explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1107: Sports Cheat Sheet

2014-05-12T16:53:44Z

Ricketybridge:

Thanks to whoever added the hockey mention ("no love" in the comic, for sure). Maybe the comic needs another column for Canada, where hockey can be argued about year-round. (Yes, it's an exaggeration for comic effect.) As for the rest of the world, or at least ex-Commonwealth and neighboring countries (e.g. Australia, India, New Zealand), what about rugby and cricket? --'''BigMal27''' (no account) / [[Special:Contributions/192.136.15.177|192.136.15.177]] 15:29, 12 September 2012 (UTC)
:Forgot to mention that these sports don't have to be professional in nature. I know of plenty US collegiate arguments in both football (e.g. Michigan vs. Notre Dame or Michigan State or Ohio State) and basketball (everyone vs. everyone during the NCAA tournament a.k.a. "March Madness" (TM)). --'''BigMal27''' / [[Special:Contributions/192.136.15.177|192.136.15.177]] 17:33, 12 September 2012 (UTC)
::I'm with you on cricket, though I was always under the impression that rugby was pretty much isolated to ''dahwn undah.'' Nonetheless, I took a slightly different read of the comic, possibly biased by this quip a friend shared: during the SuperBowl, if a team scores, the US reacts. During the cricket world cup, if a team scores, the commonwealth reacts. But if, during the football (aka soccer) world cup, a team scores, the ''world'' reacts. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 13:39, 13 September 2012 (UTC)
:::Irony, you're thinking of Australian Football. Rugby is a different game and much more widespread. It's arguably the national sport of New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Wales. It's a major sport in South Africa, Britain, Ireland, France, Italy and Australia. Argentina are rapidly improving and now compete every year in the southern hemisphere Rugby Championship with Australia, NZ and South Africa. -- [[User:Concrete Gannet|Concrete Gannet]] ([[User talk:Concrete Gannet|talk]]) 14:05, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
:::For us Aussies it this comic would be would be "Cricket + Football + Football + Football + Football" all year round with "Tennis" added in 1-2 weeks, four times a year (the Majors tournaments, aka the Grand Slam tournaments). The four Football codes played professional in Australia are: Australian Rules (major sporting body is the AFL), Rugby League (NRL), Rugby Union (ARU) and Association Football/Soccer (FFA). Unfortunately, Cricket, Football, Football, Football and Football tend to dominate the Australian sporting media so there isn't much opportunity for people to argue about other sports. [Apologies if I've stuffed up any formatting/broken any rules, this is my first time posting] -- '''Grantwhy'''[[Special:Contributions/115.64.240.30|115.64.240.30]] 15:32, 13 September 2012 (UTC)

The problem with the suggestion in the mouse over text is that everyone would have the same opinion on the same day! A better idea would be to have an App which selects from two or more oposing opinions and feed you a random one each day. (Personally being 'European' I'd prefer it to be more like the US! Sooo fed up with football discussions.) Steve B
:Then you run into the problem of two people who rely in that app falling into a sports discussion with each other rather than something else. If I were to find someone expressing the same canned opinion that I have from the twitter feed, at least I can say "who cares about sports, let's talk about something important: vi or emacs?". The twitter feed is best for someone who wants to fake sports knowledge to fit in. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 16:12, 12 September 2012 (UTC)
:The idea behind the twitter feed is to give people who really isn't interested in sport (aka. nerds) the opportunity to interact with so called normal people. It is just a variation on the http://bluffball.co.uk/ site refered to by [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKHyqjHqQLU#t=32s an The IT Crowd episode]. Two users of the twitter feed would have more important subjects to discuss (like for example vi vs. emacs) [[User:Pmakholm|Pmakholm]] ([[User talk:Pmakholm|talk]]) 18:12, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

What is with the sports bent that Randall is on? Two sports comics in three weeks? Has this happened before? [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 15:36, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

:He was on a Wikipedia kick about a year ago . . . 4 comics in about 5 weeks or so.--[[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 22:07, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

Would that opinion even fit into a Twitter post? [[Special:Contributions/76.122.5.96|76.122.5.96]] 20:55, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

:You are right. The sample tweet in the title text is 164 characters long. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 21:18, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

::It would fit if the parenthetical explanations were removed though. [[Special:Contributions/76.127.162.20|76.127.162.20]] 12:03, 13 September 2012 (UTC)

:::Kind of need those if you don't understand the sport to begin with. They provide necessary context. For example, disambiguation between teams: I could mention "Minnesota" and without context it could mean either the Twins (MLB), Vikings (NFL), Timberwolves (NBA), Wild (NHL), Lynx (WNBA), other various professional teams ("lesser" sports, womens teams, minor leagues), or any of the University of Minnesota (NCAA Div. I) teams: football, basketball (mens & womens), hockey (mens & womens), baseball & softball, wrestling, gymnastics, swimming & diving, golf... --'''BigMal27''' / [[Special:Contributions/192.136.15.149|192.136.15.149]] 12:18, 13 September 2012 (UTC)

Here's a comment I was thinking about integrating into the explanation, but decided it was probably too picky.
:Arguably, Randall cut this off too early; over years, the Major Leagues have added additional rounds of playoffs, so that the championship round, the World Series, sometimes now spills over into November, rather than ending in mid October as the graph would suggest. (It varies because the {{w|Major League Baseball postseason}} consists of one single elimination round, one best of five round, and two best of seven rounds.) It may be a meta-joke: the guy who needs the cheat sheet to keep track of sports seasons lacked the info to compile the cheat sheet.
I do have a slight tendency to overthink things. Anyone who thinks it adds to the explanation is welcome to insert it. [[User:DCB4W|DCB4W]] ([[User talk:DCB4W|talk]]) 19:25, 13 September 2012 (UTC)

It's entirely missing a third category named "South Korea", whose entire column should be Starcraft 2.[[User:Chaoslux|Chaoslux]] ([[User talk:Chaoslux|talk]]) 20:53, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

Here's an actual Twitter feed inspired by this comic: https://twitter.com/XKCDSports
:This Twitter feed is now defunct. :( --[[User:Ricketybridge|Ricketybridge]] ([[User talk:Ricketybridge|talk]]) 16:53, 12 May 2014 (UTC)

The opinion here between "US" and "Non-US" is a caricature of US-centric view. First it dismisses all other countries, as the world would be cut between the US and another country "Non-US". The consequence is to ignore Canada. Then it confuses single sport to argue about and common topic of understanding, maybe as a frustration of not sharing this topic. {{unsigned|Eric957}}

1346: Career

2014-03-25T16:47:56Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ just edited a couple words

{{comic
| number = 1346
| date = March 24, 2014
| title = Career
| image = career.png
| titletext = They'd convince me to come out of retirement for one last job: biting into a giant lump of slightly soft wax a couple of times.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|There is a probability of some nontrivial connection between those three tasks}}
{{incomplete|The 'explanation' does not properly explain the comic}}

Cueball is presumably asked to answer the typical HR interview question: What is your dream job? Rather than going with the more common answers that are designed to increase the chances of landing that particular job, Cueball talks about unrealistic jobs that are fun, whimsical, and so well compensated that a little over one hour on the clock would provide enough wealth for a luxurious retirement; of course, you can have such a job only in your dreams. Peeling lint off dryer traps is quite fun{{Citation needed}}, but it gets boring soon, so Cueball wants to do that only for 5 minutes, followed by pressing a lightsaber handle up to things (this does not exist yet, sadly) for an hour. Then Cueball would like to retire to a life of luxury, and the only way to bring him out of it is to offer him to do another fun task till he gets bored again.

The lightsaber part is most likely a reference to the beginning of Star Wars Episode I, where Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn does exactly this.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is talking to a woman sitting behind a desk]
:Cueball: It would start with five minutes of peeling lint from dryer traps
:Cueball: Followed by an hour of pressing a lightsaber handle against things and switching it on.
:Cueball: Then I'd retire to a life of luxury.

When people ask me to describe my dream job, I'm never sure how realistic to be.

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

Talk:1332: Slippery Slope

2014-02-19T23:43:02Z

Ricketybridge: added sig and timestamp

Wow, and I used to think White Hat was well-meaning but stupid; the inverse of Black Hat. I never knew he was such an asshole...
[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.65|199.27.128.65]] 09:11, 19 February 2014 (UTC)
::My own first thought was "That's a Black Hat Voice...". Then I started wondering what White Beret would have said, in his stead, and that sufficiently distracted me... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.7|141.101.99.7]] 13:49, 19 February 2014 (UTC)
::Maybe he's being sarcastic?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.111|108.162.249.111]] 23:19, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

::I read that as more of an introverted perspective (though to an extreme) than him being an asshole.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.57|173.245.54.57]] 16:20, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

::Yeah, I don't really understand what Randall's trying to say by making him a White Hat.--[[User:Ricketybridge|Ricketybridge]] ([[User talk:Ricketybridge|talk]]) 23:43, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

"Where does it end"? - Marriage, obviously. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:29, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

;Reminds me of a scene in 3:10 to Yuma (2007) with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale

Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) speaking to Dan Evans (Christian Bale):
"Yeah, that's why I don't mess around with doing anything good, Dan. You do one good deed for somebody... I imagine it's habit-forming. Something decent. See that grateful look in their eyes, imagine it makes you feel like Christ Hisself."

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.30|108.162.216.30]] 20:24, 19 February 2014 (UTC)CAM

In the U.S., the satellite company DirectTV has a series of humorous commercials using the Slippery Slope argument as part of their "Get Rid of Cable" campaign. They all start with a person using cable tv, having problems of some sort, and then ending up in a dire situation such as waking up in a roadside ditch, selling your hair to a wig shop, etc. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.67|199.27.128.67]] 22:43, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

Am I the only one thinking maybe we might take the literal meaning out of this, too? Seems like every day someone else gets fed up with being a douche.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.111|108.162.249.111]] 23:19, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1332: Slippery Slope

2014-02-19T23:42:24Z

Ricketybridge:

Wow, and I used to think White Hat was well-meaning but stupid; the inverse of Black Hat. I never knew he was such an asshole...
[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.65|199.27.128.65]] 09:11, 19 February 2014 (UTC)
::My own first thought was "That's a Black Hat Voice...". Then I started wondering what White Beret would have said, in his stead, and that sufficiently distracted me... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.7|141.101.99.7]] 13:49, 19 February 2014 (UTC)
::Maybe he's being sarcastic?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.111|108.162.249.111]] 23:19, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

::I read that as more of an introverted perspective (though to an extreme) than him being an asshole.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.57|173.245.54.57]] 16:20, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

::Yeah, I don't really understand what Randall's trying to say by making him a White Hat.

"Where does it end"? - Marriage, obviously. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:29, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

;Reminds me of a scene in 3:10 to Yuma (2007) with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale

Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) speaking to Dan Evans (Christian Bale):
"Yeah, that's why I don't mess around with doing anything good, Dan. You do one good deed for somebody... I imagine it's habit-forming. Something decent. See that grateful look in their eyes, imagine it makes you feel like Christ Hisself."

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.30|108.162.216.30]] 20:24, 19 February 2014 (UTC)CAM

In the U.S., the satellite company DirectTV has a series of humorous commercials using the Slippery Slope argument as part of their "Get Rid of Cable" campaign. They all start with a person using cable tv, having problems of some sort, and then ending up in a dire situation such as waking up in a roadside ditch, selling your hair to a wig shop, etc. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.67|199.27.128.67]] 22:43, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

Am I the only one thinking maybe we might take the literal meaning out of this, too? Seems like every day someone else gets fed up with being a douche.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.111|108.162.249.111]] 23:19, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

1037: Umwelt

2014-02-18T22:34:52Z

Ricketybridge: /* Galaxies */ corrected incorrect interpretation

{{comic
| number = 1037
| date = April 1, 2012
| title = Umwelt
| before = [[#Explanation|↓ Skip to explanation ↓]]
| image = umwelt.png
| titletext = Umwelt is the idea that because their senses pick up on different things, different animals in the same ecosystem actually live in very different worlds. Everything about you shapes the world you inhabit--from your ideology to your glasses prescription to your web browser.
}}
==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|Many of the strips are not explained}}
An {{w|umwelt|Umwelt}}, as the title text explains, is the idea that ones entire way of thinking is dependent on their surroundings. Thus, this {{w|April Fools}} comic changes based on the browser, location, or referrer. Thus, what the viewer is viewing the comic on, where they live, or where they came from determines which comic they actually see. As a result, there are actually multiple comics that went up on April Fools' Day (although only one is seen).

===The Void===
If the device or browser you are using does not support Javascript, you will simply see a static image of a white swirl on a dark background.

===Aurora===
The joke here is either that Canadians, where the comic was shown, would regard the {{w|Aurora (astronomy)|Aurora Borealis}} as normal and thus, would not've seen the sight as particularly amazing, or that XKCD characters see in black and white and would not notice the colors.
Alternately, one could interpret that since Megan didn't go out and therefore missed seeing the Aurora, the main character lied. That way, she wouldn't have felt sad that she missed out.

===Snake===
The joke here is the extreme length of snakes. The world's longest snake is the python, the longest ever being 33 feet or approx. 10 meters. The red and blue circles refer to the hit game {{w|Portal}}.
There is also a reference to the book "The Little Prince" in the second panel.

Also, the number and content of the panels changes depending on the size of your browser window.

===Black Hat===
An analyst attempts to psychoanalyze [[Black Hat|Black Hat's]] [[72: Classhole|classhole]] tendencies. The joke here is that the turtle has actually been turned over and neither sees helping it as a priority.
It's a reference to the Voight-Kampff test used in the movie Blade Runner (1982) to identify replicants.

===Too Quiet===
A reference to {{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park}} which has been [[87: Velociraptors|constantly]] [[135: Substitute|referred]] [[1110: Click and Drag|to]] [[155: Search History|before]] [[758: Raptor Fences|in]] this comic.

Also referencing the film {{w|2 Fast 2 Furious|2 Fast 2 Furious}}, an entertaining, yet intellectually unprovoking sequel in a popular film franchise, which is aimed at teenagers and young adults, prompting the blunt response from the stickman. The fact that Steve would use such a cliché {{w|2000s (decade)|noughties}} movie term in such an intense moment, and the subsequent curse, is the joke in this comic.

===Pond===

===Galaxies===
Megan is distracted from her conversation with [[Cueball]] by realizing that the space behind his head, from her vantage point, contains millions of galaxies. This is similar to an [http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/image/astro/hst_deep_field.jpg incredible photograph] taken by the Hubble Telescope, in which a tiny dark area of space in fact contained numerous galaxies.

