the day and a short period of twilight) or visit (spacecraft traveling inside Mercury's orbit are subject to enormous amounts of sunlight, causing them to overheat). If such planets existed, it's plausible that flybys wouldn't have occurred until very recently.
|-
| After what it's been through, Venus deserves rings and a moon || Billions of years ago, Venus and Earth are believed to have been almost identical objects orbiting the Sun. However, orbiting somewhat closer to the Sun, Venus became sufficiently hot that its oceans evaporated, cloaking the surface with gases that caused the Sun's heat to become trapped. This made the planet even hotter, causing a [[1519|runaway greenhouse effect]], and ultimately Venus became much hotter than the Earth. In turn, the lack of water caused Venerean plate tectonics to fail, causing Venus to have periodic "resurfacing" events where the entire crust is recycled by volcanism. On top of that, Venus was almost certainly hit by an enormous object, hard enough that its spin was completely reversed. Randall may be saying that Venus has fared so badly throughout its life that it deserves some compensation, like rings or a moon.

Alternatively, Randall could be referring to how we see Venus now as opposed to in the past. A hundred years ago, scientists considered Venus and Mars to be equally likely candidates for life and future human exploration - one being a little warmer than Earth and the other a little colder. However, when we sent spacecraft to Venus and Mars in the 1960s, we quickly discovered that [https://what-if.xkcd.com/30/ Venus is a terrible place]. Its atmosphere is more than 90 times as dense as Earth's and its surface temperature is over 450° C (800° F), not to mention the sulfuric acid rain. Spacecraft that have landed on its surface have lasted a couple hours at most. As a result, missions to Venus have become far rarer since the 1960s, while missions to Mars have remained frequent. Randall might be saying that most people don't consider Venus to be nearly as fascinating place as they used to, and that it would be far more interesting with rings, or at least a moon like Earth or Mars.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, some astronomers (most notably Giovanni Cassini) claimed to have found a {{w|Neith (hypothetical moon)|moon of Venus}}, but that was later determined to be an illusion.

Note that, due to the retrograde spin of Venus, any prograde-orbiting moon would inspiral due to tidal drag (the same effect causing the Moon to slowly move away from the Earth). It is unknown whether Venus used to have moons that were destroyed by this mechanism (possibly passing through a ring state in the process).
|-
| Replace our moon with Mars. Mars is more interesting and we can consolidate missions. || Mars has a lot more geological variety than the Moon, a much faster rotational period, and is much larger and has active weather patterns, and would therefore look far more interesting than the Moon when seen from Earth. In addition, by replacing Earth's current moon with Mars, sending spacecraft to the moon and Mars wouldn't require separate missions and could thus be consolidated into a single one. This would benefit NASA's space exploration efforts, which have suffered from presidents alternating targets for human exploration between "moon-to-Mars" versus "Mars direct" architectures.

Unfortunately, replacing our moon with Mars would have some negative side-effects for both worlds. Mars is 8.7 times more massive than the moon, which means that it would raise much stronger tides on Earth than our moon does now. As for Mars, it would now be significantly warmer than in its present orbit. The ice caps would likely sublimate, and what little water is left on the planet could boil away due to the lack of a thick atmosphere.

Incidentally, the Moon is thought to have been formed by an impact between the young Earth and a Mars-sized body. While Randall probably means well, the situation could get out of control very quickly.
|-
| The solar system needs a super-Earth || {{w|Super-Earth|Super-Earths}} are a type of {{w|Exoplanet|exoplanet}} -- a planet orbiting a star other than the Sun -- that are significantly larger than Earth but significantly smaller than the gas giant planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune). While they are relatively common among systems in which smaller exoplanets have been found, our Solar System doesn't have any super-Earths, and with Mars being moved to replace the Moon, its location would be open to a new planet. With a super-Earth nearby, astronomers would be able to get a much better idea of what they are like. A super-Earth might also be an exciting place to colonize, although [https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition30/tryanny.html it would not be possible to return to orbit from such a planet] with current rocket technology.
|-
| More asteroids! || Asteroid belts are usually portrayed in fiction as being incredibly crowded with asteroids, so much so that they pose a significant hazard for spaceships. In reality, the asteroid belt is much more boring, as most large asteroids are millions of miles from their nearest neighbor. The number of asteroids in the asteroid belt is indeterminate, as they range in size from dwarf planets {{w|Asteroid|down to about a meter across}}, and more than 100,000 have been found. Despite this, the density of asteroids in the belt is low enough that spacecraft have no problem flying through the belt untouched. Randall wants more asteroids.
|-
| Merge the big planet and the ringed planet into a big ringed planet ("Jaturn") || Jupiter is the largest planet, with a volume larger than all other planets combined, and it displays striking weather patterns such as the {{w|Great Red Spot}}. Saturn, with its prominent ring system, is perhaps the most spectacular, but the planet itself looks very bland with the exception of an enormous hexagonal storm at the north pole. Randall would merge the two, creating one planet that would dominate by both size and appearance. This new planet has Jupiter's cloud features, but Saturn's rings and [[Saturn Hexagon|polar hexagon]]. The two planets' moons would also be combined: the "Jaturn" diagram shows both the Galilean moons (the four largest moons of Jupiter) and Titan (the largest moon of Saturn) orbiting outside of Jaturn's rings.
|-
| Cut Uranus. Uranus and Neptune are redundant and Neptune is better. Tough but fair. || Uranus and Neptune are often regarded as being planetary "fraternal twins." Both have approximately the same size, the same mass, and the same composition - they even have similarly bizarre magnetic fields. Uranus's most notable trait is that its axial tilt is almost 98°, meaning it lies on its side and has a seasonal cycle unlike that of any other planet. However, this causes Uranus to look completely featureless most of the time, which makes it less interesting, while Neptune has more active weather patterns, including, episodically, a {{w|Great Dark Spot}} similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot. The name "Uranus" is also {{tvtropes|UranusIsShowing|subject to ridicule}} by English speakers. Randall also characterized Neptune as the slightly more interesting planet of the two in {{what if|30}}.
|-
| Settle the planet thing by making Pluto a moon of Neptune || Pluto was considered a planet from its discovery in 1930 until 2006, when the International Astronomical Union changed its definition of "planet" and reclassified Pluto as a dwarf planet. However, many people who grew up with Pluto listed as the ninth planet of the solar system were unhappy with the change, a topic that has been the topic of several other xkcd comics ([[473: Still Raw]], [[1551: Pluto]], [[1555: Exoplanet Names 2]], etc.). Randall proposes a {{w|Solomonic compromise}} to "satisfy" both the camps who prefer to think of Pluto as "not a dwarf planet" and "not a planet" by making it into a moon. The diagram shows that Charon will also be made a moon of Neptune, and presumably Pluto's other moons as well. Even if the entire Pluto system were transplanted all at once, tidal forces would cause the bodies to drift apart and orbit Neptune independently.

