https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Rustykid52 2026-04-08T04:09:11Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.30.0 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Incomplete_transcripts&diff=359754 2024-12-17T20:28:16Z

<p>Rustykid52: fix mistake I had made</p> <hr /> <div>These are comics that have incomplete transcripts. New comics are currently given this category from the start, to be removed later. To add pages to this category, add {{tl|incomplete transcript}} on the line after the ==Transcript== header. There is another category for [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|incomplete explanations]].<br /> <br /> [[Category:Problematic pages]]<br /> [[Category:Incomplete explanations| 1]]</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Incomplete_transcripts&diff=359753 2024-12-17T20:27:44Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>These are comics that have incomplete transcripts. New comics are currently given this category from the start, to be removed later. To add pages to this category, add {{tl|incomplete transcript}.} on the line after the ==Transcript== header. There is another category for [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|incomplete explanations]].<br /> <br /> [[Category:Problematic pages]]<br /> [[Category:Incomplete explanations| 1]]</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2003:_Presidential_Succession&diff=359752 2024-12-17T20:25:58Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2003<br /> | date = June 6, 2018<br /> | title = Presidential Succession<br /> | image = presidential_succession.png<br /> | titletext = Ties are broken by whoever was closest to the surface of Europa when they were born.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> The {{w|United States presidential line of succession}} is the order of people who serve as president if the current incumbent president is incapacitated, dies, resigns, or is removed from office. The {{w|Presidential Succession Act#Presidential Succession Act of 1947|Presidential Succession Act of 1947}} revised the presidential order of succession to its current order. This Act, though never challenged in the courts, may not be constitutional for two reasons. First, the Act names two members of Congress as successors. There are fundamental questions as to whether this violates the principle of Separation of Powers. The second issue is that the Act allows for anyone skipped over for succession to later assume the office if circumstances change to allow them to hold it. This would mean that the person in question could effectively unseat a sitting President, which raises serious constitutional issues. <br /> <br /> There are also practical concerns regarding the Act. The line of succession includes all members of the Cabinet in the order that their department was established, with the oldest departments first. No consideration is given to which departments would be most relevant to the Presidency, particularly considering that this type of succession would presumably involve a serious crisis, which the new president would need to be able to address immediately. The Department of Homeland Security is in charge of the security and protection of the United States and its citizens and would probably already be privy to sensitive intelligence and briefings related to national security, but because it is the latest of the Departments to have been established (in 2003), the Secretary of Homeland Security is last in the current Presidential line of succession, behind Secretaries in much less sensitive roles, such as those of Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, and Education. Another concern is that, by including members of Congress immediately after the Vice President, there is a serious risk that the simultaneous death of the President and Vice President could cause the Presidency to change to the opposing party, which could lead to serious political instability at the precise moment when the country is facing a national crisis. It even presents the possibility that simultaneous assassinations of the President and Vice President could function as an effective coup, shifting power to their opponents. <br /> <br /> Finally, there is the issue that, usually, everyone in the line of succession lives and works in Washington D.C. Hence, a sufficiently destructive attack or natural disaster impacting the city could realistically incapacitate all of them, leaving the USA leaderless at a time of extreme crisis. It is already established practice in the USA that everyone in this line not gather together at once. In cases where most senior government officials gather (such as the {{w| State of the Union}}), at least one member of the line of succession (referred to as the &quot;designated survivor&quot;) is secured off-site, and would assume the presidency in the unlikely event that a {{w| mass casualty event}} were to kill or incapacitate everyone else in the line. However, disasters impacting an entire city remain a possibility, and no provision is made for them in current law.<br /> <br /> To correct these issues, a think tank known as the {{w| Continuity of Government Commission}} prepared a report recommending a new line of succession, which would not include members of Congress, would reorder the cabinet secretaries so that the most suitable roles would be the first successors, and would include people who do not live or work in Washington DC. The full text of their report can be found [https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/06_continuity_of_government.pdf here]. A short, readable summary, including the report's recommended new line of succession, is [https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-continuity-of-the-presidency-the-second-report-of-the-continuity-of-government-commission here]. <br /> <br /> The first six members of the commission's list are taken from the current line of succession, though the order is changed; they propose that after this, five new people should be appointed specifically for the purpose of assuming the presidency, if needed. Randall's list begins with these eleven people (combining the five new appointees into #7); afterwards, his list becomes increasingly comical and ridiculous.<br /> <br /> Randall's list omits members of Congress, as well as other cabinet positions, in accordance with the report's concerns about constitutionality and qualifications. However, his other additions totally ignore these issues, including people with no apparent qualifications for the office (such as actors, athletes, and competitive eaters) and people who are constitutionally ineligible for the office. The US Constitution requires that the President of the United States must be a natural-born US citizen, at least 35 years of age, and have resided in the US for at least fourteen years. Randall's list includes many people who don't meet these requirements. Most notably, he includes the entire succession to the British crown, almost none of whom meet the requirement of being natural-born citizens of the United States.<br /> <br /> It may be expected that many of the athletes, musicians and actors on this list are likely to be ineligible as well. Most professional athletes in the relevant sports are under 35 years old, particularly those at the peak of their careers (when they'd likely win MVP awards), the most popular musicians also tend to be younger than 35, and many who meet these requirements were not born US citizens (and some many not even reside in the US). However, the existing line of succession can also contain ineligible people, who would simply be skipped over for succession. For example, at the comic's publication, {{w|Elaine Chao}} was the Secretary of Transportation and would normally be 14th in line, but because she is a naturalized citizen of the US, rather than native-born (she was born in Taiwan) she would not qualify for the office if the line came to her. The presidential line of succession was first mentioned in [[1933: Santa Facts]].<br /> <br /> The title text mentions that ties will be broken by whoever was closest to the surface of {{w|Europa}} when they were born. Europa is a moon of Jupiter and one of the most likely locations in the Solar System for {{w|Habitability of natural satellites|potential habitability}}. This is likely a parody of systems in which ties are broken by semi-arbitrary rules (such as the older candidate automatically winning a tie) or a randomized ones (such as ties being decided by a coin flip). The position of Europa with respect to Earth at the time of one's birth depends on enough factors that it acts as a pseudo-random tie breaker, albeit a needlessly complicated one.<br /> <br /> ==Order of succession==<br /> {| class=&quot;wikitable sortable&quot;<br /> !#<br /> !Randall's order<br /> !Current order by the 1947 Act<br /> !Notes<br /> |-<br /> |1<br /> |{{w|POTUS|President}}<br /> |President<br /> |Not generally considered part of the line of succession, as incumbents cannot &quot;succeed&quot; to their own post. (This should really be item 0 on the list.)<br /> |-<br /> |2<br /> |{{w|POTUS|Vice president}}<br /> |Vice president<br /> |This is the same as in the actual line of succession. Succeeding the President is one of the only two roles assigned to the Vice President by the Constitution, the other being presiding over the Senate (including breaking ties), but Vice Presidents are often given additional roles during office.<br /> |-<br /> |3<br /> |{{w|United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State}}<br /> |Speaker of the House of Representatives<br /> |Moved up from 5th position. This is likely a serious suggestion. As mentioned above, the existing Succession Act includes the Speaker of the House and President Pro Tempore of the Senate, which presents serious practical and constitutional issues. The Secretary of State is the chief officer responsible for the country's international relations and diplomatic missions, and would be a logical successor, particularly in times of crisis. <br /> |-<br /> |4<br /> |{{w|United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense}}<br /> |{{w|President pro tempore of the United States Senate|President pro tempore of the Senate}}<br /> |Moved up from 7th position. Also likely a serious suggestion. The existing succession places the Secretary of Defense behind the Secretary of the Treasury in succession. If the three preceding officials were simultaneously killed or incapacitated, there would be a high likelihood that the country was under attack, and other powers could easily try to take advantage of any power vacuum. Since the Secretary of Defense is most connected to the nation's military, and most in tune with information regarding potential threats and risks, this would be a logical succession.<br /> |-<br /> |5<br /> |{{w|United States Secretary of Homeland Security|Secretary of Homeland Security}}<br /> |Secretary of State<br /> |Moved up from 19th position. Again likely a serious suggestion. As with the Secretary of Defense, this officer would likely be closely aligned with the national emergency response infrastructure (including overseeing the {{w|Federal Emergency Management Agency}}), and would be well equipped to deal with a major attack or natural disaster. <br /> |-<br /> |6<br /> |{{w|United States Attorney General|Attorney General}}<br /> |{{w|United States Secretary of the Treasury|Secretary of the Treasury}} <br /> |Moved up from 8th position. Once again, likely a serious suggestion. The Attorney General oversees national law enforcement, and would be in a position to deal with internal chaos that could result from a disaster that impacted the federal government so deeply. <br /> |-<br /> |7<br /> |Five people who do not live in {{w|Washington, D.C.}}, nominated at the start of the President's term and confirmed by the Senate<br /> |Secretary of Defense<br /> |Washington, D.C is the capital of the United States, and is where the {{w|White House}}, the President's residence, is located. Presumably this provision covers the case where much of the government, including positions 1–6 here, are killed by a natural disaster or attack in Washington, D.C.<br /> <br /> This suggestion establishes no qualifications for these people, but the fact that they'd need to be confirmed by the Senate suggests that they would be chosen to be competent for the role. It is also unclear if an order is determined among these five or if they take up a joint presidency. This suggestion is taken from the Second Report of the Continuity of Government Commission to prevent the danger of the entire line of succession being removed in a single event. <br /> |-<br /> |8<br /> |{{w|Tom Hanks}}<br /> |Attorney General<br /> |Academy Award-winning American actor. This is the first unambiguously unserious suggestion.{{Citation needed}} Tom Hanks is very popular and considered exceptionally likeable by many Americans, but has never served in public office or displayed any particular affinity for politics. The implication is that Mr. Hanks would be easily accepted as a leader, based solely on his personal charm. It should also be noticed that Tom Hanks played Jim Lovell, who served in the navy before becoming an astronaut (Many early astronauts were former military members.), in ''Apollo 13'', a military captain in ''Saving Private Ryan'', a prison officer in ''The Green Mile'', a naval intelligence officer in ''James B. Donovan'', and a member of the House of Representatives in ''Charlie Wilson's War''; if Tom Hanks's appearances in movies counted as real-life experience, then he would be adequately qualified.<br /> |-<br /> |9<br /> |State Governors, in descending order of state population at last census<br /> |{{w|United States Secretary of the Interior|Secretary of the Interior}}<br /> |Also taken from Second Report of the Continuity of Government Commission. At the time of publication, the last {{w|United States Census}} was the 2010 Census. As California is the most populous state, its Governor ({{w|Jerry Brown}} at the time of publication) would have been first in line. <br /> <br /> See also the {{w|2010_United_States_Census#State_rankings|state population rankings}} and the {{w|list of current United States governors}}. As worded, this criterion would exclude territorial governors (and the Mayor of Washington, D.C.).<br /> |-<br /> |10<br /> |Anyone who won an Oscar for playing a governor<br /> |{{w|United States Secretary of Agriculture|Secretary of Agriculture}}<br /> |Oscars, or {{w|Academy Awards}}, are annual film awards awarded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. At the time of publication, the only Oscar awarded for playing a governor was {{w|Broderick Crawford}}'s 1949 Best Actor award for the fictional Willie Stark in ''{{w|All the King's Men (1949 film)|All the King's Men}}'' (a character based on {{w|Huey Long}}). However, Crawford died in 1986, so would be unable to serve as President.<br /> <br /> This may be a reference to the {{w|Political career of Arnold Schwarzenegger}}: a highly-lauded actor who became governor of California, but did not win an Oscar or play a governor before being elected. (As a naturalized citizen, he is also ineligible for the Presidency.)<br /> There is also humor in suggesting that playing a governor delivers just as much experience as being a governor. (Something similar was mentioned in the section about Tom Hanks, who played, among other things, a member of the House of Representatives.)<br /> |-<br /> |11<br /> |Anyone who won a Governor's award for playing someone named Oscar<br /> |{{w|United States Secretary of Commerce|Secretary of Commerce}} <br /> |The {{w|Governors Awards}} are an annual award ceremony hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to present lifetime achievement awards within the film industry. As this award is a lifetime achievement award, it does not seem possible that an actor could win this award for simply playing someone named Oscar. Notwithstanding the nature of the award, at the time of publication, no recipient of a Governors Award has played a character named Oscar.<br /> <br /> Obviously, the joke is that changing the order of the words from the previous proposal produces something that could actually exist.<br /> |-<br /> |12<br /> |{{w|Kate McKinnon}}, if available<br /> |Secretary of Labor<br /> |Comedic actress famous for being a cast member on {{w|Saturday Night Live}}. She is known for her character work and celebrity impressions. She has recently done impersonations of members of the Trump administration including Spokeswoman {{w|Kellyanne Conway}} and Attorney General {{w|Jeff Sessions}}. She also played {{w|Hillary Clinton}} during the 2016 campaign and presumably would have played her when she was President had she won; but since Clinton lost, McKinnon has not actually played a President. At the time the comic was released, she was 34 years 5 months old; thus she was not &quot;available&quot; until seven months later. Being available could also refer to not already having an acting commitment, in which case the comic would be humorously implying that fulfilling her acting roles is more important than the country having leadership.<br /> |-<br /> |13<br /> |Billboard Year-End Hot 100 Singles artists #1 through #10 (for groups, whoever is credited first in name, liner notes, etc)<br /> |Secretary of Health and Human Services <br /> |The {{w|Billboard Hot 100}} is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for singles, published weekly by Billboard magazine. The weekly data is aggregated into a cumulative {{w|Billboard Year-End}} (based on a &quot;year&quot; that ends the third week of November, in order to meet December publication deadlines). At the time of publication, the most recent such list was the {{w|Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2017}}.<br /> <br /> Based on that list, the artists considered for the presidential succession would be: {{w|Ed Sheeran}}, {{w|Luis Fonsi}}, {{w|Bruno Mars}}, {{w|Kendrick Lamar}}, Alex Pall (of {{w|The Chainsmokers}}), {{w|Quavo|Quavoius Keyate Marshall}} (of {{w|Migos}}), {{w|Sam Hunt}}, {{w|Dan Reynolds}} (of {{w|Imagine Dragons}}), and {{w|Post Malone}}. There are only nine names instead of ten because The Chainsmokers had two of the top 10 singles in 2017. Of these, only Luis Fonsi (40 years old, born in Puerto Rico) was legally eligible for the office; all the others were too young, and Sheeran is additionally from the United Kingdom.<br /> |-<br /> |14<br /> |The top 5 US astronauts in descending order of total spaceflight time<br /> |Secretary of Housing and Urban Development <br /> |Astronauts are highly respected and rigorously selected, but most have little involvement in politics. According to [https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-station-astronaut-record-holders NASA], the top 5 US astronauts by cumulative space time at the time of publication were: {{w|Peggy Whitson}}, {{w|Jeffrey Williams (astronaut)|Jeff Williams}}, {{W|Scott Kelly (astronaut)|Scott Kelly}} (whose brother {{w|Mark Kelley (astronaut)|Mark}} is a sitting US Senator), {{w|Mike Fincke}}, and {{w|Mike Foale}}. However, it is unclear whether Foale would qualify as a natural-born citizen, as he was born in the United Kingdom to a British father and American mother.<br /> |-<br /> |15<br /> |{{w|Serena Williams}} (or, if she lost her most recent match, whoever beat her)<br /> |Secretary of Transportation<br /> |As of the time of publication, Serena Williams was a top female tennis player. She is arguably the greatest female tennis player of all-time, winning 39 {{w|Grand Slam (tennis)|Grand Slam}} titles, including 23 women's singles titles. At the time of publication Serena Williams did win her most recent match (2018 French Open, third round, on June 2nd), although she withdrew from her next match against Maria Sharapova (which perhaps should count as a loss, especially if she withdrew in order to preserve her place in the line of succession and killed everyone in place ahead of her).<br /> <br /> If her most recent defeat was to a non-US player, presumably she would be skipped over in line although this is not explicitly stated (the current succession list skips over anyone who would not normally qualify for not being a natural-born US citizen).<br /> |-<br /> |16<br /> |The most recent season NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL MVPs<br /> |Secretary of Energy<br /> |MVP stands for {{w|Most Valuable Player}}. The 4 listed leagues are the major sports leagues in the United States, the {{w|National Basketball Association}} (NBA), the {{w|National Football League}} (NFL), {{w|Major League Baseball}} (MLB), and the {{w|National Hockey League}} (NHL). We're assuming that Randall meant the regular season MVPs of each league, as each league also awards MVPs for their respective championships (or in the case of the NHL's {{w|Conn Smythe Trophy}}, their entire playoffs).<br /> <br /> As of the time of publication, the most recent MVPs for the listed sports were {{w|Russell Westbrook}} (NBA), {{w|Tom Brady}} (NFL), {{w|José Altuve}} and {{w|Giancarlo Stanton}} (MLB has two, one for the American League and one for the National League), and {{w|Connor McDavid}} (NHL). Of these, only Brady would qualify for the list - Altuve and McDavid are Venezuelan and Canadian citizens respectively, and Westbrook (29) and Stanton (28) were too young.<br /> |-<br /> |17<br /> |{{w|Bill Pullman}} and his descendants by absolute primogeniture<br /> |Secretary of Education <br /> |American actor, known for playing President Thomas J. Whitmore in the 1996 film ''{{w|Independence Day (1996 film)|Independence Day}}''. <br /> <br /> Absolute primogeniture is a form of succession where the oldest direct descendant regardless of gender receives the title. This is contrasted to {{w|Male-preference primogeniture}}, in which males come before females in the order of the throne, whether the males were born first or not. This may be a reference to the British law {{w|Succession to the Crown Act 2013}}, which changed the order of the throne from male-preference primogeniture to absolute primogeniture. This act allows {{w|Princess Charlotte of Cambridge|Princess Charlotte}} to retain her place in line before {{w|Prince Louis of Cambridge|Prince Louis}}. <br /> <br /> At the time of publication, Pullman's immediate descendants consisted of three children, with Maesa Pullman being the oldest at age 29. Thus all but Bill Pullman himself were too young for the presidency.<br /> |-<br /> |18<br /> |The entire line of succession to the British throne<br /> |Secretary of Veterans Affairs <br /> |According to the Constitution, only a natural-born citizen of the United States can become President, which means that at least most of the line of succession to the British throne is ineligible. However, it is possible that someone in the line of succession to the British throne either is a dual citizen or is not British (a person from outside of Britain or Ireland can become King; for example, some, including George I, were from what is now Germany). <br /> <br /> The first 59 names on the list are {{w|Succession_to_the_British_throne#Current_line_of_succession|here}}. [https://lineofsuccession.co.uk/?date=2018-06-06 British Line of Succession on 6 June 2018] shows the list as it was at the comic's publication. American citizens [http://articles.latimes.com/1988-02-11/news/vw-42233_1_royal-house have, at times] been on the list, but no natural-born Americans were on the list when the comic was published. However, after this comic was published {{w|Archie Mountbatten-Windsor}} was born on May 6, 2019; he is currently seventh in the line of succession to the British throne and has US citizenship through his mother {{w|Meghan, Duchess of Sussex}}. As with Mark Foale, though, whether that qualifies as natural-born has not be tested (leaving aside his age and the fact that many royals in his position have historically relinquished their birthright US citizenship voluntarily, which he may choose to do once he reaches age 16). In theory, the full British succession list includes [http://www.wargs.com/essays/succession/2011.html several thousand people] (living descendants of {{w|Sophia of Hanover}} who are not Roman Catholic or otherwise disqualified), and it is possible that one or more such people would also be eligible to be President of the United States beyond Master Archie. Archie's sister Lillibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was born in Santa Barbara, California, USA, on June 4, 2021, making her definitively a natural born US citizen, and thus, theoretically eligible to become US president upon turning 35.<br /> <br /> The humor here derives from the fact that the United States was established by declaring independence from the United Kingdom, with rejection of the British monarchy being a basic founding principle, and a core principle of US governance. To appoint the British monarchy to the American presidency would contradict the basic goals of American independence. Alternatively, it may reference the recent wedding of {{w|Prince Harry}} to {{w|Meghan Markle}}, although she is not in the order of succession. A similar sequence of events was the plotline of the comedy film ''{{w|King Ralph}}'', which saw an American become the British monarch after the death of the royal family.<br /> |-<br /> |19<br /> |The current champion of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest<br /> |Secretary of Homeland Security<br /> |The {{w|Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest}} is an annual American hot dog competitive eating competition sponsored by {{w|Nathan's Famous}} held on July 4th. As of the time of publication, the most recent men's winner was {{w|Joey Chestnut}} and the women's winner was {{w|Miki Sudo}}. At the time of publication, neither was old enough to assume the office.<br /> <br /> The comic does not specify whether the men's or women's winner should take office, creating a tie that would be broken by distance from Europa at birth. Had they both been eligible, [https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/29132/was-earth-closer-to-europa-on-1983-11-25-or-1985-07-22 Sudo would have won] by between 0.125 and 2.2 {{w|Astronomical unit}}s.<br /> |-<br /> |20<br /> |All other US citizens, chosen by a 29-round single-elimination Jousting tournament<br /> |''None''<br /> |Effective for a population up to 536,870,912 individuals (2^29) which would be enough to cover the entire US population (estimated at around 325 million at time of publication), although additional rounds can be added should the population grow further.<br /> <br /> This is probably a reference to the {{w|Matter of Britain}} (e.g., {{w|The Sword in the Stone (film)|The Sword in the Stone}}), where, after the death of Uther Pendragon, with no known successor to the throne of Britain (some versions of the legend refer incorrectly to England) for years, it is decided that the winner of a jousting tournament shall be crowned. However, Arthur, the Wart, pulls the Sword from the Stone.<br /> |}<br /> <br /> ===List of specific individuals===<br /> Based on the comic's defined criteria for the order of succession, these are the specific individuals in that order, including only people who are otherwise eligible to be the President of United States (35 year old and natural born US citizens who lived in US for last 14 years) '''as of the date the comic was published'''. <br /> #[[Donald Trump]] ({{w|President of the United States}})<br /> #{{w|Mike Pence}} ({{w|Vice President of the United States}})<br /> #{{w|Mike Pompeo}} ({{w|United States Secretary of State}})<br /> #{{w|Jim Mattis}} ({{w|United States Secretary of Defense}})<br /> #{{w|Kirstjen Nielsen}} ({{w|United States Secretary of Homeland Security}})<br /> #{{w|Jeff Sessions}} ({{w|United States Attorney General}})<br /> #*''As Donald Trump did not appoint anyone to fill position #7 on Randall's line of succession, Hanks immediately followed after Sessions.''<br /> #{{w|Tom Hanks}} (Tom Hanks) <br /> #{{w|Jerry Brown}} (Governor of California)<br /> #{{w|Greg Abbott}} (Governor of Texas)<br /> #{{w|Andrew Cuomo}} (Governor of New York)<br /> #{{w|Rick Scott}} (Governor of Florida)<br /> #{{w|Bruce Rauner}} (Governor of Illinois)<br /> #{{w|Tom Wolf}} (Governor of Pennsylvania)<br /> #{{w|John Kasich}} (Governor of Ohio)<br /> #{{w|Rick Snyder}} (Governor of Michigan)<br /> #{{w|Nathan Deal}} (Governor of Georgia)<br /> #{{w|Roy Cooper}} (Governor of North Carolina)<br /> #{{w|Phil Murphy}} (Governor of New Jersey)<br /> #{{w|Ralph Northam}} (Governor of Virginia)<br /> #{{w|Jay Inslee}} (Governor of Washington)<br /> #{{w|Charlie Baker}} (Governor of Massachusetts)<br /> #{{w|Eric Holcomb}} (Governor of Indiana)<br /> #{{w|Doug Ducey}} (Governor of Arizona)<br /> #{{w|Bill Haslam}} (Governor of Tennessee)<br /> #{{w|Mike Parson}} (Governor of Missouri)<br /> #{{w|Larry Hogan}} (Governor of Maryland)<br /> #{{w|Scott Walker (politician)|Scott Walker}} (Governor of Wisconsin)<br /> #{{w|Mark Dayton}} (Governor of Minnesota)<br /> #{{w|John Hickenlooper}} (Governor of Colorado)<br /> #{{w|Kay Ivey}} (Governor of Alabama)<br /> #{{w|Henry McMaster}} (Governor of South Carolina)<br /> #{{w|John Bel Edwards}} (Governor of Louisiana)<br /> #{{w|Matt Bevin}} (Governor of Kentucky)<br /> #{{w|Kate Brown}} (Governor of Oregon)&lt;br/&gt;''Born in Spain to a member of the US Air Force, should be considered a natural-born citizen until proven otherwise.''<br /> #{{w|Mary Fallin}} (Governor of Oklahoma)<br /> #{{w|Dannel Malloy}} (Governor of Connecticut)<br /> #{{w|Kim Reynolds}} (Governor of Iowa)<br /> #{{w|Phil Bryant}} (Governor of Mississippi)<br /> #{{w|Asa Hutchinson}} (Governor of Arkansas)<br /> #{{w|Jeff Colyer}} (Governor of Kansas)<br /> #{{w|Gary Herbert}} (Governor of Utah)<br /> #{{w|Brian Sandoval}} (Governor of Nevada)<br /> #{{w|Susana Martinez}} (Governor of New Mexico)<br /> #{{w|Jim Justice}} (Governor of West Virginia)<br /> #{{w|Pete Ricketts}} (Governor of Nebraska)<br /> #{{w|Butch Otter}} (Governor of Idaho)<br /> #{{w|David Ige}} (Governor of Hawaii)<br /> #{{w|Paul LePage}} (Governor of Maine)<br /> #{{w|Chris Sununu}} (Governor of New Hampshire)<br /> #{{w|Gina Raimondo}} (Governor of Rhode Island)<br /> #{{w|Steve Bullock (American politician)|Steve Bullock}} (Governor of Montana)<br /> #{{w|John Carney (politician)|John Carney}} (Governor of Delaware)<br /> #{{w|Dennis Daugaard}} (Governor of South Dakota)<br /> #{{w|Bill Walker (U.S. politician)|Bill Walker}} (Governor of Alaska)<br /> #{{w|Doug Burgum}} (Governor of North Dakota)<br /> #{{w|Phil Scott (politician)|Phil Scott}} (Governor of Vermont)<br /> #{{w|Matt Mead}} (Governor of Wyoming)<br /> #*''Entries 10 and 11 on Randall's list had no eligible living members.''<br /> #*''Kate McKinnon was only 34 years 5 months old at the time the comic was released, making her ineligible at that time.''<br /> #{{w|Luis Fonsi}} (Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2017, #2 artist)&lt;br/&gt;''Fonsi was the only eligible individual under the Billboard criterion.''<br /> #{{w|Peggy Whitson}} (Astronaut, 665 days in space)<br /> #{{w|Jeffrey Williams (astronaut)|Jeff Williams}} (Astronaut, 534 days in space)<br /> #{{w|Scott Kelly}} (Astronaut, 520 days in space)<br /> #{{w|Mike Fincke}} (Astronaut, 382 days in space)<br /> #{{w|Mike Foale}} (Astronaut, 374 days in space)&lt;br&gt;''Foale was born in the UK but his mother is an American, and he holds dual citizenship with both countries. It isn't clear legally whether this situation would qualify him as being a &quot;natural-born&quot; citizen as US courts have never definitively ruled on what the term means, so similar to Governor Kate Brown his name is included in the list as being not ruled out.''<br /> #{{w|Serena Williams}}&lt;br/&gt;''Serena's place on this list assumed that you do not count her withdrawal against Maria Sharapova as a ''loss''; if that counted as a loss, then subsequent entries moved up one position (as Sharapova was ineligible).''<br /> #{{w|Tom Brady}} ({{w|National Football League Most Valuable Player Award|NFL MVP}})&lt;br&gt;''The MVPs of all other listed sports leagues were ineligible for the office due to age or nationality.''<br /> #{{w|Bill Pullman}} (Bill Pullman)&lt;br/&gt;''None of his children were old enough to become President at that time.''