The title text is a imaginitive leap from this scenario: that the galaxies would be up to no good once Cueball is turned away from them.

===xkcd Gold===
This is probably a reference to the 4chan Gold Account, an implementation on 4chan that does not actually exist, and is usually used to trick newcomers into revealing their credit card numbers. The joke is that "Gold Account" users can supposedly block other users from viewing images they have posted. The fifth panel is probably a reference to Beecock, a notorious set of shocker images. 4chan's moderators have been known to give out "beecock bans" to particularly annoying users, which redirect the user to a page containing beecock and the text "OH NO THE BOARD IS GONE".

===Yo Mama===

===Reddit===

===Buns and Hot dogs===
This is a reference to the question "Why do hot dogs come in packages of 6 while buns come in packages of 8?"

===Twitter===

===Wikipedia===
The term {{w|Mile High Club}} (or MHC) is a slang term applied collectively to individuals who have sexual intercourse while on board an aircraft. Randall says that reading the news articles on it has distracted him from making that comic

===Google Chrome===
{{w|Sergey Brin}} (born August 21, 1973) is an American computer scientist and Internet entrepreneur who, with Larry Page, co-founded Google, one of the most profitable Internet companies. As of 2013, his personal wealth was estimated to be $24.4 billion. Randall makes the joke that as the founder of Google, Brin's permission would be needed to use Google Chrome. Because there are millions of people who use Google, it is likely that at least some of the time Brin would be asleep, thus he would need to be woken.

===Chrome/Firefox===
Mozilla {{w|Firefox}} is a free and open-source web browser developed for Windows, OS X, and Linux, with a mobile version for Android, by the Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation. Cueball is complaining about {{w|Google Chrome}}, to which [[Ponytail]] replies that there is an {{w|add-on}} the fixes what he is complaining about. When questioned, she replies that the add-on is Firefox, which isn't an add-on at all and is instead a different browser

===Google Chrome-2===
This panel references Google Chrome's error screen, which shows a puzzle piece. The comic humorously implies that Chrome is looking for that piece

===Mozilla Firefox Private Browsing===
Another reference to crashing web browsers

===Internet Explorer===
Yet another reference to crashing web browsers

===Maxthon===

===Netscape Navigator===

===Rockmelt===

===Google Chrome-3===

===Microsoft/Amazon/The Times/Google - Chrome===

===Military===

===France===

===Germany===
This comic references the {{w|Berlin airlift#The start of the Berlin Airlift|Berlin Airlift}}, a relief measure for citizens in West Berlin (surrounded by East Germany) instituted by the Western Allies after World War II. In reality, the Western Allies flew a grand total of 500,000 tons of food over the Soviet blockade in planes. Randall puts a twist on this event by making it more fun: dropping supplies from a grand chairlift. The play on words is that "chairlift" rhymes with "airlift" and thus makes an easy substitution. The chair force is also a name that other service branches use to make fun of the air force.

===Israel===
(Translation from Hebrew)

Person: Mom, I met a great guy! But he's not Jewish. ... Wait, what do you mean "neither are we"? I'm completely confused.

===Carnot Cycle===

==Transcript==
[Two people...]
{Note to courageous readers- The transcript has been reordered in the order in which the comics appear in the picture and appropriate names have been given}

===The Void===
[An epic void with a bright light shining right on you.]

===Aurora===
[Person heading out past another person comfortably sitting in front of a desk.]

Person 1: Apparently there's a solar flare that's causing some Great Aurorae. CBC says they may even be visible here! Wanna drive out to see?

Person 2: Hockey's on.

Person 1: Ok. Later.

[An expansive, marvelous image of emerald green northern lights, floating down through the sky.]

Person 2: See anything?

Person 1: No, just clouds.

Person 2: Not surprised.

===Snake===
[Two people standing next to each other. One is holding the head end of a snake. Depending on the width of your browser, the snake is: three frames, the third of which has a little bit of a bump; the first frame has a human-size bump, the second has a third person looking at the snake, and the third has the snake going though two Portals; a squirrel and the human-size bump in the first frame, a ring next to the third person in the second frame, and Beret Guy riding the snake in front of the portal; or The squirrel, a fourth person within the snake being coiled, and the human bump in the first frame, the ring, a fifth person in love, and the third person in the second frame, Beret Guy and the portal in the third frame, and the same two people in the fourth frame.]

Person holding snake head: I found a snake, but then I forgot to stop.

===Black hat===
[Two people sitting at a desk. One is Black Hat Guy. The other is an analyst. Black Hat Guy has a number of terminals attached to his head.]

Analyst: You come across a tortoise in the desert. You flip it over. It struggles to right itself. You watch. You're not helping. Why is that?

Black Hat Guy: It *knows* what it did.

[View of the entire scene, with said turtle off in the distance on its back and trying to right itself.]

===Too quiet===
[A group of four scale down a wall into a field in the middle of the night. They walk off single-file.]

Person 1: It's quiet.

Person 3: Yeah - *Too* quiet.

[A Velociraptor is off in the distance, following the group.]

Person 4: Yeah - too *too* quiet.

Person 2: Yeah - 2quiet2furious.

Person 1: Fuck off, Steve.

===Pond===
[A landscape showing a pond, some reeds, and a set of mountains off in the distance.]

===Galaxies===
[A trio of galaxies.]

Galaxy 1: He's not looking!

Galaxy 3: Let's get him!

[Lines draw in illustrating the eye-line of one of a pair of people.]

Person 1: So he said he didn't get the text, but c'mon, he *never* misses texts. Right? ..hello?

Person 2: I'm just staring at your head freaked out by the fact that there are millions of galaxies *directly behind it*.

===xkcd Gold/Beehive part 1===

[Person holding bat.]

Person: Sorry, but this comic

[Person starts to wind up.]

requires

[Person prepares to strike with bat.]

XKCD

[Person swings at a beehive.]

GOLD

===Beehive part 2===
[Penis Bees fly out of the beehive.]

===Yo mamma===
[Person yells at another person.]

Person 1;Oh yeah? Well you mama's so *cynical*, her only dog ballast is a *leash*!

(This comic takes place in a dystopian future where the government is afraid dogs can hover, so it requires them to wear weights at all times, and some people privately doubt the government, but not enough to stop buying dog weights)

===Reddit===
Five seconds ago:

[You sitting in front of a desk, reading a reddit thread]

You: Oh, hey, reddit has a link to some XKCD april fools comic.

Now: [An image of this very page]

Five seconds from now:

You: ..hey

30 seconds from now:

[DANCE PARTY!]

===Buns and Hot dogs===

Person: What I wanna know is why do hot dogs come in packages of six while buns come in these huge sacks of ash and blood from which "Ave Maria" is faintly audible?

[Chanting sacks of gore in the background.]

===Twitter===
[A Twitter account page with the following: Many tweets, fewer following, even fewer followers, A bunch of assholes in the suggested follow box, trending topics partitioned into: Word Games, Misogyny, and Bieber, stuff your eyes automatically ignore, A really pleasant blue. and the timeline: Something about a podcast, Someone confused because the description doesn't match the link, The link you clicked on to get to this comic, Rob Delaney, Passive Aggression, and horse_ebooks.]

===Wikipedia===
[There's no comic here because instead of drawing one, I spent the last hour reading every news story cited in the Wikipedia article on "The Mile High Club"]

===Google Chrome===
[A Chrome plugin error page]

Chrome: This plugin requires Sergey Brin's permission to run. Please wait while he is woken.

===Chrome/Firefox===
[Two people; one is sitting at a desk in front of a laptop.]

Person 1: Man, chrome's hardware acceleration really sucks.

Person 2: Oh - Theres' a great add-on that fixes it.

Person 1: Oh? What's it called?

Person 2: "Firefox".

===Google Chrome-2===
[A Chrome plugin error page with the characteristic jigsaw piece.]

Chrome: Chrome is looking for this piece. Have you seen it? Chrome thinks it links up with a corner.

===Mozilla Firefox Private Browsing===
[Firefox error page.]

Firefox: Well, this is embarrassing. You know how I'm not supposed to peek at your browsing in private mode? Firefox.. is sorry. Firefox will not blame you if you

[button with text]

click here to report this incident.

===Internet Explorer===
[IE error page]

IE: Error: Internet Explorer has given up.

===Maxthon===
Person: Maxthon? Hey, 2005 called. Didn't say anything. All I could hear was sobbing. This is getting harder. Anyway, yeah, Maxthon's still cool! Didn't know it was still around!

===Netscape Navigator===
[Person with tentacle arms.]

Person: Netscape Navigator? Hey, the nineties called - drunk as usual. I hung up without saying anything. This is getting harder. Anyway - it's cool that you'e got netscape running.

===Rockmelt===
[Person running to laptop.]

I ran to Rockmelt to hide my face

[Person sitting at laptop.]

But Rockmelt cried out -

[Laptop shouting]

NO HIDING PLACE

[zoom out]

NO HIDING PLACE DOWN HERE

===Google Chrome-3===
[A chrome plugin error page.]

Chrome: There does not exist --nor could there *ever* exist-- a plugin capable of displaying this content.

===Microsoft/Amazon/The Times/Google - Chrome===
[Chrome error page.]

Chrome: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, Microsoft/Amazon/The Times/Google is a team; individual employees should *never* speak for the company without authorization.

===Military===
[Person looking at two browser windows.]

I know y'all know what you're doing. But if you're on a military machine and you're supposed to be watching for missiles or something, I hope you're keeping an eye on that in the background while you're reading comics. Also: Thanks.

===T-Mobile===
[Error page]

Data Error: T-Mobile was unable to establish a connection

===Verizon===
[Error page]

Error; You have exceeded your Verizon monthly bandwidth cap. Mobile web browsing has been disabled.

===France===
[Two people; one of which is browsing using a laptop.]

Person 1: Hey, you're French, right? Ever see what happens when you type "French Military Victories" into Google?

French person: Does it take you to an article on Napoleon?

French person: ..no? Strange, given how he kicked everyone's asses up and down europe for over a decade.

[beat]

Person 1: Touche.

French person: You know, that'd sound smarter if you didn't pronounce it like it rhymes with "douche".

===Germany===
[A person dropping food from an unorthodox high perch.]

June 1948: In response to the Soviet blockade of East Germany, the western allies construct the Berlin Chairlift.

Person on chairlift: Food!

===Israel===
[Person on phone]

(Translation from Hebrew)

Person: Mom, I met a great guy! But he's not Jewish. ... Wait, what do you mean "neither are we"? I'm completely confused.

===Carnot Cycle===
[Person on a motorcycle with a heat-entropy graph on the side.]

Person 1: Check out my new Carnot Cycle!

Person 2: Neat -- how fast does it go?

Person 1: Depends how cold it is outside.

===Great Britain===
[Illustration of the atlantic ocean.]

American person: Sorry I don't have a comic poking fun at the UK here. I only had time to get to the most *important* US states.

British person: Hey -- At least we have free health care and real ale.

===Earthquake-Blizzard===
[Two people sitting at a desk, facing each other. The desk rattles.]

Person 1: Stop jiggling your leg.

Person 2: I'm not ji-.. oh!

Person 1: What!

Person 2: You'll get it..

[EVERYTHING RUMBLES]

Person 1: ..HOLY CRAP IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!

Person 2: Just a little one. Happens all the time back in San Francisco.

Person 1: But this is {Options: "Alabama", "Boston", "Chicago", "Dallas", "Georgia", "Halifax", "Illinois", "Michigan", "Minnesota", "Missouri", "the Northeast", "Ohio", "Oklahoma", "Ottawa", 'Pennsylvania", "Philadelphia", "Texas", "Toronto", "Tennessee", "New York", "Wisconsin"}! That was huge!

Person 2: Seriously? That's the worst this place can do? Wow. I guess we grow up tougher in California.

Person 1: Oh *really*... Six Months Later..

[Both people are trudging through a massive blizzard.]

Person 2: In pictures, snow always looked so nice and sof -- AAAA! MY NECK! How do people live here?!

Person 1: Come on - it's only three more miles.

===Earthquake-Tornado===
[Two people sitting at a desk, facing each other. The desk rattles.]

Person 1: Stop jiggling your leg.

Person 2: I'm not ji-.. oh!

Person 1: What! Person 2: You'll get it..

[EVERYTHING RUMBLES]

Person 1: ..HOLY CRAP IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!

Person 2: Just a little one. Happens all the time back in San Francisco.

Person 1: But this is {Options: "Alabama", "Dallas", "Illinois", "The Midwest", "Missouri", "Ohio", "Oklahoma", "Ottawa", "Tennessee", "Texas"}!

That was huge!

Person 2: Seriously? That's the worst this place can do? Wow. I guess we grow up tougher in California.

Person 1: Oh *really*...

Six Months Later..

[Both people are in a shelter in a prairie with a rapidly-approaching tornado.]

Person 2: AAAA CLOSE THE SHELTER DOOR!

Person 1: Say the magic words...

Person 2: THIS PLACE IS THE WORST!

Person 1: Thank you.

===Lake Diver Killer===
[TV Field Reporter in front of a cordoned-off lake.]

Police divers searching the bay say they have recovered thebody of another victim of the "Lake Diver Killer" During the search, three more divers were reported missing.

===Washington===
[The statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial.]

In this Marble Prison As in the nightmares of the nation they tried to devour The nanobots that constituted Abraham Lincoln Are entombed forever.

===Alaska===
[A snowy Alaskan field.]

Person: Some people hunt wolves from helicopters. I hunt helicopters from a wolf.

===Life in lab===
[Newspaper headline.]

Scientists/UMass Amherst students/RIT students create life in lab

[caption under picture of scientists.]

"The trick was fuckin'"

===American Revolution===
Robot Paul Revere: Remember: Zero if by land, One if by sea.

===MIT===
[Two people in front of a group of students.]

Person 1: I've hired a team of MIT students to count cards for us.

Person 2: We'll be rich!

[Person 2 deals some cards while the students watch.]

[The gears turn..]

Student: Five. There are five cards.

Person 1: I see their admission standards have been slipping.

Person 2: Yeah - there are actually four.

===MIT Course 15c===
[Two people in front of a group of students.]

Person 1: I've hired a team of MIT students to count cards for us.

Person 2: We'll be rich!