Interestingly, one of the original hypotheses for Pluto's origin is that it and Triton were originally both moons of Neptune, but Triton knocked Pluto out of its orbit into a new orbit around the sun, while Triton remained with Neptune.
|}

==Transcript==
:[A not-to-scale diagram of the solar system is shown with the right edge of the sun on the left side, featuring all eight planets along with their major moons, Pluto (along with its major moon), and the asteroid belt. The original solar system is drawn in black, but several changes have been proposed. If some of the existing planets are removed or changed, they are greyed out, possibly with red crosses over them or red circles or arrows. New planets, moons, rings and asteroids have been added all in red. Each change has been labeled with red text. Only the Sun and Mercury are completely unchanged, Earth and Neptune are not changed directly but their moons have changed. The only black text is a caption at the top:]
:<big>Changes I Would Make to the Solar System</big>

:[Below each of the changes to the solar system is mentioned from left to right, with their labels, that are all in red text. Except for the label under Jupiter and Saturn, there is a line going from the changes to the relevant label.]

:[Three additional planets, one Mercury sized and two smaller on either side very close to each other, have been drawn in between Mercury and the Sun. A bracket marks all three of them and a long line goes from that to the label above, which is even above the next label positioned above the planets.]
:Add mysterious planets inside Mercury's orbit

:[A ring has been drawn around Venus, and a dot representing a moon has been added on its left. A small line goes from the label beneath to Venus.]
:After what it's been through, Venus deserves rings and a moon

:[Next to Earth, drawn with four of the major continents visible, the Moon has been grayed out and crossed out with a red X. Also Mars has been grayed out and it is inside a red circle. An arrow goes from the circle around Mars to the Moon. a small line goes from the arrow between the Moon and Mars to the label above the planets.]
:Replace our moon with Mars. Mars is more interesting and we can consolidate missions.

:[An additional planet, all in red, has been added between Mars and the asteroid belt, about halfway in size between Earth and Neptune. Four continents are visible in a large ocean, along with weather patterns as in an atmosphere. A small line goes from the planet to the label beneath.]
:The Solar System needs a super-Earth

:[Numerous asteroids have been drawn, half in black, with the other half in red added to the existing asteroids that were already there. A small line goes from the asteroids to the label beneath.]
:More asteroids!

:[Jupiter and Saturn have both been greyed out and also crossed out with two red X'es. Two arrows points from each of the original planets to a new larger red planet drawn above the two. This new planet has the belts, zones, Red Spot, and size of Jupiter, and the hexagon on the north pole and rings of Saturn. It also has the four largest moons from Jupiter on one side and the largest moon from Saturn on the other side, with all five drawn similarly to the original moons. Below the two original planets is a label.]
:Merge the big planet and the ringed planet into a big ringed planet ("Jaturn")

:[Uranus is greyed out and also crossed out with a red X. A line goes down to the label beneath it.]
:Cut Uranus. Uranus and Neptune are redundant and Neptune is better. Tough but fair.

:[Pluto and Charon have both been greyed out and are inside a red circle. An arrow points from Pluto and Charon to the right side of Neptune, where Pluto and Charon have been redrawn in red. Neptune's own largest moon is on the other side of Neptune. A line goes from the arrow up to a label above the planet.]
:Settle the planet thing by making Pluto a moon of Neptune

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Compromise]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics with red annotations]]

Talk:3045: AlphaMove

2025-02-01T00:53:28Z

Redacted II:

Ask Tom Murphy VII to get on this [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.103|141.101.99.103]] 22:50, 31 January 2025 (UTC)

I have attempted to run the proposed bot against itself — if I haven't made any errors, here are the resulting games:

Rounding down:
1. e4 e6 2. f3 f5 3. e5 g5 4. d4 d5 5. exd6 g4 6. d7+ Kf7 7. dxc8=N Ke8 8. fxg4 h6 9. gxf5 Kd7 10. g4 h5 11. fxe6+ Ke8 12. g5 Na6 13. h3 Nc5 14. h4 Ne7 15. Kd2 Ne4+ 16. Ke1 Nf5 17. g6 Nf6 18. g7 Ng3 19. gxf8=N Nge4 20. Ke2 Ng4 21. Kf3 Ngf2 22. Ke2 Nh3 23. Ke3 Nhf2 24. Nb6 Nh3 25. Na4 Nhf2 26. Nac3 Nxc3 27. Kxf2 Nxd1+ 28. Kf3 Qc8 29. c4 Ne3 30. Ke4 Nf5 31. Kd3 Ng3 32. e7 Nxh1 33. Kc2 Qb8 34. d5 Kxe7 35. d6+ Kf6 36. dxc7 Nf2 37. c8=R Ng4 38. Kd2 Nh2 39. Ke3 Ng4+ 40. Kd4 Nh2 41. Kd5 Nxf1 42. Nc3 Nh2 43. Nce2 Ng4 44. Nd4 Nh6 45. Nd7+ Kf7 46. Ndf3 Qd6+ 47. Ke4 Qd2 48. Nf8 Qd5+ 49. Ke3 Qd2+ 50. Ke4 Qd5+ 51. Ke3 Qd2+ 52. Ke4

Rounding up:
1. f3 f5 2. e4 f4 3. d4 e6 4. e5 g6 5. g3 fxg3 6. c3 g2 7. d5 gxf1=Q+ 8. Kxf1 exd5 9. Ke2 d6 10. Kd3 g5 11. Kd2 dxe5 12. Ke2 d4 13. Kd3 dxc3+ 14. Ke3 e4 15. Ne2 exf3 16. Ng1 f2 17. Nxc3 fxg1=N 18. Qc2 Kd7 19. Ne2 h6 20. Qa4+ Ke6 21. Qb3+ Ke7 22. Qb4+ Ke8 23. Qb5+ Kf7 24. Qa6 Kg7 25. Qa4 Kg6 26. Qb3 Kg7 27. Qb4 Kh7 28. Qb5 Kg7 29. Qa6 Nc6 30. Nxg1 Na5 31. Qb6 Kh7 32. Qb3 Kg6 33. Qb4 Kg7 34. Qb6 Kh7 35. Qb3 Kg6 36. Qb4 Kg7 37. Qb6

Rounding down code:
const { Chess } = require("chess.js");

const chess = new Chess();
while (!chess.isGameOver()) {
const moves = chess.moves();
moves.sort((a, b) => b.localeCompare(a));
const move = moves[Math.floor(moves.length / 2)];
chess.move(move);
}
console.log(chess.pgn());

To round up, swap the a and b in the sort function.

Both games end in a threefold repetition draw. The game with rounding down does, in fact, have 6 knights in it, so I believe he did code this to see what would happen.