<br /> #Rowan Lascelles (was 64th in line to the throne at the time, born in Britain to an American mother)<br /> #Sophie Lascelles (was 67th in line to the throne at the time, born in Britain to an American mother)<br /> #Alexander Hohenzollern (was 111th in line to the throne at the time, born to an American mother abroad)<br /> #{{w|Prince Peter of Yugoslavia|Prince Peter of Yugoslavia}} (was 113th in line to the throne at the time, born in the US)<br /> #{{w|Philip, Hereditary Prince of Yugoslavia|Philip, Hereditary Prince of Yugoslavia}} (was 114th in line to the throne at the time, born in the US)<br /> #{{w|Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia (born 1982)|Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia}} (was 116th in line to the throne at the time, born in the US)<br /> #Christopher Habsburg (was 128th in line to the throne at the time, born in the US)<br /> #Peter Habsburg (was 132nd in line to the throne at the time, born in the US)<br /> #Anton Habsburg (was 133rd in line to the throne at the time, born in the US)<br /> #Ileana Snyder (was 134th in line to the throne at the time, born in the US)<br /> #Constanza Bain (was 140th in line to the throne at the time, born in the US)<br /> #Count Sandor von Hohenzollern (was 143rd in line to the throne at the time, mother is American)<br /> #Count Gregor von Hohenzollern (was 145th in line to the throne at the time, mother is American)<br /> #Marc Saint (was 303rd in line to the throne at the time, born in US)<br /> #Carla Saint (was 304th in line to the throne at the time, born in US)&lt;br&gt;''This only covers the first 345 people in line to the throne, including Catholics, who, if they did not convert, would be excluded, but not including illegitimate or adoptive issue. This list is based on people who could plausibly have been eligible - people 35 and older who were either born in the US or at least one of their parents was. They could still be excluded based on residence or current citizenship.''<br /> #Everyone else (as would be further determined by jousting tournament) <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Based on the comic's defined criteria for the order of succession, these are the specific individuals in that order, including only people who are otherwise eligible to be the President of United States (35 year old and natural born US citizens who lived in US for last 14 years) '''as of the current date'''. (Last updated on 14 December 2024&lt;!-- Assuming the last editor did it correctly... --&gt;)<br /> &lt;!-- For convenience, have inserted &quot;Randall's List Number&quot; comment, at the (start of the) appropriate mention(s), for easier future checking purposes. --&gt;<br /> &lt;!-- Use &quot;#*&quot; (on new line) for 'empty' entries (occupies a 'line', yet does not apply a list number while at the same time not resetting the list numbering). --&gt;<br /> &lt;!-- Use &quot;&lt;br/&gt;&quot; (as continuation of line) for extended descriptions (does not invoke or reset list numbering). --&gt;<br /> #&lt;!-- Randall's List Number: 1 --&gt;{{w|Joe Biden}}&lt;!-- Will be changed in or before Jan 2029 --&gt; ({{w|President of the United States}})<br /> #&lt;!-- Randall's List Number: 2 --&gt;{{w|Kamala Harris}} &lt;!-- Will be changed in or before Jan 2025 --&gt; ({{w|Vice President of the United States}})<br /> #&lt;!-- Randall's List Number: 3 --&gt;{{w|Antony Blinken}} ({{w|United States Secretary of State}})<br /> #&lt;!-- Randall's List Number: 4 --&gt;{{w|Lloyd Austin}} ({{w|United States Secretary of Defense}})<br /> #*&lt;!-- Randall's List Number: 5 --&gt;''Current Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas is not eligible due to not being a natural born citizen.''<br /> #&lt;!-- Randall's List Number: 6 --&gt;{{w|Merrick Garland}} ({{w|United States Attorney General}})<br /> #*&lt;!-- Randall's List Number: 7 --&gt;''Donald Trump&lt;!-- Will change, Jan 2029 --&gt; has not appointed anyone in accordance with item #7 on Randall's line of succession.''<br /> #&lt;!-- Randall's List Number: 8 --&gt;{{w|Tom Hanks}} (Tom Hanks) <br /> #&lt;!-- Randall's List Number: 9... --&gt;{{w|Gavin Newsom}} (Governor of California)<br /> #{{w|Greg Abbott}} (Governor of Texas)<br /> #{{w|Ron DeSantis}} (Governor of Florida)<br /> #{{w|Kathy Hochul}} (Governor of New York)<br /> #{{w|Josh Shapiro}} (Governor of Pennsylvania)<br /> #{{w|J. B. Pritzker}} (Governor of Illinois)<br /> #{{w|Mike DeWine}} (Governor of Ohio)<br /> #{{w|Brian Kemp}} (Governor of Georgia)<br /> #{{w|Roy Cooper}} (Governor of North Carolina)<br /> #{{w|Gretchen Whitmer}} (Governor of Michigan)<br /> #{{w|Phil Murphy}} (Governor of New Jersey)<br /> #{{w|Glenn Youngkin}} (Governor of Virginia)<br /> #{{w|Jay Inslee}} (Governor of Washington)<br /> #{{w|Katie Hobbs}} (Governor of Arizona)<br /> #{{w|Maura Healey}} (Governor of Massachusetts)<br /> #{{w|Bill Lee (Tennessee politician)|Bill Lee}} (Governor of Tennessee)<br /> #{{w|Eric Holcomb}} (Governor of Indiana)<br /> #{{w|Wes Moore}} (Governor of Maryland)<br /> #{{w|Mike Parson}} (Governor of Missouri)<br /> #{{w|Tony Evers}} (Governor of Wisconsin)<br /> #{{w|Jared Polis}} (Governor of Colorado)<br /> #{{w|Tim Walz}} (Governor of Minnesota)<br /> #{{w|Henry McMaster}} (Governor of South Carolina)<br /> #{{w|Kay Ivey}} (Governor of Alabama)<br /> #{{w|Jeff Landry}} (Governor of Louisiana)<br /> #{{w|Andy Beshear}} (Governor of Kentucky)<br /> #{{w|Tina Kotek}} (Governor of Oregon)<br /> #{{w|Kevin Stitt}} (Governor of Oklahoma)<br /> #{{w|Ned Lamont}} (Governor of Connecticut)<br /> #{{w|Spencer Cox (politician)|Spencer Cox}} (Governor of Utah)<br /> #{{w|Kim Reynolds}} (Governor of Iowa)<br /> #{{w|Joe Lombardo}} (Governor of Nevada)<br /> #{{w|Sarah Huckabee Sanders}} (Governor of Arkansas)<br /> #{{w|Tate Reeves}} (Governor of Mississippi)<br /> #{{w|Laura Kelly}} (Governor of Kansas)<br /> #{{w|Michelle Lujan Grisham}} (Governor of New Mexico)<br /> #{{w|Jim Pillen}} (Governor of Nebraska)<br /> #{{w|Brad Little}} (Governor of Idaho)<br /> #{{w|Jim Justice}} (Governor of West Virginia)<br /> #{{w|Josh Green}} (Governor of Hawaii)<br /> #{{w|Chris Sununu}} (Governor of New Hampshire)<br /> #{{w|Janet Mills}} (Governor of Maine)<br /> #{{w|Dan McKee}} (Governor of Rhode Island)<br /> #{{w|Greg Gianforte}} (Governor of Montana)<br /> #{{w|John Carney (politician)|John Carney}} (Governor of Delaware)<br /> #{{w|Kristi Noem}} (Governor of South Dakota)<br /> #{{w|Doug Burgum}} (Governor of North Dakota)<br /> #{{w|Mike Dunleavy (politician)|Mike Dunleavy}} (Governor of Alaska)<br /> #{{w|Phil Scott (politician)|Phil Scott}} (Governor of Vermont)<br /> #{{w|Mark Gordon (politician)|Mark Gordon}} (Governor of Wyoming)<br /> #*&lt;!-- Randall's List Number: 10 --&gt;''No eligible living members for #10 on the list.''<br /> #*&lt;!-- Randall's List Number: 11 --&gt;''No eligible living members for #11 on the list.''<br /> #&lt;!-- Randall's List Number: 12 --&gt;{{w|Kate McKinnon}} (Kate McKinnon, subject to availability)<br /> #&lt;!-- Randall's List Number: 13 --&gt;{{w|Kendrick Lamar}} (Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2024, #6 artist)&lt;!-- Do not add Hozier after he turns 35 on March 17 2025, as he is Irish. --&gt;<br /> #&lt;!-- Randall's List Number: 14... --&gt;{{w|Peggy Whitson}} (Astronaut, 675 days in space)<br /> #{{w|Jeffrey Williams (astronaut)|Jeff Williams}} (Astronaut, 534 days in space)<br /> #{{w|Mark Vande Hei}} (Astronaut, 523 days in space)<br /> #{{w|Scott Kelly}} (Astronaut, 520 days in space)<br /> #{{w|Sunita Williams}} (Astronaut, 410 days in space)<br /> #*&lt;!-- Randall's List Number: 15 --&gt;''{{w|Serena Williams}} lost the final match of her career against {{w|Ajla Tomljanović}}, who is ineligible due to age and nationality.''<br /> #*&lt;!-- Randall's List Number: 16 --&gt;''The MVPs of all listed sports leagues are ineligible for the office due to age and/or nationality.''<br /> #&lt;!-- Randall's List Number: 17 --&gt;{{w|Bill Pullman}} (Bill Pullman)<br /> #Maesa Pullman (born 1988, first descendant of Bill Pullman via absolute primogeniture)<br /> #Jack Pullman (born 1989, became eligible 2024)<br /> &lt;!--For future reference: #{{w|Lewis Pullman}} (born January 29, 1993, becomes eligible in 2028)--&gt;<br /> #&lt;!-- Randall's List Number: 18 --&gt;Rowan Lascelles (currently 74th in line to the throne, born in Britain to an American mother)<br /> #Tewa Lascelles (currently 75th in line to the throne, born in America)<br /> #Sophie Lascelles (currently 77th in line to the throne, born in Britain to an American mother)<br /> #Alexander Hohenzollern (currently 129th in line to the throne, born to an American mother abroad)<br /> #{{w|Prince Peter of Yugoslavia|Prince Peter of Yugoslavia}} (currently 131st in line to the throne, born in the US)<br /> #{{w|Philip, Hereditary Prince of Yugoslavia|Philip, Hereditary Prince of Yugoslavia}} (currently 132nd in line to the throne, born in the US)<br /> #{{w|Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia (born 1982)|Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia}} (currently 135th in line to the throne, born in the US)<br /> #Christopher Habsburg (currently 149th in line to the throne, born in the US)<br /> #Saygan Habsburg (currently 151st in line to the throne, born in the US)<br /> #Peter Habsburg (currently 154th in line to the throne, born in the US)<br /> #Anton Habsburg (currently 155th in line to the throne, born in the US)<br /> #Ileana Snyder (currently 156th in line to the throne, born in the US)<br /> #Nicholas Snyder (currently 157th in line to the throne, born in the US)<br /> #Alexandra Snyder (currently 159th in line to the throne, born in the US)<br /> #Constanza Bain (currently 164th in line to the throne, born in the US)<br /> #Count Sandor von Hohenzollern (currently 166th in line to the throne, mother is American)<br /> #Count Gregor von Hohenzollern (currently 168th in line to the throne, mother is American)<br /> #Hereditary Prince Alexander von Hohenzollern (currently 216th in line to the throne, born in US)<br /> #Philippa von Hohenzollern (currently 217th in line to the throne, born in the US)<br /> #Marc Saint (currently 337th in line to the throne, born in US)<br /> #Carla Saint (currently 338th in line to the throne, born in US)<br /> #*&lt;!-- End note of Randall's List Number: 18 --&gt;''This only covers the first 345 people in line to the throne, including Catholics, who, if they did not convert, would be excluded, but not including illegitimate or adoptive issue. This list is based on people who could plausibly be eligible - people 35 and older who were either born in the US or at least one of their parents was. They could still be excluded based on residence or current citizenship.''&lt;!-- *Not* checked for accuracy (additions/removals) during editing of 29/Aug/2024. Particularly likely to need some attention, though. --&gt;<br /> #&lt;!-- Randall's List Number: 19 --&gt;{{w|Miki Sudo}} (Women’s champion of the 2024 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest; listed first due to being closer to Europa at birth) &lt;!-- someone check results of July 4, 2025 for this and the next! --&gt;<br /> #{{w|Patrick Bertoletti}} (Men's champion of the 2024 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest)<br /> #&lt;!-- Randall's List Number: 20 --&gt;Everyone else (through jousting tournament elimination)&lt;br/&gt;''Assumes that the number of eligible US citizens does not exceed 536,870,912.''<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> : A proposal for a new presidential line of succession<br /> : Current politics aside, most experts agree the existing process is flawed. The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 is probably unconstitutional on several counts, and there are many practical issues with the system as well.<br /> : &lt;span style=&quot;color:gray&quot;&gt;(For more, see the surprisingly gripping ''Second Report of the Continuity of Government Commission'', June 2009.)&lt;/span&gt;<br /> : Proposed line of succession:<br /> :# President<br /> :# Vice president<br /> :# Secretary of State<br /> :# Secretary of Defense<br /> :# Secretary of Homeland Security<br /> :# Attorney General<br /> :# Five people who do not live in Washington DC, nominated at the start of the president's term and confirmed by the Senate<br /> :# Tom Hanks<br /> :# State Governors, in descending order of state population at last census<br /> :# Anyone who won an Oscar for playing a governor<br /> :# Anyone who won a Governor's award for playing someone named Oscar<br /> :# Kate McKinnon, if available<br /> :# Billboard year-end Hot 100 singles artists #1 through #10 (for groups, whoever is credited first in name, liner notes, etc)<br /> :# The top 5 US astronauts in descending order of total spaceflight time<br /> :# Serena Williams (or, if she lost her most recent match, whoever beat her)<br /> :# The most recent season NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL MVPs<br /> :# Bull Pullman and his descendants by absolute primogeniture<br /> :# The entire line of succession to the British throne<br /> :# The current champion of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest<br /> :# All other US citizens, chosen by a 29-round single-elimination Jousting tournament<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Politics]]</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Comics_edited_after_their_publication&diff=359751 2024-12-17T20:24:53Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div><br /> Randall occasionally updates comics after they are published to fix errors, appease fan complaints, or for other reasons. This is a collective list of all comics that have been edited after release.<br /> <br /> [[Category:Distinctive comics]]</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=explain_xkcd:Museum&diff=359750 2024-12-17T20:23:30Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div><br /> ==Significant accounts==<br /> * The oldest account on explain xkcd is [[User:Emilylb|Emilylb]], which was created 22:08, 31 July 2012.<br /> * The oldest account to have made a contribution is [[User:Erenan|Erenan]], created 22:19, 31 July 2012. It is also the oldest account with a talk page.<br /> * The oldest account which still appears active (as of 2022) is [[User: Ullallulloo|Ullallulloo]], which was created 23:49, 31 July.<br /> * The oldest account which have been continuously active is (as of 2022) is [[User: Aaron of Mpls|Aaron of Mpls]], which was created 23:49, 31 July 2012. &lt;!-- Outdated --&gt;<br /> * The first account to have been given administrator rights is [[user:Mynotoar|Mynotoar]], which were given the rights by [[user:Jeff|Jeff]] 01:48, 1 August 2012.<br /> * The first account to have been given bot rights is [[user:SlashBot|SlashBot]], which were given the rights by [[user:Jeff|Jeff]] 23:48, 3 August 2012.<br /> * The first account to have been given bureaucrat rights is [[user:Lcarsos|Lcarsos]], which were given the rights by [[user:Jeff|Jeff]] 18:32, 19 February 2013.<br /> * The first account to be blocked is [[User:AndreD|AndreD]], which was blocked by [[user:Waldir|Waldir]] 13:38, 4 August 2012.<br /> * The most [[Special:ContributionScores|active account]] is [[user:Davidy22|Davidy22]], which has a score of {{#cscore:Davidy22|score}} from making {{#cscore:Davidy22|changes}} edits on {{#cscore:Davidy22|pages}} pages.<br /> ** The account which has made the most edits is [[user:Kynde|Kynde]], who has made {{#cscore:Kynde|changes}} edits but on much fewer pages ({{#cscore:Kynde|pages}}). This thus only makes a score of {{#cscore:Kynde|score}}, and in second place on the [[Special:ContributionScores|All time list]].&lt;!-- At time of editing. Seems weird to mix autoupdated 'live' stats with non-dynamic 'definitive' statements that might change.... --&gt;<br /> * The protected user pages are:<br /> ** [[User:Jeff‎|Jeff]] (fully protected)<br /> ** [[User:IronyChef/TestKitchen‎|IronyChef/TestKitchen‎]] (semi protected)<br /> ** [[User:Davidy22‎|Davidy22]] (fully protected)<br /> ** [[User:Jacky720|Jacky720]]‎ (fully protected)<br /> ** [[User:While False|While False]]‎ (semi protected).<br /> <br /> ==Significant files==<br /> * The oldest file on explain xkcd is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/File:argument_victory.png argument_victory.png], which was uploaded by [[User:Jeff|Jeff‎]] 00:37, 17 July 2012.[[File:argument_victory.png|thumbnail|argument_victory.png]]<br /> * The smallest file is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/File:pixels-assembly-3.png pixels-assembly-3.png], which has a size of 0 bytes according to its page.[[File:pixels-assembly-3.png|thumbnail|pixels-assembly-3.png]] &lt;!-- Outdated --&gt;<br /> * The largest file is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/File:time-animated.gif time-animated.gif], which has a size of 11.55 MB.[[File:time-animated.gif|thumbnail|time-animated.gif]]<br /> * The most linked-to file is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/File:Terrible_small_logo.png Terrible small logo.png], which is used on 6,239 pages.[[File:Terrible_small_logo.png|thumbnail|Terrible small logo.png]]<br /> <br /> ==Significant explanations==<br /> * The longest explanation on explain xkcd is that of [[1608: Hoverboard]], which has a length of 279,953 bytes.<br /> * The shortest explanation is that of [[116: City]], which has a length of 1,024 bytes.<br /> * The most revised explanation is that of [[1190: Time]], which have been revised 2,073 times.<br /> <br /> ==Notes==<br /> This museum has no official status.<br /> <br /> A history of explain xkcd can be read [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd#History here].<br /> <br /> Time is shown according to UTC.<br /> [[Category:explain xkcd]]</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2288:_Collector%27s_Edition&diff=359749 2024-12-17T20:20:19Z

<p>Rustykid52: all loot found</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2288<br /> | date = April 3, 2020<br /> | title = Collector's Edition<br /> | image = collectors_edition.png<br /> | titletext = I'm sure you can find some suitable worldbuilding material if you scavenge through the archives.<br /> }}<br /> {{TOC}}<br /> *To experience the interactivity of the game, visit the {{xkcd|2288|original comic}}.<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> This was the tenth [[:Category:April fools' comics|April fools' comic]] released by [[Randall]]. The previous one was [[2131: Emojidome]] from Monday April 1, 2019. The next became [[2445: Checkbox]] released on Thursday April 1, 2021.<br /> <br /> It is a large draggable image that acts as a shared virtual sandbox for users to interact. Chests are &quot;Items&quot; (small and often humorous images) which could be collected from other comics, and then placed in this image by viewers, but today they are no longer dropped. The collection then updated for all viewers in real-time. Multiples of the same item are often seen. <br /> <br /> There is a &quot;backpack&quot; at the bottom, similar to backpacks in video games containing items collected by the player. As hinted by the title text, items could be found by visiting different xkcd comics/pages. Randomly, some pages would have a treasure chest which contained the sticker related to the page. The hint would refer to the page which currently had a chest.<br /> <br /> The sticker images can be seen at &lt;nowiki&gt;h&lt;/nowiki&gt;ttps://xkcd.com/2288/collectors/static/loot/loot_'''XXX'''.png, where XXX is a number from 001 to 253. Additionally, some images can be found at custom URLs, for example the periodic elements can be found at &lt;nowiki&gt;h&lt;/nowiki&gt;ttps://xkcd.com/2288/collectors/static/loot/element-'''XX'''.png, where XX is the element, and text loot at &lt;nowiki&gt;h&lt;/nowiki&gt;ttps://xkcd.com/2288/collectors/static/loot/loot-words-'''X'''.png, where X is the sentence.<br /> <br /> ===Hints===<br /> {| class=&quot;wikitable&quot;<br /> !Hint<br /> !Comic<br /> !Unlocked item<br /> !Item image<br /> !Notes<br /> |-<br /> |Doctors in a row||[[239: Blagofaire]]||Cory Doctorow || [[File:2288_loot_019.png|50px]] || These comics all have the same hint, but only one will have the chest<br /> |-<br /> |Get out the (US) vote||Chapter 5 of What If? (New York Style Time Machine)|| Statue of liberty ||[[File:2288_loot_246.png|75px]]||<br /> |-<br /> |Find a box of nice stuff on a picture with words like these||[[ 1375: Astronaut Vandalism ]]|| Signpost || [[File:2288_loot_126.png|75px]] ||<br /> |-<br /> |Plug in or find another power source||[[1373: Screenshot]]|| ||[[File:2288_loot_228.png|50px]] or [[File:miniloot-words-dispenser.png|75px]] (maybe incomplete)||<br /> |-<br /> |Sweet dreams, kitty||[[729: Laser Pointer]] (maybe incomplete)|| Cat licking laser point || [[File:2288_loot_090.png|75px]] ||<br /> |-<br /> |What is this hint pointing to? Hell if I know.||[[1052: Every Major's Terrible]]||2 + lightbulb = boat||[[File:2288_loot_185.png|75px]]||<br /> |-<br /> |Somebody set up us the bomb||[[286: All Your Base]]||Exploding rock||[[File:loot_197.png|75px]]||<br /> |-<br /> |Cowabunga||[[1412: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]] (maybe incomplete)||Women Science Fiction Authors || [[File:loot_175.png|75px]] || [[197: Ninja Turtles]] also works<br /> |-<br /> |I want to believe||[[2156: Ufo]]||Ufo||[[File:loot_210.png|75px]]||<br /> |-<br /> |Bleeped||[[290]], [[398]], [[430]], [[447]], [[533]], [[549]], [[677]], [[724]] or [[1671]]|| *$@#! ||[[File:loot_044.png|75px]]||Comics that involve swearing<br /> |-<br /> |why waste time say few word when lot word do trick||[[7]], [[111]], [[139]], [[143]], [[179]], [[217]], [[445]], [[470]], [[822]], [[823]], [[1022]], [[1247]], [[1491]], [[1921]], [[1991]], [[2182]] or [[2231]]|| First Annual Award for Excellence in Being Very Smart ||[[File:loot_159.png|75px]]||<br /> |-<br /> |Cooler than electric scooters||[[139]], [[409]], [[577]], [[578]], [[579]], [[580]] or [[581]]||An electric skateboard||[[File:loot_006.png|75px]]||<br /> |-<br /> |Take it from the top||[[1: Barrel - Part 1]] (maybe incomplete)||I am a turtle from [[889: Turtles]] || [[File:loot_095.png|75px]] ||<br /> |-<br /> |I accept the yucca gnocchi, this meal is a success!||[[1713: 50 ccs]] (maybe incomplete)||Man carrying parentheses from [[297: Lisp Cycles]] || [[File:loot_031.png|75px]] ||<br /> |-<br /> |Catch up on the news||[[1699: Local News]] (maybe incomplete)|| || ||<br /> |-<br /> |Participation trophy||[[2288: Collector's Edition]] (maybe incomplete)|| Server rack || [[File:loot_096.png|75px]] ||<br /> |-<br /> |Find an opportunity for a sojourn||[[665]], [[681]], [[695]], [[1091]], [[1504]], [[1613]], [[1663]] or [[2111]]||Opportunity Mars rover from [[2111: Opportunity Rover]]||[[File:loot_161.png|75px]]||<br /> |-<br /> |Tastier than tau day||[[179: e to the pi times i]] (maybe incomplete)||First annual award for excellence in being very smart || [[File:loot_159.png|75px]] || Need to find out the difference between this, and the entry below!<br /> |-<br /> |Tastier than tau day||[[235]], [[396]], [[872]], [[1029]], [[1342]], [[1655]] or [[1967]]|| Pie sign ||[[File:loot_056.png|75px]]|| Published on Pi day<br /> |-<br /> |418 I'm a teapot||[[1866: Russell's Teapot]] (maybe incomplete)||S.S. NASA: Space is Hard || [[File:loot_216.png|75px]] ||<br /> |-<br /> |26th September, 1983||[[2052: Stanislav Petrov Day]]||White dove||[[File:loot_205.png|75px]]||Might also be written &quot;September 26th, 1983&quot;. Locale dependent?<br /> |-<br /> |There are 4241 as of Apr 1, 2020||[[1071: Exoplanets]] (maybe incomplete)|| Little girl from [[2264: Satellite]] || [[File:loot_151.png|75px]] ||<br /> |-<br /> |asableiK||[[645: RPS]]|| A reverse Polish hotdog ||[[File:loot_079.png|75px]] || &quot;Kielbasa&quot; backwards, which is &quot;sausage&quot; in Polish<br /> |-<br /> |Critical mass elements||[[235: Kite]] or [[239: Blagofaire]]|| ||[[File:loot_203.png|75px]]||<br /> |-<br /> |Some Februarys are more equal than others||[[390: Nightmares]]? (maybe incomplete)|| Cueball wheelie from [[272: Linux User at Best Buy]] ||[[File:loot_036.png|150px]] || Comic-hint connection largely conjectural; 390 was the first comic published on a leap day.<br /> |-<br /> |Five spice||[[1511: Spice Girl]] or [[1554: Spice Girls]]|| Rock guitarist ||[[File:loot_022.png|150px]]||<br /> |-<br /> |Call the plumber||[[423: Finish Line]]|| Luigi in a green Kart ||[[File:loot_058.png|75px]]||<br /> |-<br /> |Was it a rat I saw?||[[968: Everything]]|| Cueball with a large sack, pulling a wagon || [[File:loot_103.png|150px]] || or [[1503: Squirrel Plan]] for Cueball holding a balloon caught in a ceiling fan.<br /> |-<br /> |Churchill's gonna have to seriously rehydrate||[[346: Diet Coke+Mentos]]|| Bottle of soda ||[[File:loot_045.png|75px]]||<br /> |-<br /> |Keep coming back|| || || ||<br /> |-<br /> |A new model released each year||Triggered by visiting all xkcd phone comics in order|| Phone screaming &quot;Noooo&quot; || [[File:loot_235.png|75px]] ||<br /> |-<br /> |Tea Time||Maybe [[581: The Race: Part 5]]? Need confirmation.||All our tea ||[[File:loot_232.png|75px]]||<br /> |-<br /> |Try pattern-matching! Look for comic 'bout alphabet?||[[1045: Constraints]]||Two Tetris blocks||[[File:loot_092.png|75px]]||<br /> |-<br /> |Where's Hilbert?||[[195: Map of the Internet]] (maybe incomplete)|| Hilbert Curve ||[[File:loot_021.png|75px]]||<br /> |-<br /> |Science fiction fetish||[[1585: Similarities]]|| ||[[File:loot_202.png|75px]]||<br /> |-<br /> |The first one was funnier||[[11: Barrel - Part 2]] (maybe incomplete)||Falling feather / Sign &quot;The uncomfortable truths well&quot; || [[File:loot_250.png|75px]] / [[File:loot_067.png|75px]] ||<br /> |-<br /> |It's up to over 260 million cycles!||[[1941: Dying Gift]]|| Megan on a tire swing ||[[File:loot_127.png|75px]]||<br /> |-<br /> |Sleeping Beauty is the same everywhere though||[[2233: Aurora Meaning]] (maybe incomplete)|| Sleeping Cat ||[[File:loot_163.png|75px]]||<br /> |-<br /> |On the internet, nobody knows you're an arachnid||[[1530: Keyboard Mash]] (maybe incomplete)|| Cobwebbed frame from [[1135: Arachnoneurology]]||[[File:loot_191.png|75px]]||<br /> |-<br /> |Did James Cameron pay for the rice cooker too?||[[1598: Salvage]] (maybe incomplete)||Rice bowl ||[[File:loot_152.png|75px]]||<br /> |-<br /> |Never going to give you up||[[351]], [[389]], [[396]], [[524]], [[573]], [[609]], [[802]], [[1212]], [[1757]] or [[1981]]|| Cueball in car listening to music ||[[File:loot_010.png|75px]]||<br /> |-<br /> |If red touches yellow, that's 24 ohms||[[1604: Snakes]], [[227: Color Codes]]? (maybe incomplete)|| Yoda with an mp3 player from What If ||[[File:loot_247.png|75px]]||<br /> |-<br /> |An enthusiastic but questionable business opportunity||[[1021]], [[1032]], [[1117]], [[1293]], [[1493]], [[1533]], [[1772]], [[1812]], [[1871]], [[1903]], [[1997]], [[2140]], [[2209]] or [[2277]]|| Beret guy with a goat on leash ||[[File:loot_115.png|75px]]||<br /> |-<br /> |Read the fine manual||[[293]], [[434]], [[456]], [[912]], [[1343]] or [[1692]]|| ||Multiple: loot_106.png, miniloot-words-hair.png, miniloot-words-ominous.png, miniloot-words-eruption.png, miniloot-words-flying.png or miniloot-words-ghost.png (maybe incomplete)||<br /> |-<br /> |That thing's undecimodal!||[[1347: t Distribution]] (maybe incomplete)|| Floating tentacled alien ||[[File:loot_209.png|75px]]||<br /> |-<br /> |Actually, it's Myanmar-Shave now||[[491: Twitter]] (maybe incomplete)||Expensive bottle ||[[File:loot_253.png|75px]]||<br /> |-<br /> |You don't have to find all 99||[[121: Balloon]] (maybe incomplete)||Balloon copter ||[[File:loot_002.png|75px]]|| Or [[51: Malaria]] ?<br /> |-<br /> |Going in circles||[[378: Real Programmers]] (maybe incomplete)|| Cueball spinning in desk chair ||[[File:loot_098.png|75px]]||<br /> |-<br /> |Couldn't you try knitting, or maybe stamp collecting?||[[37]], [[53]], [[60]], [[75]], [[79]], [[148]], [[168]], [[174]], [[236]], [[259]], [[287]], [[296]], [[326]], [[331]], [[389]], [[437]], [[451]], [[559]], [[590]], [[605]], [[687]], [[719]], [[733]], [[790]], [[845]], [[966]], [[1004]], [[1119]], [[1145]], [[1169]], [[1208]], [[1278]], [[1304]], [[1329]], [[1340]], [[1355]], [[1405]], [[1480]], [[1546]], [[1598]], [[1677]], [[1697]], [[1705]], [[1788]], [[1795]], [[1960]], [[1995]], [[2032]], [[2123]], [[2208]] or [[2252]]||Phishing License sign||[[File:loot_158.png|75px]]||Mostly comics that include &quot;My hobby:&quot;<br /> |-<br /> |It's the ciiiiircle of HONK||[[537: Ducklings]] or [[1729: Migrating Geese]]||DUCKLOOP'D?||[[File:loot_069.png|75px]]||<br /> |-<br /> |Fool me twice||Maybe [[880: Headache]]? Need confirmation.|| Raptor Attack ||[[File:loot_033.png|75px]]||The second April fools' comic<br /> |-<br /> |oOOOoooo||Maybe [[316: Loud Sex]]? Need confirmation.|| Sleeping cat || ||<br /> |-<br /> |Maybe we can ask for new wishes||[[879: Lamp]]||Genie and his bottle||[[File:loot_004.png|75px]]||If you place the genie last, you get another genie (indefinitely) - Needs verification, this may also just be a bug!<br /> |-<br /> |HACK THE PLANET||[[1337: Hack]] (maybe incomplete)|| Crash and Burn in the pool from the end of ''Hackers'' ||[[File:loot_130.png|75px]]||<br /> |-<br /> |Monetization haute couteur||[[20]], [[23]], [[55]], [[123]], [[149]], [[150]], [[162]], [[208]], [[231]], [[242]], [[256]], [[273]], [[285]], [[303]], [[327]], [[377]], [[386]], [[420]], [[435]], [[442]], [[482]], [[505]], [[552]], [[556]], [[585]], [[614]], [[627]], [[657]], [[681]], [[688]], [[705]], [[710]], [[802]], [[821]], [[980]], [[1033]], [[1040]], [[1079]], [[1127]], [[1133]], [[1196]], [[1298]] or [[1428]] (maybe false positives)||Two bags of money ||loot_162.png||<br /> |-<br /> |Maybe writing a script would help||[[1319: Automation]]|| ||miniloot-words-eater.png (maybe incomplete)||<br /> |-<br /> |Go big to go small||[[1365: Inflation]]|| ||loot_245.png||<br /> |-<br /> |Are you projecting||[[850]], [[977]], [[1500]], [[1784]], [[1799]], [[2242]] or [[2256]]||Squirrel on a gun||loot_237.png||<br /> |-<br /> |Do spiders really have six legs||[[8]], [[43]], [[126]], [[427]], [[442]] or [[1110]]|| ||loot_007.png||<br /> |-<br /> |Istanbul or Constantinople or St. Trimble's Island?||[[1688: Map Age Guide]]||Cephalopod||loot_071.png||<br /> |-<br /> |Another rulebook?||[[393: Ultimate Game]]|| Merlin in a chair from [[270: Merlin]] ||loot_037.png||<br /> |-<br /> |Moooooon||[[482]], [[681]], [[1276]], [[1291]], [[1300]], [[1389]], [[1458]], [[1515]], [[1633]], [[1738]], [[1878]] or [[2258]]|| MOOOOOON ||loot_192.png||<br /> |-<br /> |Take a flight from LOL to FFS||[[1937: IATA Airport Abbreviations]]|| ||loot_049.png||<br /> |-<br /> |Everyone deserves a second chnace||All comics searched, no matches|| || ||The misspelling is intentional. [[745: Dyslexics]] would have been a good fit<br /> |-<br /> |Community contribution||[[822]], [[823]], [[824]], [[825]], [[826]]|| [Citation Needed] protester from [[285: Wikipedian Protester]] || loot_035.png ||<br /> |-<br /> |On the other side of the wardrobe||[[665: Prudence]], [[969: Delta-P]] or [[2218: Wardrobe]] (maybe incomplete)||Authentic Reindeer pulling sled from [[1776: Reindeer]] || loot_154.png ||<br /> |-<br /> |Today's your lucky day||[[1053: Ten Thousand]] (maybe incomplete)|| Ms. Frizzle || loot_105.png ||<br /> |-<br /> |[This hint has been redacted due to a copyright claim]||[[1005: SOPA]]|| ||loot_038.png||<br /> |-<br /> |Try a different approach||[[55: Useless]] (maybe incomplete)|| Equals sign ||loot_times.png or loot_div.png (maybe incomplete)||<br /> |-<br /> |The cake is a lie!||[[606: Cutting Edge]]|| Cake ||loot_144.png||<br /> |-<br /> |Joanna, fire.||[[322: Pix Plz]]|| Joanna with EMP cannon ||loot_026.png||<br /> |-<br /> |Everything changes from time to time when the fire nation attacks|| [[965: Elements]] || Symposium || ||<br /> |-<br /> |90KG x 300M||[[382: Trebuchet]]|| Trebuchet ||loot_041.png||<br /> |-<br /> |Copyright Enforcement Brigade||[[344: 1337: Part 4]]|| ||loot_046.png||<br /> |-<br /> |Where Cape Town meets Chukotka||[[1500: Upside-Down Map]]|| Crater ||loot_128.png||<br /> |-<br /> |Take a ride in a barrel||View all five barrel comics in reverse order ([[31]], [[25]], [[22]], [[11]], [[1]])|| Cueball at the door to the playpen-ball-filled apartment from [[150: Grownups]] || loot_005.png ||<br /> |-<br /> |Compiling...||[[303: Compiling]]|| ||loot_030.png||<br /> |-<br /> | || [[2288: Collector's Edition]] || Sheeple eye || loot_109.png ||<br /> |-<br /> | || [[2288: Collector's Edition]] || Time machine from [[1747: Spider Paleontology]] || loot_167.png ||<br /> |}<br /> <br /> Click “Expand” to see the full image.<br /> &lt;div class=&quot;mw-collapsible mw-collapsed&quot;&gt;<br /> [[File:2288_full.png]]<br /> &lt;/div&gt;<br /> <br /> ==Trivia==<br /> * This comic is the 2020 April Fools comic and was supposed to be released Wednesday, April 1st, but did not go live until Friday, April 3. (Friday's comic, [[2289: Scenario 4]], was published a day later for a [[2289: Scenario 4#Trivia|very rare Saturday release]].) However, the message below was displayed on the top of the page from Wednesday until the comic finally went live:<br /> &lt;blockquote&gt;<br /> Note: For technical reasons Wednesday's comic will be posted Thursday instead. Apologies for the delay!<br /> &lt;/blockquote&gt;<br /> * This is one of the few comics released four days after the previous one. The last time this occurred was [[2224: Software Updates]]. <br /> * Placement is limited to 10,000 horizontal units and 5,000 vertical units from the origin. Users received no messages if they try placing something outside the boundary, with a silent fail with the object not being placed.