[Person 2 deals some cards while the students watch.]

[The gears turn..]

Student: Five. There are five cards.

Person 1: I *knew* we shouldn't have picked course 15s.

Person 2: Yeah - there are actually four.

===Smith/Wellesley===
[Two people in front of a group of students.]

Person 1: I've hired a team of Smith/Wellesley students to count cards for us.

Person 2: We'll be rich!

[Person 2 deals some cards while the students watch.]

[The gears turn..]

Student: Five. There are five cards.

Person 1: We should've gone with Wellesley/Smith.

Person 2: Yeah - there are actually four.

===CNU===
[Person unsuspectingly strolls under a giant box trap controlled by a Trible.]

I worry that CNU only invited me back as a ruse because they realized I never turned in my final paper and want my diploma back. But if it turns out it's for real, I'll see you Wednesday at the Ferguson!

===Dana Farber===
[Cueball, pointing towards head.]

Cueball: Check it out - In support of people going through chemo, i shaved my head.

Lots of love to everyone reading this at Dana Farber. Cancer sucks. If you are new to DCFI, there's a great little garden on the third floor of the yawkey if you need somewhere quiet to just sit for a little bit and breathe.

===Earthquake-Hurricane===
[Two people sitting at a desk, facing each other. The desk rattles.]

Person 1: Stop jiggling your leg.

Person 2: I'm not ji-.. oh!

Person 1: What! Person 2: You'll get it..

[EVERYTHING RUMBLES]

Person 1: ..HOLY CRAP IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!

Person 2: Just a little one. Happens all the time back in San Francisco.

Person 1: But this is {Options: "D.C", "Florida", "Houston", "Miami", "New Jersey", "North Carolina", "South Carolina", "Virgina"}! That was huge!

Person 2: Seriously? That's the worst this place can do? Wow. I guess we grow up tougher in California.

Person 1: Oh *really*...

Six Months Later..

[Both are in the middle of a hurricane. Person 2 is grabbing onto a signpost to avoid being swept away.]

Person 2: AAAAA WHAT THE SHIIIIT!

Person 1: Calm down - this is barely a category 2.

===Corporate===
[Error page]

Error: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, we work as a team; individual employees should *never* speak for the company without authorization.

===Microsoft/Amazon - Firefox===
[Firefox error page]

Chrome: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, Microsoft/Amazon is a team; individual employees should *never* speak for the company without authorization.

===Microsoft/The Times===
[Error page]

Error: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, Microsoft/The Times is a team; individual employees should *never* speak for the company without authorization.

===Aurora-US===
[Person heading out past another person comfortably sitting in front of a desk.]

Person 1: Apparently there's a solar storm causing northern lights over Canada. CNN say they might even be visible {Options: "As Far South As Us", "Here in Boston", "Maine", "Ohio", "Oregon", "New York"}! Wanna drive out to see?
Person 2: It's cold out.
Person 1: Ok. Later.

[An expansive, marvelous image of emerald green northern lights, floating down through the sky.]

Person 2: See anything?

Person 1: No, just clouds.

Person 2: Not surprised.

==Trivia==
*Reddit user [http://www.reddit.com/user/SomePostMan SomePostMan] created a [http://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/t6wmh/all_umwelt_1037_comics_in_two_imgur_albums/ post] that collected all of the Umwelt comics and added explanations.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:April fool's comics]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]

476: One-Sided

2014-02-10T22:07:02Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ explained a bit more

{{comic
| number = 476
| date = September 15, 2008
| title = One-Sided
| image = one-sided.png
| titletext = He continued, "Okay, Bernanke is uncontaminated. Find a crossbow and get him into position behind one of the columns at the Fed entrance. This is gonna get ugly."
}}

==Explanation==

The comic refers to the phenomenon of hearing half a conversation from a stranger on a cell phone and, not noticing the cell phone, imagining that that person is talking to you and responding in kind. The chart gives a plot of the frequency that this occurs against the amount of time that passes before the error is discovered. It also implies that the author's second relationship was in reality just a particularly long instance of this occurrence, suggesting that his girlfriend tended to be more interested in talking on her phone rather than talking to him.

The title text shows how the phone call continues. The name Bernanke as well as the mention of the Fed building alludes to Cueball overhearing details of a fictional conspiracy involving the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke and a crossbow. Some of the conversation may also reference a plot in the video game Fallout 3 to eliminate mutated or "contaminated" denizens of the "Capital Wasteland" setting of the game and take control of the area. Fallout 3 was set in post-apocalyptic Washington D.C. Ben Bernanke does not appear as a character in the game.

==Transcript==
:[Sometimes my conversations with strangers go on for a while before I realize that they're talking on their phones.]
:Guy with backpack: Hi!
:Cueball: Hi.
:Guy with backpack: What's up?
:Cueball: Uh, not a lot...
:Guy with backpack: Shit. Does Bernanke own a crossbow?
:[Background is a graph, with x-axis labelled "Length of Conversation" and y-axis labelled "How Often This Happens". The graph looks parabolic towards the left-hand side, but as x approaches infinity, y approaches zero. A vertical dashed line runs through the graph, slightly to the right of the peak of the graph. To the right of the dashed line there is an arrow pointing to the right that is labelled "Awkward Zone". The x-axis has a broken scale, and to the right of the break there is a very small increase in the graph that is parenthetically labelled "My Second Relationship".]

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

1324: Weather

2014-01-31T17:38:45Z

Ricketybridge: Explanation / corrected spelling

{{comic
| number = 1324
| date = January 31, 2014
| title = Weather
| image = weather.png
| titletext = At least if you're really into, like, Turkish archaeology, store clerks aren't like 'hey, how 'bout those Derinkuyu underground cities!' when they're trying to be polite.
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|For the Turkish archaeology geeks out there: flesh that part out!}}
[[Hairy]] makes a casual comment about the weather and [[Cueball]] responds with detailed information about the current weather system and forecasts, which Hairy probably wasn't interested in at all.

{{w|Jet stream|Jet streams}} are strong air currents high in the atmosphere which have a big influence on the weather.

18z (or better 18Z) is UTC 18:00 (6 PM in Greenwich, England, 10 AM in California). See {{w|ISO 8601}} in Wikipedia.

GFS is the {{w|Global Forecast System}} (also known as NCEP-GFS). It is a computer model used by the {{w|National Weather Service}} to predict the weather up to 16 days in advance. The model is run 4 times a day and the output is distinguished by the UTC hour is was started (18z in this case).

Part of the prediction is the {{w|atmospheric pressure}} expressed in {{w|Bar (unit)|mbar}} (or mb). 960 mbar is very low pressure, which is usually associated with seriously bad weather (record low pressure for Minnesota was 963 mbar till 1998).

Store clerks are known for small talk about the weather as part of their sales talk. In title text, a clerk instead makes small talk about {{w|Derinkuyu Underground City|Derinkuyu Underground Cities}}, one of the most well-known {{w|History of Turkey|archaeological sites in Turkey}}, which is a country very well known for its many well-preserved ancient sites from a broad range of time periods. It would be very tempting for Turkish archaeology geek to launch into a detailed conversation on the subject or related news.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Hairy are talking.]
:Hairy: So, how 'bout this weather?
:Cueball: I ''know,'' right? The whole jet stream layer is ''nuts!''
:Hairy: Um, sure...
:Cueball: The 18z GFS forecasts 960mb by Tuesday. Think it'll verify?
:Hairy: What?
:Cueball: ...Right. Sorry. Uh, yeah! Weather sure has been crazy.
:Weather geeks have it tough.
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]

44: Love

2014-01-23T21:37:29Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ replaced with better explanation

{{comic
| number = 44
| date = October 19, 2005
| title = Love
| image = love.jpg
| titletext = This one makes me wince every time I think about it
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a play on a trope whereby couples obnoxiously escalate the claims of how much they love each other. Instead of continuing [[Cueball]'s escalation by saying the expected response "I love ''you'' more!" [[Megan]] stops and agrees with him: he does love her more than she loves him, which is a common, though unfortunate, situation in relationships. Typically, however, the couple never openly admits this painful truth, particularly right in the middle of a fun, loving exchange as Megan does here.

In the title text, [[Randall]] expresses his awkwardness or chagrin at the exchange he's portrayed.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan stand facing one another.]

:Cueball: I love you!
:Megan: I love you!

:Cueball: I love you more!

:Megan: Yeah.

:[Cueball and Megan stand facing one another - saying nothing.]

==Trivia==
*This is the twenty-first comic originally posted to livejournal. The previous was [[21: Kepler]]. The next was [[40: Light]].
*This is the last strip drawn on graph paper.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Romance]]

76: Familiar

2014-01-23T21:26:30Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ replaced with correct explanation

{{comic
| number = 76
| date = March 15, 2006
| title = Familiar
| image = familiar.jpg
| titletext = :(
}}

==Explanation==
[[Megan]] tells her boyfriend ([[Hairy]]) her reservations about their relationship: she's happy with him, she thinks he doesn't compare to anyone else, and they have a strong connection built up over the course of years, but she's worried that all this is just because they've been dating so long. Hairy responds to this by saying that he doesn't even like her, recognizing that it's relatively poor timing to say so after her expression of love (albeit a rather ambivalent one).

The title text is a sad-face emoticon, representing either Megan's sadness about his dislike of her, his (possibly disingenuous) sympathy for her, or the narrator's recognition that he's depicted a sad situation.

==Transcript==
:[Hairy and Megan are talking]
:Megan: I worry that I'm just with you because it's familiar. Of course no one else compares. I've known you for so long that I'd have to spend years with someone to build up this kind of connection and I daren't let you go of you long enough to let that happen.
:Megan: But I guess this is really all I can ask for. I'm happy with you; I should stop worrying.
:[Megan takes Hairy's hand.]
:Hairy: This is probably a bad time to bring this up, but I don't actually like you.

==Trivia==
''xkcd'' has had a couple of awkward-romance strips throughout its history. Other examples of things not to say in romantic moments are given in [[770: All the Girls]] and [[44: Love]].

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

542: Cover-Up

2014-01-23T21:02:24Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 542
| date = February 11, 2009
| title = Cover-Up
| image = cover_up.png
| titletext = Man, this trick has saved me so many times.
}}

==Explanation==
Gullible means easily deceived or naïve. This is a game many people play with each other "Whoa, someone wrote 'gullible' in the sky!" "Did you know when you look at the Microsoft logo upside-down it looks like the word 'gullible'?" Those that are gullible check. Those that aren't, don't. In fact they will pointedly not do the thing that the first person has suggested as a show of how non-gullible they are. [[Black Hat]] uses this to his advantage to cover up copious bloodstains on a ceiling.

The story in this comic may be a continuation of [[515: No One Must Know]].

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat is holding blood stained rags while Danish is holding an equally bloody mop.]
:Black Hat: Okay, got the blood off the walls.
:Danish: I finished the floor.

:Black Hat: Good; he'll be home any-
:Black Hat: Oh crap! We forgot to clean the ceiling!

:Danish: There's no time!
:Black Hat: Wait, I'll handle it.

:[Cueball with briefcase enters the house.]
:Black Hat: Hi. Did you know "gullible" is written on your ceiling?
:Cueball: Hah. Yeah, right.

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

928: Mimic Octopus

2014-01-23T20:34:51Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ took out informal commentary

{{comic
| number = 928
| date = July 22, 2011
| title = Mimic Octopus
| image = mimic_octopus.png
| titletext = Even if the dictionaries are starting to give in, I refuse to accept 'octopi' as a word mainly because--I'm not making this up--there's a really satisfying climactic scene in the Orson Scott Card horror novel 'Lost Boys' which hinges on it being an incorrect pluralization.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a parody of fish and sea-life identification charts, referencing the {{w|mimic octopus}} which, as the name implies, is able to mimic other animals.

The {{w|Orson Scott Card}} novel that the title text refers to is ''{{w|Lost Boys (novel)|Lost Boys}}'': "A withdrawn eight-year-old in a troubled family invents imaginary friends who bear the names of missing children" (Publisher's Weekly). The section the title text is referencing is on [http://books.google.com/books?id=Vs9PTzLMDfUC&pg=PA201&dq=octopi+Octopuses Google Books].

According to the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFyY2mK8pxk Merriam-Webster Dictionary], "octopi," "octopuses," and "octopodes" (UK English) are all correct plural versions of "octopus."

==Transcript==
:Southeast Asian Sea Life
:Identification Chart
:[There are silhouettes of eight individual fish, a school of fish, a scuba diver, an anemone, a submarine, and an anchor, each labeled "Mimic Octopus." There is also a silhouette of an octopus, labeled "Two Mimic Octopuses."]

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

1319: Automation

2014-01-21T23:00:54Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ changed a word

{{comic
| number = 1319
| date = January 20, 2014
| title = Automation
| image = automation.png
| titletext = 'Automating' comes from the roots 'auto-' meaning 'self-', and 'mating', meaning 'screwing'.
}}

{{incomplete|need fact checking and citations}}
==Explanation==
The comic refers to the phenomenon by which attempts to create programs to automate menial but frequent tasks to save time and effort often end up taking much more time than the menial tasks would have taken. The first graph reflects the assumed ideal that leads programmers into such an attempt: writing the program will take more effort initially, but once the program is complete, it will take over the routine tasks, leaving the programmer free to do something else.

However, writing a program often turns out to be not that simple: programs can have defects, and certain functionalities can be hard to implement. Because of this, programmers usually spend more time than projected to finish a program. As time goes on, the desire to see it finished can consume the programmer's effort and attention, with the menial tasks left undone.

The title text is a play on the word "automating." While "auto-" is indeed a prefix that means "self," the root word "mat," from Greek, in fact refers to "moving" or "acting," so "automate" effectively means "self-moving." However, the title text uses a double entendre of the word "mating" (of Germanic origin, meaning [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mate#Etymology_1 "messmate"]), the definitions of which include "to copulate," or, in slang, "to screw," which itself has the double meaning of giving someone a hard time. This rendition of "automating" translates to self-screwing (giving yourself a hard time), which, according to this comic, happens when one attempts to automate a process.

See also [[974: The General Problem]] and [[1205: Is It Worth the Time?]].

==Transcript==
:"I spend a lot of time on this task. I should write a program automating it!"

:[Two graphs are shown, plotting workload against time.]

:Theory:
:[The line for "work on original task" is steady but then drops down to a much lower level.]
:[The line for the automating job increases heavily while "writing code" and then drops down when "automation takes over".]
:[Both lines end up with a big amount of "free time".]