[[User:Ohpointfive|Ohpointfive]] ([[User talk:Ohpointfive|talk]]) 22:52, 31 January 2025 (UTC)

To elaborate on the Tom VII point - this is the YouTube video that possibly inspired the comic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpXy041BIlA

[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.179|141.101.98.179]] 22:55, 31 January 2025 (UTC)

Unfortunately for white, it's mate in 1 with Bb4# [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.124|162.158.90.124]] 23:25, 31 January 2025 (UTC)

Even if white makes a different move, its still forced mate in one. RIP XKCD Bot. [[User:Redacted II|Redacted II]] ([[User talk:Redacted II|talk]]) 00:53, 1 February 2025 (UTC)

3041: Unit Circle

2025-01-23T17:34:21Z

Redacted II: /* Explanation */ fixing space

{{comic
| number = 3041
| date = January 22, 2025
| title = Unit Circle
| image = unit_circle_2x.png
| imagesize = 325x259px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = They're continuing to search for a square with the same area as the circle, as efforts to construct one have run into difficulties.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Constructed by an IMAGINARY NUMBER OF COMPASSES AND CURVED EDGES. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A {{w|unit circle}} is a mathematical concept which is a circle whose radius is one (with no units). When doing math problems with a unit circle, all other distances are therefore in terms of the circle's radius: a line with length 3 is three times the radius, a line of length 1/2 is half the radius, and so on. This is very useful in many geometry problems.

This comic shows an expedition of some experts ([[White Hat]], [[Ponytail]], [[Miss Lenhart]] (the Mathematician), [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]]) having located a "real unit circle": a physical object which somehow is this mathematical idea. Cueball is holding a set of calipers, precise instruments used to provide an exact measurement of the unit circle. By measuring the "real unit circle", mathematicians could then provide its measurement in whatever ordinary unit they choose, such as centimeters or inches, to textbooks which describe the unit circle. The notion of defining a unit in terms of an actual physical object is actually quite reasonable, the meter (or metre) was {{w|Metre#Meridional_definition|officially defined as the length of a specific physical bar}} until 1960, and the kilogram was defined by the mass of a {{w|International_Prototype_of_the_Kilogram|specific physical object}} until 2019. Doing so with the unit circle, however, would be entirely pointless, as the entire purpose of the unit circle is to define mathematical relationships, which can be generalized to any unit, rather than being restricted to a given length.

The title text refers to the old geometry problem of {{w|squaring the circle}}, whereupon one starts with a circle with a known area and tries to create a square with the same area, traditionally using nothing more than an idealized compass and straightedge. Such a square would have edges all measuring √π units length, and once it was proven that π is a transcendental number it was definitively proven that squaring a circle is impossible. This causes problems for the comic's team of mathematicians, who would have wished to create such a square to go along with its unit circle, but must instead rely upon finding one, under the same assumptions as they managed to find this circle. (It should be noted that a {{w|unit square}}, should one of those also exist, would have edges the same length as the unit circle's radius, and would not have the same area.)

==Transcript==
:[White Hat, Ponytail, Miss Lenhart, Cueball, and Megan are standing in a field. White Hat stands behind Ponytail who is holding a notebook and taking notes while looking down at Miss Lenhart who is kneeling and holding her hands on a circular object with the radius marked on it. The radius is pointing away from her towards Cueball standing on the other side. He is holding a large caliper-like measuring instrument with the two arms poised over the object ready to measure its diameter. Behind him Megan is taking a photo of the object with her phone turned sideways.]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Math breakthrough: Dimensional analysts have discovered a real unit circle. Once they measure it, units can finally be added to all our geometry textbooks.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Geometry]]

3018: Second Stage

2024-11-30T17:57:15Z

Redacted II: /* Explanation */ Alternative explanation.

{{comic
| number = 3018
| date = November 29, 2024
| title = Second Stage
| image = second_stage_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x272px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Hmm, they won't do in-flight delivery, so let's order a new first and second stage to our emergency landing site and then try to touch down on top of them to save time.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SECOND STAGE AMAZON DELIVERY DRIVER - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is about how rockets use multiple stages when lifting off, and in the comic, they installed too few stages. This is unlikely to happen in real life, because a lot of work goes into planning rockets.As the second stage is supposed to be started (according to the first pilot), the second pilot is initially confused and asks if a second stage was needed. The first pilot confirms that there was supposed to be a second stage, and thought that it was the second pilot's responsibility to install and confirm there was a second stage. When both pilots realize there is no second stage, the second pilot, naturally, thinks he can order one on Amazon with same day delivery (though Amazon typically doesn't sell space ship stages - at least not with same day delivery). He then has difficulty picking an address zip code as they are likely traveling too high above the ground and too fast to be in a single postal area for long enough for the delivery to take place. The joke is likely poking fun at people becoming highly dependent upon {{w|Amazon_(company)|Amazon delivery}} and that they don't need to remember to bring things on trips since they can have almost anything delivered to them while they travel.

Alternatively, the comic may allude to a not-so-distant future when space travel is a much more mundane endeavor. If companies such as SpaceX succeed in their mass-production and launch cadence goals, one could imagine a scenario where rocket parts become standardized and easily replaceable---similarly to how it is easy today to replace a car's tire or fill its fuel tank if you get stranded on a highway.

This is not the first time Randal discusses the idea of a mid-flight delivery. This [https://what-if.xkcd.com/149/ What If?] explanation attempts to answer if it possible to have pizza delivered to you, by a bird, while flying on a commercial airline.

The comic depicts a manned rocket launch, and the start of its subsequent flight. All current rockets, that are capable of sending manned capsules to orbit, do so by the initial rocket engines and fuel-tank being expended (or nearly so, where there is reusability) and disconnected to allow the smaller next stage to fire and continue the boost towards orbit with altitude-optimal engines and without the mass of the spent fuel tanks. Above this second stage may be one or more other stages, as required for the mission, which generally involves propulsion that is optimal for use in the vacuum of space, having a larger specific impulse but lower overall thrust, allowing for maneuvers to be completed with less fuel. In real life, the crew of a manned rocket are not solely, personally responsible for arranging the installation of critical hardware, and pre-launch checks are done to ensure that all critical systems are not merely present but functional.



Note: the rocket design, though apparently at least one segment short, appears to be substantially taller than the launch tower of the pad, which is a strangely incongruous detail. Unless the real rocket support is an angled back "hard spine" structure that has been rotated out of the way and down into the exhaust-flume/flame-trench quenching system. Since the voices are coming from what appears to be a separate module at the top of the rocket, it may be that the ''shell'' of the second stage is present, but not the hardware or fuel. Alternatively, propellant may have been loaded into the second stage, but engines were never installed.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A multi-stage rocket, with a capsule on top, is lifting-off the ground from a launchpad, at least two rocket nozzles are visibly producing a flame, and the pad is surrounded with smoke and/or steam from the blast suppression system. A voice comes from the capsule at the top.]
:We have liftoff.

:[The first stage separates from the rest of the rocket, part way through the roll-program. There are no obvious engines standing out from the 'second stage' (or extended payload trunk) lower shroud.]
:Main engine cutoff.
:Stage separation confirmed.
:We are go for second stage burn.

:Second stage?

:Yes.
:...What?