<br /> * Coordinates are relative to the bottom left corner of the canvas. As the default coordinates are (-370,-277) and the origin is in the center, the displayed portion of the canvas can be found to be twice this in magnitude, 740 x 544 units.<br /> * The comic contains 32993 separate images.<br /> * The most common image is loot-30.png, which appears 2576 times.<br /> * The [https://github.com/xkcd/maple source code] for the comic was released on GitHub.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> <br /> :[Cueball stands to the left of a vibrating box.]<br /> :[The words &quot;Collector's Edition&quot; are written above him and boxed.]<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:April fools' comics]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Interactive comics]]<br /> [[Category:Dynamic comics]]</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2993:_Ingredients&diff=359748 2024-12-17T20:19:33Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2993<br /> | date = October 2, 2024<br /> | title = Ingredients<br /> | image = ingredients_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 417x473px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Add main-belt asteroids to taste.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> <br /> This comic jokes that it is possible, and perhaps intended, to use the five largest moons in the outer solar system (the {{w|Galilean moons}} and {{w|Titan (moon)|Titan}}) as ingredients to create a “better” planet that has the “coolest” features. Apparently, though, Randall couldn't actually think of anything cool that {{w|Ganymede (moon)|Ganymede}} and {{w|Callisto (moon)|Callisto}} would contribute, so these have just been used as 'filler'. (However, Ganymede does have a magnetic field, which is kind of cool....)<br /> <br /> Note that {{w|Moon|Earth's moon}} is the fifth-largest moon of the solar system overall ({{w|Europa (moon)|Europa}} is the sixth), so it would have been included had &quot;outer solar system&quot; not been specified.<br /> <br /> {| class=&quot;wikitable&quot;<br /> !Name of moon<br /> !Ingredient<br /> !Volume&lt;br&gt;(billion (10⁹) km&lt;sup&gt;3&lt;/sup&gt;)<br /> !Surface area&lt;br&gt;(million (10⁶) km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;)<br /> !Mass&lt;br&gt;(sextillion (10²¹) kg)<br /> !Explanation<br /> |-<br /> | {{w|Io (moon)|Io}} || sulfur || style=&quot;text-align:center;&quot;|25.3 || style=&quot;text-align:center;&quot;|41.7 || style=&quot;text-align:center;&quot;|89.4 || Io is composed of hundreds of active volcanoes which produce plumes of sulfur and sulfur dioxide.<br /> |-<br /> | {{w|Europa (moon)|Europa}} || oceans || style=&quot;text-align:center;&quot;|15.9 || style=&quot;text-align:center;&quot;|30.9 || style=&quot;text-align:center;&quot;|48.0 || Europa is believed to have a subsurface ocean of liquid water below its icy crust.<br /> |- <br /> | {{w|Titan (moon)|Titan}} || hydrocarbons || style=&quot;text-align:center;&quot;|71.6 || style=&quot;text-align:center;&quot;|83.3 || style=&quot;text-align:center;&quot;|134.5 || Titan has a dense atmosphere of nitrogen, methane and other minor components, leading to the formation of hydrocarbon clouds and heavy organonitrogen haze.<br /> |-<br /> | {{w|Ganymede (moon)|Ganymede}} || rowspan=&quot;2&quot;|filler || style=&quot;text-align:center;&quot;|76.6 || style=&quot;text-align:center;&quot;|87.2 || style=&quot;text-align:center;&quot;|148.2 || rowspan=&quot;2&quot;|Randall considers Ganymede and Callisto to have no special features and uses them merely as “filler” for the combined planet.<br /> |-<br /> | {{w|Callisto (moon)|Callisto}} || style=&quot;text-align:center;&quot;|58.7 || style=&quot;text-align:center;&quot;|73.0 || style=&quot;text-align:center;&quot;|107.6<br /> |-<br /> |}<br /> <br /> If all of these moons were lumped together, the total volume of “Randall's planet” would be 248 billion km&lt;sup&gt;3&lt;/sup&gt;, assuming no further material compaction, with a surface area of 191 million km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;. This is about 1½ times the volume of {{w|Mars}}, or roughly a 15% larger diameter. The combined mass, however, would be smaller than that of Mars.<br /> <br /> The title text takes it further, treating asteroids as a [[1639: To Taste|“to-taste”]] ingredient in this “recipe”, more like preparing a food dish rather than making a new Mars-sized planet.<br /> <br /> There are a number of science fiction works that posit that advanced alien civilizations left puzzles in the solar system for future humans to solve. Examples for this trope are {{w|Pushing Ice}} by Alastair Reynolds and {{w|Rogue Moon}} by Algis Budrys. The Arthur C. Clarke stories {{w|The Sentinel (short story)|The Sentinel}} and {{w|Encounter in the Dawn}} (and the more well-known ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' {{w|2001: A Space Odyssey (novel)|book}} and {{w|2001: A Space Odyssey|film}} treatments that they later helped inspire) each feature various partial treatments of this concept. Caltech Professor David Goodstein also speculated in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNHd__ed40M&amp;t=1594s The Mechanical Universe] the possibility that {{w|Saturn}} is an alien message system.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[A planet is shown with several different features like oceans and large lakes as well as and craters. It seems like the continent is fused together from five different segments, with cracks between where there is either ocean or rivers. There are four labels above the planet with lines going down to different areas of the planet, but not necessarily pointing to any particular part on the surface, but rather to the entire planet:]<br /> :Sulfur chemistry from Io<br /> :Cool oceans from Europa<br /> :Hydrocarbons from Titan<br /> :Ganymede and Callisto (filler)<br /> <br /> :[Caption beneath the panel:]<br /> :Scientists now think the five biggest outer solar system moons are actually just ingredients; we're supposed to combine them to create a single Mars-sized planet that's cooler than any of them.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Space]]<br /> [[Category:Food]] &lt;!-- Title is ingredients and the title text talks about adding to taste, making it seem like this is a recipe for food--&gt;</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2995:_University_Commas&diff=359747 2024-12-17T20:18:56Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2995<br /> | date = October 7, 2024<br /> | title = University Commas<br /> | image = university_commas_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 580x273px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = The distinctive 'UCLA comma' and 'Michigan comma' are a long string of commas at the start and end of the sentence respectively.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> <br /> The use of commas in the English language is {{w|Comma#Uses in English|famously disputed}}, most relevantly among publishers and academics. This comic imagines that all possible (and some&lt;!-- no &lt;space&gt;&lt;comma&gt;s given, etc --&gt; improbable) comma positions in an example sentence are associated with different universities. This applies to commas which should ''always'' be present in a list, optional commas (regardless of whether they have anything to do with a list, such as after the word &quot;please&quot;) and blatantly erroneous commas (which should ''never'' be present in a sentence, e.g. immediately prior to the {{w|full stop}}/period).<br /> <br /> The Oxford comma (a.k.a. {{w|serial comma}} or, despite how this comic represents it, the ''actual'' Harvard comma) is a comma between the penultimate item in a list and its conjunction (typically ''and'' or ''or''), to echo all the commas (at least one) that act as {{w|Comma#List separator and the serial (Oxford) comma|placeholders for the conjunction}} in-between all prior members of the list. For instance, you might write &quot;red, white, and blue&quot; (with the Oxford comma) or &quot;red, white and blue&quot; (without it). Some style guides, such as ''{{w|The Oxford Style Manual}}'' published by {{w|Oxford University Press}}, (unsurprisingly) recommend using it, while other similarly authoritative guides recommend against it. Though even those with either recommendation may suggest its (non-)use in situations where this avoids an ambiguity arising from the normally recommended choice.<br /> <br /> One {{w|Serial comma#Ambiguity|common example}} showing the need for an Oxford comma is &quot;To my parents, Ayn Rand''',''' and God&quot;. Without the comma (as in: &quot;To my parents, Ayn Rand and God&quot;), it may read that the author's parents are Ayn Rand and God. If such confusion is to be avoided, reordering the list is a common way to avoid ambiguity, for example, &quot;To Ayn Rand, God and my parents&quot; is one such reordering. However, the use of an Oxford comma in this version might imply the deification of Ayn Rand. Conversely, if the sentence was instead to be &quot;To my mother, Ayn Rand, and God&quot;, with such a comma, there arises the possibility of an assertion that one's mother is Ayn Rand, whereas &quot;To my mother, Ayn Rand and God&quot; does not let one fall into that trap.<br /> <br /> {{w|Macaroni and cheese}} (often shortened to &quot;Mac and cheese&quot; in the US and Canada) should be considered a single item in a list like this. When just two items are joined together, e.g. to name a compound food such as &quot;peanut butter and jelly&quot;, &quot;fish and chips&quot; or &quot;steak and eggs&quot;, a comma isn't placed before &quot;and&quot;. It is in the use of such compounded items, as a singular list item, where some confusion can arise. Alternate forms (&quot;fish'n'chips&quot;, &quot;salt-and-pepper&quot;, &quot;PB&amp;J&quot;) can put emphasis upon the low-level linking of the components, the outer list can be rewritten (e.g. with semicolon separation) or the reader can be left to logically assume where such a commonly encountered pairing is not part of the wider list. A difference in conjunction can also help to clarify, as in &quot;A good choice of breakfast is ham and eggs, sausage and eggs or sausage and beans, but not ham and beans&quot;, which is ''unlikely'' to be accidentally misunderstood (including as options such as &quot;sausage + (eggs or additional sausage) + beans&quot; or &quot;sausage + ('non-ham' beans) + further beans&quot;).<br /> <br /> In the most common interpretation the example sentence reads (with proper punctuation and bracketed Oxford comma): &quot;Please buy apples, mac and cheese, milk[,] and bread.&quot; <br /> <br /> However, most of the commas are possible punctuation marks in a specific pragmatic reading of the sentence:<br /> <br /> {| class=&quot;wikitable&quot; style=&quot;margin:auto&quot;<br /> |-<br /> ! Comma name !! Notation !! Explanation<br /> |-<br /> | Harvard comma || Please&lt;span style=&quot;color:red; font-weight:bold&quot;&gt;,&lt;/span&gt; buy apples, mac and cheese, milk[,] and bread. || Emphatic plea, marked by a sub-clause separator. (Note that &quot;Harvard comma&quot; is already a common synonym for the Oxford comma, in its context.)<br /> {{w|Harvard University}} is one of eight {{w|Ivy League}} universities in the United States.<br /> |- <br /> | Yale comma || Please buy&lt;span style=&quot;color:red; font-weight:bold&quot;&gt;,&lt;/span&gt; apples, mac and cheese, milk[,] and bread. || A merchant's plea to their customer, marked by a sub-clause separator. This makes the sentence a sentence fragment but this is not uncommon in speech. One use of a comma is to indicate a grammatical aside in speech and (optionally) a return from that pause &amp;mdash; as it would here &amp;mdash; though more formal writing would typically used a more specific punctuation mark, such as a colon. The implication may be that the list of items are those for sale or that there is a promotion around those items specifically.<br /> {{w|Yale University}} is one of eight Ivy League universities in the United States.<br /> |-<br /> | Stanford comma || Please buy apples&lt;span style=&quot;color:red; font-weight:bold&quot;&gt;,&lt;/span&gt; mac and cheese, milk[,] and bread. || Mandatory separator in a list.<br /> {{w|Stanford University}} is one of the prominent universities in the United States. It is located in Silicon Valley, a short distance from the headquarters of {{w|Apple Inc.}} The Stanford comma between &quot;apples&quot; and &quot;mac&quot; is probably necessary there to distinguish discussions of the food products from discussion of the computer products.<br /> |-<br /> | Columbia comma || Please buy apples, mac&lt;span style=&quot;color:red; font-weight:bold&quot;&gt;,&lt;/span&gt; and cheese, milk[,] and bread. || A plea to buy apples, cheese, milk and bread, directed at a person called Mac, whose name is stylized as &quot;mac&quot;.<br /> <br /> Alternatively, a plea to buy apples, a raincoat, cheese, milk[,] and bread. The first 'and' would then be superfluous, but this could reflect the speaker adding the last two items in the moment to an initial request for the first three.<br /> <br /> {{w|Columbia University}} is one of eight Ivy League universities in the United States.<br /> |-<br /> | Cambridge comma || (Please buy apples, mac, and&lt;span style=&quot;color:red; font-weight:bold&quot;&gt;,&lt;/span&gt; cheese &lt;span style=&quot;color:grey&quot;&gt;being unavailable&lt;/span&gt;, milk[,] and bread.) || Valid with a qualifying sub-clause; invalid in the example sentence. Also requires &quot;mac&quot; to be an item of its own, not a part of &quot;mac and cheese&quot;.<br /> The {{w|University of Cambridge}} is one of the two eponymous {{w|Oxbridge}} universities in the United Kingdom. Not to be confused with {{w|Cambridge, Massachusetts#Higher education|other establishments}} in (or originally in) Cambridge, Massachusetts.<br /> |-<br /> | Cornell comma || Please buy apples, mac and cheese&lt;span style=&quot;color:red; font-weight:bold&quot;&gt;,&lt;/span&gt; milk[,] and bread. || Mandatory separator in a list.<br /> {{w|Cornell University}} is one of eight Ivy League universities in the United States. It has {{w|Cornell Dairy|its own dairy farm}}, which is why the Cornell comma is placed between dairy products, &quot;cheese&quot; and &quot;milk&quot;.<br /> |-<br /> | Oxford comma || Please buy apples, mac and cheese, milk&lt;span style=&quot;color:red; font-weight:bold&quot;&gt;,&lt;/span&gt; and bread. || The {{w|Oxford comma}}, as discussed above, is a comma often used in lists (with more than two elements) to further separate the last two elements and thus attempt to avoid ambiguity. In this case, it is unlikely that there would be confusion as to how to interpret the given list, with or without this comma.<br /> The {{w|University of Oxford}} is the other eponymous Oxbridge university in the United Kingdom. Not to be confused with {{w|Oxford Brookes University}}, or universities in {{w|Oxford_(disambiguation)#Places|any other Oxford}}.<br /> |-<br /> | Princeton comma || (Please buy apples, mac and cheese, milk[,] and&lt;span style=&quot;color:red; font-weight:bold&quot;&gt;,&lt;/span&gt; bread&lt;span style=&quot;color:grey&quot;&gt; being out of stock, oats&lt;/span&gt;.) || Valid with a qualifying sub-clause; invalid in the example sentence.<br /> {{w|Princeton University}} is one of eight Ivy League universities in the United States.<br /> |-<br /> | MIT comma || (Please, buy, apples, mac, and, cheese, milk, and, bread&lt;span style=&quot;color:red; font-weight:bold&quot;&gt;,&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span style=&quot;color:grey&quot;&gt;thank you&lt;/span&gt;.) || Possible reference to [https://stackoverflow.com/questions/11597901/why-are-trailing-commas-allowed-in-a-list trailing commas sometimes used in programming], which would be associated with a university highly specialized in technology. If each of these words were identifiers, then including all commas would be a valid way to express a list in some languages (though using a period to indicate the end of a list is uncommon). Specifically, MIT is home to the Rust programming language, which uses trailing commas for the last item of a list as a matter of programming style. In some programming languages trailing commas are allowed since a comma denotes a list and a trailing comma is a way to create a Single-Element list. <br /> The {{w|Massachusetts Institute of Technology}} is one of the prominent universities in the United States.{{citation needed}}<br /> |-<br /> | UCLA comma(s) || (&lt;span style=&quot;color:red; font-weight:bold&quot;&gt;,,,&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:gray; vertical-align: super&quot;&gt;…&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:red; font-weight:bold&quot;&gt;,,,&lt;/span&gt;Please buy apples, mac, and, cheese, milk[,] and bread.) || rowspan=&quot;2&quot; | '''Title text proposal''', the two establishments being responsible for each set of commas, perhaps in collaboration. Can perhaps relate to rather specific quotation or quote-separation contexts not in common use. Also strangely looks like German quote marks (two commas at the beginning of the quote and two apostrophes at the end) and their LaTeX representation if you are using the babel package.<br /> The {{w|University of California, Los Angeles}} and the {{w|University of Michigan}} are two more well known universities in the United States.{{citation needed}}<br /> |-<br /> | Michigan comma(s) || (Please buy apples, mac, and, cheese, milk[,] and bread.&lt;span style=&quot;color:red; font-weight:bold&quot;&gt;,,,&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:gray; vertical-align: super&quot;&gt;…&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:red; font-weight:bold&quot;&gt;,,,&lt;/span&gt;)<br /> |}<br /> <br /> Depending upon who you talk to, the two establishments referenced by the title text may not be considered quite as prominent or outstanding as the Ivy League universities, or others mentioned here, hence their relegation to title text punchline. But (actual Ivy Leaguers) {{w|Brown University}}, {{w|Dartmouth College}} and the {{w|University of Pennsylvania}} were not referenced at all, for one reason or another; for example, the very idea of a &quot;Brown comma&quot; might more readily resonate with the concept of the {{w|Brown note}}.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> :[A sentence is written in greyed-out text, with the commas in black and each labeled with an arrow.]<br /> :Please''',''' buy''',''' apples''',''' mac''',''' and''',''' cheese''',''' milk''',''' and''',''' bread''','''.<br /> <br /> :[The labels are as follows, in order from left to right:]<br /> :Harvard comma<br /> :Yale comma<br /> :Stanford comma<br /> :Columbia comma<br /> :Cambridge comma<br /> :Cornell comma<br /> :Oxford comma<br /> :Princeton comma<br /> :MIT comma<br /> <br /> :[Caption below the panel:]<br /> :The Oxford one is the most famous, but many major universities have their own comma.<br /> <br /> ==Trivia==<br /> [[Randall]] appears to be a fairly regular user of the Serial/Oxford Comma himself, with the most recent example being in the title text of [[2985: Craters]]. This is clearly out of habit or preference, as it is not required for clarification purposes. Yet it seems he also appreciates the conflicting viewpoints inherent to such a style opinion. He later completely avoided the use of list-commas in a (three-part) list within the comic text of the successive [[2986: Every Scientific Field]], possibly for rhetorical reasons.<br /> <br /> This very wiki currently reminds anyone editing a page that their contributions &quot;may be edited, altered, or removed&quot;, which is also not a syntactical necessity beyond adherence to the Oxford styling. Later, in the same paragraph of text, it also uses structure of &quot;…, or … or …&quot;, but for different grammatical reasons that are unrelated to serial/list commas.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]<br /> [[Category:Language]]<br /> [[Category:Food]]</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3015:_D%26D_Combinatorics&diff=359746 2024-12-17T20:18:01Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3015<br /> | date = November 22, 2024<br /> | title = D&amp;amp;D Combinatorics<br /> | image = dnd_combinatorics_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 328x446px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Look, you can't complain about this after giving us so many scenarios involving N locked chests and M unlabeled keys.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> <br /> {{w|Dungeons and Dragons}} (D&amp;D) is a {{w|tabletop role-playing game}} that usually has a &quot;Dungeon Master&quot; (narrator) that takes a team of players through scenarios where they attack monsters and go on quests.<br /> <br /> Often, there will be semi-random events: e.g., when attacking a monster, often a player will roll a die and deal damage based on the result. D&amp;D uses a variety of dice, from regular d6 (6-sided, cubic dice) to other {{w|Dice#Common_variations|polyhedral dice}}, with the number of faces denoted by XdY (e.g., 3d10 is a rolling of 3 10-sided die, which each have numbers from 1 to 10 on it). Common sets include: d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20, and occasionally d100 (typically not, however, the [[2626:_d65536|d65536]]).{{cn}}<br /> <br /> With these, you can simulate events with a wide variety of denominators. In this case, Cueball gives a {{w|combinatorics|combinatorial}} problem:<br /> <br /> * There are 10 arrows.<br /> * 5 arrows are cursed.<br /> * You randomly take two.<br /> * What are the odds that neither of them are cursed?<br /> <br /> Calculating using {{w|binomial coefficients}}, there are &quot;10 choose 2&quot; (45) ways to choose two arrows, of which there are &quot;5 choose 2&quot; (10) ways to choose 2 arrows that are non-cursed. As a result, the odds of taking all non-cursed arrows is 10/45, which simplifies to 2/9. <br /> <br /> To see this in a different way, the probability of choosing one non-cursed arrow is 5/10, which then must be multiplied by the probability of choosing the second non-cursed arrow, which is now 4/9, giving 20/90 or 2/9, the same result as before.<br /> <br /> The Dungeon Master (DM) in this case [[356: Nerd Sniping|has to]] map that probability into rolling multiple dice, whose sums are also not evenly distributed: i.e. if rolling 3d6 (3 six-sided dice) and a d4 (1 four-sided die), the sums can range from 4 to 22. It's pretty hard to do this in one's head, but it does happen that the odds of rolling 16 or more with this combination is 2/9, matching the probability that we want to simulate. Here's a table of all the 6*6*6*4=864 possible outcomes -<br /> <br /> {| class=&quot;wikitable&quot;<br /> |+ All possible combinations of rolls for 3d6 + 1d4<br /> |-<br /> !Total!!4!!5!!6!!7!!8!!9!!10!!11!!12!!13!!14!!15!!16!!17!!18!!19!!20!!21!!22<br /> |-<br /> |Ways to roll it||1||4||10||20||34||52||71||88||100||104||100||88<br /> | style=&quot;background:#ffffcc;&quot; | ''' ''71'' '''<br /> | style=&quot;background:#ffffcc;&quot; | ''' ''52'' '''<br /> | style=&quot;background:#ffffcc;&quot; | ''' ''34'' '''<br /> | style=&quot;background:#ffffcc;&quot; | ''' ''20'' '''<br /> | style=&quot;background:#ffffcc;&quot; | ''' ''10'' '''<br /> | style=&quot;background:#ffffcc;&quot; | ''' ''4'' '''<br /> | style=&quot;background:#ffffcc;&quot; | ''' ''1'' '''<br /> |}<br /> <br /> 71+52+34+20+10+4+1 = 192<br /> <br /> 192/864 = 2/9, which matches the desired probability from earlier. The table of outcomes can either be bruteforced with a program, or can be derived using generating functions.<br /> <br /> The caption elaborates that the DM has a degree in the relevant field, and is unable to resist applying this to the D&amp;D game when the opportunity arises - opportunities that Cueball eagerly provides for this very reason.<br /> <br /> There are several much easier ways of implementing this operation, without coming up with a more complex solution:<br /> #Do not even attempt to abstract the chances with dice-rolls. Literally present 10 similar-looking arrows, or other objects that are taken to represent arrows (face-down playing cards, for example), where the assigned information of whether each one is cursed initially hidden away from Cueball, and then just let Cueball pick any two. This approach would more likely be used if the D&amp;D gameplay were {{w|Live action role-playing game|live-action}} as opposed to {{w|Tabletop role-playing game|tabletop}} (though is still possible in tabletop). <br /> #Even just with D&amp;D dice, the DM could ask Cueball to roll a 1d10 for the first arrow, and then again for the second, re-rolling the second so long as Cueball gets the same number as before (which emulates the same sort of process, but with a non-zero chance of having to make and reject an arbitrary number of extra dice-rolls). One could specify that 1-5 represents the cursed arrows and 6-10 represents the non-cursed arrows, following the convention that lower rolls are bad in D&amp;D.<br /> #Similarly, the player could be asked to roll a d20, with a score of 15 or 16 requiring a re-roll and 17–20 being successful choices. This would give a 4/18 chance, i.e., 2/9 for a successful roll on the first (and any subsequent) rolls. As with option 2, there would be a 1/10 chance of having to make and reject at least one extra dice-roll. <br /> #If understanding the actual odds, but wishing to keep the dice in use simple, a 2/9 probability can also be found by saying Cueball would succeed when 2D6 produces a 9, 10, or 12 (4/36, 3/36, and 1/36 probability, respectively, giving 8/36, i.e., 2/9).<br /> #Another method would be to roll 1d6 twice, using the first as a base number and the second as a control die where 1-2 = +0, 3-4 = +6 and 5-6 = +12 for a linear spread of 1-18. In this case a roll of 3, 4, 5, or 6 on the first roll coupled with a 5 or 6 on the second roll would indicate the top four of the eighteen possibilities, 4/18, or 2/9.<br /> #Or to roll 1d6 twice and ''multiply'', rather than add, the results. A successful roll is 20 or more.<br /> #Or to take the maximum of 1d6 and 1d12. Denoting 4 or lower as a successful roll, the method yields a probability of 16/72 = 2/9.<br /> #Alternatively, approximate the odds by using a d100 (or equivalent roll of two D10s) and seeking an 78 or higher (i.e. the range of 78-99, assuming this roll can produce a zero/double-zero roll, instead of a 'natural 100' for which the range would have to start at 79), which gives a 22% chance, which may be sufficiently acceptable as it is substantially similar to 2/9's effective odds of 22.&lt;span style=&quot;text-decoration:overline&quot;&gt;222&lt;/span&gt;%. If you re-roll either the 0 or 100 (depending on whether you use 78 or 79 as the cutoff), you would bring the probability exactly to 22/99 or 2/9.<br /> <br /> The first two options also instantly reveal cases of whether ''two'' cursed arrows are nominally chosen (an outcome that is at identical odds to the opposite possibility of neither being so), should this be useful roleplaying information in addition to the basic fact of ''failing'' to avoid at least one of them. The option suggested in the comic could also be used to indicate this if the dice add up to 10 or lower, the fourth one if (for example) the complementary results of 2, 4 or 5 are rolled, and the final one in the event that the 'percentage' given is 0-21 (or 1-22).<br /> <br /> One could argue that the above solutions do not have the &quot;polished&quot; D&amp;D feel of rolling a certain number of dice, adding them up, and seeing if the result is greater than or equal to an entirely correct required total. This is a commonly used mechanic for difficulty checks, hit calculations, and other such chance-based events in D&amp;D. The DM may feel that this dice format is a requirement, but this approach is far too clunky for most DMs to be practical. It may be inferred that as the DM's mind tends towards more combinatorial solutions, she is either unable or unwilling to consider more straightforward and less time-consuming solutions to this cursed arrow problem.<br /> <br /> The title text claims that Randall only started doing this to the DM after she herself insisted on forcing another combinatorial puzzle on the players several times, involving a bunch of locked treasure chests and a multitude of keys to unlock them with. This might be a reference to an M-of-N encryption system [https://thalesdocs.com/gphsm/luna/6.3/docs/usb/Content/overview/security_features/mofn_about.htm] [https://blog.apnic.net/2021/05/28/what-is-m-of-n-in-public-private-key-signing/], where a system has ''n'' valid passwords (instead of just one) but requires ''m'' of those passwords to be given before it will open; it is assumed m is greater than 1 but less than n. While this is easy enough to implement in a computer system, it would be extremely cumbersome to build for a physical lock with keys, and spreading the mechanism across multiple separate treasure chests would be impossible without literal magic (luckily, magic is in plentiful supply in a typical Dungeons and Dragons game).{{cn}}<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[Cueball, Megan, Ponytail, White Hat, and Knit Cap are sitting around a table on office chairs. The first and last at either end and the other on the same side facing outwards. Everyone is looking at Cueball who is holding a finger up in front of him while speaking. Ponytail is facepalming while replying. The table is covered in sheets of paper and assorted dice.]<br /> :Cueball: I grab 2 of the 10 arrows without looking and fire them, hoping I didn't grab one of the 5 cursed ones. Did I?<br /> :Ponytail: Sigh. Umm. Okay.<br /> :Ponytail: Roll... Uh... Hang on...<br /> :Ponytail: Roll 3d6 and a d4. You need... 16 or better to avoid the cursed arrows.<br /> <br /> :[Caption below the panel:]<br /> :I got '''''way''''' more annoying to play D&amp;D with once I learned that our DM has a combinatorics degree and can't resist puzzles.<br /> <br /> ==Trivia==<br /> When this comic was originally released, due to seeming error on Randall's end, the official title of the page was &quot;xkcd: D[sic] Combinatorics&quot;, instead of &quot;xkcd: D&amp;D Combinatorics&quot;. The reason for this is thought to be caused by literal interpretation of the '''''&amp;D''''' as an HTML escape character. <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Knit Cap]]<br /> [[Category:Games]]<br /> [[Category:Math]]</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3016:_Cold_Air&diff=359745 2024-12-17T20:17:20Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3016<br /> | date = November 25, 2024<br /> | title = Cold Air<br /> | image = cold_air_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 713x283px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = We also should really have checked that the old water tower was disconnected from the water system before we started filling it with compressed air.