:Reality:
:[The line for "work on original task" is steady with no drop to a lower level.]
:[The line for the automating job increases heavily while "writing code", then it increases again while "debugging", it drops down slightly while "rethinking", and grows up again with an infinite end while the task is still an "ongoing development".]
:[The line for "work on original task" ends up with "no time for original task anymore".]

{{comic discussion}}

1319: Automation

2014-01-21T22:59:30Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ smoothed out explanation, added more

{{comic
| number = 1319
| date = January 20, 2014
| title = Automation
| image = automation.png
| titletext = 'Automating' comes from the roots 'auto-' meaning 'self-', and 'mating', meaning 'screwing'.
}}

{{incomplete|need fact checking and citations}}
==Explanation==
The comic refers to the phenomenon by which attempts to create programs to automate menial but frequent tasks to save time and effort often end up taking much more time than the menial tasks would have taken. The first graph reflects the assumed ideal that leads programmers into such an attempt: writing the program will take more effort initially, but once the program is complete, it will take over the routine tasks, leaving the programmer free to do something else.

However, writing a program often turns out to be not that simple: programs can have defects, and certain functionalities can be hard to implement. Because of this, programmers usually spend more time than projected to finish a program. As time goes on, the desire to see it finished can consume the programmer's effort and attention, with the menial tasks left undone.

The title text is a play on the word "automating." While "auto-" is indeed a prefix that means "self," the root word "mat," from Greek, in fact refers to "moving" or "acting," so "automate" effectively means "self-moving." However, the title text uses a double entendre of the word "mating" (of Germanic origin, meaning [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mate#Etymology_1 "messmate"]), the definitions of which include "to copulate," or, in slang, "to screw," which further has the double meaning of giving someone a hard time. This rendition of "automating" translates to self-screwing (giving yourself a hard time), which, according to this comic, happens when one attempts to automate a process.

See also [[974: The General Problem]] and [[1205: Is It Worth the Time?]].

==Transcript==
:"I spend a lot of time on this task. I should write a program automating it!"

:[Two graphs are shown, plotting workload against time.]

:Theory:
:[The line for "work on original task" is steady but then drops down to a much lower level.]
:[The line for the automating job increases heavily while "writing code" and then drops down when "automation takes over".]
:[Both lines end up with a big amount of "free time".]

:Reality:
:[The line for "work on original task" is steady with no drop to a lower level.]
:[The line for the automating job increases heavily while "writing code", then it increases again while "debugging", it drops down slightly while "rethinking", and grows up again with an infinite end while the task is still an "ongoing development".]
:[The line for "work on original task" ends up with "no time for original task anymore".]

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1078: Knights

2014-01-20T23:05:42Z

Ricketybridge:

At the beginning of a chess game, neither knight can move to e3. The proper move (and the move actually made, in the picture) is Nf3. The Nc3 move is correct.
[[Special:Contributions/128.187.97.21|128.187.97.21]] 23:44, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

: Indeed, thanks for pointing that out; the move was corrected on xkcd.com, so I did the same here. - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 13:53, 30 August 2012 (UTC)

Why didn't black move? {{unsigned ip|108.162.246.120}}
:He did. The lines represent black pawns raining down a hail of arrows to kill the knights. {{unsigned ip|173.245.56.61}}

I seem to remember that the bows and arrows at Agincourt (and thereby taking down the horses) was something of a surprise -- as it would be in chess, as well (otherwise, they wouldn't have made their horses so vulnerable). I'm too lazy to look this up myself, so if anyone already knows a bunch about that, that'd be something to add. --[[User:Ricketybridge|Ricketybridge]] ([[User talk:Ricketybridge|talk]]) 23:05, 20 January 2014 (UTC)

571: Can't Sleep

2014-01-20T23:00:32Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ added third paragraph

{{comic
| number = 571
| date = April 20, 2009
| title = Can't Sleep
| image = cant sleep.png
| titletext = If androids someday DO dream of electric sheep, don't forget to declare sheepCount as a long int.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is in bed and is having trouble sleeping. He tries the old standby of counting sheep as they jump over a fence, but upon reaching 32,767 sheep, the sheep all jump back over the fence and start counting up again from -32,768. This is because when a whole number or integer is represented in a digital form, such as on a computer, the number's range is limited by the amount of space used to store it. When the greatest possible number given the storage space is exceeded, an arithmetic overflow occurs, which results in starting over at the least possible number given the storage space. This is not at all unlike a car's odometer. Imagine an odometer with six digits reaching 999999 miles. Upon driving one more mile, the digits will roll back over to 000000.

In this case, the least and greatest possible numbers are -32,768 and 32,767, which implies that the storage space used would be two bytes. In addition, it's clear that the number is designated as a signed number, meaning that it can be either positive or negative.

However, even if Cueball had this limitation, it would never actually pose a problem. By 32,767 sheep, at a rate of one sheep per second, Cueball has been counting for over nine hours. This would signify that he has extreme insomnia and probably needs treatment, and also that he has spent the entire night counting, and therefore would just get up and start the day rather than count sheep all over again from -32,768. Moreover, according to an experiment conducted by researchers at Oxford University, {{w|Counting sheep|counting sheep is actually an inferior means of inducing sleep}}.

The title text refers to the 1968 Philip K. Dick science fiction novel ''Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'', which was adapted into the perhaps more widely known Ridley Scott directed 1982 film ''Blade Runner''. The implication is that if we ever do create androids that dream of electric sheep, we should make sure to give them sufficient storage space to store numbers large enough such that an arithmetic overflow will be far less likely to occur, even if they count for a long time. A "long int" consists of four bytes rather than two, so instead of being limited to a range from -32,768 to 32,767 the number will be capable of storing numbers from -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647. "sheepCount" is a possible name for a variable to be used in a computer program. Declaring a variable tells the computer that it should allocate a portion of memory to be associated with the variable name given. For those who might be unfamiliar with common programming practices, "sheepCount" is named using what is commonly referred to as CamelCase, meaning that all words in the name ("sheep" and "count") are pushed together and the first letter of every word after the first is capitalized. This is one of several common approaches to naming variables in computer programming.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is in bed, presumably trying to sleep. The top of each panel is a thought bubble showing sheep leaping over a fence.]
:1... 2...
:baaa
:[Two sheep are jumping from left to right.]

:... 1,306... 1,307...
:baaa
:[Two sheep are jumping from left to right. The would-be sleeper is holding his pillow.]

:... 32,767... -32,768...
:''baaa baaa baaa baaa baaa''
:[A whole flock of sheep is jumping over the fence from right to left. The would-be sleeper is sitting up.]
:Sleeper: ?

:... -32,767... -32,766...
:baaa
:[Two sheep are jumping from left to right. The would-be sleeper is holding his pillow over his head.]

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

779: Anxiety

2014-01-20T22:48:20Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ deleted a few words

{{comic
| number = 779
| date = August 13, 2010
| title = Anxiety
| image = anxiety.png
| titletext = Don't need any, thanks. I have a backscattering fetish.
}}

==Explanation==
Many people have cried out against airports that use {{w|backscatter X-ray}} machines as a security measure since the machines can create an image of the subject naked. [[Black Hat]] is giving men a means to thumb their noses at the system by forcing the security guard to see them with erections. And judging by the security guard's thought bubble, he indeed is not looking forward to seeing all these erections.

The fact that Black Hat is charging money for Viagra instead of giving it out for free suggests that his motive is financial rather than vengeful: he has identified a source of {{w|Induced Demand|latent demand}} and is exploiting it.

The person speaking in the title text doesn't need an erectile dysfunction pill to achieve erection in this situation because he is aroused by the physics principles which make this technology possible or by the technology itself.

==Transcript==
:[There is an airport security checkpoint where a queue of ten passengers is waiting to go through a backscatter x-ray scanner. Near the back of the line, Black Hat is standing next to a stand which says "Viagra $20". One passenger next to him is drinking a glass of water; another is contemplating the sign.]
:Security Guard (thinking): Oh god.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Politics]]

779: Anxiety

2014-01-20T22:47:58Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ added second paragraph

{{comic
| number = 779
| date = August 13, 2010
| title = Anxiety
| image = anxiety.png
| titletext = Don't need any, thanks. I have a backscattering fetish.
}}

==Explanation==
Many people have cried out against airports that use {{w|backscatter X-ray}} machines as a security measure since the machines can create an image of the subject naked. [[Black Hat]] is giving men a means to thumb their noses at the system by forcing the security guard to see them with erections. And judging by the security guard's thought bubble, he indeed is not looking forward to seeing all these erections.

Judging by the fact that Black Hat is charging money for Viagra instead of giving it out for free suggests that his motive is financial rather than vengeful: he has identified a source of {{w|Induced Demand|latent demand}} and is exploiting it.

The person speaking in the title text doesn't need an erectile dysfunction pill to achieve erection in this situation because he is aroused by the physics principles which make this technology possible or by the technology itself.

==Transcript==
:[There is an airport security checkpoint where a queue of ten passengers is waiting to go through a backscatter x-ray scanner. Near the back of the line, Black Hat is standing next to a stand which says "Viagra $20". One passenger next to him is drinking a glass of water; another is contemplating the sign.]
:Security Guard (thinking): Oh god.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Politics]]

779: Anxiety

2014-01-20T22:43:56Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ words

{{comic
| number = 779
| date = August 13, 2010
| title = Anxiety
| image = anxiety.png
| titletext = Don't need any, thanks. I have a backscattering fetish.
}}

==Explanation==
Many people have cried out against airports that use {{w|backscatter X-ray}} machines as a security measure since the machines can create an image of the subject naked. [[Black Hat]] is giving men a means to thumb their noses at the system by forcing the security guard to see them with erections.

The person speaking in the title text doesn't need an erectile dysfunction pill to achieve erection in this situation because he is aroused by the physics principles which make this technology possible or by the technology itself.

==Transcript==
:[There is an airport security checkpoint where a queue of ten passengers is waiting to go through a backscatter x-ray scanner. Near the back of the line, Black Hat is standing next to a stand which says "Viagra $20". One passenger next to him is drinking a glass of water; another is contemplating the sign.]
:Security Guard (thinking): Oh god.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Politics]]

1161: Hand Sanitizer

2014-01-20T22:40:37Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ grammar

{{comic
| number = 1161
| date = January 16, 2013
| title = Hand Sanitizer
| image = hand sanitizer.png
| titletext = Hipster CDC Reports Flu Epidemic Peaked Years Ago
}}

==Explanation==
The number of germs that would be left after using the hand sanitizer is 200 million times 0.01%. 0.01% is equivalent to .0001 decimal, so the simple equation is 200000000 × .0001. That equals 20 thousand germs, which is still a surprisingly large number of germs. Recently scientists have shown that it only takes 20 virus particles to infect someone [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2257098/Larry-projectile-vomiting-robot-helping-British-team-learn-stop-spread-norovirus.html] (with analyzed virus; not all germs are equally effective). However, they have also previously noted that the effectiveness of hand sanitizer is actually higher than 99.99%, but it's a bit awkward to print a more precise decimal in an advertising slogan.

Note that in some simple/business calculators entering the calculation as "200000000 × 0.01 %" is '''incorrect''' and may produce a number such as 2 million. Pressing "=" after may also be incorrect and may produce 400,000,000,000,000. This is because the "%" key in those calculators does not denote that preceding number is a {{w|percentage}}, but instead signify an operation related to percentage, for example some calculator the "%" key will replace the preceding number with that number as a {{w|percentage}} multiplied with the number before that ([http://blogs.msdn.com/b/oldnewthing/archive/2008/01/10/7047497.aspx How does the calculator percent key work? - The Old New Thing]).

"Hipster CDC" is a combination of the acronym for the {{w|Centers for Disease Control and Prevention}}, an organization dedicated to studying infectious diseases and limiting their spread, with the label {{w|Hipster (contemporary subculture)|hipster}}. Hipsters form a cultural group associated with a distaste for popular culture; they stereotypically talk about how bands, authors, etc. were better before they "went mainstream" and proclaim that they liked a certain thing "before it was cool." The title text etends this sensibility to the flu, which in fact did peak years ago, such as in 1918, when a {{w|1918 flu epidemic|world-wide flu epidemic}} killed tens of millions. The humor lies in the notion that the "Hipster CDC" apparently approves of the time when the flu was more widespread and fatal, while most people consider the diminishment of the flu is a good thing. This could be a jab at hipsters' common insistence on liking things before they "go mainstream": many things, before they go mainstream, just aren't very good, and therefore hipsters' taste in things is highly questionable.

==Transcript==
:Poster: An invisible sneeze droplet can contain ''200 million'' germs!
:Product label: Our hand sanitizer kills 99.99% of germs!
:Cueball (typing on calculator): 200 000 000 × 0.01% =
:Cueball: Ew.

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

1161: Hand Sanitizer

2014-01-20T22:37:58Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1161
| date = January 16, 2013
| title = Hand Sanitizer
| image = hand sanitizer.png
| titletext = Hipster CDC Reports Flu Epidemic Peaked Years Ago
}}

==Explanation==
The number of germs that would be left after using the hand sanitizer is 200 million times 0.01%. 0.01% is equivalent to .0001 decimal, so the simple equation is 200000000 × .0001. That equals 20 thousand germs, which is still a surprisingly large number of germs.

Note that in some simple / business calculators entering the calculation as "200000000 × 0.01 %" is '''incorrect''' and may produce number such as 2 million. Pressing "=" after may also be incorrect and may produce 400`000`000`000`000. This is because the "%" key in those calculators does not denote that preceding number is a {{w|percentage}}, but instead signify an operation related to percentage, for example some calculator the "%" key will replace the preceding number with that number as {{w|percentage}} multiplied with the number before that ([http://blogs.msdn.com/b/oldnewthing/archive/2008/01/10/7047497.aspx How does the calculator percent key work? - The Old New Thing]).

Side note - Recently scientists have shown that it only takes 20 virus particles to infect someone [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2257098/Larry-projectile-vomiting-robot-helping-British-team-learn-stop-spread-norovirus.html] (with analyzed virus: not all germs are equally effective). They have also previously noted that the effectiveness of hand sanitizer is actually higher than 99.99%, it's just awkward to print a more precise decimal in an advertising slogan.