:[The first stage and the rest of the rocket are drifting apart in apparent freefall. No rocket is firing and the background does not seem to indicate that this view is beyond the atmosphere.]
:We were supposed to have a second stage?

:...Yes!

:Did '''''you''''' set up a second stage?

:I thought '''''you''''' were handling staging!

:Oh no.

:[They continue to drift apart slowly.]
:Okay, don't panic.
:Lemme see if we can order a stage online for same-day delivery.

:''Sigh''.

:Hey, what zip code should I put? Ours keeps changing.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Rockets]]

3018: Second Stage

2024-11-29T13:49:07Z

Redacted II: This is so very Kerbal

Talk:381: Mobius Battle

2024-11-28T18:01:15Z

Redacted II:

The gif should alternate left/right in order to properly portray the battle. [[Special:Contributions/184.66.160.91|184.66.160.91]] 06:48, 8 July 2013 (UTC)

: Look again, it does already! --[[Special:Contributions/83.243.48.2|83.243.48.2]] 08:20, 8 July 2013 (UTC)

Technically, there's only one guy. He passes through the comic twice for every one time the ball passes through. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.167|199.27.128.167]] 20:37, 17 December 2013 (UTC)
:Agreed. [[User:Redacted II|Redacted II]] ([[User talk:Redacted II|talk]]) 18:01, 28 November 2024 (UTC)

The explanation says "[the projectionist] would have no way to feed a Mobius strip film reel properly into a normal projector." That depends on how you define "normal". I just tried this on my grandfather's 16mm cine (film) and it worked fine. I cut ~300 frames from the start of a movie, twisted 180°, and spliced. Since my projector loads from the side it went in no problem and I used empty takeup reels to hold the loops. This wouldn't work on 8mm, though, cause the holes are only on one side. Can't speak to 35mm or IMAX film; I suspect not, because they have soundtracks, but I don't know for sure. Oh, I just thought of something to try with my 16mm loop; if I cut it in half lengthwise I should have a 600 half-frame 8mm loop, right? I'm not gonna try 'cause I don't have any way to cut down the middle in an exact enough way but that would be cool to try. Oh, and isn't it spelt Möbius? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.213|173.245.54.213]] 03:15, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

Talk:2088: Schwarzschild's Cat

2024-11-28T17:51:33Z

Redacted II:

This xkcd is self-referencing as the size of cute animals is referenced to in many comics like 1871, 1682, 1903--[[User:Gunterkoenigsmann|Gunterkoenigsmann]] ([[User talk:Gunterkoenigsmann|talk]]) 21:40, 22 December 2018 (UTC)

I think the biggest question is, what is that arrow on the left is pointing at? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.146.82|162.158.146.82]] 22:46, 21 December 2018 (UTC)

This is likely a cross between the Schwarzschild Radius and Schrodinger's cat. Below the Schwarzschild Radius, you can't tell how cute the cat is because you can't see it, just like you can't tell if the cat is alive or dead in the box. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 16:08, 21 December 2018 (UTC)

The title text has nothing to do with Hawking radiation - it's referencing a phenomenon that happens near a black hole's event horizon. As you observe an object falling toward the black hole, when it reaches the event horizon it appears to you to be frozen in place, and gradually fades to black. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE5PNbsUERE

: I agree - I was going to make the same comment. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 16:34, 21 December 2018 (UTC)

However, Hawking radiation describes the decay of black holes and so the black hole would get smaller and smaller, but I believe that you are also correct.
[[User:Gollum|Gollum]] ([[User talk:Gollum|talk]]) 16:32, 21 December 2018 (UTC)

For the title text, I thought of the Cheshire Cat. [[User:Elvenivle|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle|talk]]) 23:31, 21 December 2018 (UTC)
:Presumably The Cheshire Cat is able to change its size at will in order to vanish. As this doesn't change its mass eventually it passes the Schwarzchild Limit, beyond which information cannot escape. This is why the Cheshire Cat, like Mona Lisa, has an enigmatic smile - it's not possible to know why it smiles, as that would constitute information transfer. [[User:Espatie|Espatie]] ([[User talk:Espatie|talk]]) 18:03, 22 December 2018 (UTC)

No offence Elvenivle, but I don't think this has anything to do with the Cheshire Cat. I vote we change it. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.244|108.162.245.244]] 23:35, 21 December 2018 (UTC)
:I vote against. Wonderland has everything to do with quantum physics. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 01:20, 22 December 2018 (UTC)

'''Going off on a tangent'''

Sorry, I know this has got nothing to do with explaining the above comic, but when I read the title text a thought struck me: if the cat is getting cuter and cuter as it shrinks, a cat lover will get happier and happier as it increases in cuteness. However there will be a point that the cat lover will become sadder as they realise that the cat is going to disappear from their view forever. I would be interested in seeing the curve of cat lover's happiness against cat size, and seeing if we can determine the optimum size for "Cat Cuteness".

And now, having defined the unit CC, I am never going to be able to watch a medical drama in the same way again... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.46|141.101.98.46]] 10:23, 22 December 2018 (UTC)

So according to the graph, a tiger would have very little cuteness, which might be true if said tiger was in the process of attacking you for his lunch. Otherwise, there are lots of tiger videos on Youtube that could be easily described as ''cute''. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 16:57, 22 December 2018 (UTC)

I googled something like "how do black holes form if time stops at the event horizon" and found the variety of expert-sounding answers to be quite engaging, [https://www.quora.com/If-time-stops-at-the-event-horizon-of-a-black-hole-does-it-mean-that-matter-from-the-accretion-disk-never-really-cross-the-event-horizon-If-so-how-do-black-holes-grow-in-size for example]. The simplest explanation to me seems to be that the matter mostly just stays on the surface forever, from our perspective, but the top-rated answer from that link is that space-time curves so much that the matter is no longer traveling through space and instead is falling through time itself! A statement like that sounds really cool and likely true, but could use a reason backing it up. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.232|172.69.62.232]] 21:58, 22 December 2018 (UTC)

I don't think that has anything to do with Schrödinger. Simply, the cat gets smaller until it's smaller than its Schwarzschild radius and it becomes a black hole, and so its size is determined by its Schwarzschild radius.
--[[Special:Contributions/172.69.6.94|172.69.6.94]] 04:18, 24 December 2018 (UTC)

'''Another Tangent'''
This isn't technically for the comic itself, but the Incomplete banner on this page was so funny that I just HAD to preserve it "This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: Created by a SMALL CAT WITH NO CONCEPT OF FIELD EQUATIONS. Could use more information on the relevant theoretical physics. Do NOT delete this tag too soon. If you can address this issue, please edit the page! Thanks. " [[User:HackneyedTrope|HackneyedTrope]] ([[User talk:HackneyedTrope|talk]]) 08:21, 30 December 2018 (UTC)

'''Slightly Disappointing''' that no one posted a picture of a tiny kitty (one that could be on the leading edge of that critical limit). [[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tfftxPGMQJ4/T57B2peZwNI/AAAAAAAAKYI/m0cpFhyuiKc/s1600/Funny+Smallest+Animal_2.jpg]]. [[User:DurtyWilly|DurtyWilly]] ([[User talk:DurtyWilly|talk]]) 11:56, 3 January 2019 (UTC)

'''Schwartzchild's Cat''' is local maximum of smallness x cuteness.
I think the Schwartzchild's Cat is the smallest (and therefore, cutest) a cat can be before making it smaller saddens the human because it's now too small.