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{w|Tornadoes}} are vortex-driven air columns that rotate at high speeds. The [https://www.weather.gov/ffc/fujita wind speeds can vary] from as low as 40 mph (65 km/hr), which is enough to do minor damage to some buildings and trees, to over 300 mph (480 km/hr), which is enough to level buildings, lift houses in the air, and throw automobiles at high speeds. These columns can travel over distances of several miles, causing significant damage and loss of life. Because specific conditions are required for tornado formation, certain regions are particularly prone to tornado activity (such as {{w|Tornado Alley}} in the US). These areas face ongoing threats from tornados, and so detecting and preparing for them is a major concern. The ability to dissipate a tornado before it does any damage would be very valuable. <br /> <br /> In this strip, Cueball proposed a method for tornado control. He reasons that, since tornados depend on an inflow of warm, moist air, injecting a flow of cold, dry air should disrupt the cell. In order to protect inhabited areas, he suggests that large tanks of compressed air should be constructed in cities in tornado-prone areas to produce &quot;pools&quot; of cold dry air. The implication is that, if a tornado approaches, the tanks can be used to flood the area with cold air, which would settle near the ground and be drawn up into the tornado, as it approaches, hopefully causing the tornado to disperse. <br /> <br /> Whether such a system could potentially work is questionable. For one thing, the volume of air would be so vast, and air movement in such scenarios is so hard to predict, that getting enough cold air into the tornado would be extremely difficult. In addition, it's precisely the mixing of warm and cold air that produces the swirling motion that creates tornadoes. How, exactly, this cold air would interact with the tornado is a matter of speculation. However, the final panel suggests that the plan failed for more basic reasons. Storing the vast quantity of air required would be a massive engineering challenge. The final chart refers to the point where &quot;giant experimental compressed air tanks&quot; are installed in populated areas, and shows that wind damage massively increased after this happened. The implication is that wind damage caused by the tanks themselves far outstripped the effects of tornadoes. The massive, discrete spikes suggest that this is caused by specific, major, damage events. <br /> <br /> <br /> According to the label on the proposed tank, it would be pressurized to 3,000 psi. Given the scale of the buildings in the picture, the tank must be vast, possibly hundreds of feet in diameter. Simply building a tank that large to hold that kind of pressure would be exceptionally difficult, and any failure would be potentially catastrophic. Any kind of release from the tanks, whether due to valve failure (or accidental opening), pipes failing or being damaged, or the tank itself developing a rupture, would release very high pressure air, potentially at sonic velocities. Given the size of the tank, the amount of air released could be huge, and it would be directly adjacent to buildings, creating high risk of major damage. Because this damage would be done by moving air, it could be considered &quot;wind damage&quot;, even though it's artificially generated. <br /> <br /> An even greater danger would be if the tank were to burst altogether, which is a real danger in pressurized vessels. A sudden and uncontrolled release of air at 3000 psi is effectively an explosion. Given the enormous size of the tank, that explosion would quite certainly be enough to level the surrounding buildings <br /> <br /> The upshot is that, even if this proposal could fulfill its intended purpose (and it's not clear that it would), the risks that it would introduce would massively outweigh any benefits. <br /> <br /> In the title text, it is revealed that the water tower they were using to store the compressed air was still plumbed in to the water mains. Given the pressure required for the tower to work properly against tornadoes and the fact that water is nearly incompressible, the pressure from the tower would have been nearly instantly transmitted into the water distribution system. The ''best'' case scenario would have been 'just' to have dangerously highly-pressurised water jetting into sinks, bathtubs and toilet cisterns whenever they were used; more severe consequences could be catastrophic failures of pipes and plumbing.<br /> <br /> Using technology to disrupt tornadoes before they form was a plot element in Liu Cixin's novel ''{{w|Ball Lightning (novel)|Ball Lightning}}'', and [https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Weather_Modification_Net other works]. In reality, fringe scientist {{w|Prokop Diviš}} (1698-1765) proposed a weather-control machine to disrupt thunderstorms before they form, and there are occasionally [https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/weather/2019/08/26/nuke-hurricane-why-donald-trumps-reported-idea-wouldnt-work/2118430001/ discredited ideas] made to control other weather events.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> :[Cueball is in front of a diagram of a tornado with a pointer in his right hand. The diagram has arrows flowing from the bottom toward the tornado at the top, and from the tornado toward the rain below it.]<br /> :Cueball: Tornado supercells are powered by the inflow of warm, moist surface air.<br /> <br /> :[Cueball is now in front of a representation of his compressed air tank with a PSI of 3000 next to smaller buildings, appearing to be high-rise buildings or skyscrapers, on both sides of the tank.]<br /> :Cueball: Compressed air tanks could produce artificial pools of cold, dry air on demand, disrupting tornado inflow to protect cities.<br /> <br /> :[Cueball is in front of a line graph labeled &quot;Wind Damage over Time&quot;. Wind damage has spiked constantly after a point on the graph labeled &quot;Giant experimental compressed air tanks installed in the middle of every major city&quot;). In a frame in the top left corner, there is a label:]<br /> :Several years later:<br /> :Cueball: In retrospect, I can see how my plan went wrong.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Tornadoes]]<br /> [[Category:Line graphs]]</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3017:_Neutrino_Modem&diff=359744 2024-12-17T20:16:43Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3017<br /> | date = November 27, 2024<br /> | title = Neutrino Modem<br /> | image = neutrino_modem_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 461x537px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Our sysadmin accidentally won a Nobel Prize while trying to debug neutrino oscillation error correction.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> <br /> Neutrinos are tiny, chargeless, ghostly particles that barely interact with solid matter at all. Despite trillions of neutrinos passing through your body every second, one will hit you only once every 10 years or so.<br /> <br /> In this comic, Randall gives a helpful tip to networking companies: in order to avoid latency issues with their servers, simply relocate their networking node to the Earth's core and use neutrinos to communicate with the surface, rather than radio waves, electrical impulses, photons in fiber-optic cables, etc. Since the core of the Earth is approximately equidistant from every point on Earth's surface, and nearly all neutrinos pass through solid matter unaffected, this allows communication with any server or network node anywhere on Earth, all with the same near-light-speed {{w|Latency (engineering)#Packet-switched networks|latency}} and without having to install wires, fiber optic cables, or anything else along the way. However, the cost is an unbelievable amount of lost data, since only a teeny teeny teeny teeny tiny (teeny&lt;sup&gt;4&lt;/sup&gt; tiny) fraction of the neutrinos sent from the modem will actually be received by the servers on the surface, and the same again for those neutrinos that make the return journey: the specified packet loss amounts to 1 in 100 trillion packets completing the journey, with the rest missed (for reference: the lower threshold for acceptable packet reception is 98 in 100). If symmetrically failing to be detected, this suggests that only one in 10 million neutrino 'packets' is being received by the remote server, and only one in 10 million of the prompted replies are being received at Cueball's end.<br /> <br /> This may still be a vastly better rate than expected. {{w|Neutrino detector|Neutrino detection}} with vastly bigger detectors than Cueball's device may only detect a fraction of the necessary neutrinos. Perhaps a little over 60 billion neutrinos per cm² per second pass through the Earth from the Sun, but detectors much larger than the whole of Cueball's indicated living space tend to detect no more than a few hundred of those per day. As the neutrino modems, at either end, must also ''generate'' (and, ideally, aim) their own modulated neutrino traffic, what proportion of the modem is usefully detecting is debatable. Beyond this issue, network packets consist of a ''series'' of signals to convey purpose, routing information and other overheads (including {{w|error detection and correction}}, which may be particularly important in this case). Even if direct point-to-point transmission (assumed, at least in this respect, to be reliably targeted) removes the need for full routing overheads, each {{w|ping (networking utility)|ICMP echo request}} ''and reply'' will still require a significant number of neutrino events to be triggered, and then sufficiently detected for what they are, to be of any practical use.<br /> <br /> A time delay of 45 ms is the approximate round-trip time for light (or neutrinos, which move nearly as fast) to travel the distance from the center of the Earth to the surface and back. Visible light, of course, couldn't make this journey through the rock at all. Perhaps only ''very'' long wavelength electromagnetic radiation could reliably penetrate half the Earth, which would give (like these hit-and-mostly-miss neutrinos, but still vastly better) a very low effective {{w|bit rate}}. This has the opposite issue of using a {{w|Sneakernet}} connection, where a reliable but physically slow transfer protocol (as discussed in {{what if|31|What-If: FedEx Bandwidth}}) can potentially reliably deliver huge amounts of data in a single successful communication.<br /> <br /> There are also, of course, the practical problems of constructing a facility at Earth's core, which is extremely far away (~6400 km / 4000 mi underground), extremely hot (~6000°C / 6273K / 11292°Ra / [[1923: Felsius|8400°⋲]] / [[3001: Temperature Scales|−5900°''real'' C]]) and under extremely high pressures (~3½ million atmospheres / 50 million PSI).<br /> <br /> Ponytail and Cueball are shown floating because a hollow space in the center of a body experiences near-zero gravity. This is because all the mass of the object is evenly distributed in all directions. While there is 4,000 miles of rock &quot;above&quot; you pulling you &quot;up,&quot; there is also 4,000 miles &quot;below&quot; you pulling you &quot;down&quot;, with much the same amount left, right, front, back and every other direction, so you experience net-zero gravitational acceleration.<br /> <br /> The title text refers to neutrino oscillation, which is a phenomenon in which neutrinos change between three different &quot;flavors&quot; - electron, muon, and tau neutrinos. A Nobel Prize was in fact awarded for the [https://www.nature.com/articles/nphys3543 discovery of neutrino oscillation], which implied that neutrinos have mass, albeit an extremely tiny amount (&lt; 2.14×10&lt;sup&gt;−37&lt;/sup&gt; kg for the sum of the three flavors). The &quot;neutrino oscillation error correction&quot; could refer either to a way to correct for errors in the signal introduced due to neutrinos oscillating, as above, or for the method of error correction that cleverly ''uses'' modulated neutrino oscillation to its own advantage. Either of these could perhaps be considered such extraordinary developments as to make the {{w|system administrator}} involved deservedly elegible of a {{w|Nobel Prize}}, or perhaps {{w|List of prizes known as the Nobel or the highest honors of a field|one or other close equivalents}}.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> :[Cueball and Ponytail are inside a large white circle on a black background. Cueball is at a workstation typing on a computer keyboard, floating above a wheeled desk chair behind him. Ponytail is floating in the air up and to the right of him. Attached to Cueball's computer by cables are a second monitor or a tower unit floating to the left, and a large device labeled &quot;''Neutrino'' Modem®&quot; below and to its left. A logo on the modem shows circle with five horizontal lines entering from the left; the fourth line from the top stops within the circle, while the others pass through to the right; this presumably represents neutrinos passing through a planet or other object.]<br /> :Cueball: Check it out—45ms ping times to every server on Earth!<br /> :Ponytail: That 99.999999999999% packet loss is pretty bad, though.<br /> <br /> :[Caption below the panel:]<br /> :Networking tip: You can minimize worst-case latency by locating your node at the center of the Earth and communicating with the surface using neutrinos.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br /> [[Category:Tips]]<br /> [[Category:Sysadmins]]<br /> [[Category:Nobel Prize]]<br /> [[Category:Physics]]</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3018:_Second_Stage&diff=359743 2024-12-17T20:16:17Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3018<br /> | date = November 29, 2024<br /> | title = Second Stage<br /> | image = second_stage_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 740x272px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Hmm, they won't do in-flight delivery, so let's order a new first and second stage to our emergency landing site and then try to touch down on top of them to save time.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> <br /> In this comic, two people have lifted off in a {{w|Multistage rocket|staged launch vehicle}} without their second stage installed, an unlikely scenario in reality because rocket launches are thoroughly planned and checked. The lack of an entire stage would be glaringly obvious to anyone who is part of the project.{{Citation needed}} But it can be a problem in games such as {{w|Kerbal Space Program}}.<br /> <br /> Staging in rocketry refers of the segmentation of a launch vehicle into distinct, separable modules, each one with an independent {{w|Rocket engine}} (or engines) and {{w|Rocket propellant|fuel}} supply. This is practiced for two critical reasons: firstly, different engine designs work better at different altitudes, so you'd want to use one engine type deep in the atmosphere and a different engine once you get to space; and secondly, since you only need one of those engines (or sets of engines) at once, it'd be better to simply expend the first engine(s) and its fuel tank once you no longer need it. By getting rid of that useless mass, you can {{w|Tsiolkovsky rocket equation|go farther using the same amount of fuel}}. A launch vehicle that does not employ staging is called an {{w|Single-stage-to-orbit}} (SSTO), but none of them have been successful due to the technical challenges. There's a tradeoff between the greater effectiveness of different engines under different conditions, and the mass penalty of having to have multiple engines as well as extra hardware that can be separated.<br /> <br /> As Pilot 1 calls to fire the second stage, Pilot 2 is initially confused and asks if a second stage was needed. Pilot 1 confirms that there was supposed to be a second stage, and thought that it was the Pilot 2's responsibility to install and confirm there was a second stage. When both pilots realize there is no second stage, Pilot 2, naturally, thinks he can order one on {{w|Amazon (company)|Amazon}} with {{w|same-day delivery}} (though Amazon typically doesn't sell space ship stages — at least not with same-day delivery).{{citation needed}} He then has difficulty picking an address {{w|ZIP Code}} as they are likely traveling too high above the ground and too fast to be in a single postal area for long enough for the delivery to take place. The joke is likely poking fun at people who forget to pack certain items when going on road trips or vacation, and rely on Amazon to deliver replacements to them. There is also humor to be found in this rocket apparently being designed, built, and piloted by only a couple of people — in real life, the construction of a rocket, especially a manned one, generally involves thousands of people. Although {{w|test pilot}}s often have input in the development of many vehicles, and many were chosen for various space programs, generally they do not do the designing themselves. There are possibly some {{w|Wan Hu|notable}} {{w|Mike Hughes (daredevil)|exceptions}} to this — but with varying degrees of credibility, and almost certainly none that did any better than those voices in the comic.<br /> <br /> The comic also alludes to a not-so-distant future when space travel is a much more mundane endeavor. If companies such as {{w|SpaceX}} succeed in their mass-production and launch cadence goals, one could imagine a scenario where rocket parts become standardized and easily replaceable — similarly to how it is easy today to replace a car's tire or fill its fuel tank if you get stranded on a highway. This might create an ironic situation where the space ship being launched into orbit or into outer space that is missing its second stage would need another, even faster, space ship (with its own second stage) to deliver the second stage to the first ship. And what if the delivery ship forgot its secondary stage?<br /> <br /> In the title text, Pilot 2 concludes that in-flight delivery won't be possible but proposes to have a new first and second stage delivered to their emergency landing site, properly stacked, so they can simply land on top of them, attach, and immediately take off again. This is not too dissimilar to how SpaceX is proposing to rapidly turn around Starship launches atop its Booster stages; though not yet close to being proven possible and practical, a Starship would descend to be caught by a {{w|SpaceX Starbase#Launch site (Orbital Launch Pad A and B)|'Mechazilla'}} tower, ready to be relaunched from there atop an awaiting Booster stage that had also been recently 'delivered' (perhaps by itself having been recently caught, having returned from the same or another recent flight) with perhaps minimal additional preparation other than whatever refuelling is required.<br /> <br /> This is not the first time Randall discusses the idea of a mid-flight delivery. A {{what if|149|What If? explanation}} attempts to answer if it possible to have pizza delivered to you, by a bird, while flying on a commercial airliner.<br /> <br /> == Trivia ==<br /> *The rocket, though apparently at least one segment short, appears to be substantially taller than the launch tower of the pad, which is a strangely incongruous detail. Unless the real rocket support is an angled back &quot;hard spine&quot; structure that has been rotated out of the way and down into the exhaust-flume/flame-trench quenching system. Since the voices are coming from what appears to be a separate module at the top of the rocket, it may be that the ''shell'' of the second stage is present, but not the engine and/or fuel.<br /> &lt;!--&gt; FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO GIVE A SPECIFIC EXAMPLE OF ROCKET STAGING, HERE'S THE ROCKET EQUATION: v&lt;sub&gt;f&lt;/sub&gt; = v&lt;sub&gt;i&lt;/sub&gt; + v&lt;sub&gt;e&lt;/sub&gt;log(m&lt;sub&gt;i&lt;/sub&gt;/m&lt;sub&gt;f&lt;/sub&gt;); where v&lt;sub&gt;f&lt;/sub&gt; is final velocity, v&lt;sub&gt;i&lt;/sub&gt; is initial velocity, v&lt;sub&gt;e&lt;/sub&gt; is exhaust velocity, m&lt;sub&gt;i&lt;/sub&gt; is initial mass, and m&lt;sub&gt;f&lt;/sub&gt; is final mass. &lt;!--&gt;<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> :[A multi-stage rocket, with a capsule on top, is lifting-off the ground from a launchpad, at least two rocket nozzles are visibly producing a flame, and the pad is surrounded with smoke and/or steam from the blast suppression system. A voice comes from the capsule at the top.]<br /> :We have liftoff.<br /> <br /> :[The first stage separates from the rest of the rocket, part way through the roll-program. There are no obvious engines standing out from the 'second stage' (or extended payload trunk) lower shroud.]<br /> :Main engine cutoff.<br /> :Stage separation confirmed.<br /> :We are go for second stage burn.<br /> <br /> :Second stage?<br /> <br /> :Yes.<br /> :...What?<br /> <br /> :[The first stage and the rest of the rocket are drifting apart in apparent freefall. No rocket is firing and the background does not seem to indicate that this view is beyond the atmosphere.&lt;!-- nor that it is, with any passage-through-air lines, but conspicuously not darkened background of even suborbital space --&gt;]<br /> :We were supposed to have a second stage?<br /> <br /> :...Yes!<br /> <br /> :Did '''''you''''' set up a second stage?<br /> <br /> :I thought '''''you''''' were handling staging!<br /> <br /> :Oh no.<br /> <br /> :[They continue to drift apart slowly.]<br /> :Okay, don't panic.<br /> :Lemme see if we can order a stage online for same-day delivery.<br /> <br /> :''Sigh''.<br /> <br /> :Hey, what zip code should I put? Ours keeps changing.<br /> <br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Space]]<br /> [[Category:Rockets]]</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3019:_Advent_Calendar_Advent_Calendar&diff=359742 2024-12-17T20:15:57Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3019<br /> | date = December 2, 2024<br /> | title = Advent Calendar Advent Calendar<br /> | image = advent_calendar_advent_calendar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 482x324px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = The growth rate of items per day may may seem absurd, but it's actually much less than the acceleration in the 12 Days of Christmas song.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{w|Advent calendar}}s are a form of countdown to Christmas consisting of a card or structure with one closed &quot;window&quot;/opening for each day. Every day, another &quot;window&quot; is opened (e.g. a cardboard flap is opened along perforations), revealing a small present (traditionally, just a thematic picture or chocolate). While the religious season of {{w|Advent}} traditionally begins four Sundays before Christmas, most Advent calendars begin on December 1st for simplicity. In 2024, when this comic was published, the Advent season coincidentally starts on December 1st. Advent calendars usually have either 24 or 25 doors (ending on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day), depending on manufacturer's choice and/or local tradition. <br /> <br /> In this comic, Randall has devised an Advent calendar that contains multiple smaller Advent calendars, each of which contains the same number of items as there are days left until (and ''including'') Christmas Day. By the time he reaches Christmas, he will have 325 different items, or 350 if counting the sub-calendars. The calendar is shown as it might be on December 2&lt;sup&gt;nd&lt;/sup&gt;, the date of publication of this strip. The &quot;window&quot; in the upper left, presumed to be for the 1&lt;sup&gt;st&lt;/sup&gt; of December, has 25 sub-windows, of which two are open. (One would have been opened on December 1&lt;sup&gt;st&lt;/sup&gt; and the next for the day after.) The &quot;window&quot; 5&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; from the left in the bottom row, probably for December 2&lt;sup&gt;nd&lt;/sup&gt;, has 24 sub-windows, of which one (that for the initial 2&lt;sup&gt;nd&lt;/sup&gt;) is open.<br /> <br /> The title text refers to {{w|The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)|The Twelve Days of Christmas}}, a traditional Christmas carol in which the singer receives one set of gifts from their true love for each day of the Twelve Days of Christmas. On day one, they receive one gift, and on day ''n'', they receive again all the gifts they received on day ''n-1'', plus ''n'' copies of a new gift. The exact gifts given each day vary by version of the song, receiving 78 gifts on day 12, for a total of 364 gifts. For the Advent calendar Advent calendar, each day a number of items equal to the number of days left until Christmas are added. There are 364 items total in the 12 Days of Christmas, the final day itself having exceeded the gifts of the nested calendars (the sub-gift count being 325, and regardless of the 25 calendars also being included). However the advent calendar uses 25 days rather than just 12, hence the song's acceleration in number of gifts each day is much higher. The title text says “may” twice, either mistakenly, or maybe on purpose since the comic's name has word duplication.<br /> <br /> The advent calendar's advent calendar gift total follows the {{w|triangular number}} sequence of all new gifts on a given day being one more than those the day before: on the first day, this is 1 (the first sub-gift of the first sub-calendar); on the second, we now have 3 (add two sub-gifts from two sub-calendars); on the third, we have 6 (three sub-gifts added), etc. The formula for the total on day ''n'' is &lt;table style=&quot;display: inline-table; line-height: 0.6em; vertical-align: middle; font-size:9pt; text-size-adjust: none;&quot;&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-decoration: underline&quot;&gt;''n''(''n''+1)&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center&quot;&gt;2&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;. For the Twelve Days song (which goes from the 25th of December to 5th of January), ''each day'' adds to the total the next ''triangular number'' in the sequence: +1=1, +3=4, +6=10, etc... The formula for this {{w|tetrahedral number}} (a 'pyramid of triangular numbers') is &lt;table style=&quot;display: inline-table; line-height: 0.6em; vertical-align: middle; font-size:9pt; text-size-adjust: none;&quot;&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-decoration: underline&quot;&gt;''n''(''n''+1)(''n''+2)&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center&quot;&gt;6&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;, and matches a triple-nested meta-Advent Calendar's non-calendar gift count. This already starts in a more rapid escalation of gift-giving, immediately after the first day where both counts are at one item. However, due to the later start of the Twelve Days, one would have to extend the gift-giving patterns to the 17th Day Of Christmas (and thus the 41st day of Advent) for the number of ''true love'' gifts (969) to properly overtake the continuing meta-calendar's ones, with (902) or without (861) counting the sub-calendars as gifts. (The number of ultimate gifts in any quadruple-nested Advent Calendar would be &lt;table style=&quot;display: inline-table; line-height: 0.6em; vertical-align: middle; font-size:9pt; text-size-adjust: none;&quot;&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-decoration: underline&quot;&gt;''n''(''n''+1)(''n''+2)(''n''+3)&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center&quot;&gt;24&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;, excluding all the calendars themselves.)<br /> <br /> It is not clear what is inside each sub-calendar. The typical filling would be chocolate, however it could also be possible that the advent calendar advent calendars had even more advent calendars within. That this is not the case is revealed in the title text as, if they were (and were run concurrently), the number of (sub-sub-)gifts would always equal those in the song.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> :[On a grey board, there are 23 Advent calendars behind large &quot;windows&quot;, numbered from 3 to 25, plus two open calendars with their covers torn off.]<br /> :[From top-left to bottom-right, the boxes are numbered as such: (opened), 14, 23, 16, 11, 3; 5, 24, 18, 7, 21; 10, 17, 4, 9, 22, 15, 12; 8, 20, 13, 25, (opened), 19, 6]<br /> :[Each calendar numbered ''n'' has 26−''n'' squares in it.]<br /> :[The open calendar on the top left has 25 squares, two of which are black. The other open calendar has 24 squares, one of which is black.]<br /> <br /> :[Caption below the panel:]<br /> :I like Advent calendars, so I got an Advent calendar that gives me a new one every day until Christmas.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Christmas]]<br /> [[Category:Calendar]]<br /> [[Category:Songs]]</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3020:_Infinite_Armada_Chess&diff=359741 2024-12-17T20:15:26Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3020<br /> | date = December 4, 2024<br /> | title = Infinite Armada Chess<br /> | image = infinite_armada_chess_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 282x497px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Stockfish 16 suggests the unconventional opening 1. RuntimeError: Out of bounds memory access<br /> }} <br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> <br /> {{w|Chess}} is a board game played between two players on an 8x8 chessboard. In standard chess, each player has 8 pawns and 8 other pieces: 2 rooks, 2 knights, 2 bishops, a queen, and a king. {{w|Chess variants}} are chess games in which the rules, board sizes, and/or piece behaviors are altered. In the chess game presented here, a non-standard chessboard is used, which extends vertically past the original 1st and 8th ranks off the page to infinity in both directions. Each square beyond the 8 standard ranks is filled by an additional queen. The {{w|Queen (chess)|queen}} is the most powerful piece on the chessboard, having the powers of a {{w|Bishop (chess)|bishop}} and a {{w|Rook (chess)|rook}} combined. With an infinite armada of queens, each player will have more resources to call on. Sometimes having a bunch of queens [https://x.com/chesscom/status/1841540380363211164 doesn't go very well], however (here, try knight to d6).<br /> <br /> In the title text, {{w|Stockfish (Chess)|Stockfish}} is a {{w|chess engine}} designed to evaluate a chessboard and find the best move. However, it is designed to handle finite boards, so it's likely that some problem will occur as it runs on an infinite one. Here that problem shows up as the game's move #1, &quot;RuntimeError: Out of bounds memory access&quot;. This error message is unique to the cross-browser {{w|WebAssembly}} implementations of {{w|WebGL}}, so there was probably not enough memory to {{w|Rendering (computer graphics)|render}} an infinite board in a {{w|web browser}} window.<br /> <br /> All but a finite number of pieces are stuck at every step, and thus there are only a finite number of possible moves, but the game is unbounded (each capture resets the draw clock) and each capture also increases the number of possible pieces which can move by opening up more space on the board. No finite amount of space is guaranteed to suffice to analyze the game — contrast with standard chess in which surprisingly little memory (given impossibly vast, but finite, amounts of time) is needed to play perfectly. Still, as in regular chess, a program which understood that only a finite number of pieces are accessible could play the same way programs play conventional chess.<br /> <br /> However, without specifically coding Stockfish to be aware of the logical certainty of the infinite number of queens being blocked, it is likely to still be checking ''every'' piece in turn, long after it has successfully prepared to establish (or perhaps [[2407: Depth and Breadth|actually explored]]) the relative strategical advantages of undertaking the twenty initial moves that White could make. Or, in the algorithm's worst case scenario, it has tried to start its movement-checking process at the 'rearmost rank', and has encountered the error before managing to establish (let alone assess) ''any'' valid opening moves. By easy induction, the human player should be able to establish an intrinsic understanding that everything behind two full ranks of undisturbed pieces (or beyond them, when applied to the opponent's position on the other side of the board) is unable to move, where no gaps exist to shuffle around in, but the code (if designed for finite, though perhaps arbitrary, boards) is unlikely to natively have the complexity to derive this computational detail from first principles, or even establish that it might hit a {{w|halting problem}} failure should it somehow avoid the issue of resources.<br /> <br /> This comic was published in the middle of the {{w|World Chess Championship 2024|2024 World Chess Championship}}, between the World Champion Ding Liren and the Challenger Gukesh Dommaraju.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[A chess board in the starting position, except it extends further at the top and bottom, going beyond the panel. The extra squares are filled with queens of the sides' respective colors.]<br /> <br /> :[Caption below the panel:]<br /> :Infinite armada chess<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> [[Category:Chess]]</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3021:_Seismologists&diff=359740 2024-12-17T20:14:59Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3021<br /> | date = December 6, 2024<br /> | title = Seismologists<br /> | image = seismologists_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 327x270px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = And even when they're not distracted, they usually get kicked out for illegal under-the-net 'subduction spikes'.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> <br /> In seismology, a {{w|Focal mechanism#Moment tensor solutions|&quot;beachball&quot; diagram}} is a [https://www.usgs.gov/programs/earthquake-hazards/focal-mechanisms-or-beachballs graphic] that is used to show the type of slip that occurs in an earthquake. There are three types of slips: strike-slip, normal, and thrust, each with a corresponding beachball diagram. [[Ponytail]] is playing beach ball volleyball (a form of {{w|volleyball}} played with a {{w|beach ball}}, though normally played on an indoor court, as opposed to what is presumably sand in the comic). She is distracted by the resemblance of the rotating two-shaded beach ball to a strike-slip beachball diagram (something she uses in her field of study), and fails to play the ball, causing her to be hit on the head.<br /> <br /> The comic could be seen as playing on the dual meaning of the word &quot;fault&quot;. In {{w|Fault_(geology)|geology}}, it refers to a fracture or zone of fractures between two blocks of rock, which can allow them to move past each other. In volleyball, a [https://www.beachup.app/en/beach-volleyball-guide/beach-volleyball-rules/faults/ &quot;fault&quot;] refers to a play violation that causes a team to lose a point. Had her opponent committed a fault within the rules of the game, the point would be finished, and there would be no reason for Ponytail to attempt to play the ball. &lt;!