"Hipster CDC" is a combination of the acronym for the {{w|Centers for Disease Control and Prevention}}, an organization dedicated to studying infectious diseases and limiting their spread, with the label {{w|Hipster (contemporary subculture)|hipster}}. Hipsters form a cultural group associated with a distaste for popular culture; they stereotypically talk about how bands, authors, etc. were better before they "went mainstream" and proclaim that they liked a certain thing "before it was cool." The title text etends this sensibility to the flu, which in fact did peak years ago, such as in 1918, when a {{w|1918 flu epidemic|world-wide flu epidemic}} killed tens of millions. The humor lies in the notion that the "Hipster CDC" apparently approves of the time when the flu was more widespread and fatal, while most people consider the diminishment of the flu is a good thing. This could be a jab at hipsters' common insistence on liking things before they "go mainstream": many things, before they go mainstream, just aren't very good, and therefore hipsters' taste in things is highly questionable.

==Transcript==
:Poster: An invisible sneeze droplet can contain ''200 million'' germs!
:Product label: Our hand sanitizer kills 99.99% of germs!
:Cueball (typing on calculator): 200 000 000 × 0.01% =
:Cueball: Ew.

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

1161: Hand Sanitizer

2014-01-20T22:37:17Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ corrected title text explanation

{{comic
| number = 1161
| date = January 16, 2013
| title = Hand Sanitizer
| image = hand sanitizer.png
| titletext = Hipster CDC Reports Flu Epidemic Peaked Years Ago
}}

==Explanation==
The number of germs that would be left after using the hand sanitizer is 200 million times 0.01%. 0.01% is equivalent to .0001 decimal, so the simple equation is 200000000 × .0001. That equals 20 thousand germs, which is still a surprisingly large number of germs.

Note that in some simple / business calculators entering the calculation as "200000000 × 0.01 %" is '''incorrect''' and may produce number such as 2 million. Pressing "=" after may also be incorrect and may produce 400`000`000`000`000. This is because the "%" key in those calculators does not denote that preceding number is a {{w|percentage}}, but instead signify an operation related to percentage, for example some calculator the "%" key will replace the preceding number with that number as {{w|percentage}} multiplied with the number before that ([http://blogs.msdn.com/b/oldnewthing/archive/2008/01/10/7047497.aspx How does the calculator percent key work? - The Old New Thing]).

Side note - Recently scientists have shown that it only takes 20 virus particles to infect someone [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2257098/Larry-projectile-vomiting-robot-helping-British-team-learn-stop-spread-norovirus.html] (with analyzed virus: not all germs are equally effective). They have also previously noted that the effectiveness of hand sanitizer is actually higher than 99.99%, it's just awkward to print a more precise decimal in an advertising slogan.

"Hipster CDC" is a combination of the acronym for the {{w|Centers for Disease Control and Prevention}}, an organization dedicated to studying infectious diseases and limiting their spread, with the label {{w|Hipster (contemporary subculture)|hipster}}. Hipsters form a cultural group associated with a distaste for popular culture; they stereotypically talk about how bands, authors, etc. were better before they "went mainstream" and proclaim that they liked a certain thing "before it was cool." This sensibility is extended to the flu, which in fact did peak years ago, such as in 1918, when a {{w|1918 flu epidemic|world-wide flu epidemic}} killed tens of millions. The humor lies in the notion that the "Hipster CDC" apparently approves of the time when the flu was more widespread and fatal, while most people consider the diminishment of the flu is a good thing. This could be a jab at hipsters' common insistence on liking things before they "go mainstream": many things, before they go mainstream, just aren't very good, and therefore hipsters' taste in things is highly questionable.

==Transcript==
:Poster: An invisible sneeze droplet can contain ''200 million'' germs!
:Product label: Our hand sanitizer kills 99.99% of germs!
:Cueball (typing on calculator): 200 000 000 × 0.01% =
:Cueball: Ew.

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

1161: Hand Sanitizer

2014-01-20T22:28:22Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ punctuation

{{comic
| number = 1161
| date = January 16, 2013
| title = Hand Sanitizer
| image = hand sanitizer.png
| titletext = Hipster CDC Reports Flu Epidemic Peaked Years Ago
}}

==Explanation==
The number of germs that would be left after using the hand sanitizer is 200 million times 0.01%. 0.01% is equivalent to .0001 decimal, so the simple equation is 200000000 × .0001. That equals 20 thousand germs, which is still a surprisingly large number of germs.

Note that in some simple / business calculators entering the calculation as "200000000 × 0.01 %" is '''incorrect''' and may produce number such as 2 million. Pressing "=" after may also be incorrect and may produce 400`000`000`000`000. This is because the "%" key in those calculators does not denote that preceding number is a {{w|percentage}}, but instead signify an operation related to percentage, for example some calculator the "%" key will replace the preceding number with that number as {{w|percentage}} multiplied with the number before that ([http://blogs.msdn.com/b/oldnewthing/archive/2008/01/10/7047497.aspx How does the calculator percent key work? - The Old New Thing]).

Side note - Recently scientists have shown that it only takes 20 virus particles to infect someone [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2257098/Larry-projectile-vomiting-robot-helping-British-team-learn-stop-spread-norovirus.html] (with analyzed virus: not all germs are equally effective). They have also previously noted that the effectiveness of hand sanitizer is actually higher than 99.99%, it's just awkward to print a more precise decimal in an advertising slogan.

"Hipster CDC" is a combination of the acronym for the {{w|Centers for Disease Control and Prevention}}, an organization dedicated to studying infectious diseases and limiting their spread, with the label {{w|Hipster (contemporary subculture)|hipster}}. Hipsters form a cultural group associated with a distaste for popular culture; they stereotypically talk about how bands, authors, etc. were better before they went "mainstream" and proclaim that they liked a certain thing "before it was cool." The humor lies within the idea that the Hipster CDC and Hipsters would most probably have not used common anti-bacterial medicines such as hand sanitizer. As such, the minuscule changes caused by these tools in prevention of the flu would never have taken effect on hipster culture, which would be exposed to the full brunt of the flu epidemic from the very beginning. Hence, the flu epidemic "peaked" within that community from the very beginning.

In this case, the period when the flu epidemic was "better" is probably 1918, when a {{w|1918 flu epidemic|world-wide flu epidemic}} killed tens of millions..

The humor (if a worldwide disaster can be said to be humorous) is in the dual use of the word "epidemic". The current mainstream news media is making a big thing of an up-surge in flu cases this season, sometimes calling it an "epidemic". The comic points out that, in reality, the worldwide flu epidemic is an on-going, multi-year thing, and the current seasonal up-surge is tiny and uninteresting in comparison to previous surges.

==Transcript==
:Poster: An invisible sneeze droplet can contain ''200 million'' germs!
:Product label: Our hand sanitizer kills 99.99% of germs!
:Cueball (typing on calculator): 200 000 000 × 0.01% =
:Cueball: Ew.

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

1220: Hipsters

2014-01-17T02:46:13Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1220
| date = June 3, 2013
| title = Hipsters
| image = hipsters.png
| titletext = You may point out that this very retreat into ironic detachment while still clearly participating in the thing in question is the very definition of contemporary hipsterdom. But on the other hand, wait, you're in an empty room. Who are you talking to?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete}}
The word {{w|Hipster_(1940s_subculture)|"hipster"}} originally referred to counter-cultural youth and jazz aficionados in the 1940s and 1950s before the {{w|Hippie}} culture developed in the mid '60s. Recently, however, {{w|Hipster_(contemporary_subculture)|"hipster"}} has come to refer to, in Wikipedia's terms, "a subculture of young, urban middle class adults and older teenagers that appeared in the 1990s. The subculture is associated with independent music, a varied non-mainstream fashion sensibility, progressive or independent political views, alternative spirituality or atheism/agnosticism, and alternative lifestyles."

Following the hipster resurgence, it became popular in many circles to hold hipsters in contempt, citing their conformity to a subculture by rejecting "mainstream" culture and deliberate (i.e. ironic) indulgence in obnoxious things like moustaches and bad movies. Randall continues the arguably hypocritical meta-complaining by showing more s-curves that represent subsequent, smaller backlashes, self-referentially including his own comic in that meta-complaining.

There is a possible double meaning in the phrase "tedious navel-gazing by insecure people": {{w|Low-rise_(fashion)|the word "hipster"}} also refers to low-rise leg wear that sits at or below the hips, often in conjunction with revealing shirts, thereby exposing one's bellybutton.

The title text reveals [[Randall]]'s awareness that he's only perpetuating the meta-complaining he's complaining about, but he bats away this criticism by pointing out the facts of the situation: the reader is not communicating with Randall but rather most likely in an empty room while browsing the Internet, which would make their argument effectively pointless.

The title text may be a reference to a previous comic, [[525| 525: "I Know You're Listening"]].

==Transcript==
:The layout is a chart with a series of plots reaching a stable equilibrium one after another, with the shape characteristic of a predator-prey model. In order, the labels are.
:How often I see... Hipsters
:--> Complaints about hipsters
:--> Complaints about the constant use and discussion of the word "hipster"
:--> Complaints that every level of meta-opinion on hipsters represents the same tedious navel-gazing by insecure people
:--> graphs making it all worse
:--> Now
:[The horizontal axis is labeled time. Where the final curve rises is marked 'now'.]

==Trivia==
This comic has been featured on [http://cheezburger.com/7534206464 Cheezburger.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Charts]]

1220: Hipsters

2014-01-17T02:44:49Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ rewrote stuff, deleted irrelevant stuff, deleted incomplete tag

{{comic
| number = 1220
| date = June 3, 2013
| title = Hipsters
| image = hipsters.png
| titletext = You may point out that this very retreat into ironic detachment while still clearly participating in the thing in question is the very definition of contemporary hipsterdom. But on the other hand, wait, you're in an empty room. Who are you talking to?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete}}
The word {{w|Hipster_(1940s_subculture)|"hipster"}} originally referred to counter-cultural youth and jazz aficionados in the 1940s and 1950s before the {{w|Hippie}} culture developed in the mid '60s. Recently, however, {{w|Hipster_(contemporary_subculture)|"hipster"}} has come to refer to, in Wikipedia's terms, "a subculture of young, urban middle class adults and older teenagers that appeared in the 1990s. The subculture is associated with independent music, a varied non-mainstream fashion sensibility, progressive or independent political views, alternative spirituality or atheism/agnosticism, and alternative lifestyles."

Following the hipster resurgence, it became popular in many circles to hold hipsters in contempt, citing their conformity to a subculture by rejecting "mainstream" culture. Randall continues the arguably hypocritical meta-complaining by showing more s-curves that represent subsequent, smaller backlashes, self-referentially including his own comic in that meta-complaining.

There is a possible double meaning in the phrase "tedious navel-gazing by insecure people": {{w|Low-rise_(fashion)|the word "hipster"}} also refers to low-rise leg wear that sits at or below the hips, often in conjunction with revealing shirts, thereby exposing one's bellybutton.

The title text reveals [[Randall]]'s awareness that he's only perpetuating the meta-complaining he's complaining about, but he bats away this criticism by pointing out the facts of the situation: the reader is not communicating with Randall but rather most likely in an empty room while browsing the Internet, which would make their argument effectively pointless.

The title text may be a reference to a previous comic, [[525| 525: "I Know You're Listening"]].

==Transcript==
:The layout is a chart with a series of plots reaching a stable equilibrium one after another, with the shape characteristic of a predator-prey model. In order, the labels are.
:How often I see... Hipsters
:--> Complaints about hipsters
:--> Complaints about the constant use and discussion of the word "hipster"
:--> Complaints that every level of meta-opinion on hipsters represents the same tedious navel-gazing by insecure people
:--> graphs making it all worse
:--> Now
:[The horizontal axis is labeled time. Where the final curve rises is marked 'now'.]

==Trivia==
This comic has been featured on [http://cheezburger.com/7534206464 Cheezburger.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Charts]]

1075: Warning

2014-01-17T02:29:48Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ incorporated explanation from commenter in discussion section

{{comic
| number = 1075
| date = June 29, 2012
| title = Warning
| image = Warning.png
| titletext = Also possibly several miles beyond that.
}}

==Explanation==
This parody of a road sign essentially reminds drivers of the reality of the situation they are now in and thereby implicitly refers to the dangers inherent to it. Because the ability to travel in a box on wheels at high speeds was not selected for in the evolution of human, if anything happens to said box on wheels, such as crashing into a wall, the humans inside may be badly injured, if not killed. (If, however, they had evolved something like exoskeletons, for example, this may not have been the case.) This reminder would presumably prompt drivers to drive more carefully or perhaps slow down.

Humans did not evolve to have the ability to withstand such forces because their ancestors commonly never traveled any faster than about 20km/h (top human speed on foot). Some individuals may have moved faster than that by falling out of a tree or off a cliff but not nearly enough of them to make an impact on evolution. Fast vehicles, on the other hand, have only appeared in the last couple of hundred years, and it would take many more tens or hundreds of thousands of years before these new selection pressures made any noticable difference to human physiology, if any.

The road sign is far too lengthy and philosophical to be used in practice but is conceivable as an advertisement for safe driving.

The phrase "next 5 miles" is common to road signs, particularly those on US highways in rural areas. It assumes that the driver who sees the sign will continue driving for another five miles.

The title text refers to the fact that the sign doesn't really know how many more miles the driver may travel, and that it may be more than five. Since the average American [http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/onh00/bar8.htm drives over 13,000 miles per year], this is indeed very likely.

==Transcript==
:An American Diamond warning sign with the following message on it.
:[You're in a box on wheels hurtling along several times faster than evolution could possibly have prepared you to go. Next 5 miles.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]

1075: Warning

2014-01-17T02:21:20Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ basically rewrote the whole thing

{{comic
| number = 1075
| date = June 29, 2012
| title = Warning
| image = Warning.png
| titletext = Also possibly several miles beyond that.
}}

==Explanation==
This parody of a road sign essentially reminds drivers of the reality of the situation they are now in and thereby implicitly refers to the dangers inherent to it. Because humans are not adapted to traveling in a box on wheels at such high speeds, should anything happen to said box on wheels, such as crashing into a wall, the humans inside are highly susceptible to being badly injured, if not killed. (If, however, they had evolved something like exoskeletons, for example, this may not have been the case.) This reminder would presumably prompt drivers to drive more carefully or perhaps slow down.

This sign is far too lengthy and philosophical to be practical as an actual road sign, but is conceivable as an advertisement for safe driving.

The phrase "next 5 miles" is common to road signs, particularly those on US highways in rural areas. It assumes that the driver who sees the sign will continue driving (in the "box on wheels") for another five miles.