An alternate theory is that the critical limit marks the point where the small cat has become so cute that it cannot be seen, because a larger, grumpier cat has mailed it to Abu Dhabi. -- [[User:C.Robin|C.Robin]] ([[User talk:C.Robin|talk]]) 01:05, 27 September 2020 (UTC)

It must be said that very large cats can also be extremely cute.
So really the graph has two areas in which it reaches infinity. But does this mean that tigers are now invisible, as they are past the second cute point? [[User:Redacted II|Redacted II]] ([[User talk:Redacted II|talk]]) 17:51, 28 November 2024 (UTC)

3012: The Future of Orion

2024-11-15T22:24:23Z

Redacted II: /* Transcript */ added space

{{comic
| number = 3012
| date = November 15, 2024
| title = The Future of Orion
| image = the_future_of_orion_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x300px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Dinosaur Cosmics
}}

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

Stars in the night sky change over time. Some, like {{w|Betelgeuse}} (a star in the constellation {{w|Orion (constellation)|Orion}}), are expected to go {{w|supernova}} in less than about 100,000 years, and then disappear from the night sky. All stars are moving, relative to the center of the galaxy and to each other. This results in apparent movement in our sky ({{w|proper motion}}), a function of the actual relative movement, and the star's distance from us. (The star with the fastest proper motion is {{w|Barnard's Star}}, which has moved a noticeable distance across the sky since it was first photographed in 1888. It both has a high relative movement and is the fourth-closest star to us.) This comic shows some changes in Orion from the stars moving and recommends revising the constellation from depicting a hunter to depicting a {{w|Tyrannosaurus}} from Ryan North's [https://www.qwantz.com Dinosaur Comics]. There are no dinosaur constellations, because dinosaur fossils had not yet been discovered when constellations were first being named in around 3000 BCE. The first fossil identified as a dinosaur was found in 1676. (There is, however, a constellation of another large, fearsome reptile, albeit mythological - a {{w|Draco (constellation)|dragon}}.)

Note that this means the new constellation won't appear until the current name has lasted twenty times as long as it already has, highlighting the absurdity of "needing" to plan for this event.

The title text is another joke regarding Dinosaur Comics, replacing "comics" with "cosmics" because we're talking about a dinosaur in the sky.

Orion is also mentioned in [[1020: Orion Nebula]].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:Orion Today:
:[Star map of Orion constellation 2024]
:
:Predicted Changes:
:Scribbled on: Star movement
:Scribbled on: Star Death (Betelgeuse)
:[Star Map's predicted changes over next couple centuries]
:
:Orion in the future:
:Scribbled on: Suggested lines
:[New lines are drawn overlaying the future changes]
:
:[[https://www.qwantz.com/ Dinosaur Comics] dinosaur overlayed]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Space]]

3012: The Future of Orion

2024-11-15T22:23:50Z

Redacted II: /* Explanation */ fixed

{{comic
| number = 3012
| date = November 15, 2024
| title = The Future of Orion
| image = the_future_of_orion_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x300px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Dinosaur Cosmics
}}

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

Stars in the night sky change over time. Some, like {{w|Betelgeuse}} (a star in the constellation {{w|Orion (constellation)|Orion}}), are expected to go {{w|supernova}} in less than about 100,000 years, and then disappear from the night sky. All stars are moving, relative to the center of the galaxy and to each other. This results in apparent movement in our sky ({{w|proper motion}}), a function of the actual relative movement, and the star's distance from us. (The star with the fastest proper motion is {{w|Barnard's Star}}, which has moved a noticeable distance across the sky since it was first photographed in 1888. It both has a high relative movement and is the fourth-closest star to us.) This comic shows some changes in Orion from the stars moving and recommends revising the constellation from depicting a hunter to depicting a {{w|Tyrannosaurus}} from Ryan North's [https://www.qwantz.com Dinosaur Comics]. There are no dinosaur constellations, because dinosaur fossils had not yet been discovered when constellations were first being named in around 3000 BCE. The first fossil identified as a dinosaur was found in 1676. (There is, however, a constellation of another large, fearsome reptile, albeit mythological - a {{w|Draco (constellation)|dragon}}.)

Note that this means the new constellation won't appear until the current name has lasted twenty times as long as it already has, highlighting the absurdity of "needing" to plan for this event.

The title text is another joke regarding Dinosaur Comics, replacing "comics" with "cosmics" because we're talking about a dinosaur in the sky.

Orion is also mentioned in [[1020: Orion Nebula]].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:Orion Today:
:[Star map of Orion constellation 2024]
:
:Predicted Changes:
:Scribbled on: Star movement
:Scribbled on: Star Death(Betelgeuse)
:[Star Map's predicted changes over next couple centuries]
:
:Orion in the future:
:Scribbled on: Suggested lines
:[New lines are drawn overlaying the future changes]
:
:[[https://www.qwantz.com/ Dinosaur Comics] dinosaur overlayed]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Space]]

2114: Launch Conditions

2024-11-11T00:34:42Z

Redacted II: /* Explanation */ There is a passing resemblence to a LM5, but nothing major (I thought it was a Proton-M)

{{comic
| number = 2114
| date = February 20, 2019
| title = Launch Conditions
| image = launch_conditions.png
| titletext = Though I do think the tiny vent on one of the boosters labeled "O-RING" is in poor taste.
}}

==Explanation==

An image of a rocket (resembling a {{w|Long March 5}}) with a progressively larger white cloud around it is shown, but no external object for scale is visible until the third panel.
It is then revealed to be a model or miniature when Ponytail walks into the shot.

The dialog reveals the miniature rocket is a domestic {{w|humidifier}} appliance, using its plumes of water mist to mimic the appearance of the exhaust plume of a full-size rocket.

Modern rocket launches are backed by a ''Sound Suppression System'' avoiding damages to the rocket itself, the payload, or humans inside. This system drops vast amounts of water into the exhaust of the rocket engines and the water vaporizes immediately. This vapor mainly interrupts the sound reflections from the ground. This reduces the sound to a level the rocket can withstand but also produces a big cloud of water mist. The cloud at the ground consists mostly of water and not the exhaust of the rocket engines. This article shows how the system works: [https://interestingengineering.com/nasa-sound-suppression-system-prevents-rocket-from-exploding NASA's Incredible Sound Suppression System Prevents Rockets from Exploding (interestingengineering.com)].

Some rockets use liquid hydrogen as a fuel, especially for upper stages, so steam is the combustion product.