-- However, the comic doesn't explicitly use the word &quot;fault&quot; in the context of vollyball. --&gt; &lt;!-- *Ummm, yes it does. Someone playing volleyball actively yells out about a fault, as players are wont to do in an appeal to the umpire (or just for a fair-play concession by the opposing team)... Ambiguous, but clearly in a possible volleyball context, I would say.* --&gt;<br /> <br /> The {{w|subduction}} referred to in the title text occurs when one tectonic plate slides underneath another. In volleyball, a {{w|Spike (volleyball)|spike}} is a type of shot, typically the third of a team's three allowed touches, hit hard over the net from high up down toward the floor on the opponent's side. A &quot;subduction spike&quot; would be a spike hit under the net, and would indeed not be legal and would result in a point for the opponent. [[Beret Guy]] once obtained a [[1388: Subduction License|Subduction License]]. Subduction was also mentioned in [[1829: Geochronology]].<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[Megan, Ponytail and Hairy are playing beach volleyball using a beach ball rather than a volleyball. Megan has her arms outreached; she has just hit the ball across the net towards Ponytail. The beach ball, shown with black and white pattern, is drawn three times to indicate its path, each rotated differently. Four dashed lines are drawn to indicate the movement: From Megan going above the net, then heading towards Ponytail, then one line down to her head (without showing the ball as it hits), and finally after bouncing off Ponytail’s head where the ball bounces towards the bottom of the net. When the ball hits Ponytail it makes a sound, which is written inside a wavy frame above her head. Hairy is running towards Ponytail from behind her with his arm outstretched. Wavy lines are shown on the ground to indicate the sandy surface they are playing on.]<br /> :Ponytail: Ooh, a strike-slip fault!<br /> :Ball hitting her head: ''Bonk!''<br /> :Ponytail: '''''Ow!'''''<br /> <br /> :[Caption below the panel:]<br /> :Why seismologists are bad at beach ball volleyball<br /> <br /> ==Trivia==<br /> *Although probably unrelated, a [https://apnews.com/article/california-earthquake-tsunami-warning-e1c73514097b78dfc082e40f98d0d426 7.0 magnitude earthquake] hit Northern California, USA at 10:44 AM PST the previous day, causing tsunami warnings (which were later cancelled) and a state of emergency to be called.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]<br /> [[Category:Geology]]<br /> [[Category:Earthquakes]]<br /> [[Category:Sport]]</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3022:_Making_Tea&diff=359739 2024-12-17T20:14:36Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3022<br /> | date = December 9, 2024<br /> | title = Making Tea<br /> | image = making_tea_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 690x291px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = No, of course we don't microwave the mug WITH the teabag in it. We microwave the teabag separately.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{w|Tea}} is exceptionally popular in the United Kingdom (although [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gpll9l535o decreasingly so], and not as serious a business as in {{w|Japanese tea ceremony|Japan}} and {{w|Chinese tea culture|China}}). Electric kettles are a standard appliance in British homes (used to make tea, coffee, soup powders, instant mash, etc) and teapots and other related crockery can be found in many cupboards, or even on a shelf in full display, whether or not regularly used. British people are perceived as taking tea seriously, having very specific and strongly held opinions on the proper way to make tea. In contrast, tea (especially hot tea) is less commonplace in the United States of America (Randall's native country), and few people are particularly serious about it. Coffee is a much more common hot beverage, and both homes and offices are far more likely to have automatic coffee makers than electric kettles. While some US households have kettles that can be put on a stove top, many do not have any specific device to boil water. As a result, when Americans need a cup of hot water — for tea or otherwise — the options are usually to use a pan on the stove, or to simply microwave a mug of water (the latter probably being more common in modern times). <br /> <br /> British people are stereotyped as taking genuine offense to microwaved water, believing it to be an objectively incorrect way to make tea. Randall mocks this stereotype through exaggeration, saying British people would be significantly less offended by someone stealing {{w|Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom|the Crown Jewels}} and using those for tea-making than they would be by tea made with a cup of microwaved water.<br /> <br /> ===Methods mentioned===<br /> ;Making it in a kettle<br /> :Perhaps an intentional misnomer. Water may be ''boiled'' in a kettle, but the tea itself is made in a separate {{w|teapot}}, with loose or bagged tea-leaves, ready for pouring into any number of {{w|teacup}}s, {{w|mug}}s or {{w|vacuum flask|thermos flask}} as required. Making tea actually ''in'' the kettle, by placing the tea in with the water and then boiling it, would be considered ''very'' bad form and render the kettle less useful for its other purposes (and likely void your warranty). Boiling the water in a kettle is standard practice (occasionally a {{w|Water heating|potable water geyser}} or similar may be available), leaving the tea-making process to occur in the teapot (as above) or the drinking vessel (as below).<br /> <br /> ;Boiling water in a pot, steeping in a mug<br /> :Identical to the basic boiling process above, except using a pot (commonly called a 'saucepan' in the UK) on the stove, rather than a kettle. This is slightly less convenient than using a kettle (since pans generally lack a dedicated spout for pouring and a whistle to signal when the water boils), but is otherwise functionally identical. Nonetheless, the comic notes that Brits would take mild offense, considering it to be inferior to using a kettle.<br /> :To confuse matters, British people would normally take '{{wiktionary|pot#Noun|pot}}' (in the specific context of tea-making) to be [https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/one+for+the+pot short for 'teapot']. However, a ceramic teapot should ''never'' be directly heated in the manner of a pan or a kettle. It should be filled with freshly boiled water, ''ideally'' after an initial small splash of hot water is swirled around it to warm the teapot to prevent cracking and then the requisite number of teabags (or quantity of tealeaves) dropped in.<br /> <br /> ;Making it in a chalice and ampulla stolen from the Crown Jewels<br /> :A {{w|chalice}} is an ornate type of cup; an {{w|ampulla}} is a type of flask or bottle. Both are typically now terms used in relation to objects used in ritual. Randall is likely drawing a parallel here with the ritualism and particularity with which some people surround the making of tea and its associated artefacts.<br /> :The {{w|Crown_Jewels_of_the_United_Kingdom|Crown Jewels}} are a set of items belonging to the British monarchy, including ceremonial items and clothing using in royal coronations. These items have both major cultural significance, due to their historical connection with the monarchy, and major objective value, as many of them are heavily jeweled and/or made of precious metals. To steal items from this collection for the purpose of tea-making would obviously be both highly criminal and highly disrespectful. The ampulla referenced is used to anoint the monarch with oil during the coronation ceremony and the chalice may refer to a {{w|Eucharist|Communion vessel}}, giving them religious significance as well.<br /> :More importantly for many, though, this would be incorrect tea-ware. The gold or silver chalices and gold ampulla are doubtful as being of suitable materials for British tea-making (as opposed to using cast iron, stainless steel, silver-plate, robust ceramics and/or fine china, for various stages of the process) and there'd definitely be some complaints that it does not taste like a proper cuppa (particularly if oil residue from the ampulla has made its way into the tea). To use such objects to make tea would simply {{wiktionary|not cricket|not be cricket}}.<br /> :The suggestion that this method is less angering than microwaving a mug emphasizes the British hate for microwaving.<br /> <br /> ;Microwaving a mug<br /> :As mentioned above, heating water in a microwave, for any purpose, is considered acceptable and common in the US. To do so to make tea is considered uncommon and borderline heretical in the UK. The reasons for this are difficult to pin down. Some argue that the microwave doesn't allow proper control over the water temperature (which is considered vital for proper tea-making), or doesn't easily allow the water to come to a full boil. Others raise the danger of superheating water which might boil over when the tea bag is added. Some people even argue that microwaving changes the quality or composition of the water in some way. The validity of these theories varies, but it's unlikely that any of them has enough objective basis to justify serious antipathy towards the method.<br /> :Another disputed theory for the difference in approach surrounds convenience. Electric kettles and microwaves are both highly efficient methods of heating water with electricity, but electric kettles in the UK tend to draw significantly more power than either US kettles or microwaves (due, in part, to higher main voltage in the UK grid). As a result, UK kettles can heat an equivalent volume of water significantly faster than can microwaves. When making a single cup, the difference is unlikely to be significant, but when making tea for a whole family, or for guests (as is much more common in the UK), using a microwave would be much less convenient.<br /> :Ultimately, though, the difference probably comes down to an accident of culture. Most likely, the preparation of tea simply has a sense of tradition and ritual in Britain, and using a microwave feels crass, modern, and completely disconnected from the cultural associations of tea. <br /> :The title text continues with this theme, by reassuring us that the microwaved mug doesn't have a teabag in it (analogous to the 'boiling tea-kettle' version). It then strays into farce, though, by suggesting it is separately microwaved. In reality there is no obvious reason to microwave a teabag: Microwave ovens heat water molecules almost exclusively, and tealeaves (and bag) should be dry before use, with no water molecules to heat. The wrongheadedness of this claim does little but provoke a skeptic's doubts about how utterly perverse this colonial variation on tea-making has become.<br /> <br /> ===Other tea controversies===<br /> <br /> Other sources of controversy in the {{w|A Nice Cup of Tea|correct way to make tea}} are not covered in the comic, or hidden behind the other 'obvious errors'. Perhaps primary among these is the question of the difference between making (and steeping) the tea in a teapot and pouring the water over a teabag in a mug.<br /> <br /> The former tends to be a more formal method, to serve in polite company, ''or'' from the traditional need to prepare a large volume of tea for an indeterminate number of recipients and refills, such as in a canteen/cafeteria situation, where the 'pot' stays hot for almost as long as the supply lasts. A prepared teapot of tea allows a fairly consistent 'brew' that is readily poured out into teacups (or mugs) as and when required, and can be readily topped up if an increase in the supply is needed.<br /> <br /> The latter method relies upon individual teabags or loose-leaf tea in an individual infuser, and lets each recipient leave the tea in for as long as they personally prefer (or end up having to), which reflects more individual flexibility. Again, this splits between 'high' and 'low' class use. The infamous &quot;builders' tea&quot; often has the teabag left in for a long time (even during drinking), with plenty of milk and sugar, to perhaps produce an increasingly dense brew as the workman concerned takes opportune sips as he (usually) can during his work. Conversely, the trend in more stylish restaurants and tearooms tends to be to supply each customer their teacup together with an individual small vessel of freshly boiled water (rarely more than one or two cups-worth) and the recipient's choices of bagged tea (including fruit/herbal) and additions (milk, or equivalent, lemon, etc, plus sweeteners of all kinds), letting them prepare their own infusion exactly in their own way; this is often presented with an air of 'continental sophistication', but may bemuse and confuse the more down-to-Earth British tea-drinker used to their home method, as does the choice of dozens of fancy coffees from a barista when they'd be happy enough with a decent &quot;instant coffee&quot;.<br /> <br /> The issue of whether the milk (not obligatory, but decisively traditional) should be put in ''before'' the tea (or teabag!) is also often considered {{tvtropes|SeriousBusiness|Serious Business}}...<br /> <br /> In [https://www.foodandwine.com/why-you-should-add-salt-to-tea-8549735 January of 2024], Michelle Francl, Ph.D., a chemistry professor at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, suggested putting a pinch of salt into tea, saying that the sodium in salt blocks the bitter taste of tea. This prompted a great outcry by [https://www.theguardian.com/food/2024/jan/24/perfect-cup-of-tea-needs-a-pinch-of-salt-and-squeeze-of-lemon-says-us-chemist?scrlybrkr=361c99cc The Guardian] and a statement by the US embassy on X (Twitter): “Today's media reports of an American Professor's recipe for the 'perfect' cup of tea has landed our special bond with the United Kingdom in hot water … We want to ensure[sic] the good people of the U.K. that the unthinkable notion of adding salt to Britain's national drink is not official United States Policy. And never will be. ... The US embassy will continue to make tea in the proper way – by microwaving it.&quot;<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[A line chart is shown. Above the chart are, from top to bottom, a heading, a subheading, and an arrow pointing right with a label above. On the line there are four labeled tick marks, with the labels written beneath the line. A small curved line is going from each label to below their tick. The first two ticks are close together on the far left side of the graph, the third is approximately in the center, and the fourth is on the far right side of the graph.] <br /> :&lt;big&gt;Ways of making tea&lt;/big&gt;<br /> :By how angry British people get when Americans do them<br /> :More angry<br /> :Making it in a kettle<br /> :Boiling water in a pot, steeping in a mug<br /> :Making it in a chalice and ampulla stolen from the Crown Jewels<br /> :Microwaving a mug<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Charts]]<br /> [[Category:Food]]<br /> [[Category:Rankings]]</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3023:_The_Maritime_Approximation&diff=359738 2024-12-17T20:14:07Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3023<br /> | date = December 11, 2024<br /> | title = The Maritime Approximation<br /> | image = the_maritime_approximation_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 265x126px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = It works because a nautical mile is based on a degree of latitude, and the Earth (e) is a circle.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> Mph ({{w|miles per hour}}) and {{w|Knot (unit)|knot}}s (''nautical miles'' per hour) are both units used to express speed, including that of vehicles. Miles per hour are typically used in the {{w|Miles per hour|US, UK and some smaller countries}} for the speed of cars and other similar vehicles, while knots are used by many sailors and pilots to describe the speed of ships and aircraft. Novice sailors or pilots, or those who spend a lot of time on land, may find it helpful to quickly convert between mph and knots, in order to relate to typical ground-surface speeds. Although, as safe operating speeds for particular aircraft/watercraft may bear little relationship to (for example) road-vehicle speeds, it might be arguably better just to develop a separate 'air sense' (perhaps mostly at higher velocities, far above any landmark that you might pass by) or 'water sense' (often at lower velocities, and with the particular fluid nature of the water's surface) that is keyed especially to the knots-rated speed of your vessel, without attempting to carry over this aspect of any pre-existing 'road sense'.<br /> <br /> One hopefully ''rare'' exception might possibly be in the event of a plane having to make an emergency landing on a public highway, where it could be useful to know if a (possibly unpowered) plane's final landing speed can be made to be not too far off that of any unsuspecting road traffic that you may have to land in the midst of; but this would never be a trivial endeavour in any case, and even having to attempt such a feat probably means you have few options open to you and very little time to consider many of these finer details.<br /> <br /> That complication aside, ''if'' it is necessary to know, this could be done in the form of 1 knot = 1.2 mph, or 1 mph = 0.87 knots (1 knot = 1.85 km/h and 1 km/h = 0.54 knots for metric navigators). [[Randall]] has humorously noticed that ''π'' mph ≈ {{w|E_(mathematical_constant)|''e''}} knots: ''π'' mph = [https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&amp;q=pi+mph+in+knots 2.72997] knots, while ''e'' ≈ 2.71828. Despite the claim of the title text, this is a coincidence,{{Citation needed}} since even though knots are based on nautical miles, which are related to degrees of latitude (and thus to ''π'', which is used to describe the circumference of a circle), miles per hour have no relation to either ''e'' or ''π''. Furthermore, the title text makes the connection to ''e'' by mentioning &quot;Earth (e)&quot;, but e is not a symbol or abbreviation commonly used for Earth, and even if it were, it has nothing to do with Euler's number ''e''. Randall also conflates &quot;circle&quot; with &quot;sphere&quot; for simplicity, as they both have a radius that can be measured with ''π''.<br /> <br /> The equality shown in this strip consists of several different parts:<br /> <br /> # The mile (1609.344 m) per hour (mph) is a unit of speed common for motor vehicles in a few countries, such as the United States and United Kingdom.<br /> # The knot is a unit of speed that is one nautical mile (1852 m) per hour, used in nautical contexts.<br /> # ''π'' is a number equal to the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, about 3.14159.<br /> # ''e'' is Euler's number, the base of the natural logarithm, about 2.71828.<br /> <br /> ''π'' mph × (1609.344 meters/statute mile ÷ 1852 meters/nautical mile) ≈ 2.729969 knots. The result is only about 0.43% larger than ''e'' knots ≈ 2.71828 knots.<br /> <br /> Knots are related to the circumference of the Earth, which can introduce ''π'', but this is only &quot;useful&quot; if you want to express your speed as a fraction of the radius of the Earth: 1 knot = 1 nautical mile per hour = 1/60 of a degree of Earth's circumference per hour = 1/21,600 of Earth's circumference per hour = 2''π''/21,600 x Earth's radius per hour. However, nowadays this is an approximation, because a nautical mile is defined as exactly 1852 m, which is not exactly 1/60 of a degree of Earth's circumference.<br /> <br /> Randall has in the past made similar observations of different dimensions that equal each other with comics such as [[687: Dimensional Analysis]], where he compares {{w|Planck energy}}, the pressure at Earth's core, the gas mileage in a Prius, and the width of the English Channel to ''π''. In addition, in [[What If?]], he has compared the mass of Earth to be ''π'' &quot;milliJupiters,&quot; or ''π'' times the mass of Jupiter divided by 1000, and noted that the volume of a cube with side lengths of one mile is roughly similar to the volume of a sphere with a radius of 1 kilometer. In [[217: e to the pi Minus pi]] and [[1047: Approximations]], Randall gives a lot of similar numerical approximations.<br /> <br /> The joke is that the interesting identity between MPH and knots in the comic is not exact, but only correct to a certain percentage, unlike the identity it is compared to: {{w|Euler's Identity}}, which is exact and expresses a deep mathematical insight, which is what makes the latter truly remarkable. The former is nothing but an unimpressive, if mildly interesting coincidence; merely a novelty. This isn't helped by the fact that the comic carries the implication that this neat, easy-to-remember identity is actually useful for sailors, when really, being easy to remember is all it has going for it: it doesn't make calculations any easier, it is impossible to do without a calculator or paper, and doing it on paper is much harder than other conversions, given that ''π'' and ''e'' are both irrational and transcendental. Finally and most importantly, this conversion between knots and MPH is far far less accurate than the typical conversion factor used, i.e. 1.1508, which is accurate to within 0.00179%; about 280x better than Randall's. This can make a huge difference on shipping routes, which can be hundreds or thousands of miles long. <br /> <br /> The title text furthers the joke that this identity between MPH and knots is truly fundamental, but through faulty logic. Whenever ''π'' shows up in an equation, the claim made by many mathematicians is that there is a circle hiding somewhere in the math. Randall says that ''π'' is coming from the fact that nautical miles are based on the fact that the Earth is round, and shipping routes over its surface are circular. As profound as this sounds, it makes no mathematical sense at all. He also claims that ''e'' is in the equation because 'Earth' starts with an E; nothing but 'word play'.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[In a small panel an equation is shown. There is a footnote below the equation:]<br /> :&lt;big&gt;π mph = ''e'' knots*&lt;/big&gt;<br /> :&lt;small&gt;*Correct to &lt;0.5%&lt;/small&gt;<br /> <br /> :[Caption below the panel:]<br /> :The sailor's version of e&lt;sup&gt;iπ&lt;/sup&gt;=−1<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Math]]</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3024:_METAR&diff=359737 2024-12-17T20:13:16Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3024<br /> | date = December 13, 2024<br /> | title = METAR<br /> | image = metar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 640x360px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = In the aviation world, they don't use AM/PM times. Instead, all times are assumed to be AM unless they're labeled NOTAM.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> <br /> In aviation, the {{w|METAR}} (Meteorological Aerodrome Report) is used to give pilots a brief overview of the current meteorological conditions at the airport. The METAR follows a specific structure and makes heavy usage of abbreviations, which makes it hard to read for anyone not familiar with it. The comic makes fun of that by assuming meaning of the words based on what non-aviation people might think the different elements of the METAR report may represent. The METAR in the comic is fairly alarming, describing dangerously fast winds, a possible tornado, freezing volcanic ash (in New York!), lightning and impossibly high atmospheric pressure.<br /> <br /> {| class=&quot;wikitable&quot;<br /> |-<br /> ! Code !! Real Meaning !! According to the comic<br /> |-<br /> | METAR<br /> | Type: Meteorological Aerodrome Report<br /> | The comic assumes that this is just a spelling error and it should be &quot;meter&quot;<br /> |-<br /> | KNYC<br /> | Station ID: 4 character identifier; for an airport, this would be the {{w|ICAO airport code|ICAO code}}. In this instance the identifier represents the automated weather station at Belvedere Castle in Central Park, NYC. Airport, weather and radio station call signs share a common heritage.<br /> | &quot;Station ID&quot;, which is actually correct, although people unfamiliar with METAR-reporting stations could presume that this is an AM, FM or TV radio broadcaster's name.<br /> Among AM radio stations, KNYC is not a current call-sign (though {{w|WNYC}} is, and indeed serves New York City), but (among the 'western' subset of US stations) currently {{w|KNCY (AM)|KNCY}} serves the area around Omaha, Nebraska (being based in Nebraska City), and {{w|KYCN}} covers Wheatland, Wyoming.<br /> |-<br /> | 251600Z<br /> | Time of observation: 25th day of the month at 4 PM UTC. Z is not part of the time, but simply global shorthand for {{w|Military time zone|&quot;Zulu&quot; time}}, i.e. {{w|Coordinated Universal Time|UTC}}. Normally most stations would report at a particular time every hour, in this particular case either 15:51 or 16:51 would apply, but more frequent reports are made during unusual and rapidly changing weather events (as may be the situation, in this case).<br /> | Misreading the &quot;25&quot; as the hour instead of the day, pushing the trailing zeros into seconds which METAR doesn't use, and &quot;Z&quot; as a 2 on the end of seconds, all resulting in a nonsensical time. It's possible Randall is alluding to hours greater than 24 are sometimes used to indicate a time after midnight, e.g., in Japan 17~25h means from 5 P.M. to 1 A.M. the following day.<br /> |-<br /> | 18035G45KT<br /> | Wind direction and speed: Wind direction 180° (directly from the south, degrees based on 0°=true north), speed 35 knots, gusting to 45 knots. This is quite stormy weather.<br /> | Instead of interpreting the first 5 digits as direction and speed, it is assumed that it is one big number and the G45 stands for the time span in which this was observed with &quot;G&quot; standing for &quot;good&quot;. 18,035 knots is an unrealistically high wind speed{{Citation needed}}, faster than orbital velocity; the {{w|jet stream}} typically contains the highest winds on Earth, and may reach about 250 knots.<br /> |-<br /> | 6SM<br /> | In weather reports related to aviation, &quot;6SM&quot; stands for 6 statute miles of visibility, meaning that objects can be seen clearly up to 6 miles away.&lt;ref&gt;https://weather.cod.edu/notes/metar.html#:~:text=6SM%2DVisibility,SM)%20up%20to%2010%20SM.&lt;/ref&gt; This indicates clear enough weather to fly without instruments; the value has a max range of 10SM.<br /> | The comic interprets &quot;6SM&quot; to humorously mean a &quot;Size '''6 Sm'''all&quot;.<br /> |-<br /> | VCFCFZVA<br /> | In the vicinity (VC): funnel cloud (FC) and freezing (FZ) volcanic ash (VA). This sounds somewhat unusual for New York City.{{Citation needed}}<br /> | A riff on the repeated letters which give off the impression the string is constructed by random keypresses on the keyboard, as exemplified by a [[1689: My Friend Catherine|cat on the keyboard]]. There is a long history of this problem, as well as [http://bitboost.com/pawsense/ attempted solutions].<br /> This string may or may not actually look like the pattern of characters that a walking cat could produce (and be reliably detected). All the letters are in a cluster at the lower left of the (QWERTY) keyboard, with some adjacently paired characters perhaps indicative of stepping on multiple keys and other neighbouring keys having been stepped over, not uncommon of an oblivious feline wandering across your desk. But the repeated cluster of &quot;CFCF&quot;, and other implied paw-press events, seem less likely to emerge even from a rapid quadrupedal gait. A more casual stroll would likely also create single-character duplications, unless the keyboard repeat delay was set unnaturally high.<br /> |-<br /> | +BLUP<br /> | Heavy (+) blowing (BL) unknown precipitation (UP)<br /> | Riffing on the fact that it looks like an onomatopoetic word<br /> |-<br /> | NOSIG<br /> | No significant change is expected to the reported conditions within the next 2 hours<br /> | The comic assumes that the transmitter of the METAR report wants the receivers to know that they do not have a significant other, which the comic finds sad. The observer could be trying to abuse the METAR report as a dating platform.<br /> |-<br /> | LTG OHD<br /> | Lightning overhead <br /> | OHD is interpreted as &quot;overheard&quot; instead of &quot;overhead&quot;, indicating that they did not observe it themselves and instead just overheard people talking about it.<br /> |-<br /> | A3808<br /> | Altimeter setting: (calculated) air pressure at {{w|Mean_sea_level|mean sea level}} at the airport is 38.08. The value of 38.08 inHg is extremely high. The standard atmospheric pressure used in aviation is 29.92 inHg; the highest recorded surface pressure on Earth was 32.01 {{w|Inch_of_mercury|inches of mercury (inHg)}}&lt;ref&gt;https://learn.weatherstem.com/modules/learn/lessons/125/18.html&lt;/ref&gt; (&quot;A&quot; for inHg, used primarily in USA, Canada and Japan; &quot;Q&quot; would indicate a value in hPa). This is used to adjust the altimeter in the aircraft to the local air pressure, instead of using the standard setting used in higher air spaces.<br /> | The comic says that the observer saw an {{w|Airbus_A380|Airbus A380-800}}, a very large passenger plane. Note: The {{w|List_of_ICAO_aircraft_type_designators|ICAO aircraft type code}} for the Airbus A380-800 is A388 and not A3808.<br /> |-<br /> | RMK<br /> | Beginning of the section with remarks<br /> | Remarkable. Likely a comment about the A380 (as stated previously, it is quite large).<br /> |-<br /> | AO2<br /> | The weather station is automated (A) and has a precipitation discriminator (O2), which can tell the difference between liquid and frozen precipitation.<br /> | A reference to the {{w|fan fiction|fanfic}} site [https://archiveofourown.org/ Archive of Our Own], often abbreviated as AO3 ('''A'''rchive '''o'''f '''O'''ur '''O'''wn, or &quot;AOOO&quot;). It's nonsensical to describe this site as having a precipitation discriminator.{{Citation needed}}<br /> |-<br /> | SLP130=<br /> | {{w|Sea_level_pressure|Sea-level pressure}} is 1013.0 hPa (approx. 29.91 inHg). The equal sign signifies the end of the METAR.<br /> | &quot;SLP&quot; interpreted as abbreviation for sleepy, the numbers as a time, and the = sign as &quot;around&quot; (maybe confused with ≈)<br /> |-<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | NOTAM (title text)<br /> | Not part of a METAR report, but instead another aviation abbreviation. It stands for {{w|NOTAM|Notice to Air Missions}} (previously Notice to Airmen).<br /> | Parsed as &quot;not A.M.&quot;, indicating that a given time is to be interpreted as P.M. While AM and PM are indeed not used in aviation, as the comic says, they use a 24-hour clock system, not an &quot;A.M.-by-default&quot; 12-hour clock system.<br /> |}<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> <br /> :Decoding a METAR report:<br /> <br /> :[A METAR report is shown with annotations. The report is:]<br /> <br /> :&lt;code&gt;METAR KNYC 251600Z 18035G45KT 6SM VCFCFZVA +BLUP NOSIG LTG OHD A3808 RMK A02 SLP130=&lt;/code&gt;<br /> <br /> :[The annotations are:]<br /> <br /> :* &lt;code&gt;METAR&lt;/code&gt; &quot;METER&quot; (Usually misspelled)<br /> :* &lt;code&gt;KNYC&lt;/code&gt; Station ID<br /> :* &lt;code&gt;251600Z&lt;/code&gt; Time (25:16:002)<br /> :* &lt;code&gt;18035G45KT&lt;/code&gt; Wind speed has been 18,035 knots for a good 45 minutes now<br /> :* &lt;code&gt;6SM&lt;/code&gt; Observer is a size 6 small<br /> :* &lt;code&gt;VCFCFZVA&lt;/code&gt; Sorry, the station cat walked on the keyboard<br /> :* &lt;code&gt;+BLUP&lt;/code&gt; Weird noise the sky made earlier<br /> :* &lt;code&gt;NOSIG&lt;/code&gt; Observer has no significant other :(<br /> :* &lt;code&gt;LTG OHD&lt;/code&gt; We overheard someone saying there was lightning<br /> :* &lt;code&gt;A3808&lt;/code&gt; Hey look, an Airbus A380-800!<br /> :* &lt;code&gt;RMK&lt;/code&gt; Remarkable!