The title text refers to the fact that the sign doesn't actually know how many more miles the driver may travel, and that it may be more than five. Since the average American [http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/onh00/bar8.htm drives over 13,000 miles per year], this is very likely.

==Transcript==
:An American Diamond warning sign with the following message on it.
:[You're in a box on wheels hurtling along several times faster than evolution could possibly have prepared you to go. Next 5 miles.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]

1238: Enlightenment

2014-01-17T02:05:13Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ added some additional explanation

{{comic
| number = 1238
| date = July 15, 2013
| title = Enlightenment
| image = enlightenment.png
| titletext = But the rules of writing are like magic spells. If you never acquire them, then not using them says nothing.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a reference to a scene from {{w|Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace}} in which {{w|Yoda}} expresses doubt in a young {{w|Anakin Skywalker|Anakin}}'s potential to join the {{w|Jedi}} order. Yoda delivers a speech similar to the one that [[Ponytail]] gives here, except that the end of the sequence he presents is {{w|Dark side (Star Wars)|the dark side}}. (Yoda is ultimately correct; Anakin's fears lead him to join the dark side so that he may keep his loved ones from dying; this is at the expense of the stability of the galaxy, however, and his actions are in vain, as {{w|Padmé Amidala|his wife}} dies nonetheless.) The circle on the ground is also taken from the ''Star Wars'' scene, and [[Cueball]] is presumably in the {{w|Mace Windu}} role.

Here, [[Randall]] compares Anakin's decision to join the dark side to the propensity of many Internet commenters to correct others on their spelling and grammar. Randall's point is that correcting people, like joining the dark side, ultimately stems from insecurity.

Ponytail and Cueball challenge [[Megan]] to type the sentence "I heard you're idea's and their definately good", which contains four {{w|Commonly misspelled words|common misspellings}} (''{{w|wikt:you're|you''''re'''}}'' instead of ''{{w|wikt:your|you'''r'''}}'', ''{{w|possessive|idea'''''''s}}'' instead of ''{{w|wikt:ideas|ideas}}'' [see {{w|greengrocers' apostrophe}}], ''{{w|wikt:their|the'''ir'''}}'' instead of ''{{w|wikt:they're|the'''y're'''}}'', and ''{{w|wikt:definately|defin'''a'''tely}}'' instead of ''{{w|wikt:definitely|defin'''i'''tely}}'') and a grammatical error, ({{w|run-on sentence|a missing comma}} before the word "and"). Megan, however, can't bring herself to do it, having spent so much time judging others for their trivial errors, even when they're saying helpful things like the sentence in question. Instead, she smashes the computer and runs away -- demonstrating the sort of anger that [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Grammar%20Nazi "Grammar Nazis"] like her can feel about punctuation and spelling errors. Cueball and Ponytail remark on this, both failing to use {{w|apostrophe}}s.

The title text specifically refers to {{w|Terry Pratchett}}'s novel {{w|Equal Rites}}, in which the characters discover that the most powerful magic is not using magic -- with the distinction that not using magic because you don't know how is not the same as choosing to refrain from using magic when you do know how. Randall is comparing this with use or misuse of the rules of English: not even knowing the rules is not admirable, whereas knowing the rules but choosing to disregard them is.

==Transcript==
:[The two Internet Bodhisattvas Ponytail and Cueball lecture Megan encircled by a wheel placed upon the ground.]
:Ponytail: To achieve '''internet enlightenment''', you must free yourself from insecurity.
:Megan: But insecurity keeps me humble!
:Ponytail: No. Insecurity leads to conceit. Conceit leads to judgment. Judgment leads to being an asshole.
:[A laptop is placed on a stand in front of Megan.]
:Megan: I'm ready. How do I begin?
:Ponytail: Type this sentence.
:[White text on black background.]
:I heard you're idea's and their definately good.
:[The laptop has been smashed to the floor. The circle, once full of hope and excitement, is now full of despair and no Megan.]
:Ponytail: She wasnt ready.
:Cueball: Its a difficult road.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]

1238: Enlightenment

2014-01-17T02:03:31Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ removed incomplete tag (felt like I addressed the issue about the title text in previous edit)

{{comic
| number = 1238
| date = July 15, 2013
| title = Enlightenment
| image = enlightenment.png
| titletext = But the rules of writing are like magic spells. If you never acquire them, then not using them says nothing.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a reference to a scene from {{w|Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace}} in which {{w|Yoda}} expresses doubt in a young {{w|Anakin Skywalker|Anakin}}'s potential to join the {{w|Jedi}} order. Yoda delivers a speech similar to the one that [[Ponytail]] gives here, except that the end of the sequence he presents is {{w|Dark side (Star Wars)|the dark side}}. (Yoda is ultimately correct; Anakin's fears lead him to join the dark side so that he may keep his loved ones from dying; this is at the expense of the stability of the galaxy, however, and his actions are in vain, as {{w|Padmé Amidala|his wife}} dies nonetheless.) The circle on the ground is also taken from the ''Star Wars'' scene, and [[Cueball]] is presumably in the {{w|Mace Windu}} role.

Here, [[Randall]] compares Anakin's decision to join the dark side to the propensity of many Internet commenters to correct others on their spelling and grammar. Randall's point is that correcting people, like joining the dark side, ultimately stems from insecurity.

Ponytail and Cueball challenge [[Megan]] to type the sentence "I heard you're idea's and their definately good", which contains four {{w|Commonly misspelled words|common misspellings}} (''{{w|wikt:you're|you''''re'''}}'' instead of ''{{w|wikt:your|you'''r'''}}'', ''{{w|possessive|idea'''''''s}}'' instead of ''{{w|wikt:ideas|ideas}}'' [see {{w|greengrocers' apostrophe}}], ''{{w|wikt:their|the'''ir'''}}'' instead of ''{{w|wikt:they're|the'''y're'''}}'', and ''{{w|wikt:definately|defin'''a'''tely}}'' instead of ''{{w|wikt:definitely|defin'''i'''tely}}'') and a grammatical error, ({{w|run-on sentence|a missing comma}} before the word "and"). Megan, however, can't bring herself to do it, having spent so much time judging others for their trivial errors, even when they're saying helpful things like the sentence in question. Instead, she smashes the computer and runs away. Cueball and Ponytail remark on this, both failing to use {{w|apostrophe}}s.

The title text specifically refers to {{w|Terry Pratchett}}'s novel {{w|Equal Rites}}, in which the characters discover that the most powerful magic is not using magic -- with the distinction that not using magic because you don't know how is not the same as choosing to refrain from using magic when you do know how. Randall is comparing this with use or misuse of the rules of English: not even knowing the rules is not admirable, whereas knowing the rules but choosing to disregard them is.

==Transcript==
:[The two Internet Bodhisattvas Ponytail and Cueball lecture Megan encircled by a wheel placed upon the ground.]
:Ponytail: To achieve '''internet enlightenment''', you must free yourself from insecurity.
:Megan: But insecurity keeps me humble!
:Ponytail: No. Insecurity leads to conceit. Conceit leads to judgment. Judgment leads to being an asshole.
:[A laptop is placed on a stand in front of Megan.]
:Megan: I'm ready. How do I begin?
:Ponytail: Type this sentence.
:[White text on black background.]
:I heard you're idea's and their definately good.
:[The laptop has been smashed to the floor. The circle, once full of hope and excitement, is now full of despair and no Megan.]
:Ponytail: She wasnt ready.
:Cueball: Its a difficult road.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]

1238: Enlightenment

2014-01-17T02:03:13Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ deleted irrelevant speculation, tightened up last paragraph

{{comic
| number = 1238
| date = July 15, 2013
| title = Enlightenment
| image = enlightenment.png
| titletext = But the rules of writing are like magic spells. If you never acquire them, then not using them says nothing.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete}}
This comic is a reference to a scene from {{w|Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace}} in which {{w|Yoda}} expresses doubt in a young {{w|Anakin Skywalker|Anakin}}'s potential to join the {{w|Jedi}} order. Yoda delivers a speech similar to the one that [[Ponytail]] gives here, except that the end of the sequence he presents is {{w|Dark side (Star Wars)|the dark side}}. (Yoda is ultimately correct; Anakin's fears lead him to join the dark side so that he may keep his loved ones from dying; this is at the expense of the stability of the galaxy, however, and his actions are in vain, as {{w|Padmé Amidala|his wife}} dies nonetheless.) The circle on the ground is also taken from the ''Star Wars'' scene, and [[Cueball]] is presumably in the {{w|Mace Windu}} role.

Here, [[Randall]] compares Anakin's decision to join the dark side to the propensity of many Internet commenters to correct others on their spelling and grammar. Randall's point is that correcting people, like joining the dark side, ultimately stems from insecurity.

Ponytail and Cueball challenge [[Megan]] to type the sentence "I heard you're idea's and their definately good", which contains four {{w|Commonly misspelled words|common misspellings}} (''{{w|wikt:you're|you''''re'''}}'' instead of ''{{w|wikt:your|you'''r'''}}'', ''{{w|possessive|idea'''''''s}}'' instead of ''{{w|wikt:ideas|ideas}}'' [see {{w|greengrocers' apostrophe}}], ''{{w|wikt:their|the'''ir'''}}'' instead of ''{{w|wikt:they're|the'''y're'''}}'', and ''{{w|wikt:definately|defin'''a'''tely}}'' instead of ''{{w|wikt:definitely|defin'''i'''tely}}'') and a grammatical error, ({{w|run-on sentence|a missing comma}} before the word "and"). Megan, however, can't bring herself to do it, having spent so much time judging others for their trivial errors, even when they're saying helpful things like the sentence in question. Instead, she smashes the computer and runs away. Cueball and Ponytail remark on this, both failing to use {{w|apostrophe}}s.

The title text specifically refers to {{w|Terry Pratchett}}'s novel {{w|Equal Rites}}, in which the characters discover that the most powerful magic is not using magic -- with the distinction that not using magic because you don't know how is not the same as choosing to refrain from using magic when you do know how. Randall is comparing this with use or misuse of the rules of English: not even knowing the rules is not admirable, whereas knowing the rules but choosing to disregard them is.

==Transcript==
:[The two Internet Bodhisattvas Ponytail and Cueball lecture Megan encircled by a wheel placed upon the ground.]
:Ponytail: To achieve '''internet enlightenment''', you must free yourself from insecurity.
:Megan: But insecurity keeps me humble!
:Ponytail: No. Insecurity leads to conceit. Conceit leads to judgment. Judgment leads to being an asshole.
:[A laptop is placed on a stand in front of Megan.]
:Megan: I'm ready. How do I begin?
:Ponytail: Type this sentence.
:[White text on black background.]
:I heard you're idea's and their definately good.
:[The laptop has been smashed to the floor. The circle, once full of hope and excitement, is now full of despair and no Megan.]
:Ponytail: She wasnt ready.
:Cueball: Its a difficult road.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]

114: Computational Linguists

2014-01-17T01:48:45Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ fixed spelling of a name

{{comic
| number = 114
| date = June 12, 2006
| title = Computational Linguists
| image = computational linguists.png
| titletext = Chomskyists, generative linguists, and Ryan North, your days are numbered.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete}}
Here [[Black Hat]] is criticising computational linguistics, which overlaps between various field like theoretical linguistics, artificial intelligence, etc. Linguistics itself is still a hotly debated subject, as is seen by the various conflicting theories on the origin of languages like the forms of {{w|Proto-Indo-European}} language.

The joke in the comic is that Black Hat, instead of trying to poke fun at angsty emo kids, decides to poke fun at computational linguists for their attempts to model natural languages on computers using the various contradictory theories that are floating around nowadays. The title text is a reference to some of the people who contributed to language theory.

{{w|Noam Chomsky}} is an influential American psychologist and linguist who, based on cross-cultural studies, proposed a still-disputed theory that the human brain is unique from that of other species in that it includes a fundamental Language Acquisition Device (LAD) that is pre-programmed with basic rules of grammar and syntax: thus, language is innate to humans.
{{w|Ryan North}} is the author of the webcomic {{w|Dinosaur Comics}}, and has a degree in computational linguistics.

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat is standing next to a large badge which says FUCK Computational Lingustics]
:Black Hat: And the dumbest thing about emo kids is that... I... You know, I'm sick of easy targets. Anyone can make fun of emo kids. You know who's had it too easy? Computational Linguists. "Ooh, look at me! My field is so ill-defined, I can subscribe to any of dozens of contradictory models and still be taken seriously!"

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Language]]

569: Borders

2014-01-16T21:33:20Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 569
| date = April 15, 2009
| title = Borders
| image = borders.png
| titletext = Eventually a UN is set up. And then a lone rebel runs down the line of flags in front of it, runs back to his base, and gets a kajillion points.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Capture the flag}} (CTF) is a common way of playing games where the objective is to capture the opponent's flag while protecting your own team's flag. This comic describes a CTF server (for an online war game) where peace has been established and no one is trying to capture each other's flags, therefore making the game unexciting and pointless.

The title text refers to the line of flags in front of UN buildings. If such a collection of flags of all the teams were established on a server, one could get a very high score by quickly capturing all of them.

A {{Wiktionary|kajillion}} is slang for "an unspecified large number."

LIATE is an acronym sometimes used when {{w|Integration by parts|integrating by parts}}. The preferred part to integrate is "Logarithmic, Inverse-trig, Algebraic, Trig, Exponential." "Yarbis" could be a reference to an acronym in Turkish for "Yıldız ARastirmaci BIlgi Sistemi" which means "Yildiz Researcher Information System" in English. (Yildiz is the name of a university in Turkey.)

==Transcript==
:[Two people stand on a hill overlooking a great city. Between them and the city stands an embassy flying a red flag.]
:Three years ago, the kingdom of Liate overthrew their old order and established a constitutional monarchy. Our leaders signed a treaty with their queen, and our borders were set by the Yarbis Accords.
:Many said war would be unending, that peace would always be a dream deferred. But today, our flag flies proudly over our embassy in their kingdom, and they walk our lands without fear.
:So come, traveller. Lay down your grudges and join us in brotherhood. It is time not to fight, but to live.
:[Cueball sitting at computer.]
:Cueball: This is the worst capture-the-flag server ever.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Math]]

330: Indecision

2014-01-16T21:22:57Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ expanded explanation

{{comic
| number = 330
| date = October 17, 2007
| title = Indecision
| image = indecision.png
| titletext = Hey, I don't make the rules. It's in the book.
}}

==Explanation==
These two friends (both presumably male, since female characters in [[xkcd]] are depicted with hair) are surprisingly cavalier in taking the suggestion to engage in sexual experimentation to alleviate boredom. Even if both men are gay, the fact that they're friends (as the rule in the book describes them) suggests that they are not currently having sex on a regular basis. In this case - and even more so if the friends are heterosexual - most people would not take the book's suggestion and it may even make them feel embarrassed and awkward.