The title text references the failed o-ring that led to the {{Wikipedia|Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|disintegration of the ''Challenger'' Space Shuttle}}. The o-ring in question failed to expand at freezing temperatures, resulting in a leak of gas around the edges that was visible as a small vapor plume on the recording. The launch was pushed to a day with lower temperatures than the engineers had planned for. For the humidifier to vent the water mist from this opening is indeed in poor taste, even though the model does not resemble a shuttle.

==Transcript==
:[A rocket sits on a launch pad and the tower to the left has retracted its access arms. The engines seem to have just started firing and a small cloud at the bottom is visible.]

:[The rocket still sits on the pad but the cloud is growing and extending to both sides on the ground.]

:[Ponytail's head, much larger than the rocket, appears above the rocket on the right. The cloud covers the full ground and hides a bigger part of the rocket.]

:[Zoom out. Ponytail stands behind a pedestal with a rocket model on top and the cloud is all around the bottom of the rocket and below.]
:Off screen: It's still pretty dry in here.
:Ponytail: I love the new humidifier, though.

==Trivia==
This comic was posted the day after the death of [https://www.nasa.gov/people/peter-cosgrove/ Peter Cosgrove] was reported. He was known for photographing many Space Shuttle launches.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Rockets]]

Talk:3005: Disposal

2024-11-02T12:57:58Z

Redacted II:

That's either a giant Cueball, or a really tiny rocket. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:05, 30 October 2024 (UTC)
:It's an Electron? Or maybe Falcon 1? [[User:Redacted II|Redacted II]] ([[User talk:Redacted II|talk]]) 00:23, 31 October 2024 (UTC)
::He must be assigned there by the Range Danger Officer. [[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 03:05, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

It seems strange to me to see Randall drawing a rocket landing with its engine pointing upward instead of downward, when he traditionally has expressed so much interest in rocket and space physics. It's also notable that the rocket-landing problem was solved by others before SpaceX was considered to have, I bumped into a successful project on a maker site in the past couple years. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.3.71|172.68.3.71]] 01:23, 31 October 2024 (UTC)
:SpaceX was the first to propulsively land an orbital booster. [[User:Redacted II|Redacted II]] ([[User talk:Redacted II|talk]]) 01:39, 31 October 2024 (UTC)
::The first to propulsively land an orbital booster east of the Mississippi. [[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 03:04, 31 October 2024 (UTC)
::No. Worldwide. List a single orbital rocket booster that propulsively landed before Falcon 9 Flight 20. There aren't any.[[User:Redacted II|Redacted II]] ([[User talk:Redacted II|talk]]) 12:57, 2 November 2024 (UTC)
:The extra energy from impacting at high speed ensures the rocket is thoroughly disassembled for maximum packing efficiency. [[User:RegularSizedGuy|RegularSizedGuy]] ([[User talk:RegularSizedGuy|talk]]) 06:24, 31 October 2024 (UTC)
:I do not think it strange for the rocket engine pointing upwards, I think it funny. It was definitely on purpose. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.148|172.68.110.148]] 08:05, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

There’s a Space Category, and a Kerbal program Category and a Mars Rover Category, why not a Rocket category? I propose on creating one. All in favor? [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 02:33, 31 October 2024 (UTC)
:AYE! [[User:B_for_brain|B for brain]] ([[User_talk:B_for_brain|talk]]) ([https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg4bo-hj-mDyOOUp_Yp0pug youtube channel] [https://bforbrain.weebly.com/ wobsite (supposed to be a blag)]) 09:43, 31 October 2024 (UTC)
:SQRT(-1) [[User:Redacted II|Redacted II]] ([[User talk:Redacted II|talk]]) 12:57, 2 November 2024 (UTC)

I remember when businesses would use canisters to hold receipts and send them through vacuum tubes from the checkout to accounting. The canisters would make a "THOOOONK" sound when sucked into the vacuum tubes. I suggest that is why the comic is expecting a "THOOOONK" sound when the rocket enters the disposal site. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 11:08, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

We have at least three supplimental jokes in the explination. If we keep this up we're going to need an explainexplainXKCD page. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.135.130|172.69.135.130]] 16:00, 31 October 2024 (UTC)
:Out of interest, what 'supplimental' jokes would you say these three things are? I see nothing that isn't actually explanation or explainable (if necessary) by the links embed in the text itself. Improvements are always welcome, but maybe we don't necessarily know where there needs to be more honed/expanded description unless you point out where it lacks it. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.11|172.69.194.11]] 16:49, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

"'...the sound of a canister being sucked into a vacuum tube.'" I don't think 'vacuum tube' means what you think it means. There can not be a "THOOOONK" sound" in a vacuum (no air). Google is all about vacuum electronic devices in (old) amplifiers and computers. The transit tube at the bank is apparently a "pneumatic tube" which makes good sense to me. --[[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 02:00, 1 November 2024 (UTC)
:Point taken (not being the editor who raised this original link) but, like a vacuum cleaner, they can be ''reduced-pressure'' tubes (normal atmosphere generally being allowed in behind the capsules, to some degree or other, as they are sucked through to their destinations).
:The "thooonk" is more indicative of a system where there's momentary intake of pressure from the outside, as opposed to the "pffffft" that might indicate a momentary leaking out of a high pressure injected behind the 'shuttle capsule' in a positive-pushing pneumatic system.
:Also, technically more efficient to partially evacuate tubes ahead of the cannisters than to supply extra air for a 'blowy' version of it, for several reasons (don't build up front-side pressures, or send air the wrong way back up any merging junctions; the (multiple, if necessary) "insertion hatches" are simpler to implement, vs. the one vacuum-ending receiving station; it's more self-cleaning; failures don't generally lead to burst-out pipes scattering debris, at worst generally just a failure to pull anything new through until fixed; it allows for more rapid acceleration but smoothing the end velocity to a managable receiving-speed, rather than necessitating the need to "force the cork all the way out of the bottle" all the way right up to the end). The caveat to this being that it may have an upper limit of length ('repeater' stations may be needed to reboost into a subsequent sucking-stretch) from source node to destination; but the ultimate hard limit to this would be the actual height of the atmosphere (less a proportion, due to all inefficiencies), so not normally a deal-breaker for all practical purposes
:Perhaps better described as an "atmospheric" system (c.f. the usual form of {{w|atmospheric railway}}), or at least a "pressure differential" one, than the implication that it's a (possibly closed-loop) compressed-air one, but terminology and implementation details are all rather imprecisely defined anyway. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.160.228|172.70.160.228]] 10:22, 1 November 2024 (UTC)

Talk:3005: Disposal

2024-11-02T12:57:21Z

Redacted II:

That's either a giant Cueball, or a really tiny rocket. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:05, 30 October 2024 (UTC)
:It's an Electron? Or maybe Falcon 1? [[User:Redacted II|Redacted II]] ([[User talk:Redacted II|talk]]) 00:23, 31 October 2024 (UTC)
::He must be assigned there by the Range Danger Officer. [[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 03:05, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