<br /> :* &lt;code&gt;A02&lt;/code&gt; Fanfic Archive equipped with a precipitation sensor<br /> :* &lt;code&gt;SLP130=&lt;/code&gt; Observer got sleepy around 1:30<br /> <br /> ==Trivia==<br /> The actual last three KNYC METAR strings, that were generated at about the actual time of publication, were:<br /> KNYC 131651Z AUTO VRB03KT 10SM CLR M01/M14 A3066 RMK AO2 SLP374 T10061144 $<br /> *''New York, Central Park : 13/Dec/2024, 16:51 UTC (11:51am local time) : Fully Automated Report : Variable wind, no more than 3 knots : 10 (or more) statute miles visibility : No clouds below 12,000 ft (3,700 m) : −1 °C (about 30 °F), dew point at −14 °C (about 7 °F) : Altimeter at 30.66 inHg (1038.3 hPa) : Precipitation discriminator present : Sea-level pressure at 1,037.4 hPa (30.63 inHg) : Temperature -0.6 °C (conversion from exactly 31 °F) , dew point -14.4 °C (from exactly 6 °F) : Maintenance check required (indicated by dollar sign)''<br /> KNYC 131751Z AUTO 10SM CLR 00/M16 A3066 RMK AO2 SLP374 T00001156 10000 21028 56006 $<br /> *''New York, Central Park : 13/Dec/2024, 17:51 UTC (12:51pm local time) : Fully Automated Report : (no wind measured) : 10 (or more) statute miles visibility : No clouds below 12,000 ft (3,700 m) : 0 °C (about 32 °F), dew point at −16 °C (about 3 °F) : Altimeter at 30.66 inHg (1038.3 hPa) : Precipitation discriminator present : Sea-level pressure at 1,037.4 hPa (30.63inHg) : Temperature ±0.00 °C (from exactly 32 °F), dew point -15.6 °C (from exactly 4 °F) : 6 hour maximum 0.00 °C (32 °F) : 6 hour minimum -10.28 °C (from 13.5 °F) : 3 hour pressure tendency, falling by 0.6 millibars (0.018 inHg) : Maintenance check required''<br /> KNYC 131851Z AUTO 10SM CLR 00/M16 A3066 RMK AO2 SLP377 T00001156 $<br /> *''New York, Central Park : 13/Dec/2024, 18:51 UTC (1:51pm local time) : Fully Automated Report : (no wind measured) : 10 (or more) statute miles visibility : No clouds below 12,000 ft (3,700 m) : 0 °C (about 32 °F), dew point at −14 °C (about 7 °F) : Altimeter at 30.66 inHg (1038.3 hPa) : Precipitation discriminator present : Sea-level pressure at 1,037.7 hPa (30.64 inHg) : Temperature -0.6 °C (from exactly 31 °F), dew point -15.6 °C (from exactly 4 °F) : Maintenance check required ''<br /> <br /> &lt;!-- The nonsensical temperatures are likely due to the fact that the station is malfunctioning. The METARs report that the station needs maintenance, as indicated by the dollar sign. --&gt;<br /> <br /> &lt;!-- If the comic's message is based off of some pre-existing METARS message, it may be from 25/Nov/2024, which is before the KNYC 291351Z messge that is the earliest I can currently retrieve. Would still be interesting to get KNYC 251551Z and KNYC 251651Z, though, for November, and give it the same treatment. --&gt;<br /> <br /> &lt;!-- On the other hand, probably intended to be 25/Dec/2024 (and hence technically a 'Christmas comic', in all but name?), but of course it's not easy to get the actual (neighbouring) METAR messages for then, yet. If you can, I'd please also like to know the Lottery numbers (and *which* Lottery you're giving me). But perhaps consider this a placeholder request for the Christmas Day message(s) to be supplied here, as and when? --&gt;<br /> <br /> ==References==<br /> {{reflist}}<br /> [https://e6bx.com/metar-decoder/ ''Actual'' Metar Decoder]<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Weather]]<br /> [[Category:Aviation]]<br /> [[Category:Emoji]]</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3025:_Phase_Change&diff=359736 2024-12-17T20:02:41Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3025<br /> | date = December 16, 2024<br /> | title = Phase Change<br /> | image = phase_change_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 296x354px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Even when you try to make nice, smooth ice cubes in a freezer, sometimes one of them will shoot out a random ice spike, which physicists ascribe to kiki conservation.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> This comic is a reference to the {{w|bouba/kiki effect}} (the [[2611: Cutest-Sounding Scientific Effects#Trivia|cutest-sounding scientific effect!]]), where people tend to associate different shapes with different nonsense words, regardless of their own linguistic and cultural backgrounds. <br /> Because the word &quot;bouba&quot; is pronounced with long and soft sounds, it is often associated with soft and round objects. &quot;Kiki&quot;, on the other hand, uses fast, higher pitched, and &quot;cracking&quot; sounds so it is associated with sharp and hard objects. Some real life examples are the antonyms rigid and flowing. This is partly due to humans' needs to {{w|Cognitive categorization|categorize things}}.<br /> <br /> The comic intentionally conflates this with the {{w|Phase transition|phase transition}} that water undergoes around 0 degrees Celsius. Water in its liquid state can be described as soft and round, as can the sound of the word &quot;water&quot; itself. In contrast, ice is hard and crystalline, giving it the potential to form hard edges and sharp point. The word &quot;ice&quot; also contains a sharp hissing sound.<br /> <br /> The title text refers to {{w|ice spike|ice spikes}}, which are caused by the uneven freezing of ice in a freezer. The title text expands on the joke by claiming that ice cubes wish to maintain the pointiness of objects characterized as &quot;kiki.&quot;<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[A vertical graph is shown, indicating temperature in degrees Celsius, with a horizontal dotted line at zero degrees and positive temperatures above it. The graph has labels against gradation marks for -10, -5, 0, 5 and 10 °C, a mark for each other whole degree present and extends to meet the top and bottom border of the graph's frame, at approximately ±11.5°C. The area above the dotted line is filled with several illustrations of liquid water in various forms: dripping down from a surface, forming a droplet, pouring from a glass, splashing onto a surface of water, etc. This area is labeled &quot;Bouba&quot; with an arrow pointing up. The area below the dotted line is filled with illustrations of ice in various forms, namely icicles hanging from a surface, two ice cubes (one with a small ice spike), a snowflake, a thin piano-shaped piece of ice and a thicker sheet of ice on water along with an iceberg. This area is labeled &quot;Kiki&quot; with an arrow pointing down.]<br /> <br /> :[Caption below the panel:]<br /> :When water's temperature falls below 0°C, it undergoes a phase transition from bouba to kiki.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category: Charts]]<br /> [[Category: Language]]<br /> [[Category: Physics]]</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1403:_Thesis_Defense&diff=359710 2024-12-17T16:39:36Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>Sorry, but if your best defense is frightening counter attack a good offense will destroy you. The best defense is a good offense because a weakened or destroyed opponent can mount no offense.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.132|173.245.48.132]] 05:58, 4 August 2014 (UTC)BluDgeons<br /> <br /> :Depends on type of counter attack. For example, the best defense against missiles is to fire anti-missile missiles, which may be seen as type of attack. Of course, the phrase is older than missiles, but I believe similar principles applied: not retaliation nor first strike, but attacking the enemy units which are trying to attack you. Alternatively, attacking enemy army supply lines may also force it to interrupt her attack on you. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:22, 4 August 2014 (UTC)<br /> <br /> ::No. Anti-missile missiles are an absolutely dreadful defense agaisnt missiles. Their success rate is well below 100% and has only recently risen above 0%. The actual best defense against missiles is to blow them up on the ground, before they are launched, i.e. An offensive attack. [[User:JamesCurran|JamesCurran]] ([[User talk:JamesCurran|talk]]) 20:12, 4 August 2014 (UTC)<br /> <br /> ::: You've clearly never heard of Iron Dome, Israel's missile defense system. It has crazy high success rates. I've seen it in action myself, it is glorious. --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 04:24, 6 August 2014 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :::: Israel has to fire two Iron Dome missiles ($50,000 dollars each) to intercept each Qassam rocket (roughly $500 dollars), so this is a terrible example as a well resourced attacker can easily overwhelm a defender. Maybe in another decade with lasers, cheaper interceptors and rail guns the equation might have changed. {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.167}}<br /> <br /> ::::: I would say that it's better to fire two $50,000 dollar missiles than to let the rocket explode, kill several people and demolish $200,000 building. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:15, 6 August 2014 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :::::: Adage might refer to guerilla/hit-and-run tactics, which are also mentioned in Sun Tzu's Art of War (cut off supply chain, is one instance). -[[User:Vorik111|Vorik111]] ([[User talk:Vorik111|talk]]) 16:19, 7 August 2014 (UTC)<br /> <br /> ::::::: We should remember that a lot of Hamas’s missiles land into unpopulated areas. [[User:Blogbkx|Blogbkx]] ([[User talk:Blogbkx|talk]]) 17:20, 23 October 2019 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :::::::: damn this convo aged horrendously --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.119|172.68.205.119]] 09:34, 2 July 2024 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :::::::::oh man yea it did [[User:Rustykid52|Rustykid52]] ([[User talk:Rustykid52|talk]]) 16:39, 17 December 2024 (UTC)<br /> <br /> The expression is based on a concept that is military and ancient, but I wonder if the expression itself, in English, originated with American football, sometime since the game's birth in the 1860s. It is so specifically applicable to this game, where a team's defense and offense are completely separate units, run separately and spoken of separately and yet an extremely effective way to keep the opponent from scoring is to maintain possession of the ball while the game clock ticks down. [[User:Wrybred|Wrybred]] ([[User talk:Wrybred|talk]]) 13:18, 4 August 2014 (UTC)wrybred<br /> <br /> : While it is applicable in most attacking sports, then I seriously doubt that it originated in American Football -- I has been some time since I read {{w|Sun Tzu}}'s {{w|The Art of War}} which is one of the oldest texts in existence, but I suspect it may already be in there predating anything else [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 22:05, 4 August 2014 (UTC)<br /> <br /> May or may not also be inspired by Studio C: Thesis Defense http://youtu.be/Lrlro3YJ15o Teagan N {{unsigned ip|173.245.48.134}}<br /> <br /> Can anyone make out what's written on the board? {{unsigned ip|141.101.105.220}}<br /> : No, probably not -- [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 21:57, 4 August 2014 (UTC)<br /> <br /> : My best guess after resizing the image a few times is <br /> :: [The|To] [F|Falcons?] [at|of] [T|Times?]<br /> :: [D|Displays?] [a|is|its] [M|Moods?]<br /> :: [by?] {illegible first name (short maybe Meg)} {illegible surname (long)<br /> :: [C|{illegible}] [the] {illegible 1 short word 1 long word or only 1 long word}<br /> :: {illegible mid size word} {illegible short word maybe is} {illegible short word a} {illegible} {illegible} {{unsigned|Meerkat}}<br /> <br /> : Looks to me like &quot;The Evolution of [Thesis/Turtle] Displays &amp; Moods&quot; something illegible, probably her name, followed by &quot;Candidate for [illegible]&quot;[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.52|141.101.98.52]]<br /> <br /> : I read &quot;The Evolution of Threat Displays in Murder&quot; as the topic after lots of enlargement.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.207|173.245.54.207]] 14:30, 4 August 2014 (UTC)<br /> ::I'm with this reading. It's logical, too. Megan's actions, being about as far as you can go in the direction of Murderous Threat Displays, are a natural &quot;conclusion&quot; to her presentation.--[[User:Laverock|Laverock]] ([[User talk:Laverock|talk]]) 15:43, 5 August 2014 (UTC)<br /> <br /> : I think it says &quot;The Evolution of Throat Dipthongs in Murder&quot;. I'm no linguist, but if &quot;AAAAAA&quot; is said in an undulating fashion, it would qualify as a dipthong. Thus the presentation is incomplete without the yell. {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.154}}<br /> <br /> : Going off on the poster above me and taking into account the topic of the comic, I think it is probably &quot;The Evolution of Thesis Displays in Murder&quot; [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.185|141.101.98.185]] 08:41, 5 August 2014 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Thanks! Came here today for this, created account to say thanks :) [[User:Mathiastck|Mathiastck]] ([[User talk:Mathiastck|talk]]) 18:18, 4 August 2014 (UTC)<br /> : You'r welcome [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 21:59, 4 August 2014 (UTC)<br /> <br /> &quot;In conclusion&quot; suggests she's almost finished with her presentation. I wonder what the panel thought of her holding a sword many times thicker than her stick-body for the duration of her defense.[[User:Alanbbent|Alanbbent]] ([[User talk:Alanbbent|talk]]) 00:00, 5 August 2014 (UTC)<br /> : &quot;In conclusion&quot; is the APA style of creating a summary section -- hence she has just finished her presentation, and she is now moving on to the questions-answers with the examiners defending her thesis. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.6|199.27.133.6]] 13:57, 5 August 2014 (UTC)<br /> <br /> ;Incomplete?<br /> <br /> looks to me that this pretty complete -- remove the incomplete tag? [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 22:50, 4 August 2014 (UTC)<br /> <br /> It's still missing the presentation text. [[User:cDave]] {{unsigned|CDave}}<br /> <br /> :I don't think anyone can read it. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.201|173.245.54.201]] 03:46, 6 August 2014 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :I'm surprised noone has referred to the transcript in the page source. It officially says, &quot;The evolution of threat defence in mammals.&quot; [[Special:Contributions/173.245.62.73|173.245.62.73]] 06:09, 6 August 2014 (UTC)<br /> :: Excellent observation -- I have changed the transcript to use the words from the site itself -- the transcript sections has been lacking on xkcd.com lately, which is why people probably don't check them any more. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 19:01, 6 August 2014 (UTC)<br /> :::I'm sorry, but I did revert this change because it was bad layout and the title text has not to be included. Right now I did find the transcript by Randall so I will update it again. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:47, 6 August 2014 (UTC)<br /> :::Great find, the proper update to the transcript is done. This new statement has to be explained.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:00, 6 August 2014 (UTC)<br /> <br /> The best defence is to own an empire. If it is big enough it never sleeps and if it is happy enough it will counteract any threat given enough time and resources. Big enough empires generally have enough time and resources. The problem with empires is the problem with all powerful entities: Power Corrupts. That is a different adage and comparing metaphors about defence and power can mislead or change the argument not resolve the statement &quot;&quot; the best defence.... etc&quot;.[[User:Weatherlawyer|Weatherlawyer]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 18:46, 8 January 2015 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Sad story: in 1996, a grad student actually did murder people during his thesis defense: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego_State_University_shooting [[Special:Contributions/162.158.56.59|162.158.56.59]] 18:39, 10 December 2015 (UTC)<br /> <br /> The title text may also refer to Stephen Sondheim's song &quot;Putting it Together,&quot; in which the singer lists ad nauseum the minutiae of preparing and marketing a work of art, which is analagous to preparing a thesis and its defense. The final line is &quot;and that is the state of the art&quot;, ending with a long, high note.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.220|162.158.255.220]] 06:41, 4 January 2017 (UTC)<br /> <br /> As an irrelevant aside, in Finland you get awarded a sword for a successful PhD... And a slightly less impressive hat [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.78|141.101.107.78]] 21:13, 25 April 2017 (UTC)</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3025:_Phase_Change&diff=359709 2024-12-17T16:26:50Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>&lt;!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--&gt;<br /> Baba is First. [[User:Psychoticpotato|P?sych??otic?pot??at???o ]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 17:02, 16 December 2024 (UTC)<br /> :what [[User:Rustykid52|Rustykid52]] ([[User talk:Rustykid52|talk]]) 16:26, 17 December 2024 (UTC)<br /> Thanks Randall, I hate it. 😊 [[User:CalibansCreations|'''&lt;span style=&quot;color:#ff0000;&quot;&gt;Caliban&lt;/span&gt;''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 18:07, 16 December 2024 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Oi, why was my transcript deleted? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.64|172.69.134.64]] 21:52, 16 December 2024 (UTC)<br /> :It’s been restored. Maybe pop a message to Apollo11 if you want an explanation from him? '''[[User:42.book.addict|&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:9pt;color:#A9C6CA&quot;&gt;42.book.addict&lt;/span&gt;]]&lt;sup&gt;[[User talk:42.book.addict|&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:6pt;color:#516874&quot;&gt;Talk to me!&lt;/span&gt;]]&lt;/sup&gt;''' 23:01, 16 December 2024 (UTC)<br /> <br /> The comic may have been inspired by the Ologies podcast episode on mnemologie part one posted on December the fourth. There Dr. Michael Yassa exblains the effect. {{unsigned ip|162.158.111.86|00:57, 17 December 2024}}<br /> <br /> For water vapour we use fushu. From r/linguisticshumor {{unsigned ip|172.69.165.2|01:01, 17 December 2024}}<br /> <br /> About the phrase 'as can the sound of the word &quot;water&quot; itself [being &quot;soft and round&quot;]' - &quot;Water&quot; is a mix, the beginning and end are &quot;soft/round&quot; but the middle is quite &quot;hard/sharp.&quot; [[Special:Contributions/172.71.170.109|172.71.170.109]] 15:01, 17 December 2024 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I think that this also relates to a nonsense shape theory (ex, the bouba kiki theory, to be exact) but I'm not entirely sure... [[User:Definitely Bill Cipher|A dream demon]] ([[User talk:Definitely Bill Cipher|talk]]) 15:16, 17 December 2024 (UTC)</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3025:_Phase_Change&diff=359708 2024-12-17T16:21:58Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3025<br /> | date = December 16, 2024<br /> | title = Phase Change<br /> | image = phase_change_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 296x354px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Even when you try to make nice, smooth ice cubes in a freezer, sometimes one of them will shoot out a random ice spike, which physicists ascribe to kiki conservation.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by a BOTBA - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> This comic is a reference to the {{w|bouba/kiki effect}} (the [[2611: Cutest-Sounding Scientific Effects#Trivia|cutest-sounding scientific effect!]]), where people associate different shapes with different nonsense words.<br /> Because the word &quot;bouba&quot; is pronounced with long and soft sounds, it is often associated with soft and round objects. &quot;Kiki&quot;, on the other hand, uses fast, higher pitched, and &quot;cracking&quot; sounds so it is associated with sharp and hard objects. Some real life examples are the antonyms rigid and flowing. This is partly due to humans' needs to {{w|Cognitive categorization|categorize things}}.<br /> <br /> The comic intentionally conflates this with the {{w|Phase transition|phase transition}} that water undergoes around 0 degrees Celsius. Water in its liquid state can be described as soft and round, as can the sound of the word &quot;water&quot; itself. In contrast, ice is hard and can form sharp objects like icicles, and the word &quot;ice&quot; also contains a sharp hissing sound.<br /> <br /> The title text refers to {{w|ice spike|ice spikes}}, which are caused by the uneven freezing of ice in a freezer. The title text expands on the joke by claiming that ice cubes wish to maintain the pointiness of objects characterized as &quot;kiki.&quot;<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[A vertical graph is shown, indicating temperature in degrees Celsius, with a horizontal dotted line at zero degrees and positive temperatures above it. The graph has labels against gradation marks for -10, -5, 0, 5 and 10 °C, a mark for each other whole degree present and extends to meet the top and bottom border of the graph's frame, at approximately ±11.5°C. The area above the dotted line is filled with several illustrations of liquid water in various forms: dripping down from a surface, forming a droplet, pouring from a glass, splashing onto a surface of water, etc. This area is labeled &quot;Bouba&quot; with an arrow pointing up. The area below the dotted line is filled with illustrations of ice in various forms, namely icicles hanging from a surface, two ice cubes (one with a small ice spike), a snowflake, a thin piano-shaped piece of ice and a thicker sheet of ice on water along with an iceberg. This area is labeled &quot;Kiki&quot; with an arrow pointing down.]<br /> <br /> :[Caption below the panel:]<br /> :When water's temperature falls below 0°C, it undergoes a phase transition from bouba to kiki.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category: Charts]]<br /> [[Category: Language]]<br /> [[Category: Physics]]</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3024:_METAR&diff=359576 2024-12-16T14:00:18Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3024<br /> | date = December 13, 2024<br /> | title = METAR<br /> | image = metar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 640x360px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = In the aviation world, they don't use AM/PM times. Instead, all times are assumed to be AM unless they're labeled NOTAM.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by a BOT WITH NO SIGNIFICANT OTHER :( (OTHER THAN AN A380). Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> In aviation, the {{w|METAR}} (Meteorological Aerodrome Report) is used to give pilots a brief overview of the current meteorological conditions at the airport. The METAR follows a specific structure and makes heavy usage of abbreviations, which makes it hard to read for anyone not familiar with it. The comic makes fun of that by assuming meaning of the words based on what non-aviation people might think the different elements of the METAR report may represent. The METAR in the comic is fairly alarming, describing dangerously fast winds, a possible tornado, freezing volcanic ash (in New York!), lightning, and impossibly high atmospheric pressure.<br /> <br /> {| class=&quot;wikitable&quot;<br /> |-<br /> ! Code !! Real Meaning !! According to the comic<br /> |-<br /> | METAR<br /> | Type: Meteorological Aerodrome Report<br /> | The comic assumes that this is just a spelling error and it should be &quot;meter&quot;<br /> |-<br /> | KNYC<br /> | Station ID: 4 character identifier; for an airport, this would be the {{w|ICAO airport code|ICAO code}}. In this instance the identifier represents the automated weather station at Belvedere Castle in Central Park, NYC. Airport, weather, and radio station call signs share a common heritage.<br /> | &quot;Station ID&quot;, which is actually correct, although people unfamiliar with METAR-reporting stations could presume that this is an AM radio broadcaster's name.<br /> Among AM radio stations, KNYC is not a current call-sign (though {{w|WNYC}} is, and indeed serves New York City), but (among the 'western' subset of US stations) currently {{w|KNCY (AM)|KNCY}} serves the area around Omaha, Nebraska (being based in Nebraska City), and {{w|KYCN}} covers Wheatland, Wyoming.<br /> |-<br /> | 251600Z<br /> | Time of observation: 25th day of the month at 4 PM UTC. Z is not part of the time, but simply global shorthand for {{w|Military time zone|&quot;Zulu&quot; time}}, i.e. {{w|Coordinated Universal Time|UTC}}. Normally most stations would report at a particular time every hour, in this particular case either 15:51 or 16:51 would apply, but more frequent reports are made during unusual and rapidly changing weather events (as may be the situation, in this case).<br /> | Misreading the &quot;Z&quot; as a 2, resulting in a nonsensical time. Hours greater than 24 are sometimes used to indicate a time after midnight, e.g., in Japan 17~25h means from 5 P.M. to 1 A.M. the following day. A normal METAR does not use more than 24 hours, instead incrementing the day, so 25 hours further adds to the nonsensical nature of the interpretation.<br /> |-<br /> | 18035G45KT<br /> | Wind direction and speed: Wind direction 180° (directly from the south, degrees based on 0°=magnetic north), speed 35 knots, gusting to 45 knots. This is quite stormy weather.<br /> | Instead of interpreting the first 5 digits as direction and speed, it is assumed that it is one big number and the G45 stands for the time span in which this was observed with &quot;G&quot; standing for &quot;good&quot;. 18,035 knots is an unrealistically high wind speed, faster than orbital velocity; the {{w|jet stream}} typically contains the highest winds on Earth, and may reach about 250 knots.<br /> |-<br /> | 6SM<br /> | In weather reports related to aviation, &quot;6SM&quot; stands for 6 statute miles of visibility, meaning that objects can be seen clearly up to 6 miles away.&lt;ref&gt;https://weather.cod.edu/notes/metar.html#:~:text=6SM%2DVisibility,SM)%20up%20to%2010%20SM.&lt;/ref&gt; This indicates clear enough weather to fly without instruments; the value has a max range of 10SM.<br /> | The comic interprets &quot;6SM&quot; to humorously mean a &quot;Size '''6 Sm'''all&quot;.<br /> |-<br /> | VCFCFZVA<br /> | In the vicinity (VC): funnel cloud (FC) and freezing (FZ) volcanic ash (VA). This sounds somewhat unusual for New York City.{{Citation needed}}<br /> | A riff on the repeated letters which give off the impression the string is constructed by random keypresses on the keyboard, as exemplified by a [[1689: My Friend Catherine|cat on the keyboard]]. There is a long history of this problem, as well as [http://bitboost.com/pawsense/ attempted solutions].<br /> This string may or may not actually look like the pattern of characters that a walking cat could produce (and be reliably detected). All the letters are in a cluster at the lower left of the (QWERTY) keyboard, with some adjacently paired characters perhaps indicative of stepping on multiple keys and other neighbouring keys having been stepped over, not uncommon of an oblivious feline wandering across your desk. But the repeated cluster of &quot;CFCF&quot;, and other implied paw-press events, seem less likely to emerge even from a rapid quadrupedal gait. A more casual stroll would likely also create single-character duplications, unless the keyboard repeat delay was set unnaturally high.<br /> |-<br /> | +BLUP<br /> | Heavy (+) blowing (BL) unknown precipitation (UP)<br /> | Riffing on the fact that it looks like an onomatopoetic word<br /> |-<br /> | NOSIG<br /> | No significant change is expected to the reported conditions within the next 2 hours<br /> | The comic assumes that the transmitter of the METAR report wants the receivers to know that they do not have a significant other, which the comic finds sad. The observer could be trying to abuse the METAR report as a dating platform.<br /> |-<br /> | LTG OHD<br /> | Lightning overhead <br /> | OHD is interpreted as &quot;overheard&quot; instead of &quot;overhead&quot;, indicating that they did not observe it themselves and instead just overheard people talking about it.<br /> |-<br /> | A3808<br /> | Altimeter setting: (calculated) air pressure at {{w|Mean_sea_level|mean sea level}} at the airport is 38.08. The value of 38.08 inHg is extremely high. The standard atmospheric pressure used in aviation is 29.92 inHg; the highest recorded surface pressure on Earth was 32.01 {{w|Inch_of_mercury|inches of mercury (inHg)}}&lt;ref&gt;https://learn.weatherstem.com/modules/learn/lessons/125/18.html&lt;/ref&gt; (&quot;A&quot; for inHg, used primarily in USA, Canada and Japan; &quot;Q&quot; would indicate a value in hPa). This is used to adjust the altimeter in the aircraft to the local air pressure, instead of using the standard setting used in higher air spaces.<br /> | The comic says that the observer saw an {{w|Airbus_A380|Airbus A380-800}}, a very large passenger plane. Note: The {{w|List_of_ICAO_aircraft_type_designators|ICAO aircraft type code}} for the Airbus A380-800 is A388 and not A3808.<br /> |-<br /> | RMK<br /> | Beginning of the section with remarks<br /> | Remarkable. A comment about the A380.<br /> |-<br /> | AO2<br /> | The weather station is automated (A) and has a precipitation discriminator (O2), which can tell the difference between liquid and frozen precipitation.<br /> | A reference to the {{w|fan fiction|fanfic}} site [https://archiveofourown.org/ Archive of Our Own], often abbreviated as AO3 ('''A'''rchive '''o'''f '''O'''ur '''O'''wn, or AOOO). It's nonsensical to describe this site as having a precipitation discriminator.{{Citation needed}}<br /> |-<br /> | SLP130=<br /> | {{w|Sea_level_pressure|Sea-level pressure}} is 1013.0 hPa (approx. 29.91 inHg). The equal sign signifies the end of the METAR.<br /> | &quot;SLP&quot; interpreted as abbreviation for sleepy, the numbers as a time, and the = sign as &quot;around&quot; (maybe confused with ≈)<br /> |-<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | NOTAM (title text)<br /> | Not part of a METAR report, but instead another aviation abbreviation. It stands for {{w|NOTAM|Notice to Air Missions}} (previously Notice to Airmen).<br /> | Parsed as &quot;not A.M.&quot;, indicating that a given time is to be interpreted as P.M. While AM and PM are indeed not used in aviation, as the comic says, they use a 24-hour clock system, not an &quot;A.M.-by-default&quot; 12-hour clock system.<br /> |}<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> <br /> :Decoding a METAR report:<br /> <br /> :[A METAR report is shown with annotations. The report is:]<br /> <br /> :&lt;code&gt;METAR KNYC 251600Z 18035G45KT 6SM VCFCFZVA +BLUP NOSIG LTG OHD A3808 RMK A02 SLP130=&lt;/code&gt;<br /> <br /> :[The annotations are:]<br /> <br /> :* &lt;code&gt;METAR&lt;/code&gt; &quot;METER&quot; (Usually misspelled)<br /> :* &lt;code&gt;KNYC&lt;/code&gt; Station ID<br /> :* &lt;code&gt;251600Z&lt;/code&gt; Time (25:16:002)<br /> :* &lt;code&gt;18035G45KT&lt;/code&gt; Wind speed has been 18,035 knots for a good 45 minutes now<br /> :* &lt;code&gt;6SM&lt;/code&gt; Observer is a size 6 small<br /> :* &lt;code&gt;VCFCFZVA&lt;/code&gt; Sorry, the station cat walked on the keyboard<br /> :* &lt;code&gt;+BLUP&lt;/code&gt; Weird noise the sky made earlier<br /> :* &lt;code&gt;NOSIG&lt;/code&gt; Observer has no significant other :(<br /> :* &lt;code&gt;LTG OHD&lt;/code&gt; We overheard someone saying there was lightning<br /> :* &lt;code&gt;A3808&lt;/code&gt; Hey look, an Airbus A380-800!<br /> :* &lt;code&gt;RMK&lt;/code&gt; Remarkable!<br /> :* &lt;code&gt;A02&lt;/code&gt; Fanfic Archive equipped with a precipitation sensor<br /> :* &lt;code&gt;SLP130=&lt;/code&gt; Observer got sleepy around 1:30<br /> <br /> ==Trivia==<br /> The actual last three KNYC METAR strings, that were generated at about the actual time of publication, were:<br /> KNYC 131651Z AUTO VRB03KT 10SM CLR M01/M14 A3066 RMK AO2 SLP374 T10061144 $<br /> *''New York, Central Park : 13/Dec/2024, 16:51 UTC (11:51am local time) : Fully Automated Report : Variable wind, no more than 3 knots : 10 (or more) statute miles visibility : No clouds below 12,000 ft (3,700 m) : −1 °C (about 30 °F), dew point at −14 °C (about 7 °F) : Altimeter at 30.66 inHg (1038.3 hPa) : Precipitation discriminator present : Sea-level pressure at 1,037.4 hPa (30.63 inHg) : Temperature -0.6 °C (conversion from exactly 31 °F) , dew point -14.4 °C (from exactly 6 °F) : Maintenance check required (indicated by dollar sign)''<br /> KNYC 131751Z AUTO 10SM CLR 00/M16 A3066 RMK AO2 SLP374 T00001156 10000 21028 56006 $<br /> *''New York, Central Park : 13/Dec/2024, 17:51 UTC (12:51pm local time) : Fully Automated Report : (no wind measured) : 10 (or more) statute miles visibility : No clouds below 12,000 ft (3,700 m) : 0 °C (about 32 °F), dew point at −16 °C (about 3 °F) : Altimeter at 30.66 inHg (1038.3 hPa) : Precipitation discriminator present : Sea-level pressure at 1,037.4 hPa (30.63inHg) : Temperature ±0.00 °C (from exactly 32 °F), dew point -15.6 °C (from exactly 4 °F) : 6 hour maximum 0.00 °C (32 °F) : 6 hour minimum -10.28 °C (from 13.5 °F) : 3 hour pressure tendency, falling by 0.6 millibars (0.018 inHg) : Maintenance check required''<br /> KNYC 131851Z AUTO 10SM CLR 00/M16 A3066 RMK AO2 SLP377 T00001156 $<br /> *''New York, Central Park : 13/Dec/2024, 18:51 UTC (1:51pm local time) : Fully Automated Report : (no wind measured) : 10 (or more) statute miles visibility : No clouds below 12,000 ft (3,700 m) : 0 °C (about 32 °F), dew point at −14 °C (about 7 °F) : Altimeter at 30.66 inHg (1038.3 hPa) : Precipitation discriminator present : Sea-level pressure at 1,037.7 hPa (30.64 inHg) : Temperature -0.6 °C (from exactly 31 °F), dew point -15.6 °C (from exactly 4 °F) : Maintenance check required ''<br /> <br /> &lt;!-- The nonsensical temperatures are likely due to the fact that the station is malfunctioning. The METARs report that the station needs maintenance, as indicated by the dollar sign. --&gt;<br /> <br /> &lt;!-- If the comic's message is based off of some pre-existing METARS message, it may be from 25/Nov/2024, which is before the KNYC 291351Z messge that is the earliest I can currently retrieve. Would still be interesting to get KNYC 251551Z and KNYC 251651Z, though, for November, and give it the same treatment. --&gt;<br /> <br /> &lt;!-- On the other hand, probably intended to be 25/Dec/2024 (and hence technically a 'Christmas comic', in all but name?), but of course it's not easy to get the actual (neighbouring) METAR messages for then, yet. If you can, I'd please also like to know the Lottery numbers (and *which* Lottery you're giving me). But perhaps consider this a placeholder request for the Christmas Day message(s) to be supplied here, as and when? --&gt;<br /> <br /> ==References==<br /> {{reflist}}<br /> [https://e6bx.com/metar-decoder/ ''Actual'' Metar Decoder]<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Weather]]<br /> [[Category:Aviation]]<br /> [[Category:Emoji]]</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3024:_METAR&diff=359376 2024-12-13T20:03:29Z