The book that one of the [[Cueball]]s grabs appears to be some sort of all-encompassing rule book, its reach including the social sphere. Obviously this book is fictional, but the line "I think there's a rule about this" sounds like a reference to folk "rules" or guidelines like the "{{w|five-second rule}}."

{{w|Crisco}} is a brand of shortening, a fat that is solid at room temperature and frequently used in baking. In this instance it's implied that it will be used as a sexual lubricant. Because Crisco is not commonly used as a sexual lubricant, their intended use of it hearkens back to the suggestion to engage in sexual ''experimentation'' rather than typical sexual activity.

The title text could be spoken by either one of the characters or [[Randall]]. It attempts to preempt any awkwardness or judgment the reader may have about this situation by tranfering responsibility to the rule book.

==Transcript==
:Cueball: So what do you want to do?
:Friend: Still no ideas.
:Cueball: Wait, I think there's a rule about this.
:[Cueball goes to bookshelf and removes a book called "Rules".]
:[The book of rules is opened to the following:
:RULE social.b.99.1
:If friends spend more than 60 minutes deciding what to do, they must default to sexual experimentation.]
:[Cueball is standing, holding the book. The friend is in the process of standing up.]
:Cueball: Huh.
:Friend: I did not know that rule.
:Cueball: Me neither.
:Friend: I'll go get the Crisco.

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

807: Connected

2014-01-16T00:54:39Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ added link to megan

{{comic
| number = 807
| date = October 18, 2010
| title = Connected
| image = connected.png
| titletext = Or love in general, for that matter. It just leads to the idea that either your love is pure, perfect, and eternal, and you are storybook-compatible in every way with no problems, or you're LYING when you say 'I love you'.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic criticizes our culture's tendency to romanticize young love (such as that portrayed in {{w|Romeo and Juliet}} and {{w|Titanic_(1997_film)|Titanic}}). Although young lovers do often have intense feelings for their beloved, for many of them, like [[Megan]] here, it is an infatuation based on little substance (such as a similar taste in music) rather than the real compatibility necessary for a long-term relationship.

The title text broadens this criticism to all forms of romance. Randall appears to be stating that it is possible to love someone even if your relationship with that person doesn't conform to the impossibly high standards of "true love" that [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OneTrueLove our culture so highly exalts]. In fact, healthy relationships are typically not perfect and [http://cmhc.utexas.edu/healthyrelationships.html require work, change, and compromise] rather than continual, effortless bliss.

==Transcript==
:Megan: Seriously? ''I like that song too!''
:Megan: I bet no two people in the history of the world have ever been so connected!

:I'm not sure why we romanticize "young love."

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

807: Connected

2014-01-16T00:53:28Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ deleted overly redundant explanation and incomplete tag, revised a couple paragraphs

{{comic
| number = 807
| date = October 18, 2010
| title = Connected
| image = connected.png
| titletext = Or love in general, for that matter. It just leads to the idea that either your love is pure, perfect, and eternal, and you are storybook-compatible in every way with no problems, or you're LYING when you say 'I love you'.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic criticizes our culture's tendency to romanticize young love (such as that portrayed in {{w|Romeo and Juliet}} and {{w|Titanic_(1997_film)|Titanic}}). Although young lovers do often have intense feelings for their beloved, for many of them, like Megan here, it is an infatuation based on little substance (such as a similar taste in music) rather than the real compatibility necessary for a long-term relationship.

The title text broadens this criticism to all forms of romance. Randall appears to be stating that it is possible to love someone even if your relationship with that person doesn't conform to the impossibly high standards of "true love" that [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OneTrueLove our culture so highly exalts]. In fact, healthy relationships are typically not perfect and [http://cmhc.utexas.edu/healthyrelationships.html require work, change, and compromise] rather than continual, effortless bliss.

==Transcript==
:Megan: Seriously? ''I like that song too!''
:Megan: I bet no two people in the history of the world have ever been so connected!

:I'm not sure why we romanticize "young love."

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

Talk:807: Connected

2014-01-16T00:30:01Z

Ricketybridge:

Either the incomplete tag is because the explanation is too long or the other way around. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.206|108.162.212.206]] 21:46, 14 January 2014 (UTC)
:What's the other way around? That the explanation is too long because of the incomplete tag? --[[User:Ricketybridge|Ricketybridge]] ([[User talk:Ricketybridge|talk]]) 00:30, 16 January 2014 (UTC)

Talk:807: Connected

2014-01-16T00:29:37Z

Ricketybridge:

1317: Theft

2014-01-15T18:41:21Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ removed incomplete tag (felt like I addressed the issue about the title text in previous edit)

{{comic
| number = 1317
| date = January 15, 2014
| title = Theft
| image = theft.png
| titletext = Is he ALSO wondering at what point our thoughts diverged, if they even have yet? 'dude, I think he just took your credit card' AM I THE ORIGINAL? HOW DO I TELL?
}}

==Explanation==
The term "identity theft" refers to a thief acquiring various types of a victim's identification (for example, bank account number and/or Social Security number), thus allowing the thief to pretend to be the victim and (commonly) steal money from the victim's bank account, etc.

This comic exaggerates the term, interpreting it as the thief literally acquiring the victim's whole personality, where the victim here appears to be [[Randall]] himself. The thief has apparently taken on Randall's [[786: Exoplanets|love of space]] as well as his existential angst. (The character [[Megan]] also expresses existential angst in [[625: Collections]].) Thus, the thief is now completely overwhelmed by having an entirely new personality, not to mention one whose parts clash with each other.

The title text is spoken by Randall, in which he wonders about the specifics of the identity acquisition process: at what point did their thoughts diverge, if ever? Presumably, even someone whose personality is complete copy of someone else's would still have different thoughts at some point. This is depicted in the comic itself. The thief is baffled by his newly acquired interests, while Randall himself would not be baffled by the thoughts and interests he's developed over his entire life). Randall also wonders whether his new {{w|doppleganger}} is wondering the same thing (which could imply that their thoughts have not fully diverged).

Someone else comments that Randall may be overthinking the situation, and that the thief only took his credit card information (a common method of identity theft), which would not transfer personality traits. However, Randall's anxiety has overwhelmed him. He ignores the speaker and expresses his worry that there is now no way to discern whether he is the original Randall or the "copy."

==Transcript==
:[A man sitting in front of a laptop, looking at his hands]
:Hairy: I feel paralyzed by overwhelming existential dread.
:Hairy: ...and yet for some reason I'm ''really'' excited about space?
:The thief who stole my identity has a lot to deal with.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]

1317: Theft

2014-01-15T18:40:53Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ added more explanation

{{comic
| number = 1317
| date = January 15, 2014
| title = Theft
| image = theft.png
| titletext = Is he ALSO wondering at what point our thoughts diverged, if they even have yet? 'dude, I think he just took your credit card' AM I THE ORIGINAL? HOW DO I TELL?
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|not sure about title text explanation}}
The term "identity theft" refers to a thief acquiring various types of a victim's identification (for example, bank account number and/or Social Security number), thus allowing the thief to pretend to be the victim and (commonly) steal money from the victim's bank account, etc.

This comic exaggerates the term, interpreting it as the thief literally acquiring the victim's whole personality, where the victim here appears to be [[Randall]] himself. The thief has apparently taken on Randall's [[786: Exoplanets|love of space]] as well as his existential angst. (The character [[Megan]] also expresses existential angst in [[625: Collections]].) Thus, the thief is now completely overwhelmed by having an entirely new personality, not to mention one whose parts clash with each other.

The title text is spoken by Randall, in which he wonders about the specifics of the identity acquisition process: at what point did their thoughts diverge, if ever? Presumably, even someone whose personality is complete copy of someone else's would still have different thoughts at some point. This is depicted in the comic itself. The thief is baffled by his newly acquired interests, while Randall himself would not be baffled by the thoughts and interests he's developed over his entire life). Randall also wonders whether his new {{w|doppleganger}} is wondering the same thing (which could imply that their thoughts have not fully diverged).

Someone else comments that Randall may be overthinking the situation, and that the thief only took his credit card information (a common method of identity theft), which would not transfer personality traits. However, Randall's anxiety has overwhelmed him. He ignores the speaker and expresses his worry that there is now no way to discern whether he is the original Randall or the "copy."

==Transcript==
:[A man sitting in front of a laptop, looking at his hands]
:Hairy: I feel paralyzed by overwhelming existential dread.
:Hairy: ...and yet for some reason I'm ''really'' excited about space?
:The thief who stole my identity has a lot to deal with.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]

1001: AAAAAA

2014-01-15T02:26:26Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1001
| date = January 9, 2012
| title = AAAAAA
| image = aaaaaa.png
| titletext = 'ARE YOU TURNED ON YET?' 'I DON'T THINK SO--ARE YOU?' 'MAYBE A LITTLE!' 'OK, FIVE MORE MINUTES.'
}}

==Explanation==
[[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] get the idea to build a rotating bed from a TV show like {{w|MTV Cribs}Cribs}}, which documents the decadent homes of the wealthy.

Rotating beds are typically used for sexual activity and variety, but Cueball and Megan have made theirs rotate far too fast to be useful for this purpose.

The title text implies that the high speed of rotation is not accidental as we may have assumed from the comic, but intentional, due to Megan and Cueball's erroneous belief that the rotation itself is supposed to turn them on, not the sexual activity they would engage in on the moving bed.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball clinging onto something while being dragged away by some unknown force.]
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAAA

:[Megan similarly clinging on.]
:Megan: AAAAAAAAAA

:[Overhead shot of both spinning around a plain white circle in a room with other accoutrements.]
:Both: AAAAAAAA

:Earlier that day...
:Cueball: Haha, check it out - This guy's mansion has an actual rotating bed.
:Megan: You know, I bet it wouldn't be too hard to build one of those...

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

1001: AAAAAA

2014-01-15T02:25:38Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ deleted incomplete tag. Already addressed the issue.

{{comic
| number = 1001
| date = January 9, 2012
| title = AAAAAA
| image = aaaaaa.png
| titletext = 'ARE YOU TURNED ON YET?' 'I DON'T THINK SO--ARE YOU?' 'MAYBE A LITTLE!' 'OK, FIVE MORE MINUTES.'
}}

==Explanation==
[[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] get the idea to build a rotating bed from a TV show like {{w|MTV Cribs}Cribs}}, which documents the decadent homes of the wealthy.

Rotating beds are typically used for sexual activity and variety, but Cueball and Megan have made theirs rotate far too fast to be useful for this purpose.

The title text implies that the high speed of rotation is not accidental as we may have assumed from the comic, but intentional, due to Megan and Cueball's erroneous belief that the rotation itself is supposed to turn them on, not the sexual activity they might engage in on the moving bed.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball clinging onto something while being dragged away by some unknown force.]
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAAA

:[Megan similarly clinging on.]
:Megan: AAAAAAAAAA

:[Overhead shot of both spinning around a plain white circle in a room with other accoutrements.]
:Both: AAAAAAAA

:Earlier that day...
:Cueball: Haha, check it out - This guy's mansion has an actual rotating bed.
:Megan: You know, I bet it wouldn't be too hard to build one of those...

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

1001: AAAAAA

2014-01-15T02:25:10Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ made moar better

{{comic
| number = 1001
| date = January 9, 2012
| title = AAAAAA
| image = aaaaaa.png
| titletext = 'ARE YOU TURNED ON YET?' 'I DON'T THINK SO--ARE YOU?' 'MAYBE A LITTLE!' 'OK, FIVE MORE MINUTES.'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Seems incomplete, and second sentence is wrong}}
[[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] get the idea to build a rotating bed from a TV show like {{w|MTV Cribs}Cribs}}, which documents the decadent homes of the wealthy.

Rotating beds are typically used for sexual activity and variety, but Cueball and Megan have made theirs rotate far too fast to be useful for this purpose.

The title text implies that the high speed of rotation is not accidental as we may have assumed from the comic, but intentional, due to Megan and Cueball's erroneous belief that the rotation itself is supposed to turn them on, not the sexual activity they might engage in on the moving bed.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball clinging onto something while being dragged away by some unknown force.]
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAAA

:[Megan similarly clinging on.]
:Megan: AAAAAAAAAA

:[Overhead shot of both spinning around a plain white circle in a room with other accoutrements.]
:Both: AAAAAAAA

:Earlier that day...
:Cueball: Haha, check it out - This guy's mansion has an actual rotating bed.
:Megan: You know, I bet it wouldn't be too hard to build one of those...

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

967: Prairie

2014-01-15T02:14:42Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ i have hands

{{comic
| number = 967
| date = October 21, 2011
| title = Prairie
| image = prairie.png
| titletext = Colorado is working to develop coherent amber waves, which would allow them to finally destroy Kansas and Nebraska with a devastating but majestic grain laser.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic refers to the song ''{{w|America the Beautiful}}'', which contains the line "amber waves of grain," which refers to the plentiful wheat fields in Midwestern America. In {{w|Quantum mechanics|quantum mechanics}} the wave-particle duality explains that particles can act like both particles and waves depending on the context. Using a comedic adaptation of quantum theory, Megan states that the waves of grain become particles of grain when observed, which, in a way, is true. It's not a perfect analogy, however, because each grain is a separate entity while an external force, the wind, is what produces the wave motion.

The title text contains two absurd notions: that one could harness waves in grain fields for use in a Death Star-like laser, and that Colorado has long wanted to destroy Kansas and Nebraska, two nearby states. The use of the word "majestic" to describe the laser is a reference to another line in "America the Beautiful" -- "for purple mountain majesties" -- which may in fact allude to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Cueball stand in a field of wheat. The figures are drawn in the typical black and white stick figure style, but the field is immensely detailed, with the grain coloured a rich amber and stroked such that individual stalks can be picked out, with a few dark bands providing contrast. In the distance a low mountain range is visible and in the sky a few scattered fluffy white clouds float low over the horizon.]
:Megan: Well, when we observe them, they become amber ''particles'' of grain.

