https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Ryan 2026-04-19T16:07:15Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.30.0 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1525:_Emojic_8_Ball&diff=93418 2015-05-15T19:49:03Z

<p>Ryan: added note regarding possible connection to Ryan North's Machine of Death</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 1525<br /> | date = May 15, 2015<br /> | title = Emojic 8 Ball<br /> | image = emojic 8 ball.png<br /> }}<br /> <br /> To experience the interactivity, visit the {{xkcd|1525|original comic}}.<br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|There may be issues with the purpose explained.}}<br /> Emojic 8 Ball is a type of parody of {{w|Magic 8 Ball}} using {{w|emoji}} instead of words. Whereas the real Magic 8 Ball is shaken while you ask it a question and gives out an answer along the lines of &quot;yes&quot;, &quot;no&quot;, or &quot;maybe&quot;, this comic takes written user input and once submitted gives a non-verbal answer using graphical {{w|Unicode}} &quot;text&quot; called emoji.<br /> <br /> It is possible that this may be commentary on the inclusion of such &quot;meaningless&quot; symbols into Unicode. Ask a question and get a meaningless reply, even more meaningless than the answers given by a Magic 8 Ball.<br /> <br /> It could also be commentary about the ambiguous nature of advice from fortune tellers, horoscopes, etc. Each emoji has an ambiguous meaning (for example, depending on context, the cow symbol 🐄 could refer to beef or farming). The interpretation has more to do with the person receiving the fortune than anything given by the so-called fortune reader.<br /> <br /> This may also be partially inspired by Ryan North's (of Dinosaur Comics) &quot;Machine of Death&quot;, a collection of short stories revolving around a machine that will tell people with 100% accuracy how they will die (though generally with extreme ambiguity).<br /> <br /> Emoji were previously referenced in [[1513: Code Quality]].<br /> <br /> &lt;small&gt;Note: if you see mostly squares (possibly with six numbers/letters inside) in the 8 Ball instead of actual symbols or pictures, it means your system doesn't have fonts that support the Emoji unicode characters. Scroll down to the comments below for suggestions on how to get and install the right font for your system, as well as to see a list of emoji characters so you can easily see if they're working or not.&lt;/small&gt;<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :Title: Emojic 8 Ball [with the 8 itself an emoji that looks like an 8-ball]<br /> :[Form input field with placeholder text]: How will I die?<br /> :[Submit button]: Ask<br /> :[Image of a shiny black ball with a smaller circular window at its center.]<br /> :[After the submit button is pressed, 1 to 3 emoji symbols appear in the window, framed inside a light blue triangle.]<br /> <br /> ==Trivia==<br /> <br /> * The 8-ball randomly returns between one and three emoji characters. The source code reveals there is 42.1% chance of getting one character, 52.6% chance of getting two characters, and 5.3% chance of getting three.<br /> * The source code contains 507 different emoji characters. For a full list of the supported characters, see [[1525:_Emojic_8_Ball/List_of_emoji|List of emoji]].<br /> * This is the second comic without title text. The first was [[1506: xkcloud]].<br /> * The page's source code says &quot;Sorry blind people. There is no title text, even. Just a text box, an &amp;quot;ask&amp;quot; button, and a graphic that changes to a random emojii. This one doesn&amp;#39;t seem to be for you.&quot;<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> &lt;!-- Include any categories below this line. --&gt;<br /> &lt;noinclude&gt;<br /> [[Category:Interactive comics]]<br /> [[Category:Comics with color]]<br /> [[Category:No title text]]<br /> &lt;/noinclude&gt;</div>

Ryan