<p>Rustykid52: /* References */</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3024<br /> | date = December 13, 2024<br /> | title = METAR<br /> | image = metar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 640x360px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = In the aviation world, they don't use AM/PM times. Instead, all times are assumed to be AM unless they're labeled NOTAM.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by an A380 - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> In aviation, the METAR report is used to give pilots a brief overview of the current meteorological conditions at the airport.<br /> The METAR follows a specific structure and makes heavy usage of abbreviations, which makes it hard to read for anyone not familiar with it.<br /> The comic makes fun of that by assuming meaning of the words based on what non-aviation people might think the different elements of the METAR report may represent.<br /> <br /> {| class=&quot;wikitable&quot;<br /> |-<br /> ! Code !! Real Meaning !! According to the comic<br /> |-<br /> | METAR<br /> | Type: METAR Meteorological Aerodrome Report<br /> | The comic assumes that this is just a spelling error and it should be &quot;meter&quot;<br /> |-<br /> | KNYC<br /> | Station ID: 4 character ICAO airport identifier; in this instance the general area code for New York City (not an actual airport, but a weather station for general observations in the New York area)<br /> | Radio station, likely parodying WNYC radio<br /> |-<br /> | 251600Z<br /> | Time of observation: 25th day of the month at 4 PM UTC. Z is not part of the time, but simply shorthand for GMT.<br /> | Misreading the &quot;Z&quot; as a 2, resulting in a nonsensical time. Hours greater than 24 are sometimes used to indicate a time after midnight, e.g. in Japan 17~25h means from 5 P.M. to 1 A.M. the following day.<br /> |-<br /> | 18035G45KT<br /> | Wind Direction and Speed: Wind Direction: 180 Speed: 35KT, Gusts: 45KT<br /> | Instead of interpreting the first 5 digits as direction and speed, it is assumed that it is one number (with three decimal digits) and the G45 stands for the time span in which this was observed with &quot;G&quot; standing for &quot;good&quot;<br /> |-<br /> | 6SM<br /> | In weather reports related to aviaion, &quot;6SM&quot; stands for 6 Statute Miles, meaning that objects can be seen clearly up to 6 miles away.&lt;ref&gt;https://weather.cod.edu/notes/metar.html#:~:text=6SM%2DVisibility,SM)%20up%20to%2010%20SM.&lt;/ref&gt; It typically indicates clear weather.<br /> | The comic interprets &quot;6SM&quot; to humorously mean a &quot;Size '''6 Sm'''all&quot;.<br /> |-<br /> | VCFCFZVA<br /> | In the vicinity(VC) Funnel cloud(FC) Freezing(FZ) Volcanic ash(VA)<br /> | A riff on the repeated letters which give off the impression the string is constructed by typing randomly on the keyboard. All the letters are near each other at the lower left of the keyboard (S, D, and X are somehow avoided).<br /> |-<br /> | +BLUP<br /> | Heavy(+) Blowing(BL) Unknown precipitation(UP)<br /> | Riffing on how it looks like a onomatopoetic word<br /> |-<br /> | NOSIG<br /> | No significant change is expected to the reported conditions within the next 2 hours<br /> | The comic assumes that the transmitter of the METAR report wants the receivers to know that they do not have a significant other, which the comic finds sad.<br /> |-<br /> | LTG OHD<br /> | Lightning Overhead <br /> | &quot;Overheard&quot; instead of &quot;overhead&quot;<br /> |-<br /> | A3808<br /> | Altimeter setting: Air pressure is 38.08 inches of mercury<br /> | The comic says that the observer saw an {{w|Airbus_A380|Airbus A380-800}} (note: the {{w|List_of_ICAO_aircraft_type_designators|ICAO aircraft type code}} for the Airbus A380-800 is A388 and not A3808)<br /> |-<br /> | RMK<br /> | Beginning of the section with Remarks<br /> | Remarkable. Might be a comment about the A380.<br /> |-<br /> | AO2<br /> | The weather station is automated (A) and has a precipitation discriminator (O2)<br /> | Reference to the fanfic site [https://archiveofourown.org/ Archive of Our Own], often abbreviated as AO3<br /> |-<br /> | SLP130=<br /> | {{w|Sea_level_pressure|Sea-Level Pressure}} is 1013.0 hPa (approx. 29.91 inHg). The equal sign signifies the end of the METAR.<br /> | &quot;SLP&quot; interpreted as abbreviation for &quot;'''sl'''ee'''p'''y&quot;, the numbers as a time and the = sign as &quot;around&quot; (maybe confused with ≈)<br /> |-<br /> | NOTAM (title text)<br /> | Not part of a METAR report, but instead another aviation abbreviation. It stands for {{w|NOTAM|Notice to Air Missions}}.<br /> | Parsed as &quot;not A.M.&quot;, indicating that a given time is to be interpreted as P.M.<br /> |}<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> ==References==<br /> {{reflist}}<br /> [https://e6bx.com/metar-decoder/ Metar Decoder]<br /> {{comic discussion}}</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3024:_METAR&diff=359368 2024-12-13T19:54:31Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3024<br /> | date = December 13, 2024<br /> | title = METAR<br /> | image = metar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 640x360px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = In the aviation world, they don't use AM/PM times. Instead, all times are assumed to be AM unless they're labeled NOTAM.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by an A380 - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> In aviation, the METAR report is used to give pilots a brief overview of the current meteorological conditions at the airport.<br /> The METAR follows a specific structure and makes heavy usage of abbreviations, which makes it hard to read for anyone not familiar with it.<br /> The comic makes fun of that by assuming meaning of the words based on what non-aviation people might think the different elements of the METAR report may represent.<br /> <br /> {| class=&quot;wikitable&quot;<br /> |-<br /> ! Code !! Real Meaning !! According to the comic<br /> |-<br /> | METAR<br /> | Type: METAR Meteorological Aerodrome Report<br /> | The comic assumes that this is just a spelling error and it should be &quot;meter&quot;<br /> |-<br /> | KNYC<br /> | Station ID: 4 character ICAO airport identifier; in this instance the general area code for New York City (not an actual airport, but a weather station for general observations in the New York area)<br /> | Radio station, likely parodying WNYC radio<br /> |-<br /> | 251600Z<br /> | Time of observation: 25th day of the month at 4 PM UTC. Z is not part of the time, but simply shorthand for GMT.<br /> | Misreading the &quot;Z&quot; as a 2, resulting in a nonsensical time. Hours greater than 24 are sometimes used to indicate a time after midnight, e.g. in Japan 17~25h means from 5 P.M. to 1 A.M. the following day.<br /> |-<br /> | 18035G45KT<br /> | Wind Direction and Speed: Wind Direction: 180 Speed: 35KT, Gusts: 45KT<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 6SM<br /> | In weather reports related to aviaion, &quot;6SM&quot; stands for 6 Statute Miles, meaning that objects can be seen clearly up to 6 miles away.&lt;ref&gt;https://weather.cod.edu/notes/metar.html#:~:text=6SM%2DVisibility,SM)%20up%20to%2010%20SM.&lt;/ref&gt; It typically indicates clear weather.<br /> | The comic interprets &quot;6SM&quot; to humorously mean a &quot;Size '''6 Sm'''all&quot;.<br /> |-<br /> | VCFCFZVA<br /> | In the vicinity(VC) Funnel cloud(FC) Freezing(FZ) Volcanic ash(VA)<br /> | A riff on the repeated letters which give off the impression the string is constructed by banging on the keyboard<br /> |-<br /> | +BLUP<br /> | Heavy(+) Blowing(BL) Unknown precipitation(UP)<br /> | Riffing on how it looks like a onomatopoetic word<br /> |-<br /> | NOSIG<br /> | No significant change is expected to the reported conditions within the next 2 hours<br /> | The Comic says that the observer has no significant other<br /> |-<br /> | LTG OHD<br /> | Lightning Overhead <br /> | &quot;Overheard&quot; instead of &quot;overhead&quot;<br /> |-<br /> | A3808<br /> | Altimeter setting: Air pressure is 38.08 inches of mercury<br /> | Comic says that they saw an Airbus A308-800<br /> |-<br /> | RMK<br /> | Remarks<br /> | Comic says it stands for remarkable<br /> |-<br /> | AO2<br /> | The weather station is automated (A) and has a precipitation discriminator (O2)<br /> | Reference to the fanfic site [https://archiveofourown.org/ Archive of Our Own], often abbreviated as AO3<br /> |-<br /> | SLP130=<br /> | Sea-Level Pressure is 1013.0 hPa (approx. 29.91 inHg). The equal sign signifies the end of the METAR.<br /> | &quot;SLP&quot; interpreted as abbreviation for &quot;a'''sl'''ee'''p'''&quot;, the numbers as a time and the = sign as &quot;around&quot; (maybe confused with ≈)<br /> |-<br /> | NOTAM (title text)<br /> | Not part of a METAR report, but instead another aviation abbreviation. It stands for {{w|NOTAM|Notice to Air Missions}}.<br /> | Parsed as &quot;not A.M.&quot;, indicating that a given time is to be interpreted as P.M.<br /> |}<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> ==References==<br /> {{reflist}}<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3024:_METAR&diff=359367 2024-12-13T19:52:57Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3024<br /> | date = December 13, 2024<br /> | title = METAR<br /> | image = metar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 640x360px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = In the aviation world, they don't use AM/PM times. Instead, all times are assumed to be AM unless they're labeled NOTAM.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by an A380 - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> In aviation, the METAR report is used to give pilots a brief overview of the current meteorological conditions at the airport.<br /> The METAR follows a specific structure and makes heavy usage of abbreviations, which makes it hard to read for anyone not familiar with it.<br /> The comic makes fun of that by assuming meaning of the words based on what non-aviation people might think the different elements of the METAR report may represent.<br /> <br /> {| class=&quot;wikitable&quot;<br /> |-<br /> ! Code !! Real Meaning !! According to the comic<br /> |-<br /> | METAR<br /> | Type: METAR Meteorological Aerodrome Report<br /> | The comic assumes that this is just a spelling error and it should be &quot;meter&quot;<br /> |-<br /> | KNYC<br /> | Station ID: 4 character ICAO airport identifier; in this instance the general area code for New York City (not an actual airport, but a weather station for general observations in the New York area)<br /> | Radio station, likely parodying WNYC radio<br /> |-<br /> | 251600Z<br /> | Time of observation: 25th day of the month at 4 PM UTC. Z is not part of the time, but simply shorthand for GMT.<br /> | Misreading the &quot;Z&quot; as a 2, resulting in a nonsensical time. Hours greater than 24 are sometimes used to indicate a time after midnight, e.g. in Japan 17~25h means from 5 P.M. to 1 A.M. the following day.<br /> |-<br /> | 18035G45KT<br /> | Wind Direction and Speed: Wind Direction: 180 Speed: 35KT, Gusts: 45KT<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 6SM<br /> | In weather reports related to aviaion, &quot;6SM&quot; stands for 6 Statute Miles, meaning that objects can be seen clearly up to 6 miles away.&lt;ref&gt;https://weather.cod.edu/notes/metar.html#:~:text=6SM%2DVisibility,SM)%20up%20to%2010%20SM.&lt;/ref&gt; It typically indicates clear weather.<br /> | The comic interprets &quot;6SM&quot; to humorously mean a &quot;Size '''6 Sm'''all&quot;.<br /> |-<br /> | VCFCFZVA<br /> | In the vicinity(VC) Funnel cloud(FC) Freezing(FZ) Volcanic ash(VA)<br /> | A riff on the repeated letters which give off the impression the string is constructed by banging on the keyboard<br /> |-<br /> | +BLUP<br /> | Heavy(+) Blowing(BL) Unknown precipitation(UP)<br /> | Riffing on how it looks like a onomatopoetic word<br /> |-<br /> | NOSIG<br /> | No significant change is expected to the reported conditions within the next 2 hours<br /> | The Comic says that the observer has no significant other<br /> |-<br /> | LTG OHD<br /> | Lightning Overhead <br /> | &quot;Overheard&quot; instead of &quot;overhead&quot;<br /> |-<br /> | A3808<br /> | Altimeter setting: Air pressure is 38.08 inches of mercury<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | RMK<br /> | Remarks<br /> | Comic says it stands for remarkable<br /> |-<br /> | AO2<br /> | The weather station is automated (A) and has a precipitation discriminator (O2)<br /> | Reference to the fanfic site [https://archiveofourown.org/ Archive of Our Own], often abbreviated as AO3<br /> |-<br /> | SLP130=<br /> | Sea-Level Pressure is 1013.0 hPa (approx. 29.91 inHg). The equal sign signifies the end of the METAR.<br /> | &quot;SLP&quot; interpreted as abbreviation for &quot;a'''sl'''ee'''p'''&quot;, the numbers as a time and the = sign as &quot;around&quot; (maybe confused with ≈)<br /> |-<br /> | NOTAM (title text)<br /> | Not part of a METAR report, but instead another aviation abbreviation. It stands for {{w|NOTAM|Notice to Air Missions}}.<br /> | Parsed as &quot;not A.M.&quot;, indicating that a given time is to be interpreted as P.M.<br /> |}<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> ==References==<br /> {{reflist}}<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3024:_METAR&diff=359366 2024-12-13T19:52:24Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3024<br /> | date = December 13, 2024<br /> | title = METAR<br /> | image = metar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 640x360px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = In the aviation world, they don't use AM/PM times. Instead, all times are assumed to be AM unless they're labeled NOTAM.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by an A380 - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> In aviation, the METAR report is used to give pilots a brief overview of the current meteorological conditions at the airport.<br /> The METAR follows a specific structure and makes heavy usage of abbreviations, which makes it hard to read for anyone not familiar with it.<br /> The comic makes fun of that by assuming meaning of the words based on what non-aviation people might think the different elements of the METAR report may represent.<br /> <br /> {| class=&quot;wikitable&quot;<br /> |-<br /> ! Code !! Real Meaning !! According to the comic<br /> |-<br /> | METAR<br /> | Type: METAR Meteorological Aerodrome Report<br /> | The comic assumes that this is just a spelling error and it should be &quot;meter&quot;<br /> |-<br /> | KNYC<br /> | Station ID: 4 character ICAO airport identifier; in this instance the general area code for New York City (not an actual airport, but a weather station for general observations in the New York area)<br /> | Radio station, likely parodying WNYC radio<br /> |-<br /> | 251600Z<br /> | Time of observation: 25th day of the month at 4 PM UTC. Z is not part of the time, but simply shorthand for GMT.<br /> | Misreading the &quot;Z&quot; as a 2, resulting in a nonsensical time. Hours greater than 24 are sometimes used to indicate a time after midnight, e.g. in Japan 17~25h means from 5 P.M. to 1 A.M. the following day.<br /> |-<br /> | 18035G45KT<br /> | Wind Direction and Speed: Wind Direction: 180 Speed: 35KT, Gusts: 45KT<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 6SM<br /> | In weather reports related to aviaion, &quot;6SM&quot; stands for 6 Statute Miles, meaning that objects can be seen clearly up to 6 miles away.&lt;ref&gt;https://weather.cod.edu/notes/metar.html#:~:text=6SM%2DVisibility,SM)%20up%20to%2010%20SM.&lt;/ref&gt; It typically indicates clear weather.<br /> | The comic interprets &quot;6SM&quot; to humorously mean a &quot;Size '''6 Sm'''all&quot;.<br /> |-<br /> | VCFCFZVA<br /> | In the vicinity(VC) Funnel cloud(FC) Freezing(FZ) Volcanic ash(VA)<br /> | A riff on the repeated letters which give off the impression the string is constructed by banging on the keyboard<br /> |-<br /> | +BLUP<br /> | Heavy(+) Blowing(BL) Unknown precipitation(UP)<br /> | Riffing on how it looks like a onomatopoetic word<br /> |-<br /> | NOSIG<br /> | No significant change is expected to the reported conditions within the next 2 hours<br /> | The Comic says that the person has no significant other<br /> |-<br /> | LTG OHD<br /> | Lightning Overhead <br /> | &quot;Overheard&quot; instead of &quot;overhead&quot;<br /> |-<br /> | A3808<br /> | Altimeter setting: Air pressure is 38.08 inches of mercury<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | RMK<br /> | Remarks<br /> | Comic says it stands for remarkable<br /> |-<br /> | AO2<br /> | The weather station is automated (A) and has a precipitation discriminator (O2)<br /> | Reference to the fanfic site [https://archiveofourown.org/ Archive of Our Own], often abbreviated as AO3<br /> |-<br /> | SLP130=<br /> | Sea-Level Pressure is 1013.0 hPa (approx. 29.91 inHg). The equal sign signifies the end of the METAR.<br /> | &quot;SLP&quot; interpreted as abbreviation for &quot;a'''sl'''ee'''p'''&quot;, the numbers as a time and the = sign as &quot;around&quot; (maybe confused with ≈)<br /> |-<br /> | NOTAM (title text)<br /> | Not part of a METAR report, but instead another aviation abbreviation. It stands for {{w|NOTAM|Notice to Air Missions}}.<br /> | Parsed as &quot;not A.M.&quot;, indicating that a given time is to be interpreted as P.M.<br /> |}<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> ==References==<br /> {{reflist}}<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3024:_METAR&diff=359365 2024-12-13T19:48:12Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>&lt;!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--&gt;<br /> OMG RANDALL ADDED AN AO3 REFERENCE '''[[User:42.book.addict|&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:9pt;color:#A9C6CA&quot;&gt;42.book.addict&lt;/span&gt;]]&lt;sup&gt;[[User talk:42.book.addict|&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:6pt;color:#516874&quot;&gt;Talk to me!&lt;/span&gt;]]&lt;/sup&gt;''' 19:43, 13 December 2024 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I love the things I learn from these things[[User:Rustykid52|Rustykid52]] ([[User talk:Rustykid52|talk]]) 19:48, 13 December 2024 (UTC)</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3024:_METAR&diff=359353 2024-12-13T19:39:22Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3024<br /> | date = December 13, 2024<br /> | title = METAR<br /> | image = metar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 640x360px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = In the aviation world, they don't use AM/PM times. Instead, all times are assumed to be AM unless they're labeled NOTAM.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by an A380 - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> {| class=&quot;wikitable&quot;<br /> |-<br /> ! Code !! Real Meaning !! According to the comic<br /> |-<br /> | METAR<br /> | Type: METAR Meteorological Aerodrome Report<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | KNYC<br /> | Station ID: 4 character ICAO airport identifier; in this instance John F Kennedy Airport<br /> | Radio station, likely parodying WNYC radio<br /> |-<br /> | 251600Z<br /> | Time of observation: 25th day of the month at 4 PM UTC. Z is not part of the time, but simply shorthand for GMT.<br /> | Misreading the &quot;Z&quot; as a 2.<br /> |-<br /> | 18035G45KT<br /> | Wind Direction and Speed: Wind Direction: 180 Speed: 35KT, Gusts: 45KT<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 6SM<br /> | In weather reports related to aviaion, &quot;6SM&quot; stands for 6 Statute Miles, meaning that objects can be seen clearly up to 6 miles away. &lt;ref&gt;https://weather.cod.edu/notes/metar.html#:~:text=6SM%2DVisibility,SM)%20up%20to%2010%20SM.&lt;/ref&gt; It typically indicates clear weather.<br /> | The comic interprets &quot;6SM&quot; to humorously mean a &quot;Size '''6 Sm'''all&quot;.<br /> |-<br /> | VCFCFZVA<br /> | In the vicinity(VC) Funnel cloud(FC) Freezing(FZ) Volcanic ash(VA)<br /> | A riff on the repeated letters which give off the impression the string is constructed by banging on the keyboard<br /> |-<br /> | +BLUP<br /> | Heavy(+) Blowing(BL) Unknown precipitation(UP)<br /> | Riffing on how it looks like a onomatopoetic word<br /> |-<br /> | NOSIG<br /> | No significant change is expected to the reported conditions within the next 2 hours<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | LTG OHD<br /> | Lightning Overhead <br /> | &quot;Overheard&quot; instead of &quot;overhead&quot;<br /> |-<br /> | A3808<br /> | Altimeter setting: Air pressure is 38.08 inches of mercury<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | RMK<br /> | Remarks<br /> | Comic says it stands for remarkable<br /> |-<br /> | AO2<br /> | The weather station is automated (A) and has a precipitation discriminator (O2)<br /> | Reference to the fanfic site [https://archiveofourown.org/ Archive of Our Own], often abbreviated AO3<br /> |-<br /> | SLP130=<br /> | Sea-Level Pressure is 1013.0 hPa (approx. 29.91 inHg). The equal sign signifies the end of the METAR.<br /> |the comic says that the person making this started to fall asleep at 1:30<br /> |-<br /> | NOTAM (title text)<br /> | Not part of a METAR report, but instead another aviation abbreviation. It stands for {{w|NOTAM|Notice to Air Missions}}.<br /> | Parsed as &quot;not A.M.&quot;, indicating that a given time is to be interpreted as P.M.<br /> |}<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3024:_METAR&diff=359349 2024-12-13T19:35:22Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3024<br /> | date = December 13, 2024<br /> | title = METAR<br /> | image = metar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 640x360px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = In the aviation world, they don't use AM/PM times. Instead, all times are assumed to be AM unless they're labeled NOTAM.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by an A380 - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> {| class=&quot;wikitable&quot;<br /> |-<br /> ! Code !! Real Meaning !! According to the comic<br /> |-<br /> | METAR<br /> | Type: METAR Meteorological Aerodrome Report<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | KNYC<br /> | Station ID: 4 character ICAO airport identifier; in this instance John F Kennedy Airport<br /> | Radio station, likely parodying WNYC radio<br /> |-<br /> | 251600Z<br /> | Time of observation: 25th day of the month at 4 PM UTC<br /> | Z is not part of the time, but simply shorthand for GMT<br /> |-<br /> | 18035G45KT<br /> | Wind Direction and Speed: Wind Direction: 180 Speed: 35KT, Gusts: 45KT<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 65M<br /> | In weather reports related to aviaion, &quot;6SM&quot; stands for 6 Statute Miles, meaning that objects can be seen clearly up to 6 miles away. &lt;ref&gt;https://weather.cod.edu/notes/metar.html#:~:text=6SM%2DVisibility,SM)%20up%20to%2010%20SM.&lt;/ref&gt; It typically indicates clear weather.<br /> | The comic interprets &quot;6SM&quot; to humorously mean a &quot;Size '''6 Sm'''all&quot;.<br /> |-<br /> | VCFCFZVA<br /> | In the vicinity(VC) Funnel cloud(FC) Freezing(FZ) Volcanic ash(VA)<br /> | A riff on the repeated letters which give off the impression the string is constructed by banging on the keyboard<br /> |-<br /> | +BLUP<br /> | Heavy(+) Blowing(BL) Unknown precipitation(UP)<br /> | Riffing on how it looks like a onomatopoeiac word<br /> |-<br /> | NOSIG<br /> | No significant change is expected to the reported conditions within the next 2 hours<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | LTG OHD<br /> | Lightning Overhead <br /> | &quot;Overheard&quot; instead of &quot;overhead&quot;<br /> |-<br /> | A3808<br /> | Altimeter setting: Air pressure is 38.08 inches of mercury<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | RMK<br /> | Remarks<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | AO2<br /> | The weather station is automated (A) and has a precipitation discriminator (O2)<br /> | Reference to the fanfic site [https://archiveofourown.org/ Archive of Our Own], often abbreviated AO3<br /> |-<br /> | SLP130=<br /> | <br /> |the comic says that the person making this started to fall asleep at 1:30<br /> |-<br /> | NOTAM (title text)<br /> | Not part of a METAR report, but instead another aviation abbreviation. It stands for {{w|NOTAM|Notice to Air Missions}}.<br /> | Parsed as &quot;not A.M.&quot;, indicating that a given time is to be interpreted as P.M.<br /> |}<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3024:_METAR&diff=359344 2024-12-13T19:30:50Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3024<br /> | date = December 13, 2024<br /> | title = METAR<br /> | image = metar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 640x360px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = In the aviation world, they don't use AM/PM times. Instead, all times are assumed to be AM unless they're labeled NOTAM.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by an A380 - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> {| class=&quot;wikitable&quot;<br /> |-<br /> ! Code !! Real Meaning !! According to the comic<br /> |-<br /> | METAR<br /> | Type: METAR Meteorological Aerodrome Report<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | KNYC<br /> | Station ID: 4 character ICAO airport identifier<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 251600Z<br /> | Time of observation: 25th day of the month at 4 PM UTC<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 18035G45KT<br /> | Wind Direction and Speed: Wind Direction: 180 Speed: 35KT, Gusts: 45KT<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 65M<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | VCFCFZVA<br /> | In the vicinity(VC) Funnel cloud(FC) Freezing(FZ) Volcanic ash(VA)<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | +BLUP<br /> | Heavy(+) Blowing(BL) Unknown precipitation(UP)<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | NOSIG<br /> | No significant change is expected to the reported conditions within the next 2 hours<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | LGT OHD<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | A3808<br /> | Altimeter setting: Air pressure is 38.08 inches of mercury<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | RMK<br /> | Remarks<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | AO2<br /> | The weather station is automated (A) and has a precipitation discriminator (O2)<br /> | Reference to the fanfic site [https://archiveofourown.org/ Archive of Our Own], often abbreviated AO3<br /> |-<br /> | SLP130=<br /> | <br /> |<br /> |-<br /> | NOTAM (title text)<br /> | Not part of a METAR report, but instead another aviation abbreviation. It stands for {{w|NOTAM|Notice to Air Missions}}.<br /> | Parsed as &quot;not A.M.&quot;, indicating that a given time is to be interpreted as P.M.<br /> |}<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3024:_METAR&diff=359343 2024-12-13T19:30:26Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3024<br /> | date = December 13, 2024<br /> | title = METAR<br /> | image = metar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 640x360px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = In the aviation world, they don't use AM/PM times. Instead, all times are assumed to be AM unless they're labeled NOTAM.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by an A380 - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> {| class=&quot;wikitable&quot;<br /> |-<br /> ! Code !! Real Meaning !! According to the comic<br /> |-<br /> | METAR<br /> | Type: METAR Meteorological Aerodrome Report<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | KNYC<br /> | Station ID: 4 character ICAO airport identifier<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 251600Z<br /> | Time of observation: 25th day of the month at 4 PM UTC<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 18035G45KT<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 65M<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | VCFCFZVA<br /> | In the vicinity(VC) Funnel cloud(FC) Freezing(FZ) Volcanic ash(VA)<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | +BLUP<br /> | Heavy(+) Blowing(BL) Unknown precipitation(UP)<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | NOSIG<br /> | No significant change is expected to the reported conditions within the next 2 hours<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | LGT OHD<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | A3808<br /> | Altimeter setting: Air pressure is 38.08 inches of mercury<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | RMK<br /> | Remarks<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | AO2<br /> | The weather station is automated (A) and has a precipitation discriminator (O2)<br /> | Reference to the fanfic site [https://archiveofourown.org/ Archive of Our Own], often abbreviated AO3<br /> |-<br /> | SLP130=<br /> | <br /> |<br /> |-<br /> | NOTAM (title text)<br /> | Not part of a METAR report, but instead another aviation abbreviation. It stands for {{w|NOTAM|Notice to Air Missions}}.<br /> | Parsed as &quot;not A.M.&quot;, indicating that a given time is to be interpreted as P.M.<br /> |}<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3024:_METAR&diff=359341 2024-12-13T19:30:04Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3024<br /> | date = December 13, 2024<br /> | title = METAR<br /> | image = metar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 640x360px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = In the aviation world, they don't use AM/PM times. Instead, all times are assumed to be AM unless they're labeled NOTAM.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by an A380 - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> {| class=&quot;wikitable&quot;<br /> |-<br /> ! Code !! Real Meaning !! According to the comic<br /> |-<br /> | METAR<br /> | Type: METAR Meteorological Aerodrome Report<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | KNYC<br /> | Station ID: 4 character ICAO airport identifier<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 251600Z<br /> | Time of observation: 25th day of the month at 4 PM UTC<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 18035G45KT<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 65M<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | VCFCFZVA<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | +BLUP<br /> | Heavy(+) Blowing(BL) Unknown precipitation(UP)<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | NOSIG<br /> | No significant change is expected to the reported conditions within the next 2 hours<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | LGT OHD<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | A3808<br /> | Altimeter setting: Air pressure is 38.08 inches of mercury<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | RMK<br /> | Remarks<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | A02<br /> | Automated station with precipitation discriminator<br /> | Reference to the fanfic site [https://archiveofourown.org/ Archive of Our Own], often abbreviated AO3<br /> |-<br /> | SLP130=<br /> | <br /> |<br /> |-<br /> | NOTAM (title text)<br /> | Not part of a METAR report, but instead another aviation abbreviation. It stands for {{w|NOTAM|Notice to Air Missions}}.