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

642: Creepy

2014-01-15T01:58:54Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ added a sentence of explanation

{{comic
| number = 642
| date = September 28, 2009
| title = Creepy
| image = creepy.png
| titletext = And I even got out my adorable new netbook!
}}

==Explanation==
This comic displays [[Cueball]]'s fears that his attempts to strike up a conversation with Megan will only result in her rejecting him and even humiliating him in front of others for attempting to get to know her. The others interpret his behavior as sexual harrassment, the exaggerated flip-side of his attempted courtship.

However, ironically, Megan is actually attracted to Cueball and is dismayed that he has not spoken to her. Therefore Cueball's fears are unfounded and are even preventing the two from meeting and possibly forming a relationship.

The title text is the continuation of Megan's apparent journal entry and further emphasizes the irony of the situation: in the attempt to be alluring to Cueball, Megan took out her "adorable new netbook," the very thing Cueball stopped himself from complimenting.

==Transcript==
:[Two people are sitting on chairs.]
:Cueball: Hey, cute netbook.
:Megan: ''What.''

:Cueball: Your laptop. I just—
:Megan: No, why are you talking to me.

:Megan: Who do you think you are? If I were even slightly interested, I'd have shown it.

:Megan: Hey everyone, this dude's hitting on me.
:Voice #1: Haha
:Voice #2: Creepy
:Voice #3: Let's get his picture for Facebook to warn others.

:[This panel fades into a thought bubble of Cueball.]
:[Megan is typing on her laptop.]
:Dear blog,
:Cute boy on train still ignoring me.

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

642: Creepy

2014-01-15T01:56:38Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ added a phrase

{{comic
| number = 642
| date = September 28, 2009
| title = Creepy
| image = creepy.png
| titletext = And I even got out my adorable new netbook!
}}

==Explanation==
This comic displays [[Cueball]]'s fears that his attempts to strike up a conversation with Megan will only result in her rejecting him and even humiliating him in front of others for attempting to get to know her. However, ironically, Megan is actually attracted to Cueball and is dismayed that he has not spoken to her. Therefore Cueball's fears are unfounded and are preventing the two from meeting and possibly even forming a relationship.

The title text is the continuation of Megan's apparent journal entry and further emphasizes the irony of the situation: in the attempt to be alluring to Cueball, Megan took out her "adorable new netbook," the very thing Cueball stopped himself from complimenting.

==Transcript==
:[Two people are sitting on chairs.]
:Cueball: Hey, cute netbook.
:Megan: ''What.''

:Cueball: Your laptop. I just—
:Megan: No, why are you talking to me.

:Megan: Who do you think you are? If I were even slightly interested, I'd have shown it.

:Megan: Hey everyone, this dude's hitting on me.
:Voice #1: Haha
:Voice #2: Creepy
:Voice #3: Let's get his picture for Facebook to warn others.

:[This panel fades into a thought bubble of Cueball.]
:[Megan is typing on her laptop.]
:Dear blog,
:Cute boy on train still ignoring me.

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

642: Creepy

2014-01-15T01:56:01Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ rewrote with more accurate interpretation and better phrasing

{{comic
| number = 642
| date = September 28, 2009
| title = Creepy
| image = creepy.png
| titletext = And I even got out my adorable new netbook!
}}

==Explanation==
This comic displays [[Cueball]]'s fears that his attempts to strike up a conversation with Megan will only result in her rejecting him and even humiliating him in front of others for attempting to get to know her. However, ironically, Megan is actually dismayed that Cueball has not spoken to her. Therefore Cueball's fears are unfounded and are preventing the two from meeting and possibly even forming a relationship.

The title text is the continuation of Megan's apparent journal entry and further emphasizes the irony of the situation: in the attempt to be alluring to Cueball, Megan took out her "adorable new netbook," the very thing Cueball stopped himself from complimenting.

==Transcript==
:[Two people are sitting on chairs.]
:Cueball: Hey, cute netbook.
:Megan: ''What.''

:Cueball: Your laptop. I just—
:Megan: No, why are you talking to me.

:Megan: Who do you think you are? If I were even slightly interested, I'd have shown it.

:Megan: Hey everyone, this dude's hitting on me.
:Voice #1: Haha
:Voice #2: Creepy
:Voice #3: Let's get his picture for Facebook to warn others.

:[This panel fades into a thought bubble of Cueball.]
:[Megan is typing on her laptop.]
:Dear blog,
:Cute boy on train still ignoring me.

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

1157: Sick Day

2014-01-15T01:44:57Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ grammar

{{comic
| number = 1157
| date = January 7, 2013
| title = Sick Day
| image = sick day.png
| titletext = Wikipedia path: Virus -> Immune system -> Innate immune system -> Parasites -> List of parasites of humans -> Naegleria fowleri -> Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis -> Deciding I DEFINITELY shouldn't connect an aquarium pump to my sinuses
}}

==Explanation==
This pie chart for the most part reflects the usual experience of being sick -- tossing and turning in bed and cleaning up mucus and other bodily fluids from facial orifices -- in addition to a few ponderings of a rather more scientific bent.

The punchline appears to be "pondering hooking an aquarium pump to my sinuses," which indicates that [[Randall]'s sinuses were completely clogged with mucus, which made him wonder whether hooking up an aquarium pump would help clear them out, perhaps akin to a {{w|Nasal irrigation|Neti pot}}. Studies on nasal irrigation, however, have had mixed results, and the practice may not in fact be beneficial.

Title text:

[[Randall]]'s {{w|Wikipedia}} path: {{w|Virus}} →‎ {{w|Immune system}} →‎ {{w|Innate immune system}} →‎ {{w|Parasites}} →‎ {{w|List of parasites of humans}} →‎ ''{{w|Naegleria fowleri}}'' →‎ {{w|Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis}}.

''Naegleria fowleri'' is known as the brain-eating amoeba. It is found in warm bodies of stagnant {{w|fresh water}} and causes the disease primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, a rare but highly lethal condition. Although N. fowleri are not commonly found in aquariums, Randall's Wikipedia wanderings force him to conclude that attempting to clear out his sinuses with an aquarium pump is too risky. (Since this danger would presumably not be present at all with an unused, sterilized aquarium pump, the comic may be referring to a particular pump currently in use and close at hand.)

==Transcript==
:A pie chart showing with the following categories and approximate areas of coverage (Starting from the top, clockwise):
:* 52% - Shifting around in bed feeling my skin crawl
:* 24% - Wiping various face holes
:* 5% - Staring at a news site but not reading it
:* 15% - Thinking about how cool it is that I'm partly made of an army of critters that patrol my body ruthlessly dispatching anything they find trying to prey on me..
:* 4% - Pondering hooking an aquarium pump up to my sinuses

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

1157: Sick Day

2014-01-15T01:44:21Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ explained more

{{comic
| number = 1157
| date = January 7, 2013
| title = Sick Day
| image = sick day.png
| titletext = Wikipedia path: Virus -> Immune system -> Innate immune system -> Parasites -> List of parasites of humans -> Naegleria fowleri -> Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis -> Deciding I DEFINITELY shouldn't connect an aquarium pump to my sinuses
}}

==Explanation==
This pie chart for the most part reflects the usual experience of being sick -- tossing and turning in bed and cleaning up mucus and other bodily fluids from facial orifices -- with the addition of a couple ponderings of a rather more scientific bent.

The punchline appears to be "pondering hooking an aquarium pump to my sinuses," which indicates that [[Randall]'s sinuses were completely clogged with mucus, which made him wonder whether hooking up an aquarium pump would help clear them out, perhaps akin to a {{w|Nasal irrigation|Neti pot}}. Studies on nasal irrigation, however, have had mixed results, and the practice may not in fact be beneficial.

Title text:

[[Randall]]'s {{w|Wikipedia}} path: {{w|Virus}} →‎ {{w|Immune system}} →‎ {{w|Innate immune system}} →‎ {{w|Parasites}} →‎ {{w|List of parasites of humans}} →‎ ''{{w|Naegleria fowleri}}'' →‎ {{w|Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis}}.

''Naegleria fowleri'' is known as the brain-eating amoeba. It is found in warm bodies of stagnant {{w|fresh water}} and causes the disease primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, a rare but highly lethal condition. Although N. fowleri are not commonly found in aquariums, Randall's Wikipedia wanderings force him to conclude that attempting to clear out his sinuses with an aquarium pump is too risky. (Since this danger would presumably not be present at all with an unused, sterilized aquarium pump, the comic may be referring to a particular pump currently in use and close at hand.)

==Transcript==
:A pie chart showing with the following categories and approximate areas of coverage (Starting from the top, clockwise):
:* 52% - Shifting around in bed feeling my skin crawl
:* 24% - Wiping various face holes
:* 5% - Staring at a news site but not reading it
:* 15% - Thinking about how cool it is that I'm partly made of an army of critters that patrol my body ruthlessly dispatching anything they find trying to prey on me..
:* 4% - Pondering hooking an aquarium pump up to my sinuses

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

813: One-Liners

2014-01-15T01:14:08Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ bit more explanation

{{comic
| number = 813
| date = November 1, 2010
| title = One-Liners
| image = one liners.png
| titletext = "Upgrade to the latest version of Adobe Flash player to view THIS content, bitch." ::triggers detonator::
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|One-liners}} are often used in action movies to show the antagonist taunting the protagonist (or vice versa). They are usually witty and punchy.

*Panel 1, The {{w|Memory hole}} is a mechanism for redacting documents, photographs, etc, and a reference to {{w|George Orwell}}'s novel {{w|Nineteen Eighty-Four}}.
*In panel 2, [[Cueball]] is pointing out an arithmetic error in his opponent's calculations.
*The {{w|Federal Reserve System}}, usually referred to as The Fed, is the central banking system in the United States. Interest rates are usually lowered during a recession or a crisis.
*Many people will agree to a website or software's {{w|Terms of service}} without reading all of it.
*In the final panel, {{w|Bangarang}} is, among other things, the Jamaican word for "uproar." It was popularized as the cheer of the {{w|Lost Boys (Peter Pan)|lost boys}} in the film ''{{w|Hook (film)|Hook}}.''

The title text refers to an update reminder that frequently pops up when one attempts to view {{w|Adobe Flash}} content on a webpage, which many people find frustrating. This sentence is, amusingly, far too overly wordy to serve as an effective one-liner.

==Transcript==
:Probability of phrases becoming action movie one liners:
:[Panels are arranged from More Likely on the left to Less likely on the right.]

:[A woman points a gun down at a man who is on the floor, his gun just out of reach.]
:Woman: ''You're'' going down the memory hole now, asshole.

:[Man on ground points gun up at blade-armed man standing next to a board with science on it.]
:Man with gun: ''Hey!'' You forgot to carry the two.

:[Woman on desk points sword at man standing on floor.]
:Woman: Looks like the Fed just lowered the interest rate.

:[Man with gun looks down at woman slumped on floor.]
:Man: Guess you should've scrolled ''all'' the way to the bottom before clicking "Agree."

:[Woman holds pistol to the back of the head of another woman holding a rifle.]
:Woman with pistol: Bangarang, motherfucker.

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

813: One-Liners

2014-01-15T01:11:25Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ added apostrophe, deleted speculation

{{comic
| number = 813
| date = November 1, 2010
| title = One-Liners
| image = one liners.png
| titletext = "Upgrade to the latest version of Adobe Flash player to view THIS content, bitch." ::triggers detonator::
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|One-liners}} are often used in action movies to show the antagonist taunting the protagonist (or vice versa).

*Panel 1, The {{w|Memory hole}} is a mechanism for redacting documents, photographs, etc, and a reference to {{w|George Orwell}}'s novel {{w|Nineteen Eighty-Four}}.
*In panel 2, [[Cueball]] is pointing out an arithmetic error in his opponent's calculations.
*The {{w|Federal Reserve System}}, usually referred to as The Fed, is the central banking system in the United States. Interest rates are usually lowered during a recession or a crisis.
*Many people will agree to a website or software's {{w|Terms of service}} without reading all of it.
*In the final panel, {{w|Bangarang}} is, among other things, the Jamaican word for "uproar." It was popularized as the cheer of the {{w|Lost Boys (Peter Pan)|lost boys}} in the film ''{{w|Hook (film)|Hook}}.''

As for the title text, people are often frustrated when they attempt to view content on a webpage and are greeted by a message stating that they have to update their version of {{w|Adobe Flash}}.

==Transcript==
:Probability of phrases becoming action movie one liners:
:[Panels are arranged from More Likely on the left to Less likely on the right.]

:[A woman points a gun down at a man who is on the floor, his gun just out of reach.]
:Woman: ''You're'' going down the memory hole now, asshole.

:[Man on ground points gun up at blade-armed man standing next to a board with science on it.]
:Man with gun: ''Hey!'' You forgot to carry the two.

:[Woman on desk points sword at man standing on floor.]
:Woman: Looks like the Fed just lowered the interest rate.

:[Man with gun looks down at woman slumped on floor.]
:Man: Guess you should've scrolled ''all'' the way to the bottom before clicking "Agree."

:[Woman holds pistol to the back of the head of another woman holding a rifle.]
:Woman with pistol: Bangarang, motherfucker.

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

726: Seat Selection

2014-01-15T01:09:00Z

Ricketybridge: /* Explanation */ added brief explanation

{{comic
| number = 726
| date = April 21, 2010
| title = Seat Selection
| image = seat_selection.png
| titletext = Don't click on the wing
}}

==Explanation==
Many airlines give passengers the opportunity to select a preferred seat when booking a flight. In this case, [[Megan]] appears to be checking in at a kiosk at the airport when she is given the opportunity to select a seat. Rather than selecting a seat on the diagram, Megan clicks on the pilot seat (which is not an actual option for online seating reservations). In the last frame, we see that because she chose the pilot seat she is now permitted to fly the plane. A worried looking pilot stands behind her.

The title text says to not click on the wing. The implication is that if you click on the wing you will be forced to sit there. Even if you were able to hold on, this would likely result in death before very long (due to the cold and the lack of oxygen).

==Transcript==
:[A seat selection diagram from an airport check-in kiosk is shown.]
:Select desired seat by clicking on the above chart.

:[Megan in a scarf with some suitcases is standing in an airport, contemplating the kiosk.]

:[The cursor indicates the cockpit of the plane.]
:<nowiki>*Click*</nowiki>

:[Megan is in the cockpit of the plane, holding the yoke, with the pilot looking horrified behind her.]
:Megan: WOOOOOOO

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