It seems strange to me to see Randall drawing a rocket landing with its engine pointing upward instead of downward, when he traditionally has expressed so much interest in rocket and space physics. It's also notable that the rocket-landing problem was solved by others before SpaceX was considered to have, I bumped into a successful project on a maker site in the past couple years. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.3.71|172.68.3.71]] 01:23, 31 October 2024 (UTC)
:SpaceX was the first to propulsively land an orbital booster. [[User:Redacted II|Redacted II]] ([[User talk:Redacted II|talk]]) 01:39, 31 October 2024 (UTC)
::The first to propulsively land an orbital booster east of the Mississippi. [[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 03:04, 31 October 2024 (UTC)
::No. Worldwide. List a single orbital rocket booster that propulsively landed before Falcon 9 Flight 20. There aren't any.[[User:Redacted II|Redacted II]] ([[User talk:Redacted II|talk]]) 12:57, 2 November 2024 (UTC)
:The extra energy from impacting at high speed ensures the rocket is thoroughly disassembled for maximum packing efficiency. [[User:RegularSizedGuy|RegularSizedGuy]] ([[User talk:RegularSizedGuy|talk]]) 06:24, 31 October 2024 (UTC)
:I do not think it strange for the rocket engine pointing upwards, I think it funny. It was definitely on purpose. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.148|172.68.110.148]] 08:05, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

There’s a Space Category, and a Kerbal program Category and a Mars Rover Category, why not a Rocket category? I propose on creating one. All in favor? [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 02:33, 31 October 2024 (UTC)
:AYE! [[User:B_for_brain|B for brain]] ([[User_talk:B_for_brain|talk]]) ([https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg4bo-hj-mDyOOUp_Yp0pug youtube channel] [https://bforbrain.weebly.com/ wobsite (supposed to be a blag)]) 09:43, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

I remember when businesses would use canisters to hold receipts and send them through vacuum tubes from the checkout to accounting. The canisters would make a "THOOOONK" sound when sucked into the vacuum tubes. I suggest that is why the comic is expecting a "THOOOONK" sound when the rocket enters the disposal site. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 11:08, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

We have at least three supplimental jokes in the explination. If we keep this up we're going to need an explainexplainXKCD page. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.135.130|172.69.135.130]] 16:00, 31 October 2024 (UTC)
:Out of interest, what 'supplimental' jokes would you say these three things are? I see nothing that isn't actually explanation or explainable (if necessary) by the links embed in the text itself. Improvements are always welcome, but maybe we don't necessarily know where there needs to be more honed/expanded description unless you point out where it lacks it. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.11|172.69.194.11]] 16:49, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

"'...the sound of a canister being sucked into a vacuum tube.'" I don't think 'vacuum tube' means what you think it means. There can not be a "THOOOONK" sound" in a vacuum (no air). Google is all about vacuum electronic devices in (old) amplifiers and computers. The transit tube at the bank is apparently a "pneumatic tube" which makes good sense to me. --[[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 02:00, 1 November 2024 (UTC)
:Point taken (not being the editor who raised this original link) but, like a vacuum cleaner, they can be ''reduced-pressure'' tubes (normal atmosphere generally being allowed in behind the capsules, to some degree or other, as they are sucked through to their destinations).
:The "thooonk" is more indicative of a system where there's momentary intake of pressure from the outside, as opposed to the "pffffft" that might indicate a momentary leaking out of a high pressure injected behind the 'shuttle capsule' in a positive-pushing pneumatic system.
:Also, technically more efficient to partially evacuate tubes ahead of the cannisters than to supply extra air for a 'blowy' version of it, for several reasons (don't build up front-side pressures, or send air the wrong way back up any merging junctions; the (multiple, if necessary) "insertion hatches" are simpler to implement, vs. the one vacuum-ending receiving station; it's more self-cleaning; failures don't generally lead to burst-out pipes scattering debris, at worst generally just a failure to pull anything new through until fixed; it allows for more rapid acceleration but smoothing the end velocity to a managable receiving-speed, rather than necessitating the need to "force the cork all the way out of the bottle" all the way right up to the end). The caveat to this being that it may have an upper limit of length ('repeater' stations may be needed to reboost into a subsequent sucking-stretch) from source node to destination; but the ultimate hard limit to this would be the actual height of the atmosphere (less a proportion, due to all inefficiencies), so not normally a deal-breaker for all practical purposes
:Perhaps better described as an "atmospheric" system (c.f. the usual form of {{w|atmospheric railway}}), or at least a "pressure differential" one, than the implication that it's a (possibly closed-loop) compressed-air one, but terminology and implementation details are all rather imprecisely defined anyway. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.160.228|172.70.160.228]] 10:22, 1 November 2024 (UTC)

Talk:3005: Disposal

2024-10-31T01:39:59Z

Redacted II:

Talk:3005: Disposal

2024-10-31T00:23:20Z

Redacted II:

Talk:3005: Disposal

2024-10-31T00:23:07Z

Redacted II: I was not expecting to see a Wikipedia article I've written a lot of mentioned here

2314: Carcinization

2024-10-29T16:15:53Z

Redacted II: /* Explanation */ fixing

{{comic
| number = 2314
| date = June 1, 2020
| title = Carcinization
| image = carcinization.png
| titletext = Nature abhors a vacuum and also anything that's not a crab.
}}

==Explanation==
As [[Megan]] is telling [[Cueball]], separate species of animals have evolved into "crab-like" forms at different times. Naturalists who noticed the tendency gave it the name {{w|Carcinisation|carcinization}}.

It is a specific form of {{w|convergent evolution}}, where differing families of animals (in this case, nominally across the {{w|crustacea}}) develop a tendency towards developing a 'crab' bodyplan to a greater degree than their origins would suggest. A similar process has created several varieties of {{w|river dolphin}} with similar adaptations to their environments, despite being 'stranded' offshoots of different forerunner pelagic species.

"True crabs" ({{w|Brachyura}}) form just a small subset of the Crustacea subphylum, and the Cancer genus is a subset of that, yet there appears to be something about the bodyplan and even resulting behaviour that has meant a number of species have arisen from alternate areas of the family tree that are now trivially indistinguishable without extensive study.

Carl Linnaeus even initially included all Crustacea under the 'Cancer' genus (using the Latin name for crabs), and his taxonomic classification has been heavily refined as further knowledge has come to light, in order to reveal this phenomenon.

Apparently this principle is much stronger in the webcomic than in real life, as shortly after being told this, Megan notices that Cueball (not a crustacean!) has himself turned into a crab. This isn't really evolution as we know it (outside {{w|Gameplay of Pokémon#Pokémon evolution|Pokémon evolution}} at least), which refers to changes (usually gradual changes, but not always) in a species across generations caused by random mutations. The organisms individually never change{{Citation needed}}, they are merely different from their ancestors, and the organisms with changes that make them more fit for their environment are the ones who are more likely to survive long enough to pass down those changes. What happens to Cueball is more like a transformation, but it could still be called 'carcinization', since he becomes crab-like. The comic strip might be an allusion to Franz Kafka's short story ''{{w|The Metamorphosis}}'' (another word used to describe life-forms that dramatically transform themselves, like caterpillars turning into butterflies), which starts with the main character suddenly waking up and finding that he has transformed into a giant bug.