<br /> | Parsed as &quot;not A.M.&quot;, indicating that a given time is to be interpreted as P.M.<br /> |}<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3024:_METAR&diff=359340 2024-12-13T19:29:44Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3024<br /> | date = December 13, 2024<br /> | title = METAR<br /> | image = metar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 640x360px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = In the aviation world, they don't use AM/PM times. Instead, all times are assumed to be AM unless they're labeled NOTAM.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by an A380 - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> {| class=&quot;wikitable&quot;<br /> |-<br /> ! Code !! Real Meaning !! According to the comic<br /> |-<br /> | METAR<br /> | Type: METAR Meteorological Aerodrome Report<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | KNYC<br /> | Station ID: 4 character ICAO airport identifier<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 251600Z<br /> | Time of observation: 25th day of the month at 4 PM UTC<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 18035G45KT<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 65M<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | VCFCFZVA<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | +BLUP<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | NOSIG<br /> | No significant change is expected to the reported conditions within the next 2 hours<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | LGT OHD<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | A3808<br /> | Altimeter setting: Air pressure is 38.08 inches of mercury<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | RMK<br /> | Remarks<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | A02<br /> | Automated station with precipitation discriminator<br /> | Reference to the fanfic site [https://archiveofourown.org/ Archive of Our Own], often abbreviated AO3<br /> |-<br /> | SLP130=<br /> | <br /> |<br /> |-<br /> | NOTAM (title text)<br /> | Not part of a METAR report, but instead another aviation abbreviation. It stands for {{w|NOTAM|Notice to Air Missions}}.<br /> | Parsed as &quot;not A.M.&quot;, indicating that a given time is to be interpreted as P.M.<br /> |}<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3024:_METAR&diff=359339 2024-12-13T19:29:13Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3024<br /> | date = December 13, 2024<br /> | title = METAR<br /> | image = metar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 640x360px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = In the aviation world, they don't use AM/PM times. Instead, all times are assumed to be AM unless they're labeled NOTAM.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by an A380 - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> {| class=&quot;wikitable&quot;<br /> |-<br /> ! Code !! Real Meaning !! According to the comic<br /> |-<br /> | METAR<br /> | Type: METAR Meteorological Aerodrome Report<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | KNYC<br /> | Station ID: 4 character ICAO airport identifier<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 251600Z<br /> | Time of observation: 25th day of the month at 4 PM UTC<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 18035G45KT<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 65M<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | VCFCFZVA<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | +BLUP<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | NOSIG<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | LGT OHD<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | A3808<br /> | Altimeter setting<br /> Air pressure is 38.08 inches of mercury<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | RMK<br /> | Remarks<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | A02<br /> | Automated station with precipitation discriminator<br /> | Reference to the fanfic site [https://archiveofourown.org/ Archive of Our Own], often abbreviated AO3<br /> |-<br /> | SLP130=<br /> | <br /> |<br /> |-<br /> | NOTAM (title text)<br /> | Not part of a METAR report, but instead another aviation abbreviation. It stands for {{w|NOTAM|Notice to Air Missions}}.<br /> | Parsed as &quot;not A.M.&quot;, indicating that a given time is to be interpreted as P.M.<br /> |}<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3024:_METAR&diff=359338 2024-12-13T19:28:53Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3024<br /> | date = December 13, 2024<br /> | title = METAR<br /> | image = metar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 640x360px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = In the aviation world, they don't use AM/PM times. Instead, all times are assumed to be AM unless they're labeled NOTAM.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by an A380 - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> {| class=&quot;wikitable&quot;<br /> |-<br /> ! Code !! Real Meaning !! According to the comic<br /> |-<br /> | METAR<br /> | Type: METAR Meteorological Aerodrome Report<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | KNYC<br /> | Station ID: 4 character ICAO airport identifier<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 251600Z<br /> | Time of observation: 25th day of the month at 4 PM UTC<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 18035G45KT<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 65M<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | VCFCFZVA<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | +BLUP<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | NOSIG<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | LGT OHD<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | A3808<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | RMK<br /> | Remarks<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | A02<br /> | Automated station with precipitation discriminator<br /> | Reference to the fanfic site [https://archiveofourown.org/ Archive of Our Own], often abbreviated AO3<br /> |-<br /> | SLP130=<br /> | <br /> |<br /> |-<br /> | NOTAM (title text)<br /> | Not part of a METAR report, but instead another aviation abbreviation. It stands for {{w|NOTAM|Notice to Air Missions}}.<br /> | Parsed as &quot;not A.M.&quot;, indicating that a given time is to be interpreted as P.M.<br /> |}<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3024:_METAR&diff=359337 2024-12-13T19:28:34Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3024<br /> | date = December 13, 2024<br /> | title = METAR<br /> | image = metar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 640x360px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = In the aviation world, they don't use AM/PM times. Instead, all times are assumed to be AM unless they're labeled NOTAM.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by an A380 - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> {| class=&quot;wikitable&quot;<br /> |-<br /> ! Code !! Real Meaning !! According to the comic<br /> |-<br /> | METAR<br /> | Type: METAR Meteorological Aerodrome Report<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | KNYC<br /> | Station ID: 4 character ICAO airport identifier<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 251600Z<br /> | Time of observation: 25th day of the month at 4 PM UTC<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 18035G45KT<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 65M<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | VCFCFZVA<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | +BLUP<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | NOSIG<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | LGT OHD<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | A3808<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | RMK<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | A02<br /> | Automated station with precipitation discriminator<br /> | Reference to the fanfic site [https://archiveofourown.org/ Archive of Our Own], often abbreviated AO3<br /> |-<br /> | SLP130=<br /> | <br /> |<br /> |-<br /> | NOTAM (title text)<br /> | Not part of a METAR report, but instead another aviation abbreviation. It stands for {{w|NOTAM|Notice to Air Missions}}.<br /> | Parsed as &quot;not A.M.&quot;, indicating that a given time is to be interpreted as P.M.<br /> |}<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3024:_METAR&diff=359334 2024-12-13T19:25:29Z

<p>Rustykid52: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3024<br /> | date = December 13, 2024<br /> | title = METAR<br /> | image = metar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 640x360px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = In the aviation world, they don't use AM/PM times. Instead, all times are assumed to be AM unless they're labeled NOTAM.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by an A380 - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> {| class=&quot;wikitable&quot;<br /> |-<br /> ! Code !! Real Meaning !! According to the comic<br /> |-<br /> | METAR<br /> | Type: METAR Meteorological Aerodrome Report<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | KNYC<br /> | Station ID: 4 character ICAO airport identifier<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 251600Z<br /> | Time of observation: 25th day of the month at 4 PM UTC<br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 18035G45KT<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | 65M<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | VCFCFZVA<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | +BLUP<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | NOSIG<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | LGT OHD<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | A3808<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | RMK<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | A02<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |-<br /> | SLP130=<br /> | <br /> | <br /> |}<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3019:_Advent_Calendar_Advent_Calendar&diff=359312 2024-12-13T16:16:54Z

<p>Rustykid52: fix mistake</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3019<br /> | date = December 2, 2024<br /> | title = Advent Calendar Advent Calendar<br /> | image = advent_calendar_advent_calendar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 482x324px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = The growth rate of items per day may may seem absurd, but it's actually much less than the acceleration in the 12 Days of Christmas song.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by 12 NERDS [https://fancyclopedia.org/Neeping A-NEEPING], 11 READERS BINGING, 10 CUEBALLS TALKING, 9 EDIT CONFLICTS, 8 RED-LINKED PAGES, 7 HARDCORE USERS, 6 [CITATIONS NEEDED], 5 WIIIIKIIII-LIIIINKS..., 4 COMIC STRIPS, 3 CALLBACKS, 2 TURTLE BOTS, AND A FUNNY XKCD - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag.}}<br /> {{w|Advent calendar}}s are a form of countdown to Christmas consisting of a card or structure with one closed &quot;window&quot;/opening for each day. Every day, another &quot;window&quot; is opened (e.g. a cardboard flap is opened along perforations), revealing a small present (traditionally, just a thematic picture or chocolate). While the religious season of {{w|Advent}} traditionally begins four Sundays before Christmas, most Advent calendars begin on December 1st for simplicity. In 2024, when this comic was published, the Advent season coincidentally starts on December 1st. Advent calendars usually have either 24 or 25 doors (ending on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day), depending on manufacturer's choice and/or local tradition. <br /> <br /> In this comic, Randall has devised an Advent calendar that contains multiple smaller Advent calendars, each of which contains the same number of items as there are days left until (and ''including'') Christmas Day. By the time he reaches Christmas, he will have 325 different items, or 350 if counting the sub-calendars. The calendar is shown as it might be on December 2&lt;sup&gt;nd&lt;/sup&gt;, the date of publication of this strip. The &quot;window&quot; in the upper left, presumed to be for the 1&lt;sup&gt;st&lt;/sup&gt; of December, has 25 sub-windows, of which two are open. (One would have been opened on December 1&lt;sup&gt;st&lt;/sup&gt; and the next for the day after.) The &quot;window&quot; 5&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; from the left in the bottom row, probably for December 2&lt;sup&gt;nd&lt;/sup&gt;, has 24 sub-windows, of which one (that for the initial 2&lt;sup&gt;nd&lt;/sup&gt;) is open.<br /> <br /> The title text refers to {{w|The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)|The Twelve Days of Christmas}}, a traditional Christmas carol in which the singer receives many gifts from their paramour for each day of the Twelve Days of Christmas. On day one, they receive one gift, and on day ''n'', they receive again all the gifts they received on day ''n-1'', plus ''n'' copies of a new gift. The exact gifts given each day vary by version of the song, receiving 78 gifts on day 12, for a total of 364 gifts. For the Advent calendar Advent calendar, each day a number of items equal to the number of days left until Christmas are added. There are 364 items total in the 12 Days of Christmas, the final day itself having exceeded the gifts of the nested calendars (the sub-gift count being 325, and regardless of the 25 calendars also being included). However the advent calendar uses 25 days rather than just 12, hence the song's acceleration in number of gifts each day is much higher. The title text says “may” twice, either mistakenly, or maybe on purpose since the comic's name has word duplication.<br /> <br /> The advent calendar's advent calendar gift total follows the {{w|triangular number}} sequence of all new gifts on a given day being one more than those the day before: on the first day, this is 1 (the first sub-gift of the first sub-calendar); on the second, we now have 3 (add two sub-gifts from two sub-calendars); on the third, we have 6 (three sub-gifts added), etc. The formula for the total on day ''n'' is &lt;table style=&quot;display: inline-table; line-height: 0.6em; vertical-align: middle; font-size:9pt; text-size-adjust: none;&quot;&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-decoration: underline&quot;&gt;''n''(''n''+1)&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center&quot;&gt;2&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;. For the Twelve Days song (which goes from the 25th of December to 5th of January), ''each day'' adds to the total the next ''triangular number'' in the sequence: +1=1, +3=4, +6=10, etc... The formula for this {{w|tetrahedral number}} (a 'pyramid of triangular numbers') is &lt;table style=&quot;display: inline-table; line-height: 0.6em; vertical-align: middle; font-size:9pt; text-size-adjust: none;&quot;&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-decoration: underline&quot;&gt;''n''(''n''+1)(''n''+2)&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center&quot;&gt;6&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;, and matches a triple-nested meta-Advent Calendar's non-calendar gift count. This already starts in a more rapid escalation of gift-giving, immediately after the first day where both counts are at one item. However, due to the later start of the Twelve Days, one would have to extend the gift-giving patterns to the 17th Day Of Christmas (and thus the 41st day of Advent) for the number of ''true love'' gifts (969) to properly overtake the continuing meta-calendar's ones, with (902) or without (861) counting the sub-calendars as gifts. (The number of ultimate gifts in any quadruple-nested Advent Calendar would be &lt;table style=&quot;display: inline-table; line-height: 0.6em; vertical-align: middle; font-size:9pt; text-size-adjust: none;&quot;&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-decoration: underline&quot;&gt;''n''(''n''+1)(''n''+2)(''n''+3)&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center&quot;&gt;24&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;, excluding all the calendars themselves.)<br /> <br /> It is not clear what is inside each sub-calendar. The typical filling would be chocolate, however it could also be possible that the advent calendar advent calendars had even more advent calendars within. That this is not the case is revealed in the title text as, if they were (and were run concurrently), the number of (sub-sub-)gifts would always equal those in the song.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> :[On a grey board, there are 23 Advent calendars behind large &quot;windows&quot;, numbered from 3 to 25, plus two open calendars with their covers torn off.]<br /> :[From top-left to bottom-right, the boxes are numbered as such: (opened), 14, 23, 16, 11, 3; 5, 24, 18, 7, 21; 10, 17, 4, 9, 22, 15, 12; 8, 20, 13, 25, (opened), 19, 6]<br /> :[Each calendar numbered ''n'' has 26−''n'' squares in it.]<br /> :[The open calendar on the top left has 25 squares, two of which are black. The other open calendar has 24 squares, one of which is black.]<br /> <br /> :[Caption below the panel:]<br /> :I like Advent calendars, so I got an Advent calendar that gives me a new one every day until Christmas.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Christmas]]<br /> [[Category:Calendar]]<br /> [[Category:Songs]]</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3019:_Advent_Calendar_Advent_Calendar&diff=359311 2024-12-13T16:15:14Z

<p>Rustykid52: fixing previous mistake</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3019<br /> | date = December 2, 2024<br /> | title = Advent Calendar Advent Calendar<br /> | image = advent_calendar_advent_calendar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 482x324px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = The growth rate of items per day may may seem absurd, but it's actually much less than the acceleration in the 12 Days of Christmas song.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by 12 NERDS [https://fancyclopedia.org/Neeping A-NEEPING], 11 READERS BINGING, 10 CUEBALLS TALKING, 9 EDIT CONFLICTS, 8 RED-LINKED PAGES, 7 HARDCORE USERS, 6 [CITATIONS NEEDED], 5 WIIIIKIIII-LIIIINKS..., 4 COMIC STRIPS, 3 CALLBACKS, 2 TURTLE BOTS, AND A FUNNY XKCD - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag.}}<br /> {{w|Advent calendar}}s are a form of countdown to Christmas consisting of a card or structure with one closed &quot;window&quot;/opening for each day. Every day, another &quot;window&quot; is opened (e.g. a cardboard flap is opened along perforations), revealing a small present (traditionally, just a thematic picture or chocolate). While the religious season of {{w|Advent}} traditionally begins four Sundays before Christmas, most Advent calendars begin on December 1st for simplicity. In 2024, when this comic was published, the Advent season coincidentally starts on December 1st. Advent calendars usually have either 24 or 25 doors (ending on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day), depending on manufacturer's choice and/or local tradition. <br /> <br /> In this comic, Randall has devised an Advent calendar that contains multiple smaller Advent calendars, each of which contains the same number of items as there are days left until (and ''including'') Christmas Day. By the time he reaches Christmas, he will have 325 different items, or 350 if counting the sub-calendars. The calendar is shown as it might be on December 2&lt;sup&gt;nd&lt;/sup&gt;, the date of publication of this strip. The &quot;window&quot; in the upper left, presumed to be for the 1&lt;sup&gt;st&lt;/sup&gt; of December, has 25 sub-windows, of which two are open. (One would have been opened on December 1&lt;sup&gt;st&lt;/sup&gt; and the next for the day after.) The &quot;window&quot; 5&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; from the left in the bottom row, probably for December 2&lt;sup&gt;nd&lt;/sup&gt;, has 24 sub-windows, of which one (that for the initial 2&lt;sup&gt;nd&lt;/sup&gt;) is open.<br /> <br /> The title text refers to {{w|The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)|The Twelve Days of Christmas}}, a traditional Christmas carol in which the singer receives many gifts from their paramour for each day of the Twelve Days of Christmas. On day one, they receive one gift, and on day ''n'', they receive again all the gifts they received on day ''n-1'', plus ''n'' copies of a new gift. The exact gifts given each day vary by version of the song, receiving 78 gifts on day 12, for a total of 364 gifts. For the Advent calendar Advent calendar, each day a number of items equal to the number of days left until Christmas are added. There are 364 items total in the 12 Days of Christmas, the final day itself having exceeded the gifts of the nested calendars (the sub-gift count being 325, and regardless of the 25 calendars also being included). However the advent calendar uses 25 days rather than just 12, hence the song's acceleration in number of gifts each day is much higher. The title text says “may” twice, either mistakenly, or maybe on purpose since the comic's name has word duplication.<br /> <br /> The advent calendar's advent calendar gift total follows the {{w|triangular number}} sequence of all new gifts on a given day being one more than those the day before: on the first day, this is 1 (the first sub-gift of the first sub-calendar); on the second, we now have 3 (add two sub-gifts from two sub-calendars); on the third, we have 6 (three sub-gifts added), etc. The formula for the total on day ''n'' is &lt;table style=&quot;display: inline-table; line-height: 0.6em; vertical-align: middle; font-size:9pt; text-size-adjust: none;&quot;&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-decoration: underline&quot;&gt;''n''(''n''+1)&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center&quot;&gt;2&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;. For the Twelve Days song (which goes from the 25th of December to 5th of January), ''each day'' adds to the total the next ''triangular number'' in the sequence: +1=1, +3=4, +6=10, etc... The formula for this {{w|tetrahedral number}} (a 'pyramid of triangular numbers') is &lt;table style=&quot;display: inline-table; line-height: 0.6em; vertical-align: middle; font-size:9pt; text-size-adjust: none;&quot;&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-decoration: underline&quot;&gt;''n''(''n''+1)(''n''+2)&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center&quot;&gt;6&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;, and matches a triple-nested meta-Advent Calendar's non-calendar gift count. This already starts in a more rapid escalation of gift-giving, immediately after the first day where both counts are at one item. However, due to the later start of the Twelve Days, one would have to extend the gift-giving patterns to the 17th Day Of Christmas (and thus the 41st day of Advent) for the number of ''true love'' gifts (969) to properly overtake the continuing meta-calendar's ones, with (902) or without (861) counting the sub-calendars as gifts. (The number of ultimate gifts in any quadruple-nested Advent Calendar would be &lt;table style=&quot;display: inline-table; line-height: 0.6em; vertical-align: middle; font-size:9pt; text-size-adjust: none;&quot;&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-decoration: underline&quot;&gt;''n''(''n''+1)(''n''+2)(''n''+3)&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center&quot;&gt;24&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;, excluding all the calendars themselves.)<br /> <br /> It is not clear what is inside each sub-calendar. The typical filling would be chocolate, however it could also be possible that the advent calendar advent calendars had even more advent calendars within. That this is not the case is revealed in the title text as, if they were (and were run concurrently), the number of (sub-sub-)gifts would always equal those in the song.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> :[On a grey board, there are 23 Advent calendars behind large &quot;windows&quot;, numbered from 3 to 25, plus two open calendars with their covers torn off.]<br /> :[From top-left to bottom-right, the boxes are numbered as such: (opened), 14, 23, 16, 11, 3; 5, 24, 18, 7, 21; 10, 17, 4, 9, 22, 15, 12; 8, 20, 13, 25, (opened), 19, 6]<br /> :[Each calendar numbered ''n'' has 26−''n'' squares in it.]<br /> :[The open calendar on the top left has 25 squares, two of which are black. The other open calendar has 24 squares, one of which is black.]<br /> <br /> :[Caption below the panel:]<br /> :I like Advent calendars, so I got an Advent calendar that gives me a new one every day until Christmas.<br /> <br /> :[Title text:]<br /> :The growth rate of items per day may may seem absurd, but it's actually much less than the acceleration in the 12 Days of Christmas song.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Christmas]]<br /> [[Category:Calendar]]<br /> [[Category:Songs]]</div>

Rustykid52 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3019:_Advent_Calendar_Advent_Calendar&diff=359310 2024-12-13T16:14:35Z

<p>Rustykid52: gave it the title text in the trainscript</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3019<br /> | date = December 2, 2024<br /> | title = Advent Calendar Advent Calendar<br /> | image = advent_calendar_advent_calendar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 482x324px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = The growth rate of items per day may may seem absurd, but it's actually much less than the acceleration in the 12 Days of Christmas song.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by 12 NERDS [https://fancyclopedia.org/Neeping A-NEEPING], 11 READERS BINGING, 10 CUEBALLS TALKING, 9 EDIT CONFLICTS, 8 RED-LINKED PAGES, 7 HARDCORE USERS, 6 [CITATIONS NEEDED], 5 WIIIIKIIII-LIIIINKS..., 4 COMIC STRIPS, 3 CALLBACKS, 2 TURTLE BOTS, AND A FUNNY XKCD - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag.}}<br /> {{w|Advent calendar}}s are a form of countdown to Christmas consisting of a card or structure with one closed &quot;window&quot;/opening for each day. Every day, another &quot;window&quot; is opened (e.g. a cardboard flap is opened along perforations), revealing a small present (traditionally, just a thematic picture or chocolate). While the religious season of {{w|Advent}} traditionally begins four Sundays before Christmas, most Advent calendars begin on December 1st for simplicity. In 2024, when this comic was published, the Advent season coincidentally starts on December 1st. Advent calendars usually have either 24 or 25 doors (ending on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day), depending on manufacturer's choice and/or local tradition. <br /> <br /> In this comic, Randall has devised an Advent calendar that contains multiple smaller Advent calendars, each of which contains the same number of items as there are days left until (and ''including'') Christmas Day. By the time he reaches Christmas, he will have 325 different items, or 350 if counting the sub-calendars. The calendar is shown as it might be on December 2&lt;sup&gt;nd&lt;/sup&gt;, the date of publication of this strip. The &quot;window&quot; in the upper left, presumed to be for the 1&lt;sup&gt;st&lt;/sup&gt; of December, has 25 sub-windows, of which two are open. (One would have been opened on December 1&lt;sup&gt;st&lt;/sup&gt; and the next for the day after.) The &quot;window&quot; 5&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; from the left in the bottom row, probably for December 2&lt;sup&gt;nd&lt;/sup&gt;, has 24 sub-windows, of which one (that for the initial 2&lt;sup&gt;nd&lt;/sup&gt;) is open.<br /> <br /> The title text refers to {{w|The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)|The Twelve Days of Christmas}}, a traditional Christmas carol in which the singer receives many gifts from their paramour for each day of the Twelve Days of Christmas. On day one, they receive one gift, and on day ''n'', they receive again all the gifts they received on day ''n-1'', plus ''n'' copies of a new gift. The exact gifts given each day vary by version of the song, receiving 78 gifts on day 12, for a total of 364 gifts. For the Advent calendar Advent calendar, each day a number of items equal to the number of days left until Christmas are added. There are 364 items total in the 12 Days of Christmas, the final day itself having exceeded the gifts of the nested calendars (the sub-gift count being 325, and regardless of the 25 calendars also being included). However the advent calendar uses 25 days rather than just 12, hence the song's acceleration in number of gifts each day is much higher. The title text says “may” twice, either mistakenly, or maybe on purpose since the comic's name has word duplication.<br /> <br /> The advent calendar's advent calendar gift total follows the {{w|triangular number}} sequence of all new gifts on a given day being one more than those the day before: on the first day, this is 1 (the first sub-gift of the first sub-calendar); on the second, we now have 3 (add two sub-gifts from two sub-calendars); on the third, we have 6 (three sub-gifts added), etc. The formula for the total on day ''n'' is &lt;table style=&quot;display: inline-table; line-height: 0.6em; vertical-align: middle; font-size:9pt; text-size-adjust: none;&quot;&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-decoration: underline&quot;&gt;''n''(''n''+1)&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center&quot;&gt;2&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;. For the Twelve Days song (which goes from the 25th of December to 5th of January), ''each day'' adds to the total the next ''triangular number'' in the sequence: +1=1, +3=4, +6=10, etc... The formula for this {{w|tetrahedral number}} (a 'pyramid of triangular numbers') is &lt;table style=&quot;display: inline-table; line-height: 0.6em; vertical-align: middle; font-size:9pt; text-size-adjust: none;&quot;&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-decoration: underline&quot;&gt;''n''(''n''+1)(''n''+2)&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center&quot;&gt;6&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;, and matches a triple-nested meta-Advent Calendar's non-calendar gift count. This already starts in a more rapid escalation of gift-giving, immediately after the first day where both counts are at one item. However, due to the later start of the Twelve Days, one would have to extend the gift-giving patterns to the 17th Day Of Christmas (and thus the 41st day of Advent) for the number of ''true love'' gifts (969) to properly overtake the continuing meta-calendar's ones, with (902) or without (861) counting the sub-calendars as gifts. (The number of ultimate gifts in any quadruple-nested Advent Calendar would be &lt;table style=&quot;display: inline-table; line-height: 0.6em; vertical-align: middle; font-size:9pt; text-size-adjust: none;&quot;&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-decoration: underline&quot;&gt;''n''(''n''+1)(''n''+2)(''n''+3)&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center&quot;&gt;24&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;, excluding all the calendars themselves.)<br /> <br /> It is not clear what is inside each sub-calendar. The typical filling would be chocolate, however it could also be possible that the advent calendar advent calendars had even more advent calendars within. That this is not the case is revealed in the title text as, if they were (and were run concurrently), the number of (sub-sub-)gifts would always equal those in the song.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> :[On a grey board, there are 23 Advent calendars behind large &quot;windows&quot;, numbered from 3 to 25, plus two open calendars with their covers torn off.]<br /> :[From top-left to bottom-right, the boxes are numbered as such: (opened), 14, 23, 16, 11, 3; 5, 24, 18, 7, 21; 10, 17, 4, 9, 22, 15, 12; 8, 20, 13, 25, (opened), 19, 6]<br /> :[Each calendar numbered ''n'' has 26−''n'' squares in it.]<br /> :[The open calendar on the top left has 25 squares, two of which are black. The other open calendar has 24 squares, one of which is black.]<br /> <br /> :[Caption below the panel:]<br /> :I like Advent calendars, so I got an Advent calendar that gives me a new one every day until Christmas.<br /> <br /> :[Title text:]<br /> The growth rate of items per day may may seem absurd, but it's actually much less than the acceleration in the 12 Days of Christmas song.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Christmas]]<br /> [[Category:Calendar]]<br /> [[Category:Songs]]</div>

Rustykid52