Cueball's sudden transformation is perhaps explained by the title text, that "Nature abhors a vacuum and also anything that's not a crab". The text is a reference to Aristotle's {{w|Horror_vacui_(physics)|Horror vacui}}, a statement about how empty space tends to be immediately refilled by surrounding things, so vacuums seem to be impossible to maintain. As does "not being a crab", it seems.

Strictly speaking, we don't know for certain that Cueball actually transformed; it could be that he has ducked out of sight and left a crab in his place (or noticed a crab conveniently nearby) to play a prank on Megan.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are walking next to each other towards the left with Megan looking back at Cueball.]
:Megan: Have you heard of "carcinization"?
:Megan: The tendency of nature to evolve things into crabs.
:Cueball: Oh?

:[They continue to walk, both of them looking forward.]
:Megan: Yeah, the basic "crab" design has evolved separately a number of times.
:Cueball: Evolution just loves making crabs, I guess!

:[Narrower panel with only Megan seen walking on while lifting both her arms slightly to each side.]
:Megan: Apparently!

:[Two smaller beat panels are drawn between the previous and next normal sized panels. The first is a bit lower than the top of the normal panels, and is partly lying in over the other small panel, which is below and to the right of the first. The top panel shows Megan continuing to walk along. The second shows Megan stopping and turning to look back.]

:[Megan has turned completely and is looking down at a small crab scuttling along on the ground where Cueball was before, implying he has turned into a crab.]
:Megan: Oh no

==Trivia==
In January 2020, less than half a year before this comic was released, the Dinosaur Comic also released a [http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=3547 comic about Carcinization]. This web comic is on [[Randall|Randall's]] list of [[Design_of_xkcd.com#Comics_I_enjoy|Comics I enjoy]] and was also used in [[145: Parody Week: Dinosaur Comics]]. Another popular webcomic, Questionable Content, had a [https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4276 crab-themed comic] the day before this comic was released.

Just a month after the release of this comic, "carcinization" was the [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Word_of_the_day/Archive/2020/July#3 Word of the Day] in Wiktionary.

This comic was also the inspiration for [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-6010 SCP-6010], a story about all animal life turning into crabs, set in the SCP Foundation setting. SCP 6010 mentions life turning into crabs on June 1st 2019, the release date for this comic.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Physics]]

Talk:839: Explorers

2024-08-14T02:10:44Z

Redacted II:

How is that ship flying in the first place? Wouldn't the pieces fall off? '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|purple|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 09:59, 9 March 2013 (UTC)
:Inertia The pieces are moving at the same speed as the board. You would need energy to slow it down. Search it up. It's everywhere on the web. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.64|108.162.241.64]] 00:54, 29 December 2016 (UTC)

Magnetic Chess :-) [[Special:Contributions/121.99.55.58|121.99.55.58]] 03:23, 24 March 2013 (UTC)

Is the mini board really floating? It looked to me like it was adrift in sea. I think I might make some edits.
:I think the board is actually rolling on casters. If you look closely you can see a small round circle by each corner. I've edited it a bit. {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.63}}
::In the original transcript, it notes that it's mounted on rockets. [[WriterArtistCoder|WriterArtistCoder]] 02:06, 11 May 2020 (UTC)

This comic actually has a common error by non-chess players using chess positions: a1, and by extension a3 and c3, are dark squares. h1 is supposed to be the light-squared corner. [[Special:Contributions/18.215.1.155|18.215.1.155]] 06:50, 4 May 2013 (UTC)
:Unless, of course, the positions are relative to their small board, where al corners are white and hence numbering has to start on a white square [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.218|108.162.212.218]] 17:41, 16 April 2014 (UTC)

It looks like there are wheels in the corners. [[Special:Contributions/209.104.241.66|209.104.241.66]] 16:25, 22 May 2013 (UTC)

The loose 3x3 board is from a Classic Star Trek 3-D chess set. The little pegs on the corners are used to secure the board in different places around the game. [[Special:Contributions/74.98.181.175|74.98.181.175]] 02:03, 11 August 2013 (UTC)
: No, it's not. The Star Trek 3D chess consists of 3 stationary 4x4's and 4 mobile 2x2's. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.183|108.162.254.183]] 02:25, 22 March 2014 (UTC)

Make of it what you will, but I just realized that the robber in Catan looks a lot like a black bishop....[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.45|173.245.54.45]] 14:27, 3 May 2014 (UTC)

There's a typo in the comic. It says "misson" instead of "mission". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.18|108.162.219.18]] 04:55, 13 June 2014 (UTC)
: and I just adjusted the transcript to reflect that [[User:SuperSupermario24|Just some random derp]] 05:08, 30 June 2015 (UTC)

The black bishop and the "completing the mission alone" might be a reference to the robber from Catan, who looks very similar in the original edition. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.55.136|172.69.55.136]] 09:14, 16 September 2019 (UTC)

On a 3x3 board, in at most 2 moves any pawn would be promoted, almost certainly to queen. The bishop and knight may have deliberately approached Battleship in order to avoid being outranked. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 10:55, 7 September 2021 (UTC)

The bishop isn't any closer to capturing the knight than the knight is to capturing the bishop. Sure, the bishop can move away if the knight tries to capture it, but similarly the knight can move away if the bishop tries to capture it. So I think the explanation needs to be changed. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.152|172.71.178.152]] 21:57, 7 July 2023 (UTC)

Our intrepid explorers might be interested in this video: [https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=9f0cd8536e2d2af3JmltdHM9MTcwMTk5MzYwMCZpZ3VpZD0wZGY5NTUzNi0wMGI4LTZiOTktMGYzMi00NmZkMDEwMjZhMmQmaW5zaWQ9NTIxMw&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=3&fclid=0df95536-00b8-6b99-0f32-46fd01026a2d&psq=can+chess+with+hexagons&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vd2F0Y2g_dj1iZ1IzeUVTQUVWRQ&ntb=1] [[User:Szeth Pancakes|Szeth Pancakes]] ([[User talk:Szeth Pancakes|talk]]) 04:34, 9 December 2023 (UTC)

The claim by the black bishop "I swear to god, I'm this close to capturing him" is 100% saying that the knight can be captured no matter what the knight does.
If its the knights turn: Knight to B1 or A2. Bishop to B2. No matter where the Knight moves, the Bishop can capture. If its the Bishops turn: Bishop to C1. Knight to B1 or A2. Bishop to B2. Again, the Knight cannot evade the Bishop.[[User:Redacted II|Redacted II]] ([[User talk:Redacted II|talk]]) 02:10, 14 August 2024 (UTC)